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Always learning, have you not yet come to the knowledge? A tempter throughout life, a spy until old age, when will you become a Christian? when will we know you as our own? Last year you were awaiting the present time, now again you await the coming one. See to it that you are not found making promises for a longer life. You do not know what the coming day will bring; do not promise what is not yours. We call you to life, O man; why do you flee the call? To a participation in good things; why do you pass over the gift? The kingdom of heaven is opened; he who calls is true; the way is easy, there is no need of time, nor expense, nor trouble; why do you delay? why do you hold back? why do you fear the yoke, like some heifer unaccustomed to the yoke? It is good, it is light; it does not chafe the neck, but glorifies it. For the harness is not bound about the neck, it seeks one who pulls of his own free will. Do you see that Ephraim is accused as a gad-stung heifer, because he wanders about in disorder, dishonoring the yoke of the law? Submit your untamed neck; become a beast of burden for Christ, so that, freed from the harness, not even living freely in life, you may not be an easy prey to the beasts. Taste and see that the Lord is good. How can I report the sweetness of honey to those who do not know it? Taste and see. Perception is clearer than any 31.428 word for the experience.

The Jew does not postpone circumcision because of the threat, that "Every soul that is not circumcised on the eighth day shall be utterly destroyed from its people"; but you postpone the circumcision not made with hands, which is perfected in the putting off of the flesh in baptism, having heard the Lord himself: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." And there, there is pain and a wound; but here, dew of the soul, and healing for the heart's wound. Do you worship him who died for you? Therefore, accept to be buried with him through baptism. If you are not united with the likeness of his death, how will you become a partaker of the resurrection? That Israel was baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, handing over the types to you, and characterizing the truth to be shown at the end of time; but you flee from baptism, not prefigured in the sea, but perfected in truth; not in a cloud, but in the Spirit; not into Moses the fellow servant, but into Christ the maker. If Israel had not passed through the sea, it would not have been separated from Pharaoh; and you, if you do not pass through the water, will not be separated from the bitter tyranny of the devil. He would not have drunk from the spiritual rock, if he had not been typically baptized; nor will anyone give you the true drink, unless you are truly baptized. He ate the bread of angels after baptism; but how will you eat the living bread, if you do not first receive baptism? He entered into the land of promise through baptism; but how will you return to paradise, not being sealed with baptism? Or do you not know that a flaming sword is appointed to guard the way to the tree of life, fearsome and flaming to the unbelievers, but easily approached and shining with desire for those who have believed? And the Master made it turn; for when it sees a believer, it shows its back; but when it sees one of the unsealed, it meets him face to face. Elijah was not terrified when a chariot of fire and horses of fire came to him, but in his desire for the journey above he dared the fearful things, and with great joy he mounted the flaming vehicles, he who was still living in the flesh; but you, who are about to mount not fiery chariots, but to ascend to heaven through water and the Spirit, do you not run to the call?

Elijah showed the power of baptism at the altar of the whole burnt offerings, consuming the sacrifice not by fire, but by water. For in other circumstances the nature of fire fights with water; but since mystically 31.429 the water

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Πάντοτε μανθάνων, οὐδέπω ἦλθες πρὸς τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν; Πειραστὴς διὰ βίου, κατάσκοπος μέχρι γήρως, πότε γενήσῃ Χριστιανός; πότε γνωρίσομέν σε ὡς ἡμέτε ρον; Πέρυσι τὸν παρόντα καιρὸν ἐξεδέχου, νῦν πά λιν ἀναμένεις τὸν ἐπιόντα. Ὅρα μὴ εὑρεθῇς μακρο τέρας τῆς ζωῆς τὰς ὑποσχέσεις ποιούμενος. Οὐκ οἶδας τί τέξεται ἡ ἐπιοῦσα· μὴ ἐπαγγέλλου τὰ μὴ σά. Ἐπὶ ζωήν σε καλοῦμεν, ἄνθρωπε· τί ἀποφεύ γεις τὴν κλῆσιν; Ἐπ' ἀγαθῶν μετουσίαν· τί ὑπερ βαίνεις τὴν δωρεάν; Βασιλεία οὐρανῶν ἤνοικται· ὁ καλῶν ἀψευδής· ἡ ὁδὸς ῥᾳδία, οὐ χρόνου, οὐ δαπά νης, οὐ πραγματείας χρεία· τί μέλλεις; τί ἀναδύῃ; τί φοβῇ τὸν ζυγὸν, ὥσπερ δάμαλίς τις ἀπειρόζυγος; Χρηστός ἐστιν, ἐλαφρός ἐστιν· οὐ τρίβει τὸν αὐ χένα, ἀλλὰ δοξάζει. Οὐ γὰρ δεσμεῖται ἡ ζεύγλη περὶ τὸν τράχηλον, αὐτεξούσιον ἐπιζητεῖ τὸν ὑφέλκοντα. Ὁρᾷς, ὅτι κατηγορεῖται Ἐφραῒμ, ὡς παροι-στρῶσα δάμαλις, ὅτι ἄτακτα περιπλανᾶται τὸν τοῦ νόμου ζυγὸν ἀτιμάζων; Ὑπόθες σου τὸν ἀδάμαστον αὐχένα· γενοῦ ὑποζύγιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἵνα μὴ, ἀφει μένος τῆς ζεύγλης, μηδὲ ἐλευθεριάζων τῷ βίῳ, εὐεπι χείρητος ᾖς τοῖς θηρίοις. Γεύσασθε καὶ ἴδετε, ὅτι χρηστὸς ὁ Κύριος. Γλυκύτητα μέλιτος πῶς ἀναγγείλω τοῖς ἀγνο οῦσι; Γεύσασθε καὶ ἴδετε. Αἴσθησις λόγου παν 31.428 τὸς ἐναργεστέρα πρὸς πεῖραν.

