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This Sunday’s gospel is a challenging passage for me, as I do not like confrontation. As a Christian, I see part of my mission is to try and create peace wherever I go, in the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus. Here, we witness that same Jesus actually stating that He came to earth to cause division. This boggles my mind; how I’ve built up my ministry around one way of acting is now challenged by the same God who calls for division at some points. 

While studying this scripture at length, I cannot help but recognize that we live in a broken and divided world. We all have different views and stances on topics. In some arguments, I also see scripture used to defend these points of view, as the Gospel’s effect on people can spawn derision among our ranks. The existence of different Christian sects illustrate these divisions amongst Christ’s followers. It seems to be difficult to find hope at some points based on these facts. Where is the good news in this?

I hope we can find the good news in the fact that there are still conversations happening with Christians around the world, looking to bridge the chasms that divide us. There are continued dialogues with multiple denominations. In recent years, The Episcopal Church has bridged a gap between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which is one of the three major groups of the Lutheran Church here in the U.S. Our bishops from both denominations have established relationships and we agree in creed and in doctrine about our beliefs: to the extent that an Episcopal priest could cover for a Lutheran pastor of the ELCA and vice-versa. 

Frank Sinatra sang a song called “That’s What God Looks Like to Me.” In the song, Sinatra sings to his son what God looks like to him. One of the lyrics he sings about God is “His heart is like a mountain: so vast and so strong. That's why all of his children have room to belong.” I believe that God is big enough to be on both sides of an argument, given that the argument is not morally against the unconditional love of God. 

When typing the word broken before, I was reminded of the communion wafer on Sunday mornings that Fr. Duncan and I break in half at both the 8:00am and 10:00am services. This happens immediately following the Lord’s Prayer. In the Prayer Book, it’s called The Fraction. The fraction is the breaking of one bread for the many. As a church that believes in full presence, we believe Jesus is present in each and every piece that is broken off, as we share in the meal together. We will be receiving communion in the church with people who differ from us across the aisle and across the world. This broken bread is symbolic of how we come together. Although we have different views, the good news is that we still strive for wholeness, despite the brokenness. 

We still pray for peace in the world. We pray for those whose theology may differ from ours. I hope we can acknowledge that despite the differences, we are attempting in the church to worship the Almighty, the author of peace and lover of concord, who’s heart is like a mountain - so vast and so strong. Amen.

Your sibling in Christ,

Fr. James

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In the last few weeks, we’ve heard some of the greatest hits in our gospels: the Good Samaritan, Mary and Martha, the Lord’s Prayer. Summer gospel readings are some of the great stories of Jesus’ life. The message behind each one of these gospels is that Jesus is giving us his tips for living a fuller, more present life. In our gospel this week, we are three chapters into Jesus’ travel narrative. His disciples are just getting past the honeymoon stage of the idea of going from place to place and they’re focusing on things of this world: the temporal, rather than things eternal (as last week’s collect stated). If given the choice between the two, the human inclination is to trust in things seen rather than unseen. 

Karoline Lewis is the chair of Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She wrote an article about ten years ago about this Sunday’s gospel that caught my attention. The way she put it, is that we would rather put our trust in “achievements, acquisitions, and assets.” At least, that is our inclination as human beings. She writes at length about the overall theme of this passage: “fear, treasure, and being prepared.”

In my homily from last week at St. Luke’s, Sea Cliff, I talked a bit about our needing to be prepared and what that looks like for each of us. I tend to live day to day - even hour to hour. My schedule is jam packed with productivity: meetings, check-in’s, office organizing, and paperwork. I tend to forget how important it is for one to be present in the moment. That is why I emphasize how important the daily office is, as I tend to forget it myself! 

Every weekday morning, a group of approximately fifteen of us gather on Zoom to pray Morning Prayer together. If interested, reach out to Fr. Duncan or myself. We’d love for you to join our worshiping community. We have a coffee hour social afterwards that isn’t necessarily the most productive part of my day, but really does recenter me on who I should be focused on - the people of God. I also have been pushing for weekly Noonday Prayer and Choral Evening Prayer (Evensong) on a monthly basis. This discipline of praying grounds me. It helps me to be alive. 

What grounds you? How are you preparing yourself for life? For death? How are you living: for the things of this world or for your spirit and communion with God? How are you recharging this summer? How do you honor your achievements, acquisitions, and assets, while not overly dwelling there with them? Are you following Jesus’ tips for living? As our collect calls us to this Sunday, may we be enabled to live.

Your sibling in Christ,

Fr. James

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So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).

