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Matthew 3:1. “In those days John the Baptist comes and preaches in the wilderness of Judea.” Matthew 3:2. “and says: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” Matthew 3:3. “For he is the one about whom the prophet Isaiah said: the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Matthew 3:4. “John himself had clothes made of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey.” “When the enemy binds your heart by stinging food and drink for visitors, tell him: man will not live on bread alone... but on every word... of God (Cf.: Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4) and remember the Savior, how He was in the desert and with animals (Cf.: Mark 1:13), and not with people, where, therefore, one could not expect help from people in food and drink, the animals could not give it, neither sowing, nor reaping, nor gathering into the barn (cf. Matthew 6:26), and how, meanwhile, He relied on the Providence of God, like a Man. Or remember John the Baptist, who also lived in the desert (See: Matt. 3:1–4; Luke 1:80) and had hope in the desert alone, or, better yet, in God alone, rejecting human help. Remember also that you do not live in the desert, but in a society of people, Christians at that, who are ready to help you at all times and from whom you yourself, in fact, receive help every day” [8, 528]. “Here are the great holidays, beloved, for us: the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His Baptism in the Jordan. Now the baptized Christ walks through cities and villages and says to all people: repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is drawing near (Matthew 3:2). These sweetest words of the Lord are addressed to all of us; He invites everyone to repent of their sins, so that everyone will be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, because without repentance no one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Yes, beloved, sins lead and will lead everyone to hell, to eternal torment, if we do not repent of them, if we do not hate them, if we do not decide to live and do not live according to the will of the Lord! The patterns of sin, the Scripture says, are death (Rom. 6:23). So, look, repent: now the Kingdom of Heaven is closer to us than ever. Amen" [3, 365]. “Follow such a lifestyle that you live only by animal impulses and desires, to sleep, eat, dress, walk, then drink, eat and walk again. This way of life finally kills the completely spiritual life of a person, making him an earthly and earthly creature; while a Christian must be heavenly even on earth. Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is drawing near [Matt. 3:2], Our Father, who art in heaven! [Matt. 6:9 ] We must read the word of God more, pray at home and in church, and in every place, more, of course, internally than externally; reflect on God, on creation, on the purpose and predestination of man, on providence, on redemption, on the inexpressible love of God for the human race, on the life and deeds of holy men of God who pleased God with various virtues, etc., also fast, examine your conscience, repent sincerely and deeply of your sins, etc.” [5, vol. 1, 245]. "Let Your Kingdom come, that is, the kingdom of life, for now the kingdom of death continues under the dominion, for the most part, of the one who has the power of death - the devil. How does the Kingdom of God come to a person in this life? Through heartfelt repentance. Repent, draw near the Kingdom of Heaven [Matthew 3:2]. Let the wicked leave his counsels, the lover of money his love of money, the deceiver. - his deceptions, the drunk - his drunkenness, the glutton - his gluttony, the prodigal - his fornication, the proud - his pride, the vain - his vanity, the envious, the insatiable - his envy and insatiability, the impatient and murmuring - his impatience and grumbling, and may everyone learn the works of Christian love, especially the infirmities of the weak; wear [Rom. 15:1]" [5, vol. 1, 81]. “How pleasant it is for you, how fun it is when you find some lost, necessary and valuable thing! You are ready to jump for joy. Imagine how pleasing it is to the Heavenly Father at the sight of His lost child - a sinner who was found, at the sight of his lost and revived sheep, at the sight of his lost and found drachma, i.e. this living image of God - man! It is impossible to describe this joy. The Heavenly Father’s joy over His lost and found prodigal son is so great that the entire loving and benevolent heaven strives for joy: for there is joy in heaven over one repentant sinner [Lk. 15:7, 10]. Perishing brothers and sisters! return from the path of destruction to the Heavenly Father. Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is drawing near [Matt. 3:2]" [5, vol. 2, 334]. "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near (Matthew 3:2). Sins remove a person from God, the Source of life, and plunge him into death. To get closer to God, you need sincere repentance. God Himself looks for the withdrawn person. He Himself leaves heaven and comes to earth, becomes a man, enters into close communication with him, converses, sanctifies the waters with His Baptism, grants the bath of rebirth, establishing the Last Supper - communion of the Body and Blood, brings down the grace of the Holy Spirit to believers, grants repentance, remission of sins, renewal, confirmation, sonhood and deification. What else has He not given? How do people use the means of salvation? [6, 88]. “All who begin to work for the Lord in prayer, learn to be like Him, meek and humble and true in heart; do not have guile in your soul, do not be double-minded, do not be cold; try to have His Spirit, for whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not carry Him (Rom. 8:9), and - the Lord is looking for something like Himself and akin to us - into which His grace could be grafted. – Remember that not a single word is wasted in prayer if it is spoken from the heart, and the Lord hears every word, and every word is on His scales. It sometimes seems to us that our words only beat the air (cf.: 1 Cor. 9:26) in vain and are heard in vain, like the voice of one crying in the wilderness (Matthew 3:3): no, no...” [8, 438]. “Alms contribute a lot to the success of prayer. Proof of this is Cornelius (See: Acts 10:4). Where there are two or three congregations in My name, I am in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20), that is, among the body and soul, or in their heart. I stand at the door... (Rev. 3:20) How close the Lord is to man! It's near the heart. - You are at my right hand, but I do not move... (Ps. 15:8) You are with me... (Ps. 23:4) What a convenience for prayer! – Why is it that during prayer our words are sometimes heard as in the wilderness, like the voice of one crying in the wilderness (Matthew 3:3)? “Because we ourselves, through lack of faith and heartfelt disposition, move away from the Lord” [8, 442]. “For the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, a husband deigned to live strangely on earth, who was no longer on earth among those born of wives (cf. Matthew 11:11); lived in the desert, ate the most meager and harsh food; He also wore the coarsest clothes (See: Matt. 3:4; Mark 1:4, 6). This is how the humble hermits lived and still live, leaving behind all the delights of the world - a spacious home, rich clothes, tasty and fattening foods. And the martyrs gave themselves up to all kinds of torment, foreseeing their future rest and incorruptible crowns” [8, 182]. “Behold, I am sending My Angel before You, who will prepare Your way before You (Mal. 3:1; Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2). The priest is the angel of the Lord Almighty, who must prepare the way for the Lord in the hearts of people in whom He, the Master, wants to dwell and walk, according to the Scripture: I will dwell in them and become like their Father, and they shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty (Cf.: Lev. 26:12; 2 Cor. 6:16, 18). So, the priest must cry often: prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths upright (Matthew 3:3; Isaiah 40:3), that is, live rightly according to His commandments” [10, 372]. Matthew 3:6. “and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins” “About repentance. Repentance must be sincere and completely free, and in no way forced by time and custom or by the person confessing. Otherwise it will not be repentance. Repent, it is said, for the Kingdom of Heaven is drawing near [Matt. 4:17 ], draw near, that is, it has come itself, you don’t need to look for it for a long time, it is looking for you, your free disposition, that is: repent yourself with heartfelt contrition. I am baptized (it is said about those who were baptized by John), confessing their sins [Matt. 3:6 ], that is: they themselves confessed their sins. And since our prayer is primarily repentance and petition for forgiveness of sins; then it must always be sincere and completely free, and not involuntary, forced by custom and habit. Prayer should be the same when it is thanksgiving and praise. Gratitude presupposes in the soul of the recipient the fullness of a free, living feeling, freely flowing through the lips: out of the abundance of the heart the lips speak [Matt. 12:34]. Doxology presupposes the delight of surprise in a person contemplating the deeds of the infinite goodness, wisdom, and omnipotence of God in the moral and material world, and therefore, just as naturally, it should be a completely free and reasonable matter. In general, prayer should be a free and completely conscious outpouring of a person’s soul before God. Before the Lord I pour out my soul [mol. Anna, mother of Samuel]” [5, vol. 1, 190]. “Everyone is baptized... confessing their sins (Matthew 3:6), the people themselves must confess their sins - otherwise what kind of forced confession is this? - Remember the confession of David (See: 2 Sam. 12:13; Ps. 50), Manasseh (See: 2 Chron. 36:23), the three youths in Babylon (See: Dan. 3:26–45)" [10, 372]. Matthew 3:7. “When John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!” who told you to flee from the wrath to come?” Matthew 3:8. “Produce fruit worthy of repentance” "O brood of vipers! Who told you to flee from the wrath to come? Produce fruits worthy of repentance (Matt. 3:7–8). Even the ax lies at the root of the tree (Matt. 3:10). He has the spade in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor, and He will gather the wheat into His barn, and He will burn the chaff with fire. unquenchable (Matt. 3:12). Pay attention to the sermon of the Forerunner - how formidable and all-true it is! How instructive! My soul trembles at the Last Judgment of the Lord... I tremble at the terrible day of judgment... But I hoped... have mercy