Trinity - Reflections of the Divine

Speaking of God as three yet one, if nothing else, should lead us into humility, wonder, and curiosity! At the very heart of the Divine is mystery, relationship, and movement. The church has worked very hard on the doctrine of the Trinity and wonderful work continues to be done. But we should be humble and cautious enough to know that whatever we think we know, whatever glorious or mechanistic metaphors we put forward, they are but fleeting shadows of the power and vibrant nature of the Divine. (Trinity. Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Psalm 8; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; and Matthew 28:16-20.)

Sentence:

“Then God said, ‘Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness …’ “ Genesis 1:26

Collect:

Triune God, community of love,

Open our eyes and minds that we might see as you see, and enjoy with gratitude and reverence all that you have made, including our brothers and sisters.

Redeemer of all that is fallen and broken,

We come before you with humble hope and the desire to be forgiven, healed and included in the circle of your love.

Spirit of truth and life,

We gather around your Word and Sacrament and each other to find purpose, comfort and challenge that we might live and make real the good news of your love for all. Amen.

Reflections:

So, it is with awe and wonder that we draw near to the text – Scripture, nature, our individual lives, and our shared life – to see what we can glimpse and what it might mean to us and our world. The creation story reminds us that relationship within the godhead was there from the start (Creator God was plural already) and that the creation of the earth and our forebears was an outworking of the relationship within the Divine. The psalm reminds us that humanity was always in valued relationship with the Divine. And if humanity is understood to be a part of the creation which was perceived by God to be good, very good, then what we do and how we relate one to another and to God is of infinite importance and value.

You may like to read what I wrote last Year A about the Heart of God being community.

The heart of God is Community

And the gospel reminds us that we follow and share the good news in the name of the Triune God or Divine Community. So, we ask ourselves does this understanding make any difference to how we live, move and have our being, as people of faith? I think indirectly it does.

You may like to read my post about Talking about and to God.

Talking About and To God

Or you may like to read my (most read ever) post about why our model of God matters, which explores Sallie Mc Fague’s work: Models of God: Mother, Lover and Friend.

Models of God

I continue to be on holydays (recovering, delighting, resting and hopefully allowing my old heart and mind to dig deep into the humus of life and our tradition.) So please enjoy this selection of previous writings (you can find more by simply typing Trinity in the search bar of the Blog page). I also include Intercessions for your consideration. You may have noticed that I use a Triune shape to my intercessions: Creator, Redeemer, and Sustaining Spirit.

Intercessions:

Creator God, our Source and our Destination,

We pray from within the community of your love for all that you love.

Open our hearts and minds so that we might see as you see that we are all part of your One.

We particularly pray for those parts of creation that are parched or polluted and desecrated by our greed and ignorance.

Ignite your vision within us that we might live in integrity with all that you have created.

Creator God,

Hear our prayer.

Jesus our Redeemer,

We pray in the knowledge of your reconciling love in which you hold all things together.

We particularly pray for your church that we might gather, invite, teach and pray in ways that honour you and all that you love.

Bless and strengthen all agents of care who seek to bind up the broken and offer hope to the forgotten…

We pray that in our difference we may yet find unity with those who understand you differently. Teach us how to speak and listen until we discern your voice in the clamour.

Jesus our redeemer,

Hear our prayer.

Spirit that inspires and sustains,

Stir up in us all that has wearied and become feint hearted so that we might live, move, dance and share in ways that proclaim the goodness of your world.

We particularly pray for all who are suffering in body, mind or spirit and pray your healing balm bring relief and hope. 

We remember in your holy presence those whose needs are known to us and those known only to you.

And we entrust our beloveds who have returned to Source in your eternal community of love.

Spirit that inspires and sustains,

Hear our prayer.

Living God,

Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer,

Enliven and gather us in, that restored we may go out into your world to love and celebrate. Amen. 

This is my work informed by all that I have heard, read and experienced. I am indebted to the wisdom of others.