FRIENDS

 

Have you ever looked for the symbols of the four gospel writers?  They are often carved at the ends of pews, the backs of great doors, or in stone as decoration on walls, ceilings or around fonts. 

A common idea is that each symbol crystallises the essential message of each gospel. 

 

Matthew's symbol is the human, often with wings, so can be seen as an angel.  His gospel starts with the genealogy of Jesus showing that he is fully human.  Throughout, Matthew points out the Jewish background and how Christ fulfils prophecies from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).  He recaps the story of Moses and points to Jesus as the new Moses, thus bringing the law to fruition.  Jesus is the liberator, sent by God for our salvation.  Jesus, the real human, is the fulfilment of the promises of the OT.

 

Mark - the Lion - begins his gospel with Jesus fully-grown and ready to start ‘work’.  There’s a sense of urgency, he uses words like ‘immediately’, and ‘straight away’ 11 times in the first chapter alone, and Jesus roars and bounds from place to pace.  There’s an urgency for the task to be done.  The time is NOW.  Do not delay.

 

Luke's symbol is the Ox, a poor, lowly creature who bears burdens.  His gospel begins with the poor and lowly, Mary's family and the shepherds.  The baby is put in an oxen's food manger.  All through this gospel Christ is keenly interested in the poor: what we do with wealth and possessions is important.  Luke uses the phrase, 'it came to pass' 50 times.  The ox plods on step by step to the end.  The ox is a sacrifice in the temple and it is to the temple it unswervingly travels.  It looks gentle but is very powerful.

 

The fourth gospel, by John, uses the symbol of the Eagle; a strong bird that can soar high and fly far.  The gospel opens before time begins where Christ is the Word, the logos, and the word was with God, and the word was God.  John uses the word 'Cosmos', which is rarely used in the other gospels, 80 times.  He's interested in not just horizontal relationships but in the vertical one between the heavens and the earth.  Jesus soars down from the cosmos and comes to humanity.

 

from the Parish Pump - Internet site