on me... Note, this is the main core of the entire sermon of repentance of John the Baptist... Repent immediately, do the work of repentance" [4, 71]. “The devil’s deception in people is manifold: the devil deceived some from an early age not to pray, and he remains in this deception - and does not pray; the other is in a different delusion - also from an early age: he considers the Holy Scripture something inconceivable for himself - and does not read the Holy Scripture, of which one word as the word of God could revive his soul, as it is said: about every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, a person will live (cf. Matt. 4:4). Others consider going to church unnecessary and in vain and not at all obligatory for themselves, although this is obligatory for every Christian, for it is said: do not forsake meeting together (cf. Heb. 10:25), and although often a few minutes of standing in God’s church clearly speak to the heart about the benefits and necessity of visiting the house of God; others - oh horror - are in the most terrible deception - they do not come to confession and communion of the Holy Mysteries, considering all this to be a human institution, and not God’s, and considering all the decrees, Statutes and Sacraments of the Church to be restrictive for their supposed freedom, but in fact for their carnal, old, sinful, pernicious man. These are ignorant in the faith (2 Tim. 3:8), these are hardened in heart, these are enemies of the Cross of Christ, brood of vipers (Matthew 3:7), for if they wanted, they could learn the faith and Christian life in the church or from their spiritual father. There is also some insolence - those who are so proud and contemptuous of everything holy, who consider prayers to the mother in labor and the very Sacrament of Holy Baptism to be unnecessary and are indignant when their babies are baptized, calling it torture (oh horror) for children and a custom, God knows why, for those who entered the world" [8, 657]. Matthew 3:9. “And do not think to say within yourself, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.” “Another skilled moneylender, seeing that another rich person has a lot of money lying uncirculated, regrets that money, such a flowing, useful thing, remains dead, useless capital both for him, the rich man, and for others; That’s why he (the moneylender) never allows himself to do this, knowing the benefits of capital if you turn it into trade. (Because it makes him profit). Rich man - Church; money - the word of God and prayers assigned to believers; moneylender - a prudent prayer, reader or listener. We can daily give every word of the Holy Scripture, every prayer, every word of prayer as growth to God, if with living faith we read or listen from the heart or send them to Him. He perfectly, infinitely knows how to multiply the growth of His holy word or the prayers we send, if we read the Word of God in the simplicity of faith or childishly entrust ourselves to Him in prayer: He will make every word of prayer for our soul not only living, but also life-giving capital, and all prayer in general - wonderful, life-giving wealth. – Who is the wise and faithful servant who will apply these words to his heart and put them into practice? “Have ears to hear and let him hear (Matthew 11:15, 3:9; Mark 4:9)” [2, 203]. “To the extent that you begin to pray in spirit and truth before a holy icon, for example, of the Savior, to the extent that the spirit of the One depicted on the icon is attracted to the icon, so that if your faith in the presence of the Face written on the icon has reached the point that you see that Face as if alive, then It, indeed, by His grace is always there. Miracle-working icons spoke, exuded tears, blood, etc. That is why miracle-working icons look unusually vivid and expressive. What is impossible for God, who can revive a stone and form a man from it (cf. Matthew 3:9)? – He can do this just as wonderfully with a picturesque image. He is all in the Mysteries. All things are possible to the believer (Mark 9:23), and the Most High miraculously condescends to the believer. He unites with the sign of the Life-giving Cross and works miracles” [3, 73]. “The earth, we see, is revitalized and produces countless varieties of plants throughout the continent. How many diverse plant bodies are woven on it! But what is she? We all see that it, the earth, is black soil, silt, sand, clay, and so on. Thus, it means nothing to the Lord to revive a block of earth. Thus, He creates a living serpent from a staff (See: Ex. 4:2–3); Thus, He makes a dry rod grow in one night (See: Numbers 17:8); Thus, He can raise up children for Abraham from the stone (Matthew 3:9). If the staff is made by the body of the serpent, then the bread and wine are also undoubtedly made by the Body and Blood of the Savior. There was no special water or wine there for it to become the blood of the serpent: everything is from one rod, but here there is wine for the Blood” [3, 211]. Matthew 3:10. “Already the ax lies at the root of the trees: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” “The Savior’s commandments, selected from the Gospel: everyone must produce the fruits of repentance, and even the ax lies at the root of the tree, that is, at the root of our life: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 3:10). The Beatitudes" [2, 296]. “In Palestine, the trees are mostly fruit