Homilies of Maximus of Turin (Bruni's collection) 34.1–38.1

Although, dearest brothers, the tradition of the ancients about the feast of this day varies, yet the faith of holy devotion is one. And although some think that today our Lord Jesus Christ was worshipped by the Magi coming from the East under the leading of a star, others assert that he changed water into wine, and others maintain that he was baptized by John, in all of them the Son of God is believed, and in all of them is our festival. For in that the Magi, Gentiles, are allowed both to worship the Lord and to offer gifts, the calling of the nations is prefigured; and in that Christ is baptized in the streams of the Jordan, the waters are consecrated for our baptism. So, dearest ones, we must now set before your holiness something about this baptism, as the Lord grants, so that you may recognize both the humility of our Saviour and the glory of the mysteries. John was preaching in the desert a baptism of repentance to a sinful people, not to blot out crimes committed but to correct those who strayed; for the remission of sins was reserved for the grace of Christ. So a very great multitude of various people flowed together to John out of desire for the washing; and their deeds were so wicked, their life so ruined, that the venerable Baptist compared them to the offspring of vipers. Among such men that Lord of the heavenly powers, he who looks on the earth and makes it tremble, Christ Jesus, did not disdain, humble and quiet, to hurry to the baptism of his little servant. But what wonder at the Saviour's gentleness, if he bowed himself to the hands of his prophet, who allowed himself to be crucified by his enemies? As he hurried to the river, John burst out to the crowds standing round with this cry: “Behold the Lamb of God; behold him who takes away the sins of the world.” That is to say: Stop now, stop seeking my baptism, by which repentance is undertaken; behold the Baptist through whom crimes are forgiven. Cease any longer to want to be baptized by your fellow servant; the Lord of all of us is present, who baptizes to life. Follow him, believe him, ask him with your whole mind as suppliants for the washing of salvation, by whom I myself, your Baptist, long to be baptized. Jesus did not refuse the testimony of this voice; but, wishing to fulfill all things in order, he nonetheless asks to be baptized by John. Then the devout Baptist, trembling at the power of the one he was to baptize, said: “I ought to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” That is: since I am the creature, you the Creator; I the servant, you the Lord; I the figure, you the truth. But Jesus said: “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” That is: why do you recall these things now? The purpose of the humility I have taken on must be fulfilled. Then he who had feared to presume swiftly obeyed the command of the one who ordered him. So Jesus is baptized, not for himself but for us; he is baptized, not to be purified by the waters but to sanctify the waters himself; the new man is baptized to establish the sacrament of a new baptism. “The heavens were opened,” it says. I think it was so that there might be wonder in heaven at what was being done on earth, as it says: “into which angels long to look.” For how could the powers of the heavens, the dominions, the cherubim and seraphim not marvel when they saw the Lord of Sabaoth baptized by a man in a river? And so that John's attestation might be confirmed also by heavenly testimony, he saw the Holy Spirit in bodily form, like a dove, descending and remaining on Jesus. He hears also the Father saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Notice, dearest brothers, how great a grace was opened to us in the baptism of our Lord Jesus, by how subtle a sacrament the Trinity revealed itself to man today. For the Father is heard in the voice, the Son is manifested in the man, the Holy Spirit is recognized in the dove. And by what a wonderful mystery our Lord Jesus Christ, whether by the touch of his body or by the passing of his glory, in a moment sanctifies, gives life to, and enlightens all creation: for he consecrates the waters when he is baptized; he sanctifies the earth when he is buried; he raises the dead when he rises; he glorifies the heavenly places when he ascends into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father.

