On the Conception of the Venerable Forerunner

1The great and most glorious things of the God-bearing prophets have a dance, a beautiful expression of their faith and devotion. For with God, they move their feet and hands, working from the Spirit, and their movements are guided by a higher power. The Word, son and Christ and God, is offered in the tongue, a powerful expression of the divine. The Word who gathered the beauties of heaven and forged the lightning of the solar chariots is a mighty and awe-inspiring force. He ordered the monthly horns of the moon, governing the celestial bodies with precision and care.

He yoked the harmony of the stars and separated it, creating a beautiful and intricate universe. Having crafted a unique course for each, He demonstrated His infinite wisdom and creativity. And having commanded a common and single way for all, He established a sense of unity and purpose. He did not let the clouds fly unbridled, but instead guided them with a gentle and firm hand. But as the season calls and the fruit of the fields is sought and the farmer demands and longs and prays, God responds with abundance and generosity.

And all below intercede with the one above, seeking guidance and protection from a higher power. He said to the sea: 'Dance and roar; and let your waves be broken on the shore', demonstrating His authority over the natural world. Let the sailor fear, lest he forget the creation of the Creator, and fail to recognize the power and majesty of God. And let the merchant not be reckless, lest the element become harmful to the heir, and the consequences of his actions be severe. He divides the flowers, plants, fruits, and sprouts to the dry land, providing for the needs of all living things.

And has honored each place with exceptionally good things, bestowing blessings and abundance upon the world. And has shown the whole earth as one body with many members divided in many places, highlighting the interconnectedness of all things. He divides the flutes and separates the pipes and forges the trumpets for the prophets, providing them with the tools they need to fulfill their mission. He works the cymbals and articulates the drums, creating a beautiful and harmonious sound. He distributes the lots and allots the gifts, guiding the course of human events with wisdom and justice.

And the region was doubly and more glorious, filled with a sense of wonder and awe. For John the Baptist, being young, forced the times, and his presence was felt throughout the land. And the womb could not hold the child, for he was filled with a sense of purpose and destiny. And the mother could not contain the prophet, for he was bursting with a message that needed to be shared. He had no speech impediment, and his words were clear and powerful. And he filled the whole earth with glorious words, proclaiming the good news to all who would listen.

His tongue had no flute, but his message was sweet and melodious. And his song reached the whole world, a joyful and uplifting sound. The trumpet of his mouth was voiceless, but his words were loud and clear. And the sound of his teachings reached heaven, for they were inspired by a higher power. The time had not come, but John was preparing the way for something greater. Nor had the birth pangs arrived, but the anticipation was building. The months were not complete, but the expectation was growing.

And the child spoke to the other child without a tongue, communicating in a way that transcended words. And used kicks instead of some flutes, expressing himself in a unique and creative way. And struck the womb like a drum, making his presence known. And the belly like a cymbal, creating a sense of joy and celebration. And found a pure, broad, and strong lyre, discovering a powerful instrument for expressing himself. And told his mother to say to Mary: 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb', as recorded in Luke 1:42.

'Blessed are you among women', for you have been chosen for a great honor. Because you loosened the bonds, freed nature, and relieved Eve's birth pangs, bringing redemption and liberation. And placed Adam above necessities, elevating him to a new level of understanding and awareness. 'Blessed are you among women', for you have been given a great gift. For through you the sterile mother speaks, and the infant speaks clearly, as seen in Luke 1:42-45. And the infant speaks clearly, proclaiming the good news to all who will listen.

And the child speaks more than orators, for his words are inspired by a higher power. And the one who is not yet speaking is revealed as an evangelist, called to proclaim the message of salvation. And blessed the fruit of your womb, for it is a source of joy and wonder. I am voice and thunder, guide and lamp, mediator and herald, prophet and apostle, trumpeter of the gift of life, smoother of the way without stumbling block, baptizer seen in the flesh, forerunner of the king whose step is everywhere, whose throne is borne by all the elements.

All serve, but no one has seen the face or knows the character of the one being served, for He is a mystery beyond human comprehension. All tremble at his glory, their minds are confused, trying to understand his essence or imagine his power, as described in Psalm 104:1-9 and Job 38:8-11. Let John be praised, the citizen of the desert, the builder of the Jordan, the beholder of the divine dove, the observer of the paternal cloud, the listener to the voice that presented the worthiness of the Son, of the Word.

2He manifested glory, he revealed the glory of the only-begotten.

Let John be hymned, the flute-player of whose song all run.

