Saturday, February 04, 2006
THE FEAST OF THEOPHANY
Roman Catholics celebrate the Feast of Ephiphany on January 6 which commemorates the arrival of the Three Kings. "Epiphany" means "manifestation." It is on this day that we remember the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.
My pre-Vatican II St. Joseph Missal describes Epiphany this way:
The wordEpiphany means manifestation. The Church in the Mass commemorates a triple manifestation of Christ: to the Magi, that is, to the Gentiles; in His Baptism, when the Voice from heaven declared: "This is My Beloved Son"; and in the miracle of changing water into wine at Cana.
When Christ was baptised in the Jordan the Trinity was manifested to the created world in the voice of God from heaven, in the presence of the Son before a crowd of people at the Jordan River, and in the dove descending from Heaven to hover over Christ. Thus, this is a great feast.
In Orthodoxy Epiphany is called "Theophany" and commemorates Christ's baptism. A miracle takes place in the Jordan River on this feast day:
On this feast day, Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem blessed the Jordan River and the water boiled up and began to flow backwards. Interfax reports:
Right after silver crosses were thrown into its calm waters after the prayer, the river boiled up. A maelstrom developed and the current flowed back for a several minutes.
According to this report, 5,000 people witnessed the miracle.
A reader sent in an email of an eye witness account of this annual miracle:
The water is stirred, in places it looks like it's bubbling up and in others it actually starts flowing upstream, or is turned back towards its source, away from the Dead Sea. We had found a good spot on the banks while we waited for the Patriarch and procession to come down to the water's edge, and we observed the water to be so still it was almost smooth as glass. After the prayers of blessing and the Patriarch threw the Cross into the water for the third time, the miracle occurred. It actually lasted the entire time we were there at the water (about an hour), and was still occurring while we were leaving. It was amazing to witness and the crowd was really moved by the event too. I was blessed to be able to go in myself and the water was invigorating!
St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Dallas, Texas offers, in question and answer format, a lesson on the Orthodox Feast of Theophany citing Scripture passages and tieing events from the Old Testament to the Feast. In that lesson, in Answer 3, is a passage that applies to the kinds of material I've been blogging about for months:
Jesus has no need for the baptism of John, which was baptism of repentance. (Matthew 3:11, and elsewhere). Neither did he have need for Christian baptism, which is the renewal of man and the making of a new creature. The God-man is totally sinless and in no need of renewal. The Holy Fathers tell us that "Righteousness" means the law. Christians are not forgiven the requirements of the law, since Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law, and not to destroy it. (Matt 5:17). ...
He Who submitted in all things to His Father demands of us that we pray, "Thy will be done" concerning all things in our life. He Who submitted Himself to baptism demands of us that we be born again, of water and the spirit.
The Gnostic rejection of authoritative teaching, supplanting it with gnosis, or spiritual attunement, is not compatible with the Christian's adherence to Scripture and the teachings of the Church, nor with the Jewish adherence to the Judaic Law. Christ acted to fulfill the law, not to circumvent it.
Miracles do occur, but they do not occur at our bidding. We cannot command the powers of Heaven. Gnostics access a forbidden power which can be destructive. Christians humbly submit to the direction from God.
