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JANUARY 5
RENEWAL OF ALL CREATION
“Prepare, O Zebulon, / and adorn yourself, O Naphtali; / River Jordan, cease
flowing / and receive with joy the Master coming to be baptized. / Adam,
rejoice with our First Mother / and do not hide yourself as you did of old in
Paradise; / for having seen you naked, / He has appeared to clothe you with
the first garment. / Christ has appeared to renew all creation.” (Byzantine
Troparion-hymn of the Forefeast of Theophany)
Indeed, Christ renews “all creation” in His coming. And He does this
not only “spiritually,” by enlightening us through the light of His word,
as He did in His preaching in the land of Galilee as prophecied: “Land
of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—the people who sat in darkness have seen a great
light...” (Mt 4: 15-16, cf. Is 9: 1-2).
Christ renews “all creation” also physically, by taking on our human body,
within our historical time, and inserting Himself into our material world.
The Lord’s enlightening “immersion” into our material reality is most
clearly thematized in our celebration of His baptism in the Jordan. He
immerses Himself in water, which makes up well over half of the human
body, and covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface.
Thus the material world, including my body, is renewed and enlightened
in communion with Christ. For Christians, the body is not something from
which we seek escape; nor is it to be disparaged or discounted in our
“spiritual” journeys. Clothed in Christ, in baptism, we once again receive
the “first garment” of God’s perfect creation. We receive His purity, His
perfection, in soul and in body, and no longer “hide ourselves,” as Adam
and Eve did “of old in Paradise.”
Today let me remember that my “spiritual” journey also includes my
Christ-enlightened body, and my care of it in my daily routine. Let me
make healthy choices, whether eating, drinking, washing, or sleeping, as
one “clothed in Christ.” Because He is “the enlightenment of our souls
and bodies,” as we say in the Prayer of the Gospel, and to Him I send up
glory today, with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
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