Serving as a midwife and tzaddik, John baptizes Yeshua who then receives the influx of the Holy Spirit. The rebirth that begins with the Winter Solstice, moves into greater Awareness with the Feast of the Baptist. The significance of this is too great to put into words even, although there are some, who are able to put this into words in ways that are truly enriching and empowering.
As a group, too, as followers of the Way, this also holds significance to the role we play and what we can accomplish in our Gnostic communities -- both in our circles and even here in our online community. Of course there needs to be a greater awakening in all of us as individuals first -- but from that ground what we can accomplish as a group is tremendous.
At the Sophian Forum, Sister Sarah+ contemplates this feast most beautifully in terms of nature or the earth. She writes:
The other day, while standing, looking out over the land, over last years vegetable garden and the fruit trees encompasses by it, many contemplations surfaced in regards to the lands natural rhythm and how this rhythm accords with our Traditions Solar Feasts.We have just exited the Feast of Mother and Child and move toward the Feast of the Baptist. In Feast of the Mother and Child we speak a particular blessing in which we pray the Holy One moves with us in our desire to manifest that which we are seeking in the upcoming cycle. This is a feast of re-birth; a time to go within and seek out what it is we would like to bring to fruition. We recognize here that the journey to fruition takes the whole cycle from birth to death. As we move toward the Feast of the Baptism we pray to be open to the vision which might lead us toward the direction in which the path to fruition is recognized. As Tau Malachi recently put it, 'We pray for the vision of our Gospel.'If we look into Master Yeshua’s journey, the Gospel as spoken in an earthly ministry transpires between the Feast of the Baptism and the Feast of Crucifixion and Resurrection. Between the beginning of February and Spring Equinox. After the Feast of Crucifixion and Resurrection the rest of the year becomes a story of how the Gospel is received among the people and the land.As I looked upon the garden, spotted with dead plants from last year and freshly sprouted weeds I realized now the land is seeking a vision…seeking a Gospel. Even though I have previously thought the time between Feast of Mother and Child and Feast of the Baptism is a time for planting seeds, the land told me differently. The land told me, now is not the time to plant seeds, now is the time for pruning fruit trees and removing last years dead plants, now it time to weed and begin to turn the soil. The land is seeking a vision of what it will be, what it will grow in this next cycle, but most primarily is wanting to clear the way to make this possible. Ah, this must be why John the Baptist is called, “Opener of the Way”. As we near the Feast of the Baptism the land is yearning for the way to be opened, for all the old to be cleared and along the way for a vision of a Gospel, a vision of growth!
John baptized Yeshua at the Jordan, in the same waters beside which Elisha asked Elijah for a "double portion" of his holy teacher's spirit. Sophians believe this request was fulfilled at Yeshua's baptism, when John, the incarnation of Elijah, served as a midwife to bring the Spirit of the Messiah into the world through Yeshua.
What a magnificent mystery rests behind this -- the moment when the Light of the Supernal is, at long last, released here. What love and mercy (Hesed) is found in this moment. At this moment, it would seem the Middle Pillar on the Tree of Life becomes possible in our world -- and through the Middle Pillar we might return to El Elyon, God Most High. In this moment, the Kingdom suggested by Keter (crown) could be manifest or fulfilled in this world, here in Malkut.
Thanks to the great love and mercy of God, we are no longer subject to dualism and we all have the freedom to become what and who we most truly are. The influx of light made possible at Yeshua's baptism is living within each one of us now as Divine potential, waiting to be awakened. The awakening is manifest when we create the space for the Holy Spirit to work through spiritual living and spiritual practice -- and by her grace we are given the power to live as true lightbearers, both known by and known in the Light.
There is no moment like the present.
Many blessings!
