The Sunday before Theophany

Preached by Fr Andrew on January 9, 2011

Baptism of Christ

The baptism of Christ can be compared to a coronation. This is the day when God blesses His Son to begin His ministry. He sends the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove as a crown. There is no crowd cheering, no band playing, no display of fireworks and no parade to watch. Just John the Baptist (Jesus’s cousin), and possibly a few onlookers, perhaps Andrew the Apostle. When Jesus steps out into the water, the heavens open, a Spirit descends and the voice of God is heard, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Theophany in Greek and epiphany in Latin is a manifestation of the Holy Trinity:  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The revelation of God as a Trinity of persons is passed off by many as unintelligible. Our liturgy describes God as ineffable, indescribable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible, ever existing and eternally the same. What do these words mean?  Let’s take them apart. Ineffable means overwhelming. Inconceivable means you can’t understand. Invisible means you can’t see. Incomprehensible means beyond comprehension, ever existing and eternally the same means God does not change, He is timeless.

St. Patrick used the shamrock to describe the Trinity. St. Basil used the sun to describe the Trinity as Father is the sun, the Son is the light that emanates from the sun, and the Holy Spirit is the warmth from the sun.
The human family is seen as a symbol of the Trinity, since humans are made in the image of God ─ father, mother, and child form a trinity. God is a family.

In mathematics and numerology, the number 3 has mystical properties. The Trinity is revealed in the word love. The bible says that God is love. Love requires an object. In the human family, the father loves the mother which produces a child. This is imperfect love. Human love is difficult to maintain and fails with the death of the loved one. In God there is perfect love. It is an ever-expanding love which never ends. This expanding love is expressed in the Gospel of St. John in Chapter 17. This is the real Lord’s Prayer. It is for us to His Father just before His crucifixion. Jesus prays about His oneness with His Father, then He prays that He loved them (us) as You loved Me before the world was created. He goes on, “May the love You have for me, be in them, that I may be in them. Jesus prays that we will be incorporated into God to become adopted members of the Trinity, His family. When you are incorporated into God you cannot die. Jesus expresses the perfect love of God for us by His crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

How are we able to explain the Trinity? The best explanation of the Trinity is found in our creed. The catechism in taught by going through the meaning of each word in the creed. We recite the creed weekly. It appears in our daily prayers, so we even pray the creed. We have heard it so many times that it may not be taken seriously. Do we really believe in one God who is a Trinity of persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Do we believe Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity? Do we believe that He existed before the universe was created? Do we believe that He became flesh, (incarnate)? Do we believe He became like us, so we could be like Him?  Do we believe He had to die so we could live? Do we believe that He rose from the dead and transformed death into eternal life? Do we believe that He is going to return in glory and judge the world? Do we believe that those who have done good will receive eternal life and those who do evil to eternal damnation?

The event we are celebrating today is Christ’s baptism. In this celebration we are celebrating our own baptism. Through baptism we put on Christ and become His adopted children. May the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with all of you. Amen