St Clement Church
Trinity Sunday Community Service
Good morning
It’s Trinity Sunday, the Sunday on which most priests would rather not have to preach! Why?
Well, how do you explain the Trinity?
It’s like a clover leaf – three parts but one whole … but it isn’t, is it? It is so much more.
My love to you all
Liz
As we gather here in the harbour of your safety, we thank You for fellowship and family.
We ask You that You will strengthen us with your love.
Lord, fill us with your peace so that, as we journey onwards, we will pour out your love and grace to others.
We ask that our souls catch the wind of the Spirit so that we may take your promises to all the earth. Amen
We say together:
Father God, we gather here today under your care and protection. Thank you for your loving kindness that never fails us. We thank you for those sharing this time with us, that you guide our thoughts and actions to bring you glory. Strengthen us and fill us with your peace. Amen
Hymn: 375 I danced in the morning
Our Prayer of Penitence:
Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.
Let the wicked abandon their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Turn back to the Lord, who will have mercy; to our God who will richly pardon.
Lord God, we have sinned against you; we have done evil in your sight. We are sorry and repent. Have mercy on us according to your love. Wah away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin. Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen
The Collect for Trinity Sunday
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, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
Readings:
Proverbs 8. 1 – 4, 22 - 31 Romans 5. 1 - 5
Hymn: 146 Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God Almighty
Gospel: John 16. 12 - 15 (Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘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.’
(This is the Gospel of our Lord. Praise to you, O Christ)
Reflection
Jesus says to His disciples, ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.’
When Jesus talks about the unbearable things of life, it is easy to feel we want to run away. But, we can’t. It’s too late. There’s nowhere to go. As painful as it is to remember and as difficult as it is to talk about, we all understand what Jesus means when He says, “You cannot bear them now.”
Every one of us has thoughts and fears of the unbearable. Every one of us has lived or maybe is living a reality that is more than we can handle, a reality that has left us wondering how or if we will get through it. And somehow, we do. Think about what you have borne that you never asked for, never wanted, and if you had been told of it you would have said, “I cannot bear that.”
The unbearable is that which we don’t wish for ourselves or our worst enemy. It comes to us in the death of a loved one, the end of a marriage, the loss of a job, a diagnosis, or in a thousand other ways. It is the most painful experience we can imagine. It is the moment when all we can do is either call God’s name or curse God’s name, and sometimes we do both.
What comes to mind when you think of the unbearable? What are the experiences of your unbearable? Most of us, I suspect, focus on circumstances of pain, loss and suffering, circumstances that break our hearts, shatter our lives, and bring us to tears. That is real. It is our experience of the unbearable but it’s not the only experience of the unbearable. There is an opposite aspect of the unbearable.
Think about a time when love, joy, or beauty was so real, so deep, so full that you couldn’t hold it all. It was more than you could bear and tears poured forth, your heart was bursting, and all you could say was, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” You stood in awe and amazement at what was happening and silently wondered, “Who am I that God would be so gracious to me?”
When has that been your experience of the unbearable? In what ways have beauty, joy or love been more than you could bear?
I have memories – when the impossible happened and my first born was put into my arms; when I found myself in a place so unbelievably beautiful; when I watched Martin with his orchestra, band or choir and the unbelievable sound he drew out of them or I heard him play, sometimes on a piano in a railway station or in the middle of a street.
This kind of unbearable reality is beyond our wildest dreams and imaginings. It’s more than the greatest, largest, and best wish for ourselves. It leaves us speechless with gratitude. It comes to us in the miracle of birth, a life filled with meaning, a love that is eternal, and in a thousand other ways. The unbearable opens us to receive a life we could never create for or give ourselves. It shatters our fears, breaks through our defences, and brings us to tears.
The unbearable in either aspect can open our heart. It can make us vulnerable, real, authentic. It creates space for and invites intimacy. That is the beginning of a new life. So, there’s a sense that we need the unbearable.
We tend to live unconscious lives. We sleep walk through our days missing life, love, beauty, and each other. If there is a mortal sin, it has to be unconscious living. The unbearable can awaken us, offer insights into our life, teach us about ourselves, grow us up, and bring us more fully into ourselves. Ultimately, though, it reveals the presence of God. Those who stand in the paradox of bearing the unbearable are given ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to love.
What if God is never more present to us than when we bear the unbearable? The death of a loved one. The loss of a job. The break up of a marriage. The loneliness that cripples. The diagnosis that turns life upside down. The unfathomable love. The beauty that leaves us speechless. The tears of joy. What if those things that ask more of us than we can handle and offer us more than could ever have imagined are the very places in which God is most present and most real?
