De La Soul, Elton John and the 2 Andreis (Rublev + Tarkovsky) - a personal reflection on the Trinity for Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday - June 16th

“3, that’s the magic number (what does it all mean?)”

Or at least so said American 1980’s hip-hop/rap trio De La Soul (which makes me think the Brothers missed a trick back then not forming a hip-hop skiffle band called De La Mennais!).

But really, Trinity… what does it all mean?

I’d be lying if I told you there was an easy answer. During my 4 years of Theological studies in Paris back in the ‘90s, we didn’t study the question of the Trinity in the  history of the Church until the 3rd year, and spent a whole term (one 2 hour lecture per week) wrestling with this mysterious, but fundamental aspect of Christian belief. You could probably fill our school’s MUGA (Multi-Utility Games Area) from floor to ceiling with all the different written studies, commentaries, mystical reflections and works of art that over the past 2,000 years have sought to express, at least in part, the essence of what it means. It is interesting to note that at no point has the Catholic Church let go of this belief. 

I think that one of the reasons why there have been so many different approaches to the question of what we mean by belief in a Triune God, is that those who feel compelled to write about it, or paint, or sculpt an expression of it do so from the position of personal experience. And this is where, I believe, we approach the heart of the matter. 

Let me share my humble penn’orth on the matter from my own experience… 

I believe that to come to a deeper understanding of the Trinity, of what we say when we make the sign of the cross, you have to approach it as more than just an intellectual theological concept. It is a dynamic relationship into which we are invited. The Holy Spirit is often described as the expression of the love between God/Father and God/Son, and which is poured out to us, drawing us into the same relationship of mutual love. Chapter 17 of John’s Gospel, known as Jesus’ “priestly prayer” expresses, in prayer, Jesus’ desire for his followers to share in the love he has for his Father, Our Father, and vice versa, and for us to invite others in turn to share in this relationship… Why? Because God wants us to know we are loved, to experience that love and to share that love with others. THAT is our calling as Christians. Why are so many songs, operas, films, novels, etc… ultimately about love? Because of how we feel when we experience it and because of how we feel when it is absent, because it is at the heart of what it means to be human.

So many of the most troubled young people, including in the school where I work, are not getting the chance to experience the kind of selfless love from another person that they need so as to grow and develop fully into self-confident, yet caring young adults; a love that is Trinitarian in character, that is outward-looking, that is total gift…  Let me correct that: we are ALL looking to share in such love, to give and to receive it.

In Dexter Fletcher’s brilliant film “Rocketman” (on at cinemas now) we see how Elton John grew up with wounds left as the result of not receiving the love and affirmation that he needed as a young boy. One of the best and most moving scenes in the film occurs early on when young Reggie Dwight (Elton’s real name) and members of his family alternate singing lines from his 2001 song “I Want Love”. It is a heartbreakingly beautiful and touching moment that pretty much sums up not just Elton John’s own life story but that of so many of us. In the person of Bernie Taupin, his life-long soulmate, best friend and platonic “brother”, he found someone who understood him and loved him as he was, not from selfish reasons (unlike his manipulative manager, John Reid). Elton John wanted, however, to express his love for Taupin in a physical, sexual way which was not what Taupin desired. John’s woundedness leads him to believe that he is once again being rejected and pushed away, but this time by the one person who truly understands him. Such a perception is actually unfair on Taupin, but we see during the “Tiny Dancer” scene how this leads John to fall into the hands of the unscrupulous Reid on the bounce from his perceived rejection by Taupin. 

Although it’s only implied in the film, I think that John’s salvation doesn’t just come from learning to love and accept the wounded child within himself (as we see in the penultimate scene), but perhaps just a crucially from learning to accept Taupin’s platonic, brotherly love and friendship - a relationship of mutual giving, as opposed to possessiveness - and no longer seek more than this from him. Taupin expressed himself and his love for John through the gift of his lyrics that, in turn, set free the music that was within John, music and words that for decades they have shared with the world, touching people’s hearts in such special ways. Check out this clip from “Rocketman”: “Your Song” from early on in their friendship and working relationship. It’s the song that launched John’s transatlantic success. Taupin and John are coy about who the song is really about, but I think that the film’s interpretation of it being about their own relationship must at least have an element of truth in it.

“My gift is my song, and this one is for you.”

The scene works so brilliantly because you can see the song as being a gift from one person to the other in both directions: Taupin gifts the lyrics to John who in turn gifts them back to Taupin as he sings that back to him, having added his music. Their song is the creative result of their mutual self-giving, the Spirit of their relationship.

That’s Trinitarian love being lived out through the mutual gift of self.

Things come full circle when in another moving and beautiful moment Taupin gives John an envelope as he gets up to go after having visited him in rehab and says that these lyrics need music. It’s a fresh invitation for John to enter once more into the one relationship that is truly life-giving for him at that point in his life.

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I cannot write about Trinity without at least making some mention of Andrei Rublev’s famous 15th-century icon of the Trinity (with it’s reversed perspective, the lines of perspective coming out to the viewer). It seems to be drawing the viewer into the image, inviting you in.

Here it is.

and here is a link to a few of the many commentaries on it.

Here’s the trailer to the wonderful Andrei Tarkovsky film about Rublev (“Andrei Rublev”), examining the relationship between an artist, the events of his time in Medieval Russia and his own spiritual belief:

Well, this started with De La Soul, moved on to Elton John and finally finished with Rublev and Tarkovsky… wow! That wasn’t planned. Maybe the Spirit had something to do with it :-)  

- based on my staff bulletin reflection for 17/6/19