By St. Gregory Thaumaturgos
O you who are the friends of
Christ, and the friends of the stranger, and the friends of the
brethren, receive in kindness my speech today, and open your ears like
the doors of hearing, and admit within them my discourse, and accept
from me this saving proclamation of the baptism of Christ, which took
place in the river Jordan, in order that your loving desires may be
quickened after the Lord, who has done so much for us in the way of
condescension. For even though the festival of the Epiphany of the
Saviour is past, the grace of the same yet abides with us through all.
Let us therefore enjoy it with insatiable minds; for insatiate desire is
a good thing in the case of what pertains to salvation—yea, it is a
good thing. Come therefore, all of us, from Galilee to Judea, and let us
go forth with Christ; for blessed is he who journeys in such company on
the way of life. Come, and with the feet of thought let us make for the
Jordan, and see John the Baptist as he baptizes One who needs no
baptism, and yet submits to the rite in order that He may bestow freely
upon us the grace of baptism.