Post-feast of Theophany; the Holy Martyr Polyeuctus (249-51)
Read
James 3:1-10; Mark 11:11-23
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
We are in the midst of celebrating the Theophany of our Lord, the manifestation of the Trinity with the Baptism of Christ, the voice of the Father and the descent of the Holy Spirit. Not needing to be baptised, Christ enters the waters to renew the nature of water, of mankind and all of the cosmos and begins His public ministry with the thundering words of the Father from heaven: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!”
Returning from the Desert after the Jordan, Christ comes to his own people and says to them “Repent! For the Kingdom of God is at hand” Repentance is the key. Repentance is what allows us to truly come after Him. In today’s Gospel the Lord is faced with a tree which displays all the signs of having produced fruit early, and yet when He approaches He finds nothing on it. The leaves give the promise of fruit, but there are none to be found.
Brothers and sisters, Christ has won! He has overcome the world. Will we let Him overcome all those things which separate us from Him? Let us repent, for surely the Kingdom has drawn near to us!