Although, brothers, the tradition of the ancient Fathers about the venerable feast of the present day is varied and diverse, yet the faith of sincere devotion is one in all. For although some believe that on this day our Lord Jesus Christ was worshipped by the Magi coming from the East, others assert that on this day he was baptized by John, and still others reckon that today he turned water into wine, yet each believes him the same Son of God; and so in all of them our festival is true. For when the Magi are allowed to worship God and offer him their gifts, the calling of all the nations, which was to come from that time, is signified beforehand. When water is changed into noble wine, the sanctification and change of our souls through the most holy washing of baptism is shown. And when Christ is baptized in the Jordan by John, the whole substance of waters is consecrated for our baptism. Christ is baptized by John on this day, and through his baptism the humility of our Saviour and the glory of the mysteries were then most plainly manifested. John was preaching in the desert a baptism of repentance to the sinner, not to blot out sins already committed (for the remission of sins was reserved for the grace of Christ) but to lead those who strayed back to the way of salvation. A countless crowd of sinners flowed to him out of desire for the washing; and among men of this kind, whose deeds were then so wicked and whose life was so ruined that the divine Baptist compared them to the offspring of vipers, Christ the Lord did not disdain to mingle, and did not blush to bow himself to the hands of his little servant. As he hurried to the river, John, full of wonder, burst out to the crowds standing round with this cry: “Behold the Lamb of God; behold him who takes away the sins of the world.” That is to say: Stop now seeking my baptism, by which repentance began. Behold, that is the Baptist by whom crimes are forgiven. Cease any longer to desire the washing of your fellow servant for repentance. Behold, he is the one who baptizes to life: follow life, then, cling to him. Believe what he says, do whatever he commands, and ask him, finally, as suppliants for the saving washing; for I, your Baptist, also long to be baptized by him. But Jesus did not refuse such testimony of the voice; yet, wishing all things to be fulfilled in order, he asks to be baptized by his John. For Jesus said to him: “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” That is: why do you recall these things now? The purpose of the humility I have taken on must be fulfilled. And then he who had feared to presume swiftly obeyed the command of the one who ordered him. So Jesus is baptized by John, not for himself but for us. He is baptized, not to be purified by the waters but to sanctify the waters himself. And then the heavens were opened to him; for each of the powers of the heavens marveled at the Lord of Sabaoth in the river. Then John saw the Holy Spirit in bodily form, like a dove, descending and remaining on him; he heard also the Father saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” See now, then, brothers, how great a grace was opened to us in our Lord's baptism, by how subtle a sacrament the whole Trinity manifested itself to man. For the Father is heard in the voice; the Son is manifested in the man; the Holy Spirit is recognized in the dove. And by what a wonderful mystery the same Lord, both by the touch of his body and by the passing of his glory, in a moment sanctifies all creation and enlightens it with life-giving light: for in his baptism he consecrated all streams. [Here it ends.]

The eternal author of our redemption, the almighty Lord, the only-begotten of the living God, who always remains inseparable from the Father, so deigned to take on a complete man for us, and so emptied himself of what he was as God, that he passed through all the sacraments of the law's ordinances. For as soon as he came forth from the holy womb of his blessed Mother he was dedicated with the seal of circumcision, whether to show the undoubted reality of his flesh or so that the Jewish people, nursed on circumcision, might not shun him as a foreigner. Then, because the precepts of the law handed down through Moses could not be passed over, the offering of purification is made for him; and for him, brothers, the offering of purification is made who came to purify the filth of all men. But when John, sent before his face, was correcting by his preaching the peoples who ran to him and consecrating them with the baptism of repentance, he hurried to him among the mixed and lowly crowds, like one of the people, and in his great kindness submitted himself with such condescension as to bow that most sacred head, dreadful to the powers and venerable to the angels, to the hands of his little servant to receive baptism. Seeing him coming to his baptism, and recognizing in him the signs of the Lord's glory, John said to him: “I ought to be baptized by you”: that is, the earthly by the heavenly, the mortal by the eternal, the frail by the mighty. “And do you come to me?” The judge to the forerunner, the Creator to the creature, the king to the servant? And will you humble yourself to me, I who am not worthy to carry your sandals? You come to baptism among sinners, in whose mouth no deceit was found, and through whom the sins of the whole world are taken away; and you subject yourself so much to your creatures that you seem to forget that you are God. I see a man, but I recognize my Lord; I see a human body in you, but I understand a heavenly sacrament; nor does this appearance of the flesh you have taken lead