It's Trinity Sunday

Most western Christians celebrate today as Trinity Sunday.

The Episcopal Church describes Trinity Sunday in this way:

Feast that celebrates “the one and equal glory” of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, “in Trinity of Persons and in Unity of Being” (Book of Common Prayer--BCP, p. 380). It is celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. Trinity Sunday is one of the seven principal feasts of the church year (BCP, p. 15). The proper readings and collect for Trinity Sunday are used only on the feast, not on the weekdays following. The numbered proper which corresponds most closely to the date of Trinity Sunday is used (BCP, p. 228). The BCP also provides the proper “Of the Holy Trinity” for optional use at other times, subject to the rules of the calendar of the church year (see BCP, pp. 251, 927). The Hymnal 1982 presents ten hymns in a section on The Holy Trinity (Hymns 362-371), including “Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!” (Hymn 362), “Come, thou almighty King” (Hymn 365), and “Holy Father, great Creator” (Hymn 368).

Celebration of Trinity Sunday was approved for the western church by Pope John XXII in 1334. This feast is associated with Thomas Becket (c. 1118-1170), who was consecrated bishop on Trinity Sunday, 1162. His martyrdom may have influenced the popularity of the feast in England and the custom of naming the remaining Sundays of the church year “Sundays after Trinity.” The Sarum Missal and editions of the Prayer Book through the 1928 BCP named these Sundays the Sundays after Trinity. The 1979 BCP identifies this portion of the church year as the season after Pentecost, and names these Sundays the Sundays after Pentecost (see BCP, p. 32).

I'm sorry that I don't know where this icon came from, but it expresses Trinity Sunday in the Indigenous/Native American context quite well. We will do well to contemplate what it is saying to all of us.

Two great and short (but very meaningful) books come to my mind today. One is Leonardo Boff's Holy Trinity, Perfect Community and the other is Geevaeghese Mar Osthathios' Theology of a classless Society, both published by Orbis Books. These come from the experiences two theologians from the Global South and speak in different ways to us about the radical consequences of truly believing in and embracing a divine Trinity. The relationship of the three distinct but united forces within the Trinity gives us a model for linking our liberation to creativity and realizing both together in practical ways.      

Some affirming reminders...

 

"A place of peace in the midst of chaos. A stillpoint. A quiet center within the heart of the storms..."

"A place of peace in the midst of chaos. A stillpoint. A quiet center within the heart of the storms. Prayer is not always a recitation. We do not have to verbalize, either by speech or thought, a list of our needs or hopes to qualify as a time of prayer. Prayer means to spend time with, to abide with, the presence of the holy in your life. Take that time, with no agenda, to sit in stillness with the Spirit. Let the sound of your heartbeat convey all you need to say. Open your mind to the infinite. Feel the presence of profound love. Breathe in a scent you remember from childhood and know that you are safe at home once more."

~ Steven Charleston is a Native American elder, author, and retired Episcopal bishop of Alaska. Adjunct Professor of Native American Ministries at Saint Paul School of Theology OCU, Citizen of Choctaw Nation. https://stevencharleston.com/

 

Powerful Preaching & Hymns From Greenleaf Christian Church On Sunday, May 8

Inspired preaching starts around 20:22, but everything in this clip needs to be heard and felt. Listen in to Rev. Kazimir Brown here as well as to Bishop Barber.

"Just when things seem to be stuck in a downward spiral, a sudden updraft lifts us to a whole new direction. Just when it looks like hope has walked out the front door, in walks a fresh supply through the back door. "

 

"The Spirit is the master of the unexpected. Just when things seem to be stuck in a downward spiral, a sudden updraft lifts us to a whole new direction. Just when it looks like hope has walked out the front door, in walks a fresh supply through the back door. Change is the infinite number of small changes that takes us to different places, places we may not have found on our own. They give us renewed energy and fresh perspective. Love’s interventions are the timely blessings we have prayed for, but not expected until they surprise us with grace."---The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston of the Native American/Indigenous Ministries of the Episcopal Church

Old Pentecostal Songs

 

Pentecost and the Promise! Acts 2:1-4 (Pastor Julius Hawkins) 4.24.2022

I find lots of encouragement in this sermon. There is some real boldness also. If you can't put in the 43 minutes to listen to the entire talk, try to catch the last 15 minutes.

 

Pray For Light And Offer The Light...

Our Prayer To The Holy Spirit

O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth and Light, Who are everywhere present and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come to us and dwell within us, and cleanse us from every stain and every blemish, and save our souls, O Most Gracious Holy Spirit!

Five Prayers

The following are taken from a prayer group that I am a part of or some other source. They are not edited. 

Dear God, my heart will always rejoice when I think of your love and the Grace you have gifted me with. It is because of your Son, Jesus Christ, I am free from the power of sin and death. I no longer have to fear death and destruction or the threats of the enemy because I am resting and hidden in Christ. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Dear God thank you for your standfast love for us and where ever we are may you keep us on this journey and so we may find Christ love in us and show us how to serve one other and guild us though and keep our hearts pure before you o god for you called us to shine your light everyday so we may come fill circle and let the Christ light shine in all the world and may we find a deep peace in our lives and let god guild us and find his path and keep us faithful to his words and let the words of God seek us as we are in our hearts and minds and keep us strong though our journey and may we find God's light in us and around us so we may walk in God's ways and let our hearts and minds find peace and joy and love in God's blessing and may the blessing come to us and around us so we may find our lives in a better place and let our words and teach us to be faithful as we walk this journey together and Christ will follow us in so many ways and let us be open to you o god and find our ways in this journey. Amen.

"I hope these words of mine will be a blessing for everyone who reads them, or hears them, just as they have been a blessing for me as I write them. The hand of the Spirit is on you. It may be a gentle touch. It may be a reassuring hand. It may be a firm grip holding on for life. The important thing is: the Spirit is as close as a touch. Nothing can snatch you away. Nothing can separate you. Nothing can prevent you. You are under the protection of the single most powerful force in the universe. Whatever that universe brings you, the hand of the Spirit is on you."--The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston

Father, Help me to travel the path set before me. I know it may not be easy, but I know You will help me on my way. Amen.

Sunday morning service at Buck Branch United Baptist Church in Pilgrim, KY.

 

Those who bear witness teach us how to bear witness.

 

Mosie Burks - When I Rose This Morning