Wednesday, January 7, 2003
Synaxis of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist, John
Kellia: 4 Kings 2:6-14 LXX Apostle: Acts 19:1-8 Gospel: St. John 1:29-34
4 Kings 2:6-14 LXX (2 K 2:6-14 MT), especially vs. 6, "And Elijah said to
him, Stay here, I pray thee, for the Lord has sent me to Jordan...." Akin to the sentiment of
Alfred Lord Tennyson's famous poetic line, "And may there be no moaning of the bar, when I
put out to sea," is the African-American Spiritual that sings of "Goin' over Jordan," both using
similes of crossing water for dying. "Goin' over Jordan" also has a kinship with the subject of
today's reading as well as the account of Israel's crossing of the Jordan into the Promised Land
(Jos. 3, 4). A similar crossing imagery is found in the Orthodox Funeral Service: "As I behold
the sea of life surging high with the tempest of temptations, I set my course toward Thy tranquil
haven and cry aloud to Thee: lead Thou my life forth from corruption, O Most Merciful One."
The association of death with passing through or across water to a better life has, of course, also
attached itself to the waters of Holy Baptism, as when the Priest says, "But do Thou, Master of
all, show this water to be the water of redemption, the water of sanctification, the purification of
flesh and spirit, the loosing of bonds, the remission of sins, the illumination of the soul, the laver
of regeneration, the renewal of the spirit, the gift of adoption to sonship, the garment of
incorruption, the fountain of life."
As a type of Holy Baptism, the crossing the Jordan by the Prophets Elijah and Elisha at the time
of Elijah's assumption, ought to awaken us to the experience of death and new life in our own
Baptism. The Lord Jesus explicitly connected Baptism and death when He responded to the
request of the mother of the disciples James and John, that her sons be granted the privilege of
sitting, "one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom" (Mt. 20:21). On this
occasion, the Lord challenged the ability of the sons of Zebedee to be "baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with" (Mt. 20:22). They, in innocence, not recalling what He had just said
about His Passion (Mt. 20:17-19), assert, "We are able" (Mt. 20:22).
This reference by the Lord to His Passion as a Baptism reveals the intimate relationship between
His Baptism and His Death. First, by receiving a Baptism of repentance from the Prophet John
(Mt. 3), the Lord assumed the burden of mankind's sins. However, being Himself without sin,
He was able to fulfill that which God had required of Israel, to be a light to the nations (Is. 42:6),
for in His Passion, the sins which He assumed were nailed to the Tree and died with Him, the
sins of all people through all time.
The naive request of James and John through their mother's request, even though the Lord Jesus
just had mentioned His Passion, suggests that, when the Lord asked whether they could be
baptized with His baptism, they were hearkening back in their minds to the Baptism of
Forerunner John. Tradition holds that John the son of Zebedee was one of the two disciples (the
other being Andrew) who first followed the Lord at the behest of the Holy Baptizer (Jn. 1:35-37).
Finally, let us note that the crossing of Elijah and Elisha participate in the pattern of all disciples -
including James and John - a pattern that the Lord Jesus requires of all His followers. Even
though Elisha was warned of Elijah's death, he asserted that he would not leave his master (see 4
K 2:3, 5). Similarly each true disciple of Christ follows the Lord even in bearing a cross (see Mt.
16:24). Elisha desired to share in Elijah's spirit (4 K 2:6), as each Christian desires to be united
to Christ and to receive His gift of the Holy Spirit. Elijah's mantle fell upon Elisha (4 K 2:13),
even as the ministry of Christ falls upon every member of the Church (Mt. 28:19-20).
O Maker of heaven and earth, Thou didst come to the Jordan in the flesh and seek baptism,
though Thou art sinless, to purify the world and grant cleansing: Glory to Thee!