The Leave-taking of Theophany

Source: orthodoxroad.com

 Dear Parish Faithful,

Today, January 14, is the Leave-taking of Theophany. We celebrated Great Vespers yesterday evening to commemorate our "farewell" to this glorious Feast. As a complement to the fulsome and festal Liturgy on Sunday, the service yesterday evening was almost kenotic in its simplicity. I would to simply add a short reflection on one of the main themes of the Feast. In the Troparion, sung many times over the course of the last few days, we sing and hear: "When Thou, O Lord, was baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest ..." This is implicit in the Gospel narratives of the Lord's Baptism, and the Troparion reviews those narratives to make clear what the Gospels are implicitly revealing:

"For the Voice of the Father bear witness to Thee, and called Thee His beloved Son; and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of His words ... "

The God that we believe in and worship is the one living God Who is the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is the faith of the Orthodox Church, and the faith that through the Church is revealed to the world. To live and abide in the Orthodox Church is to live and abide in the presence of the Holy Trinity. And, we hope, in eternity! We express this faith every time that we recite the Nicene Creed, either in our liturgical assemblies, or in our personal prayers. (One of the reasons, that we begin our personal prayer with the Trisagion: "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal ... O, most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us ...").

In America, in the latest Gallop Poll of 2022, when asked the straightforward question: "Do you believe in God," 81% of Americans professed believe in the existence of God (an all-time low by the way). Upon further questioning, it seems as if part of that group of positive respondents are somewhat agnostic. Be that as it may, my own question that I would put to that 81% is: Do you believe in the Holy Trinity? I would be very curious to hear the response to this particular question. Speculating, I would not count on 81%! To answer, "Yes, I believe in God" can, upon further inspection or elaboration, yield all kinds of ideas about God that could very well sound rather vague and unclear. 

That is far different than acknowledging that God is unknowable in His essence, and that God "dwells in light unapproachable" (I Tim. 6:16). God's trinitarian inner being is unknown to us - "For thou art God ineffable, inconceivable, incomprehensible, ever-existing and eternally the same ..." (From the Holy Anaphora in the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom) - and we affirm this glorious mysterion  with a  sense of humility and wonder. Yet, to acknowledge the ultimate mystery of God, is not to succumb to any kind of vagueness or agnosticism about who God is. It is God who has revealed His eternal trinitarian nature to us, and as St. John of Damascus has said: God has revealed to us exactly what we need to know about God. And that is that God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as revealed at the Baptism of the Lord. Theophany means the "manifestation/revelation of God." 

My point is not at all to be critical at the possible vague theism of others, but to keep us aware of the revelation of God that we enjoy and respond to with faith within the grace-filled life of the Church. I would like to think that in my personal confession of faith, I can also clearly affirm the words of St. Gregory the Theologian: "When I say God, I mean the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

O, most Holy Trinity, glory to Thee!

Coffee With Sister Vassa: Water Bursts Forth in the Desert

 

WATER BURSTS FORTH IN THE DESERT

“Be glad, thirsty desert: let the wilderness exult, and flower as the lily. And the desert places of Jordan shall blossom and rejoice; the glory of Libanus has been given to it, and the honour of Carmel; and my people shall see the glory of the Lord, and the majesty of God. Be strong, weakened hands and feeble knees. Comfort one another, fainthearted ones; be strong, fear not; behold, our God renders judgment, and he will render it; he will come and save us. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. Then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the stammerers shall speak plainly; for water has burst forth in the desert, and a channel of water in a thirsty land.” (Is 35: 1-6, Septuagint-translation)

This is one of the prophecies read during the services of “Theophany,” (i.e., the “appearance/revelation of God”), when our Lord showed up at the River Jordan at thirty years of age and subjected Himself to John’s baptism, inaugurating His public ministry for all of us. The eve of Theophany is celebrated today by NC-people, while those of us on the Older Calendar approach the celebration of another theophany, the Lord’s birth in Bethlehem. Both theophanies or “appearances” of the God-Man in our midst, His birth of a Virgin in a lonely cave in Bethlehem and His immersion into the “waters” of our material world, as well as His continuous, sanctifying presence in our lives, bring new life and productivity to our “weakened hands” and our “feeble knees,”as Isaiah prophesies. 

Today let me re-connect with Him, once again, and join the creative flow of God’s unifying, life-bringing presence in our “thirsty desert.”Thank You, Lord, for showing up in our lives, again and again, to open our eyes when we’re blind to what we should be seeing; and to hlp us hear when we’re deaf to what we should be learning. “God is the Lord and has revealed himself to us!” Happy feasts, dear friends! (Ps 117: 27a)

Fr. Thomas Hopko on the Blessing of the Waters

Source: oca.org

 

