1. Foreword
With the Baptism of Jesus, His Public Ministry is kicked off. John The Baptist
slowly fades from the stage and Jesus gets more prominence. On January 8, we
remember the beheading of John the Baptist.
This year, the Easter comes early. So, the Nineveh Lent (3 day Lent) starts on
January 18! That is early!! And fifty Day Lent begins on February 8. ...
I. This Week in Church - Denho (January 6)
2.
Bible Readings for Denho
http://www.MalankaraWorld.com/Library/Lectionary/Lec_Denho.htm
3.
Sermons for Denho
http://www.MalankaraWorld.com/Library/Sermons/Sermon-of-the-week_denaha.htm
4. From Malankara World Journal Archives
Malankara World Journals with the Theme: John The Baptist
Volume 5 No 258: January 9 2015
Volume 3 No 119: January 10 2013
II. Epiphany
5.
Epiphany Ends the 12 Days of Christmas
On the feast of Theophany, every Orthodox Church proclaims the divinity of
Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. Each parish conducts the "Blessing
of Waters" service. Water is sanctified and is blessed as the waters were
sanctified by Christ's baptism. ...
6.
Epiphany - The Mystery of Three Manifestations
The Epiphany is indeed a great Feast, and the joy caused us by the Birth of
our Jesus must be renewed on it, for as though it were a second Christmas
Day, it shows us our Incarnate God in a new light. It leaves us all the
sweetness of the dear Babe of Bethlehem, who hath appeared to us already in
love; but to this it adds its own grand manifestation of the divinity of our
Jesus. ...
7.
God's Promise to All Peoples: Celebrating the Epiphany
At Epiphany we're reminded that the promise of redemption has always been for
the whole world. God came not only to His own, but to us outsiders - like the
Magi - the lost and darkened souls who had never even heard about God's promise.
That's the reason that Epiphany is also known as the Manifestation of Christ to
the Gentiles. ...
8.
Feast of the Epiphany: Like the Magi, On a Journey to Worship and to Donate
Like the Magi, today we are invited to renew, before the Incarnate Word, our act
of faithful adherence by offering not only the little or the lot that we have,
but ourselves as a sacrifice holy and well-accepted to Him. It is thanks to this
daily offering of self that we become, in the world and for the world, signs of
the new humanity redeemed by Christ and witnesses of the mystery of love
celebrated at Christmas. ...
III. Denho - The Baptism of The
Lord
9.
To Fulfill All Righteousness - The Baptism of Our Lord
And all of this now--God's righteousness, Christ's substitutionary death, his
resurrection, God's forgiveness and eternal salvation--all of this now gets
delivered to you, applied to you, with your name on it, in your baptism. In the
waters of Holy Baptism you were joined to the Jesus who stood in the waters of
the Jordan and stood in your place on the cross. ...
10.
Christ the Baptized and Baptizer - The Baptism of Our Lord
The Baptism of Our Lord is one of the most significant events in
all of the Bible. It tells us so much about our Savior, Jesus Christ, about his
person and his work. It speaks such wonderful things for us, we who are baptized
into Christ. For in the Baptism of Our Lord, we see Christ, both the Baptized
and the Baptizer. ...
11.
Beloved – A Reflection
In Baptism we are counted as God's Sons and Daughters too, through adoption.
That long list of fathers and children in Luke's Gospel is not just a dead
family tree, but a living one, that stretches not only backward but forward. To
us. ...
12.
Poem - To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord
To Jordan came the Christ, our Lord,
To do His Father's pleasure;
Baptized by John, the Father's Word
Was given us to treasure.
This heav'nly washing now shall be
A cleansing from transgression
And by His blood and agony
Release from death's oppression.
A new life now awaits us. ...
13.
The Anointing: Meditation on the Baptism of the Lord
Jesus doesn't submit to John's baptism as a sinner in need of purification.
He humbles Himself to pass through Jordan's waters in order to lead a new
"exodus" - opening up the promised land of heaven so that all peoples can
hear the words pronounced over Jesus today, words once reserved only for
Israel and its king: that each of us is a beloved son or daughter of God.
...
IV. St. John, The Baptist
14.
Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist
We need to pray to the Lord to be able to see clearly, to be able to make
the right decisions, to be able to live a righteous life, to reject sin in
all its forms, and to be able to choose what is right and do the Will of God
in all things. That has to be the way our lives are ordered: to seek God
above all else and to get rid of anything that does not lead us to God, or
which leads us away from Him, or stands in the way between us and Him. ...
15.
He Must Increase, But I Must Decrease
How is Jesus to increase? How is God to increase? The perfect does not
increase. God neither increases nor decreases. For if He increases, He is
not perfect; if He decreases, he is not God. ...
16.
John The Baptist - The King's Herald
Repentance is more than mere behavior modification - it is not merely an
attempt to become a more respectable citizen. The point of repentance is to
turn from sin in order to turn to God. Repentance, in other words, is the
pursuit of Christ. Just as you cannot face north and south at the same time,
you cannot pursue Christ and sin at the same time. ...
17.
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