Dear Friends in Christ
E te whanau a te Karaiti

We came together today to worship on Trinity Sunday. A Sunday in the church calendar which marks not only the beginning of our longest liturgical season but also a day in which to focus and reflect upon the nature of God as revealed to us in scripture, tradition and reason.

Trinity Sunday is traditionally a day to engage with the doctrine of the trinity, a day to consider how we relate to God and how relates God to us. Most priests don't, in my experience, enjoy preaching about the Trinity and one would, I suspect, discover many "guest" preachers appearing across the Anglican globe on such a day as today. I would suggest that every sermon should be an opportunity to preach on the Trinity as it defines our Christian faith.

Personally I enjoy such a preaching engagement and look forward to four opportunities today to preach on the Triune nature of God: at the 8am Eucharist, at the 11am baptism service on Raglan beach, at Evensong tonight (5pm) and at an adult baptism following Evensong at 6pm.

The Doctrine of the Trinity leads us into the mystery of God in two very profound ways. Firstly, it speaks to us concerning God's awareness of His creation. Christ who did not cling to equality with God but rather humbled Himself in the form of a servant is now part of the Godhead: God in Christ discovers completely that which God created in His image: humankind, and from this we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, in the Trinity we can respond more fully to God for in the nature of the Trinity we become more aware of God, in the Trinity God well and truly gets Himself noticed. (I wish I had some Hebrew genderless nouns at my disposal!)

As the Trinity, God moves off the mountain into the midst of His creation. God is no longer aloof on Olympus or Sinai but is within us and closer, more accessible and intimate, such was the work of Christ. Thanks be to God, there is much to celebrate on Trinity Sunday!

Today we celebrate not only the Trinity but also some milestones for members of our congregation. We welcome our former Dean, Keith Lightfoot, as our celebrant and preacher at the 9.45am service celebrating 52 years of ordained ministry as a priest and his dear wife Jennie who has supported him during those 52 years. I also wish to acknowledge Brother Brian SSF celebrating 60 years as deacon today and 59 years as priest, an incredible milestone along a remarkable journey of faith. In the surf at Raglan we will be at the other end of the time spectrum baptising and welcoming Tanaka Magumise into the community of Christ through baptism, to see young people respond to God's call and love is a truly moving, humbling and joyful experience.

Indeed a day of celebration. God is good.

Arohanui

May 24, 2013