Bible Study Evangelista - ”How”: The Laver

Notes and References

Water in the Old Testament

Genesis 6:5-18, The Great Flood

Exodus 14, The Red Sea Crossing

Exodus 17:1-7, God miraculously provides water from the rock in the desert.

Exodus 30, specifications for the bronze laver in the tabernacle in which the priests washed serving hands and gospel feet

Exodus 38:8, The laver is made from the mirrors of the tabernacle virgins.

Ezekiel 47, The prophets continued the theme, using water extensively as a symbol of the New Covenant that revealed how cleansing waters would somehow, one day, also create new life.

Type – Antitype correspondence

1 Corinthians 10:1-4, St. Paul says Noah’s flood and the Red Sea crossing are antitypes of baptism.

1 Peter 3:21, Baptism saves us.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4, The Rock that provided water followed them through the desert.

St. Ambrose, de Sacramentis, lib. v. c. 1: “It was no motionless rock which followed the people.”

Tertullian, de Baptismo, c. ix: “This is the water which flowed from the rock which accompanied the people.”

Ephesians 5:26, “…that He might cleanse her (the Church) by the washing (laver, bath) of water with the word…”

Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing (laver, bath) of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit.”

Hebrews 10:22, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed (lavered, bathed) with pure water. Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope…”

The Ephesians passage indicates that it is the Rite of Baptism, the water and the words spoken, that accomplish the cleansing. The Titus passage clarifies that the action of grace performed by the Holy Spirit makes the water and words efficacious. Adding further specificity, the Hebrews passage includes the Baptismal promises, the “confession.” We renew this confession every Easter and memorialize it every time we visit a baptismal font and make the Sign of the Cross.

John 3:5, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

Matthew 3:13-17, The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus when John baptized Him in the Jordan River. The dove was real, not symbolic; the Holy Spirit was real, not symbolic.

John 1:32-34, John the Baptist was a witness that Jesus’ baptism was literal, physical, and spiritual. I can know with certainty that through baptism in water the Holy Spirit descends upon me.

2 Corinthians 5:17, Those baptized into Christ are “a new creation.”

The Lavabo (“I shall wash”) in the Mass is derived from the words of Psalm 26:6-12. The priest pours water from the cruet over his fingers into a little dish, then uses a towel to dry his fingers. As he washes his hands he prays the lavabo prayer: “Lord, wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” (Novus Ordo). This ceremony before the Eucharistic prayer within the Mass is known as the lavabo proper.

John 2:2-11, Jesus changes water into wine.

John 13:1-17, Just before the eve of His terrifying, supreme sacrifice, Jesus dons the priestly girdle of sacrificial service in the towel he uses and washes the disciples’ dusty, tired feet.

Mark 10:35-45, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.”

“Where purity increases, so does the capacity to love” St. Josemaría Escrivá.

Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Episode Resources

Fulfilled, Uncovering the Biblical Foundations of Catholicism, Chapter 7, Immersed in His Grace

Ignite, Chapters 6 & 7, The How of the Bible

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