HOMILY FROM CANON STEPHEN BAILLIE
The Most Holy Trinity
I am with You
Rublev, was a Russian painter who left us with many icons and one in particular of the Trinity, which is also called The Hospitality of Abraham. We celebrate the hospitality of God when we pray and bless ourselves in the language of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who is a source of never-ending life and love. We believe in a God who is ‘with us always until the end of time’ as proclaimed in the Gospel today. Jesus will be with his followers through the gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s presence with us.
God does not book a private table for one to join our world! God enters our rowdy bedlam world to feed our famished, fragmented lives with the nourishing substance of a forgiving friendship and with a food that is sealed in a promise of an eternal covenant-communion.
Dialogue and discussion about God was once concealed in tight definitions of dogmas that attempted to control God! The Trinity is about an invitation to be part of the chaos of life in a world and – yes- in our Church with all its challenges and controversies today.
The end of Matthew’s Gospel invites us to ‘go, make disciples and baptise in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.’ The early church always stipulated baptism in living waters. This would have stirred up some mud and muck! Being baptised is not a cleansing business! Baptism leads us into the mayhem of humanity to remind us of our true destiny.
We read that some of the disciples were hesitant when they encountered Jesus on the mountain. They had lost him to death, and now he was risen and with them again in the flesh. They may have felt they weren’t ready or able for the task he was handing over to them. These first disciples were an imperfect group of people, yet Jesus chose them to spread God’s vision of love, compassion and justice throughout the world. Perhaps, like some of the disciples, we are fearful or doubtful. At a time when everything is changing so rapidly with Covid-19; wondering will parishioners return? Wondering what will the Church of 2021 bring? it can be difficult to navigate our own faith journey, never mind communicate it to others. Yet we have Jesus’ assurance that he is with us, with the love and strength we need. The Holy Spirit is at work, inspiring and guiding us, shaping our lives, helping us to make the love of God present to all we meet.
The Trinity is about a God who embraces our human shame and failures in the messiness of life. We believe in a God who stays with us. The Trinity calls us to sing our chord of three notes that resounds from a single tone from beginning to end: Our God beyond us, beside us and within us. Let the mystery of this feast day – bless and guide you on this bank holiday weekend.
