Trinity Sunday Reflection
Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You have unfolded before our eyes the wonderful story of our salvation. You alone are the creator source of all life, You alone are the word made flesh and You alone are the spirit of life. You are for us, You are with us and You are ahead of us. And as we come before You here this morning, three in one and one in three, we do so in faith, seeking to worship and praise your Holy name. So be with us now we pray and help us to open our hearts and souls to You presence with us wherever we are today. And all this we ask in Jesus name. Amen
Read Matthew 28:16-20
Many years ago I read a story of a young man who was going through a difficult time in his life. He had not long left home to go to university, but things just didn’t seem to be working out. The course he had chosen to study wasn’t what he thought it would be and he found it difficult to settle down into his new surroundings. Essentially he was homesick – and everything was just getting on top of him. So he wanted to quit – but felt he owed it to his parents to come to talk to them about it.
When he came home to explain all this to his parents his mum took him into the kitchen and put three pots of water on to boil. She then took a potato, and egg and some coffee and put each in one of the pots After about twenty or twenty five minutes she took the potato and egg out of their pots and place them on a plate. And she took the coffee out of that pot and poured it into a mug. She then turned to her son and asked him what he saw.
At first he was completely bemused and confused by this and asked her what on earth she was talking about. What do you see, she asked again. How have these three things changed? The young man was still confused so his mum explained. All three – the potato, the egg and the coffee had all faced the same difficulty. They had all been placed in boiling water and that boiling water had affected a change in them.
The potato had initially been hard and solid but was now fragile and weak. The egg had been fragile and vulnerable but was now hard and stronger. The coffee had gone in as granules but was now liquid. However, whereas with the potato and the egg the water remained unchanged, the coffee had changed the water it had been put in to. And the challenge from the mother to her son was this, which are you like – the potato, the egg or the coffee?
But what about each of us today?
The harsh reality is that we will all face difficult times in our lives and there will always be occasions when we will feel like giving up on what we happen to be doing at that time. But perhaps what this story teaches us is that how we approach these situations will go a long way to determining what the eventual outcome might be. And if we are totally honest with ourselves then for many of us when we do face these kind of situations in our lives. We do so like the potato or the egg.
We may approach our difficulty in a determined, unrelenting manner. Believing that we have the strength, the skills and the faith to persevere and get the better of things. Only to discover with the passage of time that this problem has gotten the better of us and we’re not as strong and faithful as we thought we were. Our strength and boldness of faith has been drained from us and our faith in our own abilities has been shattered. So much so that we have now become somewhat disillusioned and disheartened by it all to the point that our faith now seems weaker.
Or maybe we are not quite as certain and bold in the way we approach the situation, perhaps even a bit fragile. But, holding on to the story of the mustard seed, still we believe that we have enough faith to overcome and prevail. Only to discover, again as time goes on, that we do not and the difficulty we faced has now left us bitter and twisted with a hardness of heart and soul.
The problem with approaching any difficulty or any adversity in life in one of these two ways is that more often than not, the consequences that we later have to deal with, cause us even more pain and heartache. But here’s the thing, in the same way that a potato can’t become and egg, or vice versa, it’s very difficult for us to change who we are and the way in which we face all that life throws at us. And once our heart has been damaged and weakened, or once they have become hard and cold – it’s difficult to change that.
However, the good news is that we can all – every one of us – be like that coffee. All we need is something within us to affect that change, that transformation – and that something is God’s Holy Spirit. If we allow God’s Spirit to work within us then when difficulties and adversity comes our way, yes, it will impact upon our life and may affect some change within it. But with the help of God’s Spirit we will be able to affect change on the situation around us such that it will not affect our heart and faith in the same way.
Indeed when you go back to the analogy of the coffee and the boiling water. Being placed in the boiling water brought out the best of the coffee – it changed the coffee for the better. So it can be when we face difficult times. With God’s Spirit to help and to guide us, not only will we prevail, we may come through that period stronger, better and with a greater faith.
Times of difficulty and adversity will come to us all – and not just once – they will come to us on many occasions. However, through His Son and by His Spirit God will be with us. And if we allow Him to lead and guide us through all we face. If we put our faith and trust in Him, we will be able to do so in a way that will result in changing us for the better and a strengthening of our faith. Which in turn will not only give us more faith to face these kinds of situations when they come our way again. It will also help us to witness to others by our testimony of what it means to know God in our lives and how through His Son and by His Spirit we can face all things in faith…Amen
Eternal and everlasting God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we thank You for every sign of Your care in our society today. We thank You for the way in which You help and uphold us in time of need, for Your comfort and compassion and ask that You would be with us all today. We pray this morning for those who are most in need at this time, for those who suffer in some way in mind, body and soul. Keep them from all harm and evil and through Your Son and by Your Spirit be with them as only You can. Bring to them You healing, Your comfort and Your peace and let them know that You are with them and that we hold them in our hearts. Be especially with those in our own communities and families and surround each one today with Your love and protection. And all these things Lord we ask in Jesus name. Amen.
Sunday Evening:
The Following Is Taken From The Church Of Scotland Website:
Since the start of lockdown, Christians from across the country have been continuing to answer the call to pray at the same time each week, and Rt Rev Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, is looking forward to taking part alongside them this weekend.
“I’m delighted to have read that in the last couple of months online searches for ‘prayer’ have increased dramatically,” Dr Fair said.
“But reading about what prayer is and how to do it is only the start of it. After that it’s time to actually pray.
“And what better than to join with brothers and sisters from across the nation at 7pm on Sunday to pray our way through this ongoing crisis. I commend it to you and look forward to being with you, in Spirit, on Sunday evening.”
This week’s letter accompanying the prayer states:
“We are familiar with the words of Scripture that remind us that ‘now we see in a mirror dimly’ and we might think that these words are especially applicable to our present times.
“As our society continues in the journey out of lockdown, there are many things that we know only in part. We trust that greater clarity will be given in times to come.
“That said, there are some things that are clear and which our faith affirms to be so.
“In the Gospel of Matthew (28: 16-20), the disciples gather in the presence of the Risen Lord who assures them that in all they now face: ‘I am with you always, to the very end of the age’.
“The Gospel affirms that the life of God has been shared with us in the revelation of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and that our lives are to be lived out in the enduring presence of God. Knowing this to be so, we pray:”
We pray:
God whose name is Love,
You make yourself known to us
As the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sustain us in the knowledge of your love through the times in which we live.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God whose love endures,
May we hear the words of your Son
That echo down the ages:
I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God whose love is generous,
You gift to us your Holy Spirit,
The very giver of Life.
Renew our lives and the life of the community in which we share.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God whose love is steadfast,
You know us as we are for you have made us.
In your compassion, be with all who struggle and grieve at this time.
Remember them and hold them safe in your keeping.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God whose love is from everlasting to everlasting,
Give strength to the weary and power to the weak,
That we might renew our strength
And soar on wings like eagles.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God whose love inspires,
May we love you with all that we are
And love our neighbour in response to your love.
Through our service of others, may your love be revealed.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.