Trinity Season
The humble clover leaf, or Shamrock to the Irish, has been one of the most effective and long-lasting explanations of the Holy Trinity. It’s remarkable that this common leaf of the wildflower meadows is still the national emblem of Ireland.
And it’s just a leaf – the flower doesn’t get a look in.
Little did St Patrick know when he plucked the leaf and talked about the Trinity back in the 5th century that this would become the defining symbol of the country of his slavery. Patrick was born into a Christian family in Cumbria during the Roman occupation of Britain. At sixteen he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and lived as a slave shepherding for his master for six years before he escaped on a ship bound for France. While there he trained as a priest and responded to a call from God to return to Ireland
as a missionary to the Irish people.
Patrick’s use of simple illustrations from nature was the way Jesus taught the values of the Kingdom — whether sowing, harvesting, shepherding or fishing. It’s a reminder of the spiritual connection between God the creator, the natural world and the world of us humans whom Jesus came to save. As the three dimensions of the clover leaf receives energy from photosynthesis to provide life for its flower, so the triune God gives energy in three dimensions to each human flower he creates.
The three-in-one and one-in-three character of God also reminds us that just as the Godhead lives in community, so our Christian lives need to be lived in community. We were not designed to walk the Christian way alone. It’s the reason I always prefer the version of the creed which begins ‘We believe in God the Father, Almighty…’ And as St John makes clear in his chapter seventeen, we are expected to live in unity with each other just as the three expressions of God live in unity with one another. This aspiration of unity has challenged the church ever since its foundation. As is often said, church unity doesn’t need to mean uniformity, but it does need to mean mutual respect for one another — so that the watching world may have a chance of believing.
St Patrick’s illustration from the June wildflower meadows still needs to be heeded all these centuries later. The World Council of Churches phrase ‘the fellowship of disagreement’ has always impressed me. When we achieve this, we’ll be free and confident, when necessary, to disagree with one another but always in a bond of close fellowship. That’s a level of maturity and freedom which all of us could do with whether Christians or not.
David Hawkins Trinity Season 2026
