Patrick Comerford
Since the 50-day season of Easter came to an end last Sunday with the Day of Pentecost or Whit Sunday (24 May 2026), we are in Ordinary Time once again. Today is Trinity Sunday (31 June 2026), and on Trinity Sunday the liturgical colour returns from the Green of Ordinary Time to the white or gold of a festival.
Later this morning, I hope to sing with the choir at the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford (9:30). Holy Trinity Church in Old Wolverton is celebrating its Patronal Festival at the Eucharist this morning (11 am), when the preacher is the Archdeacon of Buckingham, the Ven Cassa Messervey. But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, reading today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Matthew 28: 16-20 (NRSVA):
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
Today’s Reflections:
This is Trinity Sunday, and many clergy tell me they are afraid of preaching on Trinity Sunday, wondering how they can talk about the Trinity as a doctrine or dogmas, and yet relate it to the needs of today’s world, in its joys and its sufferings, in its beauty and with all its injustice.
Yet, the Orthodox theologian Thomas Hopko argues that if God were not Trinity, God could not have loved prior to creating other beings on whom to bestow God’s love. This love or communion of God as Trinity, extended to us in the communion of the Church, is the climax to Saint Paul’s message to the Church in Corinth in today’s Epistle reading (II Corinthians 13: 13). It is not just the Trinitarian faith into which we are baptised, but the love or fellowship of the Trinity (Matthew 28: 19-20).
I have preached often on Trinity Sunday, and I have prepared extensive preaching and liturgical resources for priests and readers in the Diocese of Limerick. But I still tried to avoid saying something that is ‘reheated’ and to say something that challenges me as well as challenging for people who may be thinking seriously about the meaning and significance of the Trinity on this morning.
As well as prayer and reading, I find it is helpful in preparing sermons to look at images that focus my attention on my sermon topic.
Some years ago, I took a photograph on the wall of the south choir aisle in Lichfield Cathedral depicting the Holy Trinity. This scene, showing the Trinity flanked by two censing angels, was probably painted in the mid-15th century, although it may even date earlier to the 14th century.
Although the painting has been damaged severely in the religious strife of later centuries, it is still possible to look closely and to see how it originally depicted the Holy Trinity. Look at it closely, it is possible to make out the representation of God the Father sitting on a yellow or golden throne, his knees clad in a red robe.
God the Father is holding his crucified Son, God the Son, Jesus Christ, before him. Originally, this mediaeval fresco would have shown a full depiction of the Crucifixion. However, all that can be seen today are the legs of Christ, with his feet nailed to the Cross.
The representation of God the Holy Spirit, traditionally depicted as a white dove, is now missing from this work. But comparisons with similar paintings from this period suggest that this representation was placed in this painting in Lichfield Cathedral between the head of God the Father and the head of Jesus Christ.
On either side of the Holy Trinity stands an angel, each holding and swinging a censer or incense burner, offering large amounts of incense before the throne of God.
The notice accompanying this mediaeval work in Lichfield Cathedral quotes a passage in the Book of Revelation: ‘Another angel with a golden censer came and stood at the altar; he was given a great quantity of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that is before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel’ (Revelation 8: 3-4).
In Christian thinking over the centuries there has always been an element of uneasiness about representing God pictorially. Sometimes this was completely forbidden in Judaism and Islam, because of fears that the images might become objects of worship instead of God.
In Christianity, a theologically unhealthy exaggeration of these reservations lead to the iconoclast heresy. This resurfaced among the English Puritans in the 16th and 17th century, and this fresco depicting the Holy Trinity was severely damaged when it was painted over by Puritans during the English Civil War.
Traces of this mediaeval wall painting were restored in 1979. Today, its condition remains a reminder not only of the cultural dangers of theological extremism and the aesthetic vandalism it encourages, but also that we can never see fully the mystical truth behind the truth of the Trinity – we cannot work it out ourselves, but we need to spend time in contemplation and prayer.
A second New Testament quotation on the accompanying notice in the south choir aisle in Lichfield Cathedral reminds me of the essential truths I need to keep before me on Trinity Sunday: ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you’ (II Corinthians 13: 13).
A ‘Father-only’ image of God is in danger of reflecting power-lust and a need to dominate on the right, reducing God to an idol or mere totem; or, on the left, of reducing God to a mere metaphor for goodness, however one decides to define ‘goodness.’
Similarly, ‘Jesus-only’ images lead to moralistic action by Christians on the theological left or individualistic pietism on the theological right.
A ‘Spirit-only’ emphasis brings real dangers of introspective escapism, charismatic excesses, or narcissist claims by manipulative leaders in evangelical and charismatic church groups.
Yet these images are real throughout the Church, because the concept of the Trinity often appears irrelevant, due to poor teaching in our churches and a prevailing anti-intellectual climate.
