Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Lamb of God Bead

Lamb of God Bead

The Lamb of God is probably one of the most important symbols in our Catholic Faith, so I wanted to make sure I did it justice. I have replaced my happy go lucky fluffy lamb with a more meaningful lamb of sacrifice. The meaning behind the Lamb of God is so deep and rich that it took an almost an entire bible to explain it. From the book of Genesis to Revelations, God keeps on revealing the meaning behind this powerful symbol. So what or who exactly is this Agnus Dei? The Lamb is Jesus who is pure, innocent, without blemish--just like the lambs that were required for sacrifice in the Old Testment. Not just any sheep will do! This Lamb represents Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. God would not accept any other offering for our sins. The chasm made by our offenses is too deep for any of us to fill and too wide for any of us to cross to eternal life. Jesus is the only worthy sacrifice that could fill the void left by sin and he continues to fill it at each and every Mass. This is why the Mass is sometimes called the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. We come to the banquet of the sacrificed lamb--Jesus Christ, and when we eat of Him, we share in eternal life with Him.

Here is my newest bead. I have been working on it for days. Believe me, this was not an easy bead to make! This lamb may be innocent, but it is fierce! It definitely kicked my butt!! I thought I could whip up the bead in no time, and well, it was more complicated than I thought, but definitely worth the time. I am pleased with the way it turned out.

I chose the red background to symbolize the sacrifice made. This lamb didn't win over heaven for us because of it's cuteness! It was slain in the most bloody and gruesome of ways. The blue at the bottom is a symbol from the book of Revelation. The Catholic Catechism describes it as one of the most beautiful symbols for the Holy Spirit. "Beneath the Lamb was the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb" (no.1137)

Finally, the Lamb represents Christ crucified and risen. He is slain, but he also carries the flag of victory over the grave. "The same one who offers and is offered, who gives and is given" (Catholic Catechism no. 1137)

The Post below shows the process the bead went through.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

truly beautiful. I am realy enjoying seeing the beadmaking process in your photos, and I marvel at the symbolism behind this particular bead.

Anonymous said...

This bead is fantastic Sarah! You are getting better and better at what you do.
Julie M