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Collect

God of heaven and earth,
before the foundation of the universe and the beginning of time
you are the triune God: the Author of creation, the eternal Word of salvation,
and the life-giving Spirit of wisdom. Guide us to all truth by your Spirit,
that we may proclaim all that Christ revealed and rejoice in the glory he shared with us.
Glory and praise to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

Readings

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Psalm 8

Romans 5:1-5

John 16:12-15

‘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.

Trinity Sunday is the only day of the church year that the lectionary invites us to ponder a teaching of the Church rather than a teaching of Jesus. The scriptural readings for today are carefully chosen to reflect the Three-in-One doctrine of God as Creator, Christ and Spirit. The scriptural readings each year on this day provide Biblical basis for a non-scriptural word: Trinity. Trinity Sunday is useful to reflect on the many ways we know or experience the divine presence in our lives. The history of the Trinity is the attempt of Christian believers, from the earliest followers of Jesus and the writers of the NT, to the early church’s formulation of the creeds in the fourth century, to contemporary theologians, to put into words their understanding of God based on their experience of the divine spirit they meet in Jesus. The roots of the doctrine are in experience and emphasize that we know God in relationship, to the divine and to each other and to the created world. The development of the doctrine of the Trinity reflects the experience of the early church and early church fathers, as they came to understand and express their experience, of the risen Christ and of the fellowship of the growing Christian community.

The Mystery of God as Trinity invites us into full participation with God, a flow, a relationship, a waterwheel of always outpouring love. Trinity basically says that God is a verb much more than a noun.

Richard Rohr has this to say on the subject of the Trinity: “The Western Church tended to have a more static view of both Christ and the Trinity–theologically “correct” but largely irrelevant for real life, more a mathematical conundrum than invitation to new consciousness. In our attempts to explain the Trinitarian mystery, the Western Church overemphasized the individual “names” Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but not so much the quality of the relationships between them, which is where all the power and meaning lies! The real and essential point is how the three ‘persons’ relate to one another–infinite outpouring and infinite receiving. The Mystery of God as Trinity invites us into full participation with God, a flow, a relationship, a waterwheel of always outpouring love. Trinity basically says that God is a verb much more than a noun. The Trinity is a wonderful mystery that can never fully be understood with the rational mind, but can only be known through love, prayer, and participation. For God to be truth, God had to be one; for God to be love, God had to be two; and for God to be joy, God had to be three! Any true Trinitarian theology will always offer the soul endless creativity, an utterly open horizon, and delicious food for the soul. Trinitarian thinkers are overwhelmed by infinite abundance and flow.”

No language can do justice to the breadth and depth of the love, grace and power of God revealed in the texts appointed for today. Active Life Spirit renewing life every moment: “I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race” (Proverbs). Reconciler whose power holds people together in community: “God’s love has been poured into our hearts” (Romans). Emmanuel—God with us—leading us in the Way: “the Spirit of truth . . . will guide you into all truth” (John). Today is a day to move more fully into the depths of the mystery of our life in God. It is a day, as is every day, for being reminded of the multi-dimensions of this God who is One, yet known to us in so many ways, as Father, Son, Spirit, as Creator, as Way, Truth, Life, as Mother, Child, Breath, as Wisdom, Reconciler, Companion, Advocate, Giver of Hope, Joy, Peace. Is it any wonder that we refer to the Divine ultimately as Mystery?

Trinity Sunday marks the transition in the church year from Easter to Pentecost. Now we move from our three-fold celebration of the great seasons of the church year into—and I love this double meaning—ordinary time. In the next six months we find god in the ordinary, serving god in the ordinary day-to-day events of our lives. “The trivial round, the common task, will furnish all we ought to ask.” We are to see the Holy Spirit at work in here and out there, in the seeming chaos, encouraged to discern the divine in the least likely of places or situations. This transition to ordinary time asks us to focus on both the Risen Christ, who gives life in the church, and the continuing force of the spirit of Christ that is alive and at work in the world. The doctrine of the Trinity is the church’s somewhat mysterious attempt to witness to the link between the historical Jesus and the worldwide force of God’s life-giving presence.

