On Holy Epiphany

I wish, beloved, to celebrate, I want to triumph; this is the sacred day of light, and the seal of the holiday, and the door of celebration. He (the holiday) seals the Bethlehem cave, where the old denmi, like a suckling baby, reclined in a manger; but he opens the Jordanian springs, where again He is baptized with sinners, granting the world the remission of sins with His immaculate body. But when He came from the womb to the earth, He appeared to children as a child, to people as a man, to mothers as a son, to shepherds as a shepherd: “I am... the good shepherd,” who laid down his life “for the sheep” (“I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”), says the divine Scripture (John 10:11). Now He intends to come to the springs of the Jordan, (sources for) tax collectors and sinners, out of a desire to wash away their sins. And the miracle of this celebration is great. The wisest Paul proclaims with the words: “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (“The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men”) (Titus 2:11), and joy abounds throughout the whole world. Heaven rejoices because it is the first to hear the outgoing voice; the air is sanctified by the soaring of the Spirit; water nature has learned to wash souls along with bodies. And all creation makes festive joy; Only the devil grieves at the sight of the prepared font, crushing only him. What does (the evangelist) say? “Then Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John restrained Him and said: I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” ("Then Jesus comes... to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John rebuked him, saying: I demand that you be baptized, and are you coming to me?") (Matthew 3:13–14). Who saw that the ruler stood in front of the slave? Who saw that the king bowed his head towards the warrior? Who has seen that a hero of heroism is rewarded as a fighter? “I need to be baptized by You.” You yourself, Master, give me, he says, what you intend to give to the world, baptism. “I need to be baptized by You,” because I am subject to ancestral sin, I carry the poison of the serpent within me; I need to wash away the uncleanness of an ancient crime, and for what sins did You come to be baptized? You have the testimony of the prophet about You: “He... committed no sin, and there was no lying in His mouth” (“Thou shalt not commit iniquity; flattery was found in his mouth”) (Is. 53:9). How do You seek redemption when You provide propitiation? It is common for those who are baptized to confess their sins, but what do You have for confessing when You are sinless in everything? What are you asking of me that I have not been taught? I dare not do more; I don’t know how the light is purified; I don’t know how to wash the sun of truth; the night does not illuminate the day; gold is not slave to lead; creation does not correct the creator; the sea is not borrowed from the source; the river does not need a drop; purity is not purified by filth; the condemned person does not allow the judge: “I need to be baptized by You”; deadness does not resurrect life; the disease does not heal the doctor; I know the insignificance of my nature; There is no student higher than the teacher, nor a slave higher than his master; Cherubim do not approach me with fear; The seraphim do not exclaim to me the Trisagion; I do not own heaven as a throne; the star did not preach about me to the wise men; I have no voice, the creator of everything; Moses, the servant, was honored to see the back, and how can I dare to touch the immaculate head? Why do You provide me with something that surpasses me? I do not have a hand that can baptize God: “I need to be baptized by You.” I was born from a barren mother, but, according to Your command, nature did not resist; and then, dwelling in the place of my birth, when I could not yet speak, I used the lips of my mother - and now how can I not theologize about You who are present, Whom the virgin ark contained? Am I blind in my mind, like the Jews? I know that, being the Master, You took on the form of a servant in order to heal the image, I know that You appeared to those whom You save, I know that You became a stone of faith for those whom You had mercy on; but what I see does not hinder me, since I see what I think. I am mortal, You are the immortal God; I am from the barren, but You are from the Virgin; I am the first, but I am not greater than You who came after me; I prefaced it with a sermon, but not with such baptism; I recognized in You the ax lying at the root; I recognized the cutter of the barren Jewish plantation; I saw a sickle against passions; I said that the source of healing is near us; What place can I find that is not involved in Your miracles? You cleansed the lepers with your word; dried up the flow of blood by touching the edge of his clothing; with one command he strengthened the paralytic; The grains of your miracle nourished the daughter of a Canaanite woman; You opened the eyes of a blind man with mud; and how do You demand my ordination? “I need to be baptized by You.” “Look upon the earth, and make it shake” (“Look upon the earth, and make it shake”) (Ps. 103:32) - this is You, walking on the waters as on the floor, allowing the harlot to wipe Your feet and granting remission of sins. How can I dare to touch Your holy head, when I often exclaimed in the sermon: “He who is mightier than I is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down to untie” (“A mighty one is coming after me, who is not worthy... to loosen the thong of his boots”) (Mark 1:7)? Take from me the water of Your condescension: drowning, I can no longer bear it. What does Christ say to him? “Leave now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (“Leave now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness”) (Matthew 3:15). "Leave it now". Serve the Word as a voice; as a slave assist the Lord, as a warrior - with the King, as a creature - with the Creator; do not be afraid of touch, but be bold; baptize me so that I can free the world. I gave Myself up to death in order to revive mortified nature. You are hesitant to extend your hand when you are commanded, and after a little while the Jews will not be amazed at my betrayal. “Leave now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Earlier than centuries, I determined, according to My love for mankind, to save the human race; became a man for a man; is it much if I come as the Son of man to be baptized? I have not despised the work of My hands; not ashamed of earthly nature; what I was became what I was not, when My nature remained unchanged. "Leave it now". The enemy of the (human) race is cast out from heaven, driven out from the earth; he still nests in the watery nature, but from here I came to drive him out, according to the exclamation of the prophet: “You crushed the heads of the serpents in the water” (“you crushed the head of the serpent in the water”) (Ps. 73:14). "Leave it now". Like a man, the tempter approached Me, and I endure it in order to announce to everyone about his weakness; I will tell him: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (“thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”) (Matthew 4:7). Oh, a new miracle! Oh, unspeakable grace! Christ struggles and I receive my reward; He fights the devil, and I assimilate His victory over the devil; He crushes the head of the dragon in the water, and I am crowned as a legitimate fighter; He is baptized, and I remove my uncleanness; The Holy Spirit descends on Him, and I am granted remission of sins; He is testified by the Father as the beloved Son, and I am made the son of God through Him. The heavens opened for Him so that the dwelling of the baptized would appear, and the voice of the Father testifies for Him with the words: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him” (“this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, listen”) (Matthew 3:17, Luke 9:35). To Him belongs glory and power always, now and forever. Amen. Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom and in the Patrology of Min, classified as Spuria. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: