Tag: Trinity

Trinity Sunday

16th June 2025

Reflection with readings below

Trinity Sunday is a celebration of the mystery of God. Human understanding of God is always going to be limited and incomplete because God is always going to be so much more and so much greater than we can imagine or understand. So we should not feel foolish or hopeless if we feel do not understand God as well as the ‘experts’ but at the same time we should not narrow our search for understanding or simply appreciating the character and nature of God. 

Trinity Sunday in particular celebrates God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit – three different but interconnected and united aspects of God. And today’s readings touch in that range and diversity of experiencing God. The readings also show us how integral to and engaged with, is God’s relationship with the Earth. And that points us to the benefit we can gain by studying, by paying attention to the Earth and all that God has created – for that too will enlarge and deepened our understanding of, our relationship with God. We might them reflect that Jesus came to save the world – that is to save not just humans but the whole of creation. 

Looking around the world and at the poly crises we face – loss of biodiversity, climate change, conflict, social injustice, depletion of resources – we might reread the passage from Proverbs and realise how we have failed to pay attention to God’s wisdom, how we have failed to understand – and to put into practice – what wisdom has to teach us about living in harmony with all that God has created. 

When we look at the conflict in Gaza and in Ukraine, can we reflect how in the natural world (ie the world not dominated by humans) different plants and animals benefit from living alongside each other, thriving together such that successful stable ecosystems are those with the greatest diversity of species. Which is not to deny the predation of some creatures on others, but the overall outcome is one of balance and harmony. But in conflict zones we see humans either wanting to eradicate the other or, motivated by greed, wanting to extract more than their fair share of resources. There is no system in place to help nations and communities understand each other, to value what gifts and skills they have to share, and how by cooperation they might all thrive.

When we look at polluted waters, we see how we as humans have not understood how rivers and seas work, how delicately balanced are their ecosystems, how flooding them with pollutants damages not just life in the water but also the ability of the river or marine ecosystem to protect against floods, droughts and storms. For example, if pollution kills the wildlife – the plants and birds and worms – that create and sustain the mudflats, then the mudflats break down and can no longer absorb excess waters during times of flood, nor protect the land behind during times of storm tides.

Celebrating Trinity Sunday, let us acknowledge God as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Does not wisdom call,
and does not understanding raise her voice? 

On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand; 

beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries out: 

“To you, O people, I call,
and my cry is to all that live. 

The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of long ago. 

Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 

When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water. 

Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth– 

when he had not yet made earth and fields,
or the world’s first bits of soil. 

When he established the heavens, I was there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 

when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep, 

when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command, 

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
then I was beside him, like a master worker; 

and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always, 

rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race.”

Psalm 8

1 O Lord our Sovereign, *
how exalted is your Name in all the world!

2 Out of the mouths of infants and children *
your majesty is praised above the heavens.

3 You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, *
to quell the enemy and the avenger.

4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *
the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,

5 What are humans  that you should be mindful of them? *
mortals  that you should seek them out?

6 You have made them but little lower than the angels; *
you adorn the, with glory and honour;

7 You give them mastery over the works of your hands; *
you put all things under his feet:

8 All sheep and oxen, *
even the wild beasts of the field,

9 The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *
and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.

10 O Lord our Sovereign, *
how exalted is your Name in all the world!

Romans 5:1-5

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

John 16:12-15

Jesus said to the disciples, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

Trinity Sunday

26th May 2024

Reflection with readings below

Rublev’s icon of the Holy Trinity is perhaps one of the most iconic images of the Trinity. The three figures – visitors who arrived at Abraham’s tent by the oaks of Mamre – represent the three persons of the Trinity. Each is individual but related and all form a circle about the chalice at the centre of the table. The colours of their robes and the positioning of their hands and faces suggests the different characteristics they bring to their united existence and how their patterns of behaviour interrelate.


(There are plenty of web sites that explore the theology of this icon – eg https://sacredheartpullman.org/documents/2017/8/Trinityicon.pdf)

At the time the icon was painted, the Holy Trinity was understood as being the embodiment of unity of spirit, peace, harmony, mutual love and humility.

The interrelated and interdependent and mutually enhancing character of the Holy Trinity is also to be found in the natural world that is the Trinity’s creation. All parts of creation are interrelated and interdependent and when working together, enhance the whole. 

For example when the weather warms  in the spring, butterfly eggs hatch into caterpillars, which grow fat on new green plant shoots. At the same time butterflies that have hibernated overwinter, wake and begin a new round of egg laying. The superfluity of caterpillars provides food for newly hatched blue tit chicks, ensuring the next generation. Feeding caterpillars to the young chicks additionally prevents the complete loss of the new spring plant growth! Birds, insects, plants and the seasonal changes in temperature and rainfall work in harmony for the thriving of the ecosystem. This beautiful dance reflects the nature of our trinitarian God. 

We humans are as dependent on the smooth progress of this dance as any other creature. Without insects to pollinate crops, we would have a severely restricted diet – no fruit, no peas and beans, courgettes or tomatoes. Without the right amounts of sun and rain in due season, we face hunger as crops sown will not flourish and indeed may fail altogether – something we are seeing in the UK this year cereal crops.

Yet we humans are deliberately damaging our environment. We are pouring pollution into the seas and water ways. We are spraying crops with insecticides that wantonly kill of all manner of creatures – birds as well as insects. We are burning carbon fuels and releasing more and mo greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, warming the atmosphere at a disastrous rate. We are taking the goodness out of the soil reducing its fertility. We’re cutting down forests and replacing natural biodiversity with monocultures of crops and livestock, exacerbating the loss of ground water and nutrients and accelerating climate change. 

