Christ’s Baptism: Fire Immersed in Water – St. Proclus

This excerpt from an Epiphany homily by St. Proclus is a great resource for a better understanding of the sacrament of baptism.  It also helps us meditate on the rosary since the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan is the first 1st luminous mystery. 

Christ appeared in the world, and, bringing beauty out of disarray, gave it luster and joy. He bore the world’s sin and crushed the world’s enemy. He sanctified the fountains of waters and enlightened the minds of men. Into the fabric of miracles he interwove ever greater miracles.

Epiphany – the Baptism of Christ

For on this day land and sea share between them the grace of the Savior, and the whole world is filled with joy. Today’s feast of the Epiphany manifests even more wonders than the feast of Christmas.

On the feast of the Savior’s birth, the earth rejoiced because it bore the Lord in a manger; but on today’s feast of the Epiphany it is the sea that is glad and leaps for joy; the sea is glad because it receives the blessing of holiness in the river Jordan.

At Christmas we saw a weak baby, giving proof of our weakness. In today’s feast, we see a perfect man, hinting at the perfect Son who proceeds from the all-perfect Father. At Christmas the King puts on the royal robe of his body; at Epiphany the very source enfolds and, as it were, clothes the river.

Fire Immersed in Water

Come then and see new and astounding miracles: the Sun of righteousness washing in the Jordan, fire immersed in water, God sanctified by the ministry of man.

Today every creature shouts in resounding song: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is he who comes in every age, for this is not his first coming.

Baptism – a grace offered to all

And who is he? Tell us more clearly, I beg you, blessed David: The Lord is God and has shone upon us. David is not alone in prophesying this; the apostle Paul adds his own witness, saying: The grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all men, and instructing us. Not for some men, but for all. To Jews and Greeks alike God bestows salvation through baptism, offering baptism as a common grace for all.

Come, consider this new and wonderful deluge, greater and more important than the flood of Noah’s day. Then the water of the flood destroyed the human race, but now the water of baptism has recalled the dead to life by the power of the one who was baptized. In the days of the flood the dove with an olive branch in its beak foreshadowed the fragrance of the good odor of Christ the Lord; now the Holy Spirit, coming in the likeness of a dove, reveals the Lord of mercy.

For more great resources on the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ and Epiphany, visit the Epiphany – Baptism of Christ section of the Crossroads Initiative Library.

The above is an excerpt from a homily by St. Proclus for the Feast of the Epiphany (Sermo 7 in sancta Theolphania, 1-3: PG 65, 758-759).  It appears in the Roman Catholic Office of Readings for the Wednesday between the Feast of the Epiphany and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  It comments on the Baptism of the Lord as recounted in Mark 1:7ff.

Banner/featured image The Baptism of Christ by Francesco Albani. Public domain.