God the Holy Spirit has no physical form or appearance, so we cannot see him with our physical eyes. But we can see his influence at work, if we know how and where to look.
Paintings and other artwork often show him as a dove. This choice of image reflects the occasion when Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan and anointed by the Spirit (Mark 1:10, Matthew 3:16, and Luke 3:22): Jesus looked into the sky and saw heaven open, and the Holy Spirit descending on him in the form of a dove. Following the story of Jesus baptism, in Christian art, the Holy Spirit is often depicted as a dove.
Other common Bible images for the Holy Spirit include:
- Fire, which explains why red is the correct liturgical colour for the festivals of the Spirit.
- Wind. In the Old Testament, the same Hebrew word Ruach can be translated by either ‘wind’ or ‘Spirit’.
As a sign of office, a bishop wears on his head a mitre. Its shape symbolises the tongues of fire that appeared on the heads of the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 2:3)
No comments:
Post a Comment