The day was somewhat shrouded as heavy morning rain filled the outside of St. Peter’s. It provided a suitable backdrop to understand the mystery of the Trinity – God 3 in 1, 1 in 3. (There are 11 images for this Sunday. Hold over your mouse toward the top of the image above and cycle through)
As the sermon stated, the doctrine of the Trinity tells us not only about God, but a deep truth about who we are to become as human beings. We are Trinitarian beings. Bodies and spirits and the "God hole" which is at the center of whom we are. "This God shaped hole at the center of our beings is a hole we long to fill… As we work to fill this void, we experience many failures—we get addicted to things that seem to be easy ways to fill the void … But filling the hole with God is the only way to reach true completion as a human being…Joy, love, peace—sure signs that God is dwelling at our centers—when we experience these things, we know that God is filling up that hole inside of us."
Catherine’s favorite symbol to understand the trinity is apple pie – "This pie is Trinitarian for several reasons. First of all, it has three parts. It has a crust, it has a filling, and it has a topping. Second, each of the three parts has three ingredients. The crust is made of flour with a little salt thrown in, some shortening, and some ice water. The filling contains apples, sugar, and cinnamon. The topping is made of a trinity of flour, butter and sugar."
She made 3 apple pies which were placed outside near the sidewalk for the congregation to devour. The entire sermon can be read here.
Trinity Sunday is part of Ordinary Time in our lectionary for the next 30+ sweeks where we hear the stories of Jesus’ ministry stressing his teachings into the world. We seek to become unified in body, spirit and God hole. As the sermon stated- "We want to go out as whole and as complete as we can be, so that we can be the best witness possible to the world of the love that God has for each and every one of us!" Matthew’s last verse read today provides comfort in that process. "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Nature and the color green are part of Ordinary Time. The images above include various pictures in the process of finding God in our surroundings at St.Peter’s – day lilies, a magnolia bloom and the towering sycamore which shades our Church. Take some time to visit our garden in the rear of the Church. The Choir echoed the theme of nature singing "All Things Bright and Beautiful" (The bulletin is here and the readings ).