HOMILY XI. ON THE FEAST DAY OF THEOPHANY.
MATT. III, MARK. Io, LUKE III, JOHN I. At that time, Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him, etc.
The reading of the Holy Gospel, which we have just now heard, brothers, gives us a great example of perfect humility both in the Lord and in the servant. In the Lord indeed, because, although he is the Lord, he deigned not only to be baptized by a human servant but also himself to come to this one to be baptized. In the servant, however, because although he knew that he was designated to be the forerunner and baptizer of his Savior, mindful nevertheless of his own frailty, he humbly excused the office enjoined upon him, saying: I ought to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted, and the Lord, who in the form of a man appeared humble for the instruction of mankind, was soon exalted by God the Father above men, nay even above angels, and above all that is created, as it was made manifest by the voice descending upon him from magnificent glory: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And that most faithful and humble servant John, who preferred to be baptized by the Lord rather than to baptize the Lord, and who was deemed worthy to see the Spirit descending upon him with the eyes of his mind opened above other mortals. But since we have briefly touched upon these matters, let us now consider at greater length the very beginning of the sacred reading.
Then Jesus came, he said, from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. The Son of God came to be baptized by a man, not out of an anxious necessity of washing away any of his own sin—He who did no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth—but out of a pious dispensation to wash away the contagion of all our sin, we who all offend in many ways, and if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. He came to be baptized in the waters, the creator of the waters themselves, so that to us who are conceived in iniquities and born in sins, He might insinuate the mystery of the second birth, which is celebrated through water and spirit. He deigned to be washed in the waters of the Jordan, He who was clean from all stains, so that He might sanctify the streams of the waters for washing away all the stains of our sins. But since we have recognized the most humble dispensation of the Lord from the gospel reading, let us also intently observe the most humble obedience of the servant.
But John forbade Him, saying: I need to be baptized by You, and You come to me? He was terrified that He, who had no fault to be washed away by baptism, would come to him to be baptized with water, indeed He who by the grace of His Spirit would take away the entire fault of the world for believers. Hence it is rightly understood that what John says here, I need to be baptized by You, is that which is narrated in the Evangelist John when he says: Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world (John 1). For we all ought to be baptized by Him who came into the world for this purpose, to take away the sins of the world. Even John himself needed to be baptized by Him, that is, to be cleansed from the contamination of original sin, who, although no one born of women was greater [or, none were greater], nevertheless, as born of a woman, did not lack the stain of sin. Therefore, with other children of women, he needed to be washed by Him who was born of a Virgin, who appeared as God in the flesh. For it is written: What is man that he should be clean, and he who is born of a woman that he should appear pure (Job 15)? Justly, therefore, the man, although holy but born of a woman and not immune from the stain of guilt, feared to baptize the Lord, whom he knew to be born of a virgin and to have no stain of guilt whatsoever. But because true humility is itself that which obedience does not desert, what he first feared to do, he humbly fulfilled.
But Jesus answering said to him: Allow it now, for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness: then he allowed him. That is, then he finally allowed, then he agreed, then he permitted him to be baptized by him, when he understood that all righteousness ought to be fulfilled in such an order. Allow it now, he said, allow me now, as commanded, to be baptized by you in water, and afterward you will be baptized by me in the spirit for what you seek. For thus it becomes us to set an example of fulfilling all righteousness, so that the faithful may learn that no human can exist perfectly just without the wave of Baptism, and that the duty of life-giving regeneration is necessary for all living innocently and justly, knowing that I, who was conceived and born by the work of the Holy Spirit, underwent the second birth, or rather that I consecrated the washing to myself. Let no greater person disdains to be baptized by my humble self in remission of sins, when he remembers that the Lord, who usually forgives sins by baptizing in the Holy Spirit, submitted his head to the hands of the servant to be baptized in water.