Dear Parish Faithful, I believe that yesterday - January 6 - was the first time in my priesthood that I was unable to serve the Liturgy for Theophany. No sense trying to fight the elements! That means that we have yet to bless the waters for this year. Since Theophany is such a great Feast, that means that the Afterfeast extends until January 14. Therefore, since next Sunday falls within the Afterfeast, we will serve the Great Blessing of the Waters at the close of the Liturgy. In preparation, here is an excellent explanation of that "ancient rite" from Fr. Thomas Hopko.  Hope you are enjoying being snowbound! The Blessing of the Waters Fr. Thomas Hopko Sometimes people think that the blessing of water and the practice of drinking it and sprinkling it over everyone and everything is a “paganism” which has falsely entered the Christian Church. We know, however, that this ritual was practiced by the People of God in the Old Testament, and that in the Christian Church it has a very special and important significance. It is the faith of Christians that since the Son of God has taken human flesh and has been immersed in the streams of the Jordan, all matter is sanctified and made pure in Him, purged of its death-dealing qualities inherited from the devil and the wickedness of men. In the Lord’s epiphany all creation becomes good again, indeed “very good,” the way that God Himself made it and proclaimed it to be in the beginning when “the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters” (Gen 1.2) and when the “Breath of Life” was breathing in man and in everything that God made (Gen 1.30; 2.7). The world and everything in it is indeed “very good” (Gen 1.31) and when it becomes polluted, corrupted and dead, God saves it once more by effecting the “new creation” in Christ, his divine Son and our Lord by the grace of the Holy Spirit (Gal 6.15). This is what is celebrated on Epiphany, particularly in the Great Blessing of Water. The consecration of the waters on this feast places the entire world—through its “prime element” of watering the perspective of the cosmic creation, sanctification, and glorification of the Kingdom of God in Christ arid the Spirit. It tells us that man and the world were indeed created and saved in order to be “filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3.19), the “fullness of him who fills all in all” (Eph 1.22). It tells us that Christ, in Who in “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,” is and shall be truly “all, and in all” (Col 2.9, 3.11). It tells us as well that the “new heavens and the new earth” which God has promised through His prophets and apostles (Is 66.2; 2 Peter 3.13; Rev 21.1) are truly “with us” already now in the mystery of Christ and His Church. Thus, the sanctification and sprinkling of the Epiphany water is no pagan ritual. It is the expression of the most central fact of the Christian vision of man, his life and his world. It is the liturgical testimony that the vocation and destiny of creation is to be “filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3.19). --Fr Thomas Hopko

Coffee With Sister Vassa: The Great Reward of Having Faith

 

THE GREAT REWARD OF HAVING FAITH

“Therefore do not cast away your confidence/boldness (παρρησίαν), which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: ‘For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.” (Hebr 10:35-39)

There is “great reward,” for not casting away our confidence. Our confidence is in the Great Fact that God is. And He is good. He is not an absent father, but One Who suits up and shows up, time and again, as we celebrate in this season of Theophanies, i.e., of His appearance to us in Bethlehem and His coming out to be baptized in the river Jordan. He is invariably the One “who is coming,” and He will come and will not tarry; He will come into any of our unhealed or unresolved difficulties, internal or external, as He always has. 

Sometimes, the negative voices in our heads or in our midst want to drag us down, so that we lose our trust in God and in our own eternal value and importance to Him, and slip into wasting time on loneliness, self-centered fear, complacency, indifference to our own vocation, as if it doesn’t matter, etc. 

“But we are not of those who draw back to perdition,” the author of Hebrews reminds us, “but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.” It matters, my friends, that we have faith, that we nourish our faith, and that we emanate it to those around us. Through our faith and hope and communion with our good God, we change and re-vitalize our world, with God’s grace. And we do, as we live and breathe in faith, experience the “great reward” of changing our world, as we change ourselves daily, replacing fear and complacency with faith. But if we allow ourselves to embrace and emanate the opposite kinds of energies, like hopelessness, complacency, etc., we not only waste our own precious, God-given time, but we also begin to infect others with our negativity. This morning, let me let God into my heart, as I engage in some heartfelt prayer, and let me put one foot in front of the other and do what I need to do today, according to my responsibilities, with which He dignifies me.

_____

I just communicated with Sister Vassa, so a final confirmation that she will visit our parish on Wednesday evening, March 19, to deliver a talk entitled "Great Lent as a Great Catechism." She and I both agree that it would be too demanding to have both the Presanctified Liturgy and her talk on one evening. So, we will first serve a lenten Vespers on Wednesday evening, March 19, and shift the Presanctified to Friday evening of that week. Mark your calendars!

'One Baptism for the remission of sins'

 

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

“I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins” (Nicene Creed)


The Great Feast of Theophany is more ancient that that of Christ’s Nativity. In fact, it was precisely on January 6 that the Church first celebrated Christ’s birth (and the adoration of the Magi), together with His baptism in the Jordan. These events—of the greatest significance not only in the life of Christ but in the “economy” of our salvation—were united in one celebration known as “Theophany,” which means “manifestation of God.” (The Feast is also referred to as “Epiphany,” which simply means “manifestation.”) In His Nativity and in His Baptism, Christ is “manifested,” or “revealed,” to the world as the Light of the world in order to dispel the darkness of ignorance and spiritual blindness which are the direct result of sin. This Feast of Theophany is also referred to as the “Feast of Lights.” 

