• Psalm Praise

This is my Beloved Son

Ty Mam Duw’s Lenten Banner 2008

I THE BAPTISM OF JESUS

Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased. (Mark 1:9-11)

We look at the Lord:
The Lord stands with his arms outstretched, the Spirit enfolds him and his Father’s hand reaches out, designating him Son of God in power according to the Spirit of Holiness as St Paul says (Rom 1:4)

We listen to the Lord:
You are my Beloved Son, my beloved child

We look at John the Baptist:
He kneels to the right of the Lord’s feet, his head is bowed in awe. The water is still flowing from his hands as Jesus, now baptised, rises amid the waters. Matthew says that he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened (Matt 3:16).

We listen to John:
Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptise with water said to me, `He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptises with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.
(John 2 :30-34)

II ST PAUL

Paul stands on the right of the picture robed in red. By him The baptised person lies in the womb of the tomb, Paul says: Awake O sleeper and arise from the dead (Eph 5:14) You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Put away the deeds of darkness, put off the old nature and put on the new (Colossians 3:3). You were washed, you were made holy, you were made just in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit (I Cor 6:11).

Between the Lord and St Paul, the figures of Adam and Eve, bowed with sorrow and with the deeds of darkness walk out into the wilderness. Sin came into the world through one man and and death through sin.... but in Jesus, the new Adam, we receive the abundance of Grace and the free gift of righteousness (Rom 5:12-21), because that it what Baptism does for us.

Paul carries a sword over a scroll: the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Eph 6: 10-20), symbolic of the gifts we receive in baptism, by which we are defended against the evil we have rejected when we turn to Christ.

III ST PETER

The left side of the picture illustrates themes from the 1st Letter of St Peter which has been identified as a homily on baptism

Peter stands on the rock and holds a new-born child: Like new-born babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation; for you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. 1 Peter 2:2
and You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. I Peter 1:23

Behind Peter is the church of the reborn: like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5

The new man and the new woman stand under the waterfall of grace that descends from the city of God in the kingdom of heaven, our living hope,
we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, Peter tells us we are God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 1 Peter 2:9 This side of the picture is irradiated by that light, while the right side is set against the dark out of which we have been called.

IV THE LITURGY OF BAPTISM

Lord Jesus, you are the fountain for which we thirst, you are the Master whom we seek. In the Gospel of the Blind Man (Jn 9:1-41) which is part of the liturgy of Lent and the final preparation for baptism Jesus says to the blind man ‘Go wash in the pool of Siloam” Siloam means Sent. Adam and Eve walk along an aqueduct of five arches, reminiscent of the architecture of the pool of Siloam. The river of life flows out into our wilderness offering us life and sight, that the eyes of our heart be enlightened so that we may know hope (Ephesians 1:18)

Behind St Paul is the Fountain of Life, which symbolises the teaching of the Church under the continual guidance of the Holy Spirit. Open beside the fountain is the Catechism of the Catholic Church, containing the Creed which the Catechumens receive as they prepare for Baptism. Beyond the fountain a catechumen, now numbered among the elect, kneels accompanied visibly by his guardian angel (and invisibly by his Godparents) he is learning to pray the Our Father, which, like the Creed, is a gift the Church gives him as he prepares to be born again into new life.

V PARADISE OF THE FOUR RIVERS

When we comes to seek baptism, we, or if we were still infants, our Godparents, are asked, “What do you ask of God’s Church?” We answer, “Faith”. “What does faith offer you?” the celebrant asks and we answer, “Eternal life”.

Everything in the sanctuary of earth, as the author of the letter to the Hebrews says, is modelled on the heavenly sanctuary. In the Apocalypse of St John, the Lamb who is our shepherd guides us to springs of living water (Rev 7:17). To the thirsty he gives as a gift from the spring of the water of life (Rev 21:6). Through this city of God which descends like a bride from the heavens runs the river of life bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God (Rev 22:1-5)and the Tree of Life is either side of this river. This is an image of the eternal life to which baptism leads us.

The last pages of the Bible are very like the first pages which describe paradise before the fall. In its centre is the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The garden is filled with every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good to eat. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers (Gen 2: 8-14)

On the right of the picture above Adam and Eve, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - a knowledge we stole before we were ready to receive it - is withered to our perception. But on the left hand side of the picture the golden Tree of Life bears the fruits of the Spirit on its nine branches and other trees, twelve in number crowd the river banks that lead up to the heavenly Jerusalem.

All the water in the picture, in fact, finds its source in the water flowing down over the redeemed from the City of God, since water does not run up hill. The River Jordan in which John the Baptist stands at the bottom of the picture is one with the four rivers that flow through of the circle of waters that surrounds the Lord.

The rainbow over the Lord is one with the Covenant rainbow of Noah and the rainbow over His eternal throne in Heaven. The Seven flames unite the gifts of the Spirit in the prophet Isaiah with the the seven candlesticks before the throne of God in the book of Revelation.

In the sacrament of Baptism we have been given a sure hope - spe salvi - that begins now. We travel to the City of God in eternity inside the City of God on earth, we already eat the fruit of the Tree of Life in the Eucharist. We are pilgrims in the Spirit we received at Confirmation.

In the Lord’s love we can enjoy a foretaste of heaven on our pilgrimage, we are God’s children(1 John 3:1-11), his beloved sons and daughters. The Church leads us to reach for the greatest of which we are possible. You may have noticed a certain resemblance between St Peter in the picture and the current Servant of the Servants of God. He is attired in a dalmatic, the dress of a manservant. This is a garment that the Holy Father wears once a year, on Holy Thursday at the Mass of the Mandatum in the Church of St John Lateran. He wears it to wash the feet of twelve fellow Christians - in his case they will be priests. Baptism has made us all, in different ways, a kingdom of priests to our God (Rev 5:10), we have been conformed to the image of the Son(Rom 8:29) by our baptism and we show our faith in deeds of love and service: Amen! Let everyone who is thirsty come!

PRAYER

Let us pray
Lord Jesus, you are the fountain for which we thirst,
you are the Master whom we seek.
In your presence we dare not claim to be without sin,
for you alone are the Holy One of God.
We open our hearts to you in faith,
we confess our faults and lay bare our hidden wounds.
In your love free us from our infirmities,
heal our sickness, quench our thirst, and give us peace.
Show us the way of salvation in the Holy Spirit,
that we may come to worship the Father in truth,
for you live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.