Homily on the 31st Sunday after Pentecost
Today the church celebrates an important day in the life of our Lord, His Theophany! (In Greek, the word Theos means God and Phainein means to show.) Jesus has been revealed by God the Father as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased;(Mt 3:17) affirming what the Father says the Holy spirit descends upon Him in the form of a dove!(Mt3:16)
The reason why a dove is because doves are clean animals; it has been proven that the dove can not and will not come to rest upon an unclean object or surface; affirming that Christ truly is alone without sin! (The immaculate one)!
Why did Christ allow His cousin John the Baptist to baptise Him? After all He is the Messiah! The Son of the living God! John is a prophet who foretells the Lord’s coming going ahead of Him preparing and lighting the way just as Isaiah prophesied! One may ask themselves, well isn’t it fitting that the Lord should be the one to baptise? Here, our Lord shows us a great act of humility!
It is true that He (Jesus) did not need to be baptised, after all He is the Messiah! More over, He alone is without sin for He is the unblemished lamb (1 Pt 1:19) He is the stone that the builders rejected and for us has become the cornerstone of the edifice of His church and our whole existence!(Is 28:16)
John says “ I baptise you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Mt 3:11
In the Mystery of Holy Baptism, the priest calls down the Holy Spirit to bless and sanctify the waters which the catechumen is to be submerged thrice, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. After which the priest will mark all the senses of the newly enlightened (ears, mouth, hands, feet, heart, back ,fore head) now becoming a full member of the orthodox faith; being totally joined to the Lord.
Hence the fire which St John spoke of, is the calling down of the Holy spirit upon the newly enlightened by the use of the Holy Chrism! It is worth noting that the oil of chrism – not to be confused with the oil of gladness of which the old testament and St. James in his Epistle speaks of as the unction for the sick – the laying on of the hands by the apostles was the unction of Chrism “the calling down of the Spirit" which developed into chrism oil later on throughout the centuries.
Thus, this is the true meaning of being “Born Again"! Not as some supposed Christian groups defect from the true meaning from holy baptism, for Jesus said clearly to the disciple and presbyter Nicodemus who came to him by night in fear of his superiors: Truly, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Jn 3:3
Apart from baptism, we the faithful use the sanctified water’s as a means of spiritual and physical healing along with the blessing of homes and Holy objects. I personally have used the sanctified waters as a means of spiritual replenishment. In the past, I used the sanctified waters as a means to quench my spiritual thirst. There were times perhaps during the week that I had an off day and I craved to receive our Lord in the mystery of communion. Furthermore, I recall a particular time I was suffering from a horrible headache.
Thus, I drank from the Holy waters, and after a short while my headache ceased. Having stated thus, it is all a matter of faith, if we truly believe that via the sanctified waters our Lord will intervene and mend that which is broken: He will!!! However, if we do not believe wholeheartedly in the healing power of Holy water, oil, communion or any other sanctified means - no healing can take place!
Why? Our Lord constantly exhorts: “your faith has healed you – go in peace!” A theme throughout the gospels uttered to all who asked him in their sickness, anguish, torment, and fragility to reach out: the true meaning of mercy!!! Therefore, in drinking from the very waters that our Lord immersed Himself in at the Jordan, and the faith I profess, I had received healing, in body and soul!
Finally, on Monday the Church commemorates the feast day of the last and greatest prophets of the old law John the Baptist, who’s relics the exarchate is blessed to have that reside at the Chapel of St Basil the Great. St John is a very important figure in the Church. He teaches us the importance of lighting the way for humanity.
St. John was also one who was not afraid to speak out against a spiritually bankrupt institution the temple had become – a lesson the instituted Church still suffers from due to the careerists within who seep into its ranks in order to escape being found out who they really are: destroying the peace of the Church via their fear of being unmasked!!!
Thus, we as authentic apostolic Christians – not via the fact we may descend from biblical countries thinking we are it “Pentecost" burns such mentalities to the ground: for we all heard the gospel preached in our own language according to our own cultural traditions – we are to bring the Light who is Christ to the world, we are all called to spread the Love of God to fellow mankind! St John is the perfect example of spreading the Light (Christ) “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden”. (Mt 5:14)
May this Holy feast of Theophany bring healing to all in mind, body and soul to all who thirst for Christ who is the life giving spring!
When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jorden / the worship of the Trinity was made manifest;/ for, the voice of the Father bore witness unto Thee,/calling Thee His beloved Son;/ and the Spirit in the form of a dove/ confirmed the certainty of His word./ Christ our God, who hast appeared and enlightened the worlds,// Glory be to Thee! Troparion of Theophany
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