It was in the fourth century that we began to celebrate our Lord’s Nativity (and the adoration of the Magi) as a separate and unique event on December 25, while January 6 remained as the Feast of Theophany, on which Christ’s Baptism was commemorated. Why did the Feast of January 6 retain the title “Theophany/Epiphany” instead of December 25, when the manifestation of the eternal Light was first revealed in His Nativity in the flesh? Saint John Chrysostom writes that it is “because it was not when He was born that He became manifest to all, but when He was baptized; for up to this day He was unknown to the majority.”

But not only was the Lord Jesus revealed to the world as He began His public ministry with His Baptism in the Jordan at the hands of Saint John the Forerunner. The Holy Trinity was manifested, for the “voice of the Father” bore witness to His beloved Son, and the Spirit, “in the form of a dove” - to paraphrase the troparion of the Feast - descended and rested upon the Son. The Trinitarian nature of God was manifested when Christ came to the Jordan to be baptized.

Yet, if Baptism is for the “remission of sins,” then why is Christ baptized, for He is without sin [1 Peter 2:22; Hebrews 4:15]? 

The liturgical texts repeatedly ask and answer this question for us in the following manner: “Though as God He needs no cleansing, yet for the sake of fallen man He is cleansed in the Jordan,” and “As a man He is cleansed, that I may be made clean.” 

Christ is representative of all humanity. He is baptized for our sake. It is we who are cleansed and regenerated when He descends into the waters of the Jordan. For with Christ, and in Christ, our human nature—the human nature He assumed in all of its fullness in the Incarnation—descends into the cleansing and purifying waters of the Jordan (anticipating sacramental Baptism), so that the very same human nature may ascend out of the waters renewed, restored and recreated. As the New and Last Adam, He “sums up” all of us in Himself—for this reason He became man. 

The Spirit descends and rests upon Christ, so that our humanity may be anointed in Him. Saint Athanasios the Great writes: “when He is anointed… we it is who in Him are anointed…. When He is baptized, we it is who in Him are baptized.”  

Every Baptism is an “extension of” and a “participation in” the one, unique Baptism of Christ; just as every Eucharist is an “extension of” and a “participation in” the one, unique Mystical Supper. Actually, all of creation participates and is sanctified by the manifestation of God’s Son in the flesh: “At Thine appearing in the body, the earth was sanctified, the waters blessed, the heavens enlightened.”
We die to sin in Baptism and are raised to new life—for this reason the baptismal font is both tomb and womb, as Saint Cyril of Jerusalem tells us. Our pre- and post-baptismal lives must manifest some real change, according to Saint Gregory of Nyssa. 

In fact, I would like to append a few paragraphs from some of Saint Gregory’s writings about Baptism in order to allow him to describe the meaning of that need for change. Saint Gregory wrote in the fourth century—a time when he could presuppose adult baptism as the norm—but we can apply his teaching to our own consciousness of being Christians as we grow up in the Faith following “infant Baptism.”
Saint Gregory writes in his work known as The Great Catechism:

When discussing Baptism and spiritual birth, we have to consider what happens to our life following Baptism.

This is a point which many of those who approach the grace of Baptism neglect; they delude themselves by being born in appearance only and not in reality. For through birth from above, our life is supposed to undergo a change. But if we continue in our present sinful state, then there is really no change in us. Indeed, I do not see how a man who continues to be the same can be considered to have become different when there is no noticeable change in him…. 

Now the physically born child certainly shares his parents’ nature. If you have been born of God and have become His child, then let your way of life testify to the presence of God within you. Make it clear Who your Father is!

For the very attributes by which we recognize God are the very marks by which a child of His must reveal His relationship with God. ‘God is goodness and there is no unrighteousness in Him…. The Lord is gracious to all…. He loves His enemies…. He is merciful and forgives transgressions.’ These and many other characteristics revealed by the Scripture are what make a Godly life…. 

If you are like this and you embody the Spirit of God, then you have genuinely become a child of God, but if you persist in displaying evil, then it is useless to prattle to yourself and to others about your birth from above. You are still merely a son of man, not a son of that Most High God! You love lies and vanity, and you are still immersed in the corruptible things of this world.

Don’t you know in what way a man becomes a child of God? Why, in no other way than by becoming holy!

It is a serious matter, indeed, to "put on Christ" in the Sacrament of Baptism. A baptized Christian represents Christ to the world of everyday living. Therefore, not only great privileges are granted to baptized Christians, but also great responsibilities!

 

Let Us Receive 'The Blessing of the Jordan'

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

"For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men ... awaiting our blessed hope, the appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ ..." 

