Father Elisha's Blog, page 11
January 17, 2025
January 19–25, 2025 (Eastern): A Lifestyle of Illumination
The Incarnation Feasts Week 5
February 2–8 (Eastern Old Calendar)
Standing in the River
God revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a glorious display in the river Jordan on the Feast of Theophany. Mankind witnessed for the first time, simultaneously and openly, the voice of the Father and the Holy Spirit descending on the Son. “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). The new revelation of God, with Jesus Christ “being the brightness of [the Father’s] glory and the express image of His person” (Heb. 1:3), as complete God and complete Man, was the theme of the Feast.
In the following week we talked about the humility of Christ, standing last in line with repentant sinners, and our entering the Jordan River with Him. In this second week of Theophany, we’ll linger in the water and talk about illumination. And in the last week of Theophany, we’ll focus on leaving the banks of the Jordan River, heading for the wilderness.
“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him” (Matt. 3:16). “And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove” (Mark 1:10). “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened” (Luke 3:21). “And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him” (John 1:32).
The light of the glory of God shone after Heaven opened. “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid” (Luke 2:9). “As he [Saul] journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’” (Acts 9:3–4)
“Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. […] For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4,6).
Mystically speaking, during these weeks of Theophany, the beaming face of our beloved Jesus shines toward us as He stands in the Jordan, engulfed in the light of God’s glory under an open Heaven. This light of glory, shining from Heaven and from the face of Jesus, gives us what the Early Fathers termed: illumination.
First, the grace of the Incarnation that we received on Christmas (the Feast of Nativity) enters the area of our soul belonging to the old man, which God wants to redeem during this year’s Divine Calendar. Then, the grace from the Feast of the Circumcision cuts away the hardness blocking the grace of the Incarnation from extending and begins its work of salvation to transform the old man. At last, as the grace of the Incarnation—“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27)—begins to extend into the old man, the grace of Theophany shines the Light of Life into our souls (including our minds), resulting in illumination (new, experiential knowledge of God).
At this point in the Divine Calendar, we experience initial growth as a foretaste of the greater inner transformation during the Seasons of Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Pentecost.
The moment our faith in Christ was born, the Holy Spirit grafted us into Jesus. We are in Christ. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26–27). Being in Christ, the Holy Spirit desires to take us into the Jordan River during the weeks after the Feast of Theophany and shine the light of God’s glory on us, granting illumination.
Light of Life and Illumination
What is spiritual illumination?
In the Feast of the Nativity, we talked about the Light of Life and the Light of Knowledge, with the former going to our spirits and the latter to our minds. Illumination comes from the Light of Life—from Jesus Christ Himself, and not through times of intellectual study of Scripture. We need both forms of Light, but the Light of Life carries the power to change our lifestyle, while the Light of Knowledge grants understanding, but not necessarily the ability to apply and live out that knowledge.
We see the Light of Life radiating from Jesus. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world…’” (John 8:12). “And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matt. 17:2).
Our encounter with the Light of Life can be subtle. It occurs during spiritual practices such as attending church services, prayer, worship, Bible reading, meditation, or through the holy sacraments—especially the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.
Illumination happens after the Light of Life radiates from our spirits—from Christ in us—and acts in our inner man, bringing light to our mind, will, and emotions. Our mind comprehends this as a new core conviction. This new truth about God and His Kingdom demands an immediate response in our lives and we obey it eagerly. It is not simply a new teaching that we want to apply, or a momentary enthusiasm, because it will result in a deep and lasting change in our life.
This change of lifestyle comes from experiencing the Holy Spirit lighting a new area of our soul. A part of our inner life, always lingering in the dark and outside our comprehension, suddenly shines and makes us more into the person God created us to be. Typically, those who go through the sacrament of baptism receive this experience—many churches call those recently baptized “the newly illumined.” But we can experience illumination repeatedly if we seek it—and especially during the weeks of Theophany.
This illumination, which is an increase of inner light in the soul—comprehended as maturing of our spiritual life—makes us view our situations in a new light, talk differently, think with new understanding, and pray from a new angle. Illumination is wisdom granted from Heaven, enabling us to live more according to our heavenly citizenship.
While the Early Fathers created the term illumination, we clearly see the effect of the Light of Life, the Light of Christ, in several places in the Bible:
“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life’” (John 8:12a). “You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness” (1 Thess. 5:5). “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:14–16).
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (James 3:13–17).
The passages in the paragraphs above show the relationship between receiving the Light of Life and how it changes our identity and behavior, taking the form of heavenly wisdom. This is illumination, the major grace of Theophany.
The Path to Illumination
In the scene of Theophany, Jesus shows the path to illumination.
After we receive the Light of Life through a spiritual feast such as the Incarnation Feasts, or during the spiritual practices mentioned above, this spiritual light also shines into a dark area of our soul.
“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).
The increase of inner light stirs repentance for something that repeatedly comes to our attention. This committed repentance, seeking a full restoration of what has been damaged by a specific sin, creates a new sense of humility and brokenness. “A broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Ps. 51:17).
What follows committed repentance is a moment when the Holy Spirit allows us to experience Jesus entering our suffering and brokenness in the Jordan River, carrying our burden of sin away. This renewed understanding of how Jesus washes our sins away makes us unafraid to stand in the line of repentant sinners, next to our beloved Savior. When we allow Jesus to enter our struggle to liberate us, we enter the Jordan with Him.
It both breaks and heals our hearts when we see Jesus taking our personal brokenness upon His shoulders, knowing how much He will suffer in His love for you and me.
The Jordan River runs from the Sea of Galilee into the Dead Sea, the lowest place on the Earth above water (430 meters / 1,411 feet below sea level). On this downward path of humility, the Holy Spirit grants godly sorrow to lowly hearts, and we sometimes experience intense confession of our sins before God, accompanied by tears.
“Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted…” (2 Cor. 7:9–10a)
These tears are a sign we comprehend two powerful and complimentary realities. On the one hand, we see the severity of our sins and how they hurt God, others, and ourselves. Simultaneously, we feel overwhelming gratitude and love for Jesus, who takes our sins away, both forgiving and healing us. These tears of repentance prepare the way for illumination.
While receiving the Light of Life can be a subtle event, the journey into true illumination is usually marked by deeper pain over our sins, followed by the new joy of being forgiven. Our life feels renewed, and new zeal fuels our life with God. We see this in Apostle Paul’s writing:
“Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter” (2 Cor. 7:9–11).
This new, forceful resolution, leading to a changed lifestyle, is the outcome of illumination.
A Lifestyle of Illumination: Repentance, Illumination, Union
The Early Fathers of the Church valued and cultivated a lifestyle of illumination. It was their most effective path to reach their goal: unity with God. Therefore, they focused intensely on humbling themselves, pleaded with God for mercy repeatedly for their sins, and sought to gain a broken and contrite heart. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Ps. 51:17).
“For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones’” (Isa. 57:15).
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”) is perhaps the biggest expression of this desire for repeated illumination.
In the writings of the saints across every church tradition, we find the same spiritual progression: repentance leading to illumination, leading to union.
Some might use different words (Purification, Illumination, and Deification), or add more detailed intermediate stages, but it’s the same spiritual reality. The end goal is the formation of Christ in our inner man (Gal. 4:19), reaching union with God. “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1. Cor. 6:17). Hopefully, we can talk more about the glorious topic of deification during our journey throughout the Seasons of Salvation.
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [repentance/purification], that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called [illumination]; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified [union/deification]” (Rom. 8:29–30).
Sunday Gospel: Luke 18:35–43 (NKJV)
Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. 36 And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. 37 So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, 41 saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”
42 Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Receive Your Sight
The Sunday Gospel for this second week of Theophany is a central passage in which the Fathers of the Church discovered the Jesus Prayer as a path to illumination.
As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man by the road—symbolizing our need for illumination—heard the excited buzzing of the crowd and asked who was coming. After they told him it was Jesus of Nazareth, “he cried out, saying, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (verse 38).
Some who were walking ahead Jesus told the blind man to keep silent, but he repeated his cry, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (verse 39)
“So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’” (verse 40–41) The blind man’s persistence in his prayer brought him close to Jesus—so close that Jesus asked him what He (the King of the Universe) could do for him. “He said, ‘Lord, that I may receive my sight’” (verse 41).
“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God” (verses 42–43).
The Prayer-Breath
This passage is one of the key texts that inspired the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This is the prayer-breath of the Eastern Orthodox monk and is also widely used by the faithful. Many books have been written about this brief prayer, and I can’t do the topic justice here. However, this prayer embodies the two-fold movement of the heart that leads to the tears of repentance we discussed above:
The inward breath of “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God…,” is the joyful prayer invoking the sweetest name of our Beloved Savior, who forgives our sins. The exhaling of “…have mercy on me, a sinner,” is the painful sigh of the contrite sinner’s confession. As we discussed, this godly sorrow prepares our hearts for illumination.
Let us pray that the grace of Theophany grants us illumination, so that we may receive wisdom from Above and gain a fresh perspective on our lives.
Thank you again for taking the time to journey along this path through the seasons of Christ’s life. As we linger by the Jordan River these weeks, may God bless you richly. It is an honor for me to travel together.
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Photo by Todd Trapani on Unsplash
The post January 19–25, 2025 (Eastern): A Lifestyle of Illumination first appeared on Father Elisha: Let me take you on an intriguing journey..
January 19–25, 2025 (Western): The Path to Illumination
The Incarnation Feasts Week 5
Standing in the River
God revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a glorious display in the river Jordan on the Feast of Theophany. Mankind witnessed for the first time, simultaneously and openly, the voice of the Father and the Holy Spirit descending on the Son. “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). The new revelation of God, with Jesus Christ “being the brightness of [the Father’s] glory and the express image of His person” (Heb. 1:3), as complete God and complete Man, was the theme of the Feast.
In the following week we talked about the humility of Christ, standing last in line with repentant sinners, and our entering the Jordan River with Him. In this second week of Theophany, we’ll linger in the water and talk about illumination. And in the last week of Theophany, we’ll focus on leaving the banks of the Jordan River, heading for the wilderness.
“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him” (Matt. 3:16). “And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove” (Mark 1:10). “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened” (Luke 3:21). “And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him” (John 1:32).
The light of the glory of God shone after Heaven opened. “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid” (Luke 2:9). “As he [Saul] journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’” (Acts 9:3–4)
“Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. […] For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4,6).
Mystically speaking, during these weeks of Theophany, the beaming face of our beloved Jesus shines toward us as He stands in the Jordan, engulfed in the light of God’s glory under an open Heaven. This light of glory, shining from Heaven and from the face of Jesus, gives us what the Early Fathers termed: illumination.
