Baptismal Regeneration 14 -- Epiphany Not Cause and Effect pt.3
What happened at Mt. Tabor is what happens everytime the sacraments are celebrated. For those brief moments the Holy Spirit -- how can one say it -- infuses/unveils/breaks open the fundamental truth about creation. Creation was made to be filled with God's glory the way molten iron is filled with fire. This is creations telos; this is my telos.
Baptism is an epiphany in this way. It is not a picture of something else. It is a sign, no rather, a breaking open of the very Kingdom of God. In and through this holy sign the Kingdom is opened for us and we are invited to enter.
More to come ....
4 comments:
Peter, do you see a hermeneutic connection between Transfiguration (I suppose this is what you are referring to) and baptism, or is that a way of illustration?
Yep -- hermeneutic -- in that the Transfiguration and the Sacraments are proleptic experiences of the eschaton.
Isn't that a cool icon?
But Scriptures itself (the passages on baptism and transfiguration themselves) do not connect the two. So, now we are theologizing rather then doing hermeneutic – sort of an 'inductive Bible study', right: since this is something, therefore it follows that?..
I get what you are saying: Baptism and Transfiguration reveal/inaugurate the eschaton. I am just questioning your argument. I think I get what you are saying, but lack the backing.
Sorry, you don't have to respond to that if you don't want to. You can just carry on.
"ut Scriptures itself [...] do not connect the two."
Actually Simonas I beg to differ. For an analysis of how Mark's narrative structure DOES INDEED connect Baptism, the Transfiguration, and the Crucifixion, please check out the following link (it's a PDF file).
www.beginningwithmoses.org/articles/christbaptismcrucifixion.pdf
Post a Comment