Trinity Sunday, June 15, 2025
First Congregational Church of Cheshire
© the Rev. Dr. James Campbell
Isaiah 6:1-8
In 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. Seraphs 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. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.
And 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!” Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The 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.” Then 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!”
My paternal great grandmother had 13 children. She was poor and illiterate and to say that her life was difficult would be a vast understatement. Even so, she was devoutly religious and took great comfort in her faith, especially in the promise of heaven. In heaven, she believed, everything would be made right. The first would be last and the last would be first, and justice would prevail, and the poor would be blessed.
One day, as the story goes, she and her daughter, my grandmother, were walking together down the streets of Middletown, Ohio. It was a beautiful blue day, without a cloud in the sky, when suddenly, there was a loud crack of thunder and startled, they both looked up and saw the sky roll back like a scroll and heaven revealed. This heaven was made of pink marble (which just happened to be their favorite color). They saw pillared mansions. Everything shone with an intense light. And there was gorgeous music that seemed to emanate from every surface. And then, the sky closed. The vision was over. But my grandmother and my great grandmother told that story, with conviction, until the day they died.
Now, what do you suppose really happened that day? Was it an hallucination? Was it wishful thinking? Did they make it up? Or is it possible that what they saw was some part of the truth?
In the year that King Uzziah died, the prophet Isaiah was in the Temple of the Lord. In that temple there was a screen that separated the sanctuary from the Holy of Holies – that special place where God Almighty was said to dwell. Suddenly, the division between the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies vanished and Isaiah saw God sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. Just the hem of God’s robe filled the entire Temple. Strange, six-winged creatures called seraphs were flying around. And while they flew, they cried out: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of God’s glory." The sound of their voices was so loud that it caused an earthquake. And then the whole place filled with smoke. And trembling, Isaiah cried out: "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!"
Now, what do you suppose really happened that day? Was it an hallucination? Was it wishful thinking? Did he make it up? Or is it possible that what he saw was some part of the truth?
One of my favorite contemporary authors is David Sedaris, who largely writes about his life and his family with quirky observations and odd connections. His stories are sold as non-fiction, but some people find it hard to believe that so many odd and hilarious things could happen to one person in one lifetime. One day an interviewer asked him: “Mr. Sedaris, are all of your stories true?” To which Sedaris replied: “They’re true enough.”
True enough. Is there any other way for us to talk about God? And what a useful phrase for a day like this one, dedicated to the concept of the Holy Trinity. I always approach this day with no small amount of fear and trembling, because honestly, what am I supposed to say; what do you expect me to say, in any definitive way, about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God eternally existing in three persons? It’s enough to make your head spin. And it’s slightly embarrassing to talk about in polite company.
But then again, why would you? Because when it comes to God, words are wholly inadequate. Now maybe you think that’s a funny thing for a preacher to say, since I use so many words. But God is not primarily an intellectual exercise. God is an experience. And here’s the thing about that: we all have experiences of divine. And sometimes we tell stories about those experiences. That’s what my grandmothers did. That’s what Isaiah did. Last Sunday, that’s what the Confirmation Class did. They told us stories about their experiences of God in nature and in community and in one another. And those experiences were true enough to transform them.
True enough. Or as St. Paul put it: “we see through a glass darkly.” And because that is the case, all of our religious truth claims – like the marvelous concept of the Blessed Trinity - are meant to be held lightly. The creeds of the church are best read as poetry. The doctrines of the faith are meant to be sung.
Many years ago now, I was privileged to participate in the baptism of a woman named Kay. I had gotten to know her through a thirty-six-week long Bible study I led. During that study, Kay, who had been raised a Unitarian, decided that she was really a Christian – and declared her intention to be baptized in the name of the Triune God. Now, if you know anything at all about Unitarians, you know that historically they were Congregationalists like us, but they rejected the doctrine of the Trinity. And yet Kay wanted to be baptized.
Now I am quite sure that her decision did not indicate that she had a complete intellectual understanding of the Trinity. But I am sure of this: that Kay wanted to follow Jesus. And Kay felt the pull of the Holy Spirit. And Kay was in love with God. And so, Kay wanted to affirm those relationships; those experiences of the divine, in the waters of baptism.
And so, on the appointed day, we gathered in the church, where Kay declared her faith. And then three ordained ministers, me included, baptized her in the name of the blessed Trinity. And when the deed was done, the choir and congregation burst into singing a rousing version of “O Happy Day, when Jesus washed my sins away.”
And suddenly, the whole room seemed infused with the holy. It were as if the veil of the Temple had been removed. The sky rolled back. And all we mortals could do was sing and clap and smile and weep at the beauty of it all.
And that, it seems to me, was the perfect response to this ineffable mystery we call God. We sing and make art and tell stories and dance and dream and weep and are delighted … by the many manifestations of the One, Eternal God.
