As the celebrations and religious observances for Christmas and New Year’s Day come to a close, we approach the first Sunday of 2018. Here, we encounter the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ, referred to as Danaha in Syriac tradition, Theophany in the Greek tradition, and Epiphany in the Western tradition.

he genealogy recorded in the Gospel of Luke, (Luke 3:23-38), as well as the genealogy recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, (Matthew 1:1-17), have similarities and differences, much of which we are not able to explain here, due to brevity, and scholarship that is beyond the scope of this sermon.

The Gospel Reading today records the “Revelation to St. Joseph,” that is, the announcement from the Angel Gabriel on how Mary, who was soon to be engaged to Joseph, will conceive a son, not by human/physical means, but by the intervention of the Holy Spirit.

A brief review of the history of the world shows us that there has always been a tradition of “the hand” in Middle Eastern culture, which signified the protection of God from evil (people). This tradition is also found in Jewish culture. It is not rooted in Biblical proofs, rather as an adoption of cultural norms prevalent in the Middle East.