me away from the faith of truth: you are the Lord, you are the very one who sent me for this. How could I now fail to know you standing present before me, whom long ago I recognized while you were still placed in the virgin's womb, within your mother's body, when I was not yet born myself? Christ said to him: “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” “Let it be so now,” says the Lord; that is: what you recall is true, and I do not deny it; but I have come to fulfill the ministry of servitude, so as to call back to my freedom those whom sin has subjected to servitude. Do not wonder, John, if I bow to your hands; for I who was content to be born, content to be circumcised, content even to be wrapped in swaddling cloths, how should I not gladly be content to enter this Jordan? Do not think this baptism an injury to me or unworthy of me; other injuries await me, other insults, which I have resolved to suffer for human salvation. After this blessed John devoutly received the one whom in fear he had tried to prevent. That chief of the prophets was not unaware that the Lord was to be baptized by him; but he would not fulfill his ministry without a confession; and so faith confessed the Lord, and obedience fulfilled the service. When the Lord had been baptized, the Holy Spirit was present, and the voice of the Father's majesty was heard from heaven, saying: “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” It is plain, brothers, that this was done to profit our faith, so that the presence of the Holy Spirit, the authority of the Father's voice before the whole human race, the testimony of John, the truth of the Son, and the sacrament of baptism might be confirmed, through which we magnify and glorify God the Father almighty, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Since it is the custom of some, dearest ones, to anticipate the coming days of Lent with a more devout fast, the present reading of the Gospel has necessarily been read, in which our Lord, the rewarder of spiritual virtues, gave us a holy and perfect rule of fasting, saying: “When you fast, do not be gloomy like the hypocrites; for they disfigure their faces so as to appear to men to be fasting.” For whoever seeks human glory by making a show of his fast fasts not to God but to men. They disfigure their faces who, with feigned sorrow, present a falsely religious face to the eyes of the people; for the master of heavenly discipline does not want what is commanded to be done for religion to be done irreligiously; nor does he allow the labor of those who call on him, for whom he prepares an eternal reward, to perish through the vice of fruitless boasting. “Do not be,” he says, “gloomy like the hypocrites.” For if you are truly sad and gloomy because you fast, you will keep no favor with God, being ungrateful; for although you do a good work, you do it unwillingly, with the depravity of a degenerate mind. But if you feign sadness to give an image of holiness, as a show-off you lose all the fruit of the divine promise for your service. If you offer your duty to God, why, as a seeker of vain glory, do you show it off to men who live under the same condition as you? Following this thought, the apostle Paul said: “Do not become desirous of empty glory.” For whatever does not stand firm with any weight and strength is empty and vain. Empty is what, failing with the passing world, does not pass over to eternal life; for whatever is labored for fleshly honor slips away with the corruptible flesh, as the prophet says: “All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man like the flower of grass; the grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of God remains for ever.” Nor can we, beloved, for one and the same work both seek the praise of a flattering world and gain the reward of heavenly life. “But when you fast,” he says, “anoint your head and wash your face.” Every devout person truly anoints his head whose religious fast grows rich with the abundance of holy almsgiving; and if we think of something higher, you will anoint your head, which is Christ, if, joining better things to good works, you gladden him with simple devotion. You will without doubt also wash your face and wipe it clean with all the serenity of gladness if, more joyful in divine worship, it is soiled by no affectation. Unwashed is the face of those who buy worldly praise with a false sorrow of the eyes, whom the Apostle marks with his sentence, saying: “They think that godliness is a means of gain.” And though this is so, the Lord does not reject those who mourn either their sins or the world, he who said: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” He is not blamed who, having long ago slipped from the path of salvation with a wandering heart and slippery steps, tries to restore himself to God by the sorrowful satisfaction of repentance, as we read in the fiftieth psalm: “A contrite and humbled heart God does not despise.” God certainly does not despise holy sorrow; but he does not want a contrived sadness, feigned with guile, to be carried about in his service. Of such Christ says to his disciples: “Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.” How much hope, then, is there for their faith, or what expectation of future reward, who use up the whole reward of their works in the present world through the ambition of passing favor? And so, brothers, keep in all things a measure that is blameless and pleasing to God: let your fasting be pure, your mercy simple, and all your devotion sincere, so that the full reward of our God may follow your holy life, perfected by the Gospel's teaching.

