03 June 2012

Trinity Sunday is the only week in the year when the focus of our worship is a doctrine. This year, though, the readings move the Trinitarian theme beyond the realm of purely intellectual fascination, into a very practical response to the radical transformation that comes from an encounter with this Triune God.

May the mystery of the Trinity challenge and change us as we worship this week.

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The doctrine of the Trinity can, at times, feel like an awkward and embarrassing Christian belief. It is also, almost certainly, a deeply misunderstood one. For this reason, Trinity Sunday may well be one of the days in the year where we are tempted to depart from the Lectionary and focus our meditations elsewhere. If, however, we can resist all these temptations, and embrace the mystery and majesty of this day, the worship we enjoy, springing from our reflections on our Trinitarian God, can be deep, transforming and deeply inspiring.

May we find new creativity and connectedness as we gather to worship the God who is revealed to us as Divine Parent, Incarnate Child and Ubiquitous Spirit.

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Although we have now officially finished the “festival season” in the Liturgical Calendar, this week retains some strong links to what has come before. I like to think of the first half of the year (from Advent to Trinity Sunday) as the “God’s Story” part of the calendar, and the second half of the year (Ordinary Time) as the “Our Story” part of the calendar, where we explore what it means for us to live out of God’s Story. This first week in Ordinary Time, reminds us, though, that we cannot live without drawing strongly on God’s Spirit, God’s life and God’s resources. And the good news is that God’s empowerment is so readily available for us as we seek to serve, to follow and to bring justice into our world.

May your worship this week be thoroughly empowering!

READINGS:
1 Kings 17:8-16, (17-24): The widow at Zarephath feeds Elijah and her oil and flour do not run out. When her son dies, Elijah raises him.
OR 1 Kings 17:17-24: The shorter version of the above reading – Elijah prays for the widows son who has died, and he is raised to life.

Psalm 146: Do not trust in powerful people, but in God who protects the weak and who gives justice.
OR Psalm 30: A cry for God’s help and an affirmation of confidence in God.

Galatians 1:11-24: Paul tells the story of his conversion, and how he did not depend on people to give him God’s revelation.

Luke 7:11-17: Jesus raises the widow of Nain’s son.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
At the start of the season that focuses on our work of following Christ – Ordinary Time – we begin with a call to lean on God’s grace, strength and provision, and to avoid the temptation to seek security in people, in human power, or connecting with those who are “important”. Rather, God offers God’s self as our primary source of life, of support and of wisdom for life. The challenge of this is to develop a “confidence” in God that is authentic, and an ability to “tune in” to God’s Spirit.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: God’s care for those who are weak, poor, threatened and dying shouts from the passages this week. And God’s offer of God’s resources to address the challenges these ‘least’ is equally clear. It is too easy to turn the work of justice and compassion into a kind of ‘slightly sanctified social work’. But even ‘social justice Christians’ need to recognise the Presence and availability of God and God’s Spirit to guide and empower both our work and the lives of those we seek to serve. So, a significant part of our serving and healing the world is to call leaders, influencers and carers back to vibrant spirituality and to ensuring that as they serve, they also enable others to find a faith that is authentic and alive for them.

LOCAL APPLICATION: In our churches and communities we have often divided our worship and our missions. We have often fallen into a functional atheism which leaves us doing good work in our world but lacking the spirituality which gives it life, lasting impact and truly transforming power. If we are to be more than just another social service organisation, our missions must be flooded in worship, and our worship must overflow into vibrant, God-inspired missions. What might it mean for your church to seek to encounter God authentically, serve on another and your community with a visible dependence on God, and to build your life together around a true marriage of worship and missions. Is this not what ultimately protects the weak, leads to justice and heals the world?

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Always There
The Faith We Need

Hymn Suggestions:
Praise To The Lord, The Almighty
O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing
God Of Almighty Love
They Who Tread The Path Of Labour
Breathe (Link to YouTube video)
Everlasting God (Link to YouTube video)
Your Grace Is Enough (Link to YouTube video)
God Of Justice (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Spiritual Feast

Video Suggestions:
The Gospel According To Luke

This week, instead of celebrating a biblical event or a characteristic
of God, the lectionary leads us to celebrate a doctrine – the Trinity.
In the face of this “theological” theme, it can be tempting to avoid the lectionary altogether, but the doctrine Trinity can be an exciting and creative playground in which to worship.

