The Song of the Unending Three
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come”
Continuing something of a mini-theme on Indian Roman Catholic visual interpretations of central themes and symbols of the Christian faith after featuring Jyoti Sahi’s depiction of Pentecost last week, here is the Jesuit priest, artist, and educator A. J. Thamburaj’s depiction of the Holy Trinity.
Describing this image in his book Christian Art in India, Herbert Hoefer reads the image thus:
Green is the colour of creativity and fertility. Red is the colour of activity. Blue is the colour of the sea and sky, symbols of mystery and eternity. Yellow [saffron] is an auspicious and joyful colour in Indian custom. The upraised hand [abaya mudra] is a symbol of protection in Indian art and dance. It represents the Father. Its message is ‘Fear not’. The fish denotes the ever-watching eye of God, for the eyelids of the fish never close. The downward hand [varada mudra] represents Christ. This gesture is common in Indian sculpture and dance. God is said to point his devotees to hide under the arch of his foot for refuge. The red wound reminds us that the risen Lord bears the redemptive marks of the crucifixion. The red hand symbolizes the purifying fire, the Holy Spirit. The spiral line indicates the wind, connecting all three Persons in unity. Fire and wind are power. Our life is in the ever-present protecting, redeeming, purifying and empowering hands of the Triune God.
The green and the blue hands might also be read in reverse: the green hand being the hand of Christ offering to God the substance of humanity, and the downward facing hand distributing the blessing and benefit of Christ’s atoning death on the Cross: wounded, for the Father’s participation in the suffering of the Son.
The voice of the Lord makes the deer to bring forth young, and strips the forests bare; in his temple all cry “Glory.”
—Psalm 29:8
Trinity Sunday
Texts for This Week
Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever.
Ghodoos, ghodoos, ghodoos
Here we enjoy the Persian-speaking church of Venlo in the Netherlands joining in that great hymn sung by the angels without ceasing in praise and honor to the Triune God — Holy, Holy, Holy.
