Glaciers of Pakistan
1. Good, yea, very good, are all the works of our God and
Saviour— all of them that eye sees and mind
perceives, all that reason interprets and hand handles,
all that intellect comprehends and human nature
understands. For what richer beauty can there be than that
of the circle of heaven? And what form of more blooming
fairness than that of earth's surface? And what is
there swifter in the course than the chariot of the sun?
And what more graceful car than the lunar orb? And what
work more wonderful than the compact mosaic of the stars?
And what more productive of supplies than the seasonable
winds? And what more spotless mirror than the light of
day? And what creature more excellent than man? Very good,
then, are all the works of our God and Saviour. And what
more requisite gift, again, is there than the element of
water? For with water all things are washed and nourished,
and cleansed and bedewed. Water bears the earth, water
produces the dew, water exhilarates the vine; water
matures the grain in the ear, water ripens the grape
cluster, water softens the olive, water sweetens the
palm-date, water reddens the rose and decks the violet,
water makes the lily bloom with its brilliant cups. And
why should I speak at length? Without the element of
water, none of the present order of things can subsist. So
necessary is the element of water; for the other elements
took their places beneath the highest vault of the
heavens, but the nature of water obtained a seat also
above the heavens. And to this the prophet himself is a
witness, when he exclaims, Praise the Lord, you heavens
of heavens, and the water that is above the heavens.
2. Nor is this the only thing that proves the
dignity of the water. But there is also that which is more
honourable than all— the fact that Christ, the Maker
of all, came down as the rain, and was known as a spring,
and diffused Himself as a river, and was baptized in the
Jordan. For you have just heard how Jesus came to John,
and was baptized by him in the Jordan. Oh things strange
beyond compare! How should the boundless River that makes
glad the city of God have been dipped in a little water!
The illimitable Spring that bears life to all men, and has
no end, was covered by poor and temporary waters! He who
is present everywhere, and absent nowhere— who is
incomprehensible to angels and invisible to men—
comes to the baptism according to His own good pleasure.
When you hear these things, beloved, take them not as if
spoken literally, but accept them as presented in a
figure. Whence also the Lord was not unnoticed by the
watery element in what He did in secret, in the kindness
of His condescension to man. For the waters saw
Him, and were afraid.
They well nigh broke from
their place, and burst away from their boundary. Hence the
prophet, having this in his view many generations ago,
puts the question, What ails you, O sea, that
you reddest; and you, Jordan, that you were driven
back?
And they in reply said, We have seen the
Creator of all things in the form of a
servant,
and being ignorant of the mystery of
the economy, we were lashed with fear.
3. But we, who know the economy, adore His mercy, because
He has come to save and not to judge the world. Wherefore
John, the forerunner of the Lord, who before knew not this
mystery, on learning that He is Lord in truth, cried out,
and spoke to those who came to be baptized of him, O
generation of vipers,
why do you look so earnestly at
me? I am not the Christ;
I am the servant, and not
the lord; I am the subject, and not the king; I am the
sheep, and not the shepherd; I am a man, and not God. By
my birth I loosed the barrenness of my mother; I did not
make virginity barren. I was brought up from beneath; I
did not come down from above. I bound the tongue of my
father; I did not unfold divine grace. I was known by my
mother, and I was not announced by a star. I am worthless,
and the least; but after me there comes One who is
before me
— after me, indeed, in time, but
before me by reason of the inaccessible and unutterable
light of divinity. There comes One mightier than I,
whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you
with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.
I am subject to
authority, but He has authority in Himself. I am bound by
sins, but He is the Remover of sins. I apply the law, but
He brings grace to light. I teach as a slave, but He
judges as the Master. I have the earth as my couch, but He
possesses heaven. I baptize with the baptism of
repentance, but He confers the gift of adoption: He
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.
Why do you give attention to me? I am not the Christ.
