Sermon for Trinity Sunday, 2021
Homily for Trinity Sunday, 2021
Fr. Tony Melton
Christ the King Anglican
Ancient explorers had a dream and a wind. Erik the Red sailing West to Greenland. The host of Spanish and English explorers who found our own continent. However the Polynesian Islands were discovered was a feat of incredible courage and hope. Why did God make man and woman to be land mammals, tell them subdue all of creation, and then cover the Earth with over 70% water? A dog would never look out at an ocean and hope. An ape would never notice the wind, build a vessel, and sail out into the Great Unknown. There is something in man’s nature that allowed him to subdue, and discover the whole Earth. It is our capacity for Hope, sustained by the echo of Eden deep within our souls. This is why God told Adam and Eve, who were made for walking, to subdue the Earth, which is mainly water. We are voyagers, and we are on a voyage.
Today is the Octave, the eighth and final day of Feast of Pentecost. In Catechesis, I’ve explained that the Liturgical Calendar can be split into two cycles: the sacral cycle and the Trinity cycle. It is true that today marks the beginning of the Trinity Season. But, as the octave of Pentecost, Trinity Sunday is not detached from the rest of the Festal Year. On Christmas, something washed up on the shore of our world. An infant was born, Emmanuel, God with us. He grew, and taught, and told us of a kingdom across the sea. He said that He would have to set sail to prepare a place for us. He died and rose from the dead, and ascended across the seemingly impassable sea. But He promised that He would send us a Helper, a Spirit, a pneuma, a Wind, who would help us. What happened on Pentecost? A mighty wind filled the room. Pentecost is when the winds changed. Today, Trinity Sunday is when we see the vision of the other land.
The Greek word pneuma means both “spirit” and “wind”. Jesus, in our Gospel, John 3, draws out the significance of this double meaning. Verse 7 and 8, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus cannot feel the wind yet, and so he cannot imagine the voyage. It is unconscionable to him. But for those who are born again by Water and the Pneuma, they feel it, and they must obey it and board the ship.
And, the Church is the ship. 1 Peter 3:20-21 speaks of Noah’s Ark as a type of the Church and the Flood as a type for baptism. Inside the church, we call the area where you sit the “nave,” which is the belly of a boat. This is why many churches have their ceilings covered in stained shiplap and coming to a point like the hull of a boat. It is common in the history of the Church to see Christ as our captain. Similarly, in the Apostolic Constitutions (II, xlvii) the bishop surrounded by the assembly of the faithful is compared to the helmsman of a ship.” Clement of Alexandria chose the symbol of the ship as his signet ring. And the relationship between Church and boat goes both ways. We christen boats before they go out to sea. On Pentecost, the Church is christened for her voyage. God gives a favorable wind. On Trinity Sunday, we set sail.
Set sail for where? Our Propers call it the Kingdom of God, which is not a place, but a reality. It is among us now, and yet we can be very far from it yet. It requires a journey not measured in linear or nautical distance. The arrive at the Kingdom of God requires a journey of the soul, The Epistle is St. John’s vision of the throne room of God in Revelation 4. This place is real. God is real. It is not just a figment of our imaginations. There is a space, with its own dimensions which we cannot comprehend, that is the source of all joy and beauty. Every atom within this creation can be a road into this sacred center. Most ignore it for their whole lives, most rule out the possibility of a land across the sea, but we as Christians affirm its reality when we say, “I believe in God.”
Let’s take a look at our Epistle on page 11. What do we see here? We see God on his throne. Unspeakable beauty. “And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” Humans and angels glorified. “And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.” Worship. “The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were created." Peace. Holiness. Happiness. Here, in the Kingdom of God, all things find their true purpose and place.
Why am I camping on the reality of the Kingdom of God? Because Trinity Season is a long season, a long voyage—25 weeks this year. If we take a look at human history, our inclination is to stay home, unless the hope of the other land is clear, strong, in color. Why else do you think St. John mentions jasper, sardine, gold, glass, and no less than 16 colors or precious stones in Revelation 4. We are born again, we can see the Kingdom of God. We must see it because we must have a clear hope, purpose, a goal, a destination, or else we will make no progress. If you do not establish clearly where you want to go during the season of Trinity, then your summer will be spent in the harbor. What are your goals for Trinitytide? It is not enough to just survive. We will be healed as we journey.
From Genesis on, God has been crafting a boat, the Church. On Pentecost, He has given us a wind, the Holy Spirit. On Trinity Sunday he has given us a vision of another land, the Kingdom of God. But, oh, if only sailing were easy! In the Collect we beseech God that He would “keep us stedfast in this Faith, and evermore defend us from all adversities.” How appropriate. There is more than you know that is set against you setting sail this summer. Satan would love nothing more than to keep you on the shore. Can you imagine the adversities that were set against Nicodemus? The pressure and shame from his fellow Pharisees? The humility required from a man of his learning to receive strange teaching from a younger man? The intensity of Satan’s purpose against him. We see later in the Gospels that Nicodemus probably did come to Faith, but how difficult is it to be stedfast in that Faith? In a boat, the first few days, maybe weeks are exhilarating. But what happens when you don’t see land for two months? What happens when you lose your direction and get off track? We can be inspired by St. John who, at the end of his life, did arrive at the Kingdom of God. He says in verse 10 of Revelation 1, “I was “in the pneuma on the Lord’s Day.” And so we should pray our Collect to be defended and steadfast as we set out for our destination.
The destination for every Christian is the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit will lead us there. He knows the way there. Jesus made the way. He has made the voyage. He is the captain of our Salvation, the captain of the ship.
In closing, I’d like to leave you with the image of a voyage, that you might set your hearts on the Kingdom of God and use this Trinitytide well in the hope of Communion.
A. The Daily Office is like checking your tackle, ropes and using the sextant to get an orientation on the day.
B. Private Devotion is like putting up your sails, attentively awaiting the Spirit’s power and direction.
C. The Eucharist is like fresh rain on a parched crew, or fish caught and prepared by our captain.
D. Acts of mercy and discipline are like putting out the oars to row.
E. Attending service is sitting in the nave of the ship. God promises that when two or three are gathered, His wind will push them toward the Kingdom.
F. Giving alms is like jettisoning cargo to avoid sinking in the storms of temptation.
G. Confession and Absolution are like discovering a leak in the hull and having it patched.
H. Sin is like bringing rats on board, which spread disease.
I. There is plenty of nourishment on board, but acedia is the neglect of nutrition. Instead of leading to scurvy, acedia leads to dejection and all sorts of spiritual diseases.
J. Schism is mutiny.
K. The world, the Flesh, and the Devil make a nasty lot of pirates.
L. The Word of God is our cannon.
M. The strength of God’s promise is the strength of our hull.
Soon we will have our next round of clergy check-in calls. Let those conversations be about how best to make progress on the journey, or the best direction to go, not about whether or not to go. Today, set sail. It’s hard. It’s dangerous. It takes time and effort. You have to give up other things. Prayer is not fun all the time. Fasting is less so. Contemplating the Word can be frustrating. Repentance can be scary. Forgiveness is risky. But we have everything the ancient voyagers had and more. This week, sit down and think about where God is calling you to go and grow. Strategize on what route you will take. St. John has given us a dream and Pentecost a wind. May God, who has opened the door of heaven, and has called us up hither to shew us things which must be hereafter, and who has christened us with His Spirit, keep and defend us as we keep the Faith this Trinity Season. Amen.