THEOPHANY

CONFUSION AND CONCLUSION!

How many times have we all heard "Why do the Orthodox Celebrate Christmas on 6/7 January????" Lets go back to the early times/formative years of our Church and see what happened! Christmas/Nativity (the birth of Christ) was always a LOW FEAST in the liturgical life of the Church; its climax: Theophany! Why are the two calendars at odds with each other? "This is part of the confusion!" As we stated: "Christmas was the prelude to the great Theophany. Christ was born in the silence of the night in a cave NOT a stable! In Bethlehem ( house of bread)! He who is humble of heart was revealed to the most common/humble of society (shepherds)!

EPIPHANY an event people get mixed up with THEOPHANY! EPIFANIA in Greek means revelation.....the wise of Chaldea who worshiped the starts (astrologers) were given the revelation of HE WHO IS THE LIGHT THE STAR OF THE ORIENT (Jesus) hence they came to behold the king of glory and worshiped in bringing Him gifts of gold (He is king) frankincense (He is High Priest) and myrrh ; precious sacred oil ( He is Messiah/Christ) Hence, Epiphany is the revelation to the wise that the Savior has come into the world.....yes the holy wise men the sons of Chaldea were astrologers who according to the maps of the time; the star appeared in early March!!!!!Holy Mother Church in Her wisdom removed pagan celebrations and replaced them with the events of the life of our Savior!

THEOPHANY is the Manifestation of God in the Flesh.....thus, Jesus of Nazareth descended into the Jordan River NOT TO BE BAPTIZED ( many people say the baptism of the Lord; Jesus IS GOD he does not require baptism but we require to be united in him via this extraordinary rite), But to SANCTIFY (make Holy) the waters so that WE may become children of God! Thus, after rising from the waters the Voice of the FATHER acclaimed HIM (Jesus) as the SON and the SPIRIT descended on HIM in the appearance of a Dove: interesting to note - doves never go or rest in impure places or other such things......

Unfortunately this ROT that takes place where people go the peer; diving in the sea while a cross is launched like a frisbee into it is TOTALLY UNCANONICAL(OUT OF ORDER)!!!! The practice CANON/RULE of blessing the waters should really be done in fresh water because we not only sprinkle the blessed water as part of the rites of the Church but we DRINK IT! It is true that around some parts of the world the sea is blessed but having it turned into a spectacle and the cross thrown into the sea like a frisbee is totally out of order and verges of blasphemy.....we heard the media say : brings good luck to the fetcher! This is NOT a pagan rite where we get good luck.....this is the rite for our salvation where we are energized by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT; "IF WE HAVE FAITH!"

IN CONCLUSION, St. Gregory of Palamas (1296-1359) a great Father of the Church summed up the feast and the notion of Baptism beautifully in his homily/sermon on the Eve of Theophany exhorting in his 6th chapter: "Water is a means of clensing, but not for souls. It can remove dirt from those being baptized, but not the grime that comes from sin. For that reason the Healer of Souls, the Father of Spirits "JESUS" (Heb 12:9) CHRIST, who takes away the sin of the world (JN 1:29) enters the water before us.......He draws the grace of the Holy Spirit from above to dwell in the water with Him, so that later when those being baptized enter the water, He is there, clothing them ineffably with His Spirit, attaching Himself to them, and filling them with the grace that purifies and illumines reasonable spirits....this is what the Apostle Paul refers to (Gal 3:27) and we also chant in the baptismal service: "As many of you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ! "

I encourage you on this eve of this great feast of Holy Theophany (orthodox calendar) to think about having your homes blessed and partaking of the blessed water!!!! The Church encourages the faithful to have their houses blessed around this feast.....we need the Lords blessing in our life and his protection from enemies visible and INVISIBLE! May the troparion/hymn of this feast be the prayer of our hearts this week!

When You, O Lord descended in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. The voice of the Father bore witness to You and called You His beloved Son. The Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the Truthfulness of His Word. O Christ our God You have come and revealed Yourself to the world for the light of your countenance has been marked on us You who are the unapproachable Light: Glory to You!

Remember one thing dear friends "DO NOT BE AFRAID!" THE LORD IS LOVE! If ever you feel impeded to come to the Lord and his Church by the fundamentalists who are basically the self righteous pharisees the Lord had to deal with in his time.....PISS THEM OFF IMMEDIATELY! THEY HIDE BEHIND THEIR SELF RIGHTEOUS TENDENCIES TO HIDE THE TRUTH ABOUT THEIR REAL FRAGILE SELVES!!!!! FURTHERMORE, JESUS IS THE BISHOP OF HIS CHURCH!!!!!!! I wish you all a day filled with the Lords' blessing and may His love touch and warm your hearts!