Home Service 4th June 2023 Trinity Sunday

Prayers of Approach

Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we come before you now to worship, to marvel at your being, to focus on your calling to us, to know your love, and to seek your truth.

Living God, You invite us to go on the greatest adventure ever. Meet us today as we come to worship you. May we rest in your giant loving arms and know your presence with us. May we find safety and security there. Raise us up that we may find strength when we are weary and energy when we are faint, so we never fail to praise your holy name.

On this Trinity Sunday, O God the Holy Trinity, we worship you – even though sometimes we have doubts and fears. You are the one we adore, without whom life has no purpose. You, O Holy Trinity, meet us and greet us, support and uphold us, provide for us and equip us, wherever we are on our journey in life. We adventure with you, into the known and unknown, but believing that you will always be with us, to the end of the age. You are the one we adore. Amen.

Hymn Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty (R&S 34)

Readings: Psalm 8

Matthew 28:16-20

Introduction

The focus of the psalm is on God and his work of creation, but it also talks about the role of humans in God’s creation, giving them an elevated place in God’s scheme of things. The psalm is sometimes read messianically, applying it to Jesus in anticipation of our restoration to our rightful place in creation wrecked by our sin and rebellion.

In our Gospel reading Jesus has summoned his disciples to a mountain in Galilee. He tells them that all authority is his and that they should make disciples all over the world, baptizing them and teaching them to obey his commandments. He promises to be with them always. The passage, often called the ‘Great Commission’, invites us to consider: What does it actually mean to adventure with Jesus? What does that look like in practice, and how might we do it? We are not called to do this alone but together. The Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – equips us and resources us to go out and live our lives for Jesus.

Hymn Father, we love you, we worship and adore you (R&S 30)

Sermon/Reflection

‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.’ (2 Corinthians 13:13). Today is Trinity Sunday when we celebrate the God who is ‘three in one’, yet from our readings we can only infer that relationship. The early church was still trying to work out what it meant for one God to be three persons, their monotheistic faith was suddenly inadequate to describe their lived experience of God. Although the Hebrew scriptures often referred to the ‘Spirit of God’, in the creation story, in the call and inspiration of the prophets, and in the Psalms, there is no working out of the idea of the Spirit as a distinct ‘person’ within the ‘Godhead’.

The Gospels then give us further revelation of God, introducing us to Jesus, the ‘Son of God’ who is ‘one’ with the Father, who was present in the act of creation, and who sends the Holy Spirit that we too might be one with him. As the early Church acknowledged Jesus Christ as God they were thus presented with a mystery – one God, yet three distinct persons. The familiar words of ‘the Grace’ are an early expression of their faith and, through the image of koinonia (communion or fellowship, as it is often translated) embody the idea that our life of faith is brought about by our participating in the life of God through the work of the Holy Spirit within and between each one of us.

Trinity Sunday is the recognition of that relationship and the bridging point between the Sundays of Easter, which culminated last week with Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the long intermediate period of ‘Ordinary Sundays’ which eventually lead us to Advent. Trinity Sunday shows us the working out of God’s plans as it has been revealed in Christ’s mission on earth, his ascension to heaven (his return to God’s side and his ‘enthronement’ as King of Kings), the promise of Christ’s future return, and the gift of the Holy Spirit to enable us to continue the growth of the kingdom.

Today’s readings, whilst not being explicitly about the Trinity, lead us to explore our relationship to and with God. The Gospel reading, often referred to as ‘the Great Commission’ marks the start of a life with God, revealed in all God’s fullness as Father, Son and Holy Spirit – a God who redeems and empowers, who loves and invests in his people. The command which Jesus gives is not to ‘go’ but to ‘make’. Going is inevitable; the disciples cannot stay on the mountain. It is what they do that matters. And it implies that we who are disciples ourselves must do the same: disciples make disciples. Simply put a disciple is a learner, someone who models themselves on their teacher. And it’s not just about knowing things but about our lifestyle, walking the way the master walks and doing what he does. This is a life-time’s journey.

This ‘Great Commission’ comes with a promise, ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ These are the final words of Matthew’s Gospel and cement our relationship with God. Jesus doesn’t say ‘I will be with you’, he says ‘I am with you.’ The promise is unconditional – each and every day the risen, exalted, triumphant Jesus is with us. In our going out to make disciples, he is with us, in the struggles of life, each and every day, he is with us, helping us to be the people he wants us to be. This is what it means to be with God, to be with one another, in the all-embracing koinonia, communion in the grace and love of the Trinity of God. ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all’.

Hymn Lord thy Church on earth is seeking (R&S 579)

Prayers of Intercession

Where there is conflict between nations and within nations; where people live in fear of the bullet and the bomb; when parents weep for children who have been killed: God of peace, may your peace be known.
In homes filled with anger, cruelty and neglect; where there are no safe places; where poverty and addiction bring suffering and pain: God of peace, may your peace be known.
To those whose minds are tormented by depression; to those whose hold on life is fragile; to those whose lives are filled with stress: God of peace, may your peace be known.
To those who are nearing the end of life; to those who love and care for them: God of peace, may your peace be known.
May your peace be known to us, and may we be bearers of your peace in our world. Amen.

Hymn Colours of day dawn into the mind (R&S 572)

Blessing

We journey with you, O God, because you have proved yourself to us, revealed yourself to us, made yourself known to us. You have drawn us to yourself. Thanks be to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God of adventure, thank you that no matter where the journey may take us you will always be by our side, giving us renewed strength, vision and hope, and blessing us on our way. Amen.