For who hearing does not repent?

Who does not hasten to wash?

Who does not desire to be cleansed?

Who does not bring a vessel to the spring to draw, to drink, and to cool the burner, wishing?

Who, having learned that the kingdom of heaven has drawn near, does not desire to reach his brother first, and does not hasten to take the neighbor before?

Let John be hymned, whose first wonders and last are great and exceedingly radiant.

The first wonders: Gabriel announced to him his birth, an angel interpreted the conception to Zachariah.

From heaven the gift stood between the temple and the altar, the priest received it, and the cowardly sons of the Jews obtained so much.

For there the priest of God received the announcement, there they sharpen the sword and arm the hands and practice murder and work the drama.

What then did Gabriel say to Zachariah?

'Do not fear, Zachariah, because your supplication has been heard, and behold, your wife Elizabeth will bear a son to you, and you shall call his name John.'

And there will be for you joy and exultation, and many will rejoice at his birth.

For he will be great before the Lord, and he will not drink wine or strong drink at all, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb, and he will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God.

He will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, turning the hearts of fathers back to their children and leading the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord. You should consider the great honor bestowed on John the Baptist even before his birth, for he becomes a source of blessing before his very conception.

Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for the Redeemer is coming and the people will cease from sin. Your prayer has been heard. Now is the time when heaven and earth must bow to receive their Creator. And behold, your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son.

The barren woman gives birth, so that the Virgin may have a ground for the wonder and become the God-bearer. And you will call his name John: fittingly the name is strange, since the thing to which the name is given is strange too. The name is new, for new is the mystery to be fulfilled through him. And you will have joy and gladness: joy because you bear this one of whom it is said that among those born of women none is greater, and gladness because the end of the law and the prophets will come through him, the one born of you. And many will rejoice at his birth, those who accept his message of repentance and are cleansed in the bath of baptism. But the scribes do not rejoice, and the Pharisees mourn with them. To these he declares the winnowing fan and the axe, threatening and proclaiming the cutting down, for which reasons the forest has existed to them as thorny, wood-mad, beast-like, and inhumane. What then is the other by which Gabriel dignifies the Baptist, having announced?

He will be great in the sight of the Lord, for he points out the Lamb of God who bears the sin of the whole world; yet his greatness is defined not by heavenly stature as humans measure it, but by his divine orientation. Indeed, while Jews may find laughter in the mysteries of Christ, they mock the heralds of truth, treating the very proclaimers of grace as enemies and comic figures.

He shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, lest the spirit destined to dwell in him be constricted; for he is to be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb—not merely receiving the gift in advance or anticipating the graces, but so that he may proclaim the light before addressing it, announce the Maker before beholding His own elements, denounce the sun before witnessing its daily course, and having watched the night’s extremities.

And many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God, for he was the great teacher of Andrew, and this one had served as instructor to John the theologian before they brought themselves to the net. From him the apostles learned: 'Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,' and 'Rabbi, where do you dwell?' as they followed him, eager to enter the tent of the Uncontainable.

He will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, not in soul and body. Away, away from absurdity. Yet the sons of Greeks idle talk and mythologize, claiming souls pre-exist and pass from body to body, just as the mentally disturbed utter their words against them.

3They seek the redundant and the herded. Yet to each soul the Creator has given a distinct body, whence John, though called a second Elijah and spoken of due to zeal toward him, is nevertheless not in soul and body; but the One who has given spiritual energy to that one, this same One also grants to John the Baptist and forerunner a measure of gift, just as that one received. The One who supplied power to the ancient promises to supply it to the new.

He will turn back the hearts of fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. 'Fathers' refers to Israel, 'children' to the nations by the course of time; yet the fathers turn back to the children, for the children draw near the fountain of life, and they take hold of the banquet of joy as those who are wise and faithful, and having taken the table of light in advance, they encircle it. Thus those called 'fathers' are rightly named 'disobedient', for concerning them Isaiah the prophet has proclaimed: 'I know that you are stubborn, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead is bronze,' that the inflexibility of the synagogue and the utter disobedience of its heirs may be explained. But 'the just' are those from the nations; for if they once barely knew justice, now they pursue it with diligence; if they did not know the door of godliness, now they run into the bridal chamber with joy, entering therein; if they were once far from the light, now they behold the whole sun with pure eyes.

