Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
At the beginning of this New Year, and in the season
of the Holy Feast of Epiphany, I greet all the faithful of
our Church in the grace and glory of the Lord, Who was
baptized in the River Jordan for our sanctification.
We call the Feast of Epiphany by several names. We
know it as "the Feast of Lights" and "the Great Blessing
of the Waters." These names signify the universal significance of this High and Holy Feast of the Lord.
Light and water. These are the elements of nature to
which we often refer when speaking of Epiphany.
These two elements establish the basic conditions
for life, the fundamental needs of all creatures. In the
creation story of Genesis, the Lord begins His mighty
work by calling forth light out of darkness, and by setting apart the waters of the deep. It was over these shimmering waters of creation that --
as the Scriptures say --the Spirit of God hovered, like a mother dove brooding over her
newborn offspring. And it was over the light and the water that God pronounced His
blessing -- "it is good."
In this first day of creation, we see the Holy Trinity at work --
God the Father, who calls all things into being by His own good will,
God the Word, through whom all things were made,
and God the Holy Spirit, who enlivens and enlightens all things.
And ever since that first day of creation, light and water have been the vital elements for all living things.
In the same way, we again see light and water in the New Creation of God's
redeeming love in Christ. For on the day of the Epiphany -- the day of Christ's Baptism
in the Jordan River, and the first day of His public ministry in Judea -- we see again a
day of light, a day of revelation, and a day for the setting apart and the sanctifying of the
waters.
In that day the Holy Trinity once again is revealed to us, but in even greater fullness and splendor --
God the Father, pronouncing His blessing from heaven on His Beloved Son,
God the Son, through Whom the water of the Jordan, and all water everywhere, is
sanctified, and God the Holy Spirit, descending once again from Heaven, descending
in the form of a dove, and resting upon the Firstborn of all Creation.
For this reason, we also call this day the Feast of Theophany -- the Feast of the
manifestation of God -- for on this day, the Triune splendor of the Godhead was revealed for the first time -- not only unto us, but unto the whole cosmos.
And how shall we, as new creatures in Christ, as members of His body through
Baptism -- how shall we celebrate this great Feast?
Let us give thanks, first of all, for the light and the water through which God grants
us new life.
Let us walk in the light of Christ -- the light of truth, the light of knowledge, the
light of God's commandments, the light of justice, and the light of unconquerable
faith.
And let us rejoice in the waters of salvation --
the waters of Baptism, in which we receive the washing of regeneration;
the waters of agiasmo, in which we receive strength and healing;
and above all, let us rejoice in the living water of God's Holy Spirit, manifested
unto us in Epiphany, bestowed upon us in Pentecost, and welling up within us unto life
eternal.
I pray that the joy, the life, the light, and the blessing of the Feast of Epiphany will
truly be yours as you receive the grace and bask in the glory of the Holy Trinity on this
great day.
And may Christ our true God, who condescended to be baptized in the Jordan for
our salvation, shine upon you His true light, and refresh you with His waters of blessing, throughout this New Year, and unto the Ages of Ages. Amen.
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