[We have heard of] our Lord and Redeemer resisting the temptations of the devil, contending in words but fighting in spirit; for he carries on the contest by speech but achieves the victory by majesty. Nor let us think that such a conflict took place without a great mystery, in which either the devil, inflamed, bursts out into words, or the Lord of all things nonetheless deigns to answer his tempter with words. In all these things is the plan of our salvation. The Saviour hungers for us, speaks for us; we conquer in him, because we are his reason for fighting. For who would doubt that the only-begotten of the Father, whom no creature could oppose, entered the contest for those whose flesh he had put on? The form of a human body, then, persuaded the most cunning enemy to come out to battle, and the true Son of God confounded him by the answer of a true man. That is why the tempter, wandering and uncertain, probes with soft and hesitant temptations; for though he saw the appearance of a fleshly man in Christ, yet, stirred by the presence of his divinity, he suspected him to be more than a man. A woman's childbearing encouraged him to venture the encounter, but the virginity of the mother terrified him; for though Mary, a daughter of Eve, had borne Christ, she had not conceived him of Adam. So when the enemy saw the Son of God brought forth through such great miracles, he turned it over in himself, I think, and said in wonder: Who is this who has entered this world without my knowing? I know that he was born of a woman, but I do not know whence he was conceived. See, the mother stands here, but I cannot trace the father. I see the birth, but I do not recognize the one born; and what adds to my astonishment, by an unaccustomed law of childbearing, even after bearing a son the mother exults as a virgin. See, the little one lies in a cradle, he bathes his face in tears, and shows by his wails that he is like mortals; and though he lacks nothing of infancy, yet there is no corruption in him as in an infant. Wrapped in cloths he is shabby, but heaven smiles on him with the ray of a gladder star, and angels ministering to him in his honor run between the stars and the earth and announce with exultation a newness I do not understand. What miracle is this? I see what I cannot grasp; I hear what I cannot bear: born a man, he is honored as God. Never in all the ages has it happened to me that anyone was born a man and had nothing of human vice. What is this generation so new and so powerful? Born among sinners and the ungodly, coming forth from a mortal mother, he appears to me cleaner than all who are born and purer than heaven itself. No root of avarice springs up in him, no envy beats in his heart, his tongue knows no lie, his eyes admit no lust, he is softened by no pleasure of the ears; certainly the self-indulgence through which I subjected the human race to myself cannot pierce his breast: there is no boasting in him, no malice. In short? I find nothing in him that delights me; he frustrates all my efforts. What shall I do? Where shall I turn? I feel him to be stronger; I think he wants to reign in my kingdom; perhaps this is God, whom no offense can stain. But if he were God, how would he endure the indignities of being born of a woman? How would he be content with a cradle and swaddling cloths? Who could believe in the wails of infancy in God? To whom, hearing it, is it not ridiculous that God should be nourished on a woman's milk? After all this, see, he is hungry, though surely no reason persuades that God should be hungry. The devil, of course, did not know that Christ's undergoing the nourishment of infancy and his hunger as a man were not a matter of bodily frailty but a sacrament of heavenly grace. For the Son of God, who has timeless eternity with the everlasting Father, who reigns with his begetter, by nature impassible, in incorrupt dominion, carried out a saving mystery in our flesh; and for this reason he underwent the common suffering of mortals, so that he might triumph over the enemy of the human race in a man's contest. Hence that presumptuous one, blinded by his rage, said to the Lord: “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves.” This was his most foolish and empty trick: he wants to