Holy Theophany of Our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ
Feast of our Lord
Read
Titus 2:11-15; 3:4-7 Matthew 3:13-17
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Have you ever noticed that water tastes different depending on the city that you are in? Or perhaps you’ve noticed the change your water has after you have filtered it from the tap. This is the feast where our Lord takes water and washes it. He makes water what it was always meant to be, communion with God. The taste He leaves is a unique one: Holy.
Brothers and sisters, we do not celebrate our Lord’s baptism as a remembrance of another Gospel event like all others, but as an incredible Revelation or “showing” of God. The Father’s voice, the Spirit descending as a Dove and the Incarnate Son are revealed together to do nothing less than recreating the world! We recall that at the first creation, the Holy Spirit, Wind or Breath (same word in Hebrew) was hovering over the formless waters and the Father created through His Word (Jesus is the “Word of God”) all the good things which we see in creation.
It’s easy to look at this with doubt. The world sure doesn’t seem different (a very difficult claim to verify since you and I both weren’t there in the beginning by the way!) But God is continuing to create the world in a quieter and yet deeper way than the big bang. He is working “behind the scenes” secretly. A fully human being is present at the moment of conception in the womb of his mother, and likewise, the Kingdom of God is already here, in embryonic form growing in the hearts God’s chosen people. God is creating His kingdom person by person, and we aid in this creative process through our continual conversion and repentance.
As we partake in the Blessed Waters today brothers and sisters, let us rejoice that God has made, and is making us a new creation and calling us to be holy! Christ is Baptised!