Trinity Sunday

The Revd Brandy Pearson

Readings: Isaiah 6:1-8
John 3:1-17

May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable to you Lord my rock and my redeemer. Amen

My dad – electrician – drew electrical diagrams on fag packets – mysterious and difficult to understand – church – often presents Trinity in a similar way – mysterious and difficult diagram - concept

In some ways understandable – important to early church to be clear about their experience of and beliefs about God – blood and mayhem and heresy - took couple of hundred years for church to become clear enough to put together the creeds – but can make it more difficult than necessary to understand – How can the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be one? Medieval images of Trinity – old man on a throne – a dove – another man on a cross - difficult not to think of three separate beings if regard Trinity in this way

This also encourages us to think of God as static – still ––my dad’s diagrams - I came to understand electrical systems are about the flow of electricity – diagram static representation of something dynamic/moving – God is dynamic – perichoresis – not strange ailment but dancing around – description of God – Father Son and HS not three separate beings but as three elements in the dance that is the Godhead

Perhaps sounds fanciful? - let’s start with what we know – human beings – me – I am a dance – so are each one of you. OK, I have a physical form – but human beings are social animals – my life is full of my encounters and relationships with other people – with you today. If you ask me about my nature – I am no more fixed and static than God

Preaching – dressed as priest – vicar – to my parishioners in Acton Green I am a priest who does priestly things – to Rob – I am wife, to your vicar – friend – to my children I am parent – to my cats an opener of doors, somewhere to sit, someone who feeds them.

And even in these relationships there is no stillness – it’s about what I do - preaching, celebrating, visiting, informing, teaching, enabling

married a long while – friend, mother of babies, children, adult kids

to your vicar – studied together, been in group projects, seen each other ordained – visited one another’s churches

each activity in my life is part of the dance of who I am - and each one of us is the same. We only stop dancing on this earth when we die – and then we believe that the dance continues elsewhere

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

God loves us – God relates to us – each one as individuals – the dance that is me is actually a part of the dance that is God - In a way it’s surprising that we only acknowledge the three persons, aspects of God – God as fount of all being – parent of all that is – who did not merely make the world – but made the world make itself (Charles Kingsley) so that it could be whole and complete – but did not make it and walk away – made it with such love that cares for each atom and sub-molecular particle – GK Chesterton – God creates each daisy individually - “God so loved the world...” - cares for each one of us so much that God comes to us – gives visions – speaks – supremely comes among us as Jesus Christ – “that he gave his only Son” – we are a part of the dance that is God - not in some general way – but loves us each as individuals –– relates to us individually – gets God’s hands dirty – incarnation - God shows us the Way – God is the Way... and in the Holy Spirit gives us the life not only to live and grow and prosper – to take part in the life eternal of God

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

How do we witness to that belief? – “by being born of water and the Spirit” – in baptism with water we take on a relationship to the church – which is each person of the church - and God breathes on us – fills us with the Holy Spirit – life – not only in the here and now of this material world – but in the eternity of our relationship with the eternal God

And even here there is no rest – no static end – God comes to us – and we are sent out to others – all part of the eternal dance of love – Isaiah

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” and I said, “Here I am, send me.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.