Trinity
Given by Lola and Dolph Hanson
This is the first icon in our life of Christ. One usually thinks of the Nativity or even the Annunciation as being the beginning of Jesus’ life but this is ignoring His eternal nature as a member of the Trinity. The border verse talks of the Word (Jesus) who was God (in the Trinity) and created everything. So in this icon we have God the Father on the left. We know this is the Father because in the background is a mansion or house referring to John 14:2 “In my Fathers house are many mansions”. Jesus is in the center in front of a tree – recalling the tree of the cross; and the Holy Spirit is to the right in front of a mountain. This refers to the spiritual heights ~ the mountains in the Bible where God (the Holy Spirit) comes to man. The table is an altar with the Eucharistic Cup. The three dark niches in the front of the table are symbolic of the mystery of the Trinity.
This is all well and good, but why is the Trinity depicted as three angels at a table? The original is a very old composition (Rome 4th century) showing the visit of the Holy Trinity to Abraham ~ Genesis 18:1-15. In this passage God comes to Abraham and Abraham prepares the fatted calf which is shown in the Eucharistic cup. God tells Abraham that he and Sarah will have a child even though they are very old. When she hears this Sarah laughs. A delightful aspect of this icon is that Sister has included Abraham and Sarah in the border. Here, Sarah is covering her mouth laughing. She does bear a son who they named Isaac which means “laughter”. The large turquoise with the heavy black vein reminds us of creation where God separates light from dark, water from land.
-Sandy Kezar
This is all well and good, but why is the Trinity depicted as three angels at a table? The original is a very old composition (Rome 4th century) showing the visit of the Holy Trinity to Abraham ~ Genesis 18:1-15. In this passage God comes to Abraham and Abraham prepares the fatted calf which is shown in the Eucharistic cup. God tells Abraham that he and Sarah will have a child even though they are very old. When she hears this Sarah laughs. A delightful aspect of this icon is that Sister has included Abraham and Sarah in the border. Here, Sarah is covering her mouth laughing. She does bear a son who they named Isaac which means “laughter”. The large turquoise with the heavy black vein reminds us of creation where God separates light from dark, water from land.
-Sandy Kezar
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St. Mary's Episcopal Church - Tampa, FL
4311 West San Miguel Street Tampa, FL 33629 (813) 251-1660 [email protected] Summer Worship Schedule 10 a.m. Blended Sunday Worship Schedule 8 a.m. Contemplative 10 a.m. Blended |
