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Essays: The Way of Ignorance by Wendell Berry |
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Theology: Ralph Smith's Eternal Covenant |
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Passages, Preaching, Poems, Prayers: For Trinity Sunday and Corpus Christi
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
John 17:20-23
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14
...And so we cannot think the Blessed Trinity. But then it is not required of us to think the Trinity. We can do better; we can live the Trinity by grace of the Trinity.
As I have implied already, the life of the Trinity is represented in us after two different fashions: in society with one another, and in discourse with one’s self. Each fashion of representation has its special merit. Our society with our friends mirrors the reality of the Trinity; it is real society and the persons involved are real persons. A man’s discourse with himself better represents the oneness of the Trinity: the divine Persons are as close to one another as a man’s own thought is to a man; yes, and closer than that.
Austin Farrer, from a sermon preached on
Trinity Sunday 1961, reprinted by permission from
The End of Man (SPCK, 1973)
Trinity Sunday
Lord, who hast form’d me out of mud
And hast redeemed me through thy blood,
And sanctifi’d me to do good;
Purge all my sins done heretofore;
For I confess my heavy score,
And I will strive to sin no more.
Enrich my heart, mouth, hands in me,
With faith, with hope, with charity;
That I may run, rise, rest with thee.
George Herbert, 1593-1633
Notice the three’s that Herbert has packed into this elegant little poem. Three verses of three lines; the first three lines alluding to Father, Son, and Spirit acting on “me” three ways ; the last three lines containing three nouns, three phrases (with the three theological virtues), and three verbs respectively; threefold alliterations in lines 7, 8, and 9.
Love (3)
Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lack’d anything.
A guest, I answer’d, worthy to be here:
Love said, you shall be he.
I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee.
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
Who made the eyes but I?
Truth Lord, but I have marr’d them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.
And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?
My dear, then I will serve.
You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:
So I did sit and eat.
George Herbert, 1593-1633
To the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
 Father in Heaven! When the thought of Thee wakes in our hearts let it not awaken like a frightened bird that flies about in dismay, but like a child waking from its sleep with a heavenly smile.
* * *
O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou didst not come to the world to be served, but also surely not to be admired or in that sense to be worshipped. Thou wast the way and the truth—and it was followers only Thou didst demand. Arouse us therefore if we have dozed away into this delusion, save us from the error of wishing to admire Thee instead of being willing to follow Thee and resemble Thee.
* * *
O Holy Spirit—we pray for ourselves and for all—O, Holy Spirit, Thou who dost make alive; here it is not talents we stand in need of, nor culture, nor shrewdness, rather there is here too much of all that; but what we need is that Thou take away the power of mastery and give us life.
At the Lord’s Table
Ah, it is true, our Lord and Saviour, that not even in this respect dare we rely upon our own strength, as though we were able of ourselves to recall impressively enough and to retain steadily this remembrance of Thee...Hence we pray Thee, since it is Thee we are now to remember, that Thou wouldst Thyself remind us...What is that for a remembrance when he who is to be remembered must himself remind the rememberer!
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