trees. Just as the Lord raised trees so that they would bear fruit, so He created and raised people so that they would bear the fruits of virtue. Trees have God-innate strength and the ability to bear fruit - otherwise God would not have demanded fruit from them; and people have the ability to do good deeds - otherwise God would not oblige us to virtue. Trees, by bearing fruit, achieve the goal of their existence, and by not bearing them, they deviate from it, and therefore they become unsuitable for others and themselves sluggish and lifeless, just like people. By doing good deeds, they achieve the goal of their existence, and by not doing them or doing only bad deeds, they become useless tares for God, and in themselves are lethargic and lifeless in soul and even in body, so that they are no good anywhere except for the earth or the fire” [1, 62]. “Often the ax lies at the root of the tree itself (Matt. 3:10; Luke 3:9), that is, at my heart, and is ready to cut me: often I feel death in my very heart - in the very source of my life: and this with every sin. The patterns of sin are death (Rom. 6:23), first in the heart, and then in the body” [3, 223]. “A comparison between a tree and a person. Do you hear how the tree rustles with its leaves, see how tall and thick it is, how many branches it has, how far it has spread them? But all this height, thickness, this branching, all these leaves are the work of God: God is the cause of all this. There is now this tree - you see it and hear the noise of its leaves; but not long ago the time passed when he was not there. So are you. You rose from the ground, you are stately, you sent forth branches from yourself - the young generation; You also have a lot of leaves, that is, various additional gifts of God to you: honors, wealth and other things - you rustle with them in pride and self-forgetfulness, the wind of the prince of the air (cf. Eph. 2:2) plays in your soul with them. But you won’t think that all this is God’s; but there is no feeling of gratitude in the heart. Ask yourself: what did you have a few years ago? Where have you been all these years? ABOUT! Don’t make noise to me, don’t make noise to me with your leaves, but rather, in the silence of your heart, thank God that He has grown and beautified you. Look, it’s amazing that you exist on your own – out of nothing. Don’t forget that you won’t have long to show off in this world. Look: the ax lies at the root of the tree: every tree that does not produce the fruit of good is cut down and thrown into the fire (Luke 3:9). Did you hear that? You knew this, that with all your pride, you are like a tree in the garden of the Heavenly Gardener, Who, without asking you, gave you life, raised and decorated you, enriched you with all His gifts, spiritual and material, and if you are unfaithful, ungrateful before Him, you will not want to recognize your Benefactor in God’s gifts to you - also without asking you and against your will, as barren will the tree, which occupied the land in vain, cut you off and throw you into eternal fire (cf. Matthew 3:10)? After all, this is absolutely true and how long will it take for this to happen? Remember that you and the tree have the same Creator. But why did God create you not as a tree, but as a man? - The reason for this lies solely in His goodness. He wanted to surprise you with His mercies, so that your malice would not overcome His unspeakable goodness and mercy, so that you could at least teach others how long-suffering and abundantly merciful He is (Ps. 103:8)” [3, 589]. Matthew 3:11. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I; I am not worthy to carry His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire;" “Here it is necessary to notice John’s humility and the deepest reverence for the coming Redeemer of men: I, he says, baptize you only with water, an ordinary substance that cleanses the body, and, moreover, only preparatoryly, through repentance, that is, in order to prepare you for a much more important Baptism through the cleansing of your sins; He who will baptize you after me is stronger than I; I am not even worthy to carry His boots; Moreover, He will not baptize you with water, like me, but with the Holy Spirit and fire! (Wed: Matthew 3:11) Yes, Lord Jesus, only the righteous, who comprehend Your greatness more than all of us, can fully revere Your glory, but we, sinners, blind in our minds, barely contemplate Your greatness only sometimes, and have no fear of Yours before our eyes. – Next, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit deserves special attention. Oh Lord! We can only partially understand the greatness of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire. We know that the Spirit of God fills everything, tests everything, and the depths of God, that He is the Spirit of truth, the Life-giving Spirit, the Spirit of purity and holiness, the Spirit of love. What kind of people should be after you baptize them with the All-Holy and Life-Giving Spirit? Oh, they must themselves be holy and life-giving, just as the Holy and Life-giving Spirit of God is” [1, 62]. Matthew 3:12. “His shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, and He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.” “So, Lord, this world is Your threshing floor, in which wheat and tares are gathered together - good and evil people. By Your wave, the wheat will once be