Morning Service for Trinity Sunday
HYMN Father of heaven, whose love profound NEH 358- Rievaulx
1 Father of heaven, whose love profound
A ransom for our souls hath found,
Before thy throne we sinners bend:
To us thy pardoning love extend.
3 Eternal Spirit, by whose breath
The soul is raised from sin and death,
Before thy throne we sinners bend:
To us thy quickening power extend.
4 Thrice Holy! Father, Spirit, Son,
Mysterious Godhead, Three in One,
Before thy throne we sinners bend:
Grace, pardon, life to us extend.
.
PRAYER OF PREPARATION
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen
PRAYERS OF PENITENCE
We recall our Lord’s command to love and in a moment of silence we confess
the many ways we fail to keep his command:
Most merciful God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we confess that we have sinned
in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
In your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be;
that we may do justly, love mercy,
and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen
May the God of love and power
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE COLLECT
Almighty and everlasting God,
you have given us your servants grace,
by the confession of a true faith,
to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity
and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity:
keep us steadfast in this faith,
that we may evermore be defended from all adversities;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
FIRST READING – Romans 5.1-5
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
HYMN I bind unto myself today NEH 159- St Patrick
1 I bind unto myself today
the strong name of the Trinity
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One and One in Three.
2 I bind this day to me forever,
by power of faith, Christ’s incarnation,
his baptism in the Jordan river,
his death on cross for my salvation,
his bursting from the spicèd tomb,
his riding up the heavenly way,
his coming at the day of doom,
I bind unto myself today.
3 I bind unto myself today
the virtues of the starlit heaven,
the glorious sun’s life-giving ray,
the whiteness of the moon at even,
the flashing of the lightning free,
the whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
the stable earth, the deep salt sea
around the old eternal rocks.
4 I bind unto myself today
the power of God to hold and lead,
God’s eye to watch, God’s might to stay,
God’s ear to hearken to my need,
the wisdom of my God to teach,
God’s hand to guide, God’s shield to ward,
the word of God to give me speech,
God’s heavenly host to be my guard.
6 I bind unto myself the name,
the strong name of the Trinity
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One and One in Three,
of whom all nature has creation,
eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation;
salvation is of Christ the Lord!
GOSPEL – John 16.12-15
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
SERMON
Trinity Sunday is a challenge to preachers and congregations alike, for we are bidden to consider the incomprehensible, the utterly mysterious, the profoundly unknowable. For today is the Feast of the godhead, the very nature of God. Why do we bother, why do we strain to grasp with our all-too human minds something so completely unfathomable as God?
Seems strange to us, but I think the question would be extraordinary to previous generations, and perhaps to different cultures of our own day. To them trying to discern what God is like would be the most important question of our lives, because what God is like must determine what he requires of us, and fulfilling that must surely be our goal and life’s purpose.
Christian theology, the really serious stuff that engages professional academics, is somewhat remote from we who do not inhabit the ivory towers of universities and theological colleges. It was not always so, we are all too well aware of the bitterness that divided Christian from Christian at the time of the Reformation – even these islands had their martyrs and no doubt there was much trouble and turmoil over matters of belief that would scarcely cause an argument these days.
In the days when the faith was new there was much disagreement and dissension; you can read it in some Paul’s letters and in the Acts of the Apostles. The faith of Christ did not come to us fully worked out, even the most basic of questions had to be discussed and decided upon. Could a Gentile be a Christian? Was Christianity a renewed form of Judaism, bound by the law of Moses and the system of temple worship? Then there were many very basic questions they just had to be addressed, but most of these questions struck at the heart of what faith in Christ meant. St Paul said in his epistle to the Romans that we are justified by faith – that is, brought into a right relationship, made righteous, by our faith in Christ. But that inevitably begs the question what is the faith that justifies? Faith in whom or in what?
From the earliest times the centre of the Christian proclamation of faith was the unique character of Christ, if he was not special then his death had no special effect. He defined himself as son of man and, though less commonly, as Son of God, what does that sonship mean?
If Christianity meant anything it meant that what had happened in the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth was an event so unique in history as to alter for all time the relationship between God and man. It didn’t take long to realise that God’s involvement in the person of Christ had to be total in order for his life and death to have achieved all that was claimed for it. The mechanics became important – if God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself then how was he in Christ? And from this point we start running into all the isms of the second, third and 4th centuries – Arianism, donatism, modalism, Manichaeism, and many more. We also have to learn a number of Greek words like homoousios and hypostasis and (my favourite) perichoresis.
