Go Therefore

Gathering Meditation

One Tree Down to Its very Roots

There is a tree in Johannesburg, South Africa, that stands in the yard of a Catholic retreat center. When viewed from one angle, one sees a singular tree with a very large trunk. From another angle, the tree appears as three distinct trees, down to the very roots. The tree was nicknamed Trinity—Three-in-One. The base of the tree became a meeting ground where we experienced community. There, and around its trunks, we discussed the deep things of life. No matter where you leaned on the tree, you were supported. No matter where you gazed on it, it was beautiful—three trunks, one tree, inseparable and unified at its base, drawing us into fellowship with one another. It was amazing.

The existence of this tree is a natural and compelling illustration of the existence of our Triune God, a God that operates in community to create community. Whether calling out YHWH, Jesus, or Holy Spirit, it is the Three-in-One God, inseparable and unified, that responds to our every need. No matter what name or office you call out, God will bear you up. No matter where you look, you can see the beauty of what God is doing.

God the Creator; God the Savior; god Who Empowers: lures us into loving relationship with God’s self and with one another. It is just so amazing! Look again; it is one tree down to its very roots.

Written by Marilyn E. Thornton, The Africana Worship Book, Year A (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2006), 34.

Call to Worship

We come today to worship the Triune God, even as we, like the Eleven on the mountainside, have our doubts.
Holy Trinity, meet us in our questions and help us embrace your mystery.

We come to encounter the God who is both immense and particular, greater than words can describe, and yet intimately present with us.
Holy Trinity, surround us with your love that brings order to chaos and community to individualism.

We come to give thanks to the God who created and sustains us, and who calls us to steward the earth and all that live in it.
Holy Trinity, empower us to enter into partnership with you for the flourishing of all creation with gratitude and joy.

We come to receive Christ’s commission to make disciples, to baptize, and to teach the gospel wherever we go.
God, immerse us in the life of the Holy Trinity that we might go and welcome others into the dance of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, November 2022.

Prayer for the Day

Holy God, Three in One, you are our eternal hope, our companion in life, our liberating power. Lead us in your mission, baptizing and teaching in your blessed name,

so that all may worship you to the end of the age. Amen.

From “Prayers for Trinity Sunday,” Presbyterian Mission (PCUSA), https://www.presbyterianmission.org/resource/prayers-trinity-sunday.

Prayer of Confession

Gracious God, we confess our sin, which separates us from you. We know how people who belong to you should live, but we fail to live that way. At times we have forgotten that we bear your image and have done evil. At times we have forgotten to live in response to your sacrifice for us and have acted selfishly. At times we have ignored the voice of your spirit speaking to our conscience, and we have followed the desires of our own heart. As a result, we have lived for self rather than for you or our neighbor, our lives have been diminished, our witness has been stifled, and your image within us has been tarnished. Forgive us, good Lord, through Jesus Christ. By your Spirit, guide us to live as people who know and love you. Amen.

The Lord, who saves you, says: I am the God who forgives your sins; I do this because of who I am. I will not hold your sins against you. Let us praise the triune God:

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.

Taken from “Prayers for Trinity Sunday,” The Moravian Church, https://www.moravian.org/2020/06/prayers-for-trinity-sunday-june-7-13-2020.

Benediction

Go, therefore, because you are children of the Triune God and partners in God’s work of light, life, and love that even now is at work all around us. May the mystery of the Trinity enfold you, the glory of the Trinity astound you, and the love of the Trinity companion you on your way. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, November 2022.