Bearing the unbearable places us on the threshold of our lives. It takes us to the limits of who we are and what we have. It’s the place where life is too real, too much, too big. It’s also the place that calls us to be accountable and calls God to be accountable. It’s not about blame or guilt. It’s the accountability of showing up.
When we stand at the edge of life, bearing the unbearable, something stunning and beautiful can happen. We are standing at the opening “into all truth.” That’s a big and bold statement. But that’s exactly what Jesus says will happen. The Spirit will guide us into all the truth. The Spirit will declare, bring, and offer all that Jesus has and all that the Father has. Nothing is withheld. We may not know it, understand it, or believe it but in the midst of unbearable reality, we are being guided into all the truth.
There is an icon of the Trinity by Andrei Rublev. In it there are three persons, but there is more. There is an empty space at the table. The circle of communion is not complete until we take our place among the three.
When we bear the unbearable, the Holy Trinity becomes the Holy Quaternity. It’s not about only the three. Yes, there are three, but there is also a fourth. You and I are the fourth.
If we look at the unbearable things in our lives, we can see our place at the table.
If the Feast of Trinity means anything at all it means we never bear the unbearable alone.
Amen
Let us declare our faith in God
We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.
We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high.
We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Hymn: 360 Firmly I believe and truly
Our Intercessions
To God the Father, who first loved us, and made us in his own image; to God the Son who loved us, and washed away our sins in his own blood; to God the Holy Spirit, who spreads the love of God abroad in our hearts, we raise our prayers this morning.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Gracious God, fountain of all wisdom, we pray for your Church world-wide, and all Christian people; for our bishops, David, and Hugh, and for all who teach and guard the faith. We pray especially for our own much loved Reverend Di and for Father David taking our service this morning – very much part of St Clement now. May the Word of Christ dwell richly in our hearts, and knit us together in the bond of love.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Father God, we pray for the leaders of the nations, and for those in authority under them … give them all a desire to work for international unity which seeks to halt war and the threat of war and terrorism; for ways to ensure that all nations are respected and free from the threat from others. May the common good of all humanity be served by their efforts.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Son of God, we pray for our church and its role in our parish and for all who live and work here. Speak your word of peace in our midst, and help us to serve one another as You have served us.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Spirit of God we pray for those who do not believe, and for those of hesitant belief. Open their ears to hear your voice, and open their hearts to receive you, the very Spirit of Life.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
One God, three Persons, help us to be gentle, with others and with ourselves. Give us, we pray, the calm that makes for consideration and the respect for others that makes us courteous. Take from us hard words and the cynical look. Let us be to others as we would wish them to be to us when we fail; forgive us and when they fail, heal us.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Gracious Trinity, comfort through your Holy Spirit all who are in sorrow or need, sickness or adversity. Be close to those who draw near to their earthly journey’s end; bring consolation to those in sorrow or mourning, and grant us all a real sense of your love as you draw all who suffer into your tender care.
We especially bring before you those on our prayer list: Reverend Diane, Ken and his brother Brian, May, Susan, Jan, Lynda, Dot, Maureen, Pam and David, Sandra, Roger, Michael and Patricia, Rob and Alison, Stella, Jeremy, Anita and Stephen, Callum and Elaine, Sue and Martin, Margaret and John, Dave and Jeanette, Carrie and John Paul, Nan, Barry, Paul and Barbara, those known to each of us and those with no one to pray for them.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
One God, three Persons, your love reaches beyond the grave. At the end of our days here on earth be with us and with those who we love and with those whom we love and have gone before us. We pray for those who have recently died and those grieving their passing.
We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time: Barbara Pascoe, Eileen Mary Stribley, Iris Wyatt
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
One God, three Persons, we ask you to lead us into the coming week. Help us to believe that you are close by us. Keep us from making mistakes and help us never to disappoint you.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Clement, St Allen, and St Andrew,
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen
We say together:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom
come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
Trinity Sunday by Malcolm Guite
In the Beginning, not in time or space,
But in the quick before space and time,
In life, in Love, in co-inherent Grace,
In three in one and one in three, in rhyme,
In music, in the whole creation story,
In His own image, His imagination,
The Triune Poet makes for His glory,
And makes us each other’s inspiration.
He calls us out of darkness, chaos, chance,
To improvise a music of our own,
To sing the chord that calls us to the dance,
Three notes resounding from a single tone,
To sing the End in whom we all begin;
Our God beyond, beside us and within.
The Peace
Jesus said: ‘Love one another. As I have loved you, so you are to love one another.’
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
Hymn: Lead us heavenly Father, lead us
The Blessing
May the love of Jesus Christ, bring us wholeness,
the grace of God the Father, grant us peace,
and the breath of the Holy Spirit, instil passion
and the unity between them, give us strength
for this and every day. Amen