Our Gospel today ends with the words of Christ, “‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’.” Why is this message of repentance given to us today? The Theophany of God the Holy Trinity, this first explicit revelation and manifestation of God as the unity in essence that He is—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is revealed to the world this day, and so, the world that God made and proclaimed “very good” in Genesis, but which had fallen into sin and disrepair, is given new life—the life of the Logos of God Himself, incarnate, has entered into the most basic and pervasive element of that creation subject to the effects of our sin and disobedience, and has renewed it—water. Truly, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and has visited us through this manifestation and the renewal of creation.
With the sanctification of water, all creation becomes good, pure again, is filled with Christ; Because Christ God enters it, the creation becomes what it first was, it returns to its first beauty. It takes on a ‘spiritual’ attribute, that is, it is renewed as a means of communicating God’s grace. .
With Christ’s baptism, that is, His being ‘put into’ the waters of the Jordan, it becomes at that moment and every moment thereafter in the calling into the present of this sanctifying act, the means of our healing and renewal: those who partake in faith of this water, who are anointed with it, and have their houses blessed with it, truly take Christ’s healing into themselves.
If those who touched the hem of His garment were healed, how much more are those who are baptized into Christ and put on Christ through the waters that Christ has made the laver of regeneration healed, how much more those who in faith partake of the water that through the operation of the Holy Spirit changes the composition of this water into that which is holy going to receive healing, empowerment, and strength?
I’m very proud of this community of believers, fifteen of whom braved the cold, the snow and ice on Tuesday past to participate in the Divine Liturgy of the Feast, taking time off work and school and resisting the frigid temperatures to enjoin their prayers with that of the faithful generations before us to see and partake of the Great Blessing of the Waters at the City Dock and the Mouth of the Chesapeake and also took that water into themselves in faith. This is a great example of faith but also is a participation in this deifying work of God through the Holy Spirit. Even on this day, when no one else seemed to be around, we were joined by others not of our faith, who heard your singing and saw your great faith and were drawn to this work of God.
And so that this water can have its deifying effect on us, it’s necessary for us to be able to break through the monotony of our often marginal or ‘every day’ existence where God is on the periphery or where we have not yet surrendered ourselves or our passions fully to Him. This faith is manifested in that which is admonished upon us today: that we repent.
That is, we turn back to God with our hearts and minds, with all that we have and all that we are, so that we can move forward in growth in faith to become that for which Christ became incarnate and was baptized to make us to be: those called by grace to become, by virtue of our baptism into the life that He has vivified and made whole again, His beloved adopted sons and daughters.
For this reason, on this day, we hear the words from the Gospel of St. Matthew, that “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.” Today, we are those people who are offered refreshment, renewal, or new birth by water and the spirit.
The sanctifying, deifying grace-filled presence of Christ meets us in this water through our participation in the Feast itself, our being anointed with this holy water, and the blessing of our homes and dwellings with this sanctified water. Sadly, in America many do not avail themselves of the fullness of this Feast. In Romania, it is a pious practice, for instance, in the first eight days after the Feast, to partake in faith of the sanctified water every day at morning prayers, that they may have their deifying, faith strengthening, and healing effect on us. But also, that we make a priority in our otherwise busy lives to have our homes blessed with this sanctifying water.
This blessing of our homes requires great faith from us in that we believe that we make it a priority in this otherwise secular culture we fight to be Christians in. We believe that the priest’s blessing by Christ’s command will bring us Christ’s blessing and bring this healing, sanctifying water to us in a unique way that will make a difference for us in protecting and keeping us in Christ and growing in our communion with Christ in this next year.
Indeed, the Church proclaims that the “central sign” of God’s sanctification of all things through His Theophany to the world is the act of blessing the homes of the faithful.
If we wish to break through the hum-drum of our spiritual lives, if we want to continue to progress in our relationship and communion with God in the coming year, our surroundings, of which our home and family life is the vital part, we need the sanctifying and blessing of Christ. The family, our homes, are considered “a little church” in our Orthodox theology, so how important it is that this ‘little churches’ receive the special prayers and blessing of the Church so that all we hope to achieve in Christ in this new year can be more fully achieved through the sanctifying grace which Christ God gives us at this great time of blessing.
When the priest comes to bless the house, he not only asks God’s mercy for those who live in the house, but he drives from it every evil and fills it with Christ’s blessing. All are filled with the fullness of God, and the Feast of Theophany is appropriated by us into our homes and dwelling places. It is vital to our spiritual growth and well-being that we make this blessing of our homes a priority. It is my prayer that this blessing with holy water and your partaking of this water will defend you against all the snares of the evil one, will focus you again—when in need—on Christ, and will make your home a sanctuary from this world, a place of brightness and light, and furtherance in His Kingdom. Receive it in faith and repent, knowing that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and has been revealed to us!
Fr. Robert Miclean
Holy Archangels Orthodox Mission
Sunday After Theophany
11 January 2015
Epistle: Eph. 4:7-13
Gospel: Matt. 4:12-17