First, the grace of the Incarnation that we received on Christmas (the Feast of Nativity) enters the area of our soul belonging to the old man, which God wants to redeem during this year’s Divine Calendar. Then, the grace from the Feast of the Circumcision cuts away the hardness blocking the grace of the Incarnation from extending and begins its work of salvation to transform the old man. At last, as the grace of the Incarnation—“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27)—begins to extend into the old man, the grace of Theophany shines the Light of Life into our souls (including our minds), resulting in illumination (new, experiential knowledge of God).
At this point in the Divine Calendar, we experience initial growth as a foretaste of the greater inner transformation during the Seasons of Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Pentecost.
The moment our faith in Christ was born, the Holy Spirit grafted us into Jesus. We are in Christ. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26–27). Being in Christ, the Holy Spirit desires to take us into the Jordan River during the weeks after the Feast of Theophany and shine the light of God’s glory on us, granting illumination.
Light of Life and Illumination
What is spiritual illumination?
In the Feast of the Nativity, we talked about the Light of Life and the Light of Knowledge, with the former going to our spirits and the latter to our minds. Illumination comes from the Light of Life—from Jesus Christ Himself, and not through times of intellectual study of Scripture. We need both forms of Light, but the Light of Life carries the power to change our lifestyle, while the Light of Knowledge grants understanding, but not necessarily the ability to apply and live out that knowledge.
We see the Light of Life radiating from Jesus. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world…’” (John 8:12). “And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matt. 17:2).
Our encounter with the Light of Life can be subtle. It occurs during spiritual practices such as attending church services, prayer, worship, Bible reading, meditation, or through the holy sacraments—especially the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.
Illumination happens after the Light of Life radiates from our spirits—from Christ in us—and acts in our inner man, bringing light to our mind, will, and emotions. Our mind comprehends this as a new core conviction. This new truth about God and His Kingdom demands an immediate response in our lives and we obey it eagerly. It is not simply a new teaching that we want to apply, or a momentary enthusiasm, because it will result in a deep and lasting change in our life.
This change of lifestyle comes from experiencing the Holy Spirit lighting a new area of our soul. A part of our inner life, always lingering in the dark and outside our comprehension, suddenly shines and makes us more into the person God created us to be. Typically, those who go through the sacrament of baptism receive this experience—many churches call those recently baptized “the newly illumined.” But we can experience illumination repeatedly if we seek it—and especially during the weeks of Theophany.
This illumination, which is an increase of inner light in the soul—comprehended as maturing of our spiritual life—makes us view our situations in a new light, talk differently, think with new understanding, and pray from a new angle. Illumination is wisdom granted from Heaven, enabling us to live more according to our heavenly citizenship.
While the Early Fathers created the term illumination, we clearly see the effect of the Light of Life, the Light of Christ, in several places in the Bible:
“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life’” (John 8:12a). “You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness” (1 Thess. 5:5). “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:14–16).
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (James 3:13–17).
The passages in the paragraphs above show the relationship between receiving the Light of Life and how it changes our identity and behavior, taking the form of heavenly wisdom. This is illumination, the major grace of Theophany.
The Path to Illumination
In the scene of Theophany, Jesus shows the path to illumination.
After we receive the Light of Life through a spiritual feast such as the Incarnation Feasts, or during the spiritual practices mentioned above, this spiritual light also shines into a dark area of our soul.
“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).
The increase of inner light stirs repentance for something that repeatedly comes to our attention. This committed repentance, seeking a full restoration of what has been damaged by a specific sin, creates a new sense of humility and brokenness. “A broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Ps. 51:17).
What follows committed repentance is a moment when the Holy Spirit allows us to experience Jesus entering our suffering and brokenness in the Jordan River, carrying our burden of sin away. This renewed understanding of how Jesus washes our sins away makes us unafraid to stand in the line of repentant sinners, next to our beloved Savior. When we allow Jesus to enter our struggle to liberate us, we enter the Jordan with Him.
It both breaks and heals our hearts when we see Jesus taking our personal brokenness upon His shoulders, knowing how much He will suffer in His love for you and me.
The Jordan River runs from the Sea of Galilee into the Dead Sea, the lowest place on the Earth above water (430 meters / 1,411 feet below sea level). On this downward path of humility, the Holy Spirit grants godly sorrow to lowly hearts, and we sometimes experience intense confession of our sins before God, accompanied by tears.
“Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted…” (2 Cor. 7:9–10a)
These tears are a sign we comprehend two powerful and complimentary realities. On the one hand, we see the severity of our sins and how they hurt God, others, and ourselves. Simultaneously, we feel overwhelming gratitude and love for Jesus, who takes our sins away, both forgiving and healing us. These tears of repentance prepare the way for illumination.
While receiving the Light of Life can be a subtle event, the journey into true illumination is usually marked by deeper pain over our sins, followed by the new joy of being forgiven. Our life feels renewed, and new zeal fuels our life with God. We see this in Apostle Paul’s writing:
“Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter” (2 Cor. 7:9–11).
This new, forceful resolution, leading to a changed lifestyle, is the outcome of illumination.
A Lifestyle of Illumination: Repentance, Illumination, Union
The Early Fathers of the Church valued and cultivated a lifestyle of illumination. It was their most effective path to reach their goal: unity with God. Therefore, they focused intensely on humbling themselves, pleaded with God for mercy repeatedly for their sins, and sought to gain a broken and contrite heart. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Ps. 51:17).
“For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones’” (Isa. 57:15).
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”) is perhaps the biggest expression of this desire for repeated illumination.
In the writings of the saints across every church tradition, we find the same spiritual progression: repentance leading to illumination, leading to union.
Some might use different words (Purification, Illumination, and Deification), or add more detailed intermediate stages, but it’s the same spiritual reality. The end goal is the formation of Christ in our inner man (Gal. 4:19), reaching union with God. “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1. Cor. 6:17). Hopefully, we can talk more about the glorious topic of deification during our journey throughout the Seasons of Salvation.
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [repentance/purification], that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called [illumination]; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified [union/deification]” (Rom. 8:29–30).
Sunday Gospel: John 3:22–36 (NKJV)
After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. 24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”
27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. 35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Given From Heaven
This week’s Sunday Gospel happens some months after the baptism of Jesus and talks about illumination, well fitting for this second week of Theophany.
In John 3:22–23, we read: “After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized.”
After John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, and Jesus was still early in His public ministry, the Messiah and His disciples baptized an increasingly growing crowd. John the Baptist had moved further north and continued to baptize as well, while pointing toward Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Soon, those baptized by Jesus argued with the disciples of John the Baptist about purification, likely disputing which baptism was superior. The disciples of the Forerunner, zealous for their master and his ministry, came to John and said that all the people are going to Jesus to be baptized (verses 25–26).
John the Baptist begins his marvelous teaching, revealing the depth of his illumination: The extreme humility of the Forerunner gave him a profound understanding of his calling and united his spirit with Jesus in his consuming love for his Messiah.
“John answered and said, ‘A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven’” (verse 27). Only God gives true privileges—whether relationships, riches, abilities, callings, or ministries—and some may be given for only a certain period. Everything else is the result of our own choices and efforts and is all temporary. “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5).
We read in verse 28–29: “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.”
John says the bride (the people of Israel, the church, or the human soul in general) belongs to the Bridegroom, Jesus. It’s natural for people to come to Jesus rather than to the Forerunner, as they did before. But instead of placing any personal status or ownership over his ministry and calling, John the Baptist—the friend of the bridegroom—hold everything with open hands. The Forerunner knows his task is nearly fulfilled. Rather than guarding his flock as an overcontrolling lion, he is filled with joy, seeing Jesus take over his ministry. “Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease” (verses 29b–30).
The Forerunner continues to exalt Jesus in verses 31–34, and our Sunday Gospel ends with verses 35–36: “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” These words could easily be mistaken as having been written by the Evangelist John, but they are spoken by John the Baptist, revealing the incredible insight (illumination) he had about Jesus.
John the Forerunner proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:29) in our previous talk, and here he proclaims the Messiah as the Bridegroom (John 3:29), ending with these words: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life.”
He lived an extremely illumined life. John demonstrated his humility by rejoicing over Jesus taking the crowds from him. His illumination is the heavenly wisdom and understanding he had about his role in God’s economy. Lastly, John calling himself the friend of the bridegroom reveals his union with God.
When Heaven illumines our lives, we move one step closer to God. The light of His presence impacting our lives is impossible to ignore. We know God has done something; we know we’ve been illumined.
Let us pray that God grants us the grace of illumination during these weeks. Our previous journey through the Incarnation Fast cultivated a certain contrition, which prepared our hearts to receive this new heavenly wisdom and walk of life.
It’s a joy for me that you took the time to read this. Thank you for following Jesus in His footsteps into the Jordan River during these weeks.
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The post January 19–25, 2025 (Western): The Path to Illumination first appeared on Father Elisha: Let me take you on an intriguing journey..
January 10, 2025
January 12–18, 2025 (Eastern): When Jesus Was Baptized
The Incarnation Feasts Week 4
The Afterfeast
The Feast of Theophany used to be the main Incarnation Feast until the Church Fathers divided it into the feasts of the Nativity, the Circumcision, the Theophany, and the Presentation in the Temple. Therefore, the Divine Calendar continues to focus on the Theophany passages of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River for the next three weeks.
The Fathers of the Church divided Theophany to help us receive the rich grace from the mystery of Christ’s Incarnation. “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
The grace of the Incarnation conforms us to “the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:28), “until Christ is formed in you” (Gal. 4:19), and we experience that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). As we linger these three weeks in the mysteries of this magnificent event in Jesus’ life, we pray the grace of the Incarnation unfolds in our inner man.
Preaching A Baptism
John the Baptist “went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:3). What exactly did John the Baptist do? Did he offer a baptism that forgave sins? Both no and yes. Only Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, the Blood of the Son of God, grants forgiveness for our sins. Saint John’s baptism did not forgive the people’s sins. However, his baptism pointed toward the true baptism of Jesus’ death and resurrection that grants forgiveness of sins.
The Evangelist Luke wrote: “preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:3). John the Forerunner preached about Him who would grant forgiveness of sins. “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, “After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.” I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water’” (John 1:29–31).
St. John’s “preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” was his preaching of Him who would perform the true baptism: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11). That true baptism, meaning being filled with the Holy Spirit and cleansed from all sin to assimilate the divine nature (fire), can only happen after we enter the New Covenant through the Blood of Jesus Christ.
