June 12, 2022 – Trinity Sunday
The important thing is to realize, be grasped by, and transformed by, the vision of our Triune God.
Let us bow our heads in prayer. Holy God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we give you thanks for your presence in this time and place, and within each one of us. Help us now to open our minds, our hearts, our whole lives, to receive the gift of your living Word for us this day. And may the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
Today is Trinity Sunday. We have completed the special liturgical seasons – Advent through to the end of Easter, the final day of which is Pentecost which we celebrated last Sunday. Creator God has given us the Son, Jesus, and now, after his resurrection and ascension, we have received God, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity – 3 “persons” and one God. So today we celebrate the fullness of God.
Often, on Trinity Sunday, preachers carry out creative theological “gymnastics” trying to explain the Trinity (3 Persons and 1 God) to their congregations. One common approach is the “scientific analogy”, which considers the 3 phases of matter – the most common example being of water. There is the solid phase (ice); the liquid phase (water) and the gaseous phase (water vapour) – three distinct materials – but all of them being H2O. Or there is the philosophical mind-bender which, speaking of the 3 persons of the Trinity, says this, “One is so much the other that each themself is the whole.” What??? To be honest, I think that only preachers and systematic theologians care about trying to explain the meaning of the Trinity. And to be honest, what really matters is opening ourselves to, receiving, and experiencing the fullness of God, the Holy Trinity, in our lives. Because even once you’ve grasped the scientific or philosophical analogies, you’re still left asking yourself – “So what? How does it make a difference in my life?”
I believe that the Collect Prayer holds the key. After describing, in a sentence or two, how the Trinity has interacted with us, we pray “Fill us with the vision of your glory, that we may always serve and praise you.” Help us to be so struck by – impressed by – transformed by the vision of who God is, and God’s glory, that we then seek to serve God and praise God in all things.
If you think about it, vision is what motivates people. We hear testimonies from Olympic athletes how, when they were young and watching great athletes perform, they caught a vision of what could be. Or great musicians who at an early age realized the potential of a particular instrument, or of the human voice, and decided to pursue that vision for themselves. And it’s not always persons. Think about architects and building developers who quickly develop artist’s conceptions and build 3-D models of what their plans could look like, and place them in front of potential clients – to excite them and help them to see “what could be” - to give them a vision to motivate them and garner their support. We experienced a good example right here with West Broadway Commons and “Project X.” We got to see a beautiful 3-D model of the proposed development and that model provided a vision that we could commit to.
Visions are meant to express the greatness, the beauty, the excellence of the creation, or object – or subject. Think of the clothing and accessories we put on monarchs – thinking in particular of Queen Elizabeth and her recent platinum jubilee celebration. The royal robes are meant to portray the glory – the importance – of her role. Or traditionally, think what we do with brides at the wedding ceremony. They show their outward beauty and glory in order to express their inner value and beauty.
The same is true when we want to express holiness – to express the glory of the Holy One, and those called to represent the people to God, and God to the people. Whole chapters in the books of Exodus and Leviticus are dedicated to describing the ornate vestments of the priests – first for the Tabernacle and then for the Temple. Many Christian denominations, including our own Anglican church, continue the practice with clergy and especially bishops! It is not to exalt the individual but to recognize the sacredness – the holiness – of the God they serve.
We do something similar with sacred spaces – church buildings. They are adorned in order to call our attention to the splendour and beauty of God – the holiness of God – and therefore, the call to holiness to us as God’s People. In the current issue of Saints Alive, which you likely picked up this morning, there is an article by Anthony Waterman about the Lady Chapel here at All Saints and being aware of it as ‘sacred space’ – not in a way that causes us to be afraid and shy away from it; but rather to be enwrapped with the vision of God’s holiness and cause us to be caught up in and transformed by the vision of the One Triune God!
Think for a moment – what is your vision of God? Is it awe-inspiring? Does it inspire you – knowing the eternal love that awe-inspiring Trinity has for you, and for this world? This is what is important about today! You and I will never be effective disciples of Jesus Christ if we haven’t allowed ourselves to be grasped by a vision of God’s glory!
The author of today’s Psalm 8 demonstrates how to contemplate a vision of the glory of God. He says, “When I consider your heavens, the / work of your fingers, the moon and the stars you have set in their courses, what are humans that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” He is amazed, and given the greatness of God, even more so that God is even interested in humanity! And yet the Psalmist says, “Yet you have made them (human beings) a little lower than the angels, and crowned them with glory and honour. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands, you have put all things under their feet.” The Psalmist “gets it.” He realizes this awe-inspiring vision of God – coupled with God’s amazing love for us which helps us realize our value in God’s eyes.
Today’s closing hymn expresses, in poetic form, the story of the prophet Isaiah’s vision of God which we read about in the 6th chapter of the Book of Isaiah. In verse 3, Isaiah has heard and saw the seraphs around God’s throne and describes it, “And one called to another and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” And in verse 3 of our closing hymn we will sing, “’Lord, thy glory fills the heaven, earth is with its fullness stored; unto thee be glory given, holy, holy, holy Lord.’” The vision moved Isaiah so much that, initially in fear and awe, and then in God-given grace, he immediately answered God’s call to become a prophet for God.
Each of us needs a vision – or several visions – of the fullness, the wonder, the glory of our God, that moves and transforms us such that all that we do – in every area of our lives – is a reflection of the glory and love of God – for us – for all people – for all creation.
What helps you to be grasped by that vision? It might be a beautiful building. It might be an inspiring piece of art, or a deeply-moving piece of music. Maybe it’s a particularly grace-filled person who has touched your life. It might be seeing a street person be supported and helped to become more fully who God made them to be.
Today, we lift up and celebrate the glory, wonder and fullness of our Triune God. We’re invited to be grasped afresh by that glorious vision, and commit ourselves to always serve and praise the living God – to God’s glory and the grace, and peace, of all God’s creation. Amen.
