Sunday 22 June 2025
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TRINITY 1
GOD'S TENANTS Among our most popular hymns is For the Beauty of the Earth, written by Folliott Sandford Pierpoint (1835-1917), which is sung on many occasions, and especially at this time of the year. This hymn was originally written for Holy Communion, and the question remains as to whether it still ought to be treated as such, or as a general hymn of praise and thanksgiving. In the form that we know it, the hymn is a 'general thanksgiving' for all our material blessings, and for the loveliness of God's creation. One obvious sign of God's activity in creation today is the beauty of our gardens. At this time of year, our gardens are in bloom, with flowers, plants, shrubs and other foliage, providing a rich variety of colour, as well as giving a place for rest and relaxation. Now and again we hear a lawnmower manicuring the grass, or see someone weeding or watering plants, keeping their garden in presentable condition. According to the Book of Genesis (2: 4-15), when God created Adam, the first man, he was placed in a garden - the Garden of Eden. He was not to sit there and soak in the scenery, but was instructed by God to "till the garden" - to nurture it, to work in it, to maintain it and take care of it. For us today, a garden may be a welcome oasis of peace in a busy, noisy, restless world, but for Adam, it was something to take charge of, and maintain to the highest standards. (Genesis 2: 15) Adam stands for Everyman or Everyperson, and one lesson from this ancient story is that the Garden of Earth is a place we are charged by God to care for and protect. It is certainly a place of work, but we are not to carelessly abuse it or needlessly destroy it. As Psalm 24: 1 reminds us: "The earth belongs to the Lord, and all that it contains." This means that we are only God's tenants in this earthly garden - not its owners, who may treat it as they wish. We are stewards who will one day be called to account, as to whether we have cared for God's earthly garden, or turned it into a wilderness of want and waste. The modern hymn writer, Frederick Pratt Green (1903-2000), tells us that "God in such love for us lent us this planet." The Garden of Earth has only been lent to us, and we have a God-given duty as tenants to protect it, and use it in the most careful manner. This responsibility is recognised today by Christians and countless others across the world, and whether or not we agree with all that is said and done in the name of environmental protection, there is a sacred duty laid on Christians to protect their "earthly home" as responsible stewards of God's creation. Only by so doing can it be passed on for the full benefit of those who come after us. We may sum up our message today in the last verse of one of Frederick Pratt Green's hymns: "Earth is the Lord's: it is ours to enjoy it, ours, as God's stewards, to farm and defend. From its pollution, misuse, and destruction, good Lord, deliver us, world without end!" Do we suppose that our tenancy meets with God's approval? Or does it fall short of the expected standards and thus in need of improvement? A PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, set your blessing on us as we begin this day together. Confirm us in the truth by which we rightly live; confront us with the truth from which we wrongly turn. We ask not for what we want but for what you know we need, as we offer this day and ourselves for you and to you; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. From: Common Order (Church of Scotland), Edinburgh 1994, 519 THE BLESSING May the love of the Father enfold us, the wisdom of the Son enlighten us, the fire of the Spirit inflame us; and may the blessing of God rest upon us and abide with us, now and evermore. Amen. |
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Sunday 15 June 2025
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TRINITY SUNDAY
On Trinity Sunday, the Christian Church marks, not an event or an individual, but a doctrine or teaching, acknowledging the God we worship as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit. We are not thinking here of three separate 'gods', but of the one God, who makes himself known to us in this threefold way. This word 'Trinity' is not found in Scripture. It is said, however, that the threefold nature of God is implicit in some Old Testament texts, and explicit in New Testament passages, as in St. Paul's blessing: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13: 14) The Trinity is the foundation of much of our worship. Many well-known hymns refer to God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, while blessings and benedictions follow a Trinitarian pattern. Christian baptism is administered "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit", and when couples are joined together in Christian marriage, the same formula is used. Indeed, the Church of Scotland's constitution clearly states that the Kirk is Trinitarian in its creed, and much of what is familiar in our worship reflects this. One observer has noted that the Trinity suggests a "committee of three out to save the world." This witty way of expressing it may a helpful summary of a difficult idea! At a more profound level, the Trinity preserves the 'mystery' of God. It reminds us that we can never understand the nature or the character of God in a complete and thorough way. What we have here is a 'model' of God, but not the complete picture. His ways are not our ways, nor are his thoughts our thoughts. If we could fully understand God, as many would wish, then God would cease to be God and become a mere creature, shorn of his divine majesty and glory. John Reith, later Lord Reith of Stonehaven, founded the BBC, and for its first sixteen years directed it. A son of the Manse, John Reith's father was a distinguished minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and it has been said that John Reith ran the BBC like a Sunday School in Stornoway! He was strict, authoritarian and staunchly Presbyterian. One biographer of John Reith says that it is not possible to write a complete account of his life. He is such a complex figure, with varying moods and temperaments, that a detailed story of his life, with its many self-contradictions, is not a feasible project. We can only know John Reith in part. This is also true of God. On this side of eternity, we can only understand God in part, until at last our knowledge is perfect and complete. Meantime, we can think of the Trinity as the 'mystery' that preserves God's holiness, while allowing us to experience him in a threefold way: as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit. That said, however, Colin Morris's notion of the Holy Trinity as a "committee of three to save the world", is most certainly appealing, and a much easier way of understanding a difficult doctrine! "Holy, holy, holy is God, our sovereign Lord, who was, and is, and is to come." Blessing and honour, thanksgiving and praise, more than we can utter, more than we can conceive, be to your glorious name, O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, by all angels, all people, all creation, for ever and ever. Amen. A PRAYER FOR TRINITY SUNDAY Lord God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: we confess the self-centeredness that marks too much of our living; the partial obedience, the qualified love, the failure to reach full Christian maturity. We acknowledge these failings, and much else; and seek the grace to be moulded, according to pattern of life laid down for us in Jesus Christ our Saviour.... God the Father, pity us; God the Son, forgive us; God the Spirit, renew us; and lead us now and always in your way; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. THE BLESSING God the Holy Trinity make us strong in faith, and hope, and love. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among us, and remain with us always. Amen. |
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