The understanding that won the day was primarily that of Gregory of Nyssa. He elaborated most strongly and clearly the arguments for the complete humanity of Jesus, “that which he has not assumed, he has not healed; but that which is united to his godhead, is also saved.” The two natures of Christ are not in Gregory’s thinking two persons; just as the Trinity has three persons in one essence, so Christ is two elements in one person. Salvation for humanity as a whole is achieved by the union in the body of Jesus Christ of the divine being with the human being. With humanity the godhead unites itself in Jesus Christ, and so the whole of humanity is infused with the characteristics of divine life, including immortality. The incarnation is thus the decisive act of salvation. “the godhead empties itself in order that it may come within the capacity of the human nature; humanity is renewed by becoming divine through commixture with the divine.”
So does it matter to us, all the angst, all the dispute and argument? Well I think it should – the generous refusal to hold anything back, the total involvement of God in his world, the power and the fullness of faith in the incarnation, was a way of looking at God that was worth holding on to, finding an intellectual ground for. All that work now done need not be done again – that it was well done we must thank our forbears and glory in the understanding of God they have bequeathed to us.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Let us declare our faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the scriptures;
he was buried; he was raised to life on the third day
in accordance with the scriptures;
afterwards he appeared to his followers,
and to all the apostles: this we have received,
and this we believe. Amen. 1 Corinthians 15.3-7
HYMN Holy Holy holy, Lord God Almighty NEH 146- Nicaea
1 Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;
Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
2 Holy, Holy, Holy! all the saints adore thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
Who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
3 Holy, Holy, Holy! though the darkness hide thee,
Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
Only thou art holy, there is none beside thee
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.
4 Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION – Kristin Tridimas
Dear Lord, through the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, may we have faith, grace, endurance and hope and may the spirit of truth shine through. As you call to us, help us to hear you, to understand you, to be wise and understanding with others. May we always put others before ourselves and welcome them into our family,
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
As the cost of living rises, we pray for anyone who does not have enough money to pay for food, shelter and fuel. We remember refugees and those affected by war and conflict throughout the world, especially those in Ukraine and remember homeless people everywhere. Thank you for all those who try to help even in the smallest way and give up their time and energy. We live in a caring community, as witnessed during last weekend’s jubilee celebrations. Help us to continue to spread Your love and to remember our neighbours,
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for the benefice of Compton, Hursley and Otterbourne, for William, Warwick, Myra, Keith and all those who preach to us and we pray for anyone who helps out, even in the smallest way, so the our worshipping communities can continue to flourish. Help us to be a channel for your Holy Spirit, to spread love and peace and to call out to our communities,
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Thinking today of anyone who is suffering in body, mind and spirit, we remember anyone known to us personally and we pray for Peggy Bombey. May Your spirit shine on them, give them the strength to endure suffering, the wisdom to understand what is happening to them and the love of their family, friends and wider community, willing them to get better. We remember today anyone who has died, and those left behind to mourn,
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
As we enter a new week, give us the wisdom and understanding to walk in faith, grace and love,
Merciful Father, accept these prayers, for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
BLESSING
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face to shine upon and be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
The Lord God almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
the holy and undivided Trinity,
guard you, save you,
and bring you to that heavenly city,
where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen
HYMN The God of Abraham praise NEH 148 – Leoni
1 The God of Abraham praise
Who reigns enthroned above,
Ancient of everlasting days,
And God of love:
To him uplift your voice,
At whose supreme command
From earth we rise and seek the joys
At his right hand.
4 There dwells the Lord our King,
The Lord our Righteousness,
Triumphant o’er the world and sin,
The Prince of Peace:
On Sion’s sacred height
His kingdom he maintains,
And glorious with his saints in light
For ever reigns.
6 Before the great Three-One
They all exulting stand,
And tell the wonders he has done
Throughout the land:
The listening spheres attend,
And swell the growing fame,
And sing in songs which never end
The wondrous name.
8 The whole triumphant host
Give thanks to God on high:
‘Hail, Father, Son and Holy Ghost’
They ever cry:
Hail, Abraham’s God and mine!
(I join the heavenly lays)
All might and majesty are thine,
And endless praise.