Ὁ Ἰουδαῖος τὴν περιτομὴν οὐχ ὑπερτίθεται διὰ τὴν ἀπειλὴν, ὅτι Πᾶσα ψυχὴ, ἥτις οὐ περιτμηθήσεται τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ὀγδόῃ ἐξολοθρευθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτῆς· σὺ δὲ τὴν ἀχειροποίητον περιτομὴν ἀναβάλλῃ ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει τῆς σαρκὸς, ἐν τῷ βαπτίσματι τελειουμέ νην, αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἀκούσας· Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ δι' ὕδατος καὶ Πνεύμα τος, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Κἀκεῖ μὲν ὀδύνη καὶ ἕλκος· ἐνταῦθα δὲ δρόσος ψυ χῆς, καὶ ἕλκους καρδίας ἴαμα. Προσκυνεῖς τὸν ὑπὲρ σοῦ ἀποθανόντα; Οὐκοῦν κατάδεξαι αὐτῷ συνταφῆναι διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος. Ἐὰν μὴ σύμφυτος γένῃ τῷ ὁμοιώματι τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ, πῶς κοινωνὸς γενήσῃ τῆς ἀναστάσεως; Ὁ Ἰσραὴλ ἐκεῖνος εἰς τὸν Μωϋσῆν ἐβαπτίσθη ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, σοὶ τοὺς τύπους παραδιδοὺς, καὶ χαρακτηρίζων τὴν ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν καιρῶν δειχθησομένην ἀλήθειαν· σὺ δὲ περιφεύγεις τὸ βάπτισμα, οὐκ ἐν θαλάσσῃ τυπού μενον, ἀλλ' ἐν ἀληθείᾳ τελειούμενον· οὐκ ἐν νεφέλῃ, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι· οὐκ εἰς Μωϋσῆν τὸν ὁμόδουλον, ἀλλ' εἰς Χριστὸν τὸν ποιήσαντα. Ὁ Ἰσραὴλ εἰ μὴ παρῆλθε τὴν θάλασσαν, οὐκ ἂν ἐχωρίσθη τοῦ Φαραώ· καὶ σὺ, ἐὰν μὴ παρέλθῃς διὰ τοῦ ὕδατος, οὐ χωρι σθήσῃ τῆς πικρᾶς τυραννίδος τοῦ διαβόλου. Οὐκ ἂν ἔπιεν ἐκεῖνος ἐκ τῆς πνευματικῆς πέτρας, εἰ μὴ τυ πικῶς ἐβαπτίσθη· οὐδέ σοί τις δώσει τὴν ἀληθινὴν πόσιν, ἐὰν μὴ ἀληθινῶς βαπτισθῇς. Ἔφαγεν ἄρτον ἀγγέλων ἐκεῖνος μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα· σὺ δὲ πῶς βρώσῃ τὸν ζῶντα ἄρτον, ἂν μὴ πρότερον ὑποδέξῃ τὸ βάπτισμα; Εἰσῆλθεν ἐκεῖνος εἰς τὴν γῆν τῆς ἐπαγ γελίας διὰ τὸ βάπτισμα· σὺ δὲ πῶς ἐπανέλθῃς εἰς τὸν παράδεισον, μὴ σφραγισθεὶς τῷ βαπτίσματι; Ἢ οὐκ οἶδας, ὅτι φλογίνη ῥομφαία τέτακται φυλάσσειν τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ ξύλου ζωῆς, τοῖς μὲν ἀπίστοις φοβερὰ καὶ φλογίζουσα, τοῖς δὲ πεπιστευκόσιν εὐπρόσιτος καὶ ἵμερον ἐπιλάμπουσα; Καὶ στρέφεσθαι αὐτὴν ἐποίησεν ὁ ∆εσπότης· ὅταν μὲν γὰρ ἴδῃ πιστὸν, τὰ νῶτα δίδωσιν· ὅταν δέ τινα τῶν ἀσφραγίστων, κατὰ στόμα προσαπαντᾷ. Ἠλίας ἅρμα πυρὸς καὶ ἵππους πυρίνους πρὸς αὐ τὸν ἐλθόντας οὐ κατεπλάγη, ἀλλ' ἐπιθυμίᾳ τῆς ἄνω πορείας τῶν φοβερῶν κατετόλμησε, καὶ μετὰ περιχαρείας ἐπέβη τῶν φλογίνων ὀχημάτων, ὁ ἐν σαρκὶ ζῶν ἔτι· σὺ δὲ, οὐ πυρίνων ἁρμάτων ἐπι βήσεσθαι μέλλων, ἀλλὰ δι' ὕδατος καὶ Πνεύματος ἀνα βαίνειν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, οὐκ ἐπιτρέχεις τῇ κλήσει;

Ἔδειξεν Ἠλίας τοῦ βαπτίσματος τὴν ἰσχὺν ἐπὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ τῶν ὁλοκαυτωμάτων, οὐ διὰ πυρὸς, ἀλλὰ δι' ὕδατος τὴν θυσίαν ὁλοκαυτώσας. Ἄλλως μὲν οὖν ἡ τοῦ πυρὸς φύσις τῷ ὕδατι μάχεται· ἐπειδὴ δὲ μυ 31.429 στικῶς τὸ ὕδωρ