Wednesday after the 3rd Sunday of Easter

Lorenzo Scott has been called a “Modern Renaissance Painter of Folk Art.” Born in West Point, Georgia and working for most of his life as a housepainter in Atlanta, Scott taught himself through studying Renaissance Italian artists and learning to recreate their techniques and style. He often reimagines biblical stories through the dual lens of his own experience and the perspectives of Renaissance art. His painting of the baptism of Jesus is an amazing combination of classic motifs and deeply personal vision. Spend some time with the images in his painting, and ask yourself how you see Jesus, John, and company in your mind’s eye.

The Gospel Matthew 3:13-17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented.And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved,with whom I am well pleased.’