FR JULIAN'S WEEKLY BLOG
31/05/26
Make the most of this – it’s the last one! It is most appropriate that I end my long ministry with you on Holy Trinity’s Feast of Title – Trinity Sunday. Amongst some clergy circles, it is customary to invite a visiting preacher, not least of all because clergy themselves don’t wish to preach on the Trinity!
We are all very familiar with the imagery of the Holy Trinity: water, steam, ice. Or roles: Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier. I’ve even heard of a colleague who uses the analogy of tutti frutti ice cream which is an image I don’t immediately associate with the Godhead. The truth is, we cannot fully explain or describe the Holy Trinity because it is so far from our comprehension. All the images we use can only offer facets of the majesty of God, three Persons yet one, beyond us but incarnate, all-powerful and vulnerable, eternal yet present in space and time. Instead of trying to envisage or describe the Holy Trinity, the best way we can understand is by experiencing.
Theologians will explain that the Trinity is one through with the hypostatic bond. In simple terms, the Holy Trinity is united through love, and is united to us by love. So if we wish to understand what and how the Holy Trinity is, let us love.
24/05/26
Sunday is the Feast of Pentecost – the birthday of the Church. We recall how the Holy Spirit descended upon those first disciples in that upper room where they had been hiding, empowering them to go and proclaim the Christian gospel. The gift of the Holy Spirit is an individual one to all of us who have been baptised, and for the same purpose.
The Holy Spirit formed the Church, uniting a raggle-taggle of people from differing backgrounds into a cohesive and effective unit; again the same is happening today – just look at one another in our church family! The Holy Spirit empowers, he unites, and gives a sense of purpose to us as a church and to us as individuals.
Sadly, it doesn’t seem that the Church (of England) is entirely guided by the Holy Spirit. Instead it seems to be directed by public opinion, expediency and financial concerns. You may think I’m being unduly cynical, but my opinion is borne out by the evidence of decreasing numbers, seeming irrelevance and a lack of authority. If change is actually needed, then it begins with us, every single one of us, every single church, every-one who is led by the Spirit and formed by the Spirit.