St. Patrick, ’tis said, took a stalk of shamrock to explain the Trinity. Though of one stem, three leafs present themselves. (This’ll work with a clover, too.) Maybe that’s as close as we can get to understand the three persons of God. Anyway, this Sunday will be Trinity Sunday, the annual observance of this mystery by the Church. Trinity Sunday doesn’t ask us to DO something; it invites us to be aware of an all-encompassing God who has left no stone unturned in Divine care for our daily well-being.
Readings begin with a brief passage from Genesis, vv.1,2 &4: “…the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, [yet] a wind from God swept over the face of the waters…” When there was nothing, there was God. When our days seem formless and void, even then a wind from God is blowing.
From the Beginnings to the Endings: we read also from the final words of Paul to the Corinthian congregations. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” (II Corinthians 13:13) Here are all the blessings! Grace, introduced by Christ, is that understanding that we’re loved despite our feet of clay, and that we no longer have to cower in the shadows from a vengeful God. Love is that steadfast care so well described in an earlier Corinthian passage which is somewhat diminished by its use in weddings (letter I, chapter 13). Communion with the Holy Spirit, sometimes written as “fellowship”, is a mystic wholeness with Creator and Creation in which we become fully absorbed by holiness. In the big picture, we need nothing more….
The Gospel reading is a reprise from last week’s Pentecost experience: Matthew remembers Jesus’ last directions which affirm the Three-in-One. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” (28:19) Get them involved in Wholeness, let them know and feel all there is. Our baptism announces what God is already doing within us.
Another Saint, Augustine of Hippo, used a hard-boiled egg to illustrate Trinity. The shell, the white, and then inside, the yolk — all comprise an egg, and the egg wouldn’t be an egg without all three. On this special day, I’m very glad for being included in this enfolding affirmation of an enduring Providence!
God Bless Us, Every One Horace Brown King
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