Sermon for Trinity Sunday, Year B - The Rev. Anthony C. Bushell

Baptism of Evelyn Autumn Payne

10.30 Parish Eucharist, 30^th May 2021

(Readings – Isaiah 6. 1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8. 12-17; John 3. 1-17)

Evelyn will be baptised today in the name of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – so it is very appropriate that this should happen on Trinity Sunday, the day when we focus particularly on the nature of the God whom we worship. The Christian understanding of God is unique – there are other religions which believe in only one God, but it is only Christianity which sees him in this three-fold way, as three “persons”. Not three gods, not even three bits or parts of God, but three aspects or visions, if you like, of the one God. This formula is so familiar that we tend to forget what an extraordinary idea it is – how can one person be three persons at the same time?   What does all this mean? Evelyn is being baptised into a belief that is not only unique, but also rather odd.

Well, it is not for me to give any definitive answers – I do not think that anyone can – and this is not the time for deep theological exposition. I doubt that any of us, especially me, is up to it. However, it does strike me that our understanding of the Trinity does give us a real insight into three very important aspects of God, and they tie in very much with baptism.

The first is this idea of God the Father. We believe in a great and mighty God, the creator and sustainer of the universe who made us all, and is in every respect far beyond our understanding because he is all powerful and all knowing. Our first reading this morning from the book of the prophet Isaiah talks about God in these terms, as does the Psalm which Joshua read for us. And yet he is still called Father. That is because he loves each and every one of us, he cares for us, he tends and supports us. He created us out of love. The Jews of the Old Testament era regarded their relationship with God as one of intense intimacy, for they were his people who were looked after by him in every situation, often despite their rebellious behaviour, just as a father might care for his children. Of course, he was holy and majestic, as Isaiah, says, but he was also very much their God who chose them and to whom they could pray.

The first part of every baptism service, after the promises and declarations have been made by parents and godparents, involves making the sign of the cross on the forehead of the person who is to be baptised. This is a sign of God’s creative power and loving care for all of us: particularly today for Evelyn, but it applies to everyone. We are all made in God’s image, we are all children of the same heavenly Father, and he loves us all equally. The sign of the cross is used because that is primary symbol of God’s love, the place where Jesus Christ died for us.

That brings us on to the second person of the Trinity – God the Son, Jesus Christ. This is an insight unknown in Old Testament times but which is fundamental to Christianity. God becoming a human being for a time. A profound statement of a God who loves us so much that he became a person just like us - showing us how close he is to us and how much he understands us. More than that, he died for us.

This is vital to the mission and purpose of Jesus and it explains the central element of baptism itself – the washing with water. We were all made by a loving and caring God, but we all have a tendency to turn away from him – to go our own way and ignore or neglect him. It is what the bible calls sin – a falling short of God’s way and of his standards. We are all guilty of it and there is nothing we can do on our own, by our own efforts, to put things right. That is why Jesus died – to remove the penalty and the effects of sin from us and from this world. And the symbolism in baptism is very simple – a washing away of the sin that so besets us in our lives and in our world. The act of Jesus dying on the cross is symbolised in the in that washing - the stain of sin in us is gone, washed away completely. It is a sign of God’s amazing love.

Not only did Jesus die, he rose again from the dead, showing that all those bad things – the sin, the evil, even death itself – have no power over us at all anymore. God in Jesus has triumphed over them, and we need fear them no more. Jesus in his earthly life described this as rather like being born again – a realisation of the new life that comes in accepting what Jesus has done for us. That was what he was saying in our Gospel this morning where he also talked about being born of water and the Spirit. Baptism, the washing, is like the start of a new life, a life lived in and with the saving power of Jesus Christ.

However, we all know that sin has not disappeared from this world. You only have to look around, see the news, look into our own hearts to see that there is plenty that is not right. When Jesus died he did not take sin away, what he did was to take away any power it has over us. We do not need to worry or fear about it anymore.  Of course, that is easy to say, much harder to deal with, but God knows that. He knows that we need help, guidance and strength to carry on being Christians in what can be a very difficult and challenging world. That is where the third person of the Trinity comes in – God the Holy Spirit.

This is perhaps the most difficult person of the Trinity to comprehend – God as Spirit. Invisible and yet with us always, immensely powerful but you cannot see him. The Greek and Hebrew words for spirit are the same as for a wind – something you can feel, often with great force, but which cannot be seen. God is with us all the time to help, to strengthen to guide and to inspire. He speaks through us when we pray, he is our conscience and he helps us to understand God. He is the bringer of love, joy and peace in our lives. In our reading this morning from Paul’s letter to the Romans he talks about the Spirit “bearing witness that we are all children of God”: the Holy Spirit helps us to know God in our lives as children of God, and to receive his power.

This morning Evelyn will be given a lighted candle, as does everyone who is baptised at the conclusion of a service of baptism. This is a sign of God being with her and in her. The Holy Spirit is there in her life, as he is with all of us, to encourage, to lead and to reassure. Evelyn will need the Holy Spirit in her life – the candle is a reminder that he is with her always. It is also a reminder that she will show God’s light in the world. As a Christian, a member of the Church which is God’s family in the world, Evelyn will show something of God’s light to a needy world.

What a God we worship. One is holy and majestic, yet understanding and caring and also very close to us at all times. The three persons of the Trinity give us a real insight into who God is and what he is like. May Evelyn come to know him in this way and may we all do so too.

Amen.