Why does Gabriel, in fulfilling another promise, declare, 'To prepare for the Lord a people made ready'? Who made them ready, if not Christ? For the One who formed also raised up; the One who set the wheel in motion from the beginning, this One later unrolled it. The One who said, 'Let a living soul come into being,' this One spoke; 'I do not wish the sinner to perish.' And these things, Gabriel, descending from heaven, proclaimed. In those words, John leaped within Elizabeth's womb and came to be; taking the One in the womb, he greets from the womb, and the One in the womb still theologizes, bound by the womb's bonds, while being held fast. Then, born, he is sent into the wilderness, that he may be like the wild beasts, that he may converse with God, that he may become free from the smokes and tumults of labors, that he may practice courage, that he may be instructed by the sensible beasts what manner they need to box the hidden ones and to fight against those who lurk. With age advancing and time progressing, he becomes a dinner guest at a table lacking a cook, not even hiring one; for wild honey was his food, completely unseasoned, and locusts were his food, of which the sacrifice was impious, the slaughter of goats unprofitable, needing no coals; he had no need of an external oven, but he acquired the oven from himself; and camel's hairs clothed the Baptist, that the spirit might warm the shivering body, and the melting flesh might cause the worms of pleasures to die; but also a leather girdle he wore around his loins.

He dwelt apart, sustained not by the craft of kitchens nor the hire of cooks, but by what the wilderness freely gave: honey untouched by art, locusts untouched by altar or slaughter, needing neither fire nor fuel. His garment was of camel's hair, girt with leather, not for show but to warm the frame and chill the flesh, that the worms of delight might perish in the melting. Thus he lived, not as one who prepares meals, but as one whose life itself became the preparation.

The mortification of pleasures shone brighter than gold; the sanctification flashed like electrum; the purity of many-shining stones concealed their radiant beams.

Thus, having practiced philosophy, the true ascetic was made complete — a guileless runner, a blameless soldier, a just leader of brides, a pious herald, a mediator, a forerunner, one who keeps himself from every sort of evil deed.

How often did the devil, seeing him philosophize thus, envy him? Yet he had no power to slander.

And what, being exceedingly thirsty, longing, and in need? What then — to slander the athlete, to mock the soldier, to jeer at the one who holds nothing in his hands? What prosperity could one proclaim of him who has no kinship to the well-being of life?

He had no children to slander, for he did not sow them; no daughters, since he did not obtain a father; no fields, for he did not possess them; no houses, since he did not raise them; no donkeys, oxen, or camels, for he acquired none; no woman, whom he did not know, did not have, did not marry.

Let John therefore be hymned — again I say — since to all he imparted beneficially the proclamation of preservation.

4As they were bringing and supplying what was needed, the people hastened to the fountain of baptism, and the Redeemer himself wanted to follow them like a shepherd with sheep, to participate in the fountain which he had shown to the lambs.

The Baptist's fingers were striking, his hands were numb, each of his limbs was trembling from head to foot.

The Savior said to the Baptist, 'I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me.'

The Baptist asked, 'How can I cleanse the clean one? How can I grasp the uncontainable one? How can I whiten light? How can I anoint the sun?' He wondered what his hand needed, what word he needed to say while baptizing, what he would say to the Jordan, to the dove from heaven, to the cloud which proclaims the message of his Father, and what he would say to you, baptizing?

The Baptist asked if the Savior was unaware of what he was, or why he had come.

The Savior replied, 'Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15).'

The Baptist asked if he had been conceived in iniquities, or if his mother had conceived him in sins, if his birth was corruption or if his conception was a mixture, if the womb was a bride or the belly a farmer, if milk came from a man, if someone had touched his mother's breast, or if the Virgin had fallen under the curse of Eve.

Let go now, what are you doing to those who are not yet ready, what are you revealing that should still be hidden??

You are disturbing the Jews and shooting at the devil's ears, driving away the demons from the earth before the cross, and making the servants of the cross sacrifice against their will.

Let go now, what are you doing to yourself, what are you depriving your nature of?

If I am not baptized, how will I hear the voice of God, and if I do not hear the voice, how will I learn the Father's plan and be confident in the Son's mysteries?

I was born of a woman and paid the debt of Eve, I took the form of a servant and freed Adam from debt, I sat on a manger and the one who became beastly is freed from curse and shame.

I wore swaddling clothes and healed the wound of nakedness, I was circumcised for the sake of Israel, and now I am baptized again for the nations, and thus all righteousness is sealed to my laws and works.

Emboldened by the ministry of the mystery and the vision of the dove, he became even more confident and acquired a more radiant boldness, speaking out against tyrants and rebuking the lawless Herod.

