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View this email in your browser A daily Lenten e-mail with lessons of hope and courage, inspired by a variety of resources to encourage us in these confusing and turbulent times from St. Luke’s Church, Lebanon. Wednesday - Fourth Week in Lent Today the Church remembers St. Patrick, known as the Apostle to Ireland. Among Patrick’s deepest insights was the importance of the Trinity to a comprehension of the work of God in us. But how can there be three, distinct  identifiable persons in one God – each of which is God whole and entire. Patrick used a shamrock – with three distinct petals – as a model for understanding. Patrick would have been enthralled with we know as a hologram. In this marvel of light manipulation, an image is cast. The amazing thing is that you if you divided the image and you would see there the whole image in the part, whole and entire. This model, too, fails to grasp the entire concept but gives us a clue to understanding. In the Gospel lesson appointed for today, Jesus identifies with the Father and tells his listeners that he and the Father are one. Some of those who heard could not comprehend the possibility. Wedded to their ancient practices, they found him to be a blasphemer and set out to kill Jesus for “making himself equal to God.” We call the Trinity a “mystery,” not because we cannot know the persons in the Trinity but because our knowledge of who they are will always be imperfect. Because we cannot know God completely, we spend our lives being drawn ever more deeply into God’s life. As God draws us deeper, we begin to make real what God intended for us to be from the beginning. As the early Clement, one of the early Church Fathers taught, “God became man (sic) so that we might become a god.” In a sense, we become part of the hologram. Hearing Jesus’ assertion that he and the Father are one takes on a different meaning as we begin to experience that union for ourselves. Tis leaves us amazed – not in the negative wonderment of those religious authorities in Jesus day, but in the awesome realization that we are being caught up into the very life of God. Take a few moments to reflect upon the mystery of the Trinity. Ask God to reveal God’s inner life more fully to your mind and more completely consume your heart. Ask that you may come to see that you are able to share deeply in the life of the Trinity. May you be filled with a holy awe at what you see. Scripture Lessons appointed for the day (Click on the lesson for the text) Isaiah 49:8–15 John 5:19–29 Psalm 145:8–19   “Life is a hologram. Even the smallest moment contains eternity within it.” ― Banani Ray Being drawn into God . . . Have you ever felt enchanted by God? What draws you away from God? Have you ever stood speechless before something beautiful? Be Thou My Vision Sung by Nathan Pacheco Pianist: Rebecca Pacheco Cellist: Nicole Pinnel Licensed to YouTube by AWAL Digital Limited (Kobalt) (on behalf of Shadow Mountain Records); Concord Music Publishing, Warner Chappell “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” ― Albert Einstein Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.