He must increase, but I must decrease

 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  

 

John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies, and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

- John 3:22-36 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus continued to teach Nicodemus:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe in condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

  After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  In the following chapter, it's clarified that Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples were baptizing (see John 4:1-2).  

 

 John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."  John the Baptist is called the friend (meaning the "best man"), while Christ is the bridegroom.  My study Bible explains that the bride is the Church, the people of God.  Here John is confessing his role in the coming of the Messiah.  He is witness to the wedding of Christ and His people, and so he rejoices in that celebration.  

 

 "He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies, and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure."  My study Bible comments that John expresses a humility that serves as an example for all believers.  His words express that he renounces all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  In allowing Christ to increase in him, John thereby find true glory for himself.  My study Bible also claims that this statement further indicates the end of the old covenant -- for as the law vanishes, the grace of Christ abounds.  John's declaration is found in the liturgical calendar, as his birth is celebrated at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24), while Christ's birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 25).

 

"The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  Here John echoes the teaching of Jesus (see John 3:18).  My study Bible asks us to note the absence of the word "alone" in this statement of faith.  According to St. John Chrysostom, "We do not from this assert that faith alone is sufficient for salvation; the directions for living that are given in many places in the Gospels show this."  See also James 2:14-24.

 

John's statement, "He must increase, but I must decrease" is a model statement for all monastics, and an encouragement to all believing Christians.  St. Paul expressed the same idea when he wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).   St. Paul has also written, "I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31).  In "decreasing" so that Christ "increases" within us, we encounter the notion of theosis, or deification.  This is a theological word which describes a human being, through Christian faith, becoming more like God.  This is not to say that we human beings can become like God in nature or substance, but rather that God shares God's grace with us.  In Orthodox theological language, God shares God's energies with us.  In St. John's Gospel, Jesus quotes from the Psalms, asking, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods'?" (John 10:34; Psalm 82:6).  My study Bible comments that we are gods in that we bear Christ's image, not His nature.  But through grace (or divine energies), we are to become more like God.  We were made in accordance with human nature, but in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26).  Christ assumed our humanity, and, my study Bible says, even in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, this process of our own healing, of being renewed in God's image and likeness, was begun.  So therefore, those who are joined to Christ, through faith, in Holy Baptism, begin this process of "re-creation."  That is, being renewed in God's image and likeness.  In this sense, St. Peter writes that we become "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4).  This is our salvation, this healing in which all things come under the authority of Christ, and we become "children of God" in this sense of image and likeness.  John the Baptist hands off the old to the new covenant, as my study Bible says, and encapsulates this salvation memorably for all when he says, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  Christ is our Bridegroom, and we the Church, the faithful, are His Bride, to be joined to Him.  And therein is John's, and our, joy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He must increase, but I must decrease

 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

- John 3:22–36 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus taught Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

  After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."  Here John the Baptist is called the friend (or "best man"), while Christ Himself is the bridegroom.  My study Bible tells us that the bride is the Church, the people of God.  Here John confesses is role in the coming of the Messiah.  He's witness to the wedding of Christ and His people, my study Bible says, and so he rejoices in that celebration. 

"He must increase, but I must decrease."  My study Bible comments that John expresses a humility that serves as an example for all believers.  He renounces all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  In allowing Christ to increase in him, he finds true glory for himself.  Moreover, my study Bible adds, John's statement indicates the end of the old covenant.  As the law vanishes, it says, the grace of Jesus Christ abounds.  This declaration is also evident in the liturgical calendar.  John the Baptist's birth is celebrated at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24), while the birth of Christ is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 25).

 

"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  Here John echoes the teaching of Jesus Himself (in John 3:18).   My study Bible asks us to note the absence of the word "alone" in this statement of faith.  St. John Chrysostom is quoted as saying, "We do not from this assert that faith alone is sufficient for salvation; the directions for living that are given in many places in the Gospels show this."  See also James 2:14-24. 