May you be inspired as you prepare, and transformed as you worship this week!

READINGS:
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31: Wisdom sings of being with God at the creaiton of the world, and of humanity.

Psalm 8: A song of God’s majesty, and the honour God has given to humanity.

Romans 5:1-5: In Christ God has given us peace and a place of privilege, and has also strengthened us by giving us the Spirit.

John 16:12-15: Jesus promises the Spirit who will lead us into truth, and teach us all that belongs to Jesus and the Father.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The theme this week is clear – the nature of God as Triune. This “difficult” doctrine of the Church is a tough one to address in a sermon or in worship, which tempts us either to treat it as an academic exercise, or to skip over it completely. However, the very mystery of this doctrine – and of the texts that are wrapped around it this week – provide a wonderful array of options. There is the opportunity to acknowledge again the limitations of our language and thinking about God, and to embrace God’s glorious, infinite mystery. There is the chance to recognise how God has chosen to reveal God’s self to humanity in flesh and Spirit, and how Jesus and the Spirit really do show us what God is like. There is also the chance to recognise the work of all three Persons in the life of every woman and man. There is also the opportunity to explore God’s nature as community, as Love, as relationship, and what this means for us. Ultimately, though it is wise to bear in mind Richard Rohr’s words: “Trinity leads you into the world of mystery and humility where you can not understand, you can only experience.” And perhaps the heart of that experience is ‘mutuality’ – of God within God, and, miraculously, of God with humanity.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: One of the massive challenges facing our world is competing ideas about God. This does not only apply to religions in conflict, but also to the way God is viewed from the perspective of the sciences – physics, anthropology, sociology and psychology. Within these competing visions of the divine lies the problem of human arrogance, and the need to impose our visions on others. Ultimately when we believe that God is on our side (who or whatever that God may be – from the warrior of a fundamentalist to the science of a Dawkins), we easily deny the humanity, the wisdom and/or the worship of others. As followers of Jesus, though, we are offered a vision that denies us this arrogance. It makes our speaking and thinking about God hesitant and humble, because we are forced to acknowledge the mystery behind the words. It also calls us to allow God’s relational image within us to shine forth, leading us to seek connection, mutuality and love with all. These are not two separate attitudes. Humility and mutuality are based on each other, and are a necessary ingredient for any work of reconciliation, peace-making and problem-solving in a world where the struggles we face are bigger than any one person or group.

LOCAL APPLICATION: In the Western culture of individuality and self-interest, we too easily lose our sense of connectedness and responsibility for others and for the collective. In the Eastern and African cultures of community and social responsibility, we too easily lose our sense of self-determination and accountability. In both cases, the vision of God that is offered to us in the Trinity gives us what we lack, and enables us to lean into the paradox which values both individuality and mutuality. In our communities and churches, then, we recognise God’s call to hold individuals accountable – those in leadership, and those who follow – and to challenge each one to take responsibility and live faithfully and justly (there are no grand children in faith!). But, we also recognise God’s call to bring people into humble, respectful, compassionate and generous relationships of mutuality and sharing, in which grace and respect and mercy triumph over judgment, exclusion and partisanship. The Trinity reveals to us both God’s confrontation of our human weakness, sinfulness and injustice, and God’s invitation to share in God’s love and mutuality in communities of faith. The glory is that justice can only truly be enacted when the trust of mutuality is assured, and mutuality can only be maintained when justice is upheld. We are called both to live this truth, adn to proclaim it to the world.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Life-Giving, – Restoring, -Fulfilling God
God, Saviour, Counsellor
A Desperate World

Hymn Suggestions:
Holy, Holy, Holy
Father, We Praise Thee
Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
Immortal Invisible
Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow
Father, Spirit, Jesus (Link to YouTube video)
Praise The Father, Praise The Son (Link to YouTube video)
Glorify Your Name (Link to YouTube video – best one I could find, I’m afraid!)
Father, I Adore You (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Breaking of Bread

Video Suggestions:
Trinity
Psalm 8

Image:
Trinity 1
Trinity 2