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Can I give you a new perspective on Jesus’ baptism? 

The day I took this image, I was photographing this peaceful estuary in Australia, when out of nowhere, four ducks swooped past me flapping their wings loudly, as they swooped down to the water. I will not forget the sound the wind made as the birds flapped past my head—and it changed my perspective of the story of Jesus’ baptism.   

When the gospel writers wrote about his baptism, several eye-witnesses describe how the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus “like a dove” when he came out of the water. In my mind, I always pictured a dove gently and gracefully settling on Jesus because of the paintings and movie depictions I’ve seen. But theologian Joan E. Taylor gives a different perspective after being swooped by a territorial dove when she was on a trip to the Holy Land: “I can verify that a dove coming down on someone with wings flapping is something like a very powerful rush of wind striking ones head.”

This description seems more in line with the Hebrew word for the Holy Spirit, “ruach”, which means “wind” … and it fits with the way the Spirit landed on the disciples like a “rushing wind” after Jesus’ resurrection.

I like the idea of the Holy Spirit swooping down on Jesus with determination and purpose! And I like knowing that today, we all have access to this same determined Spirit!

For reflection:

He saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. — Mark 1:10 

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