Grace Cathedral

Grace Cathedral

Article | May 25, 2018

Lectionary Reflection – The First Sunday after Pentecost: Trinity Sunday

Blog|Carol James

Isaiah 6:1-8, Romans 8:12-17, John 3:1-17

Our readings today feature folks who aren’t quite sure why they’re there.  The narrator of Isaiah and Jesus’s night visitor Nicodemus are reluctant to come forward and declare themselves, but they can’t resist creeping a little closer to the Word that beckons.  Can you remember a time when you felt you weren’t worthy?  Has there been a moment where it felt risky to open yourself to something new?

God is not waiting for us to be perfect, or even reasonably prepared for change.  In the abundance of God’s gracious response to our needs, even when we’re not able to articulate them, there is always both a will and a way. It may not look like what we expect or what we’ve striven for, but it stretches past our fear and our timidity into a place where our capacities can receive the nourishment and encouragement they need.  That’s where we can finally cry, “Here I am!”

In some traditions, Nicodemus is honored as the patron saint of the curious.  How lovely to see our questions as holy, our doubts as a pathway to the divine!   Where do you need help coming closer?  What questions are you bursting to ask?

Carol James has been part of the cathedral community for over a decade. She has served as a co-mentor in the Education for Ministry program. She currently leads the evening prayer providers in the Jail Ministry and is a cathedral staff member.

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