The good news is that God’s creative power for life is at work in the world. The gospel of Jesus Christ contradicts the common assumption that the world has refused and rejected that power for life—and that our proper stance in the world is therefore one of fear expressed as anxiety, greed, selfishness, and violence. The claim for God’s Wisdom and Truth refuses the notion that the world is ruled by chance or depends solely upon us for meaning. Shakespeare’s Macbeth utters this bleakest of views:

Out, out, brief candle.
Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player Who struts and frets his brief hour on the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale,
told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

The Love of the three-person God stands in contradiction to the anxiety and despair that assail a world that seems to be insane, disordered, and on its own. The texts today attest that the world continues to be the place where the gift of life is given. As Walter Brueggeman comments, the God described to us in such passages of scripture is one who makes no distinctions, who authorizes hospitality, who opens prisons, who breathes the world anew, who assures good order in the world. Today’s Bible readings invite us to live in the world boldly, freely, in peace, at home, for the Divine has been there in creation since the outset. The relation of the creator and creation, of creator and mankind, is one of deep and endless joy; both together rejoice in the world and in the humanity that are both known to be “very good.”

There is a Greek word that has been used to describe something of the life of Divine co-unity we worship: “perichoresis” (perry-cor-ee-sis). The word means “dancing around” or “dancing in a circle,” and theologians have used it to describe the dance of the Eternal-Three-in-One, each distinct yet interpenetrating the other, each pouring out grace and love to the other in the endless dance. It is into this eternal dance that we have been invited. So let today and every ordinary day be our dancing day with God!

Collect

Living God,
you have created all that is.
Send forth your Spirit to renew and restore us,
that we may proclaim your good news
in ways and words
that all will understand and believe. Amen.

Readings

Acts 2:1-21

John 14:12-27

Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

Reshaping Parish Culture Reflection

When the whole people of God are freed to join the Holy Spirit at work in our neighbourhoods, communities and networks, a new future unfolds…

Romans 12: 9 – 20a, 21

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but give yourselves to humble tasks; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink….” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

When the whole people of God are freed to join the Holy Spirit at work in our neighbourhoods, communities and networks, a new future unfolds…the unfolding of God’s kingdom as described in the passage from Romans. Our task in reshaping our parish cultures is to create the space for God’s work and our parishes to intersect in the most magnificent blossoming. That blossoming is grounded in faith formation or discipleship, prayer, and a discerning use of our corporate and individual gifts, skills, and passions in the service of God’s mission.

Sometimes, parishes respond to the anxiety of declining numbers, diminishing dollars, and rising age demographics with anxiety and a generalized discontent, and when that becomes the driver of change, the ensuing adjustments are like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Our anxiety and dread are temporarily assuaged by the busyness of changing things up until we realize that nothing real has changed except that anxiety is increasing and despair often follows. Decisions about what needs to be reshaped and how that happens must be framed within the context of discerning how God is inviting a particular parish to engage with God’s mission. A commitment to the unfolding of God’s kingdom, a missional imagination rather than a commitment to the survival of a parish is the key to a renewed future.

What does it look like to free the people of God? Renewal or reshaping of a parish culture requires a willingness to examine and disrupt the old patterns, to ask questions like “how does this practice, behaviour, or expectation contribute to God’s mission?” or “how does this help us to engage with God’s people?” or “how does this help to transform us into a resurrection people?”. And this means that parish leaders must create new space for missional imagination to weave its way into and through people and parish structures. This journey invites congregations to embrace the challenging task of living in the tension of disruption and uncertainty, of dwelling for a time in liminal space… on the threshold between the old and familiar and a future that is unknown, between a past that is comfortingly known and a shape that is as yet unknown.

Parishes will make choices along this journey guided by their readiness to live in the tension of uncertainty, by their sense of urgency around discerning God’s call to them, and by their longing for transformation. Some parishes will be ready to take big leaps and others will venture smaller steps. Remember this is a journey God invites us to make; Moses took forty years to get to the promised land – just listen to God’s voice and follow the path at whatever pace works. The most important thing is to refrain from getting mired in that sticky yearning for comfort and security!

Those parishes ready for bite-sized reshaping will want to focus their attention on reshaping parish culture in the following areas:

Stewardship – Attention to renewed stewardship practices that reflect giving as a manifestation of the gifts God gives will move parishioners to experiencing a sense of joy when they give to God’s work. Our giving to God is meant to transform us! And that giving is about our gifts, strengths, passions, and experiences as much as it is about money. Parishes can enable people to identify their gifts, create opportunities for people to use and grow those gifts in service to God’s mission, and grow people as disciples by helping them make the connection between God’s mission and their daily lives.

Radical Hospitality – while parishes do need programs and ministries that support and nurture the faithful, Jesus intends us to be like Mary recognizing Jesus by the empty tomb…so transformed by God’s love that we cannot wait to share the good news with our friends, our neighbours, and strangers we encounter! God calls us to embrace strangers, welcome outsiders, advocate for the marginalized, and see the image of God in everyone we meet. Our society is full of people yearning for meaning and connection; our tasks are to connect with them and share how the Good News has transformed our lives!