 

 John the Baptist says of Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  As my study Bible indicates, this is also a statement that can apply to the new and old covenants, respectively.  For John the Baptist is a figure of the Old Testament, a prophet in the lineage of the Old Testament prophets.  And he is guiding and "handing off," so to speak, his disciples to Jesus.  We might consider this statement as a type of prophecy in that overarching sense of the story of salvation, and what is happening in Israel and in the world at this time of the early part of Christ's earthly ministry.  But there are also ways in which this statement by John the Baptist applies to all of us.  It also applies to each one of us individually as believers.  St. Paul writes, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).  In this statement, St. Paul makes it clear that as a person, his old life and identity are "crucified," and Christ lives and grows in him through his faith.  This is most important for each of us to understand, because we are all meant to do the same.  For the Orthodox, this process of Christ growing within us, while our worldly identities decrease in favor of the one we come to know through faith in Christ, is called Theosis.  We each, in this sense, are meant to become divinized; that is, to grow in likeness to Christ, so that we can say together with St. John the Baptist (in this particular sense), "He must increase, but I must decrease."  The only irony in such an application is that we don't decrease at all in this process.  Instead, Christ gives us an identity in Him and through our faith that is much greater than the worldly identity we might know without Him.  Like the Prodigal Son, we "come to ourselves" when we return to Christ, the One who loves us and who died for us, as St. Paul writes.  Additionally, along these same lines, St. Paul also has written, "I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31).  In the context of this letter, St. Paul was defending the imperative of our faith in Christ's Resurrection, and in this sense we can understand how both crucifixion and resurrection play a role in our lives as we participate in the life of Christ through our faith and the sacraments and practices of the Church.  If, as Christ increases in us, we (in our sense of worldly identity) decrease, then what we receive is a resurrection even in this life.  We receive for our faith a sense of ourselves that eclipses who we thought we were, just as Saul who terrified the Church by breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord became St. Paul.   "He must increase, but I must decrease" is also a powerfully iconic statement of humility, and, as such, St. John the Baptist forms the model ideal for monastics.  Sainthood itself is nothing less than this process of growth in holiness, exchanging one identity for another in obedience and humility, and giving up the things that stand in the way of such a process.  St. John, in today's reading, describes just what that process has been for him.  He has found his true identity as the friend of the Bridegroom, and as such, he has come to rejoice:  "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."  So we, like St. John the Baptist and also St. Paul, and countless myriad other saints known and not known to us, may find our joy in the ways we, too, may become friends of the Bridegroom.  For this, too, is part of the reality of everlasting life,  life given to us more abundantly by the Son and through our faith. 

 

 

 

He must increase, but I must decrease

 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  

 

John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

- John 3:22–36

Yesterday we read that there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

  After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  In the following chapter, the Gospel tells us that Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples were doing so (see John 4:2). 

 

John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."  Here John the Baptist refers to himself as the friend of the bridegroom (or "best man"), while Christ Himself is the bridegroom.  Christ's bride is the Church, the faithful people of God.  My study Bible remarks that John confesses his role in the coming of the Messiah -- that he is witness to the wedding of Christ and Christ's people, and therefore, as the "friend" he rejoices in that celebration.   His joy is fulfilled because this is his true, authentic role in salvation.  

"He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand."  Here John the Baptist expresses a humility that is remarkable enough so that it serves as an example for all believers.  John renounces all earthly glory and reputation, my study Bible says, for the sake of Christ.  As John allows Christ to increase in him, the Baptist himself finds true glory.  Additionally, this statement indicates more completely the end of the old covenant.  As the law vanishes, so the grace of Jesus Christ abounds.  In the liturgical calendar, this declaration is also revealed, as John's birth is celebrated at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24), while Christ's birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 25). 

 

"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  Here John's word echoes the teaching of Christ (see verse 18, found in yesterday's reading, above).  My study Bible comments that we should notice the absence of the word "alone" in this statement of faith.  It quotes a commentary by St. John Chrysostom:  "We do not from this assert that faith alone is sufficient for salvation; the directions for living that are given in many places in the Gospels show this."  See also James 2:14-24. 

