Rev’d Caroline - [email protected], 01285 712467

From Rev’d Vicky - 07356 234248 – [email protected]

Matthew 28:16-end Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday is one of those moments in the Church year when we can feel both inspired and slightly overwhelmed. We speak of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, yet the word ‘Trinity’ itself never actually appears in Scripture, and perhaps that is reassuring. The Trinity is not meant to be a mathematical formula to solve, but a mystery to enter.

In Matthew 28:16-end, the risen Jesus gathers his disciples on the mountain in Galilee and sends them out with the words: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ The language of Trinity is here, even if there word itself is not. What Scripture reveals clearly is the relationship between Father, Son, and Spirit- distinct, yet completely united in love and purpose.

Sometimes stories and humour help us glimpse truths that theology alone struggles to explain. In the new film Sheep Detectives, starring Hugh Jackman, a flock of sheep try to solve the murder of their shepherd. At one point, a sheep attempts to explain church and humanity’s understanding of God to the other sheep, saying: ‘God lives in the church, he’s a shepherd, but also a lamb, and he’s invisible, and he’s made of bread and they eat him on Sundays.’ It is funny because it sounds so bewildering, but perhaps that is exactly the point. From the outside, Christianity can sound wonderfully strange.

And yet, hidden within the confusion is something profoundly true. God is both shepherd and lamb. Christ is present yet beyond our full understanding. Bread becomes the sign of divine presence. Faith contains mystery as well as meaning.

One of the loveliest ways I have heard the Trinity described comes from the theologian Richard Rohr, who speaks of the Trinity as a ‘divine dance.’ Rather than imagining God as distant and static, Rohr describes the life of God as a constant movement of love- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit pouring love into one another and outward into creation. The Trinity is relationship, joy, self-giving, and welcome.

And perhaps that is what Jesus invites us into at the end of Matthew’s Gospel. Not simply belief about God, but participation in the life of God. We are drawn into the divine dance itself- into love that creates, redeems, and sustains.

The final words of Jesus remain a promise for every generation: ‘And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ The God who is beyond our understanding is also closer than we imagine: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit continue to surround us, guide us, and draw us into the life of divine love.

Rev’d Vicky

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