Ministry Engagement – followers of Jesus want to be involved in God’s mission! Joining in the church’s engagement in mission is a perfect complement to the ways in which people pay attention to that practice of engagement with God’s mission in their home and work lives. Or engaging in the missional work of the faith community may trigger a deeper connection to God in someone’s life outside of church. The most effective way to support people in their longing for meaningful engagement is a robust volunteer management program that includes job descriptions that use missional language, a recruitment process that focuses on gifts, strengths and passions, a vigorous training/mentoring process that positions lay people for joy and accomplishment related to the mission, and frequent public and private affirmations of people and their contributions, again framed through a missional lens.

Governance – leadership and church management by the laity can be easily reshaped by missional practices, and governance practices and language that reflects God’s mission will transform the conversations a faith community has, and the work they engage in.

Collect

Precious love,
your ascended Son promised the gift of holy power. Send your Spirit of revelation and wisdom,
that in the blessed freedom of hope,
we may witness to the grace of forgiveness
and sing songs of joy with the peoples of earth
to the One who makes us one body. Amen.

Readings

Acts 1:1-11

Psalm 47

Ephesians 1:15-23

Luke 24:44-53

Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

Once again (the second time in two weeks) that familiar phrase “Our thoughts and prayers are with you” has occupied space on the internet, in newspapers and on TV. I have always wondered what effect, if any, the phrase held in light of natural disasters or terrible events like mass shootings.

The question is: What do we think God should/could do in these situations. Do we believe in a God who might selectively intervene in the affairs of humankind and the laws of nature? Or are we trying to pass the responsibility for horrible events off to God? What then is prayer?

I thought it appropriate for us to reflect on this too common phrase in place of this week’s scripture readings. Perhaps there is something hypocritical about praying for God to solve a problem that people themselves are unwilling to resolve. For example,
in the United States there is the knowledge of how to stop mass murders but no political will to create appropriate legislation and/or fund mental health initiatives. Unfortunately, thoughts and prayers do not seem to doing it.

Obviously the situation is not yet as dire in Canada as in the United States. But often I think—just give us some time.

That phrase “our thoughts and prayers are with you” was used in Canada, for example, in response to the Quebec Mosque shooting and the New Brunswick mass murder, and in response to the horrific fires and flooding in British Columbia last fall.

The question is: What do we think God should/could do in these situations? Do we believe in a God who might selectively intervene in the affairs of humankind and the laws of nature? Or are we trying to pass the responsibility for horrible events off to God? What then is prayer?

I have come to understand that prayer is attentiveness; it asks us to think clearly. Prayer is silence; something to be, not something to do. Prayer is about us, not about God. Along with this kind of prayer I believe we are called to action—to do what we know is right. We ought not to lose our direction in a muddle of thoughts and prayers. Our actions need to express our love of God and love of neighbour.

For example, the problem of too many guns won’t be solved by more guns. Part of the mourning process must involve direct political action, otherwise, the dead are not properly mourned.

Therefore we must exercise our right to vote, and to vote for representatives and leaders who will be courageous, dedicated to peace and care for all people and creation.

Collect

Gracious God,
through a vision you sent forth Paul to preach the gospel
and called the women to the place of prayer on the Sabbath.
Grant that we may be like Paul
and be found like Lydia,
our hearts responsive to your word
and open to go where you lead us. Amen.

Readings

Acts 16:9-15

Psalm 67

Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5

John 14:23-29

Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.

Our readings today are a lead up to Ascension Day and Pentecost which we celebrate on the next 2 Sundays. In our gospel today, Jesus speaks of his leaving to his disciples but also of the coming of the Holy Spirit who will teach the disciples and remind them of all that Jesus told them. In our reading from Acts, Paul talks of how they are always listening for the leading of the spirit and in Revelation John speaks of all that the Spirit reveals to him. How much time to you spend discerning the work of the Holy Spirit in your life?

The Holy Spirit has been part of creation from its very beginning, she is the breath of God filling all beings with life including us today.

When a friends face pops into your mind and you think ‘it’s been a while since we chatted’ and you call only to discover something has happened and your friend so needed your call, do you think that is the nudging of the Holy Spirit? When you’re struggling with an issue or a relationship and you open a magazine which has an article which helps you to see the situation or relationship from a new angle or helps you to work through an issue, do you see that as the work of the Holy Spirit? When you come to church on Sunday and a song you sing raises your spirits and renews your relationship with God and fills your spirit with joy, do you see that as the movement of the Holy Spirit?

