We have been taking a break from blogging over Christmas but are now back in harness for the coming term!
"You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you" (Luke 3: 21)
Today's feast of the Baptism of the Lord seems like a surprise after Thursday's feast of the Epiphany. Two days ago, Jesus was a babe in arms. Now, he is a full grown adult on the cusp of beginning his public ministry. We know all moments in time are equally present to the Eternal God, but it seems like the same law applies to Jesus' life: every moment merges into every other, as each mystery of His earthly life manifests something deeper about the Son and the Father who sent Him to us.
Indeed, the word epiphany actually means 'manifestation'. Today's epiphany in the gospel - the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus in the physical form of a dove, and the voice from heaven declaring him to be the Beloved Son - follows, therefore, from the epiphany of the Infant King to the Gentile Magi on Thursday. This explains for me the urge many feel to keep their decorations up and to want the Christmas season to last until Candlemas; not for everything to end today - as it officially does - but to carry on, manifesting ever deeper mysteries about the Saviour who appeared to men at Christmas.
In truth, however, there is no need for those manifestations to end even with Candlemas. Our calling in grace is to become daily more like the image of the Son; this is because the Father wants to find in us nothing but the likeness of the Son who is the life of the soul. In other words, if we hear our call, if we can say our daily fiat with Mary and Joseph, if we can offer our thanks to the Lord and rejoice in His love with every moment, then our likeness to Christ can be the occasion of other epiphanies for those who do not know Him. The Epiphany thereby becomes only the first in a chain of endless epiphanies which we can take part in simply by opening ourselves - through docibilitas or 'teachability' - to the lessons of the first epiphany.
Of course, sometimes Jesus and his followers appear to the world as fools or scoundrels; and we must be ready to say our fiat then as well. But whether we manifest our Lord's joy to the world or His sorrow, as long as we are growing in our likeness to Him, the Father will be able to declare us his beloved children.
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