TRINITY SUNDAY
Readings:
Key Verses (using the World English Bible):
Rev. 4:4, 5b: “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones. On the thrones were twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white garments, with crowns of gold on their heads… There were seven lamps of fire burning before his throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.”
John 3:5: “Jesus answered [Nicodemus], “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, [one] can’t enter into God’s Kingdom!’”
Reflection
It’s been said that Trinity Sunday is the only Sunday of the church year devoted, not to an event, but to an idea. On the Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the Christian experience of the one and only God existing in three Persons: “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. We call it a “mystery”, for how can God be both One and Three? And yet this is the faith we have received: faith in a God who creates, redeems, and sanctifies; a God who dwells “out there”, within us, and everywhere in between.
Trinity Sunday is a relatively recent feast, made official only in the 14th century. Prayers and hymns to the Trinity had, of course, been used centuries before then—especially to combat perceived heresies—but the idea was that the Church honored the Trinity every day, so no special day was needed. This partially explains why today’s assigned readings, dating from St. Jerome’s 5th-century lectionary, don’t directly reference the Trinity. Surely, then, these could’ve been replaced with other passages, such as the “Great Commission”, or maybe even Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer”. So what was the original thought process 900 years before the first Trinity Sunday?
Reverend David G. Phillips has written a fascinating article entitled “The Rationale of the Trinity Season Lectionary in the Book of Common Prayer”, which I’ve referenced before in my blog. From here on, I’ll summarize his main points, but if you have the time and interest, I really recommend that you read it in its entirety. Returning to St. Jerome’s original lectionary, Rev. Phillips detects a pattern in the sequence of readings assigned to what we now call “Trinity Sunday”, and the (on average) 24 Sundays that lead us back to Advent. This pattern is couched in numerical symbolism, biblical allegory, and nascent 5th-century Christian “psychology”.
Most of us have heard of the “seven deadly sins”, even if we can’t name them all. But what we may not know is that they can be traced back to the fifth century, to the writings of an ascetic monk named John Cassian. Cassian identified eight “passions” or “vices”, which we must overcome lest they lead to sin. He, along with other contemporary theologians, may have noted an allegorical parallel between our spiritual journey and Israel’s. Just as Israel was freed from bondage in Egypt, and commanded to conquer seven other nations before dwelling in the Promised Land, so too our souls, freed from sin, must subdue the seven (or eight) passions before entering God’s Kingdom. At the time, they believed this quest occurred in three stages: purgation of sin through suffering, illumination of our souls with God’s grace, and finally union of the soul with the divine.
Rev. Phillips posits that Cassian’s list of eight passions was simplified to seven, under Scriptural influence (I told you back in Lent 3 to keep an eye out for these “seven spirits”!), and three Sundays dedicated to each passion, one for each of the three stages. That makes 21 Sundays. Add two Sundays to start our journey, and one at the end to finish it, and we’ve got 24. So is this the reason behind the choice of today’s cryptic passage from Revelation, with the twenty-four elders and the seven lamps of fire?
The first half of the church year, the Advent–Easter cycle, has taught us about the faith we confess. The latter half, this Trinity Season, intends to show us how to put that faith into practice. Our mission then for the next 24 Sundays—if we choose to accept it—is to confront the darker parts of ourselves, passions like: pride, vainglory, dejection, wrath, sloth, greed, and lust; some of which we know, others which sound confusing. We don’t have to worry about that yet. All we need to do is remain focus on the goal, which is our soul’s perfection and union with the will and love of God.
Prayer of the Day
Almighty and everlasting God,
you have given to us your servants grace,
by the confession of a true faith,
to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity,
and in the power of the Divine Majesty
to worship the Unity.
Keep us steadfast in this holy faith,
that it may ever defend us against all adversities,
and bring us at last to see you
in your one and eternal glory;
you who live and reign,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
—Collect for Trinity Sunday, composed from the Book of Common Prayer, 1662 and 1979 versions.
(Words: Reginald Heber, 1826; adapted by Joseph A. Soltero, 2015
Tune: ‘Nicaea’, by John B. Dykes, 1861)
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning, we sing your majesty.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore you,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea.
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before you,
Who were, and are, and evermore shall be.
Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide you,
Though our eye of sinfulness your glory may not see,
Only you are holy; there is none beside you,
Perfect in pow’r, in love and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All your works shall praise your name in earth, and sky, and sea.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
No comments:
Post a Comment