Tuesday, January 6, 2004
The Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ
Kellia: Genesis 1:1-13 Epistle: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7 Gospel: St. Matthew 3:13-17
Genesis 1:1-13 LXX, especially vss. 3, 4, 5, "And God said, Let there be
light, and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good, and God divided between the
light and the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night...."
Our Illumination is He Who doth illumine every man (Jn. 1:9), Christ our God. He is the Creator
of the world "Who didst appear in the world, to lighten them that sit in darkness." He Who is
Light began this existence by bringing forth light, dividing it from darkness, and calling these
two creations "Day" and "Night." Thus, because of two acts, creation and His Divine Theophany
in this created world, we know two kinds of light - uncreated, or Divine Light and created light
which He made in many forms. Created light now serves our physical need to see but also
provides a means for understanding uncreated Light as well as the other energies of God.
St. Nikolai of Zica identifies four revelations of God imbedded in the creation account, with
which we may associate light: 1) God is a changeless Creator, a Light "with Whom there is no
variation or shadow of turning" (Jas. 1:17). 2) He is a God wise and most merciful, a Light to
our paths (see Ps. 118:105 LXX) Who is guiding us towards our intended goal in Light. 3) He is
a God Who created physical light and will therefore bring such light to an end along with the rest
of His creation. 4) God is the Creator of "two worlds, the earthly and the heavenly, the material
and the immaterial." Hence, in His "Light shall we see light" (see Ps. 35:10 LXX).
Mankind is a changeable creation, always in flux and mutating, which disrupts our ability to
establish a renewing relationship with God. However, as Vladimir Lossky says, the "uncreated,
eternal, divine, and deifying light is grace...[the] divine energies as they are given to us and
accomplish the work of our deification....Being the light of the divinity, grace cannot remain
hidden or unnoticed, acting in man, changing his nature, entering into a more and more intimate
union with him...revealing to man the face of the living God, and....those who are worthy of it
attain the sight of the 'kingdom of God come with power' in this life, as the three apostles saw it
on Mount Tabor." While the Light of God does not change, His grace or energies change us,
moving us toward illumination and stability in Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our task is to purify ourselves by faith through ascetic labors, as St. Makarios of Egypt says, "If
through faith and effort we are enabled to become partakers of the Holy Spirit, then to a
corresponding degree our bodies also will be glorified on the last day. For what is now treasured
up within the soul will then be revealed outwardly in the body." As God guides us toward our
intended goal in Light, it is His Light that He uses to guide us toward the Light.
The most difficult obstacle facing us in our efforts to become glorified through God's ineffable
light is the allure of the immediate and distracting pleasures of the flesh and our inner instability
and restlessness. God, however, reminds us repeatedly in Scripture that He has called us to be
children of the Light and heirs of eternal good things and that at present we are 'on the Way.'
However, in the words of the Baptismal service, we have to "prove ourselves as children of the
Light." Let us not take our eyes off the end toward which we are striving.
The Theophany of our Lord is a gracious reminder from God that we are not merely material
beings, but creatures also able to participate in the immaterial world all around us. The Saints
teach us to open our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies to the uncreated Light, for as St. Gregory of
Thessalonika says, He who participates in this Light "...is united to the Light and with the Light
he sees in full consciousness all that remains hidden for those who have not this grace." Illumine
us, O Master Who lovest mankind, with the pure light of Thy divine knowledge.
