forty in the wilderness
1 I bind unto myself today
the strong Name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One, and One in Three.
2 I bind this day to me for ever,
by power of faith, Christ's Incarnation;
his baptism in the Jordan river;
his death on cross for my salvation;
his bursting from the spiced tomb;
his riding up the heavenly way;
his coming at the day of doom:
I bind unto myself today.
3 I bind unto myself the power
of the great love of cherubim;
the sweet "Well done" in judgment hour;
the service of the seraphim;
confessors' faith, apostles' word,
the patriarchs' prayers, the prophets' scrolls;
all good deeds done unto the Lord,
and purity of virgin souls.
4 I bind unto myself today
the virtues of the starlit heaven
the glorious sun's life-giving ray,
the whiteness of the moon at even,
the flashing of the lightning free,
the whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
the stable earth, the deep salt sea,
around the old eternal rocks.
5 I bind unto myself today
the power of God to hold and lead,
his eye to watch, his might to stay,
his ear to hearken, to my need;
the wisdom of my God to teach,
his hand to guide, his shield to ward;
the word of God to give me speech,
his heavenly host to be my guard.
6 Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
7 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.
On the Christian church calendar, tomorrow is Trinity Sunday. An issue in my mind is that continuing the habit of thinking along these lines is not consistent with my deep desert wilderness retreat discernment objective of discovering "What now?" I like and appreciate the invitations. I like and appreciate the suggestion of retiring into where I like to be with those I like to be around. Though what I actually had/have in mind is more like, "Cast off all lines. - - Underway, shift colors."
So then - - underway with way on, or underway adrift? It's the latter: I've no immediate commitments, nor plans for going anywhere or doing anything - - which actually frees me to drift into Trinity Sunday then, doesn't it.
The Xn doctrine of the Trinity is laid down in the church's three creeds:
From earliest Times, the Apostles' Creed, which these days is familiar as the "I believe" creed in the Baptismal Covenant.
The Nicene Creed, a refutation of fourth century CE heresies, the "We believe" creed that the church requires everyone to stand and recite on Sundays and other major feasts.
The so-called Athanasian Creed - - "so-called" because Athanasius never heard of it, but it's named after him because it seems to say what he taught. Latin, it's an early creed of the Western Church. I like that creed's introduction, which is an anathema:
"Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance."
+++++++
I like that nutty, smug, arrogant introduction to certitude, "Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly," which reminds me that doubt and faith are compatible, while faith and certainty are not compatible. Faith is hope and assurance, not certainty.
Wandering again, Bub.
The Trinity doctrine comes out of understanding the gospel promise of the Holy Spirit as a third entity along with Father and Son. And it's sort of specified at the end of Matthew 28, 16 And the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus ordered them. 17 And having seen Him, they worshiped Him. But the ones doubted. 18 And having come to them, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth was given to Me. 19 Therefore having gone, make-disciples-of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to keep all that I commanded you. And behold— I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the age”.
And, from a Christian perspective, the Genesis 1:1f description of God bringing Earth out of chaos into order: "1 In the beginning when ELOHIM created the heavens and the earth …. 2 And the earth was desolate and waste; and darkness was over the face of the deep waters, and the spirit of ELOHIM was hovering over the face of the waters —- 3 then ELOHIM said, “Let there be light”: and there was light. 4 And ELOHIM saw the light, that it was good; and ELOHIM separated between the light and between the darkness, 5. And ELOHIM call the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening and there was morning, day one."
Where ELOHIM is the Father, the spirit of ELOHIM is a separate Being, and ELOHIM speaking is what Gospel John calls LOGOS, the Word of God, where the LOGOS is the prime motivating force that brings all that is into existence, into Being, identified by Gospel John (prologue) as Jesus Christ. Thus, ELOHIM, spirit, LOGOS, a Trinity.
(There's nothing deep or notable about my explanation, it's known by most anyone who ever attended an adult Sunday school class)
Art: pinched online along with the following explanation of the icon.
"Held in high esteem by Christians of the East and West alike, this icon is one of the most profound visualizations of the Trinity ever produced
FROM THE ARCHIVES
“It is most absurd and improper to depict in icons God the Father with a grey beard and the Only-Begotten Son in His bosom with a dove between them, because no-one has seen the Father according to His Divinity, and the Father has no flesh […] and the Holy Spirit is not in essence a dove, but in essence God.” (Great Synod of Moscow, 1667)
For the Russian Orthodox Church, depicting the Holy Trinity in art has been an issue of controversy for the past thousand years. Even though the Council of Nicaea in 787 permitted the artistic representation of God, the Russian Orthodox Church was unhappy with the popular images of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
They felt the gray-bearded man and the dove could not do justice to the unfathomable mystery of the triune God. In place of these widespread images of God, they chose to use Andrei Rublev’s Trinity icon as the proper way to depict the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Russian icon is hard to grasp for those outside the Orthodox tradition and at first glance it doesn’t appear to represent the Holy Trinity. The central scene of the icon comes from the book of Genesis, when Abraham welcomes three strangers into his tent,
“And the Lord appeared to [Abraham] by the oaks of Mamre … He lifted up his eyes and … behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth …[Abraham] set [cakes, curds, milk, and a calf he prepared] before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.” (Genesis 18:1–8)
Rublev’s icon depicts this scene with three angels, similar in appearance, sitting around a table. In the background is the house of Abraham as well as an oak tree that stands behind the three guests. While the icon depicts this scene in the Old Testament, Rublev used the biblical episode to make a visual representation of the Trinity that fit within the strict guidelines of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The symbolism of the image is complex and is meant to summarize the Church’s theological beliefs in the Holy Trinity. First of all, the three angels are identical in appearance corresponding to the belief of the oneness of God in three Persons. However, each angel is wearing a different garment, bringing to mind how each Person of the Trinity is distinct. The fact that Rublev depicts the Trinity using angels is also a reminder of the nature of God, who is pure spirit.
The angels are shown from left to right in the order that we profess our faith in the Creed: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The first angel wears a blue undergarment, symbolizing the divine nature of God and a purple outer garment, pointing to the Father’s kingship.
The second angel is the most familiar as he is wearing the clothes typically worn by Jesus in traditional iconography. The crimson color symbolizes Christ’s humanity, while the blue is indicative of his divinity. The oak tree behind the angel reminds us of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden as well as the cross upon which Christ saved the world from the sin of Adam.
The third angel is wearing a blue garment (divinity), as well as a green vestment over the top. The color green points to the earth and the Holy Spirit’s mission of renewal. Green is also the liturgical color worn on Pentecost in the Orthodox and Byzantine tradition. The two angels on the right of the icon have a slightly bowed head toward the other, illustrating the fact that the Son and Spirit come from the Father.
In the center of the icon is a table that resembles an altar. Placed on the table is a golden bowl or chalice that contains the calf Abraham prepared for his guests and the central angel appears to be blessing the meal. All of that combined reminds us of the sacrament of the Eucharist.
While not the most direct representation of the Holy Trinity, it is one of the most profound visualizations ever produced. It remains in the Orthodox and Byzantine traditions the primary way to depict the Triune God. The icon is even held in high esteem in the Roman Catholic Church and is frequently used by catechists to teach others about the mystery of the Trinity.
The Trinity is a mystery and will always be so while we are on earth. However, sometimes we are given glimpses into God’s divine life, and Rublev’s icon allows us a brief second to peek behind the veil."
RSF&PTL
T88&c