Trinity Sunday Sermon

Trinity 2016

I seem to recall someone saying that they would preach this year on Trinity Sunday. However the line has gone quiet and Liz and Lewis are both away…. I am feel sure it was one of them.

So it seems the lot has fallen.

Well thankfully we had last week… Pentecost!

What a celebration we had…. And all those cakes too!

I wrote an article for Northern Light after last Sunday and in it I spoke about how God calls us all.

Throughout the lead up to Pentecost last week and all through the service we witnessed and realised that no matter who we are God calls out to us and wants to include us in his loving kingdom. Humanity is not a gate keeper for the love of God. (Praise the Lord!)

Put very simply… God is huge!

Last Wednesday we had a wonderful occasion here when people from all faiths (and none) gathered to remember and pray for Syria. At this service we experienced once again that God has no boundary and that we are all called to be people of peace in our disfigured world today.

As long ago as 1948 the Christians Churches realised that fragmentation and faction was no witness to the Greatness of a loving and uniting God, and the World Council of Churches was formed to help s think and come together more.

A lot has happened since then and many places now including Shetland has a Council of Churches. (Though sadly for us here money has got in the way a bit)

However…. And this is the interesting news. The Parliament of World Religions was founded in 1893 over fifty years previously.

As  my spiritual director Bernard used to say “Clever old God”

The Trinity (which we in the church celebrate today… the only time we celebrate a doctrine as opposed to an “event”) was declared in the fourth century to be the way of seeing and believing God. Not to see it this way was declared heretical and punishable by torture and death (inflicted of course by the church… the true faith!)

However: The Trinity is now described as a controversial doctrine;

many Christians admit they don’t understand it, while many more Christians don’t understand it but think they do.

In fact, although they’d be horrified to hear it, many Christians sometimes behave as if they believe in three Gods and at other times as if they believe in one.

It sometimes seems to me that in a bid to express something about God the church has possibly ended up limiting God in some way.

How much do any of us “Understand” God?

Last Sunday taught me a lot. This congregation was fully welcoming and fully inclusive… and this in turn expresses God.

We reflect God…. This is the greatest thing any religion can do. God and Love know no limit.

Greek has at least four word for Love, Hebrew I believe has at least 5. We use love in so many ways too I cannot count.

God is love and those who live in love live in God and God lives in them (1 John), and elsewhere those who do not love do not know God.

“True religion is not trying to make human beings spiritual. We’re already spiritual beings. Great religion is trying to make human beings human. . . . The most courageous thing we will ever do is to bear humbly the full mystery of our own humanity and divinity—operating as one.”

Praise be to God for his greatness and unsearchable ness and for the part he give us in his own life.