So what did St. John’s baptism actually do? It was the original form of the ministry of confession. St. John’s fiery preaching about holiness and righteous living brought an awareness of the magnitude of the people’s sins. We don’t realize how sinful our sins actually are. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9) But probably just seeing John the Baptist, let alone listening to his preaching, and even going into the water to express the need for the coming cleansing, certainly brought an awareness that our sins are thoroughly sinful.
The baptism of St. John was all about creating a deep awareness of our sinfulness—many Israelites trusted in the righteousness of the Law and the Old Covenant. This would realign Israel’s way of life—preparing the way—so they would believe Jesus was the Messiah and not reject Him.
The Forerunner’s baptism revealed our need of “not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Phil. 3:9). John the Baptist said: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11).
When Jesus Was Baptized
“When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized” (Luke 3:21a). Notice this verse reveals that Jesus was the last person to be baptized on that day.
Jesus stands at the very end of the line of repentant sinners. As He approached John the Baptist in the river, one person after the other confessed their sins and entered the water. This is our humble Jesus. Isn’t He utterly amazing? Not only does the sinless One enter the line of repentant sinners about to confess their sins, but He also stands last in line. He “who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22).
This highlights that the sins of humanity are washed into the waters of the Jordan. Then Jesus, “the last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45), “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (Rev. 21:6) approached John the Baptist and almost gave him a heart attack. “And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’” (Matt. 3:14)
Even though John the Baptist knew he wasn’t worthy to loose Jesus’ sandals (John 1:27), he baptized Jesus on His words: “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). And the scene of the Feast of Theophany takes place: “And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Mark 1:10).
The Key of Theophany: The Jordan River
The key word to enter the mystery of the Feast of Theophany is the Jordan River. By reading, studying, and meditating on Scriptures related to the Jordan, and praying with the truths related to Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit leads our spirits into the mystical atmosphere of these weeks. This is the atmosphere that surrounds Jesus as St. John baptized Him. By focusing on this key, we can have a special fellowship with Jesus these days.
Water has a significant role in the celebration of Theophany. Usually, in traditional churches, prayers are prayed over a basin with water, asking the Holy Spirit to sanctify it. Through faith, this holy water is a medium to transfer the blessing after Jesus entered the water in the Jordan. We can use holy water in acts of sanctification, consecration, prayer for deliverance, healing, and so on.
When Jesus entered the Jordan River, many things happened:
Humility Tears The Heavens
When Jesus entered the water, His utter humility tore the Heavens. The Holy Spirit descended on Him and the Father proclaimed Jesus as His beloved Son and that He was well pleased with Him.
Humility catches God’s attention and attracts His presence. Therefore, living lowly with a repentant heart is what we seek in order to live in God’s presence. “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones’” (Isa. 57:15).
The Feast of Theophany contains the grace of Jesus in the waters of the Jordan. The Holy Spirit wants to help us go low and enter the Jordan with Jesus. God wants to help us accept sin as our own. Because the moment we do, we enter the Jordan with Jesus and He washes our sins away.
It’s a paradox: while we deny our sins as our own by justifying ourselves, the sin remains ours. But the moment we claim ownership of our sins, Jesus takes them away immediately. The washing away of our sins happens because Jesus shed His Blood on the cross, but the water of the Jordan foreshadows this effect.
Renewing Our Covenant With God
When Jesus entered the water, He initiated the sign of the New Covenant, leading the Old Covenant into the New. Therefore, through the New Covenant, we fulfill the conditions of the Old. “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ (sign of the Old Covenant), buried with Him in baptism (sign of the New Covenant), in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Col. 2:11–12).
As circumcision was the sign to enter the Old Covenant, so baptism is the sign to enter the New Covenant. “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3–4). “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).
Anyone who wants to follow Christ usually confirms their new walk of faith through baptism. Most are baptized as infants and only need to keep the faith alive as they grow. But those who didn’t and became Christians later in life, after reading the Word of God, usually feel the need to be baptized as adults.
When Jesus entered the Jordan, He foreshadowed His descent into Hades after His death on the cross. And His coming up of the water points toward His resurrection. We proclaim the same in our own baptism. Through our faith in Jesus, our baptism unites us with Jesus’ death and resurrection. The water becomes a physical medium to declare our rebirth in Christ as a child of God. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26–27).
“Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God’” (John 3:5). “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Tit. 3:4–6).
Another action of the grace of Theophany is the Holy Spirit’s stirring to renew our covenant with God—our commitments—as an expression of our love and obedience to our King.
(We notice that the crucified thief on Jesus’ right said: “‘but this Man has done nothing wrong. […] Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise’” (Luke 23:41b–43). The thief’s faith in the Messiah activated the mystery of baptism, and he entered the New Covenant, even though he obviously couldn’t be physically baptized. The thief’s faith united him with Jesus’ death and resurrection.)
Sunday Gospel: Matthew 4:12–17 (NKJV)
Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Light Has Dawned
When Jesus enters the water, the revelation of God in the Jordan River makes us view our own lives in a new light, realigning our way of life to His. Discovering new depths in God always impacts us.
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted…,” and so Ecclesiastes chapter three continues.
In this week’s Sunday Gospel, Jesus had recently returned from His fasting in the wilderness. He had begun His public ministry when the news of Herod’s arrest of John the Baptist reached Him. What the Forerunner had said was being fulfilled: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30), and Jesus would continue His Forerunner’s message: “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Verse 17)
Jesus always knew the will of His Father. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner” (John 5:19). The arrest of John the Baptist led Jesus to move from His hometown Nazareth to Capernaum. He knew the coming martyrdom of the Forerunner changed the season of His life, meaning Jesus would live differently and call more disciples to follow Him. The Messiah would continue the work John the Baptist began, making the people of God aware of their sins and turning them toward the King of Heaven.
This change of season in Jesus’ life fulfilled more prophecies about Him: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned” (Verses 15–16). Jesus knew this new season would accomplish the Father’s will, expressed through Isaiah long ago.
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17).
Jesus was the light that dawned on those sitting in the shadow of death in Galilee. As the Holy Spirit reveals God to us anew through the grace of Theophany, our lives realign to the current season God has ordained for our lives.
Maybe some of us need to complete God’s purpose with our current circumstances. Others need to prepare for the next, and for others it’s a move into a new season. Either way, it fulfills God’s will for our lives—perhaps promises we glimpsed early in the first Season of Salvation, the Season of the Kingdom of God.
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Eccles. 3:1). Let us pray God reveals His purpose for the current season of our life.
It’s an honor for me that you’re still on this journey in Jesus’ footsteps. Thank you for taking the time to read.
Christ is born!
Glorify Him!
Christ on earth!
Exalt Him!
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The post January 12–18, 2025 (Eastern): When Jesus Was Baptized first appeared on Father Elisha: Let me take you on an intriguing journey..
January 12–18, 2025 (Western): Humility That Tears the Heavens
The Incarnation Feasts Week 4
The Afterfeast
The Feast of Theophany used to be the main Incarnation Feast until the Church Fathers divided it into the feasts of the Nativity, the Circumcision, the Theophany, and the Presentation in the Temple. Therefore, the Divine Calendar continues to focus on the Theophany passages of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River for the next three weeks.
The Fathers of the Church divided Theophany to help us receive the rich grace from the mystery of Christ’s Incarnation. “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
The grace of the Incarnation conforms us to “the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:28), “until Christ is formed in you” (Gal. 4:19), and we experience that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). As we linger these three weeks in the mysteries of this magnificent event in Jesus’ life, we pray the grace of the Incarnation unfolds in our inner man.
Preaching A Baptism
John the Baptist “went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:3). What exactly did John the Baptist do? Did he offer a baptism that forgave sins? Both no and yes. Only Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, the Blood of the Son of God, grants forgiveness for our sins. John’s baptism did not forgive the people’s sins. However, his baptism pointed toward the true baptism of Jesus’ death and resurrection that grants forgiveness of sins.
The Evangelist Luke wrote: “preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:3). John the Forerunner preached about Him who would grant forgiveness of sins. “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, “After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.” I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water’” (John 1:29–31).
John’s “preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” was his preaching of Him who would perform the true baptism: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11). That true baptism, meaning being filled with the Holy Spirit and cleansed from all sin to assimilate the divine nature (fire), can only happen after we enter the New Covenant through the Blood of Jesus Christ.
So what did John’s baptism actually do? It was the original form of the ministry of confession. John’s fiery preaching about holiness and righteous living brought an awareness of the magnitude of the people’s sins. We don’t realize how sinful our sins actually are. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9) But probably just seeing John the Baptist, let alone listening to his preaching, and even going into the water to express the need for the coming cleansing, certainly brought an awareness that our sins are thoroughly sinful.
The baptism of John was all about creating a deep awareness of our sinfulness—many Israelites trusted in the righteousness of the Law and the Old Covenant. This would realign Israel’s way of life—preparing the way—so they would believe Jesus was the Messiah and not reject Him.
The Forerunner’s baptism revealed our need of “not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Phil. 3:9). John the Baptist said: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11).
When Jesus Was Baptized
“When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized” (Luke 3:21a). Notice this verse reveals that Jesus was the last person to be baptized on that day.
Jesus stands at the very end of the line of repentant sinners. As He approached John the Baptist in the river, one person after the other confessed their sins and entered the water. This is our humble Jesus. Isn’t He utterly amazing? Not only does the sinless One enter the line of repentant sinners about to confess their sins, but He also stands last in line. He “who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22).
This highlights that the sins of humanity are washed into the waters of the Jordan. Then Jesus, “the last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45), “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (Rev. 21:6) approached John the Baptist and almost gave him a heart attack. “And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’” (Matt. 3:14)
Even though John the Baptist knew he wasn’t worthy to loose Jesus’ sandals (John 1:27), he baptized Jesus on His words: “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). And the scene of the Feast of Theophany takes place: “And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Mark 1:10).
The Key of Theophany: The Jordan River
The key word to enter the mystery of the Feast of Theophany is the Jordan River. By reading, studying, and meditating on Scriptures related to the Jordan, and praying with the truths related to Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit leads our spirits into the mystical atmosphere of these weeks. This is the atmosphere that surrounds Jesus as John baptized Him. By focusing on this key, we can have a special fellowship with Jesus these days.
Water has a significant role in the celebration of Theophany. Usually, in traditional churches, prayers are prayed over a basin with water, asking the Holy Spirit to sanctify it. Through faith, this holy water is a medium to transfer the blessing after Jesus entered the water in the Jordan. We can use holy water in acts of sanctification, consecration, prayer for deliverance, healing, and so on.
