Trinity Sunday, Year
A, RCL
St. John’s Sharon,
June 15, 2014
Adam T. Trambley
This Sunday is Trinity Sunday. As lens for looking at this morning’s
scriptures and the great mystery of the Trinity, we will use hymn based on an ancient textattributed to Saint Patrick. You can
find it, and follow along if you wish, at number 370 in the blue hymnal.
I bind unto myself today the strong Name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same, the Three in One and One in Three.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The Word of God,
through
whom all things have their being
without
whom not one thing came to be
was in the
glory given from before the creation of the world
The Spirit of God – the breath of God, the wind from God--
hovers over
the formless deep
a loving mother
brooding over her still uncreate cosmos.
In the beginning, everything infused
with the bond of love between
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God said, “Let there be light,”
And there
was light.
A light
shining from the Trinity’s heart
Into
everything else about to be made.
And the
light was good.
Our place is in that light.
Saint Patrick walked in that light
Sixteen hundred years ago.
Patrick put on the presence of God
to walk in
the light of God
as he got
dressed in the morning.
The Breastplate of Saint Patrick is Patrick's prayer
To gird
himself for God's purposes.
Legend tells us Patrick prayed this prayer,
then he and
his companions appeared as deer
to hostile soldiers hunting for him
so he could come to Castle Tara
and convert a kingdom for
Christ.
We bind unto ourselves this day
The strong
Name of the Trinity.
To be about the work of the cosmos's Creator.
To live in the light
of the Three in One and One in
Three.
For the light shines in the
darkness,
and
the darkness does not overcome it.
And God saw it was good.
I bind this day to me for ever by power of faith,
Christ's Incarnation, his baptism in the Jordon river, his death on cross for
my salvation; his bursting from the spiced tomb; his riding up the heavenly
way; his coming at the day of doom; I bind unto myself today.
Creator comes to Creation in Christ.
Trinity is Three in One and One in Three.
One in the Three is Jesus Christ, fully human, fully divine.
The Power of Faith is not merely knowing God exists --
The demons also know God exists, and they
shudder.
The Power of faith is binding our lives Christ.
Believing
Christ comes to us.
Feeling
Christ saves us.
Looking for
deliverance in the life of Jesus.
The Power of Faith is knowing that “God is for Us.”
that Christ
is on our side,
healing
us and helping us.
That every
aspect of Jesus life
is
purposeful and powerful and protects us.
Bind to ourselves,
to keep
before our own eyes
and to keep between
us and the enemy,
Christ's
Incarnation –
the humility
of God taking the form of a slave;
his baptism
in the Jordon river –
that all
righteousness is fulfilled;
his death
on a cross --
for my
salvation;
his
bursting from the spiced tomb –
that death
has no more sting;
his riding
up the heavenly way –
that he goes
to prepare a place for us;
and his
coming at the day of doom –
that our
Judge is our beloved Jesus
so
that day is not doom for us.
This day,
the one the
Lord has made,
bind to
ourselves the life of Christ.
I bind unto myself the power of the great love of
cherubim; the sweet “Well done” in judgment hour; the service of the seraphim;
confessor's faith, apostles' word, the patriarchs' prayers, the prophets'
scrolls; all good deeds done unto the Lord, and purity of virgin souls.
What shall I wear?
What will
make an impression?
What will
look good?
Silks or
satins, jade or jewels, diamonds or pearls, ties or golf shirts, wingtips or
sketchers?
Deaconal
denim or episcopal ermine? A little black dress or a little black cassock?
Don't worry about what you are to wear,
but seek
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness
and all
else shall be added unto you.
The royal robes of ancient kings and queens molds in
museums,
But the brightness of the white-robed army of martyrs is
undying;
the glories
of the apostles arrayed in festal garment lasts forever;
the fire of
the angelic hosts of heaven burns
beyond the
bounces of energizer bunnies.
To survive the trials of this life, and look marvelous
besides,
bind unto
yourself eternal garments
and claim
the sweet “well done” on the last day.
Put on love like the cherubim and service like the seraphim;
Make the
martyrs trust in God's mercy your own,
Confessing
Christ when confronted with persecution.
