“The heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended physically like a dove” on the Son of God standing in the Jordan. The voice from heaven of God the Father is heard: ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:21-22; Mark 1:11; Matthew 3:17)

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord,

Happy New Year! I would like to share with you an excerpt of a sermon delivered by St. John of San Francisco, delivered in Shanghai on Theophany, 1947: “The sky is open now, again the Holy Spirit descends on the waters, and God testifies of His Son.  

Oh, that our spiritual eyes would be opened! Oh, that our ears could perceive celestial expressions!  We would see the heavens open above us.  We would have seen the Son of God standing among us and the Holy Spirit hovering over us, and we would have heard the voice of God proclaiming the divinity of the Savior of the world.

We would feel how the Holy Spirit descended on the waters, returned to them the kindness that they had at the creation of the world, and made them a life-giving force that revives fallen nature. We ourselves would be illumined with light, our lips would be filled with the spirit and joyfully sing of Him who established us on the rock of faith… in truth the Lord stands between us ‘where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Matt 18:20), truly the heavens are now open and their Creator bears witness to the Eternal Word, now the Holy Spirit will descend on the waters and sanctify us. Water by the grace of God will become a source of health of soul and body, sanctification for us and our dwellings and all nature, and will be kept incorruptible for many years, will become like the voice of God, broadcasting that our Savior Jesus Christ is the Son of God, descended to earth and resurrecting us to incorruption and will raise you up to the heavenly temple.

Let us open our hearts by faith and open our mouths to praise, from the depths of our souls we will cry out: ‘Great art thou, O Lord, and marvelous are Thy works, and not a single word will be sufficient for the singing of Thy wonders!’”

May we remember these beautiful words this year, as we partake of the blessed waters of the Lord’s Theophany.  

With Love in Christ,
Fr. Niko Bekris
Proistamenos