We fail to see ourselves as part of creation. We are not living in harmony with all our brothers and sisters of creation – and that means we are not living in harmony with the will of God. 

We have sinned and fallen short. We need to cry out to God, who is both our parent and the parent of all creation, asking for healing and mercy. We need to ask forgiveness of all our brothers and sisters in creation and be willing to likewise offer forgiveness to all who have harmed our shared life. We need to hang onto the truth that Jesus came not to condemn but to save the world. And like Isaiah, we must be ready to speak the truth and to act in accordance with the will and desire of the Trinity, following their example of living in unity of spirit, peace, harmony, mutual love and humility.

This is not just an airy-fairy spiritual dream for our hour in church. It is a real demand and challenge that comes from God and which can find a genuine response in practical action. Here in the UK we are facing a general election. We can enquire of our candidates what their policies are vis a vis the environment, the climate, and human-made pollution. We can ask for a commitment that we see laws and policies being implemented that will ensure an economic system that respects and works in harmony with creation. Green Christian has put together a package of ideas, questions and templates in response to the general election. The Zero Hour website has details and plans for a Climate and Nature Bill addressing these issues about the care of the environment, and practical resources to help communities in every constituency engage with prospective candidates so that this Bill can become a reality in the next Parliament. 

Ascribe to the divine Trinity the glory due their Name; worship their divine nature in the beauty of holiness.

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

Psalm 29

1 Ascribe to the Lord, you gods, *
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his Name; *
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
the God of glory thunders; *
the Lord is upon the mighty waters.

4 The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice; *
the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendour.

5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; *
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;

6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, *
and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire;
the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; *
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

8 The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe *
and strips the forests bare.

9 And in the temple of the Lord *
all are crying, “Glory!”

10 The Lord sits enthroned above the flood; *
the Lord sits enthroned as King for evermore.

11 The Lord shall give strength to his people; *
the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

Romans 8:12-17

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh– for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ– if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

John 3:1-17

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Trinity Sunday 

4th June 2023

Reflection (readings below)

Young babies in the early months do not realise that they and their mother are separate beings. Obviously in time they come to realise that their mother is not simply an extension of their body, but that they are each separate beings.

Many mums and dads may expect their role as parents to be time-limited. As their child passes the ages of, say 16 -or 18 or 21 – they realise that being a parent is for life. They will never not be mums and dads!

In fact, as John Donne wrote, ‘No man [no person] is an island’. We are all interdependent beings relying on each other for love, protection, nourishment, purpose, identity etc. The interdependency and interconnectedness of human relationships should not surprise us on this Trinity Sunday. Today is the day when we reflect in particular on the nature of God that has been revealed to us: the one in three and three in one. The one who is both God and Father – a word which we would now understand to include  mother or parent. The one who is both God and Son, who is both human and divine. The one who is both God and Spirit, who was hovering over the waters of creation and is the gift that came at Pentecost. The trinitarian God is the God of relationships, of co-creating, of co-working, of co-inherence (meaning the participation of the three persons in one God).

We see in the Trinity the ideal that we should be showing in our human relationships. Sadly we don’t always manage to create and maintain fair relationships between one another. Our interrelationships are marred by injustice and the abuse of power. We have frequently and repeatedly failed to follow the way of Jesus – of love and compassion, of truthfulness and justice, of healing and restoration. Yet that is our vocation and it is a way of living that we are called to share with the whole world.

The passage from Isaiah reminds us that God is not just the creator of we humans, but of the entirety of the earth. And again it should therefore not surprise us that just as we are interdependent on our fellow humans, so following God’s model of being, we are share an interdependent and interconnected relationship with the rest of creation. 

We are beginning to understand that without a sizeable population of pollinating creatures – insects, birds, beetles – many of the food crops we depend upon will not survive. We are beginning to understand that without a healthy population of worms, beetles, and subterranean fungi, the fertility of the soil will diminish and with it, our harvests. We are beginning to understand that without large and biodiverse woods and forests, the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere will rise and exacerbate rising temperatures that lead to fatally adverse weather patterns. 

I say ‘beginning to understand’ for just as we have failed in so many of our human relationships, so we have failed in so many of our relationships with creation as witnessed by the climate and ecological crises. We need to learn how to live in active cooperation and harmony with all of creation. We need to observe and learn of the interconnected relationships that exist between all parts of the ecosystems we share. We need to learn where we fit in – how we can actually benefit from being part of these interdependent systems. We need to appreciate that just as in the Trinity we see a pattern for how we should live our lives, so in the Trinity we can see the pattern for how all of creation thrives together.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.

Isaiah 40:12 -17, 27 – end

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
    and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,
    and weighed the mountains in scales
    and the hills in a balance?

Who has directed the spirit of the Lord,
    or as his counsellor has instructed him?

Whom did he consult for his enlightenment,
    and who taught him the path of justice?
Who taught him knowledge,
    and showed him the way of understanding?

Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
    and are accounted as dust on the scales;
    see, he takes up the isles like fine dust.

Lebanon would not provide fuel enough,
    nor are its animals enough for a burnt-offering.

All the nations are as nothing before him;
    they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. 

Why do you say, O Jacob,
    and speak, O Israel,
‘My way is hidden from the Lord,
    and my right is disregarded by my God’?

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,
    and strengthens the powerless.

Even youths will faint and be weary,
    and the young will fall exhausted;

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
    they shall walk and not faint.

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars that you have established;

what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
    mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
    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,

all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

Matthew 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”