This sermon too is ascribed to Maximus in the praised codex of St Emmeram; and moreover in the Laurentian codex 39, Pluteus XVIII, in the fourth of the library formerly of Santa Croce Minore, and in codex 174 of the library once belonging to the wardens of the greater church of Florence, folio 224 on the reverse. Most dear brethren, the nativity of the holy Forerunner of the Lord, John the Baptist, which today the holy universal Church celebrates, the holy prophets of the Lord had in many ways foretold beforehand. We ought to understand that this was done by the providence of divine mercy, so that he who was to be greater than the other prophets should himself also be honoured with a greater spirit of prophecy than the rest: for it is the office of a prophet to foretell things to come, but not also to point them out;
John, in short, was for this reason greater than the other prophets, because he both announced the Lord and Saviour as about to come, and showed him to be present. For this reason also, just as concerning the advent of the Lord himself, so also concerning the nativity of his forerunner it was prophesied beforehand, so that he who came to announce new things and to preach penance—no one might by his own perfidy be able to reject such preaching, unheard of from the ages, but that the office of his preaching might become more credible to all who heard. For it is fitting that he who came not only to announce, but also to point out, the King of all kings and the Lord of lords, should be born by a manner of begetting unlike the rest.
For it is doubtful to none that in the aged the concupiscence of the flesh had already grown cold, nor beyond the sixtieth year of age; and he was born of parents already old and now free from all wantonness of the flesh, as the sacred text of the Gospel proves: There was, it says, in the days of Herod king of Judea—that is, at the time when the nativity of Christ was drawing near—a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah (Luke 1). But first something must be said of Abijah, and afterward the order begun must be followed. For David, when he was treating of and arranging the building of the temple and its office, divided the whole progeny of the sons of Aaron into twenty-four parts, and from each part chose individual high priests who should minister in turn by order in the sanctuary of the temple;
with this proviso, however, that if any of the high priests should depart this life, the best in that division should be chosen as successor to the priesthood. In this division too that Abijah, of whose course and lineage Zacharias springs, was found placed in the eighth place, and the wife of Zacharias was of the daughters of Aaron, whose name was Elizabeth. For they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless, and they had no son, and Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days. And it came to pass that Zacharias, having entered the sanctuary in the order of his course to offer incense, suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to him, saying:
Fear not, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. When Zacharias heard this, he trembled; and because he was already old, and his wife ninety years of age, he did not believe, on account of old age, that what the angel had truly promised would come to pass; and because he did not believe, therefore he remained dumb, until the eighth day of John's nativity. Here it is plainly to be understood that a father's entreaty, not even a mother's pleasure, created John: against the impossibility of the body, against the barrenness of the womb, the aged Elizabeth swells by the prayers of Zacharias, and conceived not by nature, but by grace. Now in the seventh month, at the autumnal equinox, is the conception of St
John in his mother's womb. And in the first month of the following year, at the vernal equinox, is the conception of the Lord and Saviour in the womb of the Virgin mother. O herald of the Lord and Saviour, how marvellously born, and of how righteous parents sprung, and what the members of the body could not offer, the grace of the Saviour had granted! And he who made a barren mother fruitful also loosed the tongue even of the dumb father, and at once he had burst forth into the proclamation of the Saviour.
For being righteous, sprung from righteous parents, he showed forth the work of righteousness also in himself; and he who had come to prepare the way of the Lord in the hearts of the faithful, rightly also preached the doing of penance for sins, and displayed in his own way of life the austerity of life which he preached in others: And his garments were of camels' hair, and a leather girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey: he drank neither wine nor strong drink, and ate nothing unclean all the days of his life (Mark 1).
And in the thirtieth year from his nativity he began to baptize those who came to him, and to preach to the people the baptism of penance, that through penance and confession of sins they might become worthy to receive the remission of sins; which, because he could not grant it by his baptism, he nevertheless preached that Christ the Lord and Saviour was to come to us soon, concerning whom John himself, and all who believed in him and were baptized in his name, were to receive not only remission of sins, but also eternal life.
But why did John baptize, when he could not grant remission, except that he might keep the order of a forerunner, and, just as he ran before the Lord and Saviour both in nativity and in the office of preaching, so he might also run before the baptism of Christ with his own baptism? For through his preaching many were converted to the Lord, doing penance for their sins, and believed that, whenever Christ should come, whom John foretold as about to come, they would receive remission of sins and everlasting life. And therefore many came to John's baptism to hear the word of salvation; for many, that they might be healed of their infirmities, because John did many signs, many indeed believed him to be Christ; to whom, however, he himself said:
I am not the Christ, but I am the forerunner of Christ. Likewise, in the thirtieth year of Christ's nativity, both Christ and John came to the Jordan, and Christ was baptized by John—not that he himself had need to be baptized for any sin, but that John might baptize him, and he by his own baptism might both sanctify the water for us and give to all an example of baptism, without which no one is able to be saved; and that no one, however rich or powerful, might be, so as to disdain to be baptized by a servant, since he had heard that Christ was baptized by his servant John.
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately as he came up from the water, the heavens were opened to him, and the Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove and rested upon him, and the voice of the Father was heard from heaven, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear him (Luke 3). When St John saw and heard this, at once he pointed out the Lord with his finger to the crowd that was present, saying: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world (John 1). Behold him whom all the prophets foretold as about to come; behold him whom I promised you, through whom you may receive not only remission of sins, but also eternal life and immortality, and together with these joy and blessedness, if you believe in him.
For while blessed John shone forth by such deeds, King Herod aforesaid took away his wife from his brother Philip, and joined her to himself in marriage. And when blessed John reproved him for this, having been beheaded he happily consummated his martyrdom.
Wherefore, most dear ones, if we wish worthily to celebrate the solemnities of so holy a forerunner of the Lord, we ought to adorn ourselves with the holy merits of good works: in fasting and chastity, in continence, in humility of life, in meekness and sobriety, in vigils and prayers, in generosity of almsgiving, in patience and confession of our sins, in every diligence of good works to mortify the desires of the flesh, and let us deserve to save our souls unto eternal life, with blessed John aiding us by his holy prayers, and our Lord Jesus Christ helping us toward every good endeavour, who with the coeternal Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, lives and reigns unto the ages of ages. Amen.