Do you remember the old projection televisions?

I remember wandering through the aisles of the electronic super stores marveling at the big screen tv’s. In the 1980’s, in order to see the largest projection televisions on the market you had to go to the special display area in the store to see the latest rare and expensive technology. These were reserved for the wealthy, and I could only dream. The one thing I remember about these screens was the three large color bulbs on the front of the box. The red, blue, and green lights reflected against a large mirror and bounced back onto a white screen. All of the colors were created for the picture display through these three colors. It was mystical. I never questioned why, I just stared at the picture that was created from these three colors.

All of the color seen by the human eye is either transmitted or reflected light consisting of a mixture of the 3 primary colors: red, green, and blue. Did the early church know this?

I became fascinated with Andrei Rublev's artwork when I learned about the intricacies of his paintings. I saw a picture of the three angels in my RCIA class and I was amazed.

Something that stood out to me was the use of color to display deep symbolism. I had never been aware of the use of color but once I understood, I began to see it everywhere in art Orthodox and Roman Catholic art. I love Iconography. 

Red is a color typically used for Christ. The red symbolizes humanity specifically within the divine nature of Christ. We often see Jesus clothed with an undergarment of red and an outer layer of blue. God the Son in the flesh or the creation but clothed in His true divine nature.

Blue is used for divinity. We see Mary often clothed in blue as she was fully human and a creature and creation of God but given divine nature in her womb. We see her undergarment blue and a top layer or as the madonna with the infant Christ in red with her. The red symbolizes the humanity of Christ that she carried in her womb.

We also see the color green often used with the Holy Spirit and the Church. The Holy Spirit dwells within the church. The third angel wears blue (divinity) but is clothed by green (earth colors) to symbolize the third part of the trinity within the Church.

When you combine all three colors, we create white. White in itself is the presence of all colors. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as one God and is the source of all creation. The culmination of all things is a creation of God. White light. Pure. Holy.

I remember the old projection screen televisions. I was fascinated at seeing the three primary colors being projected onto a screen to create the picture. It was magical. How did only three colors create all shades of color needed for a picture? The inner workings of our eyes contain cones to detect these three colors. We have red cones, blue cones, and green cones.

The display of these three colors is often through three circles which show the combined white light at the center. It just so happens to also be the symbol for the Trinity.

We can even see symbolism in the secondary colors as the cross between the three. The cross between God the Father (Blue- Divinity) and God the Son (Red- Humanity) makes violet or purple. Purple is often used to denote royalty. Christ is seen wearing a purple sash which signifies his line of Kingship through David and also his line as King of the Universe. We also see the color yellow used for renewal, light, and hope. We see this derived from the Holy Spirit (Green - Church) and of God the Son (Red - Passion, Blood of Christ).

The biggest question I have from the colors. Did the early church understand these three primary colors? Did they mix the colors on a palette to understand the symbolism? Which came first, the science behind the color or the symbolism? No matter how I answer the question, I can only see the divine design behind it. I see purpose and more revelation into God's spirit.

The secondary colors produced all remain separate from each other. They are connected to the Trinity. We see the yellow for renewal, light and hope, the cyan for liveliness, youth, and energy, and the purple of royalty, and power. These three secondary colors when separated from the Trinity and combined with one another create black which is associated with sin. Without the Trinity, these attributes which were not meant to be severed from God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now combine to reflect sin.

Is this coincidence? Joyous celebration in youth, hope, and aspirations in one’s self when mixed with power and status leads to sin. We were never created to operate alone and without God.

Romans 6:12-21

Therefore, sin must not reign over your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires. And do not present the parts of your bodies to sin as weapons for wickedness, but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life and the parts of your bodies to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin is not to have any power over you, since you are not under the law but under grace... But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient from the heart to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted. Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your nature. For just as you presented the parts of your bodies as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness for lawlessness, so now present them as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness. But what profit did you get then from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

You may see scripture above but I read the description from the color wheels diagram above. The letter from Paul to the Church of Rome describes the meaning behind the Trinity. When we are tapped into the red, blue, and green, we are able to experience all of the colors and at the center are holiness and white light. We should be experiencing everything under the grace of righteousness. With Jesus, this is now possible. We are new creations.

The magic of the old projection television was ministering to me at a young age. God's design is in everything. The detail is extraordinary. We only need to look for it in creation. I am back in 1987 in the darkroom of the electronics store staring at the three color bulbs on the front of a large wooden box. I am staring in wonder and God has planted this seed to be revealed 35 years later in my life.