In today’s Gospel story Jesus is in Galilee teaching, healing the sick and bringing about the Kingdom of God. Thousands of people have gathered and are pressing in on Jesus to hear what he is saying and to witness these alleged miracles that they have heard about. The crowd was anxious to hear him for a variety of reasons. Some came to be healed. Some came to hear the Rabbi speak. Many were not believers and had come to call him out as a phony and an imposter. Can you even imagine one political party trying to make the other party look bad in our time? 

While Jesus is teaching his disciples, someone in the crowd brings a request before Jesus. What he wants is a simple settlement of an inheritance dispute with his brother. “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me,” he says to Jesus. He wants more than he is legally allowed and wants Jesus to get him more than he deserves. Jesus rebukes the man, saying, “Who appointed me to be a judge over you?” Then, he brings up the topic of spiritual integrity. He tries to give the crowd a new understanding of possessions and their relationship with God. The rich fool built larger barns and filled them with his crops. He is finally satisfied with what he has and on that day his life comes to an end. The question is not, “Who has stored up the most treasure.” The question is, “How were you able to use what God gave you to make the world better.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The Good Samaritan was good because he was tough minded enough to gain economic security and tender hearted enough to have compassion for wounded brother on life’s highway. The rich fool was foolish not because he wasn’t tough minded but because he wasn’t tender hearted.” The trouble with the rich fool in the parable is his relationship to his possessions. The trouble is that in storing up his possessions for himself, he has forgotten God. He has forgotten that everything that he received was from God and that he needed to give back a portion of what he had. A hard hearted person does not feel the love, mercy and compassion of God. The rich fool becomes so self-absorbed, self-centered and self-sufficient that he believes he has complete control over his possessions and his life including his soul. The rich fool has deceived himself to think that the abundance of his possessions can satisfy the hunger and thirst of his soul. But it is faith in God and the love, compassion, and mercy of God that fills our deepest desire and gives us a fulfilling life. 

On Sunday July 31st, we will host the United for Ukraine Fundraiser. There will be music, art, jewelry, the St. John’s Thrift Shop, food, a silent auction, baskets, and baked goods. Everyone is asked to come and enjoy Alex in concert at 1:15 and George at 5:45 in the sanctuary. Please volunteer to help, bring baked goods or just stay and enjoy the afternoon of music and fun. 

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

Lord, Teach us to Pray.

This week, as we continue to journey towards Jerusalem with Jesus, one of his disciples, who must have been deeply schooled in prayer from his Jewish roots, now asks Jesus to teach all of the disciples how to pray. Such an intriguing question. One can easily assume that this disciple would have attended services in the synagogue and Temple from childhood. As such, he would have prayed three times each day, morning, afternoon, and evening and would also have been familiar with the spontaneous prayer of blessings. Moses had often reminded the Israelites not to forget the Lord their God in Deuteronomy 8: 10-11: “When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God…”Always remember to give thanks to God who is the source of every good thing.

What does this disciple see in Jesus that begs the question: Lord teach us to pray?

The Gospel of Luke has more references to prayer than any of the other Gospels. In fact, in a commentary by Alfred Plummer, it is referenced as “the Gospel of Prayer.”  As he makes his way to Jerusalem, teaching, and preaching, it becomes quite obvious just how often Jesus takes time for prayer. The disciples finally notice and have now realized that perhaps Jesus might have something unique to teach them about prayer and its importance in their lives going forward. In fact, Luke helps to pave the way for a foundation of constant communion with God in prayer, which may not have been intuitive for the disciples.

Every Sunday, we come together to pray as a community of believers. Corporate prayer is so powerful! But many of us, like the disciples, feel a certain inadequacy when it comes to our own prayer life. “What are the words I need to say?” or “What if I ask God for something and I do not receive it? Is my faith weak?” or “I’m not sure that I am hearing God.”

So, this Sunday, Jesus has offered us a model for prayer as he teaches the famous prayer that has, over time, been labeled The Lord’s Prayer. He invites each of us into a deeply personal relationship with God and urges us to call upon God – even using the more familiar and intimate name for God: Abba - Daddy. We have been called, as God’s children, to trust that we belong to God and God wants what is good and life giving for each of us – even if we are not able to fully understand or recognize what that is.

Most of all, when we bring our need to God’s love in faith, that is indeed prayer.

Prayerfully yours,
Deacon Claire

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This Sunday's Epistle should warm us up for a full-throated, full-hearted, praying of the Nicene Creed. Paul opens his letter to the Colossians with a hymn to God's only-begotten, through whom and for whom all things were made, in whom all things hang together. This vision of the Cosmic Christ, who fills and sustains all things, should open the eyes of our hearts to the sanctity of the whole Creation, to the dignity of all that lives, human and non-human alike.

