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In sanctam theophaniam seu baptismum Christi

ON THE HOLY THEOPHANY.

50.805 The spring of evangelical teachings has its streams open, and if anyone thirsty drinks from that spring, he is made alive; he is made alive according to the spirit and the law of the commandments, receiving a joy greater than wine. For the sweetness of the spiritual oracles is insatiable; for it does not delight the belly, but the heart, and leads the thoughts of the pious to the love of God. For you have just heard in the Gospel John the Baptist crying out to the multitude of the Jews who had gathered from all places and were being baptized: ‘I baptize you with water for repentance; but he who is coming after me is mightier than I.’ ‘He who is coming after me’; after me, because of the birth of his generation. ‘But he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.’

And what sandals was the Lord wearing that he should say, ‘I am not worthy to carry his sandals’? Here by ‘sandals’ he means the mysteries of the economy; for the incarnation of the Lord is called sandals. And the Lord is a witness to this, crying out through the prophet: ‘Upon Idumea I will stretch out my sandal.’ For this reason also the incarnation of the Lord was heard of as a footstool, as having appeared on earth and reached the end of the earth. This too the prophet, making the manifestation clear from both sides, cried out: ‘Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool.’ ‘I baptize you with water for repentance; but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.’ ‘His winnowing fork is in his hand; and he will gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ When John proclaimed these things, and trumpeted the mightier Lord, those baptized by him opposed John, saying: ‘Do you have one mightier than you, O prophet? Why do you slander yourself? You are the son of the great Zechariah, you are both longed for by men and feared by beasts.’ ‘Do you have one mightier than you? Why do you speak idly? There is no one mightier than you.’ ‘You were born according to a promise, you were announced by Gabriel, you were made manifest in the sanctuary, you loosed the tongue of your father which had been bound by Gabriel, you are called John, which is interpreted grace of God.’

‘Why then do you slander yourself? You do not have one mightier than you.’ But John, as a servant testifying on behalf of the Master, not deigning to usurp divine dignity, cried out in reply to the opposing crowds, saying: ‘You say what you do not know; I testify to what I know.’ ‘One mightier than I is coming.’ ‘I am for his sake, he is not for mine;’ ‘I am from a barren woman, he is from a virgin;’ ‘I am a soldier, he is a king;’ ‘I am a forerunner, he is heavenly;’ ‘I have borrowed the Spirit, he gives life to all men;’ ‘I am a preacher of repentance, he is a giver of adoption;’ ‘I baptize you with water, pre-cleansing you like vessels defiled by sins, he will pour in the myrrh of grace;’ ‘He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire, not a burning fire, but a sanctifying one.’ ‘I move a tongue of admonition, he 50.806 bearing the winnowing fork of judgment, will both bring the righteous like fine wheat into the granary of the heavens, and will deliver the sinners who have not repented like chaff to the unquenchable fire.’ ‘But he who is coming after me is mightier than I.’ ‘Wait for him, from him receive the perfect baptism;’ ‘I am a lamp in part,’

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In sanctam theophaniam seu baptismum Christi

ΕΙΣ ΤΑ ΑΓΙΑ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΙΑ.

50.805 Ἡ πηγὴ τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν διδαγμάτων ἀνεῳγμέ νους ἔχει τοὺς ῥύακας, καὶ

εἴ τις διψῶν πίνει ἐξ ἐκεί νης τῆς πηγῆς, καὶ ζωοποιεῖται· ζωοποιεῖται δὲ κατὰ πνεῦμα καὶ τὸν νόμον τῶν ἐντολῶν, εὐφροσύνην ὑπὲρ οἶνον δεχόμενος. Ἀκόρεστος γὰρ ἡ γλυκύτης τῶν πνευματικῶν λογίων· οὐ γὰρ εὐφραίνει κοιλίαν, ἀλλὰ καρδίαν, καὶ λογισμοὺς εὐσεβῶν εἰς φιλοθεΐαν ἄγει. Ἤκουες γὰρ ἀρτίως ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Βαπτιστοῦ Ἰωάννου βοῶντος πρὸς τὸ συνελθὸν πανταχόθεν καὶ βαπτιζόμενον τὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων πλῆθος· Ἐγὼ μὲν βαπτίζω ὑμᾶς ἐν ὕδατι εἰς μετάνοιαν· ὁ δὲ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος ἰσχυρότερός μου ἐστίν. Ὁ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος· ὀπίσω, διὰ τὸν τόκον τῆς γεννήσεως. Ὁ δὲ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος ἰσχυρότερός μου ἐστὶν, οὗ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς τὰ ὑποδήματα βαστά σαι.