4. As John says these things to the multitude, and as the
people watch in eager expectation of seeing some strange
spectacle with their bodily eyes, and the devil is struck
with amazement at such a testimony from John, lo, the Lord
appears, plain, solitary, uncovered, without escort,
having on Him the body of man like a garment, and hiding
the dignity of the Divinity, that He may elude the snares
of the dragon. And not only did He approach John as Lord
without royal retinue; but even like a mere man, and one
involved in sin, He bent His head to be baptized by John.
Wherefore John, on seeing so great a humbling of Himself,
was struck with astonishment at the affair, and began to
prevent Him, saying, as you have just heard, I have
need to be baptized by You, and You come to me?
What
are you doing, O Lord? You teach things not according to
rule. I have preached one thing (regarding You), and You
perform another; the devil has heard one thing, and
perceives another. Baptize me with the fire of Divinity;
why do you wait for water? Enlighten me with the Spirit;
why do You attend upon a creature? Baptize me, the
Baptist, that Your pre-eminence may be known. I, O Lord,
baptize with the baptism of repentance, and I cannot
baptize those who come to me unless they first confess
fully their sins. Be it so then that I baptize You, what
have You to confess? You are the Remover of sins, and will
You be baptized with the baptism of repentance? Though I
should venture to baptize You, the Jordan dares not to
come near You. I have need to be baptized by You, and
You come to me?
Visoki Decani Monastery, Serbia and Metohija, XIV century
5. And what says the Lord to him? Suffer it to be so
now, for thus it becomes us to fulfil all
righteousness.
Suffer it to be so now,
John;
you are not wiser than I. You see as man; I foreknow as
God. It becomes me to do this first, and thus to teach. I
engage in nothing unbecoming, for I am invested with
honour. Do you marvel, O John, that I am not come in my
dignity? The purple robe of kings suits not one in private
station, but military splendour suits a king: am I come to
a prince, and not to a friend? Suffer it to be so now
for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness:
I
am the Fulfiller of the law; I seek to leave nothing
wanting to its whole fulfilment, that so after me Paul may
exclaim, Christ is the fulfilling of the law for
righteousness to every one that believes.
Suffer it
to be so now, for thus it becomes us to fulfil all
righteousness.
Baptize me, John, in order that no one
may despise baptism. I am baptized by you, the servant,
that no one among kings or dignitaries may scorn to be
baptized by the hand of a poor priest. Allow me to go down
into the Jordan, in order that they may hear my
Father's testimony, and recognise the power of the
Son. Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becomes us to
fulfil all righteousness.
Then at lengthJohn suffers
Him. And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up
straightway out of the water: and the heavens were opened
unto Him; and, lo, the Spirit of God descended like a
dove, and rested upon Him. And a voice (came) from heaven,
saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.
6. Do you see, beloved, how many and how great blessings
we would have lost, if the Lord had yielded to the
exhortation of John, and declined baptism? For the heavens
were shut before this; the region above was inaccessible.
We would in that case descend to the lower parts, but we
would not ascend to the upper. But was it only that the
Lord was baptized? He also renewed the old man, and
committed to him again the sceptre of adoption. For
straightway the heavens were opened to Him.
A
reconciliation took place of the visible with the
invisible; the celestial orders were filled with joy; the
diseases of earth were healed; secret things were made
known; those at enmity were restored to amity. For you
have heard the word of the evangelist, saying, The
heavens were opened to Him,
on account of three
wonders. For when Christ the Bridegroom was baptized, it
was meet that the bridal-chamber of heaven should open its
brilliant gates. And in like manner also, when the Holy
Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the
Father's voice spread everywhere, it was meet that
the gates of heaven should be lifted up.
And,
lo, the heavens were opened to Him; and a voice was heard,
saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.
7. The beloved generates love, and the light immaterial
the light inaccessible. This is my beloved Son,
He
who, being manifested on earth and yet unseparated from
the Father's bosom, was manifested, and yet did not
appear. For the appearing is a different thing, since in
appearance the baptizer here is superior to the baptized.