With the voice of the Father, he spoke to the king with a loud voice, saying, 'It is not lawful for you to have the wife of Philip your brother (Leviticus 18:16, 20:21).'

If you do not keep the law, you will not be able to hold the scepter.

If you transgress the commandment, you must take off the purple.

If you despise God, you must come down from the throne you took from him.

He warned the king not to be proud of his arms, for the laws protect the king.

He urged him not to neglect virtue, for it is more honorable than the golden throne.

Again, he said, 'It is not lawful for you to have the wife of Philip your brother.'

He pleaded with him to spare the succession of his family and not to corrupt the order of the royal seed.

He asked, 'Whose child will the one born from Herodias, who was corrupted by you, be called, the former husband's or the second adulterer's, the one who lawfully mounted the bed or the one who unlawfully seized it? Shall we call the son born from her Philip's?'

The one born from her is a stranger to him.

5…Do you wish to be called the child of Herod? But the field is not yours, and the plot sown unlawfully beside you belongs to another.

Nevertheless, the council’s tyrant does not put up with it; instead, he pays the bondsman’s wage to the teacher.

He sent John the Baptist to the guard and agonized over the murder.

He wanted to draw the sword and had practiced the chasm earth and the people ashamed he delayed.

Therefore, as seemed likely, he looked for a moment to carry out the unlawful deed and imagined an opportune day for the untimely killing.

When Herod’s birthdays came, having been born into the world, he owed nothing, nor did he dare to enter the common life, this of the human stadium, nor enjoy the elements, nor bless creation, nor indulge in licentiousness by using the moon, nor change the sun, nor insult the stars’ course, nor smear the measures of day and night.

He did not blush at lawlessly passing the day, nor did he hold back from nightly indulgence, nor did he turn back the solar path, nor transgress the Maker’s bounds.

Yet when birthdays proceeded despite the one who had harmed the nations and arrogantly begotten royal offspring, Herodias’ daughter danced in the midst and pleased Herod.

Thus, by oath, he swore to give her whatever she might ask.

Having been instructed by her mother, she said, ‘Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.’

The king was grieved.

But because of the oaths and those present, he ordered it given, and having sent, he beheaded John in prison.

Then his head was lifted upon a platter and given to the maiden.

And he brought it to his mother.

The disciples came and took up the body and buried it, and having come they reported to Jesus.

Woe, how many evils women have filled the life of men, as many thorns they have sown for us and thistles they have cultivated.

Woman closed paradise to the first-formed man (Genesis 3:6), women brought the flood upon the race of giants (Genesis 6:2-4).

For seeing the sons of God the daughters of men that they are fair, they went in to them and the Lord was angered in wrath and he said: I repent that I made man and I will wipe away every dwelling from the face of the earth (Genesis 6:7).

Woman tested the great patriarch Joseph, and she caused the prophet to speak in bonds, and she prepared the God-bearer to sit in prison as an adulteress, as a corruptor to carry a heavy chain around the neck.

Woman gave Samson as captive to the Philistines.

Woman compelled Elijah to flee the whole land of Israel.

Woman now dances and blinds the feast and she courts the tyrannical spectacle to the tyrant.

For she had a braid of three locks ensnaring the young, an outline of eyes lowering those who see, causing them to stumble.

…Seaweed to the virtues.

6A woman now dances and blinds the feast and stupefies the tyrant with the unlawful spectacle.

For she had a braid of hair ensnaring the young, a lining of eyes tripping up those who look.

She smeared rouge on her virtues, and the hook was not portable to those she met.

She opened her mouth, and belched death from her tongue.

She bent back her neck, and the sight was a procurer of corruption.

She bared her breasts, and provided a view of Hades' gates to curious onlookers.

She bared her thighs, hitching up the tunic of varied spectacle from her feet, and dragons hissing from her loins advanced toward corruption for the theater.

And the nod was deceitful, the glance filthy, the voice corrupting, the movement soul-destroying, the kiss death-bearing.

Yet Herod, caught, swore to give whatever the wicked dancing-girl might ask.

'And she, having been instructed by her mother: "Give me," she says, "here on a platter the head of John the Baptist."'

Do you see how great is the woman-mad pleasure.

Do you perceive how much corruption enslaves the one caught, how he who has been made soft by drunkenness no longer knows the scepter, does not remember his authority, lies exposed as a plaything to all.

For what did the dancing-girl utter to him?

'Give me here forthwith on a platter the head of John the Baptist.'

