Homily given on January 5, 1986
Christian brethren,
Only a few days have passed since the Nativity of Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem. Jesus Christ, in His great humility, accepts to be born there, in a manger, like a servant. Yet, see that today, on the eve of this great feast of the Lord’s Baptism, Jesus Christ, having turned 30, comes to the shore of the Jordan, in the middle of a great crowd. On the vast plains of the Jordan, crowds from all over the Holy Land were shaken by the great voice of the Baptist, Saint John. What power this great prophet - who did not work miracles, heal the sick, or multiply bread - had, yet he shook the crowds, such that they fearfully asked what they must do to be saved! And he guided them to give alms and act justly as much as possible, and to preserve the holiness of their lives. And see, Jesus of Galilee appears in this giant and rarely encountered commotion in the Holy Land, surrounding the great Prophet John the Baptist.
At the age of 30, Jesus walked slowly, and approached John amidst the crowd. The crowd had not yet met Him, but John says about Him, pointing with his finger: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus approaches him and asks to be baptized. An impressive dialogue takes place there, on the shore of the Jordan, between Jesus and John the Baptist. Saint John tells Him: “Lord, I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” And Jesus tells him: “Let it be so now, John, baptize Me so that we may fulfill all righteousness” (cf. Matt. 3:14-15). And John, the one with a rough appearance, like a great prophet from the wilderness of the Holy Land, yet with a great gentleness and humility, agrees and baptizes Jesus Christ.
When Saint John the Baptist would baptize, the great multitude would enter the waters of the Jordan and remain there until it said all of its sins publicly, after which it would leave the water. Jesus Christ, however, entered the water, was baptized, and immediately left the water - says the Evangelist Matthew who was there; he was a witness. Jesus quickly left the water, Christian brethren, because He did not have any sin. He says it Himself in front of His enemies: “Which of you can convict Me of sin?” (John 8:46)
However, in that moment the sky opened - the blue and luminous sky of the Orient - and in the sky, the Holy Spirit appears in the image of a dove alighting on Jesus Christ, and Saint John sees [the Spirit], and a voice from heaven is heard crying out: “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him” (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). At that moment, Chrisitan brethren, the Holy Trinity manifests itself to the world, before the eyes of the entire world: the Father utters the words: “This is My beloved Son,” the Holy Spirit is in the image of a dove, and the Savior Jesus is in the waters of the Jordan. The Holy Spirit manifests itself once more, the entire Trinity, on Tabor, when the Holy Spirit appears in the image of light, an unusual light, God the Father saying the same words from the cloud: “This is My beloved Son,” (Matt. 17:5) and the Holy Spirit descends and the people draw near to the Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - in full faith.
Christian brethren, the Holy Fathers, and in a special way Saint John of Damascus, concentrate on these things and teach us that throughout history there were eight baptisms; and I will read from the Dogmatica [Romanian title] or the Fount of Knowledge by Saint John of Damascus, this great theologian, this great Church Father of holy Orthodoxy.
The first baptism, says Saint John, was the baptism of the flood. You should know that the word “baptism” comes from a Greek word, baptizo, which means “to submerge.” Thus, the entire world was submerged for its sins and ours. “The second baptism was through sea and clouds” in the Sinai desert, when the chosen people went from Egypt to the Holy Land. “The third is the baptism of the ancient law, for all that is impure is purified in water, it even washes its garments, and in this way it enters the Tabernacle,” in the Sinai desert as well. “The fourth is the baptism of John,” which, see, we encounter tomorrow, and “which was introductory and led those who were baptized to repentance, so that they would believe in Christ. ‘I,’ says Saint John the Baptist, ‘will baptize you with water, but He who is coming after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire’ (Matt. 3:11). Thus, John first purifies with water, with the Spirit in sight. The fifth baptism is the Baptism of the Lord, the Savior Christ, with which He Himself was baptized. He is baptized, not because He needed to be purified, but in order to assume my purification,” of Saint John of Damascus and of us all, “in order to ‘crush the head of the Leviathan,’ (Psalm 73:14 LXX) in order to drown sin, to entomb the entire old Adam in water, to sanctify the Baptist,” Saint John, “to fulfill the Law, to reveal the mystery of the Trinity, to give us a parable and example that we too may be baptized. We are baptized with the perfect Baptism of the Lord, with water and the Spirit. It is said that Christ baptizes with fire, because He poured the grace of the Holy Spirit onto the Holy Apostles in the image of tongues of fire, as the Lord Himself says: ‘John baptized you with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, not many days from now” (Acts 1:5) - the Savior told His Apostles on the first day of the Resurrection. “The sixth baptism is the baptism of repentance and tears, which is truly grievous. The seventh baptism is the baptism of blood and martyrdom, with which Christ Himself was baptized in our place. He is greatly honored and revered, because He was not defiled with any later stains. The eighth and final baptism is not salvific, but on one hand destroys evil - yet on the other hand it punishes without end. This is the baptism of eternal fire, after the common Judgement.”
