The Baptism of the Lord
TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION
	Through the centuries, artists and craftspeople have depicted Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River by John. At first in mosaics and frescoes, and later in tapestries, stained glass, and paintings, the scene is familiar. Jesus is standing waist‑high in flowing water. Above him, standing on dry land, John the Baptist pours water over Jesus. The first artists to depict this were sketching from memory. This is exactly how most people were baptized in the early days: as adults, standing or kneeling in the water, with water poured over their heads.
	This method of baptizing, called immersion, is the favored way today. An adult enters a font, or an infant is lowered a bit into the water supported by a parent’s hand, and water is poured or splashed over them. The treasures of baptistry art attest that submersion, or plunging beneath the water’s surface, is not really in our tradition, and that “infusion,” the mere pouring of a few drops of water, yields too narrow an understanding of what it means to be plunged into Christ’s life. Jesus Christ has gone before us into the water, and waits for us there with abundant gifts. No wonder the tradition calls for abundant symbols! 
—Rev. James Field