When Jesus entered the Jordan River, many things happened:
Humility That Tears the Heavens
When Jesus entered the water, His utter humility tore the Heavens. The Holy Spirit descended on Him and the Father proclaimed Jesus as His beloved Son and that He was well pleased with Him.
Humility catches God’s attention and attracts His presence. Therefore, living lowly with a repentant heart is what we seek in order to live in God’s presence. “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones’” (Isa. 57:15).
The Feast of Theophany contains the grace of Jesus in the waters of the Jordan. The Holy Spirit wants to help us go low and enter the Jordan with Jesus. God wants to help us accept sin as our own. Because the moment we do, we enter the Jordan with Jesus and He washes our sins away.
It’s a paradox: while we deny our sins as our own by justifying ourselves, the sin remains ours. But the moment we claim ownership of our sins, Jesus takes them away immediately. The washing away of our sins happens because Jesus shed His Blood on the cross, but the water of the Jordan foreshadows this effect.
Renewing Our Covenant With God
When Jesus entered the water, He initiated the sign of the New Covenant, leading the Old Covenant into the New. Therefore, through the New Covenant, we fulfill the conditions of the Old. “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ (sign of the Old Covenant), buried with Him in baptism (sign of the New Covenant), in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Col. 2:11–12).
As circumcision was the sign to enter the Old Covenant, so baptism is the sign to enter the New Covenant. “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3–4). “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).
Anyone who wants to follow Christ usually confirms their new walk of faith through baptism. Most are baptized as infants and only need to keep the faith alive as they grow. But those who didn’t and became Christians later in life, after reading the Word of God, usually feel the need to be baptized as adults.
When Jesus entered the Jordan, He foreshadowed His descent into Hades after His death on the cross. And His coming up of the water points toward His resurrection. We proclaim the same in our own baptism. Through our faith in Jesus, our baptism unites us with Jesus’ death and resurrection. The water becomes a physical medium to declare our rebirth in Christ as a child of God. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26–27).
“Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God’” (John 3:5). “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Tit. 3:4–6).
Another action of the grace of Theophany is the Holy Spirit’s stirring to renew our covenant with God—our commitments—as an expression of our love and obedience to our King.
(We notice that the crucified thief on Jesus’ right said: “‘but this Man has done nothing wrong. […] Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise’” (Luke 23:41b–43). The thief’s faith in the Messiah activated the mystery of baptism, and he entered the New Covenant, even though he obviously couldn’t be physically baptized. The thief’s faith united him with Jesus’ death and resurrection.)
Sunday Gospel: John 1:35–51 (NKJV)
Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Behold The Lamb
When Jesus entered the water, a trade took place. Jesus, the pure and innocent One, cleansed the water that washed off the sins of humanity by taking upon Himself the sins of the world. When Jesus stepped out of the river, the sins of the world was upon Him. The sins of everyone who stood in line ahead of Jesus to reach John the Baptist—including you and me—Jesus now carried.
In this week’s Sunday Gospel, we’ll only focus on verses 35–37: “Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.”
This happened the day after John baptized Jesus—and we’re in the first week after Theophany—and John the Forerunner proclaimed to two of his own disciples that Jesus is the Lamb of God. The words John said were enough to make the two leave their former mentor and follow Christ.
John the Baptist, whom we might remember from the Incarnation Fast, met Jesus prior to the Baptism. While Jesus was in His Mother’s womb, Mary met Elizabeth when she was pregnant with John, and Jesus commissioned His Forerunner while both of them were unborn (see Luke 1:41–44). The Forerunner was “filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15).
Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John the Baptist understood what happened when he baptized Jesus. Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the world to carry them all the way to the cross. Through His death, Jesus would bring the sins of mankind into Hades, because “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).
It was John’s simple message about Jesus being the Lamb of God that captured the hearts of his two disciples. The humble, innocent Lamb, was Him “who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). It’s the meekness of Jesus that overcomes the human heart. Jesus bends down so low that He brings us to our knees in worship.
The grace of Theophany may do this to us. We talked last time about how the grace of this feast gives us new knowledge of God. A new personal revelation includes seeing Jesus as the innocent Lamb—the One who takes our sins upon His shoulders to die and bring an end to their tyranny.
Encountering the humility of Christ leads us to repentance, allows the grace of Incarnation to open further, and expands the divine nature of Jesus into the area of our soul God wants to redeem this year.
Thank you again for following Jesus on our journey through the story of His life. May His baptism open the heavens above you, and may the light reveal the Lamb of God in a way you’ve not known. It’s a privilege you took the time to read.
Christ is born!
Glorify Him!
Christ on earth!
Exalt Him!
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The post January 12–18, 2025 (Western): Humility That Tears the Heavens first appeared on Father Elisha: Let me take you on an intriguing journey..
January 3, 2025
January 6 / January 19, 2025 (Eastern Old Calendar): The Feast of Theophany/Epiphany
The Incarnation Feasts Week 3:
The Feast of Theophany/Epiphany
Gospel of the Feast: John 1:18–34 (NKJV)
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. 19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” 28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
Gospel of the Feast: Matthew 3:13–17 (NKJV)
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
The Feast of Theophany/Epiphany
We celebrate the third of the four Incarnations Feasts, and this feast was once Christianity’s primary Incarnation Feast. In the early centuries, the Church celebrated all four Incarnation Feasts as one feast: The Feast of Theophany. But the Church Fathers saw it as necessary to celebrate separate feasts—two prior to and one following Theophany—so that Christians could absorb the rich graces coming from the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.
The western churches celebrate Epiphany on the same day as the eastern churches celebrate Theophany. The major theme and purpose are the same. Epiphany uses the coming of the wise men from the East as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentile nations, while Theophany uses the baptism of Jesus as the revelation of the Holy Trinity and Jesus as the Son of God to Israel. Put together, we celebrate the appearance of God to mankind that day.
Theo means “God,” while Epi means “in front of you” / “above” / “before you.” Phany means “to see,” “to bring to light,” “manifestation,” or “appearance.” Theophany practically means an enlightening or illumination that comes from God. In this feast, God gives us fresh revelations about Himself.
From the reading of Epiphany (Matthew 2:1–12), we see the wise men in “the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him” (Matt. 2:11). It was a young Child, not an infant in a manger. Also, since Herod “sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under” (Matt. 2:16), we assume Jesus was about two years old when the wise men visited the Holy Family.
In this weekly journey through the Seasons of Salvation, we’ll focus on the Theophany passages. My apologies if your local church focuses on the Epiphany passage.
In the scene of Theophany, when John the Baptist baptizes Jesus Christ, Jesus is about thirty years old (Luke 3:23). How does this relate to the Incarnation Feasts of the Nativity and the Circumcision? The Incarnation refers to the entire period when Jesus Christ wears our human body—not only His birth.
The Incarnation began with the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary and the miraculous conception, and will be fulfilled from when Jesus gave His body and blood as food and drink in the mystical Eucharist (John 6:54–55; 1 Cor. 11:23–26), and reaches its consummation when Jesus delivers the Kingdom to the Father after His second coming (1 Cor. 15:24–26, 28).
“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed” (John 6:54–55).
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes (1 Cor. 11:23–26),
“Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. […] Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:24–26, 28).
Theophany and the Other Incarnation Feasts
So how does Epiphany and Theophany link with the previous Incarnation Feasts? In the Nativity, we received the grace of the divine life of Jesus as a spiritual seed in our inner man. During the feast of the Lord’s Circumcision, we received a new circumcision of our hearts that released the grace of Incarnation from our spirits into the land of our souls.
In our current feast, God publicly reveals Himself as a Man—whether to a few wise men representing the Gentile nations when Jesus was two years old, or openly to Israel at the age of thirty. The Holy Spirit gives us a new revelation of God, and a new encounter with Him, because of the grace we received at Nativity.
As the grace of Incarnation unfolds into the land of our souls, we learn to know God anew in a deeper way. We receive an internal epiphany and theophany, allowing us to know Him more. And there is nothing more reviving for our lives than receiving a new revelation about God—not new information about Him, but genuine experience with Him. This changes our life, even subtly at first. This is the grace of the third Incarnation Feast. And as we go deeper into the mysteries of Theophany in the coming weeks, leading up to the fourth and last Incarnation Feast, we will see that Theophany is about humility and illumination.
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:5–8).
During the Incarnation Fast, our key was “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant.” At Christmas (the Feast of Nativity), we saw Jesus “coming in the likeness of men.” In the central Incarnation Feast, Theophany/Epiphany, we’ll see “and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself.” Last, in the next Season of Salvation, we will follow the humility of Christ even to “the death of the cross.”
Since Theophany is the main Incarnation Feast, the Church Fathers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, dedicated the next three weeks in the Divine Calendar to Theophany. Therefore, this post only opens up one aspect of Theophany and what this grace means for us. We’ll spend the next three weeks going deeper into this magnificent event from different angles, continuously receiving the grace from this feast.
The Holy Trinity Revealed
In the Western Theophany Gospel above, we read: “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18).
No one has ever seen God. Not even Adam saw the essence of God. God walked with Adam in the Garden of Eden, but what Adam saw was not God’s essence. Mankind has seen God’s energies at work, but never His eternally unreachable and inaccessible essence of Being. “Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power” (1 Tim. 6:16). “I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me” (Isa. 45:5).
Jacob saw God at the top of a ladder in a dream (Gen. 28:12–16). God told Moses: “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live” (Ex. 33:20). Moses saw the Lord’s glory from behind (Ex. 33:18–23). The Prophet Elijah met the Lord in “a still small voice” (1 King 19:12). The Prophet Isaiah “saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple” (Isa. 6:1), and seraphim crying “Holy!” around His throne. Prophet Ezekiel saw in his dream the “likeness with the appearance of a man” (Ezek. 1:26) on a throne in a whirlwind engulfed in fire. But these men of God never saw the essence of God.
Yet, what happened at the Jordan River when Jesus came to be baptized?
We read in the Eastern Theophany Gospel above: “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Matt. 3:16–17).
Jesus, God the Son, “saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove,” and heard the voice of God the Father: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” For the first time in history, the people of Israel see the Holy Trinity openly revealed.
We know that it wasn’t only Jesus that saw this—since He is the point of view in the Matthew passage—because we read in the passage from the Gospel of John: “And John [the Baptist] bore witness, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him’” (John 1:32).
For the very first time, God reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in an open display. This is a major theme of the Feast of Theophany: A new revelation of God. An illumination. Through the grace of Theophany, the gift of the divine seed (the new human nature in Jesus) from the Feast of Nativity produces new knowledge of God. This does not mean that this new knowledge isn’t found in the Scriptures—it is, if it is a genuine revelation about God—but it was previously unknown to us, and we had been blind to see it in the Word of God. If we ever experience something not supported by the Word of God, we must reject it. “The entirety of Your word is truth…” (Ps. 119:160).
