At Christmas time we celebrate the birth of Our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. We give and receive presents and it’s a great joy. The fact of a present is a joy in its own right, but part of the pleasure is the unwrapping.

It’s here we find what was hidden behind the wrapping paper. We then show each other what it was we received, and again that’s part of the pleasure. To see how others respond to our delight. Over Christmas time on the radio someone was talking about re-gifting. This is where you might get several presents that are exactly the same and you don’t really want them.

This can happen at birthdays when you might get 6 boxes of chocolates. This is when you pass them on to someone else and pretend you bought them especially for them. This is a little bit dishonest and yet very practical. One can easily get caught out. It can be embarrassing if not funny when your friend, aunt or mother-in-law says to you “Oh I gave that to you last year!”

At Christmas we receive the Christmas present of Jesus. Which is wonderful in itself, but at the feast of Theophany we are about to celebrate, the present of Jesus is unwrapped, and we see more fully who Jesus is.

Saint Paul, that wonderful saint, once he had met the Risen Lord Jesus, went out to tell people about the extraordinary present he had received. 

He told us of how we are now heirs, that is we receive the gift of salvation with Israel, the plan of salvation which allows us if we are willing, to become one in the Church as a community of believers who will give loving thanks and praise and worship to Him.
This plan had been hidden. This present that will delight all.

The most extraordinary thing about this “Mystery” is. That God is within us.

Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians 27writes: “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

There had been promises of this very special present from God but now it has become clearer.

We are about to celebrate the Feast of Theophany, the Feast of Lights and Illumination showing to each and all true knowledge of God and His gift to us of eternal life with Him.Theophany is a word which means a manifestation of God. At this feast we celebrate the unwrapping of the present of Jesus Christ who is both God and Man. The Bible shows how the Voice of God the Father is heard, witnessing to the fact that Jesus Christ is His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. We see how the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a Dove.

What we see revealed to us is the Most Holy Trinity. What we also are shown is by Jesus Baptism, all of creation is sanctified, made holy for use. Jesus by going into the river Jordan cleanses the very nature of water and making it and all of creation a means for salvation by God’s grace. All of creation is thereby being restored for its main purpose.
Saint Paul in writing to the Ephesians (1:15-23) said:

 “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come . And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all”

We have now this blessing from the Holy Trinity to enjoy a great friendship with God Our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead and reveals that all things are under His power and authority.

The Christmas present has been given us, and at Theophany it was unwrapped fully, showing to us and all of creation who Jesus is. But like all presents we can so easily begin to no longer appreciate the present. A present can be forgotten about, not used. It can be put away in a cupboard forgotten or perhaps put there for a “rainy day” we might say.

Let us remember that for many Christians over the centuries, men, women and children have sacrificed, that is given up their time, energy and resources, their personal comforts even life itself because of knowing the gift that we were given.

For over 2000 years people have made sacrifices small and large, each one being precious to our Lord. Sermons, books, paintings and and so many other things have been created for us to encourage us in our meditations and contemplation of who God is and what he desires for us, showing us the extraordinary richness of His indescribable sacrificial love for us. Encouraging us to thank, praise, worship,asking for blessing for others and for ourselves.

I mentioned earlier about the potential embarrassment or trickiness of “Re-Gifting”

With the gift we have all been given we have no such need to be ashamed or embarrassed. When we give away our gift to God to others, that is when we share our faith, nothing is lost.

If you think of the Pannikhida service for the dead, which is truly a missionary service of revelation to all; what do we do? A candle is lit and we pass on the lighted candle to another person and then we find the whole of the church is full of light. Our light is not lost. Others gain the light. We see this magnificently on the night of Pascha.

Let us encourage each other to. Speak and to share about our love for the Risen Lord.

AMEN!

Given by Fr. Seraphim