- Titus 2:11-13

On January 6, we celebrate the Feast of Theophany. To use its full title, we celebrate THE THEOPHANY OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, a title that we usually summarize as "Theophany" (sometimes "Epiphany"). This year the feast was on a Thursday. The church was rather filled for the Feast, though falling on a weekday, so we can then truly say that our communal celebration was festal. Serving the Great Blessing of Water added to the beauty of the day, as we blessed the waters as a sign of the cosmic redemption of matter in and through Christ. As the Russian philosopher, Nicholas Berdyaev wrote: "The grass grows and the flowers bloom within the Church." Truly, our festal celebration was an excellent beginning to the New Year. 

 The Theophany commemorated on January 6, is actually the original date on which the Lord's Nativity was observed, together with the Visitation of the Magi, and the Baptism of Christ. This nexus of events are distinct "theophanies," or "manifestations of God" to the world, each of which reveals the presence of Christ as a light illuminating the world, as well as being the long-awaited Messiah and Savior. In fact, Theophany is sometimes called "The Feast of Lights." It was in the 4th c. that our current Christmas day of December 25 was established slowly throughout the Christian world. The Nativity of Christ was a more hidden theophany; while the Baptism was more open in nature.

From the appointed Epistle reading of the Feast, TIT. 2:11-14, 3:4-7, we learn of the two "appearances" (the Gk. word is epiphania) of Christ: basically His Incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth, and His Parousia, or Second Coming, as the Lord of Glory. Thus, the first appearance was in the past; while the second will be in the future. The first appearance was in humility; the second will be in glory. We live in the present, between these two appearances. We commemorate the one, and await the other. And our mode of life should reflect the fact that we have been baptized "into Christ."

In his Epistle to Titus, the Apostle Paul refers to this baptism as "the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit"(3:5). The purpose of this baptism was "so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life" (3:7). The appearance/epiphany of the grace of God and the grace that we receive in Baptism is "training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world" (2:12). Baptism essentially allows us - by the grace of God - to transcend our biological mode of existence; so that we are now open-ended beings capable of transformation by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Although subject to our biological condition, we are not enslaved to it, with "no exit" in sight. That is a potential gift unique to human beings.

At the Third Royal Hour for Theophany, we heard a beautiful passage from the Prophet Isaiah, who anticipated the transforming power of Baptism and the mode of life that would accompany it: 

 

Thus says the Lord: "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before My eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless; plead for the widow. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."

 

The Baptism of the Lord is directly related to our own personal baptism. This was prophetically delivered to Israel; anticipated by John's baptism in the River Jordan for the "remission of sins;" and now actualized in the Church each and every time that a person - infant, child, adolescent, adult - "puts on Christ" in the sanctified waters of the baptismal font. If, as the Apostle Paul declares, we have "put on Christ," then we need to manifest a Christ-like life to the world to the extent that we are able. The Feast of Theophany brings that to life for us as we now, as then, receive the "blessing of the Jordan."

When we "bless" the waters, we are basically acknowledging the initial "very good" with which God blessed the created world "in the beginning" (GEN. 1:31). We do not disparage the created world, but rather rejoice in it. We are definitely not dualists! However, that initial state of pristine purity was lost through the subsequent presence of sin within the world, to such an extent "that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now" (ROM. 8:22). Therefore, the entire cosmos has been awaiting the redemption that only the Son of God could bestow through His Incarnation, Death and Resurrection. In this way, "the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God" (ROM. 8:21). By blessing the material world — probably best exemplified through the blessing of that most primal and foundational of all earthly elements, water — we anticipate that eschatological liberation here and now within the grace-filled life of the Church. To summarize this ecclesial recognition of the goodness and sanctification of the world around us, we can turn to the explanation offered by Archbishop Kallistos Ware, from the Festal Mention:

 

The fall of the angelic orders, and after it the fall of man, involved the whole universe. All God's creation was thereby warped and disfigured: to use the symbolism of the liturgical texts, the waters were made a "lair of dragons.'

Christ came on earth to redeem not only man, but - through man - the entire material creation. When He entered the water, besides effecting by anticipation or rebirth in the font, he likewise effected the cleansing of the waters, their transfiguration into an organ of healing and grace.

 

Further, in discussing our traditions of taking some of the blessed water home with us, Archbishop Kallistos writes the following:

...Orthodox are encouraged to drink from the water that has been blessed at Epiphany and to sprinkle themselves with it; they take it also to their homes, and keep it there to use from time to time. In all this they are not guilty of superstition. If they act so, it is because they are convinced that in virtue of Christ's Incarnation, of His Baptism and Transfiguration, all material things can be made holy and 'spirit bearing." ( The Festal Menaion, p. 58-59.

 

The Leavetaking of Theophany is not until January 14. That means that we will continue to celebrate the Feast on Sunday at the Liturgy. During this time of the Afterfeast, a good practice is to incorporate the troparion of the Feast into our daily prayer life: both in our personal prayer and as a family. Before blessing our family meals together, we could sing or chant the troparion of the feast, so that we are doing at home, what would be done in church - extend the celebration of the Feast and thus be more attentive to the liturgical rhythms of the Church calendar. 

'One Baptism for the remission of sins...'

 
Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

'I acknowledge one baptism 

for the remission of sins.'

