Беседа на Богоявление Господне. Святого Григория Чудотворца, епископа Неокесарийского

Men beloved of Christ and loving fellowship and brotherhood! Honor my conversation with your favorable attention, and, having opened your ears, like some kind of doors, accept my word and listen to my saving sermon about the baptism of Jesus Christ, which took place on the Jordan River, so that you may more deeply love the Lord, who has descended to us to such an extent. Although the triumph of the Epiphany or revelation of our Savior has already passed; but his grace always abides. Therefore, let us try to satiate and delight insatiable hearts with it (in matters of salvation such insatiability is commendable). So, let us all go from Galilee to Judea and go out together with Christ: for blessed is he who walks along with the Path of life. Let us go, and with our mental feet we will reach the Jordan in order to see how He who does not need baptism is baptized by John the Baptist in order to bestow upon us the grace of Baptism. Let us go out and see the image of our rebirth, which is imprinted in these waters. Then Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him (Matthew 3:13). What meekness and humility of the Lord! What condescension! The Heavenly King comes to John, His Forerunner, without being surrounded by an army of Angels, and without sending messengers before Him, that is, incorporeal Forces; but, like a simple and ordinary warrior, He comes to His own warrior, approaches him as if someone from among the common people; among the captives their Redeemer and Judge is found; the good Shepherd joins the lost sheep, Who for the sake of the lost sheep came down from heaven, and yet did not leave heaven; The heavenly wheat, which grew without human seed, was mingled with the tares. John the Baptist, seeing Him, learned that this was indeed the One whom he had confessed and honored while still in his mother’s womb, for whose sake he had so early, transgressed the limits of nature, leaped in his mother’s womb. Lowering his hand and bowing his head, like the beloved servant of the Lord, John said to Him: I demand to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me (Matthew 3:14)? "What are you doing, Lord? Why are you transforming the order of things? Why, along with slaves, do you ask from your servant what is characteristic of slaves? Why do you want to receive what you have no need for? Why do you suppress me, your servant, with such great condescension and humility? I demand to be baptized by you: but you have no need to be baptized from me. The lesser is blessed. from the greater and the stronger; and not the greater is blessed and sanctified by the lesser. The lamp is kindled by the sun, and not the sun is ignited by the lamp. The clay receives its education from the poor, and not the poor from the clay. The patient receives treatment from the doctor, and it is not the doctor who receives instructions from the patient. The poor borrow from the rich, not the rich from the poor. I demand to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me? Don't I really know? Who are you and where did you shine from and where did you come from? Am I really going to deny the greatness of Your Divinity just because You have become like me? Am I really, for the sake of flesh visible to the eyes, rejecting the Divinity cognizable by the mind only because You have shown such condescension towards me, that is, You have taken upon Yourself the flesh and You carry me all in You, in order to save the whole person? Do I really not know that You are clothed with light, as with a robe, only because You have clothed yourself in my nature for my salvation? Will the brilliant light of Your Divinity be hidden from me just because You wear my flesh and are visibly everyone? Am I really, in false thinking, daring to reject Your Divine, invisible and incomprehensible being just because I see my image in You? No, I know You, Lord, I know You, having been taught by You Yourself: for no one can know You unless he is enlightened by the light of Your grace. I know You clearly, O Lord: for I saw You in the spirit before I saw this light. For You, while You were all in the bodiless womb of the Heavenly Father, You were also all in the womb of Your servant and Mother; and meanwhile, being kept by nature in the womb of Elizabeth, as in a prison, and bound by the insoluble bonds of infancy, I leapt, glorified and praised Your birth even before. And do I, who preached Your coming even before Your birth, not know Your coming? Having taught about Your coming while still in the womb, now, having already acquired perfect knowledge, will I appear as a baby? No, I cannot help but honor and glorify You, before Whom all creation reveres! I cannot help but preach about You, Whom the sky announced as a guiding star, Whom the earth brought worship in the person of the Magi, Whom the choirs of Angels sang, rejoicing at Your condescension to us, and Whom the shepherds who kept the night watch in the field confessed as the Chief of the shepherds of the verbal sheep. I cannot remain silent in Your presence, because I am a voice, and, moreover, a voice crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord (Matthew 3:3). I demand to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me? By my birth, I resolved the infertility of the mother who gave birth to me, and, while still a baby, I healed the dumbness of my father, having received from You the grace of miracles. But