Lover, Beloved, and Love - 5.26.24 The Rev. Andrew Walmisley, Ph.D.

First Sunday after Pentecost

Trinity Sunday

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Old Testament: Isaiah 6:1-8

¹In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. ²Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. ³And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” ⁴The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.

⁵And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” ⁶Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. ⁷The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” ⁸Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

Psalm: Psalm 29 or Canticle 13 (or Canticle 2)

¹ Ascribe to the Lord, you gods, *
       ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
² Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his Name; *
       worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
³ The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
   the God of glory thunders; *
       the Lord is upon the mighty waters.
⁴ The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice; *
       the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendor.
⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; *
       the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;
⁶ He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, *
       and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.
⁷ The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire;
   the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; *
       the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
⁸ The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe *
       and strips the forests bare.
⁹ And in the temple of the Lord *
       all are crying, “Glory!”
¹⁰ The Lord sits enthroned above the flood; *
       the Lord sits enthroned as King for evermore.
¹¹ The Lord shall give strength to his people; *
       the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

or

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers; *
       you are worthy of praise; glory to you.
Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name; *
       we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.
Glory to you in the splendor of your temple; *
       on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.
Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim; *
       we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.
Glory to you, beholding the depths; *
       in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.
Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; *
       we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Epistle: Romans 8:12-17

¹²So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Gospel: John 3:1-17

¹Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.²He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” ³Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” ⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ⁹Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”¹⁰Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. ¹²If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. ¹⁶“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. ¹⁷“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.