Last week, I was walking through Central Park and it struck me that I tend to take a similar route each time, never failing to walk through Bethesda Terrace. I concluded that its center point, the Bethesda Fountain, is what draws me back every time. This fountain has been featured in numerous movies such as Home Alone, Elf, and my favorite, Hair. However, I never imagined that it was actually a famous religious site called the Angel of the Waters. According to some other bystanders, it symbolizes purity, healing, love and harmony, all of which are common themes in our texts, Jarena Lee and her quest for purification and peace especially comes to mind. In one hand, the angel is holding a flower while the other is blessing the water. If I had to come up with my own interpretation, I would start with the blessing of the water. In many biblical texts and practices, such as in baptisms or holy water in Catholic Churches, water serves as a symbol for purity and cleanliness. And the angel that towers over the fountain is of course a religious image, like that of Angel Gabriel. I find it fascinating that I live in this city and have walked past this fountain countless times but have never given much thought to its actual meaning. Despite this, I think there is a reason as to why this fountain and its surrounding area is always so crowded. Personally, I find it very peaceful and beautiful, it stands right in between the Central Park Mall and the lake, making it a very popular attraction. But it's likely that most people do not give this fountain much thought, or perhaps they do because, like me, they recognize it from the countless movie and television scenes filmed there. It turns out, however, that this fountain holds a deep spiritual and religious significance that has in part been concealed and underrated by the extravagant entertainment industry. Nonetheless, the Angel of the Waters holds not only intrinsic but instrumental value, evidenced by the plants growing in its water. Like the mall in front of it, it is a man-made structure, but like the lake behind it, it is filled with water and sustenance. In this sense, it is like a church, or any other religious building, instrinically beautiful to marvel at (the fountain itself) but also instrumentally serving as a location and medium for spiritual practice and expression (the growing plants). It is also filled with coins thrown in by wishful people, which is in itself a somewhat spiritual act. There is a reason people throw coins into fountains, they are universal symbols of purity and power, just take the Fountain of Youth in Greek Mythology. There is just something about a fountain that causes people to stop and marvel at, regardless if it holds some profound meaning. To me, this fountain is not just a religious display of an angel but of a guardian angel who blesses the water in which plants flourish and into which people toss their hopes and dreams.