This is My Beloved Son
The Evangelist John wrote: “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18).
Jesus incarnates within us to declare God through our lives. But also that we may know God, as Jesus knows Him. “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26). “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:4).
The revelation of the Persons of the Holy Trinity by the Jordan River is groundbreaking, but it still doesn’t grant us access to the essence of God. And when we receive our resurrected bodies with the capability to see Jesus in His full transfigured glory, the essence of God will still be unreachable for us. “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).
But, even though “no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” At the scene of Theophany, God Himself, in the Holy Trinity, testifies publicly that the Man rising from the Jordan River is God. This man, the carpenter from Nazareth, is fully God. We can’t see or touch God’s essence in Jesus, but He is right there, right in front of us. Jesus, and our spirits’ union with Him, is the closest we’ll ever get.
Jesus, while walking out of the Jordan with human feet, grants them rest at the same time in Heaven, “in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18). And even though our current human frame can’t survive if Jesus unveils a fraction of His divine nature (Mark 9:5–6), the day will come when we can “see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). Jesus is the closest mankind has ever been to God.
Jesus said in Luke 10:24, after rejoicing in the Holy Spirit and praising the Father: “For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.”
There’s nothing more thrilling, fulfilling, and joyful for a human being than getting to know God. Even though we’ll never access the very essence of God’s Being, we can know Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the implication of the revelation of the Holy Trinity at the Jordan River: Immanuel—God with us. Let us get to know Him.
Blessed Feast of Theophany!
It is my great joy and privilege to travel through the Divine Calendar with you. Thank you again for taking the time to read.
The post next week will introduce the key to the period of feasting ahead of us: The Jordan River.
If it’s helpful, you can review what we previously said about “How Do I Feast?”
Christ is born!
Glorify Him!
Christ on Earth!
Exalt Him!
Other Recommended Scriptures For Meditation
Alongside the designated Gospel passage, these Scriptures are great to read, meditate on, and pray with in order to receive the grace of the Feast:
Exodus 15:22–27 (NKJV): So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.
There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, 26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.” 27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.
Joshua 3:14–17 (NKJV): So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), 16 that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.
2 King 2:9–14 (NKJV): And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” 10 So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” 11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.
Romans 6:3–11 (NKJV): Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Titus 3:4–7 (NKJV): But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
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The post January 6 / January 19, 2025 (Eastern Old Calendar): The Feast of Theophany/Epiphany first appeared on Father Elisha: Let me take you on an intriguing journey..
January 5–11, 2025 (Western & Eastern): The Witness of the True Light
The Incarnation Feasts: Week 3
January 19–25 (Eastern Old Calendar)
Sunday Gospel: Luke 3:1–18 (NKJV)
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”
7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?” 11 He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” 14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”
15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, 16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.
Introducing the Theophany/Epiphany of Jesus Christ
In our journey to uncover the deep mysteries in the events of the life of Jesus Christ, we have arrived at the second Sunday in the Season of the Incarnation Feasts. Just a few days ago, we celebrated the Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we are about to celebrate the third Feast of the Incarnation: the Theophany—or Epiphany—of Jesus Christ.
The western churches celebrate Epiphany on the same day as the eastern churches celebrate Theophany. The major theme and purpose are the same. Epiphany uses the coming of the wise men from the East as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentile nations, while Theophany uses the baptism of Jesus as the revelation of the Holy Trinity and Jesus as the Son of God to Israel. Put together, we celebrate the appearance of God to mankind that day.
In this weekly journey through the Seasons of Salvation, we’ll look at the Theophany passages. My apologies if your local church focuses on the Epiphany passage.
Theophany or Epiphany is the central point in the Season of Incarnation, just as the Holy Week with the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central point in the Redemption Seasons—the remaining Seasons of Salvation in this year’s Divine Calendar.
On the first Sunday of the Incarnation Feasts, which was related to the Feast of the Nativity, we talked about the flight of Joseph, the Virgin Mary, and the Child Jesus into Egypt. But because the grace of Theophany is so rich, both the day before the Feast of Theophany (called a Forefeast) and the following three Sundays toward the last Incarnation Feast in February, all have Gospel readings related to this grand feast. We are approaching a majestic event in the Divine Calendar that is important for our spiritual lives.
Today’s reading and the upcoming three Sunday Gospels explain the grace of Theophany. These Gospel readings (which are more numerous than those for Christmas) unveil this great third feast of the Incarnation.
There is a parallel between the feasts of the Nativity and the Theophany in what God is revealing, as if He wants to say: “I created you, My beloved people, to make you partakers with Me, the Holy Trinity, in what I do on the earth.”
A well-known quote by St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430) is: “God created us without us, but He will not save us without us.” This shows to the degree to which God has given us free will—we all need to say yes to God and choose to believe in His Son—but it also illustrates how God has a space for us to fill in His plans.
In order to set the stage for Christmas, God included people like Zacharias, Elizabeth, the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men from the East, and they all served the mystery of the Nativity of the Lord. We see the same in the Feast of Theophany as we’re drawn to John the Baptist and his role in serving this mystery.
The Role Models
The Church and the Divine Calendar gave us the Virgin Mary with her extraordinary humility and worshipful lifestyle as the role model in our longing for Jesus to be incarnated in us, spiritually speaking. The same applies to John the Baptist and his relationship with Christ. As we reflect on their relationship while journeying through the Sunday Gospels of Theophany, we will be touched to follow the example John the Baptist shows.
If we try to follow, in the grace of God, the virtues of John the Baptist, the outcome will be us being sent into the calling that Jesus Christ has for us. Jesus Christ is first incarnated in us before He sends us to walk in the footsteps of His mission. This is how the grace of the Incarnation works within us, beginning with the four feasts of the Incarnation.
This is exactly what happened to John the Baptist, to where the message John proclaimed to Israel was continued by Jesus Christ after his beheading—John was sent to partake in the mission of the coming Messiah.
“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’” (Matt. 3:1–2)
“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14–15).
Jesus even gave this message to the twelve apostles when He sent them out in Matthew 10:7: “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Do we have the same perspective on our lives, being aligned with the plans of the Kingdom of God, that John the Baptist had? We will see the role of John the Baptist fully manifest in the Jordan River. God gave us these role models in the Scriptures as testimonies, so we can learn from their principles and experience Jesus incarnate in our lives.
The reading of the day before the Theophany (the forefeast) is Luke 3:1–18 (more below), and the reading of the Feast of the Theophany is John 1:18–34. From the Feast itself, we read: “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” This declaration of the Holy Trinity in the Jordan River, and the Messianic calling of Jesus Christ, are central themes in the Feast of Theophany.
The Forefeast of Theophany/Epiphany: The Witness of the True Light
John the Baptist, the Forerunner, stood firm against the opposition of his time. He understood God’s plan, what was in God’s heart, and what God wanted to teach and do in his generation, and that made him steadfast. John, like the Virgin Mary, was exceptionally humble, and he testified to the truth.
The Forerunner said that Jesus was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He proclaimed Jesus would sacrifice himself even before Jesus spoke of it himself. Also, in John 3:29, he testified Jesus was the Bridegroom who had come for His Bride.
John testified to the truth about the complete identity of Jesus Christ because he was a highly enlightened man. As we shall see on the Feast itself and the following Sundays, illumination is a central grace of Theophany.
In the Gospel passage above, we read: “Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones’” (Luke 3:7–8).
John the Baptist is pointing to a highly sensitive issue for the Jews—the inheritance of Abraham—and simultaneously change their mentality from being sons of Abraham to become sons of God. This shift in their understanding of sonship would be a worthy fruit of their repentance.
The Forerunner wanted them to no longer place their trust in their earthly genealogy from Abraham, but to live as worthy sons of God through repentance from unrighteousness and by listening to the Messiah, Jesus. The baptism John ministered pointed to the baptism Jesus Christ would administer (the sign of the New Covenant) with the help of His disciples. Ultimately, Jesus would undergo the final baptism through His death, resurrection, and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
“After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there” (John 3:22–23). “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11).
The Forefeast of Theophany/Epiphany: Fruits Worthy of Repentance
Luke 3:9 reads: “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
John the Baptist practiced what he preached, and his testimony about Jesus came with power and revelation, as if John could envelop a listener with his words, compelling a response from them. His proclamations and ministry were clear.
There would actually be a remission of sins when John the Baptist ministered if the person repented and believed John when he said, “‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water” (John 1:30–31). When his listeners understood the truth—that complete repentance was proved by fruits worthy of repentance (Luke 3:8) and that the Messiah would perform the atonement—“The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”—they would find peace (John 1:29).
What does all this mean regarding the Feast of Theophany? When we receive grace from a feast, a specific repentance follows this gift. We cannot receive grace and also live unrepentantly in other areas of our lives. The gifts of God inspire repentance. “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Rom. 2:4) We cannot simply trust in a spiritual gift—as the Israelites trusted in their genealogy to Abraham; we must also bear fruits worthy of repentance.
John the Baptist preached specifically to different people, guiding them: ordinary inhabitants, tax collectors, and soldiers. He fittingly presented the truth to each and directed their fruits of repentance.
“So the people asked him, saying, ‘What shall we do then?’ He answered and said to them, ‘He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.’ Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than what is appointed for you.’ Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, ‘And what shall we do?’ So he said to them, ‘Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages’” (Luke 3:10–14).
The Forerunner gave a unique direction to each person, as he did with Herod when he confronted his sin. “And with many other exhortations he preached to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison” (Luke 3:18–20).
Herod even liked John. “For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly” (Mark 6:20).
The Forefeast of Theophany/Epiphany: The Anointed Sword
The truth John preached was clear, and even though the truth rebuked Herod to the point of imprisoning John, Herod still “heard him gladly” because John preached the truth with grace. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
The words of the Baptist were sharp like a sword, piercing the soul and spirit of his listeners, but this sword was dipped in oil—the anointing and grace that carried his words, making the piercing smoother and more bearable. Herod wanted to listen to more of his words, even though they were painful; but Herod’s problem was that he didn’t want to repent and show fruits worthy of repentance.
Through the feast of Theophany, the Divine Calendar offers an example in John the Baptist—not to make us feel ashamed, but to inspire us through one who accepted the grace of the Incarnation. John the Baptist was born six months before Jesus Christ, but he carried in his spirit the light and the truth of the Incarnation that he would bear witness.
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:6–9).
May the life and the words of John the Baptist prepare and inspire us as we step into the waters of the Jordan River and celebrate the Feast of the Theophany of Jesus Christ.