Then Paul goes on to affirm that this exalted being, having become incarnate from the Virgin Mary, suffered on the Cross to reconcile all things to God. But notice how Paul takes it one step further than the Creed does (or maybe he's just more explicit). The Creed says that Christ came down from heaven for us (human beings) and for our salvation. Paul says that through the blood of Christ's cross God reconciles all things to God. The one through whom all things were made suffers and dies for the reconciliation of all things, and continues to suffer with us when we suffer, indeed to suffer with all creatures when they suffer. We are created, and redeemed, and sustained by Christ along with all Creation.

In the letter to the Romans, Paul says that the whole Creation groans in labor pains, waiting for the day when it will be set free from its bondage to decay, and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. So we can just sit back and let God do all the work, right? Not at all! For the earth also groans under the weight of our careless exploitation of the natural world. And Christ has given us the ministry of reconciliation. As ministers of reconciliation, and as repentant abusers of the world God commended to our care, we must now do our part in the healing of the earth.

Blessings, 

Father Matthew Moore+

Missioner for Environmental Justice, Episcopal Diocese of Long Island

All are warmly invited to join Father Matthew following the 8 am and 10 am services during coffee hour in the Great Hall for a discussion of the environmental crisis and the work of our diocesan Creation Care Community. He is looking forward to hearing from the people of St. John’s about your parish’s involvement in Creation Care.

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Timothy Keller suggests that if “the meaning of life in the United States is the pursuit of pleasure and personal freedom” then suffering will be devastating for many people. “When pain and suffering come upon us, we finally see not only that we are not in control of our lives but that we never were.” Putting our trust in God and living a life of purpose and meaning can actually make suffering an opportunity for growth and draw us to a deeper relationship with God. Purpose is what brings meaning to our lives. When our purpose is about our own needs, pride, and control we are headed for disaster. Life can become more fulfilling and wonderful when we align our lives with the purpose of God.

In his book, “The Word is Very Near You,” Martin Smith defines prayer as attentiveness to God’s disclosure to us and the heart’s response to that disclosure. Paul prayed that God might dwell in our hearts. In today’s Gospel a person asked Jesus how we find purpose and meaning in our lives. Jesus asks them, "what is written in the law." They reply, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus tells the person if they can do this, they will inherit the Kingdom of God. They ask Jesus, “who is my neighbor?”

Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan who takes care of the man who was beaten and robbed on the road, and who was passed by the religious leader and a priest. The grace in the passage is the compassion and mercy that the Samaritan showed for the injured man. He took care of his wounds, let him ride on his own animal, brought him to an inn, paid in advance for his care and promised to come back and make sure his account was settled. The point of the passage is that Christ calls us to deepen our relationship with God so that we might understand what it means to love our neighbor. This story is not just about helping others, but about the mercy and compassion that can only come from God above. God sent God’s only son to suffer and die on the cross that your sins may be forgiven. This is a crucial understanding because when you realize how much God loves all of us, you can begin to see your neighbor in this light and practice a radical hospitality like the Good Samaritan. This idea of unearned grace turned everything upside down. This event changed the way people saw the world forever. The question is, “Can you accept the love of Christ in your heart and allow that love, mercy and compassion to spill out into the world?”

St. John’s has a wonderful reputation for radical hospitality. Every morning we pray together at 9 am. Fr. James has opened our doors to the community on Wednesdays at noon. Please join him and bring a friend. This week we start the summer book study on “Island of the World” on Monday nights at 6:30 pm. We also begin book study of “Gilead” on Mondays at noon. We are working with our neighbors at St. John’s, Cold Spring Harbor. Please join us on Sundays at 8 am and 10 pm for preaching from four different clergy in July. We know that this past two years has brought suffering and pain to many folks due to sickness, gun violence, and economic stress. God offers us a path of meaning and purpose in the midst of chaos. Please join us and I promise you will inherit the eternal life that our person in today’s Gospel was desperately seeking, but unable to find.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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Lord, You Give The Great Commission:

“Heal The Sick And Preach The Word.”

Lest The Church Neglect Its Mission

And The Gospel Go Unheard,

Help Us Witness to Your Purpose

With Renewed Integrity:

With The Spirit’s Gifts Empower Us

For The Work of Ministry.

Lord, You Call Us To Your Service:

“In My Name Baptize And Teach.”

That The World May Trust Your Promise,

Life Abundant Meant For Each,

Give Us All New Fervour, Draw Us

Closer In Community:

With The Spirit’s Gifts Empower Us

For The Work of Ministry.