Put the
scriptures, the apostles' word and
prophets' scrolls,
in
your mind, on your lips, and in your heart,
So you may
do good deeds unto the Lord
and
keep your soul pure.
I bind unto myself today the virtues of the starlit
heaven the glorious sun's life giving ray, the whiteness of the moon at even,
the flashing of the lightning free, the whirling wind's tempestuous shocks, the
stable earth, the deep salt sea, around the old eternal rocks.
 |
| St. Patrick in Whirling Wind |
And God said,
“Let their
be lights in the dome of the sky”
to denote
days and seasons,
and to
light the earth.
Celestial bodies created as signs for us,
giving
glory to God.
The sun rising every day in obedience to God.
The moon following its phases,
telling
tides to ebb and flow
telling us
to plant and to procreate.
All nature responding to the rhythm of God's glorious
rhapsody.
We need the order of nature.
Our lives seek
sustenance from Providence's hand.
Running the
race before us
requires
that we work with nature.
In Second Corinthians, Paul says,
“Put all
things in order.”
God put all
things in order and then gave us dominion.
He
made us in his image to help steward his work.
Instead of stewarding, we waste;
instead of
creating, we consume;
instead of
binding the virtues of heaven and powers of earth,
we
put on pride and battle our blessings.
The earth for us is not stable, the deep sea bursts beyond
its bounds,
whirling
winds and lightning fire force us to flee before them.
Let us humble ourselves before nature's power,
A power
beyond us,
But not
beyond its creator.
Let us put all things in order,
according
to the order God gave to all nature.
And God saw that it was very good.
I bind unto myself today the power of God to hold and
lead, his eye to watch, his might to stay, his ear to hearken to my need; the
wisdom of my God to teach, his hand to guide his shield to ward; the word of
God to give me speech, his heavenly host to be my guard.
Holy Spirit, come to us.
Without you, we cannot do the work God has given us to do;
without
you, we cannot agree with one another or live in peace;
without
you, we cannot go and make disciples of all nations;
without
you, we cannot baptize
in the name
of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We bind unto ourselves today the power of God the Holy
Spirit because
the Spirit
gives us discernment of where to go,
the Spirit
gives us words to pray
so God can
hearken to our need,
the Spirit
gives us wisdom and knowledge
to teach and evangelize,
the Spirit
gives us faith
which is the
shield to ward off
the flaming
arrows of the evil one,
the Spirit
puts the Word into our mouth which does not return empty,
but
accomplishes what God purposes.
We bind ourselves to the Holy Spirit because
the Holy Spirit
in our Spirit
lets us cry out “Abba” to the Father;
the Holy
Spirit of Jesus leads us into all truth;
the
communion of the Holy Spirit
makes us one
with the whole Body of Christ.
Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me,
Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and
restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ
above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love
me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
Then God the Father,
perhaps speaking to Son and
Spirit, said
“Let us
create humankind in our image, according to our likeness.”
The Three-in-One creating us in God's image.
The Three-in-One creating us for love and relationships,
not as
individuals, but as male and female,
like God,
two persons,
together with a third person,
the
Holy Spirit -- the Love that is God --
between them.
.
The Spirit, abiding in us and abiding in another,
opens our
eyes to see Christ
in another
made in the image of God.
In Christ we live and move and have our being.
In Christ
all things have been created.
In Christ
all things hold together.
In Christ,
God was pleased to reconcile all things to himself,
in
heaven and earth.
The Spirit of Jesus gives us eyes to see Christ in all
around us
in
friends and enemies
in
joys and sorrows
in
struggle and rest,
in
ourselves.
All things reconciled to God in Christ
All people recognizing Christ
In
everyone and everything around us
Is the life
of the Kingdom of God
That we were
created to live.
When God created
through the
Word of the God
with the
Spirit of God hovering over the waters.
He created us
To live in
his light
To live
according to his order
To live as
his image in the world.
To return to that divinely-ordained life,
We bind unto ourselves today
the strong Name of that Trinity,
so that the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of
God,
and the
communion of the Holy Spirit
may be with
us always.
I bind unto myself the Name, the strong Name of the
Trinity, by invocation of the same, the Three in One and One in Three. Of whom all nature hath creation, eternal
Father, Spirit, Word: Praise to the Lord of my salvation, salvation is of
Christ the Lord.
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