Sermon | Trinity Sunday (Year A) | Sunday, 31st May 2026
St Anne’s Church, Wrenthorpe | Communion by Extension
Mth 28:16-20 | 2Cor 13:11-13 | Isa 40:12-17,27-31
On this Trinity Sunday, I welcome you – once more – to a fresh, green phase of the church year!
Easter and Pentecost are behind us, and stretching into the distance lie many “Sundays after Trinity”…!
I note that I was offering similar words last year, at this time, and I make no apologies for a little repetition, as we consider, once again: what does The Trinity mean to us?
Winston Churchill, commenting on the former Soviet Union, once referred to it as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma”.
Such an appraisal might be applied now, to how we grasp at The Holy Trinity. Mystifying, complicated, not really an everyday ‘thing’ – or is it?
In truth, like many aspects of church and theology, the Trinity seems more complicated than it should be… as if we have made it so… does that make sense?
In our readings today, both Matthew and Paul conclude their writings with references to the Trinity, not as some studied formality, but as a source of motivation and energy for their congregations.
Paul prays for the Corinthians to receive ‘the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit’. This well known blessing is so profound, described by Saint Augustine as “the bond of love”.
Paul wished that the divided Corinthian church would love the world as God does, to align with God’s will as Jesus did, and to find their identity in unity and service through the Holy Spirit.
And I would encourage you to spend some time with today’s reading from Isaiah. It begins with the vastness of God – the Creator of stars, oceans and nations – yet it ends with a deeply personal promise. Isaiah asks why we think our struggles are hidden from God, and reminds us that the One who sustains the universe also sustains us.
In our Gospel reading, Matthew tells us that even on the mountain, standing before the risen Christ, some of the disciples doubted. That can be comforting, don’t you think?. Faith is not certainty. Sometimes it is trusting that God remains present, even when we have questions. When life feels heavy, and hope is in short supply, Isaiah offers reassurance: those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Not because their problems disappear, but because God remains present within them.
This bond of love, in which we dwell…
This unity.
This binding together.
The wholeness of humankind, that gives possibility and meaning to this life.
Yet mostly, for us, unity is a challenge, often elusive, failing despite our best efforts, or maybe because of them!
Our world is filled with diversity and uniqueness.
We are one of countless other lifeforms.
Sometimes we feel alone, wanting to feel part of something bigger.
At other times we behave like we are the sole heirs to the planet and deserve it all!
We seek unity with one another because that brings stability and calm.
Yet what one nation wants is often at odds with other nations, and thus we have wars and fracture and no amount of flags and diplomacy will help.
It is why nations join with other nations to form bonds with their neighbours, to reduce friction and distrust. And the United Nations, and even NATO, were devised on the premise and promise of mutuality and unity.
These days unity is now a scarce commodity – traded away in deals, glossed over with broken promises and cast aside in the fight for land and resources.
Closer to home, our communities – towns and villages – families and churches… what is it that unifies them? We all have some common purpose, yet all too easily are such bonds diminished. We blame the stranger or the ‘new’ and the ‘different’ – yet surely, unity requires all of us to at least acknowledge the value of difference.
In psychology, the German word gestalt is used to describe the human as being ‘more than the sum of its parts’ – we are all many things, and have so much in common and yet, when all of that is added up, we are much more… but what? What ‘more’ are we?
There is something about humans that has always prompted humans to ask – “what makes us human?”. What is the spark that sets us in motion… what is life? Good questions for a Sunday morning!
Those of a religious or spiritual grounding will speak of a soul – that essence of life within creation – ignited and nurtured by God – brought to life with love, in the hope that we will prevail with each other, not despite each other.
The soul, then – precious, indescribable, nurtured by God’s love through all the joys and struggles of life. Our growing unity begins there.
The common purpose, the bonds of friendship, the shared hope that lifts us and reaches to the soul deep within each one of us – surely here is the unity we find in the Trinity – a bond of love that truly makes it possible for humanity to become more than the sum of its parts.
Of course, there are many who would say that the Trinity – as we receive it in church – is an unnecessary complication. Religion, in its language and doctrines has perhaps created a need to explain God in such ways that hinder the growth of Christianity. Or were those early theologians and scholars just trying to capture the mystical in order that people might understand it?
It’s hard to say, but we know that Jesus sent out the Disciples to baptise the world into what we call the ‘Trinity’. They worked it out, and then went and did their best to honour the mission of Christ.
If we are asked about our faith, what it all means, or why we go to church; how we deal with the challenges that life presents to us etc, how do you answer?
Do we talk about the UNITY in God, Jesus and the Spirit?
Do we discuss the Holy Trinity as underpinning our faith…?
God the “Father” – creating all there is and has been…
God the “Son” – walking, teaching, loving, dying, transforming and sending out…
God the “Holy Spirit” – YES the tongues of fire we heard about at Pentecost, but also the silence… the advocate… the comforter.
Do you mention those things, when people ask about church? I wonder!
Being a Christian Disciple, as we are all trying to be, includes stuff that helps with the unity we long for – with each other, the world and ultimately, with God. We come together, to worship and pray; we share in the Eucharist – bread and wine – shared, even today, with our friends in Outwood and the Benefice; and this nurturing of our soul – hopeful, challenging, often invisible – transforms us into a unity that God longs for.
Maybe we don’t have to ‘explain’ the Holy Trinity at all, or even understand it.
In my experience, the Trinity remains a mystery beyond human reckoning, and perhaps I am just too hopeful of humanity.
And do you know what? That’s fine by me.
It is a relationship, the kind that I can only hope for in this life; yet I am a part of it, today, and we are part of it, right now.
And I will have a go at talking about it, to anyone willing to listen. Thanks for turning up!
And in the days to come, I double-dare you to share what you think the Trinity means, with someone – anyone!
Not in terms of theological doctrine… or how it all fits together – but, in how you, your community and the world around you, can be in union with one another, and with God, Christ and Spirit. Let’s face it, there is nowhere and no one that wouldn’t benefit from such an attitude of love.
And if you do get the chance to help others to understand…
You could use the words of the Nicene Creed, and the similar words in the baptism service. These can help those new to church. Or just use your own words…. Or pictures! The garden works for me as an indicator of God’s love, every day!
At the end of our worship today, I am going to ask something of you, which I haven’t done before, in all honesty. Instead of a blessing normally given by a priest, at this service we say The Grace together. As we do so today, I will ask if you would join hands, and become just a little more unified, with one another, just for a moment. It may be too much and too un-Anglican for some, but just for a moment, eh? Then remember it when you get home, or tomorrow.
To finish…
I offer a prayer from the Franciscan theologian, Richard Rohr:
Let us pray…
God for us, we call you “Father.”
God alongside us, we call you “Jesus.”
God within us, we call you “Holy Spirit.”
Together, you are the Eternal Mystery
That enables, enfolds, and enlivens all things,
Even us and even me.
Amen.
Full version or Father Richard’s prayer:
God for us, we call you “Father.”
God alongside us, we call you “Jesus.”
God within us, we call you “Holy Spirit.”
Together, you are the Eternal Mystery
That enables, enfolds, and enlivens all things,
Even us and even me.
Every name falls short of your goodness and greatness.
We can only see who you are in what is.
We ask for such perfect seeing—
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.
Amen.
Here: https://cac.org/daily-meditations/implanted-hope-2019-05-19/
Image: Andrei Rublev’s “The Trinity” (c. 1425) – a beautiful image that invites inclusion, not just observation. This partial depiction is in sepia tones. It is so very nearly ‘there’ and yet… what more will it need? Have a look here.