Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Praying through Art
“Christ is bathed in light; let us also be bathed in light. Christ is baptized; let us also go down with him, and rise with him.
“John is baptizing when Jesus draws near. Perhaps he comes to sanctify his baptizer; certainly he comes to bury sinful humanity in the waters. He comes to sanctify the Jordan for our sake and in readiness for us; he who is spirit and flesh comes to begin a new creation through the Spirit and water.
“The Baptist protests; Jesus insists. Then John says, ‘I ought to be baptized by you.’ He is the lamp in the presence of the sun, the voice in the presence of the Word, the friend in the presence of the Bridegroom, the greatest of all born of woman in the presence of the firstborn of all creation, the one who leapt in his mother’s womb in the presence of him who was adored in the womb, the forerunner …”
(From a Sermon by Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, bishop, From the second reading, Office of Readings, Liturgy of the Hours).
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Art for this post on the feast of the baptism of the Lord: The Baptism of Christ in the River Jordan, Károly Markó (1791-1869), between 1840 and 1841, PD-US author’s life plus 100 years or less, Wikimedia Commons.