Those who do preach on the Trinity on Trinity Sunday are often reduced to explaining away the Trinity as a ‘mystery’ that they expect ‘mere’ lay people not to grapple with. Worship then becomes a transaction between an external deity and an autonomous worshipper. And it is not possible for a collection of separated and disconnected individuals to become the community of faith, to enter into the life of the Trinity.
We can only be human through our relationships. We can only have self-respect when we know what it is to respect others.
The Church is primarily communion, a set of relationships, exactly as we find in the Trinitarian God. Christianity is not a private religion for individuals; personal piety is only truly pious and personal when it relates to others and to creation.
In today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 28: 16-20), we are with Christ before the Ascension, when he sends out the disciples in mission, when he sends them out in the name of the Trinity, to baptise in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. But he sends them out to all nations – the words used here for all nations (πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, panta ta ethne, verse 19) means all ethnic groups.
In the love of the Holy Trinity, there can be no ethnic distinctions or differences. All are called, without discrimination, to obey everything that Christ has commanded. And what he commanded was to love God to love one another.
When we are created in the image of God, it is not just individually in the image of one God, but we are created collectively and communally in the image and likeness of God, who is one God in community as God in Trinity.
When we accept the old barriers of ethnic distinctions and discrimination, we are not only going against Christ’s great commission and commandments, but we become least like God, we deny being in God’s image and likeness.
When we remain silent in the face of one man’s death, when his breath is squeezed out of his life in an act of violence and racism as he cries out, ‘I can’t breathe,’ we deny God as Trinity:
• We deny the Father who has entrusted us with responsibility for justice throughout all this good creation
• We deny the Son who has commanded us in equal measure to love God and to love one another
• We deny the Spirit, the breath of God, which is the life and breath of all this good creation, and the breath and life of each individual person
Any President, any Governor, any politician, any human who tries to wriggle out of this is abdicating authority, and needs to be reminded of Christ’s words in this morning’s Gospel reading that ultimately ‘all authority in heaven and on earth has been given’ to Christ.
The Trinity means that as humanity is created in the image and likeness of God, then it is not just as individuals that we reflect God’s image, but that when we are a community we are most human and most God-like,
In the true community, each is valued, each takes account of the other, each has an equal place, contribution and voice. True community cannot concentrate sole authority, privilege and infallibility in one ethnic group, one gender alone, let alone one member.
All have received the breath of God, and all must be free to breathe.
Today’s Prayers (Sunday 31 May 2026, Trinity Sunday):
A new edition of Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), was published last week, in time for the USPG conference in the High Leigh, Hertfordshire, from Tuesday to Thursday, 2-4 June.
The theme this week, from 31 May to 6 June 2026 (pp 6-7) is ‘Peacebuilding in the Gulf’. This theme is introduced today with a reflection from Saint Christopher’s Cathedral in Bahrain:
‘At Saint George's Church, Baghdad, Iraq’s only Anglican church, the Revd Canon Faiz Jerjes, sees the courage of his congregation every day. It includes native Baghdadis alongside Christians displaced from northern Iraq in recent years. Despite the risks, they continue to gather faithfully.
‘Asked why they come, parishioners speak simply and powerfully: “When I attend church, I feel at peace.” Another says, “We feel rest and peace when we come into the church. God is with us.” In a city marked by instability, the church remains a place of refuge, prayer, and hope.
‘These challenges are echoed across the wider Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, where conflict affects communities across the region. Bishop Sean Semple notes that the impact is felt from Iraq to the Gulf states, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. Sirens, missile interceptions, and explosions bring fear, disrupt sleep, and heighten anxiety for many. Reflecting on the Diocese’s mission, Bishop Sean says, “We wait in hope and pray for dialogue and diplomatic solutions to bring this war to a swift and just end. As we wait, we carry on as best as we can with love.”
‘Whether meeting in person or online, congregations remain steadfast. Even in times of danger, the Church’s presence, prayer, and witness offer peace and hope.’
Join Saint Christopher’s Cathedral in Bahrain online for daily Evening Prayer at 16:00 BST, to pray for all affected by conflict in the Middle East. For the Zoom link, contact communications@uspg.org.uk.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Sunday 31 May 2026, Trinity Sunday) invites us to pray this way:
Read and meditate on Matthew 28: 16-20
We give thanks for the mystery of the Holy Trinity, one God in three Persons. May we live in the love and unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Collect of the Day:
Almighty and everlasting God,
you have given us your servants grace,
by the confession of a true faith,
to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity
and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity:
keep us steadfast in this faith,
that we may evermore be defended from all adversities;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Almighty and eternal God,
you have revealed yourself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
and live and reign in the perfect unity of love:
hold us firm in this faith,
that we may know you in all your ways
and evermore rejoice in your eternal glory,
who are three Persons yet one God,
now and for ever.
Additional Collect:
Holy God,
faithful and unchanging:
enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth,
and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love,
that we may truly worship you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Yesterday’s Reflections
Continued Tomorrow
An image of the Trinity presiding over Creation in Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos in GreeceScripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