separated from the chaff on this threshing floor, and You will take the wheat into Your granary - the righteous to the eternal heavenly abodes, and You will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire, that is, You will plunge sinners into eternal torment in hell. It is my will to be wheat or tares; I want to be wheat, but the flesh, the world and the devil make me worthless tares. Oh, how terrified I am, Lord, so that death does not sow tares in me and after death I do not suffer the fate of the tares! Consume from me, O Lord, my Creator, all that is bad and worthless, cleanse me and transform me—unclean tares—into wheat favorable to You” [1, 63]. “I love the great Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John for his meek, but formidable and decisive sermon to the Pharisees and Sadducees: For Him is the spade in His hand, and He will cut off His threshing floor, and will gather His wheat into the barn, and will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12). Listen or read more often these menacing words of the Lord - and repent, modern Pharisees and Sadducees and all intellectuals and ignoramuses in the Law. Wait for the terrible fulfillment of the latter, and for all who strive, the blessed promise of the Lord. Amen" [6, 90]. “What a playwright the devil is, what scenes he produces in dreams in the spirit of the present time of self-will, disobedience of the lower ones to the higher ones, their rudeness, mockery of the elders. Exercise, you accursed one, for endless ages in unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12) with all your temptations” [4, 18]. “What does it mean to deny yourself (Matthew 16:24)? - It means to reject your old, passionate man (Cf.: Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9), self-loving, prone to hatred, envy, pride, covetousness, love of money, stinginess, irritability, gluttony, drunkenness, theft, adultery - the old man in which he lives, has his throne and which Satan operates and controls. “I, or my old man, completely damaged by sin, all infected with the breath of the devil, his will, are no good for anything except eternal fire.” – That is why unrepentant sinners are called stubble, which will be burned with unquenchable fire (cf. Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17). “This old man must be completely rejected” [8, 19]. “You consider yourself alive, not dead. Are you really living, are you not a walking ghost? – If in your heart there is faith and love for God and love for your neighbor as for yourself, then you live; if not: you are dead, you are no better than an idol. Rather, come to your senses: understand what our life consists of, and begin to live a true, human, Christian life. Collecting wealth for the pleasure of eating and drinking, and not just to quench hunger and thirst, is the most ridiculous thing, and not only funny, but a criminal thing, a child’s game at full age, an unexcusable game of oneself. We have turned all of life into childish play, perverting everything about our Creator in ourselves and putting it upside down; we play - oh grief and horror - with the very organs of childbirth, these sacred organs of life, which the Creator made the instruments of our being and life; we laugh at the greatest priceless gift of life, we, impudent creatures, senseless creatures, laugh at our Creator, the Giver of life, who said; You shall not commit adultery (Exod. 20:14) and threatening adulterers with deprivation of the Kingdom and torment (See: Rev. 21:8, 22:15) in unquenchable fire (Matt. 3:12). We have turned our entire lives into childish, blind amusement: we have invented various empty amusements just to kill priceless time, which our Lord commanded us to treasure greatly when He said: Every idle word that men speak, they will give a word about it on the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36). Watch, as if you do not know the hour of the day, the Son of Man will come (Matthew 25:13). And the holy apostles saying: redeem the time, for the days are evil (Eph. 5:16); walk in wisdom (Col. 4:5)... O foolish people we are, completely foolish people, according to our own will... what will we say in justification to our Creator when the time of His Last Judgment comes? – Yes, the Judgment will truly be terrible: how can the Judgment of the all-good, long-suffering, but also all-righteous Lord not be terrible? When you think about the human affairs that are now taking place, you will involuntarily say to yourself: yes, there must certainly be a universal Judgment and it must certainly be terrible, because people are terribly, devilishly insulting the holiness, goodness, long-suffering and justice of God. My brothers! Turn from your crooked ways and make right paths with your feet (cf. Heb. 12:13)" [8, 636]. “The devil himself incites you to sin and, when you sin, he says: you are now mine - and he begins to torment you with despondency. And you tell him: no, not yours, but even if you are a sinner, it is God’s; but with my Lord there is cleansing (Ps. 129:3) for all my iniquities. “And I consider your despondency a dream.” My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my protection is the Holy Spirit. – Resist firmly all passions instilled by the devil, including the passion of despondency. – Resist the devil: and he will flee from you (James 4:7). – And do not be afraid of its bitterness, fire, darkness