you, having been born of the Virgin Mary, as You yourself favored and as You alone know, did not allow Her virginity, but also observed this and honored Her with the name of Mother, so that neither virginity prevented Your birth, nor Your birth violated virginity: but completely opposite things were combined and united, i.e. birth and virginity, because it is easy and convenient for You as the Creator nature. I am a man and only a partaker of Divine grace; and You are God and at the same time man, because You are loving and good to the human race. I demand to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me? Are you, who was in the beginning, with God and yourself God (John 1:1)? Are you the Radiance of the Father's glory? Are you the Perfect Image of the Perfect Father? Are you the Light that enlightens every person coming into the world? Are you the one who, having been in the world, goes again to where you were before? Are you, who were made flesh, but were not turned into flesh? Are you, Who dwelt among us and was seen by Your servants in the form of a servant? Are you the one who united heaven and earth with your holy name, as if by some kind of bridge? Are you coming to me - so great for so little? King to the Forerunner? Master to slave? Although You were not ashamed to be born in the most humble human form; but I cannot go beyond the limits of nature. I know what the distance is between the earth and the Creator; I know what the difference is between the dust of the earth and its Creator; I know to what extent the light of Your truth surpasses me, which is no more than a lamp of Your grace. And although You are clothed with a pure cloud of body; but I know Your sovereignty. And I confess my state of slavery and preach Your greatness. I recognize the power of Your power, and I do not hide my own humiliation and unworthiness. I am not worthy, that I may loose the thong of Your boot (John 1:27); and how dare I touch the immaculate top of Your head? How can I stretch out my right hand over You, Who stretched out the sky like a skin and hung the earth on the waters? How can I lay my servile fingers on Your Divine head? How can I wash someone who is immaculate and uninvolved in any sin? How can I enlighten the Light itself? What prayer shall I say over You, Who accepts the prayers of even those who do not know You? When I baptize others, I baptize in Your name, so that they may believe in You coming with glory. But when I baptize You, whom will I call? In whose name will I baptize you? In the name of the Father? - but You have the entire Father in Yourself, and You Yourself are entirely in the Father. In the name of the Son? - but besides You there is no other Son of God by nature. In the name of the Holy Spirit? - but He is always with You, as You are One-essential and One-minded, One-powerful, One-honoured and One-worshiped by all. So, baptize, if it pleases You, Lord, baptize me, the baptizer. Revive the one you brought into the world. Extend Your sovereign right hand, which You created for Yourself, and with Your touch crown my head, so that I, preceding Your kingdom, as the crowned Forerunner, loudly preach the gospel to sinners, calling to them: Behold, the Lamb of God, take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). And you, River of Jordan, rejoice with me and rejoice; harmoniously and harmoniously intertwine with your waves, because your Creator stands before you in the flesh. You once saw how Israel passed through you, and, dividing the waters, you stood still, waiting for the people of God to cross; now flow more powerfully, flow more majesticly and with both the immaculate members of Him who at that time led the Jews through you. Mountains and hills, springs and streams, seas and rivers! Bless the Lord who enters the Jordan River: for through its waters He communicates blessing to all waters.” But Jesus answered John: Leave it now: for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15). "Leave now: be silent, O Baptist, and let Me act. Learn to desire what I desire. Learn to serve Me in what I oblige you to; and do not delve too deeply into the testing of what I want to do. Leave now. Do not yet preach about My Divinity: do not yet proclaim My kingdom with your lips, lest the tyrant, having learned about this, abandon his intention, which he took against Me. Let the devil come to Me just as he comes to a simple man; let him fight with Me, so that he can receive the proper plague. Let Me fulfill my intention and desire, for which I came to earth. What is happening now in the Jordan is mysterious and hidden, because I do this not for My own need, but for healing. wounded. It is mysterious and hidden that in these waters, reviving humanity, the streams of heaven are already indicated. When you see that I, as God, will act in My creations according to my will: then glorify what has already been accomplished. When you see that I cleanse the lepers, then preach about Me as the Creator of nature. When you see that I make the lame fleet-footed, then you too, quickening your mental progress, tune your tongue to glorify Me. When you see that I cast out demons, then almost My kingdom. When you see that I bring the dead out of their graves with one word: then, together with those who have risen, glorify in Me the Author and Giver of life. When you see Me seated at the right hand of the Father, then recognize and confess in Me God, co-throne, co-eternal and one-honoured