The Holy Theophany of Our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Feast of our Lord. Holy Day of obligation.
Titus 2:11-15; 3:4-7; Matthew 3:13-17.
Read Matthew 3:13-17
These past weeks we’ve been celebrating God’s Self-revelation to humanity. We remember Christ’s nativity in Bethlehem, the visit of the Magi, and now His baptism in the Jordan River. The angels announced to the humble shepherds the birth of Christ the Savior, the Magi followed the star to adore the newborn King, and today at Jesus’s baptism, “the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and behold, a voice from heaven saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’” (Mt. 3:16-17). Jesus’s public ministry began after His baptism in the Jordan River, further revealing Himself to the world through His teachings and miracles.
On today’s feast, the mystery of the Holy Trinity is revealed to us. There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As we sing in the festal troparion:
When You, O Lord, were baptized in the Jordan,* worship of the Trinity was revealed;* the voice of the Father bore witness to You,* naming You the beloved Son,* and the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the word’s certainty.* Glory to You, O Christ God,* who appeared and enlightened the world.
God loves us! God is alive and active in the universe. He did not set everything in motion and then step away from His creation, observing it as an uninterested, uninvolved Creator. He loves us so much that at a moment in time, He was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man. He loves us so much that He was born not at a fancy hospital in the 21stcentury but rather in a cave surrounded by animals in 1st century Bethlehem because there was no room at the inn. He loves us so much that He was baptized by John in the Jordan River. John had been preaching a baptism of repentance and ceremonially washing sinners in the river, but here Jesus came to John sinless but yet requesting to be baptized. Jesus had no need of repentance or purification, but by entering the waters of the Jordan, Jesus purified and transformed them. God sanctifies the water by touching it.
The priest prays during the blessing of water: “Grant to all who touch it, who anoint themselves with it or drink from it, sanctification, blessing, cleansing, and health.” As we celebrate Christ’s baptism in the Jordan river and partake of the blessed water, let us remember that God has come to us to touch us, to set us apart, to make us holy. As Christ has transformed the waters of the Jordan, let us allow Christ to transform us!