Monday, January 10, 2005
Gregory Bishop of Nyssa; Bishop Theophan the Recluse
2nd Vigil Theophany: Exodus 14:15-29 Apostle/Day: Acts 19:1-8; Alt: 1 Peter 2:21-3:9 Gospel: St. Luke 3:19-22
St. Luke 3:19-22, especially vs. 21: "When all the people were baptized, it came to pass
that Jesus also was baptized...." The Orthodox Baptismal Liturgy connects our Baptism with the Lord's: "For Thou, O our
God, hath revealed Thyself upon earth, and dwelt among men. Thou didst hallow the streams of Jordan, sending down
upon them from heaven Thy Holy Spirit." St. Luke similarly emphasizes the connection, recalling that the Lord was
baptized "when all the people were baptized" (Lk. 3:21). As He joined Himself to our humanity, even so He received a like
washing in the water to which all men are called. In today's reading, St. Luke discloses five ways the Lord's Baptism and
ours are connected: by presentation, challenge, prayer, the descent of the Holy Spirit, and affirmation of sonship.
The Baptismal Liturgy begins with exorcism. Although the Priest will actively engage the baptismal candidate after the
exorcism is completed, during the rebuking and cleansing from all unclean spirits, the candidate remains entirely passive.
The Priest lays his hands upon the candidate and says prayers of exorcism over him "to prove him and search him, and root
out of him every operation of the Devil." In addition, the Priest breathes upon his mouth, his brow and his breast "to expel
from him every evil and impure spirit which hideth and maketh its lair in his heart." The candidate's sole activity is to
present himself for this ministry of the Church. In the same manner, the Lord presented Himself to the Forerunner, coming
with the people (vs. 21). After the exorcism, the Priest engages and challenges the candidate to declare that he renounces
Satan and all his angels, all his works, all his service, and all his pride. He commands the candidate to breathe and spit on
the Devil. He asks the candidate if he has united himself to Christ and if he believes in Christ as his King and God. He
requires the candidate to confirm his faith by saying the Nicene Creed. He charges him to bow down before the Lord.
St. John similarly challenged the people along the shores of the Jordan river, "preaching a baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins" (Lk. 3:3). His preaching was stark, direct, and called upon the people to "bear fruits worthy of
repentance" (Lk. 3:8). His exhortations were so bold that he incurred the anger of the ruling Tetrarch, Herod Antipas. He
rebuked Herod, "concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done" (Lk. 3:19).
Eventually Herod would arrest St. John for such public criticism (vs. 20). The Lord Jesus affirmed St. John's challenge to
the people by coming to the Jordan during this time (vs. 21). Baptism is an occasion of intense prayer. There are prayers
at each stage during the rite, at the exorcism, at the examination, at the blessing of the water and the candidate, at the
Baptism and at the Chrismation and Communion that follow. The Evangelist mentions that when Jesus "was baptized...He
prayed" (vs. 21). Thus the Lord maintained His communion with the Father. The Orthodox initiation into the Christian
Mystery includes prayers for the infilling of the candidate with the Holy Spirit: at the conclusion of the examination, in the
opening prayers of Baptism, in the blessing and anointing of the water, and especially for "the seal of the gift of the Holy
Spirit" in Chrismation. Likewise, the Evangelist tells us that "the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove" upon
the Lord (vs. 22), empowering Him for His ministry to follow.
Each candidate initiated into the Faith is reminded that he is "no more a child of the body, but a child of [God's] kingdom,"
a child of the Light, and an heir of His heavenly Kingdom. At the Jordan, following the Lord's baptism, the Father said,
"Thou art My beloved Son" (vs. 22).
O Thou Who didst receive Baptism in the Jordan for our salvation, Christ our God, have mercy upon us and save us,
forasmuch as Thou art good and loveth mankind.
