Oratio de epiphania

John, bishop of Constantinople, on the Theophany. I perceive my soul divided in two: for the reading of the Gospels today, hinting at the duality of natures, summons me to itself; while the hymn composed by my predecessor, in praise of the Epiphany, draws me away. Come then, let us also join with my predecessor in the hymn for the day of the Epiphany. For even if the day of the feast has passed, the benefaction of the feast has not passed. Now the day of the Nativity was also full of a divine manifestation, but it was hidden from the multitudes of the Jews and not visible to the eyes of the people. For the newborn was known only by report, which the arrival of the Magi occasioned, and they inquired as if the birth were unknown: "Where is the newborn king of the Jews?" Therefore a star again pointed out to them the place of the infant, as if the newborn were not manifest. For obscurity suited the birth, especially on account of Herod's wrath; for if the infant had been discovered when known, it would have forestalled the goal of the economy.

At the Epiphany, the public sight and knowledge of the one who was born is more manifest, and from this comes the name Epiphany, because he who was previously known to few then became manifest to the multitudes, with all Jerusalem being present with the Baptist, all Judea having emptied itself toward him, and all the region of the Jordan having run to him. For it says, Jerusalem and all Judea and all the surrounding country of the Jordan went out and were baptized by him, confessing their sins. Meanwhile, the Lord came using the common approach of the crowd and was not recognized by John. For he says, I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize in water told me. The grace of the Spirit, secretly touching the heart of the Baptist, revealed the worth of the one present. Having received knowledge of the Lord's presence, John drew back his hand and lowered his head; ceasing to baptize, he assumed the role of the one being baptized. A dialogue arose from this, with John hiding his hand and Christ insisting on baptism, with one saying, Baptize, and the other refusing, with one shuddering at the touch, and the Lord commanding him to take courage. The time taken by the words hindered the crowd eager for baptism. Being hindered, they sought the cause, and seeking, they gathered from far and wide around John, and gathering, they all listened closely to what was said. And first, the words of John were filled with astonishment: I have need to be baptized by you, and you come to me.

Put away, he says, from me the guise of one being baptized; leave off the pretense of one needing to be cleansed. What you are by nature accustomed to bestow, do not feign to borrow; your wealth is such that in these matters you should not act as though you are poor. I have no right hand of yours present to use for baptizing, but a head needing to be baptized. I do not know how to wash solar rays; for the sun is not by nature illumined by a lamp; mud does not cleanse a spring. As these words were spoken by the Baptist, the crowd, hearing the words from nearby, naturally murmured among themselves: Who is this whom this Baptist shrinks from? Who is this before whom the Baptist shows himself in the role of a sinner? Who is this who frightens such a one by his presence? He trembles before him as before a lawful expert. How then did he not tremble to baptize Pharisees and Sadducees, the chief points of the law? He was awestruck as before a worker of lofty conduct, and who could display a life higher than one who eats locusts from plants and lives with the desert? But not even the visible things of this man are more dignified than those of John: this man has soft clothing, while John has a hair shirt; this man's face is free from ascetic hardship, while John's form is squalid. Whence then this man's fearful presence to him?

These things, with these people being astonished at these, and those at those, and others at others, John yields, compelled. The compulsion also resolved the perplexity of the people, who were at a loss. For through the words spoken at the baptism, the one baptized learned what sort of person he was. And he did not permit the devil to say: He appeared righteous and clean of unclean deeds, but he is exceedingly proud. For, trusting in his inherent righteousness, he did not fulfill the law of circumcision, he did not offer gifts of sacrifices, he spurned entry into the temple, he did not touch the Mosaic books, he rejected the baptism from John. For this reason he condescended to circumcision, he offered sacrifices, he convened discussions in the temple, he read the Mosaic books aloud in everyone's hearing, he partook of the baptism from John along with all, washing the waters more than being washed by them. Yet he still bore the pretense of need, so that none of the human obligations might be left undone by him. For since he had conducted his life for the sake of the whole nature, which owed the full observance of the commandments, he goes through every commandment diligently, so that no debt of nature might remain unpaid, and again leave nature a debtor to punishment.

And teaching these things to the Baptist, the Master cried out: "Let it be for now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Let it be for now; you offer me doxology untimely now; you expose my dignity out of season; I do not wish the devil to know the hidden mystery of my divinity. Do you not allow him to approach me as one of those from Adam, to be shattered by the divinity wisely united to me? You drive away the prey." "Let it be for now; there will be a time for my doxology; the time for theology concerning me will come. But now it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. I have now been appointed the representative of human nature. I am acting on behalf of the indebted race; I have come to pay what is owed by them for now, not to receive now what is owed to my divinity by them. I have come as a lamb to the generations of men, a sacrifice, in appearance, soon to be offered. Now is the time for human conduct, not the demand of divine service to myself. Let it be for now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." And immediately one could see an awe-inspiring sight. John touched the Master's head with trembling. From above, the heavens having opened, angels were watching what was happening, and the grace of the Spirit in the form of a dove, frequenting the Master's head, was pushing aside John's right hand. And the crowd stood there, perplexed all the more, saying under their breath, "Who is this?" Then, as if the divine were answering the crowds: "You ask one another, 'Who is this?' This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.

You have forgotten your toil and have been recast into desire for the Lord, and you cry out, with a slight change, the words of Paul: "I labor, no longer I, but Christ is strong in me." But let us run back to the Lord's voice: "Who is this?" you ask one another. "This is my beloved son, in whom I have taken delight." The begetter proclaims his affection for the son, so that we may learn the Creator's disposition toward the world: that he has given up such a son for such slaves, the beloved for the hated, the sinless for those who have offended, the glorious for the inglorious. For behold the glory even in the lowly things of the flesh, the things of the flesh, not of the divine essence, even if some are vexed. I no longer say "even if many are vexed," for the many have become few. The lowly things of the flesh, then, as I said, not of the divine essence. For the nature of the Godhead is unhumiliated, which the body of the Lord had inseparably to remain with him; and even these lowly things of the flesh were full of the highest glory. He was born an infant, but he was by the nature of his birth beyond man. For there was no marriage for him, but a birth, a virgin mother. Born in a manger, he was cast down, but angels celebrated his birth; he was swaddled in rags, but gifts from Persia were received in the swaddling clothes; he fled the murderous plot of Herod, but he had already sported with him through the Magi; he partook of the common baptism from John, but was worshipped by the tongue of the baptizer.

He was sold to Israel by Judah, but the sale sold the seller with a noose. He was crowned with a crown of thorns, but through that he obtained the diadem of universal kingship. He was handed over to a cross, but as he was crucified he turned back the sun. A thief was hanged with him, but on that very cross he transformed the thief into an apostle. He was shut in a tomb, but from the tombs he raised the dead. He was besieged as a corpse, but with an earthquake he loosed those who guarded him. He was held for three days in Hades, but in those three days he prepared an eternal defeat for Hades. Even if one speaks of the inglorious things, the gratitude is greatest to him who suffered such things in the flesh for us; and if one enumerates the account of the glorious things, the reverence of worship to him is the more abundant in proportion to the worth of the glory. Let us all, then, offer to the Lord a common thanksgiving, the utterance of the blessed Paul: "Thanks be to God for his ineffable gift." And on behalf of the Christ-loving emperor, let us ask from Christ, the Lord of all, that a tablet of a long-lived consulship be given to him, and that he himself, with his help, over his son being baptized and ruling the empire of the world with him, may say to the whole world: "This is my beloved son; listen to him." In Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is glory for ever and ever. Amen.