For this reason did the Father send down the Holy Spirit
from heaven upon Him who was baptized. For as in the ark
of Noah the love of God toward man is signified by the
dove, so also now the Spirit, descending in the form of a
dove, bearing as it were the fruit of the olive, rested on
Him to whom the witness was borne. For what reason? That
the faithfulness of the Father's voice might be made
known, and that the prophetic utterance of a long time
past might be ratified. And what utterance is this? The
voice of the Lord (is) on the waters, the God of glory
thundered; the Lord (is) upon many waters.
And what
voice? This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.
This is He who is named the son of Joseph,
and (who is) according to the divine essence my
Only-begotten. This is my beloved Son
— He who
is hungry, and yet maintains myriads; who is weary, and
yet gives rest to the weary; who has not where to lay His
head, and yet bears up all things in His hand; who
suffers, and yet heals sufferings; who is smitten, and yet
confers liberty on the world; who is pierced in the side,
and yet repairs the side of Adam.
8. But give me now your best attention, I pray you, for I wish to go back to the fountain of life, and to view the fountain that gushes with healing. The Father of immortality sent the immortal Son and Word into the world, who came to man in order to wash him with water and the Spirit; and He, begetting us again to incorruption of soul and body, breathed into us the breath (spirit) of life, and endued us with an incorruptible panoply. If, therefore, man has become immortal, he will also be God. And if he is made God by water and the Holy Spirit after the regeneration of the layer he is found to be also joint-heir with Christ after the resurrection from the dead. Wherefore I preach to this effect: Come, all you kindreds of the nations, to the immortality of the baptism. I bring good tidings of life to you who tarry in the darkness of ignorance. Come into liberty from slavery, into a kingdom from tyranny, into incorruption from corruption. And how, says one, shall we come? How? By water and the Holy Ghost. This is the water in conjunction with the Spirit, by which paradise is watered, by which the earth is enriched, by which plants grow, by which animals multiply, and (to sum up the whole in a single word) by which man is begotten again and endued with life, in which also Christ was baptized, and in which the Spirit descended in the form of a dove.
9. This is the Spirit that at the beginning moved upon
the waters;
by whom the world moves; by whom creation
consists, and all things have life; who also wrought
mightily in the prophets, and descended in flight upon
Christ. This is the Spirit that was given to the apostles
in the form of fiery tongues. This is the Spirit that
David sought when he said, Create in me a clean heart,
O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Of this
Spirit Gabriel also spoke to the Virgin, The Holy Ghost
shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow you.
By this Spirit Peter spoke that
blessed word, You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God.
By this Spirit the rock of the Church was
established. This is the Spirit, the Comforter, that is
sent because of you, that He may show you to be the Son of
God.
10. Come then, be begotten again, O man, into the adoption
of God. And how? Says one. If you practise adultery no
more, and commit not murder, and serve not idols; if you
are not overmastered by pleasure; if you do not suffer the
feeling of pride to rule you; if you clean off the
filthiness of impurity, and put off the burden of sin; if
you cast off the armour of the devil, and put on the
breastplate of faith, even as Isaiah says, Wash, and
seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the
fatherless, and plead for the widow. And come and let us
reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be as
scarlet, I shall make them white as snow; and though they
be like crimson, I shall make them white as wool. And if
you be willing, and hear my voice, you shall eat the good
of the land.
Do you see, beloved, how the prophet
spoke beforetime of the purifying power of baptism? For he
who comes down in faith to the layer of regeneration, and
renounces the devil, and joins himself to Christ; who
denies the enemy, and makes the confession that Christ is
God; who puts off the bondage, and puts on the
adoption,— he comes up from the baptism brilliant as
the sun, flashing forth the beams of righteousness, and,
which is indeed the chief thing, he returns a son of God
and joint-heir with Christ. To Him be the glory and the
power, together with His most holy, and good, and
quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all the ages of
the ages. Amen.
