Boss depicting Holy Trinity, Peterborough Cathedral (Wikimedia under CCL)

The Collect

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. Amen.

¶ The Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Isaiah 6.1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:  ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.’
The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’ Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’

Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, you powers of heaven, * ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the honour due to his name; * worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; * the Lord is upon the mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is mighty in operation; * the voice of the Lord is a glorious voice.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; * the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf * and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord splits the flash of lightning; the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; * the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe and strips the forests bare; * in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’
The Lord sits enthroned above the water flood; * the Lord sits enthroned as king for evermore.
The Lord shall give strength to his people; * the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

Second Reading: Romans 8.12-17

Brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—  for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Gospel Reading: John 3.1-17

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? ‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.’

The RSCM has: “So often we attempt to split God into his component parts on Trinity Sunday, but it’s like trying to split the atom, using huge amounts of energy to do something that is potentially very dangerous. Warmth and light – energy emanating from the sun – are integral to it being the sun…No wonder Jesus so often spoke in parables, and no wonder Nicodemus was confused. But at the heart it is a simple story…The Trinity is not, after all, a puzzle to be solved, it is the very life of God in which we are invited to share.”

You can read the whole of Jane Williams on this year’s Trinity readings here, by searching for ‘milk’ (p74), but she begins:

Prayers of Intercession

¶The Church of Christ

Lord, we hear the sound of the wind of your Holy Spirit as it blows through our world and our Church. We know this Spirit does not appear to our timetable, or blow in the direction we are expecting or at the exact strength we would like. Help us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to listen for the wind, knowing that if our doubts are too deep we may drown but if our certainties are too strong we shall stumble and fall. Hold us, Lord, trembling on the tightrope of faith as we seek to do your will.

Lord our creator, powerfully sustaining: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶Creation, human society, the Sovereign and those in authority

Lord, your voice divides the lightning flash and your glory thunders over the oceans. Your voice resounds through the mountains, echoing your glory and splendour. Your voice whirls through the sands of the desert, the whistling sands of the desert storm. More powerful than tempest or flood, your love embraces all the powers of creation. Give strength, we pray,  to your people and let all the powers of the universe praise you, O Creator, as we worship you in the beauty of holiness. *

Lord our creator, powerfully sustaining: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶The local community

Lord, help us to imitate in our own lives the unbroken harmony  and mutual love of the Holy Trinity, moving seamlessly from one to another, drawing on the strengths of each. Lord, strengthen the bonds of our community and may this grace and balance be reflected in our families, our lives and all our relationships.

Lord our creator, powerfully sustaining: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶Those who suffer

Lord, have mercy on those whose lives are crippled by physical, mental or spiritual strain and anxiety. Release their tension, give them the blessing of inward peace, and restore them to the wholeness which is your will for all.

Lord our creator, powerfully sustaining: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶The communion of saints

Lord, our mystery, you bring us to life and move between us with love. May we so participate in the dance of your trinity that our lives may resonate with you, now and in the hereafter, in the company of those whom we have loved.

Merciful Father, accept these prayers….

*This prayer is based on Jim Cotter’s meditation on Psalm 29.

Prayer after Communion

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.

^{Copyright acknowledgement (where not already indicated above): Some material included in this service is copyright: © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ, USA Post Communion (Trinity Sunday) © Oxford University Press: The Book of Common Worship of the Church of South India Some material included in this service is copyright: © The Archbishops’ Council 2000
Collect (Trinity Sunday) © The Crown/Cambridge University Press: The Book of Common Prayer (1662)}