Trinity Sunday 06/15/25
The Still Point
A Time of Meditation and Reflection
First Sunday after Pentecost:
Trinity Sunday
... At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance... T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton
Peace on each one who comes in need; Peace on each one who comes in joy.
Peace on each one who offers prayers; Peace on each one who offers song.
Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son, Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.
Opening Prayer
O Lord, when your Son ascended into heaven, he sent down upon the Apostles the Holy Spirit, as he had promised, that they might comprehend the mysteries of the kingdom: Distribute among us also, we pray, the gifts of the selfsame Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Scripture Reading John 16:12-15
Jesus said to the disciples, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, she will guide you into all the truth; for she will not speak on her own, but will speak whatever she hears, and she will declare to you the things that are to come. She will glorify me, because she will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
Poem: “On naming Yourself (a cento)” by Jamila Woods
i caught my breath & called that life
i cannot be comprehended
it is better to write
spit out words into small cans
prepare knives for the cutting
of orange peels and doorways
i arrive at a space that no longer needs
autumn or spring, this forest
of telling each other the truth
where they suck the bones of the alphabet
over a floor of rubble & gravel & ashes
mouths wide open, we drank
we became the forest
drunk with sky
we felt awful after parting
from ourselves
played hide-and-seek
begging to be liked
among the leaves
i turned myself into myself
and was clean water, prayer
love colored with iron and lace
i wrote my name upon the water
i stood proudly at the helm
the names of things
hadn’t had time to stick
another face going under the waves
if you don’t know
who you are
your story cannot be pronounced
i have much to learn
from my errors
day by day i am a student
i step deeper into myself
this is a large voice
when you rise through the dead leaves
we will remember you
Meditation
The theology of the Holy Trinity is a famously confounding topic on which to reflect, so let's say that this Trinity Sunday is a time to honor relationship. Many descriptions of the Triune God have to do with considering how each person of the Trinity (Father/Source/Creator, Son/Flesh/Redeemer, and Holy Ghost/Spirit/Sustainer) relates to themself, to one another, to us.
We long to make sense of this relationship, to give it names that will help us grasp it. American culture often employs naming as a means of possession, a form of control. Names tell us who someone is and whose something is. In knowing that we feel we have grasped and understood the relationship.
I think that's why it's so tricky for us to wrap our minds and even our hearts around the meaning of the Trinity. We see a bunny or a crow in our backyard, and most likely we will feel the urge to give it a name, to "make it ours", as our way of relating to it. We want to provide the Trinity with a name and an autobiographical resume description so that we can know whether it is ours or not. How can we relate to something so unattained, so beyond our comprehension?
I'm filled with a growing sense that, like the Trinity, we can't ever really know our true names. Our words, concepts, and senses fail us. We can never know the real name of that bunny or crow in the backyard, though it's undoubtedly not Edward, Phoenix, or Cynthia. We might as well write these names upon water. Yet the bunny or crow is there, hopping around regardless. God is with us regardless. This relationship is inescapable and ungraspable. In whatever person we experience the Triune God, God is always turning Godself into Godself, and, unnameable mystery of mysteries, boundless relationship of relationships, we are always becoming one with the image God makes in us.
Questions for Reflection
- Consider your name. What does your name mean to you? Do you like or dislike your name? What name do you think you will be called in heaven?
- The act of naming can be an act of creative blessing. It can be an act of transformation. It can also be an act of possession, conquest, or extraction. Where do you see the act of naming in Scripture? When is it a blessing, a transformation? Where do you see the act of naming as conquest, consumption, or destruction in our world?
- Do your relationships have names? What does it feel like to name them? What does it feel like to take that name away from them? Do you have a name for your relationship with God? Do you have a name for your relationship with yourself?
- What relationship does the name Trinity describe for you? Would you give that relationship a different name instead, or no name at all?
Prayers
We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today
We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer
We bring to God a troubled situation in our world
We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust
We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection
We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives
We name before God those who have died.
Gracious God, you hear all our prayers: those we speak aloud, those we hold in our hearts, and those prayers for which we have no words. Hear the prayers of your people, and grant them as may be best for us, for the sake of your holy name. Amen.
Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.
May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.
Reflections this month offered by: Kathleen Schmidt
Cover Image: The Trinity by Lance McNeel
