Promise The
Holy TriniTy Greek orTHodox CHurCH WesTfield ^ neW Jersey
January 2011 ^ Volume 35, Issue 1
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Holy Theophany n
The ReveRend peTeR delvizis
H
oly Theophany or Epiphany is one of the Twelve Great Feast Days of the Church. On this day, our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ came to the Jordan River to be baptized by his cousin, St. John the Baptist. Christ did not need to be baptized by John but through this great event He showed how we are to be saved. The purifying waters of baptism bring salvation to us just as the waters brought salvation to the Israelites as they fled Egypt and crossed through the Red Sea. Holy Theophany is also the day in which the Holy Trinity was revealed to the entire world. Rising out of the waters, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, descended upon Christ and with a splendid voice God the Father spoke of His beloved Son. Christ is full of love and on the day of His baptism He begins His ministry of love and salvation.
What is inside of you? With Christ dwelling inside our hearts we are filled with love. This is one of the essential questions of life. What are you made of? When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out. Whatever is inside or pressed its components come out. Whatever is inside us at the time we are under pressure or hard pressed comes out. If it’s anger, if it’s bitterness, if it’s hatred, it will spill out when we are squeezed. When Jesus was squeezed on the Cross by His enemies what was inside of Him came out: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” So it is with us. When life squeezes us, what is inside spills out. Most of us can be pretty nice when things are going well; it is when you are squeezed that the real you comes out. If Jesus lives inside you, His love will spill out every time someone jostles you. If the Holy Spirit abides in you, the fruits of the Spirit will
spill out when life squeezes you: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” [Galatians 5:22-23] ^
Church Fathers Speak:
Why did Christ refer to the grace of the Spirit under the name water? Because through water all vegetables and animals live. Because the water of rain comes down from heaven, and though rain comes down in one form its effects take many forms. Yea, one spring watered all of paradise, and the same rain falls on the whole world, yet it becomes white in the lily, red in the rose, purple in the violet. – St. Cyril of Jerusalem
Wait for the promise of the Father
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