This weekend we will celebrate the Baptism of our Lord. The focus is squarely on Jesus and his baptism in the waters of the Jordan at the hands of John the Baptizer. But something much bigger is going on as Jesus emerges from this full-immersion river baptism.
God in all his fullness is revealed as Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Epiphany is Theophany.
In the most ancient tradition of the Church, Epiphany was celebrated before Christmas; the manifestation of God was celebrated before the birth was put on the Church calendar. In the Christian East, the focus of Epiphany was on the Baptism of our Lord. In the Christian West, Epiphany developed into a three-part celebration: 1) the visit of the wise men, 2) Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan and 3) the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee in which Jesus turns the water into wine.
This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord. The skies are torn open and God is revealed as Holy Trinity. The Father speaks from heaven; the incarnate Son who is fully God and fully man emerges from the water; the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove.
In truth all Christian celebrations are celebrations of the Trinity, because this is who God is for all eternity. God was, is and always will be Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Before there was anything, any creation, before there was any “was,” God was: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God in three persons, existing in himself as perfect community, perfect communion.
What does this have to do with the Baptism of our Lord? With us? In the Baptism of our Lord, the Most Holy Trinity graces the waters of baptism and enfolds us into his life. In our Baptismal washing, we are enfolded into the One Who is Perfect Community and granted, by grace, a share in God’s life, the life of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Happy Theophany!