Perspective

When Tyler Cowen posted this painting on his economics blog with no comments other than "National Gallery, London" and "15th through the 17th centuries", I blew past it. It was just a depiction of Jesus from the period, paling before well-known works by Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and El Greco.

I went back an hour later. Obviously the theme is Jesus being baptized, the figure to the right pouring water is John the Baptist, and the white bird directly above Jesus is the Holy Spirit.

To the right a second baptismal candidate is prepping himself, and to the left are three angels, the wings a clue to their identity. All parties are barefoot--even the bottom of the tree resembles a human foot. And how come so big a tree didn't have roots that bulged the ground, and why did the Jordan River look like a man-made ditch?

Well, enough wondering, ruminating, and teasing out the artist's intentions. The Internet is the death of figuring things out for oneself; it's too easy to just look up the answer.

In less than a minute the painting was identified as as the 15th century Baptism of Christ by Piero della Francesca. I had discerned the basics but certainly didn't know the following:

The original triptych frame may have included a roundel above the dove showing God the Father, which with Christ and the dove representing the Holy Spirit would complete the Holy Trinity. The figure of Christ, John's hand and the bowl, and the bird, form an axis which divides the painting in two symmetrical parts.

A second division is created by the walnut tree on the left, with white bark that echoes the white skin of Christ, which divides the painting according to the golden ratio.

Balancing the figure of John to the right, but separated from Jesus by the tree's trunk, are three angels on the left who are wearing different clothing. In a break from traditional iconography, the angels are not supporting Christ's garments, but are holding each other's hands. This could be an allusion to the contemporary Council of Florence (1431–45), whose goal was the unification of the Western and Eastern Churches. The Camaldolese monk and theologian, Saint Ambrose Traversari (+1439), who had been Prior General of the Camaladolese congregation, had been a strong supporter of the union. Such symbolism is also suggested by the presence, behind the neophyte on the right, of figures dressed in an oriental fashion, usually interpreted as Byzantine dignitaries. Alternatively, the three angels could also represent the three aspects of the Holy Trinity.

Piero della Francesca was renowned in his times as an authority on perspective and geometry: his attention to the theme is shown by John's arm and leg, which form two angles of the same size.

The backdrop of the entire painting is not the surroundings of the real Jordan River but Piero della Francesca's native Tuscany.

The Renaissance artist had embraced the period's fascination with geometry, and how perspective and symmetry enhance the beauty of the piece.

The weird white walnut tree frames Jesus on the left and balances John the Baptist to the right. I still don't know why the artist chose a tree to make his painting symmetrical nor why it is featured so prominently. In my dotage I've accepted that there are some questions I'll never know the answer to.

Remembrance of Lives Past

Baptisms are often scheduled on All Souls' Day.

On All Souls' Day, aka the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed, the priests read the names of those whom the congregation wishes to be remembered. The list numbers about a hundred, usually consisting of parents and grandparents.

When in my late twenties I had attended this church (before moving elsewhere) and met many of its first generation. I wrote down a half-dozen names, unfamiliar to all but a very few, but without whom this church would not exist.

Maybe in 40 years a formerly young person will remember to put my name on the list.

Shepherd or Sheep

On Sunday both father and baby daughter were baptized. I had attended hundreds of baptisms but had never seen that pairing before.

It was also Good Shepherd Sunday, in which the Gospel reading was John 10 ("Jesus said, 'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.'") Also read, of course, was Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my Shepherd").

During the sermon the priest asked if we were shepherd or sheep. (Sheep are followers, and it's not an insult to be a follower of Christ, i.e., a sheep led by a Shepherd.) A parishioner from New Zealand rose to announce that we were omitting a crucial component of the sheep-shepherd dynamic, namely, the sheepdog. Sheepdogs bring in a whole new set of metaphors and images. My head began to hurt. Sometimes one can carry on a metaphor too long.

Still unsure of whether I was a sheep or shepherd or sheepdog, I made my way to the Parish Hall for the post-Baptism feast. Filled with food and happiness, I bleated my approval.

It Doesn't Get Better

Our church's growing Indian cohort grew by one a few months ago.

In time-honored tradition, Simran was baptized on the Sunday after All Saints Day. She complained loudly, as a baby is wont to do when there's lots of commotion and water is poured over her head. After the sacrament she quieted as she and her parents, baptismal candle in hand, passed the peace.

We happily munched on chicken tandoori and cake. Adding a member (young and non-Caucasian--I only mention those facts because they're highly important to the shrinking U.S. Episcopal Church) along with good food---it doesn't get better than that.

One of Those Times

Resting after the excitement

Hoping to get an early start, I attended the eight o'clock service. There's less singing, no Sunday School, and a no-nonsense attitude to the liturgy. The service, including communion, is over in 50 minutes. The average attendee is over sixty,

However, today was an infant baptism. There were visitors to greet and plenty of food laid out in the Parish Hall. It was well over an hour before activities wound down. How often do you have a baptism, I asked an old-timer. "Never," she replied. Schedule delays don't normally result in people enjoying themselves, but this was one of those times.

One in the Spirit

Baptism from February (sorry, no good pics from today)

The baptismal parties of the two candidates were a cross-section of the local community: Filipino, Caucasian, Indian and Hispanic. The congregation that gathered to witness the sacrament comprised a half-dozen additional groups that the classifiers and categorizers painstakingly enumerate to track societal health. Such distinctions fell away before the baptismal font.

During the sermon the priest spoke about the trial of George Zimmerman and the death of Trayvon Martin. Both men acted out of fear, he said, and saw what the other represented, not who they were in their entirety. Perfect love casteth out fear, say the Scriptures (1 John 4:18). Easy to say, but very, very difficult to put into practice.

Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil begins in darkness. The priest lights the Paschal Candle, and the new fire enters the world. The fire is passed on through the assembled gathering, which sings and prays by candlelight, just as their predecessors did for nearly 2,000 years.

Tonight a little girl is baptized. The assembly welcomes its newest member, and there is rejoicing on earth and in heaven, the scriptures say.

"Hallelujah." The people say the word that has not been spoken since Lent began. Bells begin ringing on a cold Saturday night, and the darkness is not as foreboding. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

A Venerable Tradition

February 17, 2013

Infant baptism has been performed for over a thousand years. Not all Christian denominations subscribe to the tradition---there are theological arguments pro and con---but it has been a practice of Anglicanism since the church's founding. Maybe it will wane as the danger of infant mortality recedes. (But the U.S. has a long way to go before that risk is eliminated; we rank 50th in the world, "nine spots below Cuba.")

Whether the newly initiated are children or adults, baptisms are cause to rejoice. Families join together, the baptized are welcomed into the community of believers, and often there is a party afterwards. More importantly--and it does sound quaint to say it out loud in the 21st century--the baptized person has begun the journey to salvation.

[Elsewhere in San Mateo County, someone showed how it's not supposed to be done. Headline: "Man to trial for stabbing at baptism party"] © 2013 Stephen Yuen