 

 As my study Bible indicates, John the Baptist's statement, "He must increase, but I must decrease" is a type of archetypal statement of humility; so much so, that it has remained a model for monastics and all those who take their faith seriously.  For this statement must also apply to the rest of us, if we take the increase in our faith seriously.  "He must increase, but I must decrease" is, in a sense, a statement of growing faith in Christ.  That is, a growing dependency upon our faith to guide our lives, commensurate with a letting go of the old ways of being and knowing.  Perhaps we, once upon a time, trusted a childhood friend to tell us things we thought might be a good idea.  But as we grow, we "put away childish things," as St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:11 ("When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things").  This is a statement of St. Paul about a growing, maturing faith, a faith that comes to know Christ (and hence, love) more deeply, and so in this sense we also decrease while Christ "increases" in us.  This is the way of faith and of grace, and these are the products or "fruit" of the Spirit.  As Jesus will teach the disciples in John's Gospel, the Spirit "will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:13-14).  That is, the Spirit guides us to know Christ more deeply, and this is the truth to which Christ refers.  So, in this sense also, we mature in our faith, we grow in the depth of this spiritual experience, and so in us, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  As we grow in casting off our childish ways, the goal of the Christian life is to grow in the ways that Christ holds for us, mature in the ways that Christ teaches us to be His children by adoption.  So let us take on this remarkable, towering, centuries-long exalted example of John the Baptist.  For he teaches us what holiness is and does, and the essential power of humility in the life of Christian faith.  For without humility, how does Christ increase in us?  How do we "decrease" and leave more room for Him?  When the angel Gabriel presents himself to Mary at the Annunciation, she sings, "My soul magnifies the Lord" (Luke 1:46).  In St. John the Baptist, and Mary the Mother of God we have the two most honored saints in the tradition of the Church.  They both teach us what it is to honor and love the Lord, they both teach us what personal holiness is.  Let us endeavor to be like them, to live our faith like them.  

 

 

 

Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled

 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

- John 3:22-36 

 

Yesterday, we read that Jesus taught Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  

 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."   My study Bible notes that John the Baptist is called the friend (or the "best man"), while Christ is the bridegroom.  The bride is the Church, the people of God.  It says that John confesses his role in the coming of the Messiah -- that he is witness to the wedding of Christ and His people, and thus he rejoices in that celebration.  Let us take note of John's declaration, "Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."  Jesus will also use the language of joy in a similar way, at the Last Supper (see John 15:11; 16:22-24; 17:13).

 

"He must increase, but I must decrease."  My study Bible comments here that John expresses a humility that serves as an example for all believers.  He renounces all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  By allowing Christ to increase in him, John himself finds true glory.  Moreover, this statement is indicative of the end of the old covenant.  As the law vanishes, the grace of Christ abounds.   In the liturgical calendar, this is expressed.  John's birth is celebrated by most denominations at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24), while Christ's birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 25 for most; January 6 when the celebration is joint with Epiphany, also known as Theophany, the event of Christ's Baptism and the beginning of His public ministry).  

 

"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  My study Bible comments that here John echoes the teaching of Jesus Himself (John 3:18, from yesterday's reading, above).  It asks us to note that the word "alone" is not found in this statement of faith.  It quotes St. Chrysostom here:  "We do not from this assert that faith alone is sufficient for salvation; the directions for living that are given in many places in the gospels show this."  See also James 2:14-24.

 

 John the Baptist says, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."  As noted above, Jesus uses the same language of joy when He speaks about His relationship with the disciples.  John's particular relationship to Christ defines identity, a true identity in the fullness of his own spiritual  understanding, his place in the sight of God.  As this is what defines identity in the fullest sense, it is in the fulfillment of that identity that joy -- this kind of joy -- takes place and is made possible.  This has meaning for all of us, for it is that same sort of joy that Jesus addresses to the disciples.  We understand ourselves in relationship to Christ the Son, and in this fullness of who we are, of where our soul is linked to Creator, and how we experience that in faith,  we come to the truth of identity.  It is in the living and fulfillment of that identity that we also find this kind of joy.  The word in Greek is χαρά/chara.  It also means delight.  When we find this place in which we are embraced in love, and taught who we are, we find our joy.  John understands that he is the friend of the bridegroom, like the "best man" at a wedding, as my study Bible notes.  Therefore in standing beside the Bridegroom, Christ, in hearing Him, and in finding his own place in this salvation dispensation, John takes joy, he finds his delight.  So it is with each one of us, drawn to this place of finding ourselves.  That is, finding ourselves in Christ, this place where love draws us like a type of gravity, to the place where we find comfort, home, where we know and are known.  It is this place where we find direction, and experience an embrace unlike any other for its acceptance and teaching and care.  That joy is in the fulfillment of who we are as those created "in the image and likeness of God" (Genesis 1:26), that true icon or true face of who we are.  When we are drawn by this gravity of love, and respond in trust (or faith), we are taken on this journey of discovery of who we are through this relatedness, this place for us -- and that becomes the lifelong path of faith.  We may not find that path to be straight, we may be taken on a journey that asks us to examine many things about our beliefs, our habits, our practices.  We may be taken on a long journey of change, an evolution of the way we think.  Like John the Baptist, it is a worldly, limited sense of self which decreases, as Christ increases in us.  But what draws us in this deep place is the love of God, and the joy found there -- for there we are free to find ourselves and to live that abundant life.  