It’s a great joy for me that you take the time to read about the Seasons of Salvation during these feast days. It’s my privilege to journey with you at the beginning of this New Year.
To continue stepping into the Jordan River, see the post about the Feast of Theophany/Epiphany (January 6 / January 19 on the Old Eastern Calendar).
Christ is born!
Glorify Him!
Christ on Earth!
Exalt Him!
Save your Prayer Card on your Smartphone
Photo by Dilip Poddar on Unsplash
The post January 5–11, 2025 (Western & Eastern): The Witness of the True Light first appeared on Father Elisha: Let me take you on an intriguing journey..
January 5–11, 2025 (Western & Easter): The Witness of the True Light
The Incarnation Feasts: Week 3
January 19–25 (Eastern Old Calendar)
Sunday Gospel: Luke 3:1–18 (NKJV)
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”
7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?” 11 He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” 14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”
15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, 16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.
Introducing the Theophany/Epiphany of Jesus Christ
In our journey to uncover the deep mysteries in the events of the life of Jesus Christ, we have arrived at the second Sunday in the Season of the Incarnation Feasts. Just a few days ago, we celebrated the Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we are about to celebrate the third Feast of the Incarnation: the Theophany—or Epiphany—of Jesus Christ.
The western churches celebrate Epiphany on the same day as the eastern churches celebrate Theophany. The major theme and purpose are the same. Epiphany uses the coming of the wise men from the East as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentile nations, while Theophany uses the baptism of Jesus as the revelation of the Holy Trinity and Jesus as the Son of God to Israel. Put together, we celebrate the appearance of God to mankind that day.
In this weekly journey through the Seasons of Salvation, we’ll look at the Theophany passages. My apologies if your local church focuses on the Epiphany passage.
Theophany or Epiphany is the central point in the Season of Incarnation, just as the Holy Week with the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central point in the Redemption Seasons—the remaining Seasons of Salvation in this year’s Divine Calendar.
On the first Sunday of the Incarnation Feasts, which was related to the Feast of the Nativity, we talked about the flight of Joseph, the Virgin Mary, and the Child Jesus into Egypt. But because the grace of Theophany is so rich, both the day before the Feast of Theophany (called a Forefeast) and the following three Sundays toward the last Incarnation Feast in February, all have Gospel readings related to this grand feast. We are approaching a majestic event in the Divine Calendar that is important for our spiritual lives.
Today’s reading and the upcoming three Sunday Gospels explain the grace of Theophany. These Gospel readings (which are more numerous than those for Christmas) unveil this great third feast of the Incarnation.
There is a parallel between the feasts of the Nativity and the Theophany in what God is revealing, as if He wants to say: “I created you, My beloved people, to make you partakers with Me, the Holy Trinity, in what I do on the earth.”
A well-known quote by St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430) is: “God created us without us, but He will not save us without us.” This shows to the degree to which God has given us free will—we all need to say yes to God and choose to believe in His Son—but it also illustrates how God has a space for us to fill in His plans.
In order to set the stage for Christmas, God included people like Zacharias, Elizabeth, the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men from the East, and they all served the mystery of the Nativity of the Lord. We see the same in the Feast of Theophany as we’re drawn to John the Baptist and his role in serving this mystery.
The Role Models
The Church and the Divine Calendar gave us the Virgin Mary with her extraordinary humility and worshipful lifestyle as the role model in our longing for Jesus to be incarnated in us, spiritually speaking. The same applies to John the Baptist and his relationship with Christ. As we reflect on their relationship while journeying through the Sunday Gospels of Theophany, we will be touched to follow the example John the Baptist shows.
If we try to follow, in the grace of God, the virtues of John the Baptist, the outcome will be us being sent into the calling that Jesus Christ has for us. Jesus Christ is first incarnated in us before He sends us to walk in the footsteps of His mission. This is how the grace of the Incarnation works within us, beginning with the four feasts of the Incarnation.
This is exactly what happened to John the Baptist, to where the message John proclaimed to Israel was continued by Jesus Christ after his beheading—John was sent to partake in the mission of the coming Messiah.
“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’” (Matt. 3:1–2)
“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14–15).
Jesus even gave this message to the twelve apostles when He sent them out in Matthew 10:7: “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Do we have the same perspective on our lives, being aligned with the plans of the Kingdom of God, that John the Baptist had? We will see the role of John the Baptist fully manifest in the Jordan River. God gave us these role models in the Scriptures as testimonies, so we can learn from their principles and experience Jesus incarnate in our lives.
The reading of the day before the Theophany (the forefeast) is Luke 3:1–18 (more below), and the reading of the Feast of the Theophany is John 1:18–34. From the Feast itself, we read: “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” This declaration of the Holy Trinity in the Jordan River, and the Messianic calling of Jesus Christ, are central themes in the Feast of Theophany.
The Forefeast of Theophany/Epiphany: The Witness of the True Light
John the Baptist, the Forerunner, stood firm against the opposition of his time. He understood God’s plan, what was in God’s heart, and what God wanted to teach and do in his generation, and that made him steadfast. John, like the Virgin Mary, was exceptionally humble, and he testified to the truth.
The Forerunner said that Jesus was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He proclaimed Jesus would sacrifice himself even before Jesus spoke of it himself. Also, in John 3:29, he testified Jesus was the Bridegroom who had come for His Bride.
John testified to the truth about the complete identity of Jesus Christ because he was a highly enlightened man. As we shall see on the Feast itself and the following Sundays, illumination is a central grace of Theophany.
In the Gospel passage above, we read: “Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones’” (Luke 3:7–8).
John the Baptist is pointing to a highly sensitive issue for the Jews—the inheritance of Abraham—and simultaneously change their mentality from being sons of Abraham to become sons of God. This shift in their understanding of sonship would be a worthy fruit of their repentance.
The Forerunner wanted them to no longer place their trust in their earthly genealogy from Abraham, but to live as worthy sons of God through repentance from unrighteousness and by listening to the Messiah, Jesus. The baptism John ministered pointed to the baptism Jesus Christ would administer (the sign of the New Covenant) with the help of His disciples. Ultimately, Jesus would undergo the final baptism through His death, resurrection, and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
“After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there” (John 3:22–23). “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11).
The Forefeast of Theophany/Epiphany: Fruits Worthy of Repentance
Luke 3:9 reads: “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
John the Baptist practiced what he preached, and his testimony about Jesus came with power and revelation, as if John could envelop a listener with his words, compelling a response from them. His proclamations and ministry were clear.
There would actually be a remission of sins when John the Baptist ministered if the person repented and believed John when he said, “‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water” (John 1:30–31). When his listeners understood the truth—that complete repentance was proved by fruits worthy of repentance (Luke 3:8) and that the Messiah would perform the atonement—“The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”—they would find peace (John 1:29).
What does all this mean regarding the Feast of Theophany? When we receive grace from a feast, a specific repentance follows this gift. We cannot receive grace and also live unrepentantly in other areas of our lives. The gifts of God inspire repentance. “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Rom. 2:4) We cannot simply trust in a spiritual gift—as the Israelites trusted in their genealogy to Abraham; we must also bear fruits worthy of repentance.
John the Baptist preached specifically to different people, guiding them: ordinary inhabitants, tax collectors, and soldiers. He fittingly presented the truth to each and directed their fruits of repentance.
“So the people asked him, saying, ‘What shall we do then?’ He answered and said to them, ‘He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.’ Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than what is appointed for you.’ Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, ‘And what shall we do?’ So he said to them, ‘Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages’” (Luke 3:10–14).
The Forerunner gave a unique direction to each person, as he did with Herod when he confronted his sin. “And with many other exhortations he preached to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison” (Luke 3:18–20).
Herod even liked John. “For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly” (Mark 6:20).
The Forefeast of Theophany/Epiphany: The Anointed Sword
The truth John preached was clear, and even though the truth rebuked Herod to the point of imprisoning John, Herod still “heard him gladly” because John preached the truth with grace. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
The words of the Baptist were sharp like a sword, piercing the soul and spirit of his listeners, but this sword was dipped in oil—the anointing and grace that carried his words, making the piercing smoother and more bearable. Herod wanted to listen to more of his words, even though they were painful; but Herod’s problem was that he didn’t want to repent and show fruits worthy of repentance.
Through the feast of Theophany, the Divine Calendar offers an example in John the Baptist—not to make us feel ashamed, but to inspire us through one who accepted the grace of the Incarnation. John the Baptist was born six months before Jesus Christ, but he carried in his spirit the light and the truth of the Incarnation that he would bear witness.
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:6–9).
May the life and the words of John the Baptist prepare and inspire us as we step into the waters of the Jordan River and celebrate the Feast of the Theophany of Jesus Christ.
It’s a great joy for me that you take the time to read about the Seasons of Salvation during these feast days. It’s my privilege to journey with you at the beginning of this New Year.
To continue stepping into the Jordan River, see the post about the Feast of Theophany/Epiphany (January 6 / January 19 on the Old Eastern Calendar).
Christ is born!
Glorify Him!
Christ on Earth!
Exalt Him!
Save your Prayer Card on your Smartphone
Photo by Dilip Poddar on Unsplash
The post January 5–11, 2025 (Western & Easter): The Witness of the True Light first appeared on Father Elisha: Let me take you on an intriguing journey..
December 27, 2024
January 1 / January 14, 2025 (Eastern Old Calendar): The Sign of the Covenant: The Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ
The Incarnation Feasts Week 2:
The Circumcision of the Lord Jesus Christ
Gospel of the Feast: Luke 2:21–39 (NKJV)
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
29 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation 31 which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32 a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”
33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
39 So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
Gospel of the Feast: Luke 2:20–21, 40–52 (NKJV)
Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
21 And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. […]
40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; 44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”
49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.
51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
The Incarnation Feasts Work Together
God became human like us. He’s with us. No need to be afraid. “And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14b) “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31)
Eight days after Christmas (The Feast of Nativity) comes the second Incarnation Feast. We read in the Gospel above: “And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:21).
On January 1 (January 14 on the old eastern calendar) we celebrate the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord. This event might feel strange to celebrate, since “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28), but we’ll see how the grace of this feast acts in our life, and how it links to the first Incarnation Feast, Christmas.
The four Incarnation Feasts are the Nativity of the Lord (December 25 / January 7), the Circumcision of the Lord (January 1/14), Epiphany/Theophany (January 6/19), and the Presentation of the Lord into the Temple (February 2/15) when Jesus was forty days old.
As we journey through these feasts, they might appear unrelated, but we will uncover the spiritual meaning and application of each event in Christ’s life to see how the Incarnation grace beautifully unfolds. We can’t compartmentalize our spiritual growth because it happens through our living relationship with Jesus. Spiritual growth is uniting our life with God to form Christ in our inner man (Gal. 4:19). “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).
Like the baby grows in the mother’s womb, the organs don’t form individually, but the entire body grows simultaneously (an awe-inspiring wonder by the way, scientifically speaking). In the same way, our spiritual life might experience a small Pentecost in the Christmas season when the Holy Spirit comes on Christ in us, the grace of Incarnation. And at Pentecost, we may feel the joy of the Resurrection return.
We might feel an inner release or inspiration toward something during these feast days, but when the fast of the Great Lent begins in the spring, our focus suddenly changes. Then the blessings of the Incarnation Feasts resurface in the Resurrection Season after Easter, but in a more mature form… and so the Seasons of Salvation interconnect and overlap.
The work that the Holy Spirit began in the first Season of Salvation (Season of the Kingdom of God) flowed into the Incarnation Fast. This work now continues into the Feasts. However, our prayers and worship probably sound different now than four months ago, when we tried to identify the absence of Christ’s reign in our soul.
As we grow in our experience of the Seasons of Salvation, we feel the change of spiritual atmospheres. The Holy Spirit lets us fellowship with Jesus when He lived through these events, and the grace we find in His footstep through these events transfers to our spirits. Everything Jesus did every single day of His life has a direct impact on our lives.
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:15–16). “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isa. 12:2–3).
The Eighth Day
We will focus on the main verse in the Gospel passage for this feast. Luke 2:21: “And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.”
God told Abraham: “He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations” (Gen. 17:12). The eighth day bears great significance, being the day of the new creation.
God created the world in six days (Gen. 1) and rested the seventh (Gen. 2:1–2). The seventh day is the Sabbath, which will be fulfilled on Christ’s second coming. Jesus’ open reign over the world will lead the entire creation into His Sabbath rest. “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (Heb. 4:9–11). God is still in His seventh day, and He invites us to enter His Sabbath through Jesus Christ. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).
After this period of the global Sabbath, when the great angel “laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years” (Rev. 20:2), God will create again. “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Rev. 21:1).
The eighth day means a new beginning and a new creation. At Nativity, we received the grace of the divine human nature of Jesus Christ. This divine life is ready to birth the new nature of Jesus in our spirit and transform the surrounding area of our soul into Christ’s likeness. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
We know best our old human nature. Our personal history, old ways of life, our sins, and our ignorance hinder Jesus’ new humanity to grow from the seed of Incarnation. Jesus wants to bring us newness of life, and abundance of it. “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10b).
The grace of Incarnation makes us live and think differently and experience the closeness of Jesus, the communion of the Holy Spirit, and the Father’s pleasure. This growth from our oldness into newness is a process, like we talked about in the beginning. But this second Incarnation Feast offers grace to deal with the first hindrance. We’ll discover this obstacle as we continue uncover this verse.
The Sign of the Covenant & The Hardened Heart
Luke 2:21: “And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.”
God said to Abram: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. […] Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. […] Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you” (Gen. 17:4, 8, 10b–11).
We find God’s motivation behind the covenant in the first verse in the same chapter: “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless” (Gen. 17:1). God sought communion with man, His beloved creation, which He lost in the fall. God told Moses: “‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel” (Ex. 19:5–6).
Soon, the people of Israel put their trust in their circumcision—the sign of the Covenant. They gradually reduced their love for God to routine, and sin crept into their lives. “‘If you will return, O Israel,’ says the Lord, ‘Return to Me; And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, then you shall not be moved. […] Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings’” (Jer. 4:1,4).
The prophet called the people to cut away the hardness of their hearts and return to their God. Heart and spirit are used synonymously in the Old Testament. During the fall of man, a hard barrier formed around the human spirit, hindering it from expanding into the soul to form the nature of Christ. Hebrews 4:12 refers to this hard barrier around our spirit: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” This division of the soul and spirit, which the word of God pierces as a sword, is the hardness around the heart.
As we celebrate the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit desires to cut away this hardness around our hearts. The grace of the Nativity can then make our spirit extend into the soul to sanctify it. This circumcision of our heart releases the grace of the Incarnation and new life into our soul.
This hardening of the heart happens when we sin repeatedly. Therefore, it won’t surprise us if the grace from the Circumcision Feast leads us this week into repentance for something that has hardened our hearts. This is typically a manifestation of the area of our soul that we tried to identify as void of Christ’s reign in the first Season of Salvation.
The Sign of the Covenant: Entering The Covenant
Luke 2:21: “And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.”
What is the significance of the Virgin Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to be circumcised, like every Jewish boy? When Jesus is circumcised in the flesh, He enters the covenant God made with Abram, but man could never keep it because of the weak, fallen human nature. But now, since the time of Adam, a man has been born without inheriting the sinful nature from an earthly father. Jesus, being fully God and fully man, can keep all the conditions of the Covenant God made with Abraham, as well as the Old Covenant God instituted with Moses, including the Law and Commandments. “Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?” (John 8:46)
Jesus will fulfill the original purpose of the Covenant. “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17). God gave the Covenant to Abram so man would “walk before [God] and be blameless” (Gen. 17:1). “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29).
When Jesus is circumcised on our behalf, He enters the Covenant between man and God to fulfill all the requirements. Therefore, our own inability to keep the Law and Commandments leads us to Jesus, because He did it on our behalf. “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24). And as Christ’s life grows within, we too keep the commandments through the grace we find in Him.
Jesus, by receiving the sign of circumcision and keeping all the conditions of the Covenant of old, releases all the blessing of the Covenant on our behalf. In Christ, we receive the shower of blessings from the Covenant we couldn’t keep because of our sinful disposition. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). Deuteronomy 28:1–14 lists many of the blessings Jesus unlocked for us by entering the Covenant on our behalf.
Consecration
The grace from the feast also helps us to cut sinful habits that war against us. Jesus’ circumcision was in His flesh, but the Holy Spirit circumcises our hearts by cutting the hardness formed around our spirits. This is the true circumcision—the severing of the old human nature through the grace of Christ’s circumcision. “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us…” (Heb. 12:1) Therefore, this feast carries grace to deepen our consecration to God.
“In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Col. 2:11–12).
Heart to Heart
Luke 2:21: “And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.”
When God entered the Covenant with Abram, the Patriarch received the name that reflected his personality and calling. “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations” (Gen. 17:5). In God’s mind, the name He gives us deeply reflects our personality and calling.
The angel told Joseph about Mary in his dream: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Jesus means Jehovah saves, delivers, sets free, brings salvation—Jesus means Savior. His parents declared Jesus’ name at His circumcision, and Savior certainly describes His personality and calling. The day will come when Jesus will reveal the names God has given us: “To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it” (Rev. 2:17).
The Feast of Circumcision carries a mystery of our true name that fully reflects who we are and our calling. As Jesus received His name at His circumcision, so we can pray for the grace to live more according to our true name and calling. Many parents pray before naming their children, and our earthly names can still reflect our personality and call, especially when God inspires the choice, but God’s naming is different. These names belong to our new creation when we reach its fullness in the age to come. Yet, in this feast, we can pray the Holy Spirit realigns us more to the purpose of our lives.
The key to enter the mystery of this feast is the House of Circumcision, the place where Jesus received circumcision.
In the Feast of the Nativity, we received the divine life of Jesus in the land of our soul. God wants to unite us with His own life, His heart. The grace of Circumcision cuts the hardness around our hearts, making them soft, so we can meet God Heart-to-heart. He seeks to deepen His communion with us through this divine life incarnating in us. Let us pray we receive the inner cut of our hearts during this feast, so we tenderly encounter the gift of Nativity, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). Heart-to-heart.
I wish you a blessed feast, and I pray these simple words may help you see this act Jesus did on our behalf in a different light. It’s my honor and joy you took the time to read.
If helpful, you can review what we said last week about How Do I Feast?
Christ is born!
Glorify Him!
Christ is Earth!
Exalt Him!
Other Recommended Scriptures For Meditation
Alongside to the designated Gospel passage, these Scriptures are great to read, meditate on, and pray with in order to receive the grace of the Feast:
Genesis 17:1–5, 10–12 (NKJV): When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.
Proverbs 8:22–30 (NKJV): “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. 23 I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth; 26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, or the primal dust of the world. 27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 when He established the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep, 29 when He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters would not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.
John 10:9–10 (NKJV): I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Colossians 2:8–12 (NKJV): Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
Hebrews 7:26–8:2 (NKJV): For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.
8 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
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The post January 1 / January 14, 2025 (Eastern Old Calendar): The Sign of the Covenant: The Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ first appeared on Father Elisha: Let me take you on an intriguing journey..
December 29, 2024 – January 4, 2025 (Western & Eastern): Until the Storm Passes
The Incarnation Feasts: Week 2
January 12–18 (Eastern Old Calendar)
Sunday Gospel: Matthew 2:13–23 (NKJV)
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” 21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
The Afterfeast: A Mystical Week
After the extraordinary event of the birth of God Almighty as a vulnerable baby boy, we have arrived at the first Sunday after Christmas. For an entire week following the Nativity, we can continue to receive the rich grace of the feast. It is as if the open heavens, with the angelic choir in Luke 2:13–14, opened to us on the day of the feast and remain open for one week, mystically speaking.
This week of afterfeast is sometimes called Bright Week or a mystical week. The Church Fathers, through the Divine Calendar, established this so we can continue to receive the grace of Incarnation for several days, after having been prepared to receive it by the forty-day Nativity Fast (the Incarnation Fast).
Since this Sunday falls between the feasts of the Nativity and the Circumcision of the Lord, its message can easily be overshadowed by these great and spiritually rich events in the life of Jesus. However, this Sunday carries an important message. It is brief, but it is helpful for our understanding of what the Holy Spirit is doing internally and externally in our lives. Let us, therefore, pray about and reflect upon this message before we arrive the Feast of Circumcision (separate post) in just a few days.
The Flight to Egypt
This Gospel passage covers the period shortly after the birth of Jesus Christ until His upbringing in Nazareth. Jesus remained in Nazareth, Galilee, until He started His public ministry. “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…’” (Luke 4:16–18)
The first thirty years of Jesus’ life are mostly unknown to us, but the Scriptures reveal some events. One of them is the Flight to Egypt. Why did Jesus go to Egypt? Of course, in His humanity, He was only a babe and couldn’t speak to His parents, but He was still God. Therefore, the events of His childhood had divine direction and purpose.
