Christ is born, Glorify Him!
In the name of God the Father, Christ Jesus His only begotten Son and the Holy Spirit, One True God. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus
Wishing all my beloved readers a blessed New Year. It is after a brief hiatus of 3 months that I have come back to this page to jot down my thoughts. And during this brief time, the Indian Orthodox Church has moved along its worship season where she along with her faithful children waited in anticipation for the celebration of the Feast of Nativity of Christ, through fasting and prayers of 25 days, and moved on to celebrate the Feast of Theophany on January 6th. At the same time, my beloved brethren from the Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches celebrated the Feast of Nativity on January 6th/7th. Wishing you all a blessed Feast of Nativity.
The Indian Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of Theophany on January 6th (also known as the Feast of Epiphany). Epiphany means revelation of the Holy Trinity, otherwise known as Theophany which literally means a “revelation of God” in Greek. Theophany therefore marks the revelation of the Trinitarian nature of God when Jesus was baptized. Because those who witnessed heard the Father’s voice from Heaven, saw the Spirit descending upon Jesus, and could see Jesus in the flesh, whom God confirmed to be His Son with His voice. With this feast, the Church draws its curtains on the Season of Nativity and begins a new season in her liturgical calendar – Season of Theophany.
To read my thoughts on the Feast of Epiphany/Theophany, please click here and to read my thoughts on the Icon of the Feast of Epiphany, please click here.
The Church begins her Season of Theophany/Epiphany from the 1st Sunday following the Feast and the Gospel portion read on this Sunday is from the Gospel account of St. Matthew 4:12-22. This Gospel portion recounts how Christ begins His public ministry in the town of Nazareth in Galilee. This portion picks up after Jesus spent forty days and nights in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11) after He was baptised by John in the Jordan (Matthew :13-17).
In today’s Gospel portion, we find that for the third time in the Gospel of Matthew itself, Jesus embracing a new hometown. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city of David. The first move finds the baby Jesus, His mother Mary and His earthly father Joseph fleeing from Bethlehem to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. In doing so, Jesus’ life emulates the journeys of Moses.
The second move allows the family to return to Israel after Herod’s demise. But the rule of Herod’s successor leads the family to settle down in a small town of Nazareth. The third move brings Jesus to Capernaum.
Throughout all these journeys, prophesies were being fulfilled and we can see that these journeys are never rooted in human will. And as we continue to walk with Jesus along His public ministry, we find that He never settles down in one place, but is always on a constant move from one place to another. From his earliest days through his adult life and ministry, we can see that Jesus is a constant wanderer. He never opts for the comforts of a home but embraces God’s call in His life to find those who are in darkness and proclaim the Word of God wherever they might live – even to the darkest regions where the light of faith does not shine.
Galilee of the Gentiles and the land of darkness
Before we continue to understand the Gospel portion, let us try to understand more of the region around Capernaum and why this region is called the ‘Galilee of the Gentiles’.
Capernaum was a small Jewish fishing and agricultural community on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. The name “Capernaum” comes from the Hebrew Kefar Nahum, the village of Nahum. The land of Zebulun and Naphthali, mentioned in v. 13 and 15, was the allotments given to the two of the 12 tribes of the people of Israel. These lands were regions of the “land of Israel” and more or less located in the north, along the western edge of the Sea of Galilee. These lands were annexed by the Assyrians in 732 BC with the defeat of the ‘Northern Kingdom of Israel’ which consisted of the 10 tribes of Israel.
After the annexation, these tribes were taken away as captives by the Assyrians and later by the Babylonians, such that these tribes lost their identity on account of their inter-mingling with the invading and the ruling powers of the region. These regions were more or less abandoned by the Jews as they concentrated on rebuilding Jerusalem and Judea, which led to the foreigners, in this case, Phoenician farmers and Greek mercenaries employed by the Persians coming in to reside in these lands. Jewish resettlement in the lands were much slower but under the Roman rule of the the 1st century BC, many new villages and fortified cities popped up across the lands. According to the historian Josephus, by the 1st century AD, Galilee included 204 prosperous villages and 15 fortified cities.
When we look at the Jewish records, it is only after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem under Emperor Nero in AD 70, that there are more Jewish communities residing in these towns. The destruction of the Temple also saw priests moving away from Jerusalem and into the towns and villages to be more engaged in the synagogue form of worship among the people.
The region remained dark. The words of Jesus in John 3:19-21 fit it well,
“And this is the judgement, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed, but he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
In Nazareth, not only was Jesus’ message rejected, but they sought to kill Him by throwing Him off a cliff (Luke 4:29). The region was dark with sin.
