When You, O Lord, Were Baptized in the Jordan....

These are the opening words of the Troparion of the Feast of Theophany.  We’ve explained this before, but it bears repeating, that we use the word Theophany as opposed to the word used in Western Christendom, Epiphany, because Theophany attaches the meaning directly to God (‘Theo’ as prefix in the word).  Theophany is defined as “a visible manifestation of God to humanity.”  Epiphany carries at least one much lower meaning to the extent of “an illuminating discovery.”

The hymn continues with these words:  the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. 

The presence of God in Trinity is described in the Old Testament, but never in a concrete fullness.  From Gen 1:26 we find, And God said, ‘Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness.’  What possible meaning other than being indicative of the Trinity could the use of the plural have in this phrase?  But it continues.  In Gen 3:22 we find, And the Lord God said, ‘Behold, Adam is become as one of US, to know good and evil.’  These words were spoken by God before He banished Adam and Eve from Paradise.

But again, in Gen 11:6-7, as mankind gathered to build a tower to reach heaven in Babylon, God spoke thusly, Let US go down, and there confound their language.

Scholars in Judaism explain away the plurality by pointing to their word Elohim as that naming God in these instances.  They agree that Elohim is in fact plural, but they explain it away as a grammatical tool pointing to a single deity.

For us, it points to the truth that is fully revealed for the first time in yesterday’s Gospel of St. Matthew.  The Troparion continues, For the voice of the Father bore witness to You, and called You His beloved Son.  Within this phrase of the Troparion, we are shown the truth of the Father’s voice being heard by those who were present, His voice speaking.  Within the Gospel we learn, When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.’  (Mat 3:16-17)

Here we have for the first time in human history God in Trinity acting as One while showing the attributes of each, the Father acting through the Son and in the Holy Spirit.

The Troparion continues.  And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of His Word.  The Gospel text above speaks to the Spirit’s presence, and in His presence there is a confirmation of the Person of Jesus Christ, standing in Jordan as fully Man, being attested to by the Father and the Spirit as fully God.

It is this understanding that fully explains (and fulfills) the images shown only dimly in the Old Testament references.  And it is this understanding that is gifted to us at the very beginnings of the New Testament Gospels to reinforce the essential nature of embracing the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, embracing it as our own understanding, imperfect as it may be, of Father, Son and Spirit, establishing the foundation of our own faith.

Christ is Baptized!  In Jordan!!!