Поучение в день Святого Богоявления. Из древнего сборника (XVII в.). – „Статир»

The One who knows the number of the stars of heaven and gives names to them all, Who knows the number of grains of sand in the sea and drops in the rain, Who set the limit to water and the foundations of dry land, Who gave beauty to the sky, light to the sun, Who directs the movements of the winds, and established the order of times and years - the Creator of centuries and every breath, the Creator became man. The Most Pure and Sinless One now asks for baptism and cleansing. To whom the Angels, Archangels and all the heavenly Powers stand with fear, He bows His head under the mortal hand, and asks His servant to be baptized in order to drown the sins of the whole world in the waters. The Gospel of Matthew clearly tells us about this in the sixth conception. During this time, Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John rebuked Him, saying: I demand to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me (Matthew 3:13–14)? This new sacrament, lovers of Christ, surpasses every mind and word. He who lives in the unapproachable light, the brightest light of all light, strives to be baptized. In truth, this is a great and ineffable mystery, full of joy and joy, a sight worthy of wonder! John took sinners to himself; but, seeing the Sinless One, he trembled, was afraid and wondered: how did the Master come to the slave, God - to man, the Most High - to the insignificant, the Architect - to clay, the Heavenly - to the earthly, the Sun - to the star, the Sea - to a stream, the King - to a warrior, the Light - to a lamp, the Preached to a prophet, the Purifier - to the one being purified, the Permissive sins - to the preacher of repentance, the Immortal - to the mortal, the Creator - to the creature! Oh, wonderful mystery! Oh, an inscrutable gift! John objects, the Angels are in awe, the heavens are opened, the voice of the Father is heard, the Holy Spirit descends, the Jordan prepares the streams to receive the unnatural Fire and be sanctified by the One who purifies everything. The master commands the servant, John denies. Having recognized the Master, he exclaimed: Behold, the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world (John 1:20), - the Lamb of God, immaculate and pure, Whom the ancient prophets foretold, Whom Abraham saw in the form of his slain son. And when John saw Him coming to baptism, he cried out in horror: “Are you coming to me? I don’t dare, my dear, touch the Fire; I don’t even dare, through rot, to approach the Source of life. I ask You for cleansing; I need baptism from You. Sanctify me and the water." Behold, a reverent and humble servant! Although he saw his Lord in the form of a man, he nevertheless recognized the true God in Him. The Lord, answering His servant, commands him to boldly fulfill what is required. “You said the truth, John, that you should have received consecration and baptism from Me. But leave it now, so that I may fulfill all righteousness and proclaim the truth—not only in words, but also in deed. Leave Your resistance and do not contradict My will. You don't know what I know. That is why I came because I want to fulfill everything - to remove the old and to establish the new through My baptism, to sanctify the waters and wash away the sins of people, to destroy the curse and give the blessing, to crush the head of the serpent in the waters and to grant those who are baptized adoption as sons to God, to free them from slavery to the enemy and from the tyranny of Satan, to open the way to heaven for believers. And therefore leave it now; You don’t see what I see: you don’t know that the enemy the devil is standing here. Shut up, shut up so he doesn't hear. I came to destroy his power. That is why I did not appear on earth as God, but took on your flesh, so that the devil would not run away from Me. I cast a net for fishing: be careful not to drive away the catch; I have a struggle ahead of me: I am chasing prey. So, leave it now. The time will come when you will preach about Me, and people will recognize in Me the true God, the Word coeval with the Father. But now I must show humility and accept baptism from you. And then you will receive from Me what you seek and will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Now leave it: for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness! Then the well-behaved servant abandoned his objections and fulfilled the will of the Master. And Jesus, having been baptized, went up from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming on Him. And behold a voice from heaven, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:16–17). In truth, beloved, an ineffable secret has now been revealed, a clear indication of an incomprehensible phenomenon. The One is indicated by the Three: God is from God, man is from man (Mother), the Invisible and Incomprehensible now clearly appears: the Father testifies of Him with a voice, the Holy Spirit with a descent, John with an indication. The Father says: This is My beloved Son, born before all ages. The Holy Spirit, having descended, clearly indicates this beloved Son to the Father and destroys all doubt among those present that the one being baptized is greater than the one who baptized. John shows the humanity of Christ with the words: behold the Lamb of God; and when he says: take away the sins of the world, he declares His Divinity: for who can forgive sins except God? John seems to say this: “Behold, my King and Master and Lord is coming after me for our salvation. He was before me, He was before Abraham and before all ages. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, cleanse the filthiness of your souls, enlighten your lips with the light of the Holy Spirit, and sanctify you and burn your sins with the fire of His Divinity.” Oh, a wonderful sight! Oh, terrible vision! The river flows; John stands by the streams; Jesus Christ emerging from the water. O sacred hands! What a chapter you have been honored to hold! Oh, jets, what use have you been made for! You wash God, cleansing yourself from Him, and through you the whole nature of water receives sanctification! Oh, holy river Jordan! You are God's font; You are more glorious than all the seas, rivers, lakes, springs and the ocean itself: You do not come out of paradise, but you embrace the Planter of Paradise Himself and wash the Most Pure One. We, beloved, will sing and glorify this great and enlightened day, on which the grace of God appeared, saving all people, - on which we received great and ineffable gifts, learned to sing the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, found true faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Now we have been adopted as sons of God and have received a heavenly inheritance; we have been reborn from corruption to incorruption; we, the earthly, are deified, the fallen are restored; Now we are freed from the curse, escaped eternal death, freed from the bonds of sin, saved from the flood of Gehenna, after storms and misfortunes we achieved peace and were cleansed from the original filth. Let us understand, brethren, the power of our Baptism. Baptism is the enlightenment of the soul, the change of life, the help of our weakness, the putting aside of carnal affairs, the inheritance of the Spirit, communication with the Word, the correction of the building, the drowning of sin, the communion of light, the dispersal of darkness. Baptism is a chariot to God, an accompaniment to Christ, confirmation of faith, improvement of the mind, the key to the kingdom of heaven, the destruction of slavery, the release of bonds. Baptism is a gift of grace, a spiritual mother who gives birth to eternal life, a bath of rebirth that washes us from military filth and from the reproach of Satan. Baptism is the anointing of the Spirit, a woven garment, a seal of protection, a sign of dominion. He is rejoiced in heaven, the Angels glorify him, he is the image of the bliss there. Baptism is an irrevocable gift of God, Divine power; there is no sin - not a single one that would not depart and yield to this gift. Now you, a Christian, have learned the power of the sacrament of baptism. You have heard what gifts you receive in the baptismal font. So, repay God with appropriate gratitude - show right faith, pure living, love from the bottom of your soul. Remember your vows made in baptism. If you promise something to a person, calling God as a witness, then you must certainly fulfill the promise: all the more sacred vows given to God Himself, the terrible Judge, who knows everything secret and hidden - vows given in the presence of many witnesses, in the presence of Angels and Archangels, in the presence of a priest, as an intermediary between you and God. You only made one more promise, and God has already given you His gift, without immediately demanding anything from you. And therefore I pray to you: be faithful to your vow and serve Him with a pure and sinless life, remain in peace with your neighbors and goodwill towards everyone. Without this, no one can please our Lord Jesus Christ and will not see His glory. And therefore let us firmly keep and observe the vows we have given to God, so that what is said will not be fulfilled over us: “a dog that turns to its own vomit, and a swine that tramples pearls” (Matthew 7:6; 2 Peter 2:22). For now there are many among us who are Christians only in name, but there is not a trace of Christian life in them. These people regard holy baptism as nothing, they neglect the great gift of God, they have forgotten their vows, and what they renounced in baptism is exactly what they are doing now. Having abandoned the sonship of God, they gave themselves into the service of demons; They spat on Satan, and now they themselves are going to serve him as slaves. Thus, they themselves violated their vows, voluntarily retreated from the eternal truth - Christ, and despised His great gifts. But listen, ungrateful man! After all, you are worse than a creature and more unreasonable than the dumb. The ox knows his master, and the donkey his master's manger; but you do not know your Lord and such a great Benefactor. He saved you from demonic captivity, freed you from slavery to the enemy, brought you out of the darkness of sin, cleansed you from the filth of Satan. The Lord made you His son, anointed you like a king with holy oil. But you rejected His gifts, despised His benefits, loved Satan’s deception more than God; you chose darkness instead of light, eternal death instead of life; instead of the kingdom of heaven - Gehenna, the dark pit of hell, and instead of cohabitation and fun with the Angels, you wanted to suffer with demons and look at their vile faces. O vain man! Oh, thin and smallest creature! Listen: it is not I who say to you, but blessed Paul: it is the will of those who sin for us, after receiving the understanding of truth, for those for whom there is no sacrifice for sins: but a certain expectation of judgment is terrible, and the fire of zeal is to destroy the one who is opposed (Heb. 10:26, 27). And the Savior Himself, having shown us so many benefits, said: a servant who knows the will of his master, and having not done according to his will, will be beaten many times (Luke 12:17). And the sweet teacher, St. Chrysostom says that “trees that do not produce their characteristic fruit are uprooted and burned.” Understand, crazy man, that this is said about you. You are the tree planted at the source of the holy waters. baptism, you are planted in the vineyard of God in the flower garden of heaven to bear good fruit; but you have become thorns, useless grass, and the fire of hell awaits you! You don't even think about it. O ungrateful man! What wealth have you lost through sin! Your name was written in the book of life, as the name of a faithful son; Why did you wipe him out from there with your wickedness? Why, after the dove, did you accept the snake, - after the Spirit of God - the evil spirit? Beloved! You have received a great gift - you have been reborn from above, entered into a union with God: keep the spiritual robe of baptism pure from sin, do not corrupt it with the filth of fornication, do not lose your adoption as sons to God. If you lose, then you no longer have a second baptism - it is prohibited by the Apostles and Sts. Fathers. Christ will not die a second time for you. Once Christ the Lord died, once he rose again. Once you have been baptized, there will not be another, although repentance has been left to you. Christ gave you baptism, by His grace, freely. If you lose its fruits, then a lot of work will be required from you, many difficult feats, many bitter tears, sighs, crying, mortification, languor, vigils, bows. It is much better to preserve acquired gifts through easy abstinence than to return them through hard work. So, brothers, let us keep our vows given to the Lord our God. Let us fulfill His will on earth, in order to receive from His hands the crown of glory in heaven, to inherit eternal life and the blessed kingdom. Grant us, Your faithful servants, this kingdom, O Christ our God, by the grace of Your love for mankind. Amen 106. “Russian preacher of the seventeenth century and several articles from his writings - “Statir”. Published by Archpriest I. Yakhontov. St. Petersburg, 1883, pages 39–45. You might be interested in: