TRINITY SUNDAY 

1.  Our feast today, could be one of those bland feasts that we cannot relate to because it might seem to some to be one of mental gymnastics - three in One and One   in three. No matter how one tries to express it, there always seems to be a bit of heresy involved in the expression. And our teenagers would say, "Who cares" - Archie Bunker would say, "Whatever".



And yet this mystery is expressed in a limited way whenever a Boy wants to kiss a Girl or visa versa, whenever a Mother holds a child, whenever we give the sign of peace in our Community.  It is expressed in the Parish Picnic we just celebrated the whole of today, it is seen the time spent with friends as you go to the cottage for the Long Weekend, it is seen in the bottle of beer or the glass of wine you share on the back porch with neighbours.

In a word the Mystery of the Trinity is a not a mathematical problem to be solved, but the reality of relationships we experience.

2.  In the Old Testament, the relationship with God was veiled in mystery and bordered on the magical and expressed in exaggerations. It was a God of fire and thunder, a God who was best described in terms of hugeness: the God who was greater than the Mountains, the God lived deeper than the sea. An attempt to describe this God was very much like blasphemy. And so even the name of God was unutterable.

However, with God's gift of Jesus - sent into this world with the same flesh and blood we have, we now have a God who like us in everything but sin. And now we have a God who can be experienced personally and deeply by all who choose to believe. It is a relationship that is not forced on us by God. As Revelation tells us, "I will stand at the door and knock - and whoever opens, I will enter and dine with that person." Rev.3:20

3.  The Trinity is our pattern of life, and a style for living – according of Francis Xavier Harriott.  In our living we express one person of the Trinity as our joys and sorrows unfold, as we deal with the issues of the Day.

a.  The Early church theologians and saints would describe the Father in terms of how the World unfolded. The Father was seen as the origin of the Universe,

 for its creation out of nothing,
 for its preservation -

We see this in our parents of today - our fathers and mothers as they give life to their children, they care for them and nurture them. It extends to each one of us as we love our universe and become ecologically responsible. We take care of our rainforests, - and make sure that acid rain, global warming - and genetically modified seeds - do not endanger not only the future of the next generation but even our own.

We have just experienced a long and severe winter, we do not feel Summer is ever going to come our way - and I expect when it does, it will come with a vengeance that will cause us to swelter. First we moan about the cold winter, then about a summer that never comes, then about the summer that is too much.   Like Israelites in Egypt first they groaned under their Egyptian Rulers, and then when they were freed from that, they grumbled against their God and wanted to be back in slavery.

The unfolding of the person of God the Father in our lives is in our awareness that we are co-creators with God in our stewardship, in our care for the planet God has entrusted to us.

b.  And then comes the Son: Each time we reach out to visit the sick, to feed the needy, to even reach out and give a sign of peace - we reflect the Son who came to reconcile us to one another and the Father.

We recognize and respect and acknowledge the potential of our children. We show a Jesus today, who took the children in his arms, blessed them and reminded us that unless we become like little children we will not enter the Kingdom of God. We are once again called to be:

 agents of social justice
 instruments of freedom and  liberation
 defenders of the Poor and oppressed.

In this we continue the healing ministry of Jesus. This is how we speak with Power and authority like Jesus unlike the rabbis of his own time.

c.  And we see and continue the work of Spirit in every Poet and musician, in every dancer and comedian that brings a smile to our face. These artists have a touch of the Holy spirit who recreates the face of the Earth.

Every Mother, and Father, every GodMother and GodFather, every teacher that continues to nourish our people, especially our children, giving them a sense of security and comfort and a freedom from fear, shows the Holy Spirit that renews the face of the earth.

4.  I know that preachers and teachers will tells us about the Triangle and the Shamrock, the three fishes often used by the early fathers to depict the Trinity - all these are visual hurdles or visual helps, but they do not show us what God actually is. The God who described himself to Moses as "I am who I am" These visual images might help to us imagine, but they do not deepen our faith or help us to see the face of Our Triune God. But the living out of our lives unfolds the Trinity who allows us to choose freely and who challenges us to obedience like the SON, fidelity like the SPIRIT - and the surrender which each PERSON does to the other in love.

Let me end with a true story: A Bishop visiting one of the islands in the pacific came across three fishermen painting their boat. He introduced himself, "I am Bishop Peter … a catholic bishop. At once the eyes of the three fishermen lit up. In pidgin English they replied that they too were Christians. The bishop was delighted. How do you pray he asked them. In Unison, they said, we do not know how to pray since no one has taught us. So we say to God, "You are three. We are three. Have mercy on us."   The Bishop was appalled by their primitive, heretical nature of their prayer . So he spent the whole day teaching them the Lord's Prayer. Since they were receptive, he managed to teach them the prayer after working with them the whole day long.

Some ten months later, the Bishop was passing the island and the three fishermen waded into the water, with great joy to see the Bishop. Before he could even get out of the boat. "Bishop we are so glad to see you. We heard your boat go past our island, and we wanted to meet you, really bad !"

What is it you want asked the Bishop kindly. Oh bishop they replied, we so sorry. We forget your lovely prayer. We say, Our Father who are in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come. But then we forget. Please teach us your lovely prayer again.

The Bishop was very humbled, "My friends go your way. And when you pray say, You are three. We are three. Have mercy on me. And ask God to have mercy on this poor Bishop too.