with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Leave it now: for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. I am the Lawgiver and the Son of the Lawgiver; and therefore, first of all, I need to fulfill what is commanded Myself, and then demonstrate the experiences of My power everywhere. I must first fulfill the law, and then impart grace. I must first produce the shadow, and then the truth itself. I must put an end to the Old Testament, and then preach the New, inscribe it on the hearts of men, seal it with My blood and seal it with My spirit. I must ascend to the cross and nail myself to it, endure in this nature everything that only it can endure. With my suffering, heal the suffering of others, and with the tree, heal the ulcer that was inflicted on people through the tree. I must descend to the very depths of the underworld, for the sake of the dead contained there. By the death of My flesh for three days I must destroy and destroy the long-term dominion of death. I must light the lamp of My body for those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. I must ascend there with my flesh, where I abide according to Divinity. I must bring Adam, who reigns in Me, to the Father. I must now be baptized with this baptism, and then teach all people the baptism of the Consubstantial Trinity. Lay your right hand on Me now, Baptist, since Mary prepared her womb for Me to be born. Immerse Me now in the streams of the Jordan, just as She who gave birth wrapped Me in baby swaddling clothes. Teach Me baptism just as the Virgin taught Me milk. Bow down to My head, before which the Seraphim reverence and worship. Touch with your right hand that head that is united to you by the union of blood. Touch what is naturally capable of being held. Touch what has been prepared for this by Me and the Father. Touch My head: for whoever touches it with reverence will never suffer shipwreck. Baptize Me, who I have to baptize believers with water, spirit and fire: with water that can wash away the impurities of sin, with a spirit that can make those on earth spiritual, with fire that can burn up the thorns of iniquity.” Having heard this, the Baptist, paying attention to the goal of salvation and understanding the mystery, submitted to the Divine command (for he was both pious and obedient), and, stretching out his right hand with joy and trembling, he baptized the Lord, while the Jews, standing near and at a distance, thought and said to themselves: “Did we think in vain that John is more and more perfect than Jesus? Are we unfair?” did they believe that the first is more important than the last? Does not the very baptism of the Baptist testify that this one baptizes Him as His superior, and He is not baptized from this as inferior? When people who did not understand the mystery of God’s vision reflected with themselves in this way: then He Who is One is Lord and essentially the Father of the Only Begotten, Who is One truly and completely knew Him Whom He alone begat without suffering and indignation. I say, the Father Himself, correcting the false opinion of the Jews, opened the gates of heaven and sent down on the head of Jesus the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, as if with a finger indicating the new Noah and the Creator of Noah and the wise Pilot for a nature in danger of shipwreck - and He Himself proclaimed from heaven, clearly saying: This is My beloved Son (Matthew 3:17). “This is Jesus, and not John, - He who was baptized, and not he who baptized. - He who was born of Me before all times, and not he who was born of Zechariah. - He who was born of Mary according to the flesh, and not he who came from Elizabeth, beyond her expectation - He who, without breaking virginity and without any human participation, grew up as a fruit, and not he who, having resolved barrenness, grew up like a branch - the One who dealt with you, and not the one who was brought up in the desert. This is my beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased: the Son of One Consubstantial, and not of another nature, Consubstantial with Me in that which you cannot see, and Consubstantial with you in that which you see, except for sin. This is the One who together with Me created man. This is My beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased. There is not another My Son and another Son of Mary, but this very One is My beloved Son, who is seen with the eyes and comprehended by the mind. This is My beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased; listen to Him. If He says: I and the Father are one (John 10:30), listen to Him. If He says: you have seen Me, you have seen the Father (John 14:9), listen to Him. If He says: He who sent Me is in pain (John 14:28), submit to His word. If He asks: Who do men say I am, the son of man? You answer Him: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:13, 16). When these words were heard from heaven: the human race was enlightened and recognized the difference between the Creator and the creature, between the King and the warrior, between the artist and his work, and, confirmed in the faith, people through John's baptism came to Him who baptized with spirit and fire, that is, to Christ, our true God, with whom to the Father, together with the Most Holy and life-giving Spirit, be glory now and always and in forever and ever. Amen 90. Curs. Compl. Patrolog. Migne, series graeca, vol. X, col. 1184; cp. Christian Read 1838, I, 1–19 countries. You might be interested in: