Deraed Beloved in the Lord,

We have celebrated the birth of our Lord, God and Savior, just a week ago and now we come to the eighth day when we see Him once again, fulfilling the law by being circumcised. In all things that is what He did: fulfill the law as set forth in the Old Testament. Yet on the same day, January 1st, we commemorate the great saint Basil who was a teacher of the tenets of our holy Orthodox Faith.

On the first day of the New Year we have a special prayer of gratitude for the outgoing year, and a prayer of hope for the New Year. In the prayer we ask God to bless the whole year and grant us wholeness, healing, peace, salvation, spiritual and material blessings. With His baptism, which we remember on January 6th, our Lord changed all of that. He was declared to be what He is: the Son of God. In Greek vocabulary January 6th is Theophany, and also called the Feast of Lights, Ta Phota, for the world was “enlightened” by the coming and baptism of Jesus Christ.

We know these celebrations and events of the life of Jesus Christ as they are now celebrated were not instituted at the very beginning. Oh, there was a semblance of remembrance of some of the events in the life of our Lord. It was not until later, within one hundred to two hundred years as Christianity became more free to practice the faith, that these became annual observation through prayers, hymns and readings apropos for the occasion. What was evident during those first centuries of Church life, a clear and definitive ecclesiastical conscience both in theory and in practice was formulated with principles of faith and worship at tremendous sacrifice from external enemies and those within the faith who falsified some of the teachings. January 6th, focuses on the beginning of our Lord’s Divine Mission in the presence of the manifestation of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We find the narrative in the first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is given the designation of Theophany, which means the appearance, or manifestation of God-Theos- epiphaneia. What is significant is in Orthodoxy and the Christian East January 6th celebrates the baptism of our Lord as witnessed by the other two Persons of the Holy Trinity and connected to the birth of Christ, while in Western Christianity this day of the 6th of January is dedicated to three events: the baptism of Jesus, the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem and the miracle of Cana (the changing of water into wine). In Western Christianity this is a celebration of the manifestation of Christ to the world and His power to perform miracles.

January 6th took on another meaning for Orthodox Christians. After a period of Catechism, it became one of two days when catechumens would be baptized (the other being the Eve of Easter). Thus, the phrase Feast of Lights carries another meaning: people were enlightened by their own baptism. Plus, all the faithful carried lighted candles during the whole of the services for that day. Given the lack of electricity, a congregation holding lit candles would certainly “light up” the Church and make a bright day in and out of the Church.

It was on the eve of Theophany that the baptism would take place as the catechumens made their vows to be faithful to the Lord throughout their life. With the advent of infant baptism, the practice became less and less and there were fewer adults to be baptized. But Holy Water was taken home and the priest was invited to come and bless homes and businesses, fields and animals.

What does all of this mean for us today as Orthodox Christians? Surely this “Feast of Lights” must be something more than sentimental. This great festal celebration is not merely a reminder of the baptism of our Lord nor is it held as an attraction of music and poetry. It confirms the presence of our Lord in our daily life as our Guide and Comforter. This Feast tells us our Lord is ever present, and His Grace continually given. Second, the environment of the Church and the message of the words of the day uplift us spiritually and emotionally so renew our own baptismal pledge to live in Christ, learning and practicing His message in our life. Christ said, “I am the Light”. Our role then is to live this festive occasion seeking and following the “Light” recognizing Christ as the Alpha and Omega of our life and Faith. It is to have our lives and our homes and livelihood blessed with His grace with Holy Water from this day. It is to take this Holy Water and wash away whatever clutters our life and illuminate our conscience and our Christian way of life.

In Christ, Fr. John