A sermon by Origen
| The crossing of the Jordan |
|---|
| Syrian refugees crossing the Jordan at night |
| The Israelites crossing the Jordan |
The
ark of the covenant led the people of God across the Jordan. The
priests and the Levites halted, and the waters, as though out of
reverence to the ministers of God, stopped flowing. They piled up in a
single mass, thus allowing the people of God to cross in safety. As a
Christian, you should not be amazed to hear of these wonders performed
for men of the past. The divine Word promises much greater and more
lofty things to you who have passed through Jordan’s stream by the
sacrament of baptism: he promises you a passage even through the sky.
Listen to what Paul says concerning the just: We shall be caught up in the clouds to meet Christ in heaven, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
There is absolutely nothing for the just man to fear; the whole of
creation serves him. Listen to another promise that God makes him
through the prophet: If you pass through fire, the flame shall not burn you, for I am the Lord your God. The just man is everywhere welcome, and everything renders him due service.
So you must not think that these events belong only to
the past, and that you who now hear the account of them do not
experience anything of the kind. It is in you that they all find their
spiritual fulfilment. You have recently abandoned the darkness of
idolatry, and you now desire to come and hear the divine law. This is
your departure from Egypt. When you became a catechumen and began to
obey the laws of the Church, you passed through the Red Sea; now at the
various stops in the desert, you give time every day to hear the law of
God and to see the face of Moses unveiled by the glory of God. But once
you come to the baptismal font and, in the presence of the priests and
deacons, are initiated into those sacred and august mysteries which only
those know who should, then, through the ministry of the priests, you
will cross the Jordan and enter the promised land. There Moses will hand
you over to Jesus, and He himself will be your guide on your new
journey.
Mindful, then, of all the mighty works of God,
remembering that he divided the sea for you and held back the waters of
the river, you will turn to them and say: Why was it, sea, that you
fled? Jordan, why did you turn back? Mountains, why did you skip like
rams, and you hills, like young sheep? And the word of the Lord will reply: The
earth is shaken at the face of the Lord, at the face of the God of
Jacob, who turns stones into a pool and rock into springs of water.
