Gospel in Art: Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

The Baptism of Christ, by Joachim Patinir. 1521-1524 © Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 8 January 2024
Mark 1:7-11

In the course of his preaching John the Baptist said:

'Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.'

It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John. No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.'

Reflection on the painting

Our artist, Joachim Patinir, lived and worked in Antwerp. From this painting from circa 1521 we can see that he was a unique and influential forerunner of modern landscape painting. It is one of the few surviving paintings that Patinir signed. On the central vertical axis we see God the Father appearing amongst the clouds holding a globe, sending down the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. Then we have the hand of John the Baptist directly above Jesus, who is looking straight at us. The river he is standing in opens up wide, into the world. On the left side we see Jesus appearing from the Sea of Galilee walking towards the multitude.

The baby of the manger (whom we saw in yesterday's painting when the magi visited the Holy Family) has grown into full adulthood, ready for his mission. Jesus is standing in the river where on that day his great ministry began. All four Gospels describe the start of Jesus' public life with his baptism by John in the River Jordan. If we stay focused for today's reflection on the vertical central axis, we see that it illustrates beautifully how the Son of God descended from Heaven. It was an act of divine humility, God becoming human. We can almost see the Father in our painting saying the words given in our Gospel reading: And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.' He descended all the way down to earth in order to search for each one of us. He is like a lover in search of his beloved… each one of us!

Jesus' baptism inaugurates his mission. In the same way, our own Baptism inaugurates our mission to serve God and one another. Speaking at a general audience in Rome, Pope Francis said: "I would like to ask each one of you here, and you can respond in your heart: how many of you remember the date of your baptism?" He said we should find out our baptismal date and celebrate it each year, rather than just our birthdays. This would help remind us how important our baptism is and the Christian mission we have embarked upon.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/mark-1-7-11-2024/