“We confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, for eternal life. Baptism depicts the Lord’s death. We are thus buried with the Lord through baptism, as the divine Apostle says (Romans 6:4; Col. 2:12). Just as the Lord died once, so too must we be baptized once.” There are people, certain sects, in which if someone enters, they baptize him a second time. They commit a very great sin. “We are baptized according to the word of the Lord in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and through these words we are taught to confess the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus, all who were baptized in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and were taught by means of this a single nature of God in three hypostases, and are baptized again, they crucify Christ anew, as the divine Apostle says: ‘For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened...to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame’ (Hebrews 6:4-6).” This is what those who baptize a second time, in their audacity and pride, do. “But all who were not baptized in the Holy Trinity must be rebaptized. God created us for incorruption,” for heaven, for Paradise, for light, “but because we transgressed His salvific commandment, we were condemned to the corruption of death. Nonetheless, so that evil would not be eternal, He condescended, in virtue of His mercy, to be made a servant, and becoming similar to us, He redeemed us through His passion. He caused the fountain of forgiveness to pour forth from His holy side. Thus, the water flowing from His side is for our rebirth and the inundation of sin and corruption, and His blood is the drink granting eternal life,” that is, Holy Communion. “He gave us the commandment to be reborn in water and the Holy Spirit (John 3:5), through prayer and invocation”— through calling on the Holy Spirit—“the Holy Spirit descends onto the water. But, because man is both soul and body, he gave us a twofold purification through water and the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, on one hand, renews the image and likeness of God within us, and water, on the other hand, purifies, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, the body of sin and liberates it from corruption. Water expresses the image of death, yet the Spirit grants the promise of life.”
Christian brethren, I told you these things now so that we all can understand what the great sacrament of holy baptism means. Through the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ, God humbled Himself to become incarnate in the image of a servant. Through the Lord’s Baptism, man was deified. Without realizing it well enough, Chrisitan brethren, baptism means rebirth, the new birth of our human nature. A new spiritual human being is created. The child who is submerged in the baptismal water is luminous like an angel, without blemish, without sin, and without passions. The ancestral sin was destroyed and sin, at the moment of baptism, was similarly destroyed, such that the child appears in divine light.
Therefore, Christian brethren, going over the sacrament of baptism, the Baptism of the Lord, we remember our Christian baptism, our childhood, and the holiness of our lives. Let us strive, Christian brethren, to revive it, to rebaptize ourselves through repentance and tears, as the fifth baptism which Saint John of Damascus talks about says. Let us keep ourselves in purity and holiness, knowing very well, as the Holy Apostle Paul says, that in the Kingdom of God nothing impure enters (Ephesians 5:5), only holiness, only purity, only tears of repentance—only these enter therein. When we enter with all the baggage of our defiled life, we are thrown out of the entrance. The guardian angels with swords of fire cast us away from the face of God. Thus, let us be careful with our life, because we will give an account for every unconfessed and unforgiven sin. Let us be attentive to our life, so that we may live in the fear of God, fulfilling the commandments, and in the holiness which God wants from each of us. Amen.
Trans. Ioan Gheorghiu from the Romanian