Light shining in the land of darkness
When we try to understand the surroundings of Jesus during His time, it is astounding to realize that Christ, the promised Messiah of the Jews, did not spend much of His early years among the Jews. When He lived in the town of Nazareth, which was a small town with approximately 400 inhabitants according to the historian Josephus, He was living in a predominately Gentile community, not in much contact with the Jewish community over whom He was the ruler. Neither does He begin His public ministry in the courtyard of the Jerusalem Temple, among the scholars of the Jewish people, but instead He begins His public ministry among the Gentiles or foreigners who do not know the God of Israel.
Jesus, Who is the light of the world, goes out among those who dwell amidst darkness and death. The metaphor of “light” which is used to describe our Saviour, brings the idea of illumination (knowledge and wisdom), exposure (our sins), radiance (holiness) to our minds. The apostle John used the metaphor a great deal in his writings. In John 1:4-5 he says of Jesus,
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
Later in the same chapter he quotes John the Baptist saying that he, “came that he might bear witness of the light . . . the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man (vs 8,9). Jesus Himself says in John 8:12 that,
“I am the light of the world, he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
But when we read deeper into the Gospel portion, when did the Light shine on the people walking in darkness in the land of Galilee? The light shined bright when Jesus picked up the message John the Baptist had been proclaiming,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven in at hand.”
This call for repentance was the same which was reiterated by the prophets throughout the history of Israel. This message of repentance involved
- Turning to obedience to the will of Yahweh
- Turning to trust in Yahweh, and
- Turning from everything ungodly to righteousness
The message of repentance was a call for the people to be transformed radically from within. John the Baptist’s message was a call for people to repent and get ready for the kingdom of heaven to come. Prepare, Messiah is coming. After, his arrest, Jesus takes up the mantle of proclaiming the message, but with a subtle change.
Yes, the calls is still, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” but now it is even closer for Messiah is here. We will not find a reference to the disciples of Jesus baptizing anyone until Jesus completes His ministry of atonement and tells His disciples to baptize people in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Matthew 28:19.
John’s baptism of repentance was in preparation for the coming of Messiah. Messiah was now here. After Messiah completes His work on the cross, His – death, burial and resurrection, baptism will be practiced again with a whole new meaning and purpose. It would no longer be the outward manifestation of a heart prepared for Messiah to come, but rather the identification of a person who belongs to Messiah Himself and is part of His spiritual kingdom.
Thus, the light that shined in the Galilee of the Gentiles was brighter than ever before, for the Messiah had come! And in His coming, He brings hope of redemption not only to the Jews, but also to those who reside in the land of darkness and death – to the Gentiles and the lost sheep of Israel. When we continue reading about the public ministry of Jesus we learn that He was not only proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom, but He makes the sick and the infirmed whole.
Conclusion
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we begin the season of Theophany with Jesus, the Church teaches us that Christ did not chose a life of steadiness but was always on the move and most often than not, He was always present where there was darkness present in the lives of the people. After His baptism, He was found among the Gentiles and the lost sheep of Israel, who were far away from God. He was found among those who suffered on account of various ailments which troubled them in their life, healing them and comforting them. We find Him teaching the message of repentance so that the people could come back to their Creator by turning from ungodliness.
When we look at ourselves, we who are called to follow Christ, where do we find ourselves? In an ever more mobile and diverse culture, do we find ourselves in Jesus’ shoes of going around to different parts of the world? Do we find ourselves intimidated by the prospect of dislocation of a new place and being surrounded by new neighbours? Do we face anxious evenings with the prospect of finding ourselves in new surroundings which can provide a new start and a nearly clean slate, which might allow us to recreate how others perceive and how we perceive ourselves?
Dear brethren, we as Christians are called not to be residents of this world, but to be sojourners and pilgrims in this world. We are meant to follow Christ by being a traveller who travels along the dark paths of the world with the intention of shining the light of Christ around us. We are meant to show the love of Christ in a world which is engulfed in hatred and pain and sorrows of various kinds. We are meant to soothe the pain of those around us and bring the lost sheep of God back to Him, by proclaiming the message of repentance.
As we begin a new year in Christ, let us endeavour to show the light of Christ to those around us, especially during this time of the pandemic when our fellow members of the society are frustrated and tired of being bound with restrictions on account of the pandemic. Let us not close ourselves within the silos of our homes but reach out to our fellow brethren and talk to them, converse with them, lighten their burdens of anxiety, share our own problems as well. Let us endeavour, as a society to turn back from our unrighteous ways and be filled with the light of Christ that He shines in us and through us.
Your servant in Christ Jesus
Jobin George