Lord, You Bless With Words Assuring:

“I Am With You To The End.”

Faith and Hope and Love Restoring,

May We Serve as You Intend,

And, Amid the Cares That Claim Us,

Hold In Mind Eternity:

With The Spirit’s Gifts Empower Us

For The Work Of Ministry

(Hymn 528 v. 1, 2, & 5).

The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ” (BCP p. 855). We can accomplish this by becoming a preaching, baptizing, teaching, and forgiving Eucharistic community through the Holy Spirit. The Episcopal Church Hymn, “Lord, You Give the Great Commission” works well as a hymn of mission in our liturgy. After the Eucharist, we are sent into mission every Sunday with this prayer, “Father, send us out to do the work that you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord" (BCP p. 365). This Hymn will be sung during the offertory to remind us of the mission of the Church today. We are sent forth in the name of Christ. Hymn 528 articulates the Church’s mission through the use of biblical phrases and themes. The first verse refers to a passage in Matthew. “As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:7-8). In this chapter, Jesus summons his disciples and tells them where to go and what to preach. The mission of the Church today is to become a preaching community. We are given the great commission to “go” and preach to the entire world. This preaching comes not only from the pulpit at our Sunday liturgy, but by the way we live our lives in the world as faithful Christians. We are asked to “witness to your purpose.” Mother Teresa said to “proclaim the Gospel” and use words if necessary. By the example of Christ and in the tradition of the saints, we live our lives as a living testimony of the love of God in Jesus Christ. Jesus and his disciples healed the sick and brought people to unity with God and one another. They accomplished this in a servant ministry to those in need. Mother Teresa dedicated her life to healing and caring for the sick. As the Church today, our mission is to do likewise.

In the second verse, we are called into service to baptize and teach. The great commission says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). The theology of the Church today is a Baptismal ecclesiology. We are called to be a baptizing community. “Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s Body the Church” (BCP p. 298). Our theology must focus on Baptism as an essential aspect of the Church’s mission. This is where non-Christian individuals enter the Church. We become disciples and empowered through the triune God with our gifts of ministry. The refrain in hymn 528 articulates the crucial element between every verse, “with the Spirit’s gifts empower us for the work of ministry.” This Baptismal ecclesiology is the core of the Church’s mission. Please join us every Sunday in July as we celebrate 5 Baptisms at St. John’s.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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Summer has arrived, bringing with it time for gatherings with family and friends. It offers a time to relax and appreciate the beauty of the world God has created for our pleasure and safekeeping. Perhaps this summer, as we continue to live into a world with Covid-19, we will have the courage and confidence to travel – to take that long awaited vacation, to visit relatives in far away places, to cruise to ports unknown or to simply enjoy the many parks on our own little island of Long.

Sunday, we begin our own journey with Jesus, here at St. John’s. If you read C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, you might remember a moment when some of the characters reassure each other with reports that Aslan, the great lion, and true ruler of oppressed Narnia, has reappeared to fight the evil witch. Aslan is on the move! In our reading from the Gospel of Luke this week, we see something similar happening with Jesus. Having spent nearly the first half of Luke teaching, preaching, and working miracles, Jesus now hears and responds to his call to turn to Jerusalem and ultimately to the cross. Jesus, like Aslan, is on the move and from this last Sunday in June until the end of October, we will join Jesus on this long, indirect, but necessary journey.

We are on the move!

Luke offers a narrative that helps us, living in the 21st century, to grasp the essence of just who Jesus is. Lukan stories reveal not only the character of Jesus, but in so doing they reveal the nature of the Father who has sent him. We begin to see the mission which Jesus has been commissioned to accomplish. The journey is long and circuitous but includes many of the stories and incidents that are important for our understanding of just who this Jesus is and challenges us to follow along with him.

“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). It is interesting to note that Luke begins and ends in the temple in Jerusalem. Forty days after his birth, Jesus's parents made the journey to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord at the temple. It is the location of his death, resurrection, and ascension. This is an intentional journey that Jesus is on. His face is “set” with a penetrating resolve to accomplish the mission set forth for him by his Father. Jesus’ commitment to embrace the cross for our sake is a clear picture of the singlemindedness of his purpose, prompted by God’s love for humanity and all the world. 

In closely following God’s call and greater purpose for his life, Luke’s Jesus uses this journey, to help those who follow him better understand his mission and what it means to be a disciple. It is a teaching moment for us also.

What does it mean to be His disciple?

What does it take to be His disciple?