tempt with bread the one who is bread, thinking that he who was enduring a voluntary hunger was suffering from lack of food. The Lord answered him: “It is written: Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” That is to say: In vain, devil, do you try again to trip by food; let it be enough for you that Adam was deceived through you in paradise when you persuaded him to forbidden food. Neither does hunger conquer me, nor do I yield to your persuasions; for the will of God is my food, the word of God my perfect refreshment. Struck back by this sentence, the devil said again, I suppose: What is this? I see him hungry, and I do not find him needing to eat; he suffers all things as a man and conquers all as God. That Adam, though surely made by God's hands, once yielded to my snares; this one, born of a woman, is neither bent by his own needs nor acquiesces in my counsels; him I overcame by a serpent's mouth; this one despises me even when I speak myself. Again, as the Lord stood on the pinnacle of the temple, he said: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.” How troubled he is when he says this, thinking to persuade a leap to one from whom he could obtain nothing about loaves! Christ answers him: “It is written: You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” That is: what you urge, devil, is the presumption of temptation, not the counsel of soundness; the vanity of boasting, not an example of virtue; for every miracle is empty which does not work benefit for human salvation. Defeated by this answer of the Lord, he showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their honors, saying: “All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.” Again he is answered: “It is written: You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” That is: to whoever worships you, demon, not kingdoms but hell is due. For to worship the true God and serve him is the prerogative of reigning; but you, who promise the honors of the world for the transgression you seek, know that you cannot give a kingdom. See, the tempter gains nothing by his threefold questioning; he came uncertain and returns more uncertain; he attacked in order to test, and departed rejected. Now, then, dearest brothers, since in recounting the victories of the fasting Lord we have recognized the triumph of our salvation, let us sanctify our fasts with religious service. What else is it to sanctify a fast than, for the sake of the fast, to will holy things, do just things, and avoid wicked ones? He sanctifies the fast whose heart is not turned from the right path by flattery of the powerful, by favor of friends and relatives, or by the small and great gifts of clients. He sanctifies his fast whose heart does not grow cheap toward justice. He sanctifies the fast who quenches the flames of raging anger with the placability of a gentle mind. He sanctifies the fast who turns wanton eyes from shameful sights with the reins of chastity. He sanctifies the fast who scatters the darts of insults, beaten back by the shield of patience. He sanctifies the fast who calms the uproar of quarrelers by the sweetness of peaceable speech and the art of a more prudent tongue. He sanctifies the fast who, like a ploughman of his own breast, cuts out with the furrowing ploughshare of the Gospel the thorns of vain thoughts that spring up in him. He sanctifies the fast who consoles the want of the needy with the humanity of a merciful hand according to the amount of his means. Above all he sanctifies the fast who, intent on the precepts of the divine law, spits out the devil's temptations from his heart. And so, dearest brothers, if we wish to offer fasts pleasing to God, let us be strong in heart, just in judgments, faithful in friendship, patient under injuries, moderate in disputes; let us shun foul talk, be steadfast against wickedness, sober at banquets, simple in love, wary among the deceitful, sharing the grief of the sorrowful, resisting the obstinate, sparing of suspicions, silent among slanderers, equals among the humble. If we wish to sanctify our fasts with virtues of this kind, by the Lord's gift we shall come to the feast of the Easter grace and to the joys of the heavenly promises with undoubting confidence and a gladder conscience.

