Beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
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ON 6th OF JANUARY OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH OBSERVES THE HOLY AND DIVINE THEOPHANY OF OUR LORD, GOD, AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST
When He returned from exile in Egypt, our Lord Jesus Christ took up His abode in Nazareth of Galilee with His Most Pure Mother and Joseph the carpenter, with whom He worked. After His supposed father's death, Jesus continued working as a carpenter, supporting Himself and His Mother by His own labor and providing us an example of diligent toil. He concealed His wisdom and the might of His Divinity, neither revealing Himself as the Son of God and the Great High Priest come down from heaven, nor preaching since it was forbidden for anyone younger than thirty to assume the responsibilities of teacher or priest. Then the time came for His Divine manifestation to Israel, and as the Gospel says, "The word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness" (Luke, Ch. 3), instructing him to baptize the repentant and revealing how he would recognize the Messiah sent by God to the world. Of this, the Baptist testified, He "that sent me to baptize with water, the same said to me, Upon Whom thou shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Spirit" (John, Ch.1).
Obedient to the word of God, John the Baptist and Forerunner went about the valley of Jordan, "preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins" (Luke, Ch.3). Long before, the Prophet Isaiah had written of the "voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a way for our God" (Isaiah, Ch. 40); now his words were fulfilled. The inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem went to John and were baptized in the river, confessing their sins. Christ the Lord also came from Galilee to be baptized, just after St. John had announced to the people, "There cometh one mightier than me after me, the latchet of Whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark, Ch. 1). Although He is the Source of all purity and holiness, was born of the immaculate and Most Holy Virgin Mary, and is without fault of any kind, Christ chose to take upon Himself the iniquity of the whole world. By descending into the water of Baptism, He Purified us and also the very nature of water, making it capable of cleansing not only our bodies but our souls as well. He came to John so that the Prophet and Forerunner so that the Prophet, seeing the Holy Spirit descend and hearing the voice of the Father sound on High, might serve as a faithful witness.
At first, Saint John did not wish to baptize Jesus, as the Scripture relates: "John forbad Him saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?" (Matt. Ch.3). Being under the curse of disobedience, conveyed from Adam to the entire human race, he begged Baptism for himself. But the Lord reassured him, "Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness" (Luke Ch. 1). By righteousness, Saint John Chrysostom understands God's Commandments, as though Jesus had said, "It is fitting that I should fulfill the Commandment regarding Baptism since I have carried out all the others." It was God Who ordained the baptism of Jesus, as John makes clear: "He that sent me to baptize with water, the same spake unto me" (John Ch. 1). "The word of God came unto John" (Luke Ch. 3), it is written, and it was God Who sent John to baptize.
Jesus was baptized at thirty (30) because man at that age has been prey to all the passions, as John Chrysostom and Saint Theophylact teach. First comes childhood, a time of ignorance and foolishness; then youth, when carnal desires burn fiercely. Finally, at thirty (30), man is fully an adult (according to Saint John Chrysostom) and inclined to vainglory, anger, indignation, and every offense. Christ the Lord waited till He reached this age to be baptized, fulfilling the Law and sanctifying our nature at every stage of life; granting us victory over base inclinations and protecting us from mortal trespasses.
The Lord, "when He was baptized went up straightway out of the water" (Matthew Ch.3). It said that Saint John would immerse to the neck every person who came to be baptized, holding him thus until he had confessed all his transgressions. Only after this was the penitent released and allowed to leave the water. Christ, however, knew no sin, so Saint John did not detain Him in the river. This is why the Gospel says that Christ "went up straightway out of the water."
As the Lord emerged from the Jordan, the heavens opened above Him, Light more brilliant than lightning, flashed, and the Spirit of God descended in the form of a dove. Once, in the days of Noah, a dove heralded the recession of the waters; now the Spirit in the form of a dove announced the turning back of the flood of sin. The Holy Spirit is the Fount of purity, an abyss of love for mankind, the Teacher of meekness and Source of peace, Who maintains a distance from those who sully themselves with the filth of transgressions; therefore, He deigned to appear in the form of a dove, because this bird is clean, friendly to man, gentle, never becomes angry, and avoids everything foul.
At the descent of the Holy Spirit, a voice could be heard coming "from heaven" and "saying, This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." Unto Him be glory and dominion forever. Amen. (Source: The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints)
(To be continued)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things! -- Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George