Between Christmas and Great Lent
The old English Christmas carol talks about “the twelve days of Christmas”. In fact, this is the connecting fabric between the two great feasts of Nativity and Theophany; connected historically, thematically and liturgically, as was said in the January Pokrov leaflet.
Christmas (Nativity) like most great feasts has an after feast of seven days. On the eighth day, the Church celebrates the Gospel event of Christ’s Circumcision, performed according to the law of Moses. For the early Church this feast, like the Nativity before it, spoke of the reality of Christ’s humanity, His flesh given by the Theotokos – the Birthgiver of Lord. On this date, 1/14 January, we also remember St Basil, the great hierarch, theologian and author of the Liturgy celebrated at the time of Christmas, Theophany, Sundays of Great Lent, Thursday and Saturday before Easter.
Theophany – ‘manifestation of God’ – remembers Jesus coming at the age of thirty to Jordan to be announced by the Father and the Holy Spirit as well as the great prophet John the Baptist as the Christ. Christians need to know the meaning of that word. ‘Christ’ is an adaptation of the translation into Greek of the Hebrew word Messiah (lit. ‘Mashiach’). That word, meaning ‘the anointed’ was used to refer to the kings like David and in a special sense to the promised Deliverer (Gen. 3:5; 49:10, etc.) – the King of kings. The Forerunner, who had been preparing Israel for the coming of the Messiah, understood by the Spirit that he was unworthy to baptise the sinless One. However, Christ insisted that it was necessary – to be prepared as the Lamb of God. (According to the Law, sacrificial animals were required to be washed in water before sacrifice). Later, John would tell the people that Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God, spoken of by the prophets, especially Isaiah (Ch.53). The Lord reminded the Pharisees of this fact before His passion. This feast is a manifestation in a dual sense: a manifestation of the Holy Trinity in the event of Christ’s baptism and His manifestation as the Messiah-King and the High Priest preparing to offer himself as the Sacrifice of love. The Father proclaims Him as the Beloved Son and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove confirms to John the Baptist (and possibly others at the event) that He is the One that Israel had been waiting for (Jn. 1:33).
Why did the Holy Spirit assume the form of a dove? Here we see the fulfilment of one of the many prototypes or prefigurements of the Old Testament – the connection with the dove of Noah, the dove of peace, signifying the end of the Flood. Christ’s baptism, which enabled water to become the conductor of God’s grace in the mystery of our baptism, is also connected with the story of the Flood and Christs saving passion. St Paul writes in Romans that for us baptism is a participation in the death and resurrection with Christ and enjoins us to be “dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:3-11, read at baptisms). The essence of sin is disconnection from God, absence or lack of love. Humanity cannot reconnect itself to God without Jesus Christ Who is the Vine to which we are grafted in baptism (Jn. 15:1-5). Baptism is the beginning of real life, which is impossible without this reconnection. I was moved by the observation during communion of a young person who had come to Church for the first time: “People here are so close to each other. I have never seen this before”. He was enabled by God to see the life of the Vine. St Vladimir’s ambassadors reported that they did not know whether they were in heaven or on earth during a service in the Great Church of Constantinople. Our challenge is to bring that experience of heaven into our homes, our families.
The Sunday after Theophany gives us the Gospel reading about the beginning of Christ’s mission in Galilee. Like John the Baptist earlier, the Lord says: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). The kingdom of heaven was an expression used by the ancient Jews to refer to the Kingdom of the Messiah, the Christ. For us it refers to the inner reality of the sorrowful and joyous life of the Church: the acquisition of the Holy Spirit in repentance, humility before God and our neighbour. Christ’s words are like the ringing of a bell that calls us to follow Him as He goes from Jordan to the forty day fast in the desert, followed by temptations from Satan. This journey is prepared during the three weeks before Great Lent in which we are given Gospel images for our backpacks to be used on the journey.
Another important event is celebrated during this time before Great Lent: the Meeting of the Lord, one of the twelve great feasts. It follows on from Christmas, Nativity. The Babe is brought to the Temple forty days after His birth to be dedicated to God according to the Law. This meeting historically is with the elderly Simeon who was promised to see “the Lord’s Christ” before he died. Simeon’s life represents the life of each believer as we anticipate the clearing of our spiritual vision in preparation for our life after life.
I have included some Scriptural references here as is customary. I would encourage you to check these references in you Bibles. It is good to have a copy of the Orthodox Study Bible, which is readily available – or other material, which helps with the interpretation of Biblical texts. Also, Orthodox calendars give references to the daily Bible readings. It is a wonderful practice to follow those readings. Visit our library and book kiosk, especially during Great Lent.
