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Holy God –
Today on this Trinity Sunday –
We open the eyes of our Faith –
We open our hearts –
To the grandeur and to the glory of
Your magnificent & Your Eternal Presence.

The Joy and the Desire of our Hearts –
Is to know You as Our God –
Father - Son –
And Holy Spirit -

Amen.
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TRINITY SUNDAY
May 26, 2002

"And the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses
in a flame of fire out the midst of a bush;
and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning,
yet it was not consumed.

And Moses said:
"I will turn aside and see this great sight,
why the bush is not burnt."
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Story:
G.K. Chesterton tells the story of an Architect
who every day passed by this House that he disliked so intensely.
It bothered so much –
because he thought it was so ugly –

So he bought the house –
He moved into it –
And he never saw it or noticed it again.

Chesterton’s story illustrates how
we can become so accustomed to something –
That we lose sight of it –
And we lose the wonder of it.

When I did a Pulpit Exchange in York, England,
I visited the YorkMinster Cathedral almost everyday –
Just soaking up the beauty and the grandeur
Of such a mighty & befitting edifice –
built to the Glory of God.

About Ύ of a block down from the Cathedral –
Was an Artist’s Print Shop.

I bought from him a very large –
Ink-Line drawing of the Cathedral that he drawn & also
that he had water-colored.

Looking out the window –
just a short distance down the street –
I could see the Minster in all its grandeur –
looming from the ground –
up to the skies.

I remarked to the Artist –
"It must be wonderful to work here in your shop every day -
And to be able look out your window and see the Minster –
In all its glory."

To my surprise -
The Artist replied:
"Oh – I have seen it so often –
I really don’t see it or hardly notice it -
At all anymore."
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Today – Trinity Sunday –
Is when we acknowledge the Glory & the Majesty of
the Holy Trinity –

Trinity Sunday is that day
which makes a very poignant & a very deliberate attempt
to remind us of that which we too often ignore –
or that which we overlook or miss –

The Presence and The Glory of God
which surrounds us on every side.

It is sad when -
That which is significant –
when that which is note worthy –
becomes commonplace –
and in some instances –

when that which is Holy –
becomes commonplace.
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Bishop Hines used to lament
the fact that for some people –
The wonder and the glory of
the Christian Gospel was lost –
because of having heard it so many times –
that it became commonplace.

But -
that is the wonder –
that is the glory & the wonder of how God -
of how God -
in His infinite love & mercy & forgiveness
refused to give up on
His wayward and rebellious people -
And so -
gave His Son for us –

He gave His Son -
because of His commitment to keep
the Covenant whereby
He has bound Himself
to His People forever.

Can you imagine the Christian Gospel –
being reduced to being just a twice-told tale ?

It is so very interesting –
That even Blind Bartimaeus –
In the Gospel of Mark –

Even though he was blind –
Bartimaeus knew that something great
was passing by as he heard that -

Jesus was approaching –
Blind Bartimaeus didn’t want to miss
the glory of the Lord as it was passing by –

So he called out & shouted so loudly –
that it disturbed the Disciples –

Jesus – Master – Son of David –
Have mercy on me !!!"

It disturbed the Disciples so much –
that they tried to silence him.

It seems that you don’t have to be blind –
Not to be able to see –
For sighted people too –
Sometimes don’t exactly have 20 – 20 Vision.

For Jesus said:
"There are none so blind as those who will not see."
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In 1987 –
when making a Pilgrimage –
to the Desert of -
Mount Sinai – in Egypt

We came upon a small Chapel that purports to be –
Standing over the actual sight of the Burning Bush
which Moses saw.

We are told that they have tried to transplant
this bush in a number of various parts around the world –

However –
We are told that the bush would not take root –
and that it will only grow in this supposed original site.

Anyway –
Our little band from St. George’s College in Jerusalem –
Was told to take off our shoes –
before entering the little Chapel –
that stood over where the Burning Bush still grows.
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When visiting the Yad Vashem –
In Jerusalem
That is the Holocaust Museum –
Where so many of the relics and documents & testimonies
Of the Holocaust are stored and are on display.

While going through the Museum –
I noticed a Jewish Young Man –
Take off his shoes & carry them
Throughout his visit & tour of the museum.

Indeed –
there are times -

there are many times –
when in the presence of
some Godly event –

that it would be most appropriate to take off our shoes –
signifying that –
somehow –
That somehow –
We are standing on Holy Ground.

That we are standing on Holy Ground –
Because – somehow –
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Surely the Presence of God is in this place.
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The most exhilarating experience of my life –
was climbing Mount Sinai –
(or more correctly walking-up Mount Sinai),
which was quite a feat in itself -
which took about six or seven hours.

When we had reached the top –
which for three thousand years has been –
purported by -
the Jewish Religion,
The Christian Religion
and
The Islamic Religion -

to be the site where Moses received
The Ten Commandments –

For when we reached the top –
we had Holy Communion and sang:
"Surely The Presence of the Lord is in this place –

after which –
we had a Grand Lunch on the pinnacle of
Mount Sinai.

With tears in our eyes –
we all knelt & prayed and sang.
Yes – there are times –
When we have an encounter with
The Presence of the Living God –

And we feel constrained to fall upon our knees –
When we receive the Holy Communion –

When we pray -
When we are united in Holy Matrimony –
When being Confirmed by the Bishop –

Indeed – whenever –
Whenever we feel we have somehow –
Come in touch with Eternity –

Not just -
with some Divine Force
But with God. –
With –
Our Heavenly Father
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Trinity Sunday is not the time –
when we try to fathom or to explain
The Mystery of the Holy Trinity –

But only to help us to be open –
To be open to those sometimes quiet –
but nevertheless
Those spectacular moments –

When we experience something of what is called:
The Divine Connection –
The Divine Connection -
That gives life & meaning & purpose
And vitality as nothing else.

Story:
The Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel:
Michelangelo’s Artistic
Portrayal & Representation of the Creation.

I call it the "Divine Connection" which give Life –

For when laying down on a bench on your back -
and looking up at the Ceiling in the Sistine Chapel -
One sees the Creation and the Giving of Life to Man:

As God reach out with His finger
to touch the hand of the
lifeless Adam –

For Michelangelo – that is the Creation –
that is the giving of Life –
that is the Divine Connection.

The Divine Connection is –
When we are experiencing -
A moment with something not earthly –
But experiencing a moment with –
The Transcendent God.

My dear friend Fr. Clark Lennard –
Coined the phrase –
That the Church was the –
"Christian Connection" –

that is –
The Church is where -
People come to get
Connected to God –

The Church is where People come –
to get in touch with –
that for which our heart & soul craves –

Where we come to get in contact with
that which we were made & created –

A Close Communion with God.

Sometimes People who raise their hand in
Praise & Worship –
Do so –

Out of an innate feeling and desire –
To reach up and make some kind of a
connection with God –

In other words –
Sometimes –
raising our hands upward –

is an expression of our
Inward desire -
To reach out and to touch God.

Trinity Sunday
Proclaims to us that
The World is filled with
the wonder and the beauty of God –

That the World is where the Infinite, All Powerful -
Ruler of the Universe –
The Maker & the Creator of Heaven & Earth

Has chosen to reveal - through Jesus Christ -
His otherwise –
Un-Knowable Self.

Those who seek God – may not always find God -
But instead –
they will always be found by God –

Those who look for God –
in those things that the World calls Common –
Will instead -

Find that oftentimes –
The Holy is found in
the most common & unexpected places –

In People –
In events –
in those small acts of love & kindness –

And the Presence of God is found -
especially with the People of God
who gather to Worship

To worship the One who has
Promised to be present
whenever two or three
are gathered in His Name.
Where is God ?
How can we find God as Paul Tilich described God -
"The Ultimate Ground of all Being ?"
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There’s an old poem which says:
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"I sought to find my God –
My God I could not see –

I sought to find myself –
Myself I could not see –

I sought to find my Fellow-Man –
and in so doing –
I found all three."

It is truly wonderful when we can see
God in other people -
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However –
It is so much more glorious –
When other People can see God in us.
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Trinity Sunday reminds us –
Let us not be too busy or
to be too pre-occupied -
to notice -

As did Moses –
To turn aside -
to feel – to see – to know

When the King of Glory
Passes by –

So that the
"Divine Connection"
may be completed
with us and in us –
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The Divine Connection
with
The Father – and The Son -
and
The Holy Spirit.


A M E N & A M E N !!!

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