But Jesus, having been baptized, immediately 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 upon Him. And this pertains to the fulfillment of all righteousness, as the heavens were opened to the baptized Lord, and the Spirit descended upon Him, so that our faith may surely be confirmed through the mystery of sacred Baptism, opening to us the entrance of the heavenly fatherland, and the grace of the Holy Spirit being granted. For is it to be believed that the secrets of heaven were first revealed to the Lord, when true faith holds that He had remained in the bosom of the Father, and held the heavenly throne, not less in the time when He conversed with men, than before and after that? Or, did He receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit from the thirtieth year of His age, when He was baptized, who from His conception was always full of the Holy Spirit? Therefore, beloved brothers, these mysteries were celebrated for us. Because the Lord dedicated the washing of Baptism to us by the sacred immersion of His body, He also showed to us that, after receiving Baptism, the entrance to the heavens is open, and the Holy Spirit is given. And fittingly so, because the first Adam, deceived by an unclean spirit through the serpent, lost the joys of the heavenly kingdom; the second Adam, glorified by the Holy Spirit through the dove, unlocked the gates of that same kingdom, and extinguished the flaming sword, by which the Cherubim, the guardians, had shut off the entrance to paradise after the first Adam was expelled. The second Adam on this day showed that through the water of the regenerating washing it should be extinguished, so that where he (the first Adam) was defeated by the enemy along with his spouse, the second Adam would return victorious over the enemy with His holy Church, namely His bride, and even bestow more significant gifts of immortal life redeemed from sin, as the father of the future world, the prince of peace, gave gifts that the father of our present world, the prince of discord, having been sold under sin, lost for himself and his offspring. For that most blessed life that Adam abandoned, though glorified in incomparable light and peace and frequent vision and conversation of God and the angels, was nevertheless established in earthly places of this earth, though nourished by fruits procured without labor: but this life which Christ grants is in the fortress of the heavens, eternal life, not in frequent but in continuous light of divine contemplation. The first blessed life of man was thus immortal, so that man could not die in it, if he cautiously kept himself from the seduction of sin; but the second life will be thus immortal, so that man cannot die in it, nor be tempted by any seduction of attacking sin. But rightly, the reconciling Spirit appeared in the dove, which is a very simple bird, to show through the nature of this animal the simplicity of His own nature. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee deceit, so that He teaches the one upon whom He descends to be mild, gentle, and a minister proclaiming heavenly mercy to the world; and simultaneously, He admonishes all who are to be renewed by His grace to be simple and pure in heart, according to what is written: Think of the Lord with goodness, and seek Him in the simplicity of heart. For into a malicious soul wisdom will not enter, nor dwell in a body subject to sins (Wisdom 1). Hence Simon, who chose to remain in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity, could not have a part and lot in this Spirit. Indeed, he was full of that spirit who appeared to men in the serpent, infecting hearts with the pestilence of malice and deceit. But as the Spirit descended upon the Lord, let us see what follows:
And behold, a voice from the heavens said: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. The Son of God is baptized in human form, the Spirit of God descends as a dove, God the Father is declared in the voice of the holy and undivided Trinity in the mystery of the Baptism. Indeed, it is fitting that He who would command His ministers to teach all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, should first personally reveal the entire Trinity at His own baptism. When the paternal voice says, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," it speaks in contrast to the earthly man, suggesting that God the Creator was, in some way, displeased with man when he sinned, as it is said: "It repents Me that I have made man on the earth" (Gen. VI). Repentance does not indeed befall God, but He speaks in our way, we who are accustomed to remorse when we see our works turn against our wish. He said it repented Him to have made man on earth, seeing him deviating from the rectitude of His creation by sinning. But in His only begotten Son, He was singularly well pleased, for He knew that this man whom He had assumed would be kept free from sin. And in this voice of the Father, as in the other mysteries of our Lord's baptism, the completion of all righteousness is declared. The co-eternal and consubstantial Son to the Father, with the Spirit descending upon Him, is revealed to men, so that by this they may learn that through the grace of baptism, having received the Holy Spirit, they can move from being children of the devil to being children of God, as the Apostle teaches, speaking thus to the faithful: "You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, whereby we cry, Abba, Father" (Romans VIII). And the evangelist John says: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name" (John I). Therefore, beloved brothers, recalling as He Himself granted, the baptism of our Savior, let us return to ourselves, and since we have heard the humility and obedience of both the baptizer and the baptized, let us strive to preserve the baptism we received through humble obedience, cleansing ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Thus, humbly urging those who have not yet been initiated into these mysteries to undergo and keep them, and all of us who have been promoted by priestly rank to dispense these sacraments, let us humbly fulfill the office enjoined upon us. Let us all diligently strive so that we do not close against ourselves the gate of the heavenly homeland, which has been opened to us by divine mysteries, through human enticements.
