Theophany

'About the beginning of our Lord's thirtieth year, John the Forerunner, who was some six months older than our Saviour according to the flesh, and had lived in the wilderness since his childhood, received a command from God and came into the parts of the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins. Then our Saviour also came from Galilee to the Jordan, and sought and received baptism though He was the Master and John was but a servant. Whereupon, there came to pass those marvellous deeds, great and beyond nature: the Heavens were opened, the Spirit descended in the form of a dove upon Him that was being baptized, and the voice was heard from the Heavens bearing witness that this was the beloved Son of God, now baptized as a man (Matt. 3:13 17; Mark 1:9 11; Luke 3:1 22). From these events the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Chist and the great mystery of the Trinity were demonstrated. It is also from this that the present feast is called "Theophany," that is, the divine manifestation, God's appearance among men. On this venerable day the sacred mystery of Christian baptism was inaugurated; henceforth also began the saving preaching of the Kingdom of Heaven.' - Great Horologion

When Thou was baptized in the Jordan, O Lord, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest; for the voice of the Father bare witness to Thee, calling Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the certainty of the word. O Christ our God, Who hast appeared and hast enlightened the world,glory be to Thee. - Troparion of Theophany 

'But Christ's descent into the river has also a further significance. When Christ went down into the waters, not only did he carry us down with Him and make us clean, but He also made clean the nature of the waters themselves... The feast of Theophany has thus a cosmic aspect. The fall of the angelic orders, and after it the fall of man, involved the whole universe. All God's creation was thereby warped and disfigured: to use the symbolism of the liturgical texts, the waters were made a "lair of dragons". Christ came on earth to redeem not only man but through man the entire material creation. When He entered the water, besides effecting by anticipation our rebirth in the font, he likewise effected the cleansing of the waters, their transfiguration into an organ of healing and grace.' - Bishop Kallistos, "Background and meaning of the Feasts" in the Festal Menaion

Source, January 6

The Incarnation

Artist Viktor Vasnetsov

To the question: “Why did the Son of God appear on earth in a human body and not in another form of creation?”, the brilliant St. Athanasius replied in this manner: “If they ask why did He not appear in some other better form of creation, for example: as the sun or the moon, or the stars or fire, or the wind but just as a man? Let them know that the Lord did not come to show Himself but to heal and teach sufferers. For, to reveal Himself only to amaze the viewers would mean to come for a show. It was necessary for the Healer and the Teacher, not only to come, but to serve for the benefit of the suffering ones and to reveal Himself as such so that this revelation would be bearable for the sufferers. Not one single creature was in error in the eyes of God, except man alone: neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the sky, nor the stars, nor water, nor wind did betray their ranks but, on the contrary, knowing their Creator and their King - The Word [The Logos] - they all remained as they were created; only human beings separated themselves from good and replaced truth with deceit, and the honor belonging to God, as well as the knowledge about Him, they transferred to devils and to men carved out of stone [idols]. What is, therefore, so unbelievable in this, that the Logos [The Word - The Son Of God] appeared as a man to save mankind?” Indeed, even as we ask the unbelievers of our day: In what form would you wish God to appear, if not as a man?

- St. Athanasius

First Thing in the Morning

Due to the recent time change, my daily walks in the morning occur right when the sun is coming up in the East. Some mornings have been very cool and windy, and I am always amazed to find many of the birds in the neighborhood perched on the topmost branches of the trees and facing East. The scene reminds me of an audience sitting with eager anticipation, waiting for the orchestra to play the first few measures of a great masterpiece.

Perhaps the birds are just eager to feel the sun's rays and absorb the warmth. But I would think that that would be best achieved by staying burrowed in the bushes until the air warms up a few hours later. On the other hand, maybe these tiny creatures, so valued by the Creator, are merely displaying their love and devotion to him as they know their very lives depend on him every day. We also owe our very breath to our Holy God, and yet we busy ourselves from sunrise to setting sun (and even beyond that) scarcely acknowledging the fact. The birds got it right. We need to pay attention.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? 
Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 
So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31)

The Ox Knows Its Owner...

In response to an account of an Anglican priest administering communion to a parishioner and his dog, Fr. Vasile Tudora (a priest in the Greek Orthodox Church) had this to say:

In the quest to prove that man comes from animals, man is actually diminished to the level of a marginally more advanced living creature and nothing else, having very little to distinguish him from his "close relatives" that still dangle from one tree branch to the other. By reducing man to his animal body, man is actually abridged to matter and any spark of spirituality is completely denied to him.  Man becomes an animal with the illusion of grandeur.

But, according to Vladimir Lossky  "Human perfection does not consist in what makes him resemble with all creation, but in what sets him apart from the created order and makes him resemble his Creator"

Man was created differently than the other forms of life. God created the world by a simple "let there be..." but for man He decided to fashion him in a distinctive manner. "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Gen 1:26).

The resemblance with God that makes man different than animals is the rational origin of his soul. "Animals act on impulse (they have urges) but in man there is also 'logic'; it is the Grace of God which comes and establishes itself 'logically' upon the soul", says Saint Maximus the Confessor.  

Animals do not possess rationality and have no free will. They possess however, through their instincts and the spirit of life planted in them, a certain basic understanding of the world, enough for them to never fail in recognizing God and serving His will.

This is why Christ did not specifically minister to animals, not because they were unworthy, or because He didn't care about them, but because the creation already knew Him and obeyed him as God. "The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib; But Israel does not know." (Isaiah 1:3).  The icon of Nativity shows this clearly by depicting the animals as the first witnesses of the Incarnation.

On the other hand man, misusing his God given rationality and betraying his freedom of choice, in his disobedience, has forgotten Who the Master is and has fallen into sin.  Because of man and his sin the entire creation has been turned upside down and exists in the corrupted state we see today.

Creation Blindness

I am a fan of PBS nature programs, wildlife specials, the Discovery Channel, etc. The complexity, diversity, and beauty of plants, animals and ecosystems amaze and delight me. God's hand is visible everywhere in creation. Even those insects, weeds, and animals that at first glance appear useless and destructive end up being a "vital link" in the survival or growth of something else. The incredible wisdom and creativity of our God!


And yet what seems so obvious and visible to me manages to completely escape many botanists, ornithologists, entomologists, ichthyologists and zoologists. They personify "Nature" and give her/him/it the credit for all the creativity, intricacies, balance and complexities in the world around us. The Creator of the Universe is never acknowledged.


Evidently, this is nothing "new under the sun", as Solomon made the same observation way back when. In the 13th Chapter of the Wisdom of Solomon (verses 1-9):

For all men, while ignorant of God, were useless in their condition.

So, from the good things that are seen, they were unable to know Him who exists, nor did they know the Craftsman by paying attention to His works.

But they supposed that the gods who rule the world were either fire or wind or swift air, or the circle of the stars or violent water or the luminaries of heaven.

If, while delighting in their beauty, men assumed them to be gods, let them know how much better than these things is their Lord, for the Creator of beauty created them;

And if they were amazed at their power and working, let them understand from them how much more powerful than these is He who made them.

For from the greatness and beauty of created things the Creator is seen by analogy.

Nevertheless, there is little reason for complaint against them, for perhaps they go astray while seeking God and wish to find Him.

For as they live among His works, they examine them closely and are persuaded by what they see, because the things they see are beautiful.

However, they are not to be excused; for if they were able to know so much with their ability to investigate the world, how is it possible they did not quickly find the Lord of all these things?

I couldn't have said it better!