Christian Counseling and Themes from the Theophany
After celebrating the Theophany or the Baptism of Christ last Sunday on January 6th, we can mediate on many aspects of Christ and St. John the Baptist. Certified counselors during Christian Counseling should utilize various feast days that surround their sessions, especially if they can help illuminate a particular theme in counseling. The Baptism of Christ has a variety of themes.
The first theme is the necessity of Baptism and the humility of Christ. Jesus obviously did not need to be baptized but he lowered himself to teach us the importance of obedience to the law as well as the importance for him as the New Adam to become the first to be baptized. His presence laid the foundation for the sacramental nature of Baptism and its necessity for future generations.
Christ’s humility manifested his greatness at his Baptism. The moment John baptized Christ, the manifestation of the Trinity appeared above him. The Father proclaimed his acceptance of his son and the Holy Spirit shone above in the form of a dove. The Theophany is considered a major feast in the Eastern Church because of this great manifestation of Christ’s divinity as a sharer of substance in the Trinity.
Another element of humility and discipleship can be seen in the vocation of St. John the Baptist. He felt justly unworthy to baptize the Lord, but Jesus while knowing this still insisted that John baptize him. We as disciples of the Lord are all unworthy. We are all fighting some type of vice. We are all certainly even less worthy than St. John the Baptist, but still Christ insists we carry on and do what he asks of us. He chooses among sinners and through the Holy Spirit perfects his children. Hence, we should never allow our own weaknesses to discourage us from our vocational calling, instead as St. John the Baptist, we must obey Christ and trust in him so that we may carry out our calling.
If you are interested in Christian Counseling Courses, please review our program. For those who wish to become a certified Christian Counselor, qualified professionals merely must take the required courses. After completion of these courses, one can become a certified christian counselor.
Mark Moran, MA