If you want to make your feats great, do not consider them great, but acknowledge that you are saved by grace, in order to make God your debtor not only for your deeds, but also for such gratitude. St. John Chrysostom (46, 532).

St. Paul at first so zealously defended the Old Testament order, for he was sincerely convinced that this was the immutable will of God. This was the spirit of his life: to devote himself to God, and to devote all his strength to what was pleasing to Him. Therefore, in order to convert him, or to force him not to stand so far for the Old Testament, but, on the contrary, to take the side of the New Testament, it was sufficient to tangibly show that God no longer wants the Old Testament, but wants the New, that He transferred all His favor from the first to the second. This was the manifestation of the Lord on the way. Then it became clear that he was not directing his jealousy where it should be, and that in doing so he was not pleasing God, but was going against His will. This epiphany, with the help of the grace of God, immediately changed his aspirations, and he cried out: "Lord! What wilt thou command me to do?" (Acts 9:6). And from that moment on, he turned all his zeal to what was indicated to him. And all his life he did not forget this event, but, gratefully remembering it, he kindled his zeal, sparing no effort for the Lord, his Saviour. This is how everyone acts, and this is how all who sincerely turn to the Lord should act. Bishop Theophan the Recluse (107, 122-123).

EPIPHANY

The Baptism of the Lord is called Theophany, because in it the One True God, worshipped in the Trinity, so visibly revealed Himself;

God the Father by the voice of heaven, the incarnate God the Son by Baptism, God the Holy Spirit by descending upon the One being baptized. Here is also revealed the mystery of the relationship of the persons of the Most Holy Trinity. God the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and rests in the Son, and does not proceed from Him. It is also revealed here that the incarnate economy of salvation was accomplished by the incarnate God the Son with the Holy Spirit and God the Father inherent in Him. It is also revealed that the salvation of each can be accomplished only in the Lord Jesus Christ, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, by the grace of the Father. All the Christian sacraments shine here with their divine light and enlighten the minds and hearts of those who celebrate this great feast with faith. Come, let us lift up our spirits to the contemplation of these mysteries of our salvation, and let us sing: "In the Jordan I baptize Thee, O Lord, the Trinitarian worship is manifested," a salvation that triverily builds us up and saves us in a threefold way. Bishop Theophan the Recluse (107:1-13).

Sermon on the Epiphany of the Holy Hieromartyr Hippolytus of Rome

Everything that God and our Saviour has created, everything that the eye sees and the soul ponders about, that the mind examines and the hand touches, that human nature embraces thought and contains, all this is good, and very good. For what is more beautiful than the firmament, what is more colorful than the earth's surface, what is faster than the current of the sun, what is more pleasant than the moonlight? What is more surprising than the complex harmony of the heavenly bodies? What is more fruitful than the opportune winds? What is more transparent than daylight? Which animal is more excellent than man? "So, everything that God and our Saviour has created is very good.

Likewise, what gift is as necessary for us as water? By water everything is washed, and nourished, and purified, and irrigated. Water waters the earth, produces dew, fattens the grapes, ripens the ears of corn, destroys the bitterness in the fruits of the vine, softens the olive, delights the palm, adorns the rose, dots the violet with flowers, nourishes the lily in a beautiful shell. But why say so much? Without water, nothing that we see can exist: water is so necessary that when the other elements have their abode under the vaults of the heavens, it has received for itself a receptacle above the heavens. The Prophet himself testifies to this, crying out: "Praise Him, O heavens of heavens, and waters which are higher than the heavens" (Psalm 148:4).

But this is not the only limitation of the significance of water. It is also in the fact that the Creator of all things, Christ Himself, descended like rain (Hosea 6:3), was known as a spring (John 4:14), spread out like a river (John 7:38), and was baptized in the Jordan. For Jesus, having come to John, was baptized by him in the Jordan (Matt. 3:13), a wonderful thing. The Endless River, which rejoices in the city of God (Psalm 45:5), is washed by a little water. The boundless Source that brings forth life for all people, the Source that has no limits, is covered with scanty waters that quickly dry up. He Who is everywhere present and fills everything, He Who is incomprehensible to angels and invisible to men, comes to Baptism according to His own good will. Hearing this, beloved, you will not only understand what has been said, but behold here the mystery of our salvation. For this reason, even from the nature of the water, that which the Lord, in His loving condescension, did in secret, was not hidden: for "the waters saw Thee, and feared Thee" (Psalm 76:17). They almost set out, and did not flee from their shores. Therefore, the Prophet, contemplating this event long ago, forgives: "What is the matter with you, O sea, that you have fled, and (with you), Jordan, that you have turned back?" (Psalm 113:5). The waters answer: we have seen the Creator of all things in the form of a servant, and not understanding this mysterious dispensation, we have moved out of fear.

