Theophany

Lord, when You were baptized in the Jordan,
the worship of the Trinity was made manifest.
For the voice of the Father gave witness to You,
calling You Beloved;
and the Spirit, in the form of a dove,
confirmed the certainty of His words.
Glory to You, Christ our God,
who appeared and enlightened the world.

Since Christmas Day, the Feast of the Nativity, our family has been partying hard, (in the right sense of course). Coming off of the Fast, no matter how poorly we did with it, still leaves behind the sense of “lack”. The contrast is great; believe me, because these church people know that this season is a season of Victory.
For every Christian, it is THE time for great joy. It is OUR season, and an atmosphere of abundant joy and celebration prevails, in song, in food (meat, meat and more meat) and Christmas goodies.

Providentially, last spring, we moved next door to another family from our church that has 7 children. We have had the pleasure of observing AND participating in much holiday celebrating. I can say that we actually felt JOY over Christ’s birth. Go figure. Maybe all of those hours in church are actually working. And it’s not over yet.

This Saturday, is the “Theophany”. Last year on this Feast Day, I learned what the saying “It is so Byzantine” actually meant. The saying contrary to what I had thought it meant, is not a negative saying, it is an actual term that can only be explained by experiencing something Byzantine.

A Theophany is an actual manifestation or revelation of God. In other words, this Feast is a Feast of Light, a celebration of the manifestation of the Trinity. When Christ was baptized in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a Dove, and the voice of God the Father said “Behold my Son in whom I am well pleased.”

In our little Church on this day, the priest Blesses Holy Water for the entire year, and because there is a stream that runs beside our Church property, a rope is tied to a Blessed Crucifix, and tossed into the running stream to Bless it’s waters. Just imagine our reaction as the Crucifix is tossed into the water like a fly-fisherman’s lead. Three times. You can read a million things into that symbolism so just think about it a few minutes.

After the water is blessed, it is actually consumed by the congregation every time you enter the church. The priest then delivers the remaining Holy Water when he visits each persons home and blesses every family and every nook and cranny in their home.

The following Sunday is Saint John the Baptist's feast day and our 8th child will be baptized on that day. His name is Patrick John. To everything there is a season…and a right time for every purpose...