You may wish to light a candle at the start of this time of worship.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all. Amen.
Theme Prayer
O God our mystery, you bring us to life, call us to freedom, and move among and between us as wind and fire. May we so participate in the dance of the Three in One that our lives may resonate with your love, now and for ever. Amen.
Confession
Hear what Paul writes: “Be imitators of God; love as Christ loved; do not grieve the Holy Spirit; put away all anger and bitterness, all slander and malice.” So let us confess our sins to the Lord our God.
Father, you come to meet us when we return to you. Lord, have mercy:
(Lord, have mercy.)
Jesus, you died on the cross for our sins. Christ, have mercy:
(Christ, have mercy.)
Holy Spirit, you give us life and peace. Lord, have mercy:
(Lord, have mercy.)
May almighty God cleanse us from all our sin, and renew us in the fellowship of his Son, who calls us sisters and brothers, and may we know the freedom of his Holy Spirit, who declares that we are God’s children. Amen.
God’s Word - Isaiah, chapter 6, verses 1 to 8 :-
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the skirt of his robe filled the temple. Seraphim were in attendance on him. Each had six wings: with one pair of wings they covered their faces and with another their bodies, and with the third pair they flew. They were calling to one another, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.’
As each called, the threshold shook to its foundations at the sound, while the house began to fill with clouds of smoke. Then I said, ‘Woe is me! I am doomed, for my own eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts, I, a man of unclean lips, I, who dwell among a people of unclean lips.’
One of the seraphim flew to me, carrying in his hand a glowing coal which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, ‘This has touched your lips; now your iniquity is removed and your sin is wiped out.’ I heard the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ I said: ‘Here am I! Send me.’
John, chapter 16, verses 5 to 15 :-
Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Now I am going away to him who sent me. None of you asks me, “Where are you going?” Yet you are plunged into grief at what I have told you. Nevertheless I assure you that it is in your interest that I am leaving you. If I do not go, the advocate will not come, whereas if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin, justice, and judgement: about sin, because they refuse to believe in me; about justice, because I go to the Father when I pass from your sight; about judgement, because the prince of this world stands condemned.
‘There is much more that I could say to you, but the burden would be too great for you now. However, when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak only what he hears; and he will make known to you what is to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and make it known to you. All that the Father has is mine, and that is why I said, “He will take what is mine and make it known to you.”’
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
A Reflection on the Readings
Christians very definitely do not believe in three Gods, but in one. And yet the Oneness of God isn’t enough to express the mystery of how God who is so utterly beyond our sight, our understanding, our knowing, nonetheless seeks to be in relationship with us, and, in ways that touch and change our hearts, demonstrates his love for us and calls us to share that love with the world.
Isaiah’s response to the revelation he had of the presence and power of God was one of abject fear, and a dread realisation of his sinfulness, of his people’s sinfulness, and of his unworthiness to be in that place at all. When I walk down the path in my garden, beetles and bugs scurry away and hide under stones. It’s a natural response when we’re faced with something too big to handle. But Isaiah’s lips are touched with a burning coal, and his sinfulness is removed. And when challenged with the words, “Who will go for us?” he replies, “Send me.”
Those words are used at most ordination services. The new deacon or priest ought to be terrified - it’s an impossible job, and a truly daunting task, for which none of us is fit for purpose: except that God makes us fit for purpose, and meets us in our weakness with his healing touch, and allows us to call him “Our Father”.
The first disciples came to see in Jesus more than just a rabbi or teacher, more than just a friend; and they came to see the cross as the decisive event in which all evil is confronted, all sin is named for what it is, and where God’s justice, a justice based in love, triumphs over the chaos of this world’s selfishness and prejudice. And as they reflected on this in the light of Easter, the movement that would become the Church was born in the fiery gift of the Holy Spirit. Nowhere in Scripture are we clearly told that God is Trinity, “three in one and one in three” as one of our hymns puts it, but Trinity is the best way the early apostles could find to talk about what they had experienced. All the fullness of God is completely present in each person of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But in each person God makes himself and his love known to us in a distinct and special way. The Son is not the Father, the Father is not the Spirit, yet each is wonderfully and completely God.
Yet even that is not enough. If it was, then we would have God precisely defined, identified, systematised. And we don’t, we can’t. Today does not honour a doctrine that says all there is to say about God, that has God all wrapped up. It is just our best way to talk about the ways in which God reveals himself to us, declares his love for us, and - though he is an unknowable mystery, before whom our natural and sensible response should be one of abject fear - declares that he is for us, that we can make our home in him, and that we are called and chosen in his service.
Statement of faith
We believe in the Father, the Creator, who lit the world and breathed the breath of life for us. We believe in the Son, Jesus Christ, who by his cross saved the world, stretching out his hand to his people. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who ranges over the world, and plants seeds of yearning in our souls. We believe in the Trinity of love, God above us, and beside us, and beneath us, the one who is from everlasting to everlasting. Amen.
Prayers
Pray in our world for those nations, like our own, aiming to lift restrictions gradually and with care, that we may be able to do this safely and begin to re-open our economies. Pray for those nations where Covid 19 is still increasing in severity, especially where resources to combat the disease are lacking. Pray for co-operation among nations, both in the cause of welfare, peace and justice, and in the search for a vaccine and treatments for Covid 19.
Pray that the Church everywhere will be ready to hear God’s call to active and loving ministry. Pray for the churches of Mexico, and for the Anglican Province of Mexico. In our own Diocese, pray for all who are involved in safeguarding, ensuring that children, young people and vulnerable adults can work, worship and share fellowship safely and securely.
Pray for all who are in need today: for all who grieve, for the worried and anxious, and for those who are struggling with isolation and loneliness. Pray for all who are ill, including all who are infected by Covid 19, for their care and treatment and recovery. Pray for all front line workers, and especially for all who work in hospitals and care homes, for their safety and health.
Pray for families and friends, and for the life of our communities. Pray for our schools; pray also for all who are continuing to self-isolate because of other health conditions or age. May we continue to act with care, looking out for one another and keeping safe.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing
May God the Father, who made all things, embrace us for ever in his creative love; may God the Son, our Servant King, bear our burdens of grief and sin and shame; may God the Holy Spirit inspire and enthuse our life together; and so may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, surround and sustain us now and always. Amen.
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