On this day the Word of God, after having put on the old Adam and having accomplished the prescriptions of the Law, came to the great prophet John to be baptized. John refrained from doing it, saying: "It is I who should be baptized by You, and You come to me!" But when Jesus said to him: "Let it be so now," John obeyed and performed it, understanding that the baptism was the fulfillment of all justice. By His baptism, Christ sanctified the nature of water. Having buried all of men's sin in the waves of the Jordan, He came out of the water, having renewed and reconstructed man made old by sins, and having given him the kingdom of heaven.

The feast of the Theophanies of the Lord was at first intended to solemnize the idea of the different manifestations of God to men in the Person of the Word made flesh. It was not primarily a commemoration of historical events (as Easter or Pentecost), but a notion of a feast: the announcement of the Incarnation and divine mission of the Lord, and of His mysterious union with humanity in the Church-a Union of Understanding (Faith) and of Love (Charity), engendering men to a new spiritual life in baptism. Nevertheless, the feast referred to certain events in the Savior's life in which He had manifested this union in a special manner. Events which appeared first of all as manifestations of divinity (theophanies): firstly, the birth of the Savior, then the announcement made to the shepherds, the mysterious invitation made to the Magi, then the official consecration of the Savior by His baptism in the Jordan at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.

Another characteristic of the great feast is that on it catechumens were baptized in a very solemn fashion, as at Easter. The very object of the feast admirably sums up all the essentials of the faith in which the new Christians were consecrated. All in it is impregnated in the two essential mysteries of our Christian faith: the Incarnation of the Word for the salvation of humanity (Nativity); and, the union of God in the Trinity (baptism).

As we saw on December 25, the feast of the Nativity of the Savior was transferred and made a separate feast from this date in the beginning of the Fourth century. However, allusions to the Nativity (besides its nearness on the calendar) retain their place today, because in this manifestation the union of the divine nature and human nature is brought to the understanding of men. "Those who were in darkness have seen a dazzling light shine in Bethlehem; or rather the Lord born of Mary, the Sun of Justice begins to radiate His rays on the whole universe" (Reference to the pagan feast of the winter solstice, when the sun begins to go back to the horizon).
Then the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan is recalled to us. It is then that the Father and the Holy Spirit bear witness to the Incarnation of the Son for the salvation of mankind.

The remembrance of Jesus' baptism is in direct relation to the sacrament which the catechumens are going to receive. By it, they are going to become Christians, that is to say, to wash themselves of their sins, to pass from darkness to light, to live united to God in His Church which is the spouse of Christ. "The true light has appeared and it gives illumination to all. Christ is baptized with us, He who is the purest of all, supernatural; He sanctifies the water, and this becomes a purification for our souls..." (Lauds). For this reason there is an allusion made to the feast of Easter, when the catechumens were also baptized: "As formerly the Hebrews were saved from death thanks to their blood-tinted doors, so now this divine bath of rebirth will be for us a feast of exodus after which we will see the true light of the Trinity" (Ode IX). For baptism, like the other sacraments, contains its efficacy in the blood of the divine, immolated Lamb, the Christian Passover (Easter).

The union of the human and divine natures is realized to perfection in the Person of Christ, but the Church insists a lot today for us to understand that it is ourselves who are reunited today to God. Even though Moses could only turn aside from the face of God, John the Baptist is invited to approach the Lord: "As soon as Moses perceived that You spoke in the bush, he immediately diverted his gaze. And I (says John the Baptist), how can I look You in the face, how can I place my hand upon You, for You are Christ, the Wisdom and Power of God" (Ode IV). "Put aside all fear, says the Liberator to the Precursor; obey Me; approach Me as Christ, for this is who I am by nature; ...I who have come down with you..." (Ode VIII). "The Lord drew to Himself the nature created by God but fallen by the laws of a tyrannical appetite. He regenerated it by a new creation of human beings, accomplishing an all-excellent work for He approached it wishing to protect it" (Ode III).

This union of Christ with humanity has suggested the image of a wedding feast. The liturgical texts in the different Churches call Christ the "Spouse of the Church." It is a sacred wedding by which the Church acquired the power of becoming the spiritual Mother of those who are born again by water and the Spirit. The Latin texts for this day make memory of the wedding of Cana, which offers the symbol of the mystical wedding of the Church with Christ. As for the Byzantine Office, it presents to us a very beautiful text of praise to the Church becoming an infinitely fruitful mother: "You who formerly were barren, and alas! Without children, rejoice on this day, O Church of Christ, for by water and the Spirit, sons are born to you who cry out with faith: 'There is none as holy as our God...'" (Ode III).

Let us on this day be impregnated with the spirit of the Church, in the joy and love for the Lord who descended to us sinners in order to clothe us in His power and splendor: "All of you who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia."

Romanian Synaxion