When Jesus tells the disciples that God is sending the Holy Spirit it was not just to those people at that time and when we speak of the Holy Spirit being the ‘breath of life’ for the church it is not just for congregational purposes. The Holy Spirit has been part of creation from its very beginning, she is the breath of God filling all beings with life including us today. The Holy Spirit continues to teach and lead and remind us of Jesus’s message, she fills our lungs with air and our lives with meaning and truth.

Being open to the Holy Spirit are what trust and faith are about. Paul and his companions were open to where the Spirit was leading them, and she led them to Lydia a woman ready to hear about Jesus and devote her life to telling the good news of the love of Jesus. Lydia becomes an important person not only for Paul’s ministry but for the church in Macedonia. Trust the Holy Spirit, where she is leading you, to whom she is leading you, what she has to teach you, the truth she shows and tells. Rely on her to be an important part of your prayer life, expressing your joy and pain, your longings, and fears when you can’t even articulate them yourself.

When you experience a prayer being answered when you had not even spoken the prayer, that is the Holy Spirit interceding for you, connecting you to Jesus and God the Creator in deeper ways that you could imagine and giving to you what you need when you need it. Amen.

Collect

Alpha and Omega, First and Last,
glory outshining all the lights of heaven:
pour out upon us your Spirit
of faithful love and abundant compassion,
so that we may rejoice in the splendor of your works while we wait in expectation
for the new heaven and the new earth you promise when Christ shall come again. Amen.

Readings

Ephesians 4:1-15

John 8:31-32

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’

Dear parish family please reflect in anticipation of MAP (Mission Action Plan) on Sunday

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Faith formation says a great deal about what kind of life we are called to lead as a Christian. Nish Weiseth captures this; “Spiritual formation is the process by which we are shaped by the power of the Holy Spirit into the image of Jesus for the sake of others…Not for us, but for our neighbours, for our communities, for the sake of doing the work of Jesus here on this earth in this time, to see the Kingdom of God break through…so that others might flourish…We are called to be made more into the image of Jesus for their sake, so that they may be blessed.” From A Rhythm of Prayer, edited by Sarah Bessey, pg 95

Disciples are not mere followers nor are they simply participants in regular worship. The root of the word disciple is discere – to learn, and through faith formation, Christians learn the Way of Jesus. Faith formation is both guided participation in community faith practices and an intention and practice that attunes us to the presence of God, the sacred in everyday life, and service to others so that all may experience

God’s fullness of life. The joy of a community focused on faith formation is that faith formation envelopes the disciple in a process of experiencing, learning, and living the Way of Jesus. The faith community at its best is an incubator where we can practise spiritual disciplines, new ways of being compassionate with one another, and risk taking as we respond with increasing boldness to the Spirit’s call to compassion, humility, and caretaking of others.

What does it look like to be one who is faith formed? A faith formed person lives a life that is shaped in every aspect by the love of God as shown to us by and through Jesus; a person who continues in the word of Jesus. Faith formed people, disciples, live a daily rhythm of spiritual practices and intention that inform each moment of their day. They seek the best for others. Is this about perfection or sainthood? No, it’s about intention, and growing and deepening our sense of living in the fullness of God; being whole and authentically who God is calling us to be – and supporting others in that same fullness! Discipleship is a journey for every one of us; each in a different place, but all moving towards God.

Frederick Buechner says in Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Faith forming invites us to lean into our deep gladness, to relish our own unique gifts and charisms, and to connect those in our families, our neighbourhoods and our faith communities in ways that feed people’s deepest hungers. Can you name your place of deep gladness? Can you identify where your deep gladness nourishes and responds to the world’s deep hunger…for food, for shelter, for safety, for love, for dignity, for reconciliation, for God?

Another way of thinking about this is to ask what rhythms of our day differentiate us from the others around us. Which rhythms in our day have grown out of our faith? Are there aspects of our daily rhythms that might intrigue people enough to ask us about them? Do we have spiritual practices that gently move us into the lives of others? What about our faith practices would identify us as a disciple of Jesus to others?

These are challenging questions for Anglicans, indeed for many Christians, because for too long we have behaved as though disciples were formed in a private relationship between an individual and God at regular Sunday worship. There might have been a time when there was an unspoken, shared social agreement about what it meant to be a Christian but, in this secular, post-Christian world, that’s just not the case. We are being called to live counter-cultural lives; lives marked by spiritual practices and a deep connection to God through Jesus – lives that are both the announcement and demonstration of God’s love.