Christ didn’t go to the nation of Egypt merely because God had a deep love for that nation. “Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, ‘Blessed is Egypt My people…’” (Isaiah 19:25). God didn’t favor Egypt above other nations. When Christ was incarnate in “the fullness of the time” (Gal. 4:4), He came first to Israel, whom God had prepared throughout many centuries through the Law and the prophets. But even in Christ’s childhood, we see that Jesus did not only come for the nation of Israel, but for the whole world.
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11–12).
Jesus, in His childhood, chose a place that prophetically represents the world. Bible scholars agree that Egypt is prophetically a symbol of the world, just as Babylon is prophetically a symbol of condemnation or judgment. Even in His childhood, Jesus was indicating that He not only came for Israel but for the whole world, represented by the nation of Egypt.
It was an angel who told Joseph to take the newborn Jesus and His mother, the Virgin Mary, and flee from the wrath of Herod, and to stay in Egypt until the angel said it was safe to return. The Holy Family didn’t wait for the sun to rise but immediately fled to Egypt.
Until the Storm Passes
Sometimes we must flee from the enemy and the war he wages against us. We are not always called to stand against every evil plan the enemy unleashes on the earth. At times, God tells us to hide and wait for the storm to pass.
“Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity…” (Isaiah 26:20–21)
Jesus and the Holy Family spent four years in Egypt, but the Bible is silent about this period. This shows that sometimes we must accept that God has hidden us. During these times, we have no influence on others, nor are we recognized by anyone. We must humbly accept these challenging periods, because they are crucial preparation for our future. Also, while keeping us concealed, God may be preparing other people we will connect with in the future.
“And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden Me” (Isaiah 49:2).
Sometimes, God needs to make us into a sharp sword or arrow. After that, He places us in His sheath or His quiver. There, hidden in the dark, we remain for a while. But when the quiver has been filled with other arrows like us, it is ready for use on the battlefield. Suddenly, we’re placed on His bow and shot toward a very specific target.
Let us reflect, pray, and try to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit and what God is doing our lives during this phase. May these words encourage us as we approach the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus Christ.
The Link Between Celebrating the New Year and the Incarnation
The New Year celebration is close to the Feast of the Nativity, so let us take spiritual view of this relationship. The beginning of the New Year has an important connection to Christmas.
The entire world knows that our calendar uses the birth of Jesus Christ as its reference point—the birth of Jesus Christ reset history. Therefore, the New Year celebration occurs around the time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christians often takes this opportunity to review on our lives in following Christ during the past year, in a spirit of repentance, and set goals for the new.
The divine light from the Feast of the Nativity, also called “uncreated light,” is the light of life, not the light of knowledge and understanding, as discussed in the Feast of the Nativity. “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).
Once the grace of the Incarnation, in the form of divine light, barely touches us, we cannot help but surrender and pray: “Dear Holy Spirit, please search my heart. Am I walking under this light? Am I walking in the light of Your second coming?”
“You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness” (1 Thess. 5:5).
Following the Feast of the Nativity, the Holy Spirit approaches us, leading us to a deeper spirit of repentance. In His tender way, He reveals our shortcomings and sins from the past year, and the things that are not right in our relationship with God, with others, and with ourselves. This divine light shows us how to begin walking into the New Year.
A sign that the Holy Spirit is moving in our lives during the celebration of the New Year is that we once again understand our desire to live each day, hour, and minute of the New Year with a fresh beginning, seeking something new in our life with God.
It is time for renewal—not for something from the past as a “second chance,” but a new beginning with divine newness. Jesus Christ has entered human nature—that is, you and me—with newness of life, and He want to unite Himself with us.
Just as the birth of Jesus split our calendar into before and after Christ (BC/AD), so the grace of the Incarnation makes a “before and after” divide in our lives. The Nativity changes everything. Now, we desire to focus on walking in Christ, in the light of His countenance. When Jesus touches us, we want our days to be different from the previous year.
And so, we repent for the past year and make our prayers and goals for the New Year. Blessed New Year!
Thank you for taking the time to read during this blessed season of feasts. It’s my privilege to journey with you into the New Year.
Also, you don’t want to miss the post about the Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ on January 1 (January 14 on the Old Eastern Calendar).
Christ is born!
Glorify Him!
Christ on Earth!
Exalt Him!
Save your Prayer Card on your Smartphone
Photo by Michal Mancewicz on Unsplash
The post December 29, 2024 – January 4, 2025 (Western & Eastern): Until the Storm Passes first appeared on Father Elisha: Let me take you on an intriguing journey..
December 29, 2024 – January 4, 2025 (Western & Easter): Until the Storm Passes
The Incarnation Feasts: Week 2
January 12–18 (Eastern Old Calendar)
Sunday Gospel: Matthew 2:13–23 (NKJV)
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” 21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
The Afterfeast: A Mystical Week
After the extraordinary event of the birth of God Almighty as a vulnerable baby boy, we have arrived at the first Sunday after Christmas. For an entire week following the Nativity, we can continue to receive the rich grace of the feast. It is as if the open heavens, with the angelic choir in Luke 2:13–14, opened to us on the day of the feast and remain open for one week, mystically speaking.
This week of afterfeast is sometimes called Bright Week or a mystical week. The Church Fathers, through the Divine Calendar, established this so we can continue to receive the grace of Incarnation for several days, after having been prepared to receive it by the forty-day Nativity Fast (the Incarnation Fast).
Since this Sunday falls between the feasts of the Nativity and the Circumcision of the Lord, its message can easily be overshadowed by these great and spiritually rich events in the life of Jesus. However, this Sunday carries an important message. It is brief, but it is helpful for our understanding of what the Holy Spirit is doing internally and externally in our lives. Let us, therefore, pray about and reflect upon this message before we arrive the Feast of Circumcision (separate post) in just a few days.
The Flight to Egypt
This Gospel passage covers the period shortly after the birth of Jesus Christ until His upbringing in Nazareth. Jesus remained in Nazareth, Galilee, until He started His public ministry. “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…’” (Luke 4:16–18)
The first thirty years of Jesus’ life are mostly unknown to us, but the Scriptures reveal some events. One of them is the Flight to Egypt. Why did Jesus go to Egypt? Of course, in His humanity, He was only a babe and couldn’t speak to His parents, but He was still God. Therefore, the events of His childhood had divine direction and purpose.
Christ didn’t go to the nation of Egypt merely because God had a deep love for that nation. “Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, ‘Blessed is Egypt My people…’” (Isaiah 19:25). God didn’t favor Egypt above other nations. When Christ was incarnate in “the fullness of the time” (Gal. 4:4), He came first to Israel, whom God had prepared throughout many centuries through the Law and the prophets. But even in Christ’s childhood, we see that Jesus did not only come for the nation of Israel, but for the whole world.
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11–12).
Jesus, in His childhood, chose a place that prophetically represents the world. Bible scholars agree that Egypt is prophetically a symbol of the world, just as Babylon is prophetically a symbol of condemnation or judgment. Even in His childhood, Jesus was indicating that He not only came for Israel but for the whole world, represented by the nation of Egypt.
It was an angel who told Joseph to take the newborn Jesus and His mother, the Virgin Mary, and flee from the wrath of Herod, and to stay in Egypt until the angel said it was safe to return. The Holy Family didn’t wait for the sun to rise but immediately fled to Egypt.
Until the Storm Passes
Sometimes we must flee from the enemy and the war he wages against us. We are not always called to stand against every evil plan the enemy unleashes on the earth. At times, God tells us to hide and wait for the storm to pass.
“Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity…” (Isaiah 26:20–21)
Jesus and the Holy Family spent four years in Egypt, but the Bible is silent about this period. This shows that sometimes we must accept that God has hidden us. During these times, we have no influence on others, nor are we recognized by anyone. We must humbly accept these challenging periods, because they are crucial preparation for our future. Also, while keeping us concealed, God may be preparing other people we will connect with in the future.
“And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden Me” (Isaiah 49:2).
Sometimes, God needs to make us into a sharp sword or arrow. After that, He places us in His sheath or His quiver. There, hidden in the dark, we remain for a while. But when the quiver has been filled with other arrows like us, it is ready for use on the battlefield. Suddenly, we’re placed on His bow and shot toward a very specific target.
Let us reflect, pray, and try to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit and what God is doing our lives during this phase. May these words encourage us as we approach the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus Christ.
The Link Between Celebrating the New Year and the Incarnation
The New Year celebration is close to the Feast of the Nativity, so let us take spiritual view of this relationship. The beginning of the New Year has an important connection to Christmas.
The entire world knows that our calendar uses the birth of Jesus Christ as its reference point—the birth of Jesus Christ reset history. Therefore, the New Year celebration occurs around the time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christians often takes this opportunity to review on our lives in following Christ during the past year, in a spirit of repentance, and set goals for the new.
The divine light from the Feast of the Nativity, also called “uncreated light,” is the light of life, not the light of knowledge and understanding, as discussed in the Feast of the Nativity. “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).
Once the grace of the Incarnation, in the form of divine light, barely touches us, we cannot help but surrender and pray: “Dear Holy Spirit, please search my heart. Am I walking under this light? Am I walking in the light of Your second coming?”
“You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness” (1 Thess. 5:5).
Following the Feast of the Nativity, the Holy Spirit approaches us, leading us to a deeper spirit of repentance. In His tender way, He reveals our shortcomings and sins from the past year, and the things that are not right in our relationship with God, with others, and with ourselves. This divine light shows us how to begin walking into the New Year.
A sign that the Holy Spirit is moving in our lives during the celebration of the New Year is that we once again understand our desire to live each day, hour, and minute of the New Year with a fresh beginning, seeking something new in our life with God.
It is time for renewal—not for something from the past as a “second chance,” but a new beginning with divine newness. Jesus Christ has entered human nature—that is, you and me—with newness of life, and He want to unite Himself with us.
Just as the birth of Jesus split our calendar into before and after Christ (BC/AD), so the grace of the Incarnation makes a “before and after” divide in our lives. The Nativity changes everything. Now, we desire to focus on walking in Christ, in the light of His countenance. When Jesus touches us, we want our days to be different from the previous year.
And so, we repent for the past year and make our prayers and goals for the New Year. Blessed New Year!
Thank you for taking the time to read during this blessed season of feasts. It’s my privilege to journey with you into the New Year.
Also, you don’t want to miss the post about the Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ on January 1 (January 14 on the Old Eastern Calendar).
Christ is born!
Glorify Him!
Christ on Earth!
Exalt Him!
Save your Prayer Card on your Smartphone
Photo by Michal Mancewicz on Unsplash
The post December 29, 2024 – January 4, 2025 (Western & Easter): Until the Storm Passes first appeared on Father Elisha: Let me take you on an intriguing journey..
