Holy Trinity: ‘Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer’

By the Rev. Robert Blezard

Revised Common Lectionary reflection for Holy Trinity Sunday, Year C
June 15, 2025

Key verse: Jesus taught, “All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that the Holy Spirit will take what is mine and declare it to you.” -John 16:15

“Blessed be the Holy Trinity – our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.” This modern, gender-inclusive formulation for the Holy Trinity focuses on the roles more than the commonly understood identities.

For preaching on Holy Trinity Sunday, Year C, the appointed RCL lessons would well support a sermon that explains the primary functions revealed for each person of the Trinity. Such a sermon would go a long way in helping God’s people understand how the fullness of the Trinity relates to how they steward their lives and spirituality to achieve what Jesus describes as abundant life in John 10:10.

“Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer” addresses some of the most important questions of faith: “Who am I? Where did I come from? How can I get right with God? How can I live righteously?

God as “Creator” is assumed in all the readings, but Psalm 8 makes it explicit by referring to “the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars” (v. 3), as well as humans and all living things. By opening and closing with the line, “Oh LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth” (vv. 1 and 9), the psalmist makes it clear that the created order is not the consequence of a random interaction of matter and energy (a dead “big bang”), rather, a carefully crafted masterwork of an Almighty designer. Moreover, the psalm asserts the special place that humans have in the Divine One’s created order.

Complementing the organic connection we have with God as Creator, the Romans and John readings underscore our intimate relationship with the other two persons of the Trinity.

Paul writes clearly about Jesus’ role as Savior: “Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace” (5:1,2a). Like new wiring in an old house, Jesus strengthens connection the creator.

As for the third Person of the Trinity, Paul is succinct, saying that the Holy Spirit works in us to pour God’s love into our hearts (v. 5:5). In this week’s passage from John, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as the bringer of truth (as he did in last week’s Gospel passage, along with Advocate and teacher (John 14:26)).

A sermon on the Holy Trinity could help congregants understand how this paradoxical, hard-to-understand concept engages us as God’s believers. In all aspects, God is for us, not against us. God’s universe is predisposed to our good, so that we can lead lives of abundance that Jesus promises in John 10:10: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Jesus not only shows us the path to that abundant life, he IS the path to the abundant life. Our faith in Jesus gives us an intimate connection to Jesus, and through his salvific death and resurrection, Jesus reconciles us to God our creator and links us to God the Holy Spirit. Though they are one and their work is both distinct and overlapping, the Holy Trinity works for the good of us and all of God’s people.

This week’s reading from Proverbs provides an angle for preachers interested in presenting a feminine dimension of God to counterbalance the masculine images inherent in God the Father and God the Son. In this dramatic reading, the feminine first-person voice of Wisdom – Sophia in Greek – tells her story and describes her mission. Jewish thought has traditionally seen Sophia as a feminine expression of the divine nature.

Trinity Sunday reminds us of the profound mystery and unity of God’s work in the world. As we reflect on the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, we are inspired to live as faithful stewards, embodying the love and grace of the Triune God in all that we do.

In Worship

Trinity Sunday offers a unique opportunity for creative and engaging worship that reflects the triune nature of God. Here are some ideas:

• Call to Worship: Use a Trinitarian call to worship, invoking God as Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer. For example: “We gather in the name of the Father, who created all things; the Son, who redeems us; and the Holy Spirit, who sustains us.”
• Visual Elements: Incorporate symbols of the Trinity, such as a threefold candle, a Trinitarian knot, or artwork depicting creation, redemption, and sustaining grace.
• Music: Sing hymns and songs that celebrate the Trinity, such as “Holy, Holy, Holy” or “Come, Join the Dance of Trinity.”
• Prayers: Craft prayers that address each person of the Trinity, highlighting their distinct yet united work in the world and in our lives.
• Creative Liturgy: Consider a responsive reading or a drama that explores the three roles of the Trinity, using the lectionary texts as inspiration.

With children and youth

For centuries, the most brilliant minds of Christianity have written volumes on the mystery of the three-in-one, one-in-three Trinity. So, the task of explaining it to children and youth is a hard one. As a result, it may be wise to fall back on tried-and-true examples of one whole existing in three dimensions, such as a three-leaf clover, water (existing as liquid, ice or gas), or a triangle.

However you explain the Holy Trinity, emphasize that the three dimensions of God all work in our lives for good, because God loves us and wants the best for us.

rinity Sunday reminds us of the profound mystery and unity of God’s work in the world. As we reflect on the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, we are inspired to live as faithful stewards, embodying the love and grace of the Triune God in all that we do.

Previous reflections for Holy Trinity Sunday, Year C:
2019 – Embracing the Holy (and wholly) mystery of the Trinity
2016 – In this we boast: In Christ we hope
2013 – In good company: Peace, love and hope
2010 – The divine ensemble