THEOPHANY: THE GIFT OF GOD'S PERSONAL COMMUNION WITH THE ENTIRE WORLD

 

 Dr Philip Kariatlis Academic Director, Senior Lecturer in Theology St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College, Sydney, Australia

A few reflections below on today’s great feast of Epiphany. A very happy name day to all who celebrate their name day today.

Theophany: the gift of God's personal communion with the entire world

On the 6 January of every year the Church celebrates the feast day of Theophany (or Epiphany as it is more commonly known) which is considered one of the greatest feasts in the life of the Church. It essentially marks two major events in the Orthodox Church: firstly it commemorates the baptism of our Lord in the Jordan River and secondly, as the word itself suggests, it honours God's personal manifestation to the world as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It was after His baptism that Jesus began His public ministry where He showed Himself to be the Messiah, the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, in this way revealing to the world the Trinitarian structure of the Godhead.
The two events, Christ's baptism and God's manifestation are related in so far as it was at Jesus' baptism by St John the Baptist that the splendour, magnificence and shining forth of God was beheld. On this day, as all the Gospels maintain the dazzling lights of heaven shone down, from where the Trinitarian Godhead proceeded forth in all its brilliance. Jesus Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity to whom all the powers of heaven would bow down was now seen bowing down before John the Forerunner in order to be baptised. The Scriptures further testify that the Holy Spirit of God appeared "descending like a dove and alighting" (Mt 3:16) over Jesus to show not only that He was the Christ, the anointed One of God (this is the meaning of Messiah), but also, and even more so to reveal that Jesus was the Son of God, divine with exactly the same divinity as His Father. And the voice of God the Father was heard bearing witness to the divinity of Jesus by saying "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased" (Mt 3:17). From this brief Scriptural description alone, can one begin to appreciate the Trinitarian structure contained within the Baptism account of Jesus.
The immense blessings of God's personal and abounding presence in the world (that is now before us) testify to the fact that the world is indeed 'very good' (Gen 1:31) since God has now personally brought salvation upon the world. Consequently the reason why the Orthodox Church has the Great Blessing of the Water on the feast day of Theophany is precisely to show that now the entire world is "filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph 3:19), the "fullness of him who fills all in all" (Eph 1:23). Since water is considered to be a 'prime element' signifying the entire world and symbolizing life (since life would be impossible without water), the service of the Blessing of the Water celebrates the sanctification and consecration of the entire world since Christ in whom "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Col 2:9) is truly and will always be "all in all". Far from being any pagan ritual, the sanctification and sprinkling of the Agiasmos refers to the most central fact of the Christian vision – that is, the sacredness of matter as a whole and of the world itself since all is overflowing with the presence of God. Like the prophet Isaiah, the Church and indeed the entire world can rejoice:
"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing….They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God." (Is 35:1-2).
It is with this sense of joy that the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast day of Theophany and it is with this sense of joy that I end quoting from a beautiful prayer which is said on the day of Theophany:
"Today the time of the feast is at hand for us: the choir of saints assembles with and angels join with us in keeping the festival… Today the Sun that never sets has risen and the world is filled with splendour by the light of the Lord. Today the moon shines upon the world with the brightness of its rays. Today the glittering stars make the inhabited earth fair with the radiance of their shining. Today the clouds drop down upon humankind the dew of righteousness from on high… Today the waters of the Jordan are transformed in to healing by the coming of the Lord. Today the whole creation is watered by mystical streams. Today the transgressions of all are washed away by the waters of the Jordan. Today Paradise has been opened to us all and the Sun of Righteousness shines down upon us…. Today the blinding mist of the world is dispersed by the Theophany of our Lord. Today the whole creation shines with light from on high… Today things above keep feast with things below, and things below commune with things above….." (Prayer of the Service of the Blessing of the Waters composed by Sophronios, Patriarch of Jerusalem).