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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Stephen Shipley

Good morning.

Yesterday was Trinity Sunday – not a Festival which generally excites the Christian believer. And it doesn’t help that for those who attend church and observe faithfully the significant dates in the liturgical calendar, Trinity Sunday is known as the ‘Preacher’s Waterloo’. It’s a huge and difficult hurdle for those who grace the pulpits of the land to make accessible and relevant the mysteries of God. So why bother, especially when there seem to be more immediate needs of practical use that require attention?

I asked that question when reading recently an article exploring the many issues that people are debating arising out of the corona-virus pandemic that is affecting us all. For those of us who ponder the whereabouts of God amid all the present anguish of the world, the qualities of God are revealed in the three persons of the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Never before had those qualities of tenderness and compassion, patience, kindness and faithfulness been so clearly seen as in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the first century carpenter turned itinerant preacher. He slept, ate, got tired, knew fear, and experienced failure and rejection.

In him his followers could see the nature of God expressed through his voice, his tears, his healing hands and dusty travel-worn feet. So, particularly on this Feast of Trinity, we pray that through the power of the Holy Spirit, those of us who are searching for answers will understand more of the nature of God.

Lord, we pray that we may not reject those answers and dismiss all the hope they contain – for we know the choice is ours. Hold us firm in our faith that we may know you in all your ways and evermore rejoice in your eternal glory.

Amen.