Baptism of the Lord - Fr. Leo
“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:35)
After…Jesus had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased. (Luke 3:21-22.)
Before the Spirit descended upon Jesus he was baptized by John. In being baptized by John Jesus humbled himself and placed himself in lineage with all who sought the God of Israel. But, when Jesus prays a completely new revelation of God’s presence was revealed for all when the voice spoke over Him, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Now through Jesus we have access to the Father who reveals himself through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. In baptism each one of us joined Christ, that through him in God’s Holy Spirit, we may be the beloved of God; disciples realizing the goodness of God in all things. We are made co-heirs with Christ, God’s sons and daughters.
Called to share in God’s divinity, we too humble ourselves to live in the humility and love of Jesus Christ. One sign that we are moving in the right direction is that Paul’s words find a home in our hearts. “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.”
In our lives we thus strive to take the last seat. To put ourselves in loving service of others as we becoming vulnerable with the Lord. In doing so there will be times we will need to remember that our humiliations will be answered with God’s resurrection. This real faith is a sign of our sharing in the Holy Spirit of God.
As a Church we must also see in Paul’s words a call to ecumenism. What divides the Eastern Church from the Western Church is not Christ. He makes us one, but the cultural differences that are our spin on the Word of God. We all think we are the true church, the orthodox, but the truth is, only God is orthodox and we must learn to appreciate ourselves and others as different expressions of the one true God.
I pray for the Russian, Greek and Roman Church to come closer together. We are all God’s people. Over all of us the Spirit has descended. Thus, let us make our partiality the will of God and not the broken divisions of un-humbled human hearts.
Lord, you are God of all. Make us one that your Spirit may transform every human heart so the brightness of your love may cast out all darkness. May this be the comfort brought by the power of your love to all!