Fr Nicholas Karipoff,
Rector
The old English Christmas carol talks about “the twelve days of Christmas”. In fact, this is the connecting fabric between the two great feasts of Nativity and Theophany; connected historically, thematically and liturgically, as was said in the January Pokrov leaflet.
Christmas (Nativity) like most great feasts has an after feast of seven days. On the eighth day, the Church celebrates the Gospel event of Christ’s Circumcision, performed according to the law of Moses. For the early Church this feast, like the Nativity before it, spoke of the reality of Christ’s humanity, His flesh given by the Theotokos – the Birthgiver of Lord. On this date, 1/14 January, we also remember St Basil, the great hierarch, theologian and author of the Liturgy celebrated at the time of Christmas, Theophany, Sundays of Great Lent, Thursday and Saturday before Easter.
Theophany – ‘manifestation of God’ – remembers Jesus coming at the age of thirty to Jordan to be announced by the Father and the Holy Spirit as well as the great prophet John the Baptist as the Christ. Christians need to know the meaning of that word. ‘Christ’ is an adaptation of the translation into Greek of the Hebrew word Messiah (lit. ‘Mashiach’). That word, meaning ‘the anointed’ was used to refer to the kings like David and in a special sense to the promised Deliverer (Gen. 3:5; 49:10, etc.) – the King of kings. The Forerunner, who had been preparing Israel for the coming of the Messiah, understood by the Spirit that he was unworthy to baptise the sinless One. However, Christ insisted that it was necessary – to be prepared as the Lamb of God. (According to the Law, sacrificial animals were required to be washed in water before sacrifice). Later, John would tell the people that Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God, spoken of by the prophets, especially Isaiah (Ch.53). The Lord reminded the Pharisees of this fact before His passion. This feast is a manifestation in a dual sense: a manifestation of the Holy Trinity in the event of Christ’s baptism and His manifestation as the Messiah-King and the High Priest preparing to offer himself as the Sacrifice of love. The Father proclaims Him as the Beloved Son and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove confirms to John the Baptist (and possibly others at the event) that He is the One that Israel had been waiting for (Jn. 1:33).
Why did the Holy Spirit assume the form of a dove? Here we see the fulfilment of one of the many prototypes or prefigurements of the Old Testament – the connection with the dove of Noah, the dove of peace, signifying the end of the Flood. Christ’s baptism, which enabled water to become the conductor of God’s grace in the mystery of our baptism, is also connected with the story of the Flood and Christs saving passion. St Paul writes in Romans that for us baptism is a participation in the death and resurrection with Christ and enjoins us to be “dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:3-11, read at baptisms). The essence of sin is disconnection from God, absence or lack of love. Humanity cannot reconnect itself to God without Jesus Christ Who is the Vine to which we are grafted in baptism (Jn. 15:1-5). Baptism is the beginning of real life, which is impossible without this reconnection. I was moved by the observation during communion of a young person who had come to Church for the first time: “People here are so close to each other. I have never seen this before”. He was enabled by God to see the life of the Vine. St Vladimir’s ambassadors reported that they did not know whether they were in heaven or on earth during a service in the Great Church of Constantinople. Our challenge is to bring that experience of heaven into our homes, our families.
The Sunday after Theophany gives us the Gospel reading about the beginning of Christ’s mission in Galilee. Like John the Baptist earlier, the Lord says: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). The kingdom of heaven was an expression used by the ancient Jews to refer to the Kingdom of the Messiah, the Christ. For us it refers to the inner reality of the sorrowful and joyous life of the Church: the acquisition of the Holy Spirit in repentance, humility before God and our neighbour. Christ’s words are like the ringing of a bell that calls us to follow Him as He goes from Jordan to the forty day fast in the desert, followed by temptations from Satan. This journey is prepared during the three weeks before Great Lent in which we are given Gospel images for our backpacks to be used on the journey.
Another important event is celebrated during this time before Great Lent: the Meeting of the Lord, one of the twelve great feasts. It follows on from Christmas, Nativity. The Babe is brought to the Temple forty days after His birth to be dedicated to God according to the Law. This meeting historically is with the elderly Simeon who was promised to see “the Lord’s Christ” before he died. Simeon’s life represents the life of each believer as we anticipate the clearing of our spiritual vision in preparation for our life after life.
I have included some Scriptural references here as is customary. I would encourage you to check these references in you Bibles. It is good to have a copy of the Orthodox Study Bible, which is readily available – or other material, which helps with the interpretation of Biblical texts. Also, Orthodox calendars give references to the daily Bible readings. It is a wonderful practice to follow those readings. Visit our library and book kiosk, especially during Great Lent.
Fr Nicholas Karipoff,
Rector