For the Lord is not recounted by the evangelist Luke as having prayed after being baptized by John, and thus with the heavens opened, the Spirit and the voice of the Father could be heard, who also, after being baptized by three concurring evangelists, immediately undertook a solitary fast of forty days; but he surely taught and informed us by his example that after receiving remission of sins in baptism, we should devote ourselves to vigils, fasts, prayers, and the other fruits of the Spirit, lest the unclean spirit, which was expelled from our hearts at baptism, should find us sluggish and less vigilant, return, and finding us empty of spiritual wealth, suppress us with a sevenfold plague, and our last state becomes worse than the first. Let us be extremely careful not to kindle a fire for ourselves, which may obstruct our path of life, frequently igniting kindling of our vices. For the flaming sword, whatever it may be, which guards the gates of paradise, is extinguished for every faithful person at the font of baptism, so they might return. However, it remains ever immovable for the unfaithful. Even for the falsely called faithful, who are not elected, as they do not fear to entangle themselves in crimes after baptism, it is as if the same fire is rekindled after extinction; so they do not deserve to enter the kingdom sought with a deceitful and double heart, more fraudulent with a serpent’s tooth than with the simplicity of the dove's eye, which the Lord has shown he greatly loves in his church, who in the Song of Love says: "Behold, you are beautiful, my friend, behold you are beautiful: your eyes are doves" (Songs 1). Hence, because the form of the dove is proposed to us to learn the simplicity pleasing to God, let us more diligently observe its nature, so that by the examples of its innocence, we may adopt principles for a more correct life. This bird is entirely free from the malice of gall. Likewise, let us be alienated from the gall of malice, and let all bitterness, wrath, and indignation be taken away from us, along with all malice. Thus, it harms none with either beak or claws, nor does it seek even the smallest fish or worms, on which almost all other birds feed themselves and their chicks. Let us observe whether our teeth are weapons and arrows, lest by biting and devouring one another, we be consumed by each other. Let us restrain our hands from plunder; let him who stole, no longer steal. But rather, let him labor, working with his hands what is good, so that he may have something to give to those in need. For the dove is often found to feed the young of others as if they were its own. It feeds on the fruits and seed of the earth. Let us hear the apostle: “It is good not to eat meat, and not to drink wine” (Romans 14). And the apostle Peter says: "supply virtue in your faith; and in virtue, knowledge; and in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control, perseverance; and in perseverance, piety; and in piety, brotherly love" (2 Peter 1). It substitutes a coo for a song. Let us be miserable, and mourn, and weep before the Lord who made us. Let our laughter be turned to mourning, and our joy to gloom. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. It is accustomed to sit upon the waters, so that, foreseeing the shadow of an approaching hawk reflected in the waters, it avoids it. And let us be clean and purified, diligently attending to the streams of the Scriptures, by the mirrors of which we can learn to discern and guard against the traps of the ancient enemy. The Church indeed, which is the bride of Christ, loves the Scriptures, singing in the praises of her beloved: "His eyes are like doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set" (Song of Solomon 5:12). The dove is accustomed to nesting in the hollows of the rock, in the crevice of the wall. The rock is Christ, whose hands were pierced with nails, and his side with a spear while on the cross, from which immediately flowed blood and water—the mystery of our sanctification and cleansing. The wall is his strength collected from the saints, the crevice in it is the bosom of paternal affection, where, fostering the tender souls of the faithful for the perfection of faith, hope, and love, they open up a place for nesting doves as it were. Hence, let us, who are still small in faith, humbly come under the protection of these stronger aids, always striving to be sanctified by the sacraments of the Lord’s Passion. The Lord seeks such a manner of living for all of us, wishing to see the life of each of us devoted to such pursuits, rejoicing to have his praises proclaimed and sung by such voices. “Arise,” he says, “my friend, my beautiful one, and come, my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the hollow places of the wall. Show me your face, let your voice sound in my ears” (Song of Solomon 2). Let it suffice to have recounted these seven virtues of the dove. And it is rightly so, perhaps, because the grace of the Holy Spirit, who descended in the form of a dove, is sevenfold. However, from all that human ingenuity can morally interpret from its nature, one remains that sacred history narrates of its mystical act.
For when the Lord, by means of the waters of the flood, washed away the crimes of the original world in the figure of future baptism, after the purification had been accomplished and desiring Noah to know how the face of the earth was, He sent out a raven, which scorned to return to the ark, signifying those who, although washed by the water of baptism, yet negligently persist in the blackest habit of the old man by not serving better, and not deserving to be renewed by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, they immediately depart from the inner unity of catholic peace and quiet, following outward things, that is, the desires of the world. He sent out after it a dove; she came to him in the evening, carrying a branch of olive with green leaves in her beak. I believe you notice, brothers, and anticipate my speech with your understanding, that the branch of olive with green leaves is the grace of the Holy Spirit abounding with the words of life: of whose fullness resting upon Christ, the Psalm says: "God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions" (Psalm 45). Of whose gift given to the companions of Christ John speaks: "You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things" (1 John 2). And with a very beautiful comparison, the shadow of truth harmonizes. The dove of flesh carried the olive branch washed by the waters of the flood into the ark; the Holy Spirit in the form of a bodily dove descended on the Lord baptized by the water of the Jordan. We also, members of Christ and the Church, whom not only the men who were in the ark with Noah but also the animals which the ark contained, and even the woods from which the ark itself was made, represent, after having received the washing of the water of regeneration: by the anointing of the sacred chrism we are sealed with the grace of the Holy Spirit, which may He who gave it, Jesus Christ our Lord, deem worthy to keep inviolate in us, who lives and reigns eternally. Amen.