O the depth of riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:33, 36
Take a Moment to Ponder
My God how wonderful thou art thy majesty how bright, how beautiful thy mercy seat in depths of burning light! – Frederick Faber
Immortal, invisible, God only wise. In light inaccessible hid from our eyes. Most blessed, most glorious, the ancient of days, Almighty victorious, thy great name we praise. – Walter Smith
These are two hymns that seek to describe the majesty of the God we worship. You will notice the imagery that is used- bright, burning light, which is almost inaccessible to our eyes because of its intensity. What is behind this imagery of light to describe God? I would suggest it is the Holiness and Purity of God. Put another way, in what The Lord God does there is no corruption for it is done with integrity as God remains true to God’s nature. This means that God is consistent in the actions that God performs, now this doesn’t limit the method that God may use to achieve the ultimate goal for his creation, however, in the end, history will say that God has remained true to his nature – that God is love.
The reason that God is love defies explanation, is that when we think of all the atrocities that human beings have committed and even worse have committed in the Name of God, one wonders how God’s love can still exist towards us, and yet it does, and it’s the mystery of that existence of love that we celebrate Sunday after Sunday as we react to and proclaim God’s love in Christ Jesus, which we are empowered to continue. This love makes it possible for justice and mercy to be two sides of one coin, and therefore for God to maintain his nature of love. That indeed is a MYSTERY.
There is also the majesty of God which is located in the nature of God’s being. The early Christians experienced God, through the love of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit. (2 Corinthians 13:14) How this is possible is indeed difficult for our minds to comprehend, however, while there is some need to proffer some explanation, what is more, beneficial for us is to participate in this mystery of God’s being, so that again we may experience God’s love and be a powerful witness to the world. Jesus offers this invitation in his prayer in John 17 and Paul does the same in his letter to the Romans chapter 8. In a world that is so much in need of otherness, holiness, of purity we as Christians have the privilege to present God to the world and know that in God’s unique being there is MAJESTY.
I pray that this celebration of the Feast of the Most Trinity will be for you a reminder of why God is truly God.
Take action
Read Paul’s letter to the Romans chapter 8. Look at how Paul describes the various persons of the Trinity, and how they relate to us and to each other. Then compose a prayer to each person of the Trinity, making sure that at the end the other two persons of the Trinity are included.
Time of Prayer
O Lord God Almighty, eternal, immortal, invisible, the mysteries of whose being are unseachable: Accept, we beseech you, our praises for the revelation which you have made of yourself, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons, and one God; and mercifully grant that ever holding fast this faith we may magnify your glorious name, who lives and reigns, one God, forever and ever. Amen. Scottish Prayer Book
Contributed by Canon Michael Allen
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