Καὶ ποῖα ὑποδήματα βαστακτέα ὑπεφέρετο ὁ Κύριος, ὅτι ἔλεγεν, Οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς τὰ ὑποδήματα βαστάσαι; Ἐνταῦθα ὑποδήματα, τὰ τῆς οἰκονομίας μυστήρια λέγει· ὑποδήματα γὰρ ἡ ἐνανθρώπησις τοῦ Κυρίου προσαγορεύεται. Καὶ τούτου μάρτυς ὁ Κύριος διὰ τοῦ προφήτου κράζων· Ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰδουμαίαν ἐκτενῶ τὸ ὑπόδημά μου. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὑποπόδιον ἤκουσεν ἡ τοῦ Κυρίου ἐνανθρώπησις, ὡς ἐπὶ γῆς ὀφθεῖ σα, καὶ τὸ τέρμα τῆς γῆς καταλαβοῦσα. Ὅπερ καὶ ὁ προφήτης ἐκ τῶν ἑκατέρων τὴν ἐμφάνειαν ποιούμε νος ἐκέκραγεν· Ὑψοῦτε Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν, καὶ προσκυνεῖτε τῷ ὑποποδίῳ τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ. Ἐγὼ μὲν βαπτίζω ὑμᾶς ἐν ὕδατι εἰς μετάνοιαν· ὁ δὲ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος ἰσχυρότερός μου ἐστὶν, οὗ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς τὰ ὑποδήματα βαστάσαι· αὐτὸς ὑμᾶς βαπτίσει ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί. Οὗ τὸ πτύον ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ· καὶ τὸν μὲν σῖτον συνάξει εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην αὐτοῦ, τὸ δὲ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ. Ταῦτα τοῦ Ἰωάννου παρεγγυῶντος, καὶ τὸν ἰσχυρότερον Κύριον σαλπίζοντος, οἱ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ βαπτιζόμενοι ἀντέβαινον τῷ Ἰωάννῃ, λέγοντες· Ἔχεις ἰσχυρότερόν σού τινα, ὦ προφῆτα; τί σεαυτὸν συκοφαντεῖς; σὺ τοῦ μεγάλου Ζαχαρίου υἱὸς, σὺ καὶ ἀν θρώποις ποθητὸς, καὶ θηρίοις φοβερός. Ἔχεις ἰσχυρό τερόν σού τινα; τί ἀδολεσχεῖς; Οὐκ ἔστι σοῦ ἰσχυ ρότερος. Σὺ καὶ κατ' ἐπαγγελίαν ἐτέχθης, σὺ ὑπὸ Γαβριὴλ ἐμηνύθης, σὺ ἐν τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ ἐφανερώ θης, σὺ τὴν γλῶτταν τοῦ γεννήσαντός σε δεθεῖσαν ὑπὸ τοῦ Γαβριὴλ διέλυσας, σὺ Ἰωάννης κέκλησαι, ὃ χάρις Θεοῦ ἑρμηνεύεται.

Τί τοίνυν συκοφαντεῖς ἑαυτόν; Οὐκ ἔχεις τὸν ἰσχυρότερόν σου. Ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης, ὡς δοῦλος ὑπὲρ τοῦ ∆εσπότου μαρτυρῶν, θεϊκὴν ἀξίαν σφετερίσασθαι μὴ καταδεξάμενος, ἀντεβόα τοῖς ἀντιβαίνουσιν ὄχλοις λέγων· Ὑμεῖς, ὃ οὐκ οἴδατε, λέ γετε· ἐγὼ, ὃ οἶδα, μαρτυρῶ. Ἰσχυρότερός μου ἔρχεται. Ἐγὼ δι' ἐκεῖνον, ἐκεῖνος οὐ δι' ἐμέ· ἐγὼ ἐκ στείρας, ἐκεῖνος ἐκ παρθένου· ἐγὼ στρατιώτης, ἐκεῖνος βασιλεύς· ἐγὼ πρόδρομος, ἐκεῖνος οὐράνιος· ἐγὼ τὸ Πνεῦμα δεδανεισμένος, ἐκεῖνος ζωὴν παρέχει πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις· ἐγὼ μετανοίας κήρυξ, ἐκεῖνος υἱοθεσίας δοτήρ· ἐγὼ βαπτίζω ὑμᾶς ἐν ὕδατι, προκαθαίρων ὑμᾶς ὡς σκεύη ῥερυπωμένα ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις, ἐκεῖνος ἐμβαλεῖ τὸ μύρον τῆς χάριτος· Αὐτὸς βαπτίσει ὑμᾶς ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρὶ, οὐ καυστικῷ, ἀλλὰ ἁγια στικῷ. Ἐγὼ νουθεσίας γλῶτταν κινῶ, ἐκεῖνος δικαιο 50.806 κρισίας πτύον βαστάζων, καὶ τοὺς μὲν δικαίους ὥσπερ σῖτον ὡραῖον ἐν τῇ ἀποθήκῃ τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνενέγκει, τοὺς δὲ ἁμαρτωλοὺς καὶ μὴ μετανοήσαν τας ὡς ἄχυρα τῷ ἀσβέστῳ πυρὶ παραδώσει. Ὁ δὲ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος ἰσχυρότερός μου ἐστίν. Ἐκεῖ νον προσμείνατε, παρ' ἐκείνου τὸ τέλειον δέξασθε βά πτισμα· ἐγὼ λύχνος ἐν μέρει,