Some days ago, in preaching the devotion of holy Lent, we brought forward examples from the sacred writings by which we showed that this number forty was not established by men but consecrated by God; not found by earthly thinking but commanded by heavenly majesty. And so whoever breaks the established number by eating on one day is accused not as the violator of one day but convicted as the transgressor of the whole of Lent. Hence it is good for a man to fast the said number without trouble and so gain alike the holiness of the whole of Lent. These are not so much the precepts of priests as of God. And so whoever despises them despises not the priest but Christ, who speaks in his priest. Let us see, then, at what season the Lord has enjoined this observance on us, whether he has not willed all the elements to make progress, as it were, through this devotion. For see, when Lent is proclaimed, the earth bound by winter frost is loosened, and the streams of the waters, the ice melted, recover their courses; so also at this same season the sins contracted by our bodies through crimes are loosened, and the course of our life, the devil's stiffness melted, recovers its former channel more purely. When Lent is proclaimed, I say, the earth lays aside the harshness of winter; I, when Lent is proclaimed, leave behind the harshness of offenses. That earth is split by ploughs to be fit for worldly crops; my earth is ploughed by fasts to be suitable for heavenly seeds. For as he reaps a richer return who works the field more often by turning it, so he receives greater grace who works the field of his body more often by fasting. For see, in the time of abstinence the blade of the crops grows green again toward harvest, the shoot of the tree strives toward a bush, the branch of the vine swells into a bud; and all things raise themselves from lower to higher. So at this very same season men's hope, that was half-dead, revives for the future; lost faith is restored toward glory; temporal life advances toward the eternal; and the whole human race, raising itself to heavenly things, rises from the lowest to the higher. Now the farmer, carrying his iron, prunes the shoots of the vines; so now the bishop, handling the Gospel, cuts away the filth of the peoples; and in this very forty-day course all creatures do this, so that, having laid aside what is superfluous, they may come forth adorned and trim at Easter. Now all things are in labor, so that then they may be found in fruit. For then, against the look of nature, the thorn brings forth the rose, the stalk is fragrant with the lily, dry twigs put forth sweetness; and all things are adorned with flowers, so that creation itself may be thought to celebrate the festival of the great day with its brightness. Let us too, then, in this same time of fasts bring forth roses from our thorns: that is, righteousness from sins, mercy from severity, generosity from avarice. For these are the thorns of our body which choke the soul, of which Scripture says: “Thorns and thistles the earth shall bring forth for you.” My earth brings forth thorns for me if it pricks me with the trouble of bodily lust. It produces thistles for me when it torments me with desire for worldly riches. For the root of his avarice is a thorn to a Christian; the ambition for honor is a thorn to a good man; for they seem pleasing in appearance to those who have them, but they wound. We cannot be free of these except by watching and fasting, since rather through abstinence the very thorns will be turned into a rose. For by fasting lust produces chastity, pride humility, and excess frugality. These are the flowers of our life, which are fragrant to Christ, which breathe a good odor to God. Hence the Apostle says: “For we are the good odor of Christ to God.” The Lord has granted us this Lent, then, so that in the space of this season, after the manner of all creation, we may now conceive the buds of the virtues, so that on the day of Easter we may bring forth the fruit of righteousness. The Lord himself practiced this number forty, not to gain progress himself, but to show us the progress of salvation. For there was in him no thorn of sin to be turned into a flower; for he himself was a flower born not of a thorn but of a rod, as the prophet says: “A rod will come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower will rise up from his root.” For the rod was Mary, shining, slender, and a virgin, who budded Christ like a flower by the integrity of her body. The Lord kept these forty continuous days of fasting without being hungry; but the evangelist says that he was hungry afterward. How, then, can it be that he who for so many days felt neither hunger nor thirst was hungry afterward? He was plainly hungry, and we cannot deny that he was hungry; but he hungered not for the food of men but for salvation; nor did he long for banquets of worldly dishes, but desired the holiness of heavenly souls. For Christ's food is the redemption of the peoples; Christ's food is the accomplishment of the Father's will, as he himself says: “My food is to do the will of the Father who sent me.” Let us too, then, hunger for food, not that which is prepared with earthly dishes, but that which is gathered by reading the divine Scriptures. For the one nourishes the body for a time, the other refreshes the soul for ever. [Here it ends.]