Feast of the Theophany

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Awesome and fearful things are accomplished at the River Jordan on this day. Of old our forefather Adam fell into disobedience, sin, and death. Now the New Adam, the God-Man Christ, in His own person, shows us the way to healing through obedience and righteousness, which leads to life.

Our Lord came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by the hand of Saint John the Forerunner, but Saint John hindered him, saying, “I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?” And our Lord replied, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matt 3:13-15)

Our Lord, the Master of all, our unproud God submitted to His servant in order to show us by way of example how to attain unto God knowledge. At the time of the beginning of our Savior’s public ministry, the mystery of divine self-sacrificing love and humility was made manifest on the earth and immediately, “the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as it were a dove, and coming upon Him: And lo a voice from the heavens, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt 3:16-17)

Our Savior submitted to Baptism and sanctified the water to sanctify us. Our Lord is made manifest as our spiritual mentor and guide. He Who is the New Adam, the God-Man, initiated His public ministry and fulfilled all righteousness by submitting to the order and plan that He established by being baptized by His chosen minister, Saint John the Forerunner. We also become new men and women when we submit to all righteousness, that is when we submit to the order and divine plan that our Lord came to establish on earth through His disciples. Having accomplished all things, just before He ascended into the Heavens, our Lord gave charge to the Holy Apostles concerning Holy Baptism saying,

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of time. Amen. Luke 28:19-20

By “all righteousness” and “all things” our Savior referred to what has come down to us as Apostolic Tradition. Our Savior was baptized and began His public ministry preaching and teaching concerning the saving divine order that has been preserved in the Orthodox Church. By virtue of His Incarnation our Lord established His Body, that is the Church, in the world. and it is exclusively by the Church and through the Church we receive Holy Baptism and the Eucharist. For those who seek the Kingdom of God nothing is more vital than a proper understanding of what the Church is; yet, for the most part, modern men are confused. The Church is not an administrative construct or a political entity, but rather it is the members of the Body of Christ in the world who from generation to generation have preserved that which was entrusted to them from the very Apostles themselves. Our country has a European Protestant cultural foundation, and because of this, many are ignorant of what exactly the Twelve Apostles bequeathed unto us. Many of the Seventy Apostles and other men of that generation were appointed bishops, that is, overseers of local Churches within the territorial diocese of their bishopric, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever the God-Man Christ commanded. In other words, from the time of the Apostles even unto this day, the responsibility to preserve the “faith once delivered to the saints” and the sacred Mysteries of Baptism and the Eucharist within the borders of his diocese is uniquely entrusted to the local bishop. It is vital to our salvation that we know what the essential nature of the priesthood of the Church is. There are many with the title of “priest” and “bishop” today who with fair words create an image of the Church that is based on their own mental construct and not the Mystery that Christ has given us through Apostolic Tradition.

Some claim that a local bishop can embrace a heresy, and so long as the local parish priest within his diocese disagrees with him there is no risk to that priest or the laity. Church History and the lives of the saints demonstrate that this concept is foreign to the mind of the Church. The Mystery of the Baptism and Eucharist is inextricably united to the doctrine of the New Testament. God is a Spirit and must be worshipped in Spirit and in truth. If a local bishop does not preach the Apostolic Faith, there is no Baptism and one must depart from that bishop in order to be illumined by the authentic priesthood of the Church.

The faithful follower of the Lord Jesus must be on his or her guard to be sure that when they submit to be baptized, that it is by the hand of the true priesthood of Christ presided over by a true bishop of Christ. As the very Apostles themselves taught and as it is recorded in the Apostolic Constitutions:

I shall judge the bishop and the layperson. The sheep are rational and not irrational, so that no layman may ever say that, "I am a sheep, and not a shepherd, and I give no account of myself, but the shepherd shall see to it, and he alone shall pay the penalty for me." For even as the sheep that follows not the good shepherd shall fall to the wolves unto its own destruction, so too it is evident that the sheep that follows the evil shepherd shall acquire death; for he shall utterly devour it. Therefore, it is required that we flee from destructive shepherds. Apostolic Constitutions, p. 1,633

I mention these things because these are the burning issues of today. The union of the local Church is not abstract, it is real. As Saint Paul wrote, "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Eph 4:1-6)

Let us walk worthily of our high calling. If we seek to be called Christians and followers of Christ, let us imitate Him. We approach the unapproachable light of the Godhead through self-sacrificing love and humility. Let us pray earnestly for the peace and unity of all of the local Churches that have preserved Apostolic Tradition. There are divisions among the confessing traditionalist Churches that must be healed for the good witness of Orthodoxy throughout the world. A pastorally minded bishop in Greece is quoted to have said that if we Orthodox of like mind do not find a way to unite, we will be worthy of tears. May God bless him for those words. During this “Feast of Lights” as we call Holy Theophany, we all need to pray with tears that God grants us His grace of self-sacrificing love and humility so that the light of genuine Orthodox Christianity be placed on the lampstand so we might “teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” So be it. Amen.