Sermon by Fr Peter Wolton on Sunday 22nd May 2016, Trinity Sunday at St Georges and St John the Baptist
Sermon by Fr Peter Wolton on Sunday 22nd May 2016, Trinity Sunday at St Georges and St John the Baptist
In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost. O blessed and undivided Trinity, may my words help us to better understand your inestimable gifts better, so that our lives reflect your beauty and love. Amen
Some words from the play Forty Years On:
Schoolmaster to pupil: Now you’re sure you’ve got the Catechism all buttoned up, Foster?
Foster: I’m a bit hazy about the Trinity, sir.
Schoolmaster: Three in one, one in three, perfectly straightforward. Any doubts about that, see your maths master.
Today is Trinity Sunday, which the Church has celebrated since the 12th Century.
How did this come about?
On Saturday June 2nd 1262, Thomas a Becket was ordained. As you know, the elevation to Canterbury can be a swift process. We think of Justin Welby’s short tenure at Durham. But Thomas a Becket went one better. The very next day after being ordained, he was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury!
And he then decreed that the Sunday after Whitsunday should be a new feast day in honour of the Holy Trinity. The English practice spread beyond our shores throughout Latin Christendom and was finally confirmed by Pope John XXII in the early 14th Century.
The Trinity, the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Ghost can seem complex. But it does also contain wonderful lessons for this period of our lives before “we shall know fully even as we are known fully.”
So today I want to us to do two things:
First, think on the Trinity –to hopefully come up with answers for the luckless Maths master should Foster, the boy struggling with the Catechism tackle him.
Second, to consider how the Trinitarian model can be applied to our daily lives.
The Trinity. God made up of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, distinct entities, yet united and in relationship.
All three appear together is at Jesus’ baptism. The Father expresses publicly his love for the Son:
“This is my Son, my beloved with whom I am well pleased” –what can be more affirming and loving than to tell someone they are loved and we are well pleased with them –tuck that in the back pocket for those anniversary or wedding or birthday speeches.
Then the Spirit, in the form of a dove, marks Jesus out as the one on whom God’s favour is placed.
What is the Holy Spirit?
Another Archbishop of Canterbury, (we can’t stop mentioning them today can we?), William Temple defines the Holy Spirit as “the spiritual energy from Christ. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is that we may bear witness to Christ.”
Later in this service, during the Eucharistic prayer, Fr. James will ask God to “send the Holy Spirit upon the people gathered in this congregation -. so that we, the people of God, may leave here certain in the knowledge that we are beloved in Christ, and hopefully bear witness to Christ.
Let’s consider the relationship between the Father and the Son a little further. We know that Jesus was radiant in the presence of the Father. At the scene of the Transfiguration, when yet again the Father confirmed “This is my Son, the Beloved” and Jesus face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white.
We know also that Jesus prayed to the Father; He also said “I and the Father are one. Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
And in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the “High Priestly prayer”, Jesus prays that the Father will “glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
The Father and the Son are distinct, yet they are one.
Jesus submits willingly to the call of the Father and to God’s plan. And the Father, by anointing him with the Spirit, empowers him to carry out this plan.
We are reminded of Jesus saying “Truly, truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”
And this gives us insight into the relationship between the Father and the Son. It is not an earthly relationship or hierarchy. One is not superior to the other. They have different roles for sure, but as we say in the Creed, “Jesus is of one being with the Father.”
In Ethiopia which I have recently visited, pictures of the Trinity show the lack of hierarchy with the depiction of three faces in a line.
Only if the Son is fully God, can He reveal God to us and reconcile us to God. Jesus is equal to the Father. True God of true God. “
As is the Spirit.
The Trinitarian relationship is one of distinctiveness yet unity. It is based on eternal reciprocity of unconditional love. God is not an isolated deity. He is not independent. God is a trinity of love, mutually affirming, co-eternal, a God who shows no partiality, and where there is no hierarchy in the earthly sense.
Let us now consider how the Trinitarian model can be applied to our daily lives. How we can be more affirming and loving? How can we let the Holy Spirit take hold of us and dwell in our hearts?
I’ve had two encounters in recent weeks which have caused me to think of this.
The Michaela School in Wembley (http://mcsbrent.co.uk/) is a new secondary free school in Wembley. Its intake is no different from any other Brent secondary school. But it has remarkably high aspirations and expectations. Twelve year old pupils talk quite openly about which Russell group university they would like to go to. Each day, at the end of each lunch a member from each table of five pupils has to give an “Appreciation.” They might thank a teacher for an excellent lesson, or a visitor for an inspiring story or a fellow pupil for an act of kindness. The whole community is built on relationships which affirm and recognise the value of each individual.
My second encounter related to housing. It is one of the biggest issues in London. I was speaking to someone the other day who said. “It’s so stressful being a tenant. We have a short lease. We never know what is going to happen to the rent; whether the landlord is going to ratchet up the rent; and if we then have to move, what will happen to our deposit and whether they will claim we have damaged the flat.”
That’s the tenant’s worry. The landlord also worries whether a tenant will stay, about voids and the property being mistreated. So lesson might the Trinity have for the rented housing market? Instead of tension, could there be an affirming relationship between the parties, where a landlord says to a tenant, you are valued and the tenant reciprocates. Could there be a Trinitarian leasehold arrangement?
The Trinity exalts us to consider how we should conduct our lives and relationships. The school and the housing market are just two situations. But we could apply the lessons to a whole range of relationships, from the workplace to international relations.