But as for us, we have already come to know this economy of the Lord, and we glorify His mercy, for He came to save, and not to judge the world. Why did John, the Forerunner of the Lord, who had not previously known this sacrament, but afterwards knew that Jesus was truly the Lord, called out to those who came to him to be baptized: "Offspring of vipers." (Matt. 3:7). Why are you looking at me so attentively? "I am not Christ" (John 1:20). I am a minister, not the Lord; I am a sheep, not a shepherd; I am a man, not God. By my birth I have freed the barrenness of my mother, but I have not left virginity barren. I am from the lower, not from the highest. I have bound the tongue of my father (Luke 1:20), but I have not explained the divine grace. I was recognized by my mother in her womb, but not foreshadowed by a star (Luke 1:24). I am poor and insignificant, but "He who follows me... stood before me" (John 1:27). ("Follow me" - in relation to time, and "ahead of me" - in relation to the unapproachable and ineffable light of the Divine). "He who comes after me is stronger than I: I am not worthy to bear His shoes; He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matt. 3:11). I am under authority, and He has original authority. I am a sinner, and He destroys sins (John 1:29). I preach the law, and He brings the light of grace. I teach as a slave, and He judges as the Lord. My bed is the earth, and He has heaven. I baptize with the baptism of repentance, and He bestows the grace of adoption: He baptizes you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Why do you fix your eyes on me? I'm not the Christ.

When John thus spoke to the people, who were impatiently expecting to see some extraordinary spectacle, and when the devil trembled at such an important testimony of John, the Lord Himself appears, in a simple form, alone, without adornment, without companions, clothed with human flesh and hiding under it the dignity of the Godhead, so as to conceal it from the wiles of the spiritual dragon. He not only approached John as the Lord, who had laid down his royal majesty, but also, as a simple man guilty of sin, bowed his head in order to receive baptism from him. Therefore, John, seeing such great humility, was amazed, began to restrain Him and said to him: "I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to Me?" (Matt. 3:14). What are you doing, Lord? You do not teach one thing I have proclaimed about You, and You do another. The devil has heard one thing, but sees another. Baptize me with divine fire: what shall Thou expect from the water? Enlighten me with the Spirit, what can you get from creation? Baptize me, the Baptist, that they may know Thy dignity. I, O Lord, baptize with the baptism of repentance, and by no means can I baptize those who come to me, unless they first confess their sins. Even if I were to baptize You, what will You confess before me? Do you destroy sins, and yet you want to be baptized with the baptism of repentance? Let me dare to baptize You, but the Jordan itself will not dare to approach You. "I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?"

What does the Lord answer him? - "Leave it now, for thus it behooves us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matt. 3:15). Leave it now, John; you are not wiser than Me. You look like a man, and I judge like God. First it behooves Me Myself to do and only then to teach. I do nothing unworthy, for I am clothed with splendor. Are you surprised, John, that I did not appear in the splendor of My dignity? I am the doer of the law, and I do not want to leave anything in it unfulfilled, so that after Me Paul may say: "The end of the law, Christ, to the righteousness of everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4). "Leave it now, for thus it behooves us to fulfill all righteousness." – Baptize me, John, so that no one despises baptism. From thee, O servant, I am baptized, so that none of the mighty may abhor to receive baptism from a humble priest. Suffer Me to descend into the Jordan, that they may hear the testimony of the Father and know the power of the Son. "Then John admits Him. And having been baptized, Jesus immediately came up out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and John saw the Spirit of God. Who came down like a dove, and did not descend on Him. And behold, a voice from heaven saith, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:15-17).

You see how many and great blessings we would be deprived of if the Lord, yielding to John's persuasion, renounced baptism. Until now, the heavens have been closed; the upper region remained impregnable.

But was the Lord alone baptized? No. At the same time, He renewed the old man and returned to him the Royal right of adoption. For immediately the heavens were opened (Matt. 3:16). There followed the reconciliation of the visible with the invisible: the heavenly faces rejoiced, earthly infirmities were healed, the hidden was revealed, enmity was destroyed. The heavens were opened for three wonderful things. For at the time when the Bridegroom, Christ, was baptized, the heavenly palaces had to open their shining gates. In like manner it was fitting that the gates of heaven should lift up their tops (Psalm 23:7), when the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and the voice of the Father thundered. And behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and a voice from heaven said, "This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."