and burden. The Lord will not give you to his teeth - to devour you. He is constantly in the hands of the Lord. A spade is in His hand (Matthew 3:12)” [11, 329]. Matthew 3:15. “But Jesus answered and said to him, Leave it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then John admits Him." “The Lord wants me to be heavenly on earth when he says: seek first the Kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33) (that is, that I live in love for God and neighbor, repent of my sins sincerely, try to fulfill all righteousness (Matt. 3:15), all virtue) and all this (external blessings) will be added to you (Matt. 6:33). “And from God’s inner admonitions I see this clearly” [8, 501]. “What humility of the God-man! What unquestioning obedience to the will of the Heavenly Father! When John the Baptist, knowing the greatness of Him who came to his baptism and his insignificance before Him, did not allow Him to be baptized, the Lord said to him: leave it now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15). But doesn’t all truth always dwell in God? God is called the God of Truth, and He is the Righteous Judge of all (Cf.: Ps. 49:6, 74:8; Acts 10:42; Heb. 12:23). The Lord speaks these words to the Forerunner as a Man: we need to fulfill all righteousness. So He fulfilled all righteousness for us and for us; - and teaches us to accurately fulfill God’s truth; for us he received Baptism from John, so that, having no need for Baptism himself, he would show us the need for it, sanctify the waters and forever give them the power of the sacred; to give us the bath of restoration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (cf. Titus 3:5), and to sanctify us; in order to drown human sin in the waters and open to us heaven, closed by the fall of Adam, and bring down to earth the Holy Spirit, who had no place on earth to lay his head (See: Lk. 9:58), due to the extreme oppression and corruption of the human race; so that Adam can be cleansed from filth and raised to heaven justified” [9, 11]. “What does the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord teach us? – First of all, the truth that God is faithful in all His words and promises. He also promised Adam and Eve, our ancestors who fell universally in paradise, that He would send to earth a Savior for them and the entire human race, namely the blessed Seed of the Woman, who would erase the head of the murderous serpent (cf. Gen. 3:15), which was fulfilled, is being fulfilled daily and will be fulfilled until the very end of the world, as long as faithful and faithful people are born and live on earth. believers in God and His Christ, for through them He, Christ, tramples and erases the head of the serpent. Such were the patriarchs, forefathers, prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, the venerable and righteous and all the saints - such are now among the faithful, defeating the ancient serpent who deceives the whole universe (Rev. 12:9). Secondly, the Feast of the Presentation teaches us that the Lord Himself comes only to those who do the truth, or to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, like Elder Simeon, because He came to earth in order to fulfill all the righteousness (Matthew 3:15) of God and to teach us to do the truth and to deliver us from all unrighteousness, from all lawlessness and to grant us repentance with saving fruits” [9, 32]. Matthew 3:16. “And Jesus, having been baptized, immediately went up out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and descending upon Him.” “Why did the Holy Spirit descend in the form of a dove on Jesus Christ (See: Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32)? – 1) In order to show by the appearance of this meek, gentle and pure bird the properties of the Spirit of Christ - meekness, purity and gentleness; 2) to express by this His property - omnipresent throughout all creation and the revitalization of everyone: for the flying bird represents the Cross, the ends of which embrace all four directions of the world: east, west, north and south. And the Psalmist, expressing the omnipresence of the Spirit of God, says; I will go forth from Your Spirit... (Ps. 139:7), seeing Him everywhere - in all four directions: in heaven, in the underworld, in the east and in the west. – Further, the same bird expresses revival with its outstretched wings. So the kokosh, sitting on the eggs, revives them by incubation; The Spirit of God is everywhere and fills everything and passes through everything (Wisdom 7:23, 24) - at once revives the heavenly and earthly creatures, like a bird hatching its eggs” [8, 494]. “The bird represents the Trinity with its body and two wings; cattle - with a head and two horns on it, and a person - with a head and two hands, all animals - with a head and two equal eyes. The eyes of God mean both the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. The All-Holy Spirit Himself appeared in the form of a dove (See: Matt. 3:16), both because in order to represent by the sight of a flying bird the overshadowing from Him of the whole world and the revitalization from Him of every creature - similar to that produced by a bird sitting on its eggs and imparting its life to them - and in order to represent by the sight of a flying bird the Trinity of the Divinity and also His omnipresence, meekness, purity of His Being. [10, 270]. You might be interested in: