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| Trinity Sunday 11 June, 2006 The Rev. Robert C. Granfeldt |
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Today is Trinity Sunday. It’s an important Sunday Feast, to be sure, but not one of
those major feasts that I mentioned last week. Neither a feast of our Lord, nor a feast
commemorating an event, this one, though, is unique! It is the only feast in our
calendar that celebrates a Doctrine!
I have told you a number of times that this Sunday is the day when all clergy wish they
were in large parishes with assistant clergy, so that we could do what cardinal
rectors do – and have their Assistants preach on this day – so I won’t tell you that,
again.
But it’s true! Trinity is a tough day to preach!
So what we’re going to do this morning, then, is, first, to just have a little history
lesson, and then well take a look at a hymn, together!
The hymn is one of about a half-dozen, or so, that I count among my very favorites. In
fact, I think it may be the very finest hymn in the book, for its combination of music,
words, and theology!
And it’s very, very different – especially in its theology!
But first, some history!
About 14 hundred years ago, two different versions – or, better, two different
traditions – of Christian understanding and expression met in a place that today is
called England. The traditions had had common origins, but they had become
separated in time and space a few centuries before!
One tradition is the one we’re most familiar with – what we can call the Roman
tradition, dominated by the concentration of power in Rome, according to the
underlying tradition that the Apostle Peter was the first Pope!
The second, though, was the tradition that developed in what we now call the British
Isles, cut off and separated from the development of the Roman tradition, which we
know, today, as the Celtic tradition!
The Roman tradition holds up as it’s model, St. Peter, and what the Gospels and the
Book of Acts tell us about him, and is exemplified by the later theology of St.
Augustine of Hippo. (I mention him a lot!)
The Celtic tradition finds its model in St. John and his Gospel, and is exemplified by
the theology of a man called Pelagius – of whom you have probably never heard. But
the tradition is best represented to us by the man whose Feast is celebrated on the
17th of March every year – St. Patrick!
Because of the Fall of the Roman Empire, the two traditions were cut off from one
another – Rome to the South and Britain to the North, with little contact between the
two for centuries! But then, and after centuries of separation, and of separate
development, the two met again in the 7th Century. In that century, a new mission
from Rome arrived at Canterbury, in what we now call England, and met, head on, the
Celtic Christians moving down from Scotland! They sat down, together, in the year
664, in a place called Whitby on a bluff above the North Sea, under the auspices of
King Oswy – and there, the king decided to side with Rome, rejecting the Celtic
tradition.
Which was a shame! Because, actually, neither tradition is complete without the other
– each complements the other. And by rejecting one in favor of the other, we have
wound up, for all these centuries, with a one-sided version of the faith! How sad!
But enough of history, for today. You’ll hear more as time goes on, but enough for
now!
For now, I want you to grab that hymnal, and open to Hymn #370. At the 10:00 Service
In a little while we’re going to sing this as our offertory hymn. But right now, I just
want to look at some of the words with you!
“Hymn # 370,” it says, “The Holy Trinity.” Well, that’s certainly appropriate – this being
Trinity Sunday!
More importantly, though, it’s called “St. Patrick’s Breastplate,” and it’s from a prayer
that has long been attributed to St. Patrick, himself! A hymn firmly situated in the
Celtic tradition!
It Begins, “I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity!”
What a wonderful image that is! This is why it’s called St. Patrick’s Breastplate – as
though the Name of the Trinity is a piece of armor to be strapped on for protection!
To bind something is to make it real and to “fix it” – to fix it to one’s self; to make it
part of one’s self!
“I bind unto myself, today, the Strong name of the Trinity!” I make the trinity part of
who I am! And I do so by invocation of the same – the Three in One and One in Three!
And “I bind this day” to me, too, “by power of faith, Christ’s Incarnation, His baptism in
the Jordan River, his death on cross for my salvation!”
Wow! I Bind Christ’s Incarnation, Baptism and crucifixion to me, make all these things
part of me, too, make them part of my reality!
What marvelous imagery! What powerful words! What a great hymn! I hope you’ll take
time to read this him on your own – it’s so beautiful and so powerful!
And it goes on – in verses 3, 4, 5 & 7, - binding to myself the love of the cherubim the
virtues of the starlit heaven – about which, also, you’ll hear more at a later time – the
power of God to hold and lead…!
But then, there’s the 6th verse! An amazing verse!
For one thing, it’s sung to a completely different tune than verses 1,2,3,4,5 and 7! For
another, it says a very different thing!
Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ to win
me, Christ beside me, Christ to comfort and restore me;
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts
of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger!
What amazing words! And how Celtic! How different from the part of the tradition we’
re so used to!
We’re use to having the Good News Announced: God the Father sent his Son into the
world to save sinners! Born a human child he lived and taught, suffered and died for
us; was resurrected in victory over death, and ascended into heaven where he
awaits us! That is the Good News of God in Christ! That’s the Gospel!
But our Celtic heritage brings to us another part of the Good News! Another part of
the Gospel!
So today, I just want to announce to you the “other” part of the Good News: The News
that the meaning of Christ is that God is In you! Not “OUT THERE”; not “UP THERE”!
The Good News our Celtic heritage reminds us of is that God is at the core of your
very being; that you are Never apart from God; that no matter how far you may
wander, you can never leave God behind; that no matter how long you might go
without even thinking about God, he is within you! That whoever you might be,
whatever you might be, whatever you might think, and whatever you might choose to
believe, that our God is there, in the very core of your being, at the very heart of who
you are! And no matter what, no matter where – he Will never, Can never desert you!
And no matter what, no matter where – You Will never, Can never desert God –
because! Because he is PART of you – the very ground of your very being. And
because you – however far you might think you’ve strayed – you are part of God!
And that is the best news there could possibly be!
In Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.
those major feasts that I mentioned last week. Neither a feast of our Lord, nor a feast
commemorating an event, this one, though, is unique! It is the only feast in our
calendar that celebrates a Doctrine!
I have told you a number of times that this Sunday is the day when all clergy wish they
were in large parishes with assistant clergy, so that we could do what cardinal
rectors do – and have their Assistants preach on this day – so I won’t tell you that,
again.
But it’s true! Trinity is a tough day to preach!
So what we’re going to do this morning, then, is, first, to just have a little history
lesson, and then well take a look at a hymn, together!
The hymn is one of about a half-dozen, or so, that I count among my very favorites. In
fact, I think it may be the very finest hymn in the book, for its combination of music,
words, and theology!
And it’s very, very different – especially in its theology!
But first, some history!
About 14 hundred years ago, two different versions – or, better, two different
traditions – of Christian understanding and expression met in a place that today is
called England. The traditions had had common origins, but they had become
separated in time and space a few centuries before!
One tradition is the one we’re most familiar with – what we can call the Roman
tradition, dominated by the concentration of power in Rome, according to the
underlying tradition that the Apostle Peter was the first Pope!
The second, though, was the tradition that developed in what we now call the British
Isles, cut off and separated from the development of the Roman tradition, which we
know, today, as the Celtic tradition!
The Roman tradition holds up as it’s model, St. Peter, and what the Gospels and the
Book of Acts tell us about him, and is exemplified by the later theology of St.
Augustine of Hippo. (I mention him a lot!)
The Celtic tradition finds its model in St. John and his Gospel, and is exemplified by
the theology of a man called Pelagius – of whom you have probably never heard. But
the tradition is best represented to us by the man whose Feast is celebrated on the
17th of March every year – St. Patrick!
Because of the Fall of the Roman Empire, the two traditions were cut off from one
another – Rome to the South and Britain to the North, with little contact between the
two for centuries! But then, and after centuries of separation, and of separate
development, the two met again in the 7th Century. In that century, a new mission
from Rome arrived at Canterbury, in what we now call England, and met, head on, the
Celtic Christians moving down from Scotland! They sat down, together, in the year
664, in a place called Whitby on a bluff above the North Sea, under the auspices of
King Oswy – and there, the king decided to side with Rome, rejecting the Celtic
tradition.
Which was a shame! Because, actually, neither tradition is complete without the other
– each complements the other. And by rejecting one in favor of the other, we have
wound up, for all these centuries, with a one-sided version of the faith! How sad!
But enough of history, for today. You’ll hear more as time goes on, but enough for
now!
For now, I want you to grab that hymnal, and open to Hymn #370. At the 10:00 Service
In a little while we’re going to sing this as our offertory hymn. But right now, I just
want to look at some of the words with you!
“Hymn # 370,” it says, “The Holy Trinity.” Well, that’s certainly appropriate – this being
Trinity Sunday!
More importantly, though, it’s called “St. Patrick’s Breastplate,” and it’s from a prayer
that has long been attributed to St. Patrick, himself! A hymn firmly situated in the
Celtic tradition!
It Begins, “I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity!”
What a wonderful image that is! This is why it’s called St. Patrick’s Breastplate – as
though the Name of the Trinity is a piece of armor to be strapped on for protection!
To bind something is to make it real and to “fix it” – to fix it to one’s self; to make it
part of one’s self!
“I bind unto myself, today, the Strong name of the Trinity!” I make the trinity part of
who I am! And I do so by invocation of the same – the Three in One and One in Three!
And “I bind this day” to me, too, “by power of faith, Christ’s Incarnation, His baptism in
the Jordan River, his death on cross for my salvation!”
Wow! I Bind Christ’s Incarnation, Baptism and crucifixion to me, make all these things
part of me, too, make them part of my reality!
What marvelous imagery! What powerful words! What a great hymn! I hope you’ll take
time to read this him on your own – it’s so beautiful and so powerful!
And it goes on – in verses 3, 4, 5 & 7, - binding to myself the love of the cherubim the
virtues of the starlit heaven – about which, also, you’ll hear more at a later time – the
power of God to hold and lead…!
But then, there’s the 6th verse! An amazing verse!
For one thing, it’s sung to a completely different tune than verses 1,2,3,4,5 and 7! For
another, it says a very different thing!
Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ to win
me, Christ beside me, Christ to comfort and restore me;
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts
of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger!
What amazing words! And how Celtic! How different from the part of the tradition we’
re so used to!
We’re use to having the Good News Announced: God the Father sent his Son into the
world to save sinners! Born a human child he lived and taught, suffered and died for
us; was resurrected in victory over death, and ascended into heaven where he
awaits us! That is the Good News of God in Christ! That’s the Gospel!
But our Celtic heritage brings to us another part of the Good News! Another part of
the Gospel!
So today, I just want to announce to you the “other” part of the Good News: The News
that the meaning of Christ is that God is In you! Not “OUT THERE”; not “UP THERE”!
The Good News our Celtic heritage reminds us of is that God is at the core of your
very being; that you are Never apart from God; that no matter how far you may
wander, you can never leave God behind; that no matter how long you might go
without even thinking about God, he is within you! That whoever you might be,
whatever you might be, whatever you might think, and whatever you might choose to
believe, that our God is there, in the very core of your being, at the very heart of who
you are! And no matter what, no matter where – he Will never, Can never desert you!
And no matter what, no matter where – You Will never, Can never desert God –
because! Because he is PART of you – the very ground of your very being. And
because you – however far you might think you’ve strayed – you are part of God!
And that is the best news there could possibly be!
In Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.
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| Calvary Episcopal Church, Rockdale |
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If you would like to see all of the words to the hymn - click here. If you would like to hear the hymn - click here. |