So blessed God, forever and ever: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
First Congregational Church of Cheshire
© the Rev. Dr. James Campbell
Isaiah 6:1-8
In 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. Seraphs 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. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.
And 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!” Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The 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.” Then 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!”
My paternal great grandmother had 13 children. She was poor and illiterate and to say that her life was difficult would be a vast understatement. Even so, she was devoutly religious and took great comfort in her faith, especially in the promise of heaven. In heaven, she believed, everything would be made right. The first would be last and the last would be first, and justice would prevail, and the poor would be blessed.
One day, as the story goes, she and her daughter, my grandmother, were walking together down the streets of Middletown, Ohio. It was a beautiful blue day, without a cloud in the sky, when suddenly, there was a loud crack of thunder and startled, they both looked up and saw the sky roll back like a scroll and heaven revealed. This heaven was made of pink marble (which just happened to be their favorite color). They saw pillared mansions. Everything shone with an intense light. And there was gorgeous music that seemed to emanate from every surface. And then, the sky closed. The vision was over. But my grandmother and my great grandmother told that story, with conviction, until the day they died.
Now, what do you suppose really happened that day? Was it an hallucination? Was it wishful thinking? Did they make it up? Or is it possible that what they saw was some part of the truth?
In the year that King Uzziah died, the prophet Isaiah was in the Temple of the Lord. In that temple there was a screen that separated the sanctuary from the Holy of Holies – that special place where God Almighty was said to dwell. Suddenly, the division between the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies vanished and Isaiah saw God sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. Just the hem of God’s robe filled the entire Temple. Strange, six-winged creatures called seraphs were flying around. And while they flew, they cried out: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of God’s glory." The sound of their voices was so loud that it caused an earthquake. And then the whole place filled with smoke. And trembling, Isaiah cried out: "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!"
Now, what do you suppose really happened that day? Was it an hallucination? Was it wishful thinking? Did he make it up? Or is it possible that what he saw was some part of the truth?
One of my favorite contemporary authors is David Sedaris, who largely writes about his life and his family with quirky observations and odd connections. His stories are sold as non-fiction, but some people find it hard to believe that so many odd and hilarious things could happen to one person in one lifetime. One day an interviewer asked him: “Mr. Sedaris, are all of your stories true?” To which Sedaris replied: “They’re true enough.”
True enough. Is there any other way for us to talk about God? And what a useful phrase for a day like this one, dedicated to the concept of the Holy Trinity. I always approach this day with no small amount of fear and trembling, because honestly, what am I supposed to say; what do you expect me to say, in any definitive way, about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God eternally existing in three persons? It’s enough to make your head spin. And it’s slightly embarrassing to talk about in polite company.
But then again, why would you? Because when it comes to God, words are wholly inadequate. Now maybe you think that’s a funny thing for a preacher to say, since I use so many words. But God is not primarily an intellectual exercise. God is an experience. And here’s the thing about that: we all have experiences of divine. And sometimes we tell stories about those experiences. That’s what my grandmothers did. That’s what Isaiah did. Last Sunday, that’s what the Confirmation Class did. They told us stories about their experiences of God in nature and in community and in one another. And those experiences were true enough to transform them.
True enough. Or as St. Paul put it: “we see through a glass darkly.” And because that is the case, all of our religious truth claims – like the marvelous concept of the Blessed Trinity - are meant to be held lightly. The creeds of the church are best read as poetry. The doctrines of the faith are meant to be sung.
Many years ago now, I was privileged to participate in the baptism of a woman named Kay. I had gotten to know her through a thirty-six-week long Bible study I led. During that study, Kay, who had been raised a Unitarian, decided that she was really a Christian – and declared her intention to be baptized in the name of the Triune God. Now, if you know anything at all about Unitarians, you know that historically they were Congregationalists like us, but they rejected the doctrine of the Trinity. And yet Kay wanted to be baptized.
Now I am quite sure that her decision did not indicate that she had a complete intellectual understanding of the Trinity. But I am sure of this: that Kay wanted to follow Jesus. And Kay felt the pull of the Holy Spirit. And Kay was in love with God. And so, Kay wanted to affirm those relationships; those experiences of the divine, in the waters of baptism.
And so, on the appointed day, we gathered in the church, where Kay declared her faith. And then three ordained ministers, me included, baptized her in the name of the blessed Trinity. And when the deed was done, the choir and congregation burst into singing a rousing version of “O Happy Day, when Jesus washed my sins away.”
And suddenly, the whole room seemed infused with the holy. It were as if the veil of the Temple had been removed. The sky rolled back. And all we mortals could do was sing and clap and smile and weep at the beauty of it all.
And that, it seems to me, was the perfect response to this ineffable mystery we call God. We sing and make art and tell stories and dance and dream and weep and are delighted … by the many manifestations of the One, Eternal God.
So blessed God, forever and ever: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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