“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."- Matthew 28:19-20 (NRSV)
There was a time, as one parishioner pointed out earlier this month, when our season of Pentecost was called the season of Trinity. While we preserve Holy Trinity Sunday in our Lectionary, initiating the second Sunday of Pentecost, we necessarily employ the Trinity as a guide for our season. Yet, we should. The Trinity captures the mystery of God’s nature: Three Persons in one Unity; Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier; Lover, Beloved and Unconditional Love shared not only between by transcending into all creation.
This mystery is ultimately how we frame our understanding of our own salvation. We are called into relationship with out Creator, recognizing our total dependence upon God for all life, all grace, all gifts that we share. And in spite of our human tendencies toward self-centeredness, God our Creator is made manifest to us in Jesus Christ, he who redeems us from our brokenness in becoming incarnate and affirming the intimate relationship between God and humankind. And after Jesus’ mission and life, passion, death, resurrection and ascension, God promises that we will not be left alone, but will have God the Holy Spirit, our inspiration, our solace, our guide to help us to continue the divine mission.
Trinity and Pentecost are essentially linked, not just in theology, but in ecclesiology, as we, the Church, continue the mission of reconciling all creation to God and to one another. Henri J. M. Nouwen said, “Without Pentecost the Christ-event…remains imprisoned in history as something to remember, think about, reflect on. The Spirit of Jesus comes to dwell within us, so that we can become living Christs here and now.”
Our color for the season of Pentecost is green – a color of life and growth. May we embrace this season as one for the growth of the mission of the Church and the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our world.
Peace in Christ,
Shawn+
There was a time, as one parishioner pointed out earlier this month, when our season of Pentecost was called the season of Trinity. While we preserve Holy Trinity Sunday in our Lectionary, initiating the second Sunday of Pentecost, we necessarily employ the Trinity as a guide for our season. Yet, we should. The Trinity captures the mystery of God’s nature: Three Persons in one Unity; Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier; Lover, Beloved and Unconditional Love shared not only between by transcending into all creation.
This mystery is ultimately how we frame our understanding of our own salvation. We are called into relationship with out Creator, recognizing our total dependence upon God for all life, all grace, all gifts that we share. And in spite of our human tendencies toward self-centeredness, God our Creator is made manifest to us in Jesus Christ, he who redeems us from our brokenness in becoming incarnate and affirming the intimate relationship between God and humankind. And after Jesus’ mission and life, passion, death, resurrection and ascension, God promises that we will not be left alone, but will have God the Holy Spirit, our inspiration, our solace, our guide to help us to continue the divine mission.
Trinity and Pentecost are essentially linked, not just in theology, but in ecclesiology, as we, the Church, continue the mission of reconciling all creation to God and to one another. Henri J. M. Nouwen said, “Without Pentecost the Christ-event…remains imprisoned in history as something to remember, think about, reflect on. The Spirit of Jesus comes to dwell within us, so that we can become living Christs here and now.”
Our color for the season of Pentecost is green – a color of life and growth. May we embrace this season as one for the growth of the mission of the Church and the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our world.
Peace in Christ,
Shawn+
