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Romans
6:1-11
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What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
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Getting Christ
Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa, Pastors and Confessors
10 January 2013
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Gregory of Nyssa and his compatriots , Basil of Caesarea, and Gregory Nazianzus, whom we commemorate today, had a high Christology and were tenacious defenders of the Nicene faith: that Jesus was of the same substance as the Father. Along with their high Christology comes a high salvation and a high sacramentality. Clarity about who the Christ is and what He does should lead to a wonderful outcome. If God has offered such a precious gift into the world, why shouldn't we have a high confidence in the power of God to accomplish the salvation that He promises is brought about by the incarnation of His only Son? He planned carefully for our salvation, both in that its price was long anticipated through the divine promise that the Seed would come to crush the head of the serpent and that its result was so well delivered in the salvation actually bestowed upon us through the sacrament of holy baptism. If God has gone to such extraordinary lengths as the incarnation of His own dearest treasure to work our salvation, will He not also give us all the benefits accrued by His incarnation in a way that is equally certain and powerful? If He has bestowed Christ Himself on us, giving Him up for us all, will He not also with Him graciously give us all things (Rm 8:32)?
Christology and sacramentology are inseparable. In our time, those who fail to fully appreciate the sacraments and treat them as incidental add-ons; as merely a kind of "spiritual dessert," may themselves also have an insufficient Christology. Where the sacraments are not treasured, celebrated, and taught, the One who offers Himself, along with life and salvation in and by the sacraments, may also become unimportant or peripheral in the teaching. A practice which leads away from the sacraments also leads away from the One who gives the sacraments to the church. The result will be a terrible impoverishment of the church's practice and finally a truncation of her theology. You cannot just pick and choose the teachings and practices you are going to accept and the ones which are not interesting to you. By ignoring what Christ offers to you in the sacraments, you are ignoring Christ. How would your grandmother feel if you ignored her when she offered you a piece of her home-made fudge? How could you claim to love and appreciate her if you simply ignore her wonderful offer to you? You couldn't. If you reject Christ's gifts, you may be rejecting Christ.
Already in the fourth century the feasts of the church had begun to settle on specific days. Christmas was followed by a celebration of The Baptism of our Lord. Baptism followed the incarnation as result follows cause. The benefits of the incarnation come to sinners like us through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). The Christ who was incarnate of Mary is received by sinners in the sacrament inaugurated by His reception of it in Jordan. His baptism becomes our baptism in the great exchange of faith. We have Christ through the means by which he gives Himself to us. We are getting Christ in baptism.
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Gregory of Nyssa
"Christ, whose generation was before all things physical and spiritual, was born, as it were, a few days ago. Today, He is baptized by John that He might cleanse man who was defiled, that He might bring the Spirit from above, and exalt him to heaven, that he who had fallen might be raised up and he (Satan) who had cast him down might be put to shame. You should not be shocked that God showed so great seriousness for our need. For the one (Satan) who wronged us laid the plot against us with great care. Therefore, it is with careful planning on the part of our Maker that we are saved. That evil charmer, framing his new device of sin against our race, drew along his serpent train, a disguise worthy of his intention, in his impurity entering into what was like himself, earthly and mundane as he was in his will, dwelling in that creeping thing.
"However, Christ, the repairer of Satan's evil work, assumes manhood in its fullness, and saves man, and becomes the type and figure of us all, to sanctify the first fruits of every action, and leave to His servants no doubt in their zeal for what is handed over. Baptism, then, is a purification from sins, a remission of trespasses, and a cause of renovation and regeneration. By regeneration, you should understand regeneration conceived in thought, and not discerned by bodily sight. For the water alone does not bestow the gift (for in that case it would be a thing more exalted than all creation), but the command of God, and the visitation of the Spirit that comes sacramentally to set us free does bestow it. Water serves to express the cleansing. For since by washing in water we are accustomed to render our bodies clean when they are soiled by dirt or mud, we therefore apply it also in the sacramental action, and display the spiritual brightness by that which is subject to our senses. Let us persevere in inquiring more fully and more minutely concerning baptism, starting, as from the fountainhead of the scriptural declaration, 'Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God' (Jn 3:3)."
Gregory of Nyssa, Sermon on the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord.
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Prayer
Father in heaven, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River You proclaimed Him Your beloved Son and anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Collect for The Baptism of Our Lord)
In thanksgiving for the birth of a healthy baby boy to Kelly and Jared Cmaidalka, that the Lord would keep them both under the shadow of His wings and bring this child into His kingdom through the sacrament of baptism
For all those who have suffered from inclement weather, that they would be kept safe and be enabled to recover
For all college students as they return to school, that their travels would be safe and that they would find joy in the gift of learning
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Art: CORREGGIO Nativity Holy Night (1528-30)
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 � Scott R. Murray, 2013
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