AGNUS DEI

Lamb of God

This is my second study of one of our Blackface ewe’s twin lambs. This particular image reminded me of religious icons. Growing up with imagery of Jesus as both a shepherd and a lamb, my sentiments as a city-slicker on Roseneath made sense!

In Christian symbolism, the lamb represents Jesus, the Lamb of God. Standing with a banner, the lamb represents Christ’s triumph over death. Agnus Dei is Latin for Lamb of God. The title appears in John 1:29.

The primitive mass is a universal and ancient mythical rite that depicts the animal (Bear, buffalo, whale, seal, deer etc) as the God that gives its body to be eaten; “that we may live”. “Nothing lives lest something dies” and Christ’s “This is my body, this is my blood… do this in remembrance of me” are familar variations of a very old but still meaningful ritual.