The icon reflects a biblical story when Abraham and Sarah welcomed two strangers, they sat under a tree with them and shared a fire and a meal with them, gradually as they are talking with them it becomes clear that these people, these strangers are not in fact people – but angels - the angels bless Sarah by telling her that she will have a child even though she was 90 years old.
A powerful story of welcome that has arguable more to say today than at any time in human history. There is talk of closing borders and banning the veil, where suspicion seems to dominate our societies interaction with anybody not like us…The story and this icon both say that as we welcome the stranger in to our midst, whether our church or our country, we realise that the stranger is in fact an angel, and they bring immense blessing to us all.
The story moves on the angels leave the house of Abraham and Sarah and go and stay with Lot where they are assaulted and raped by the men of the town, quite simply because they are different…unfortunately I think that this is often the attitude to the stranger that rears it’s ugly head far to often in society today. Whether it’s in newspaper headlines about asylum seekers, or the opening up of the EU, metaphorically we are assaulting and raping these people, taking away their human dignity by force, just because they are not like us…
However, this is an icon of welcome and as well as drawing from the story of the two strangers in Genesis it is also an Icon of the Trinity. They are all clothed in blue, Blue is a symbol of the divinity of all three, and yet all three are different too – this icon is about unity in diversity and an all inclusive welcome.
The spirit is the figure on the right hand side, clothed in green and blue - Green is a colour that represents new life, the spirit brings new life to the world and us all, behind the spirit is the mountain place – the traditional imagery for the dwelling place of God.
Christ is in the centre clothed in blue, brown and with a gold stripe – the brown identifies Christ with the earth, his human nature and the Gold stripe highlights his divinity. Behind Christ is the tree, perhaps the tree of welcome that Sarah and Abraham sat under as they welcomed the strangers.
And finally the father sat in the shimmering ethereal robe, that highlight that this is the king of heaven, the master of the universe – behind him is the house, another dwelling place of God – Christ said ‘In my fathers house there are many mansions’ a mansion for each one of us. A permanent heavenly home with an open invite for all people.
The icon is in perfect balance, the three figures gaze loving at one anther as they sit around the table. On the table is a chalice of wine, they are about to share communion, but if we look there is an opening at the table, a space for one other person, a space for all of humanity to share the welcome of God.
A space for humanity to join the Holy Trinity,
a place for all of humanity,
the vulnerable,
the down trodden,
the excluded,
the vulnerable,
to join with God in the heavenly banquet.
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