 

And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age

 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.

- Matthew 28:16-20

Yesterday we read that Jesus said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?  And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek the  kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you."

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  Today's reading commemorates Ascension Day, which is celebrated today in the West.  For the Eastern Orthodox, Ascension is next week, on June 6th.  The eleven disciples are the twelve, minus the one who has betrayed Christ, Judas Iscariot.  Let us note that when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  The Gospels make clear to us that there are those who doubt.  (In Matthew's Gospel, from which today's reading is taken, Christ has made a Resurrection appearance only to the women at the tomb; see 28:1-10.  In John's chapter 20, we are given the appearance to the women, the Great Commission in today's reading, and also the story of doubt as expressed by the apostle Thomas).

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."  My study bible says that this is a declaration by Christ that the authority that was His by nature in His divinity is now also possessed by His glorified human nature.  The completion of His mission as Incarnate human being has meant that this human nature has now trampled the final enemy, which is death (1 Corinthians 15:20-28). 

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you . . .."  This is the Great Commission, the Lord's final commandment which is given on earth.  My study bible comments that it is to be lived out in the Church until His Return.  To make disciples cannot be done through human power alone, but only in the power of God.  Therefore, the power of the Resurrection isn't just for Jesus only, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission, which connects us to the promise He makes next.

. . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.  My study bible tells us that Christ Himself is present in each believer and in the Church always, both personally and in the Holy Spirit, as neither can be separated from the other.  To the end of the age, my study bible says, does not imply we will be separated from Christ at the end of the world.  As we often hear in worship and prayer, He is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.

How do we teach others to be disciples?  In other words, how do we fulfill Christ's command given in this Great Commission?  Does it apply only to religious, those ordained in the Church to baptize and to teach?  As laypeople, so we also have, in the tradition of the Church, a commission to baptize where baptism is impossible otherwise, such as at the sudden death of an infant.  We teach others discipleship through our own example of discipleship.  In this sense, this commission is for all of us, for each of us, for in our own discipleship we will find natural ways to teach and to give example.  Without a doubt, just as He promises that He is with us always, even to the end of the age, He remains with each one of us, both in Himself and in the Holy Trinity which dwells within us also, and in that Trinity, so dwells the communion of saints in heaven and on earth.  This promise leaves us connected and in communion in ways we don't know and can't easily see of ourselves, but it is a promise nonetheless, that works in ways which are mysterious (meaning "hidden") to us.  Our lives, in our faith, are never separated from a vast connection both visible and invisible.  Christ, as divine Lord who has also transfigured human nature through the Incarnation, remains with us and within us, as He has promised.  He connects us more thoroughly to the divine and righteous.  The angels rejoice, we are told, at His Ascension, to see human nature glorified and entering into heaven -- for this is a revelation even for them as well.  All of creation, then, and not simply we human believers, rejoices in this Ascension and given commission.  If our own human nature is so transfigured in the Incarnation, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord, then the Church has been left for 2,000 years to wonder what that means for us who dwell in the world as believers.  We are given the myriad saints as examples of what that means, their own unique natures and character each transfigured in the light of Christ, magnifying compassion and love, a communion exemplified, the depth of adoration revealed that is possible to us.  In the saints we find a divine longing for the love of God, a thirst that is only possibly fulfilled in God's love, and all the expressions of such love shared with us as is possible, in unique ways for the circumstances, times, and characters of such saints -- and also of those myriad saints whose names we don't know.  We are connected through a web of prayer and of love, a love we don't know except through God who surpasses human expectations.  Our Lord transfigures our passions into love, and shows us the way into that love through discipleship.  By implication, the way is unlimited; but our own natures go with Him so that we, too, may rest in that discipleship and that future for we are created for this divine purpose.  As He states, it all begins with baptism, where we are invited to die to the old and live a new life -- a baptism that continues throughout our discipleship.  Do we accept the Commission, and that future for ourselves and our world?