![]() He teaches us to see miracles in the multiplication of the wheat, but also in the germination of seed, and the growth of the ears of wheat. The Lord awakens us to the world's marvel with His Gospel, the sight of the flickering stars and the soft music of snowfall. “The heavens declare the glory of God the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalms 19: 2). He touches our hearts with the beauty of our world. He calls us to recognise and celebrate our inextricable link with it in the goodness and wisdom of our Creator. ![]() Yet, with the feast of the Theophany, the Lord shows us a different way to find harmony with our world. And so we experiment with new international climate treaties, and innovative market-based and regulatory mechanisms… #Cosmic view cycle soothe fullWe recognise the urgency of these problems, but continue to seek out their earthly solutions, in full conformity with Leo Tolstoy's advice: "Hold on to the earth, and it will never let you down". Already, we are dealing with the sad consequences of this view - the different forms of decay and destruction to our environment, such as global warming, desertification, air and water pollution and much else. We have grown accustomed to treating the world as our workshop, a limitless depository of resources for our material world-being. Our secular mindsets cause us to view ourselves as separate from the world of nature. Yet, as Saint John Chrysostom taught, nature returns to sanctity in the mystery of the Theophany in the Lord's renewal of its earth and air. “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time,” writes Apostle Paul (Romans 8: 22). He passes on his sin to the natural world. Being the crown of God’s creation and its highest form, man carries the stamp of sinfulness, contaminating with his sin all things with which he comes in touch. As we are reminded in the hymns of the Church, Christ came to the Jordan not just to renew the fallen nature of man, but also to bless His entire creation by sanctifying the water. Speaking of the Theophany as the feast of God's luminous truths, we cannot afford to neglect the truth about the sanctity of man and nature as creations of God. Likewise, the Kontakion of the day says, "on this day, the worship of the Holy Trinity was revealed." “Today Your Light, O Inaccessible Light, has shone upon us,” goes the Troparion of the feast. It is still a celebration of the light of God's truth, as proclaimed in the hymns of the Church. In the ancient Church, Theophany was called the feast of lights. The people hear it in the voice from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love with him, I am well pleased." They see it in the spirit of God that descended like a dove and alighted on Him. Humbly, he descends into the waters of the Jordan, and His Truth is revealed to all humanity. As John the Forerunner is calling on all the people to take baptism for the forgiveness of their sins, He comes to him, without sin, asking to be baptised. On the great feast of the Theophany, we commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan.
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