Why a dove?

It is curious (to say the least) that, according to the gospels and in the context of the baptism of Jesus of Nazareth, the Divine manifests the Holy Spirit by flying like a dove. Having any animal symbol or metaphor available, God chooses that one.

The Holy Spirit could have manifested, using other Jewish and pagan theophanies, as a roaring lion, a sign of sovereignty. Or like a bear, a sign of ferocity. Or like a bull, a sign of strength and power. Or like an eagle, a sign of the one who sees and scrutinizes everything. But no… When God decides to manifest the Holy Spirit, the Divine does so in the appearance of a dove.

We should seriously wonder why…

For the Jews watching the scene, the dove was the smallest offering that could be brought to the Temple. It was the offering of the poor, of the ragged, of the miserable, of the nobodies, of those with nothing, of those who had so little that they could not offer anything else. It was the visible sign of lives put to the test by famine and suffering. It was the small contribution of those who could barely keep their children alive.

This is how the Divine decides to manifest God’s self in the most important theophany. 

When God tries to support the beginning of the work of God’s envoy, the Divine does so by taking the form of what is typical of the weak, of those marginalized by the opulent, of those oppressed by a system that does not take injustice into account.

This is the God of Jesus of Nazareth. 

By: Juan Ramón Junqueras
Adapted: David Gaitan