Tuesday Lectionary Leanings -- How does 1+1+1=1? Edition

Well that clears it up....

Let us start with an old prayer -- an excerpt from St. Patrick's Breastplate:

I bind unto myself the Name,

The strong Name of the Trinity,

By invocation of the same,

The Three in One and One in Three.

By Whom all nature hath creation,

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:

Praise to the Lord of my salvation,

Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Or here is the whole prayer in chant form (as seems most fitting):

Trinity

This week is Trinity Sunday.  And I am SO thankful to not be preaching. I remember many years ago reading a story about a gentleman who rarely went to church on Easter Sunday but always went on Trinity Sunday.  Why?  Because he knew that most preachers could do a passable job of the Resurrection but always wanted to see how the preacher could explain the totally unexplainable (or incomprehensible) doctrine of the Trinity.

At any rate, the readings for Trinity Sunday Year B are here.

 On this Sunday do you choose to preach the doctrine or do you choose to preach one of the passages?  Certainly there is a sermon to be found in Isaiah's vision?  ANd many sermons could come from the Nicodemus story [is it just me or does John 3 show up far too often in the lectionary cycle?].

Where are you headed this Trinity Sunday?  Is it possible to explain the Trinity in one sermon?  Maybe it helps if, like St. Patrick did in legend, you have a helpful 3 leafed plant to pick on as an illustration....


{PS: I have heard it suggested that the math for the Trinity is not so much 1+1+1=1 as 1*1*1=1 -- which at least has the value of being a logical mathematical statement}