 (Nicene Creed)

The Feast of Theophany is more ancient that that of Christ's Nativity on December 25. In fact, it was precisely on 6 January that the Church first celebrated Christ's birth (and the adoration of the Magi) together with His baptism in the Jordan. These events - of the greatest significance not only in the life of Christ but in the "economy" of our salvation - were united in one celebration known as Theophany, which means "manifestation of God." (The Feast is also referred to as Epiphany, which simply means "manifestation").

In His Nativity and in His Baptism, Christ is "manifested," or "revealed," to the world as the Light of the world in order to dispel the darkness of ignorance and spiritual blindness which are the direct result of sin. This Feast of Theophany is also referred to as the "Feast of Lights." It was in the 4th c. that we began to celebrate our Lord's Nativity (and the adoration of the Magi) as a separate and unique event on 25 December, while 6 January remained as the Feast of Theophany on which Christ's Baptism was commemorated.

Why did the Feast of 6 January retain the title of Theophany/Epiphany instead of 25 December, when the manifestation of the eternal Light was first revealed in His Nativity in the flesh? St. John Chrysostom writes: "...because it was not when He was born that He became manifest to all, but when He was baptized; for up to this day He was unknown to the majority."

But not only was the Lord Jesus revealed to the world as He began His public ministry with His Baptism in the Jordan at the hands of St. John the Baptist. The Holy Trinity was manifested, for the "voice of the Father" bore witness to His beloved Son, and the Spirit, "in the form of a dove," descended and rested upon the Son. The trinitarian nature of God was manifested when Christ came to the Jordan to be baptized.

Yet, if baptism is for the "remission of sins," then why is Christ baptized, for He is without sin (I PET. 2:22; HEB. 4:15)? The liturgical texts repeatedly ask and answer this question for us in the following manner: "Though as God He needs no cleansing, yet for the sake of fallen man He is cleansed in the Jordan;" "As a man He is cleansed that I may be made clean." Christ is representative of all humanity. He is baptized for our sake. It is we who are cleansed and regenerated when He descends into the waters of the Jordan.

For with Christ, and in Christ, our human nature - the human nature He assumed in all of its fullness in the Incarnation - descends into the cleansing and purifying waters of the Jordan (anticipating sacramental Baptism), so that the very same human nature may ascend out of the waters renewed, restored and recreated. As the New and Last Adam He "sums up" all of us in Himself - for this reason He became man. The Spirit descends and rests upon Christ, so that our humanity may be anointed in Him. St. Athanasios the Great writes: " ... when He is anointed ... we it is who in Him are anointed ... when He is baptized, we it is who in Him are baptized." Every baptism is an "extension," a participation, in the one, unique Baptism of Christ; just as every Eucharist is an "extension," a participation in the one, unique Mystical Supper. St. Cyril of Jerusalem explains this sacramental participation in Christ's Baptism as follows:

 

O what a strange and inconceivable thing it is! We did not really die, we were not really buried; we were not crucified and raised again; our imitation of Christ was but in a figure, while our salvation is truth. Christ actually was crucified and buried, and truly rose again; and all these things have been transmitted to us, that we might by imitation participate in his sufferings, and so gain salvation in truth. 

 

Actually, all of creation participates and is sanctified by the manifestation of God's Son in the flesh: "At Thine appearing in the body, the earth was sanctified, the waters blessed, the heavens enlightened."

We die to sin in Baptism and are raised to new life - for this reason the baptismal font is both tomb and womb as St. Cyril of Jerusalem tells us. Our pre- and post-baptismal lives must manifest some real change, according to St. Gregory of Nyssa. In fact, I would like to append a few paragraphs from some of St. Gregory's writings about Baptism in order to allow him to describe the meaning of that need for change. St Gregory wrote at a time (4th c.) when he could presuppose adult baptism as the norm, but we can apply his teaching to our own consciousness of being Christians as we grow up in the Faith following "infant baptism":

When discussing baptism and spiritual birth, we have to consider what happens to our life following baptism. This is a point which many of those who approach the grace of baptism neglect; they delude themselves by being born in appearance only and not in reality. For through birth from above, our life is supposed to undergo a change. But if we continue in our present sinful state then there is really no change in us. Indeed, I do not see how a man who continues to be the same can be considered to have become different when there is no noticeable change in him.Now the physically born child certainly shares his parents' nature. If you have been born of God and have become His child, then let your way of life testify to the presence of God within you. Make it clear who your Father is! For the very attributes by which we recognize God are the very marks by which a child of His must reveal His relationship with God. "God is goodness and there is no unrighteousness in Him." "The Lord is gracious to all ... He loves His enemies." "He is merciful and forgives transgressions." These and many other characteristics revealed by the Scripture are what make a Godly life.

If you are like this and you embody the Spirit of God, then you have genuinely become a child of God, but if you persist in displaying evil, then it is useless to prattle to yourself and to others about your birth from above. You are still merely a son of man, not a son of that Most High God! You love lies and vanity, and you are still immersed in the corruptible things of this world. Don't you know in what way a man becomes a child of God? Why in no other way than by becoming holy!

