Sermon for Trinity Sunday

Matthew 28:16-20, 2 Corinthians 13:11-end

In my professional life, before I was ordained, I was a technical trainer. I worked for a telecommunications company and I worked on projects. It was my job to get to grips with a new product or service, learn all the intricate technical small print and then put it into laymen’s terms and train it out. So, here we are today…Trinity Sunday and I imagine that you are all here, expecting to grasp, once and for all, a theological explanation of the Trinity…but in laymen’s terms.

Well…it’s moments like these that I wonder what on earth God was thinking when he called me to ordained ministry! The thing is that there is no white paper that we are issued with when it comes to explanations of our Trinitarian God. No step-by-step instructions. No ‘Getting Started Guide. Not even an illustration to help the visual learners amongst us.

Trinity Sunday is the only Sunday in the Christian Calendar that is devoted to a doctrine – that is… the beliefs of the Church. Luckily for us, way back in the 4^th Century it was all thrashed out and put into words that the Church has been reciting ever since as part of their liturgy. And today, straight after my sermon, we will be saying together the words of the Creed. A Creed is a statement of belief and the Creed that we use the most in our churches is the Nicene Creed. It was first compiled by the first Council of Nicaea back in the year 325. It was a hot debate and continued to be controversial. It was amended in the year 381 to include a further statement about the Holy Spirit.

There are other Christian Creeds…The Apostle’s Creed, The Athanasian Creed, the Chalcedonian Creed…all of which are not without controversy. The all speak about the nature of God. But the thing is that I don’t think we are meant to have a good understanding about God. The Creed of Saint Athanasius, (which is in the Book of Common Prayer) includes

“The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible; 

and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible.”

So, basically Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all one and the same …all three are incomprehensibles…but one incomprehensible…” Confused? I think that we are supposed to be.

Just a thought…when you say your prayers, who do you pray to? Do you always start with Dear Jesus or Dear God? I wonder how many of you start with ‘Dear Holy Spirit…?’

Does it matter, if they are all one and the same?

At this time when the world is living in fear of the Covid pandemic, to focus on a complex doctrine might not be at the top of our list of priorities. But searching God out in times of crisis is often the way that people respond in uncertain times. If there’s a time to focus on God’s nature, it could be argued that now is the time!

At our Chapter meeting this week, we were told that statistics are showing that 10 times more people are worshipping online than they did in a church building each week…10 times as many!

And we’ve all seen in the past, that when there has been a national disaster, people gravitate to a place of worship, perhaps leave flowers, light a candle, say a prayer or write something in a book of condolence. That connection with God is important. It brings hope and comfort that they are not alone in their pain. And it is a great sadness that our buildings are locked at this time.

Everything that we know about God, we have learnt through the Bible. All the clues are there and we should read it and take from it what we can.

Throughout the Easter season we have followed Jesus as he was betrayed, crucified and rose from the dead. We heard about his last days on earth and his ascension into heaven. And just last week at Pentecost, we listened to that amazing story of the Disciples being equipped with the Holy Spirit.

A great story, you might be thinking but what has all that got to do with you and me in this day and age? Remember I said that the clues are in the Bible? In our Gospel reading, we hear once again that Great Commission from Jesus. We hear it in our readings a lot …because it is means a lot. It is what we are told to do as followers of Christ. Jesus said “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

Jesus said “remember, I am with you always…”

Just six little words…“remember, I am with you always…” Who are we that God himself tells us that he is with us always. That’s every bit of the day. That includes those mornings when we really don’t want to get out of bed or even get dressed. You know those days when you just can’t be bothered. Well… we’re not alone. Or those times when we’re not well, we’re in pain and feeling a bit neglected …well, guess what? God is in it with us, sharing that pain. And what about when we’re feeling depressed or lonely and totally misunderstood? Yep, you’ve got it…God is there as well.

God can relate to every part of our humanity because he’s been here before us. He’s been through it… from the growing pains of childhood, experienced the highs and lows of everyday life…to the death as a criminal.

God has promised through Jesus that we are not and can never be alone and that nothing…absolutely nothing can separate us from his love. So, let’s have a think about this…if God the Father is in heaven, God the Son came to earth and then ascended into heaven, then that leaves God the Holy Spirit to be here on earth with us at all times and in all places.

How mind-blowing is that?

So my blessing for you all this morning is the same as the one that St Paul left with the people of Corinth in his second letter to them. It is what we know of the Grace…”The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all”.

Amen.