This
is the day on which Christ was clearly revealed to the world,
the day on which he consecrated the sacrament of baptism
by receiving it in person, and also the day, according to
the belief of the faithful, on which he changed water into
wine at the wedding feast.
On this day too water became wine
in a spiritual sense; the letter of the law ceased to apply,
and the grace of the gospel shone out through Christ.
Christ was baptized, and the world was renewed. At his baptism the world put
off the old man and put on the new. The earth cast off the first man who is earthly
by nature and put on the second man who comes from heaven.
When Christ was baptized
the mystery of holy baptism was consecrated by the presence of the whole Trinity.
The
Father’s voice thundered: “This my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” The Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove. But it was the divine will that
only the Son should be baptized by blessed John.
Although the whole Trinity was
at work in the incarnation of the Word and the mystery of his baptism, the Son
alone was baptized by John, just as he alone was born of the Virgin. With the
exception of sin, he experienced all the sufferings of the humanity he had assumed,
yet in his divinity he remained untouched by suffering.
Today is festive enough in its own right, but it stands out all the more clearly
because of its proximity to Christmas.
When God is worshiped in the Child, the
honor of the virgin birth is revered. When gifts are brought to the God-man,
the dignity of the divine motherhood is exalted. When Mary is found with her
child, Christ’s true manhood is proclaimed, together with the inviolate chastity
of the Mother of God.
All this is contained in the evangelist’s statement: “And
entering the house they found the child with Mary his mother, and bowing down
they worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.”
The gifts brought by the wise men reveal hidden mysteries concerning Christ.
To offer gold is to proclaim his kingship, to offer incense is to adore his godhead,
and to offer myrrh is to acknowledge his mortality.
We too must have faith in
Christ’s assumption of our mortal nature. Then we shall realize that our two-fold
death has been abrogated by the death he died once for all.
You will find a description
in Isaiah of how Christ appeared as a mortal man and freed us from our debt to
death. It is written: “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.”
The necessity of faith in the kingship of Christ can be demonstrated on divine
authority, since he says of himself in one of the psalms: "I have been appointed
king by him," that is, by God the Father.
And speaking as Wisdom personified
he
claims to be the King of kings, saying: “It is through me that kings reign
and princes pronounce judgment.”
As to Christ’s divinity, the whole world created by him testifies that he is
the Lord. He himself says in the gospel: “All power has been given me in heaven
and on earth,” and the blessed evangelist declares: “All things were made
through him, and without him nothing was made.”
(Sermon
2 on the Epiphany: PL 142, 997-998)
Odilo (962-1049) entered
the monastery of Cluny in 991 and a few years later was elected
abbot, a position he held for fifty years. Under his rule
the number of Cluniac houses increased from thirty-seven
to sixty-five and their influence was widespread. Odilo left
a lasting mark on the liturgy by introducing the commemoration
of the dead on All Souls’ day. From Cluny this observance
spread throughout the Western Church. Odilo wrote a number
of letters and sermons, most of which treat of the Blessed
Virgin and the mysteries of redemption, especially the incarnation.