Christmas Retrospective: Holy Theophany—Belonging to the New World Means We Cannot Live As If We Still Have Fellowship with the Old

Brothers and sisters in Christ—

    All the Gospel writers, when they relate the story of the Lord's Baptism in the Jordan River, include the detail that the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. We can discover a great deal about the Lord and His compassionate designs for us, if we ask ourselves the simple question, "Why a dove?" After all, we are certain that the Holy Spirit could have appeared like cloud, for example, for that is the form, which we chose, when He overshadowed the Holy Apostles Peter, James and John at the Transfiguration. Why a dove?

    The dove is a frequent symbol in the pages of the Holy Scriptures since Old Testament times. Yet, the symbolism itself seems contradictory to us. On the one hand, the dove is a symbol of innocence, as when the Lord Jesus Himself tells His disciples to become as cunning as serpents, but as meek as doves. At the same time, however, it is also a symbol of foolishness, as in the Book of the Prophet Nahum, where the prophet compares the Israelite tribe of Ephraim to a dove, who was silly enough to have become trapped in a snare. The dove is also a symbol of joy, as in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, where the Lord compares the returning exiles to the flocks of doves that gather in the spring. But, on the other hand, the bird is also a symbol of sorrow, as in the Prophecy of Jeremiah, on account of its plaintive cry, which it makes continuously from hidden places in the rocks. Well, knowing all this, what is, then, the symbolism of the dove in this Gospel story. What does it mean? It must mean something, since the Holy Spirit does not record that which has no significance.

    If we go back to the very beginning of human history, we find that there was an old world (that perished in the waters of the Great Flood), and there was then the beginning of the world as we know it today. According to the Scriptures, only eight human beings survived the Great Flood: Noah and his wife, and his three sons (Shem, Ham and Japheth) and their wives. On account of sin, the world had become so corrupt that the Lord determined to purify it with water. The rains that caused the universal flood lasted for forty days, but the flood waters stood on the face of the earth for much, much longer. Noah and his family, along with the animals of the earth, within the giant boat known as the "ark," waited for the flood waters to recede. Noah devised a system by which he could determine whether the water had indeed receded and dry land was visible. He began to release birds. First, he released a raven, and then a dove. The dove, at first, could not find any dry land on which to land, so she returned to Noah in the ark, then after another week passed, he released her again. This time, she returned to him with a sprig from an olive tree in her beak. He waited another week, and then he released the dove again. That time, she did not return, and from this Noah understood that the water had receded from the face of the earth.

    Now, in Christ, God has determined once again to purify the world through water. But, this time, only sin will be destroyed in the water, without the cost of human life. The Lord Jesus descends into the water in order to sanctify the water, and make it effective in our salvation. When He comes up from the water, the Holy Spirit descends upon Him in the form of a dove, recognizing Him as belonging to the renewed world. In just the same way, the Holy Spirit descends upon each one of us in our Baptism. The dove returned to Noah in the ark, because she could not find any part of that new world on which to land. When she finally found such a place to stand on the dry ground, she returned no longer. In the same way, the Holy Spirit descends and remains on each one of us, who, through our passage through the waters, belongs to the world renewed in Christ. Throughout Christian history, and up to this day, the part of the church where the people stand during the services is called the "nave," which means "boat" or "ship," because we are saved through water.

    The Holy Spirit has come to rest upon us, because He recognizes us as belonging to the world that has been renewed in the water of this second Great Flood. We cannot live as if we belong to the old world that, for us, has perished in our baptism. On the contrary, we must put away fear and sin from our lives, as befits people who live for God.