 

St. Gregory challenges us to remain ever-vigilant to our own baptism when we "put on Christ" and when we committed ourselves to a "mode of existence" that reveals Christ to the world.

 

St Gregory of Nyssa On Baptism: 'Make It Clear Who Your Father Is!'

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

While we remain in this festal season of Theophany, perhaps we can “meditate” on the meaning and purpose of our own baptism – regardless of when that occurred – through the challenging insights of one of the great Church Fathers, St. Gregory of Nyssa (+395 commemorated on January 10). 

 

St. Gregory wrote the most comprehensive theological work of the fourth century, entitled The Great Catechism. Within this work, St. Gregory discusses baptism and how baptism is meant to be a an act of true regeneration in which our lives are changed to reflect and manifest this “new birth” from above. Yet, St. Gregory makes it perfectly clear that the sacramental life of the Church is not a kind of sanctified magic. The baptized person needs to co-operate with God by consciously struggling to lead a God-pleasing life that is only possible through the grace received in the baptismal font. When that conscious struggle is abandoned, the spiritual consequences are costly indeed. 

In the words of St. Gregory, extracted from The Great Catechism:

Baptism is a spiritual birth, but he who is born by spiritual birth must recognize by whom he is born and what kind of creature he must become. In physical birth, those who are born owe their life and existence to the impulse of their parents, but the spiritual birth is in control of the one who is being born. It is the only birth where we can choose and determine what kind of beings we are to become.

Now it is evident to everyone that we must receive the saving birth of baptism for the purpose of growth and renewal and changing in our nature …

If the essential faculties of our nature are not changed, what then is the change that the grace of baptism must bring about? It is clear that the sinful characteristics of our nature must be changed, and the evil in our life done away with. Undergoing the washing of baptism, we must become purified in our wills and wash away the iniquities of our souls. We must be changed for the better and become different.

If, however, the baptism has only washed the body, and the life after initiation is identical with that life before, then despite the boldness of my assertion, I will say without shrinking that the baptismal water is merely water, and the gift of the Spirit in nowhere in action. This is true not only when anger and hatred deforms and dishonors the image of God in us, but also when covetousness, passion, greed, evil thoughts, pride, envy, jealousy, injustice, lusts of the flesh and adultery continue to operate in us.

If this sort of sinful life characterizes a man’s life as much after baptism as before, then I cannot see that he has undergone any change in accordance with God’s nature, and he is really of the same corrupt nature as before. Such a man then, who does not change and yet prattles about birth and resurrection … is deceiving himself. He is not what he has not become!

Now the physically born child shares his parents’ nature. If you have been born of God and have become his child, then let your way of life testify to the presence of God within you. Make it clear who your Father is! For the very attributes by which we recognize God are the very marks by which a child of His must reveal his relationship with God. ‘God is goodness and there is no unrighteousness in Him.’ ‘The Lord is gracious to all … He loves His enemies.’ ‘He is merciful and forgives transgressions.’ These and many other characteristics revealed by the Scripture are what make a Godly life.  

If you are like this and you embody the Spirit of God, then you have genuinely become a child of God, but if you persist in displaying evil, then it is useless to prattle to yourself and to others about your birth from above. You are still merely a son of man, not a son of the Most High God! You love lies and vanity, and you are still immersed in the corruptible things of this world. Don’t you know in what way a man becomes a child of God? Why in no other way than by becoming holy.

If you would like to read more of this truly great Church Father, please avail yourself of this link.

https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/01/10/100140-saint-gregory-bishop-of-nyssa

'One Baptism for the remission of sins...'

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

We continue to celebrate the Feast of Theophany, as we are now in that period known as the Afterfeast following the actual date of the Feast last Sunday, January 6. 

In addition, on today, January 10, we commemorate one of the truly great Church Fathers, St. Gregory of Nyssa (+395), younger brother of St. Basil the Great. Though not the skilled ecclesiastical diplomat that St. Basil was, St. Gregory was even more brilliant in his theological writings and has left some enduring masterpieces to this day.

His Great Catechism is considered the most comprehensive theological treatise of the 4th c. which was a time that other enduring classics  were being produced by St. Athanasius the Great (On the Incarnation); St. Basil the Great (On the Holy Spirit); and St. Gregory the Theologian (Five Theological Orations). In the meditation below, I have included a characteristic passage of St. Gregory of Nyssa's as he draws out the moral/ethical/spiritual implications of having been "baptized into Christ."

I have also provided a link to a summary of St. Gregory's life that will offer some of the details of his life and service to the Church.

____________

  'One Baptism for the remission of sins...'

'I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins.'

(Nicene Creed)

In His Nativity and in His Baptism, Christ is "manifested," or "revealed," to the world as the Light of the world in order to dispel the darkness of ignorance and spiritual blindness which are the direct result of sin. 

