The Feast of Theophany ; the Day of the Baptism of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

By Priest Aleksandar Radunovic

When we contemplate the wondrous and awe-inspiring mystery of Christ’s Baptism, which shone forth like the sun upon the banks of the Jordan, our hearts are filled with ineffable wonder and holy fear. This act, in which the Lord, the sinless Lamb of God, bows His head before the hand of His creature, truly marks the beginning of the revelation of the salvific economy for humankind.

Jesus Christ, He who revealed the ineffable light of Divinity in the flesh, enters the waters of the Jordan not for the cleansing of sins—for He is without sin;but to sanctify creation by His boundless union with the waters and to bestow upon the world the mystery of regeneration. 

His descent into the waters of the Jordan symbolically represents God’s descent into the depths of a fallen world, where by His touch all creation is offered the possibility of new life.

Baptism, the Holy Mystery by which one enters the household of God, is not merely a symbol or a ritual but a true and grace-filled participation in Christ’s death and Resurrection. Just as Christ’s Baptism prepared the way for His voluntary suffering and glorious Resurrection, so too does every person who receives this Holy Mystery die to the old self;defiled by sin;and rise as a new person, deified in Christ.

At the moment when the Lord emerges from the water, the heavens are opened, and the voice of the Father is heard, bearing witness to Him: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). 

In this glorious moment, the Mystery of the Holy Trinity is revealed: the Son stands in the water, the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove, and the Father testifies from heaven. This is the beginning of our salvific communion with God, the introduction to the new covenant sealed by the blood of Christ.

The Holy Mystery of Baptism is the gift of new creation, the renewal of fallen humanity. In it, the “death of the old self” and the “birth from above” (John 3:3) are accomplished, clothing the person in Christ’s righteousness and making them a living member of His Body, the Church. Through Baptism, we not only partake in Christ’s victory over sin and death but also become temples of the Holy Spirit, sanctified and transformed for eternal life.

Therefore, we raise our thanksgiving to God, who, through Christ’s Baptism, leads us into the joy of salvation and grants us the strength to preserve this gift through ascetic struggle and repentance. For it is in the waters of Baptism that our journey toward deification begins, our journey toward eternal communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.