above-the-mount

[above-the-mount]

Augustine

Water heals. Water kills.

Water is a source of life, yet feared by many as a harbinger of chaos and destruction.

It cleanses and purifies, but also moves and transforms.

And few things encompass the cleansing, transforming, life-giving and death-dealing motif of water as the sacrament of baptism, which represents both the passing of the old self and the rebirth as a new creature (Romans 6:4).

"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

Here, the image of death & rebirth is also reinforced by a dragonfly motif; the dragonfly spends the first years of its life in the deep waters as a nymph, undergoing a series of molting, before it is finally transformed into an adult dragonfly after rising above the surface. Yet, even in its unbound state, it remains close to its source, never fully abandoning the depths it was born from.

This image depicts the baptism of the Christian samurai, Konishi Yukinaga, into Augustine. Born the second son of a medicine merchant, then eventually rose to a naval commander under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, his life embodies that same tension.

He's a man of war who constantly sought peace. He was a military commander who detested conquest. A Christian in the company of conquest-driven lords. A man of peace who built fortresses. A diplomat surrounded by sabers. Like water, he was endlessly adaptable—capable of great impact, but not inherently violent. His influence depended not on strength, but on purpose.