This Feast of Theophany is also referred to as the "Feast of Lights." It was in the 4th c. that we began to celebrate our Lord's Nativity (and the adoration of the Magi) as a separate and unique event on 25 December, while 6 January remained as the Feast of Theophany on which Christ's Baptism was commemorated. 

Why did the Feast of 6 January retain the title of Theophany/Epiphany instead of 25 December, when the manifestation of the eternal Light was first revealed in His Nativity in the flesh? St. John Chrysostom writes: "...because it was not when He was born that He became manifest to all, but when He was baptized; for up to this day He was unknown to the majority."

But not only was the Lord Jesus revealed to the world as He began His public ministry with His Baptism in the Jordan at the hands of St. John the Baptist. The Holy Trinity was manifested, for the "voice of the Father" bore witness to His beloved Son, and the Spirit, "in the form of a dove," descended and rested upon the Son. According to St. Irenaeus of Lyons, the Son and Spirit are "the two hands of God." The trinitarian nature of God was manifested when Christ came to the Jordan to be baptized.

Yet, if baptism is for the "remission of sins," then why is Christ baptized, for He is without sin (I PET. 2:22; HEB. 4:15)? The liturgical texts repeatedly ask and answer this question for us in the following manner: "Though as God He needs no cleansing, yet for the sake of fallen man He is cleansed in the Jordan;" "As a man He is cleansed that I may be made clean." Christ is representative of all humanity. He is baptized for our sake. It is we who are cleansed and regenerated when He descends into the waters of the Jordan.

For with Christ, and in Christ, our human nature - the human nature He assumed in all of its fullness in the Incarnation - descends into the cleansing and purifying waters of the Jordan (anticipating sacramental Baptism), so that the very same human nature may ascend out of the waters renewed, restored and recreated. 

As the New and Last Adam He "sums up" all of us in Himself - for this reason He became man. The Spirit descends and rests upon Christ, so that our humanity may be anointed in Him. St. Athanasios the Great writes: " ... when He is anointed ... we it is who in Him are anointed ... when He is baptized, we it is who in Him are baptized." Every baptism is an "extension," a participation, in the one, unique Baptism of Christ; just as every Eucharist is an "extension," a participation in the one, unique Mystical Supper. 

St. Cyril of Jerusalem explains this sacramental participation in Christ's Baptism as follows:

O what a strange and inconceivable thing it is! We did not really die, we were not really buried; we were not crucified and raised again; our imitation of Christ was but in a figure, while our salvation is truth.

Christ actually was crucified and buried, and truly rose again; and all these things have been transmitted to us, that we might by imitation participate in his sufferings, and so gain salvation in truth.

Actually, all of creation participates and is sanctified by the manifestation of God's Son in the flesh: "At Thine appearing in the body, the earth was sanctified, the waters blessed, the heavens enlightened."

We die to sin in Baptism and are raised to new life - for this reason the baptismal font is both tomb and womb as St. Cyril of Jerusalem tells us. Our pre- and post-baptismal lives must manifest some real change, according to St. Gregory of Nyssa. 

In fact, I would like to append a few paragraphs from some of St. Gregory's writings about Baptism in order to allow him to describe the meaning of that need for change. St Gregory wrote at a time (4th c.) when he could presuppose adult baptism as the norm, but we can apply his teaching to our own consciousness of being Christians as we grow up in the Faith following "infant baptism":

When discussing baptism and spiritual birth, we have to consider what happens to our life following baptism. This is a point which many of those who approach the grace of baptism neglect; they delude themselves by being born in appearance only and not in reality. For through birth from above, our life is supposed to undergo a change. But if we continue in our present sinful state then there is really no change in us. Indeed, I do not see how a man who continues to be the same can be considered to have become different when there is no noticeable change in him.

Now the physically born child certainly shares his parents' nature. If you have been born of God and have become His child, then let your way of life testify to the presence of God within you. Make it clear who your Father is! For the very attributes by which we recognize God are the very marks by which a child of His must reveal His relationship with God. "God is goodness and there is no unrighteousness in Him." "The Lord is gracious to all ... He loves His enemies." "He is merciful and forgives transgressions." These and many other characteristics revealed by the Scripture are what make a Godly life.

If you are like this and you embody the Spirit of God, then you have genuinely become a child of God, but if you persist in displaying evil, then it is useless to prattle to yourself and to others about your birth from above. You are still merely a son of man, not a son of that Most High God! You love lies and vanity, and you are still immersed in the corruptible things of this world. Don't you know in what way a man becomes a child of God? Why in no other way than by becoming holy!

St. Gregory challenges us to remain ever-vigilant to our own baptism when we "put on Christ" and when we committed ourselves to a "mode of existence" that reveals Christ to the world.

Let Us Receive 'The Blessing of the Jordan'

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

"For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men ... awaiting our blessed hope, the appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ ..."  (Titus 2:11-13)

On January 6, we celebrate the Feast of Theophany. To use its full title, we celebrateTHE THEOPHANY OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, a title that we usually summarize as "Theophany" (sometimes "Epiphany"). 