We give thanks for to God for the example and Feast of the Undivided Trinity. When we leave St. George’s today, fortified by the Holy Spirit, let us ask how we can be affirming in our relations and play our part in bringing about God’s will on earth.
In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost. O blessed and undivided Trinity, may my words help us to better understand your inestimable gifts better, so that our lives reflect your beauty and love. Amen
Some words from the play Forty Years On:
Schoolmaster to pupil: Now you’re sure you’ve got the Catechism all buttoned up, Foster?
Foster: I’m a bit hazy about the Trinity, sir.
Schoolmaster: Three in one, one in three, perfectly straightforward. Any doubts about that, see your maths master.
Today is Trinity Sunday, which the Church has celebrated since the 12th Century.
How did this come about?
On Saturday June 2nd 1262, Thomas a Becket was ordained. As you know, the elevation to Canterbury can be a swift process. We think of Justin Welby’s short tenure at Durham. But Thomas a Becket went one better. The very next day after being ordained, he was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury!
And he then decreed that the Sunday after Whitsunday should be a new feast day in honour of the Holy Trinity. The English practice spread beyond our shores throughout Latin Christendom and was finally confirmed by Pope John XXII in the early 14th Century.
The Trinity, the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Ghost can seem complex. But it does also contain wonderful lessons for this period of our lives before “we shall know fully even as we are known fully.”
So today I want to us to do two things:
First, think on the Trinity –to hopefully come up with answers for the luckless Maths master should Foster, the boy struggling with the Catechism tackle him.
Second, to consider how the Trinitarian model can be applied to our daily lives.
The Trinity. God made up of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, distinct entities, yet united and in relationship.
All three appear together is at Jesus’ baptism. The Father expresses publicly his love for the Son:
“This is my Son, my beloved with whom I am well pleased” –what can be more affirming and loving than to tell someone they are loved and we are well pleased with them –tuck that in the back pocket for those anniversary or wedding or birthday speeches.
Then the Spirit, in the form of a dove, marks Jesus out as the one on whom God’s favour is placed.
What is the Holy Spirit?
Another Archbishop of Canterbury, (we can’t stop mentioning them today can we?), William Temple defines the Holy Spirit as “the spiritual energy from Christ. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is that we may bear witness to Christ.”
Later in this service, during the Eucharistic prayer, Fr. James will ask God to “send the Holy Spirit upon the people gathered in this congregation -. so that we, the people of God, may leave here certain in the knowledge that we are beloved in Christ, and hopefully bear witness to Christ.
Let’s consider the relationship between the Father and the Son a little further. We know that Jesus was radiant in the presence of the Father. At the scene of the Transfiguration, when yet again the Father confirmed “This is my Son, the Beloved” and Jesus face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white.
We know also that Jesus prayed to the Father; He also said “I and the Father are one. Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
And in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the “High Priestly prayer”, Jesus prays that the Father will “glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
The Father and the Son are distinct, yet they are one.
Jesus submits willingly to the call of the Father and to God’s plan. And the Father, by anointing him with the Spirit, empowers him to carry out this plan.
We are reminded of Jesus saying “Truly, truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”
And this gives us insight into the relationship between the Father and the Son. It is not an earthly relationship or hierarchy. One is not superior to the other. They have different roles for sure, but as we say in the Creed, “Jesus is of one being with the Father.”
In Ethiopia which I have recently visited, pictures of the Trinity show the lack of hierarchy with the depiction of three faces in a line.
Only if the Son is fully God, can He reveal God to us and reconcile us to God. Jesus is equal to the Father. True God of true God. “
As is the Spirit.
The Trinitarian relationship is one of distinctiveness yet unity. It is based on eternal reciprocity of unconditional love. God is not an isolated deity. He is not independent. God is a trinity of love, mutually affirming, co-eternal, a God who shows no partiality, and where there is no hierarchy in the earthly sense.
Let us now consider how the Trinitarian model can be applied to our daily lives. How we can be more affirming and loving? How can we let the Holy Spirit take hold of us and dwell in our hearts?
I’ve had two encounters in recent weeks which have caused me to think of this.
The Michaela School in Wembley (http://mcsbrent.co.uk/) is a new secondary free school in Wembley. Its intake is no different from any other Brent secondary school. But it has remarkably high aspirations and expectations. Twelve year old pupils talk quite openly about which Russell group university they would like to go to. Each day, at the end of each lunch a member from each table of five pupils has to give an “Appreciation.” They might thank a teacher for an excellent lesson, or a visitor for an inspiring story or a fellow pupil for an act of kindness. The whole community is built on relationships which affirm and recognise the value of each individual.
My second encounter related to housing. It is one of the biggest issues in London. I was speaking to someone the other day who said. “It’s so stressful being a tenant. We have a short lease. We never know what is going to happen to the rent; whether the landlord is going to ratchet up the rent; and if we then have to move, what will happen to our deposit and whether they will claim we have damaged the flat.”
That’s the tenant’s worry. The landlord also worries whether a tenant will stay, about voids and the property being mistreated. So lesson might the Trinity have for the rented housing market? Instead of tension, could there be an affirming relationship between the parties, where a landlord says to a tenant, you are valued and the tenant reciprocates. Could there be a Trinitarian leasehold arrangement?
The Trinity exalts us to consider how we should conduct our lives and relationships. The school and the housing market are just two situations. But we could apply the lessons to a whole range of relationships, from the workplace to international relations.
We give thanks for to God for the example and Feast of the Undivided Trinity. When we leave St. George’s today, fortified by the Holy Spirit, let us ask how we can be affirming in our relations and play our part in bringing about God’s will on earth.