The connection of the Trinity with strength comes out in many ways: I remember some time ago in Jamaica there used to be a senior police officer who was greatly feared, particularly by people with some connection to the criminal underclass, because of his ominous reputation for not pulling any punches.

They dubbed him “Trinity”, and that became the name by which he was always referred. The connection of the Trinity with real strength appears in Scripture and comes out also in hymnody. “St. Patrick’s Breastplate” to be found in some older hymn-books begins, “I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity.”

The poem is a vigorous exposition of the mighty power of God, declaring that when we bind to ourselves the power of His Trinitarian attributes, His virtues and His graces, we have a borrowed strength available to us to be victorious over all the hosts of evil and sin both external to us and within. God is not just good: He is also strong.

St. Paul’s words at the end of his second letter to the Corinthians have become known to us as “The Grace”, which Anglican Christians say at the end of the Daily Offices of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all evermore.” We should not forget that the words connote God’s tremendous goodness and strength. In 2 Corinthians St. Paul has shown high concern for the church that he himself planted and his deep consciousness of its failings.

He is aware that there need to be great changes as they root out some of their attitudes and grow into Christ. We have heard him in his farewell message to them at the end of his letter telling them, “Mend your ways, heed my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace.” But where is the power to come from for them to be able to make these changes?

Right at the end of the letter St. Paul states where the power comes from, in the words of “The Grace”.

It is worth noting too that the word “Be” in “be with you all” does not occur in the original language. It is more than likely that St. Paul was confirming that these strengths, the grace of Jesus, the love of God the Father and the fellowship or communion of the Holy Spirit, were present with the church.

The fact that their attitudes and behaviour left much to be desired compelled St. Paul to assure them that the power to change was there for them to call upon. That, perhaps, is why St. Paul begins with the aspect of “grace” - the available strength, through the perfect offering of Jesus, was entirely undeserved by them. The Corinthian church was to bind itself to the strong name of the Trinity.

Today too the worldwide Church, both locally and as a whole, has very many deficiencies and defects, but the mighty and good power of God to deal with it is present, which we in patience should acknowledge, not least when we say the Grace in the Daily Offices or in our prayers.

It is good to be reminded of that power at a time when one feels sometimes almost overwhelmed and crushed by the various battles to which we are impelled. When we are tempted to feel inadequate to meet all the challenges both internal and external, we too can in the words of the old poem say:

“Against the demon snares of sin, The vice that gives temptation force, The natural lusts that war within, The hostile men that mar my course - Or few or many, far or nigh, In every place, and in all hours, Against their fierce hostility I bind to me these holy powers.”

We need that strength so much, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost. As the concluding Doxology of the same hymn goes, “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, Of whom all nature hath creation, Eternal Father, Spirit, Word. Praise to the Lord of my salvation:

Salvation is of Christ the Lord.”

At the end of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, we read of Jesus appearing to His disciples before His ascension, and saying “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” What Satan had fraudulently offered Him in the wilderness was now indeed given by the Father to Him following His unalloyed obedience to the Father’s will, following the Wisdom that He had adhered to and following the love for His brethren that He had put forth to the extent of death itself.

The Son of God had suffered royally and was exalted royally. Now, that grace that He had so demonstrated, is with us. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” By the strong name and authority of the Trinity, we too mount up with wings like eagles on our mission to the world and to this age with all its contradictions, we run and are not weary, and we walk and do not faint.


For commentary, information and devotional material see www.churchofenglandcayman.com and www.anglicansatprayer.org