 

This year the feast was on a Sunday. The church was filled for the Feast, so we can then truly say that our communal celebration was festal. Serving the Great Blessing of Water outdoors added to the beauty of the day, as the sun was shining and the birds were chirping as we blessed the waters as a sign of the cosmic redemption of matter in and through Christ. As the Russian philosopher, Nicholas Berdyaev wrote: "The grass grows and the flowers bloom within the Church." 

 

Truly, our festal celebration was an excellent beginning to the New Year.  The Theophany commemorated on January 6, is actually the original date on which the Lord's Nativity was observed, together with the Visitation of the Magi, and the Baptism of Christ.  This nexus of events are distinct "theophanies," or "manifestations of God" to the world, each of which reveals the presence of Christ as a light illuminating the world, as well as being the long-awaited Messiah and Savior.

 

In fact, Theophany is sometimes called "The Feast of Lights." It was in the 4th c. that our current Christmas day of December 25 was established slowly throughout the Christian world.  The Nativity of Christ was a more hidden theophany; while the Baptism was more open in nature.

From the appointed Epistle reading of the Feast, TIT. 2:11-14, 3:4-7, we learn of the two "appearances" (the Gk. word is epiphania) of Christ: basically His Incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth, and His Parousia, or Second Coming, as the Lord of Glory.  Thus, the first appearance was in the past; while the second will be in the future. The first appearance was in humility; the second will be in glory. We live in the present, between these two appearances. We commemorate the one, and await the other. And our mode of life should reflect the fact that we have been baptized "into Christ."  

In his Epistle to Titus, the Apostle Paul refers to this baptism as "the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit"(3:5).  The purpose of this baptism was "so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life" (3:7).  

 

The appearance/epiphany of the grace of God and the grace that we receive in Baptism is "training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world" (2:12).  Baptism essentially allows us - by the grace of God - to transcend our biological mode of existence; so that we are now open-ended beings capable of transformation by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.  Although subject to our biological condition, we are not enslaved to it, with "no exit" in sight. That is a potential gift unique to human beings.

At the Third Royal Hour for Theophany, we heard a beautiful passage from the Prophet Isaiah, who anticipated the transforming power of Baptism and the mode of life that would accompany it:

 

Thus says the Lord: "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before My eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless; plead for the widow. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:  though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."

 

The Baptism of the Lord is directly related to our own personal baptism. This was prophetically delivered to Israel; anticipated by John's baptism in the River Jordan for the "remission of sins;" and now actualized in the Church each and every time that a person - infant, child, adolescent, adult - "puts on Christ" in the sanctified waters of the baptismal font. If, as the Apostle Paul declares, we have "put on Christ," then we need to manifest a Christ-like life to the world to the extent that we are able. The Feast of Theophany brings that to life for us as we now, as then, receive the "blessing of the Jordan."

When we "bless" the waters, we are basically acknowledging the initial "very good" with which God blessed the created world "in the beginning" (GEN. 1:31). We do not disparage the created world, but rather rejoice in it. We are definitely not dualists! 

 

However, that initial state of pristine purity was lost through the subsequent presence of sin within the world, to such an extent "that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now" (ROM. 8:22). 

 

Therefore, the entire cosmos has been awaiting the redemption that only the Son of God could bestow through His Incarnation, Death and Resurrection. In this way, "the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God" (ROM. 8:21). 

 

By blessing the material world — probably best exemplified through the blessing of that most primal and foundational of all earthly elements, water — we anticipate that eschatological liberation here and now within the grace-filled life of the Church. To summarize this ecclesial recognition of the goodness and sanctification of the world around us, we can turn to the explanation offered by Archbishop Kallistos Ware, from the Festal Mention:

The fall of the angelic orders, and after it the fall of man, involved the whole universe. All God's creation was thereby warped and disfigured: to use the symbolism of the liturgical texts, the waters were made a "lair of dragons.' 

Christ came on earth to redeem not only man, but - through man - the entire material creation. When He entered the water, besides effecting by anticipation or rebirth in the font, he likewise effected the cleansing of the waters, their transfiguration into an organ of healing and grace. 

Further, in discussing our traditions of taking some of the blessed water home with us, Archbishop Kallistos writes the following:

...Orthodox are encouraged to drink from the water that has been blessed at Epiphany and to sprinkle themselves with it; they take it also to their homes, and keep it there to use from time to time. In all this they are not guilty of superstition. If they act so, it is because they are convinced that in virtue of Christ's Incarnation, of His Baptism and Transfiguration, all material things can be made holy and 'spirit bearing." (The Festal Menaion, p. 58-59.

The Leavetaking of Theophany is not until January 14. That means that we will continue to celebrate the Feast next Sunday at the Liturgy.  

 

During this time of the Afterfeast, a good practice is to incorporate the troparion of the Feast into our daily prayer life: both in our personal prayer and as a family. Before blessing our family meals together, we could sing or chant the troparion of the feast, so that we are doing at home, what would be done in church - extend the celebration of the Feast and thus be more attentive to the liturgical rhythms of the Church calendar.