The Reverend Richard Terrell is a retired Priest who remains in active Ministry.
Recently he celebrated the Fiftieth Anniversary of his Ordination to the Priesthood.
He is the Co-ordinator of the Norton Festival which brings together the local community,
with support for the Parish Church and other local concerns.
Sermon
SOME DOUBTED
A verse from the Gospel reading: ‘They worshipped Him; but some DOUBTED.’ Matthew chapter 28, verse 17.
It seems appropriate to dwell on those words as we meet together as a Benefice and observe Trinity Sunday. This Sunday, I think I can confidently say, is the least popular among Preachers. We dread being asked to preach on such a complicated and potentially bewildering subject. But here we are !
Some people may have seen what is called the Shield of the Trinity which supposedly helps us understand what we mean. It is a triangular diagram with ‘the Father’, ‘the Son’, and ‘The Holy Spirit’ on the three points of the triangle and ‘God’ in the middle. The words ‘Is Not’ connects the three points of the triangle while ‘Is’ connects the points with ’God’.
In other words it reads:- ‘The Father IS NOT The Son’; ‘The Son is not the Holy Spirit’; ‘The Holy Spirit is not The Father’. ‘The Father IS God’; ‘The Son is God’; ‘The Holy Spirit is God’. Simple, isn’t it! So here endeth the Sermon ! ……. But let us unravel the mystery a little.
Today’s Gospel is a continuation of the Easter story. Two women go to the tomb, discover it empty and are told by an angel “He is going ahead of you to Galilee, there you will see Him.” They ran to tell the other disciples but on the way were met by Jesus. They worshiped Him, then Jesus told the women to instruct the disciples to go to Galilee where He would meet them.
So it happened and, as we heard in our reading, the disciples on the hill in Galilee worshipped Jesus BUT SOME DOUBTED.
Now this didn’t mean that the disciples had no faith or that they did not believe. It meant that the disciples gave their hearts to Jesus but couldn’t make sense of or understand what was happening. Part of the experience made sense but another part did not. The experience was real, but the logic and understanding did not match.
I guess there are some things WE know to be real but cannot understand or explain in a meaningful way. Take, for example, the love between two people. Can words fully describe a relationship? Some things can be experienced but never understood, explained or defined. Take again the beauty of a sunset. It can be experienced but never fully or adequately conveyed in words.
Just as we undoubtedly can think of many other examples of things we know about but cannot explain, so it is with God. Despite the Trinitarian maths of three equals one and one equals three, God is beyond words, explanation or understanding.
Gregory of Nazianzus, a bishop in the fourth century, said this: “No sooner do I conceive of the One than I am illuminated by the splendour of the three, no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the One.”
If the Trinity is about anything it is about love, beauty and new life. We may not be able to understand this but we know it when we experience it. It may be beyond our understanding but that does not stop us from seeking it. Being a Christian involves experiencing God in all His ways. The doctrine of the Trinity reminds us that God has been revealed to us as ‘Father’, as ‘Son’ and as ‘Holy Spirit.’
If we look around us we can see the wonder and beauty of creation – God’s Creation. We remember the opening chapters of our Bible where we are told that absolutely everything was created by God. He acted as a Father, caring and providing for us. The world and universe just ‘didn’t happen’ – it was the creation of God the Father.
We can experience Jesus and His teaching by reading through the pages of Scripture. There we are told that God the Father sent His only Son into the world to be our Saviour. His teaching and His life perfectly reflected the will of a loving Father who sent His Son into the world for us and for our salvation.
God’s appearance, in human form, was for a limited time that ended with the return of Jesus to His Father in heaven. But all who accepted the teaching of Jesus and who followed Him were assured they would not be left alone but be guided by the Holy Spirit who would comfort and inspire all His followers. Even today the presence of the Holy Spirit can be felt and experienced.
The Holy Spirit is with us as we read and reflect upon the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit is with us as we meditate and pray. The Holy Spirit is with us as we meet together in God’s name.
So today, Trinity Sunday, is set aside as a time when we celebrate our wonderful three in one God. Like the first disciples there may be some who doubt our understanding or find our interpretation of the mystery hard to accept. Yet it is our experience that we can know God as ‘Father’, ‘Son’ and ‘Holy Spirit.’
Think, for a moment, of an apple. It has basically three parts – the skin, the flesh and the core. All are parts of the one apple yet they are uniquely different and have different functions. The Trinity – the three parts of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – are all God in different forms. Just as the peel protects the apple so God the Father protects His creation. Just as an apple has flesh so God the Son became flesh in the world. And just as the apple has a core it is like the Holy Spirit and contains seeds.
Just as the seeds of apple trees grow in fertile, watered and cared for ground, so the seeds of faith will be grown and will flourish when you and me are open to God’s prompting and nurture them, caring for them to keep the seeds of faith alive.
As a youngster I had a tricycle. The experience of a tricycle made life exciting. I could ride THIS bike whereas I was likely to fall off the two-wheeled version. But one thing was of vital importance. You needed THREE wheels. Our Christian faith is like that.
We have ONE God but as our faith grows and develops we begin to recognise Him as Father, as Son and as Holy Spirit. As we think about God we realise that He can be revealed to us in three ways. Like riding a tricycle we need to have those three wheels present and working in our lives if we are to experience our journey of faith to its full.
On this Trinity Sunday, we are reminded that we are riding a tricycle and have a Trinitarian faith which is bolstered and steady through our knowing God in all his ways. As we leave this morning to go out into the world to God’s praise and glory may our lives reveal that we know him – as Father, as Son and as Holy Spirit.
Combined Benefice Communion at Norton sub Hamdon
31st May 2026
MARTIN’S MESSAGE
Martin the Monkey sometimes accompanies The Reverend Richard and helps to re-enforce the Gospel message. He usually attends on special occasions in the Church Year and shares his thoughts with you.
Norton Festival 