As we prepare for our own summer travels, let us take some time to ponder those questions. But don’t just ponder alone. Let’s spend time engaging in the summer book study with Fr. John: Island of the World, by Michael O’Brien, whose main character, Josip, is also on a journey. Join the spirituality group as they dig deeper into what it means to live out our faith and to even expand our spirituality. Join us at church on Sundays, Wednesdays at noon or for our Evensong services each third Thursday. Being in community strengthens our own faith and resolve as we too “set” our faces to join Jesus on his journey.

Journeying with you all in Christ’s love,

Deacon Claire

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Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:14-21).

Resurrection is the new creation that started 2000 years ago in the city of Nazareth. Jesus reads an Old Testament passage from Isaiah in his hometown synagogue. Jesus is anointed with the Holy Spirit to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. At St. John’s Episcopal Church in Huntington you are asked to join in this ministry. Our Baptismal covenant asks us to, “Strive for justice and peace among all people & respect the dignity of every human being.” We are asked to, “Engage the Spectrum of Racial and Social Justice, Participate in Criminal Justice Reform and Healing, and Stand with Immigrants and Refugees” in order to become a beloved community. This is a big challenge, but I believe that it is our calling. St. John’s has hosted three 10-week sessions of Sacred Ground. This program is part of the Episcopal Churches commitment to racial reconciliation. This fall we will offer a session for all our participants of Sacred Ground and look towards our next step in becoming beloved community.

“Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. On June 17, 2021, it officially became a federal holiday. Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered at Appomattox Court House two months earlier in Virginia, but slavery had remained relatively unaffected in Texas—until U.S. General Gordon Granger stood on Texas soil and read General Orders No. 3: ‘The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free”” (History Website).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son:

Look with compassion on the whole human family;

take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts;

break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love;

and work through our struggle and

confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth;

that, in your good time, all nations and races may

serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

– Prayer for the Human Family (Book of Common Prayer, p. 815)

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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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 forever.

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 forever.

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 forever.

Greetings from vacation! As you get to know me, you'll learn I like to know two things about liturgy: rules, and the exceptions to the rules. For example, there are rubrics (rules) for the celebration of Holy Communion on Sundays. For the Liturgy of the Word (the first half of the service) there are requirements of the lessons proclaimed: at least one reading from scripture, a psalm, and the gospel must be proclaimed. So… when the rubrics inform the clergy that for Trinity Sunday: instead of the psalm of the day, Canticle 13 may be used, this usually catches the clergy-person’s attention as this is not the norm.



The Daily Office has twenty-one canticles (hymns or chants taken from a biblical text). They are usually paired with different readings and used at Morning and Evening Prayer. Some of the more popular canticles are well known: the Gloria is the hymn of praise which we sing every Sunday right at the beginning of the service (except during Advent and Lent). Another hymn of praise many know is the Magnificat – or the Song of Mary. The choir chanted the Magnificat during Evensong just a few weeks ago. Sunday is one of the rare days that a canticle can replace the psalm of the day, simply because the lectionary declares this text worthy: The Song of the Three Young Men – Canticle 13 which is the text at the beginning of this article.

The background of this canticle comes from an Old Testament book of the prophet Daniel. In chapters one and two, King Nebuchadnezzar rejects the God of the Judeans, and in the third chapter, he sentences three men to death for their unwillingness to renounce their belief in God. The angel of God came down to be with the three men as they were put into a furnace – but were unharmed by the harsh flames due to the protection from the angel. As any of us would do in that situation, the three men started giving praise to God.

The bible has very Trinitarian language around this scriptural incident: “then the three with one voice praised and glorified and blessed God in the furnace.” I believe the three men crying out in one voice is symbolic of the relationship of the Trinity. There are plenty of examples of how to explain the complicated Trinity: three persons, one God. One of the classic explanations comes from St. Augustine; he explained the Trinity as “Lover, Beloved, and Love itself.” I do appreciate the analogy, but as a visual person I need something tangible to work with. As I’ve been working with the choir recently, I worked on a three-part arrangement of this canticle. Alex helped to break us up into three parts: sopranos sang the melody, altos sang a lower counter melody, and the tenors and basses sang the lowest portion of the harmony. Three different notes, working together in harmony, to accomplish the goal of a single chord.

In an article from 2011 by the British Broadcasting Company regarding the celebration of Trinity Sunday, the author proclaimed that “the Trinity expresses the way Christians should relate to God; worship God the Father, follow the example set by God the Son, and how God the Holy Spirit lives in you.” As we approach this weekend, let us think about what the Trinity means to us, let us meditate on how we work in harmony with others, and how we are called to give praise to God like the Three Young Men. Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We will praise you and highly exalt you forever.

Your sibling in Christ,

Fr. James