"Drawn into the Triune Life" - Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Drawn into the Triune Life
Pentecost 4 – Summer Series “Brushes with God”
July 7, 2019
Grace, Mankato, MN
Genesis 18.1-15

The Lord visits Abraham and Sarah at their tent during the heat of the day. (Or is it three men that visit Abraham and Sarah?) After having “a little something to eat”—code phrase for a Lutheran feast—he (or they) make an announcement to them. Abraham and Sarah are to have a son, a son that has been long-awaited since the promise was first made in chapter 12, one they had quite frankly given up on. Having been drawn into a life with the Lord through that promise, they’ve retreated from it in the face of old age. Believing the Lord, following his promises, and claiming the life offered by the Lord has become a functional impossibility. So, who can criticize Sarah for laughing? Surely she cannot be blamed for dismissing the Lord’s claims.

It may seem odd that we look at this story through the eyes of “The Trinity Icon” by Andrei Rublev. However, like much interpretive work, we are going to let the story interpret the painting as well as the painting interpret the story. Icons, or iconography, are a particular variety of painting, mostly found in the Eastern Orthodox religious tradition. They are highly symbolic, yet contain consistent elements even when the subjects vary. They were used as teaching tools to tell the biblical story for those who couldn’t read. In essence, they are “words in painting.” Icons are also signs, but they not only point to a mysterious reality, they participate in them as well. That’s why icons are so venerated.

“The Trinity Icon” was originally called the “Hospitality of Abraham,” when the subject was first painted by an unknown artist in the 5th century. It was also called the “Old Testament Trinity” because the Early Church Fathers saw this story (and painting) as the earliest revealing of the One God in Three Persons. When Rublev arrived 1,000 years later, he deleted Abraham, Sarah and the preparation of the meal from the icon, and the remaining elements took on different meanings. For example,  the angels represent the three persons of the trinity; the building symbolizes the One who laid the foundations of the world; the oak of Mamre now came to mean the tree on which the Son dies or symbolizes eternal life; and the mountain denoted the spiritual heights given to the faithful.

But the more interesting elements involve the three angels who are representing the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. However, please note that the icon does not depict God; for in iconography only Jesus can be a symbol of the divine. Rather, the icon shows the mystery of revelation that is described by the Trinity. Notice the colors in the icon: a red robe stands for the Father’s burning love for the Son; the Son’s purple robe signifies kingly majesty; the green robe of the Spirit symbolizes life and growth in the Christian life. And not the gestures: the Father blesses the Son’s mission to the world; the Son’s two fingers hover over the chalice, signifying his dual nature; and the Spirit’s hand is shaped like a descending dove.

Notice how the faces, shoulders and the outer part of the robes form a circle. Here Rublev tries to express the almost inexpressible: the unity of one God in three distinct but unified persons. The oneness is also expressed through two other elements: the color blue in each garment and the co-equality in the length of each staff. Furthermore, they also look toward a chalice, which contains a calf or lamb’s head, symbolizing the sacrifice they will make for humanity. This is further high-lighted by their bodies, which also form the shape of the chalice. This is the life of the triune God offered to the world.

So what? How does this help us see the story of Abraham and Sarah any differently or get us closer to understanding the Trinity? Commentators on the Abraham and Sarah story sternly warn us not to read the Trinity into this narrative. However, I think Rublev was onto something that both the story and the icon try to portray. God continually tries to draw us into the divine, mysterious life that is a dancing circle of love, constituted by God’s very being. Abraham and Sarah couldn’t see the possibility of that life for them, but God drew them in anyway. As you contemplate and study Rublev’s icon on the Trinity, where is God trying to draw you into the divine life? What impossible thing in your life is God working on right now? Whatever it may be, welcome to the circle of love. Amen.