Trinity 1

IN THE SPHERE OF THE SPIRIT

First Sunday after Trinity, 11 June 2023

St Bene’t’s and Corpus Christi College 8am and 10am

The Reverend Matthew Bullimore, Chaplain, Corpus Christi College

Hosea 5.15–6.6; Matthew 9.9–13, 18–26

☩

Last week was the Sunday when we have to think about the Trinity. What a relief it is to have that out of the way! Now we can forget about all that strangeness for another year. We are somewhat relieved, now, to find ourselves in Ordinary Time where we can just follow the adventures of Jesus’ ministry – his teaching, his miracles, his dealings with the authorities.

What a shame it would be if that was true. If we left behind that glorious mystery of our beautiful God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If we forgot that all things are being swept up into that love which they share – which God is – and forgot that that was what redemption, new creation and salvation was all about.

Let’s go back to the Baptism of Jesus. Where Jesus is plunged into the waters and rises out of them. The Spirit descends upon him. And the Father speaks: This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

Just before Jesus’ public ministry begins, we are given a glimpse of the Trinity; an image of eternity. The Father’s extravagant love of the Son. The Spirit resting on Jesus. The Son receiving as human the friend, the Spirit, whom he is never without in eternity. And the Son’s thankful, joyful gift of his own obedience.

We witness this extraordinary moment just before we begin to watch Jesus go public, begin his work amongst us. And it’s not just a pretty picture. It’s the key to the ministry. Jesus is never without the Spirit. Always obedient to the Father. Always receiving and passing on the Father’s love. Jesus’ ministry is the action of the whole Trinity.

You’ll remember that one of the declarations of John the Baptist is that whilst he will baptize with water, Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Now, search the Gospels for Jesus baptizing anyone and you will search in vain. So what does this mean? How does Jesus baptize with the Holy Spirit?

I think we see it happening in the Gospel this morning.

A well-named tax collector is having the usual sort of day. Generally being hated, seen as a traitor, dodging rotten tomatoes, getting spat at, hiding behind Roman guards. The usual.

Follow me, says the teacher. For a split second, a door opens. A new life is offered. A new world is held out to him. God passes by his booth. All he has to do is stand up and leave everything behind.

Moved by the Spirit in him, Matthew gets up and follows him.

Later that day, Jesus is having dinner with all the ne’er do wells of the neighbourhood. Matthew is there I expect. There’s probably prostitutes. Maybe a Samaritan visitor. But you could add in any undesirable. We could make quite a list of those unwanted in modern Britain. We are adept at identifying undesirables.

The religious turn up. Now that’s undesirable. They don’t like seeing this. They’re genuinely confused. Why is he eating with this lot? Jesus tells them that he is the great healer. So he’s not here for the well. But for those in need of healing, in need of care, of love. He’s not here to hang out with the righteous.

Just to make sure that the religious lot don’t mistake themselves for the righteous, Jesus tells them to go and open a Bible. Learn what this means: God’s not interested in your rules and your codes and your mores. What God loves is mercy. Because God is mercy. Forget your religion. Go and get God.

So here is a meal. The diners are all sinners. And in the middle of them is Jesus, his Spirit radiating out as he loves them. And as the Spirit flows out and gathers them all together, these sinners know themselves as the beloved, as the forgiven. If only we could share a meal like that! In remembrance of him. Wouldn’t that be quite a gift…

A man arrives. Another religious man. But this one is in pieces. He has no high horse. He has nothing left. His daughter has died and he comes with nothing but faith. A trust that Jesus’ presence will mean life itself has entered the room.

Jesus leaves but on the way encounters another faithful person, who has suffered terribly: physically unwell and socially outcast. She doesn’t even speak or beg or bother the teacher. She reaches out to touch the hem of his cloak. Jesus feels the Spirit working. He stops. He turns. He sees her. Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well. It’s a short encounter. But she is seen, she is known. She is healed, she is restored to community. A woman is plunged into the life of God, baptized in the Spirit, and all she did was reach out as God passed by.

Jesus reaches the house of the synagogue leader. He gets rid of the paid mourners. The girl is only sleeping he tells them. They laugh at him. What a ridiculous thing to say. Doesn’t he know how the real world works?

Jesus enters. He takes her by the hand. Doesn’t even speak. God enters the room and reaches out to her and she rises. Where Jesus is, there is life. Where his Spirit pours out, there is new creation.

The Spirit that hovered over the waters of creation. The Spirit that enlivened Mary’s womb. The Spirit that will rest on a dead body in a borrowed tomb and call forth her friend the Son of God. That Spirit is at work as God passes by in Jesus. The world is baptized, sanctified.

And that same Spirit continues to rest upon the body of the Son – the Church – us – making us a sphere of new creation. Insofar as we continue to abide in Jesus, the Spirit will be doing her work, drawing those we encounter into the heart of God. The Spirit is pouring out from us:

To those we call to follow Jesus.

To those outcasts and sinners who we eat with because they are beloved.

To those sinners that we are, who find themselves forgiven and united.

To those who are grieving and lost.

To those who are sick and exhausted.

To those who have been given up for lost.

The Spirit is inviting them all into a new world.

The Trinity is for life, not just for Trinity Sunday. The Trinity is the God in whom we move and live and have our being. And let this be our daily prayer this week: may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore.

Amen.

☩