For Trinity Sunday, last week for the Orthodox and the week before for everybody else, I used the Rublev icon as my point of departure. I like having a picture, or some writing from one of the fathers, or even that wheel drawing… just anything. Otherwise, it’s too overwhelming for me.

But, this icon is more than a point of departure. For one thing, it’s an icon which is different from a drawing or something so I might have predicted that, lo these many days later, I’d still be thinking about it. But, this icon is more interesting than others. It’s as if it’s sacred quality is actually conveyed electronically. I made it the wallpaper on my computer. That’s how engaging it is.

The first thing we notice about this icon is that Rublev has eliminated any extra material. He didn’t even include Avraham and Sari. This icon is about the relationship of the members of the Trinity. THAT’s it’s story. In fact, if you don’t know that this icon is about the visitation at the Oaks of Mamre, you likely wouldn’t deduce it just from reading the icon itself. It’s a story about the unique gifts of each person of the Trinity and the intimate unity, a unity of intention and substance, in which such uniqueness functions.

Maybe tomorrow I will feel inclined to write more on this. Maybe not. In any event, I’ve left job and the role of experience in formation but will return to both later. I’m just going to be thinking about this icon for awhile.