But these are not the words of one entreating, but of one commanding; for she does not approach the king as a maiden with fear or shame or any restraint, but as a mistress to a servant, as one having authority over bonds to a prisoner.

'Give me,' she says, 'on a platter the head of John the Baptist.'

Let him not delay the request.

Here I require the slaughter of the prophet, here to accomplish the murder of the one who reproves the adultery.

Where you beheld my nakedness, here I exact punishment from her triumphing dancer.

"Give me John's head on a platter."

Herodias commanded it; the adulteress gave the order.

If you refuse, you lose the one who commits adultery with you, and your bed will lie empty after the wine.

I withdrew from the couch — with whom should I now associate?

The mother shames the corruption; John sounds the trumpet, and she respects the servants but fears the guard.

Through John's boldness, the queen becomes a scandal to all.

Everyone treats her fate as a tragedy, but John is its cause — he has moved every tongue to speak before acting.

He sounded the trumpet against us first, unafraid to raise a pillar of shame for the queen by speaking of her adultery.

Moses lies asleep, yet through him comes a voice: the Law sleeps, but John awakens it against us.

He calls the queen an adulteress, and has persuaded many to follow him, to become bold.

7The king's vow to grant the girl's request was a reckless promise, for he was bound by his own oath and the presence of his guests.

Everyone knew that he was a slave to the adulteress and a captive of the dancer, as evidenced by the drinking party, the wine, the intoxication, the agreement of the oaths, and the king's unbridled promise.

He had sworn to grant whatever she asked of him, thinking that she would request something like bridal pearls, a field of ten thousand plants, or a city that he held as an exception in his kingdom.

However, she did not ask for anything that belonged to him, but instead sought the head of a prophet, which was something he was unable to provide.

The king wondered how he could possibly provide what she asked for, and noted that even if she had asked for heaven, he would not have been responsible for granting it, nor could he have given her the earth or the sea, for these things were beyond his authority and exceeded his power.

She said, 'Give me John the Baptist's head on a platter, for I thirst to drink his blood and gnaw on his limbs, and to see the head of the one who insults the kingdom with the royal dishes.'

She also stated that she must bring this dancing girl as a foreigner to her mother from the royal table, since Herodias awaits her share of the dinner from your own birthday.

If Herodias had demanded the tyrant's eyes, the king would not have become blind and sat on the throne, and similarly, if she had wanted to cut off his ear and nose, he would not have suddenly become a monster, and if she had ordered his hands to be cut off, the scepter would not have fallen from his fingers.

One might ask whether we should pity Herod's grief and ask the tyrant for forgiveness, for it was possible for him to dissuade the dancer and renounce the oath if he had wished to do so.

The natural law within him troubled him, and he was also afraid of the crowd and the multitude, for many people held the baptist in wonder.

Nevertheless, since he was eager for the murder and thirsty for the slaughter and considered the death of the prophet his own freedom, being persuaded by them…

8…He feigns oaths and, by the command of the girl, sends someone to serve the prisoner.

Thus, the head of the Baptist is brought upon a platter: the beauty of the prophets, the boldness of the word, the grace of repentance, the many-chambered pipe the God-sounding trumpet, the tongue that moves the clouds, eyes that behold the unsearchable things, ears that clearly hear the mysteries of God, a head that has touched the head of all.

And her, as it was given to the girl, a leopard bore the sacrifice of a lamb, while a wolf carried the head of a royal lion.

He brought the accuser to the mother, who did not cease his reproaches even after death, nor did he relinquish his boldness even after the slaughter.

But the prophet has fallen asleep, and the word is being handed down everywhere.

The trumpet has ceased, and the theaters of the inhabited world are filled with the sounds emanating from it.

The tongue has gone into the earth, and the sounds from it have filled the tribes.

He struck down the nations, thundering more strongly through every generation; for from that beginning, they spread through all the earth, proclaiming, 'Behold the Lamb of God, the one taking away the sin of the world' (John 1:29).

And you by no means from one woman of the whole world ran down nothing, because of a certain filthy vessel being now, but you cast down the whole ceramic of the maker.

For if even a woman closed the paradise, a woman again opened the royal step of the kingdom.

Women brought the flood by the race of the giants, but women opened the royal step by the dance of the apostles.

A woman tempted Joseph, but a woman nourished Elisha.

A woman bound Samson, but a woman commanded Barak; a woman sent Elijah into the wilderness in flight, but a woman hosted the same man while he was being tormented by famine.

A woman tripped Peter, and a woman became a protector of Paul, just as he himself is honored. Do you not seem to be weary of the word, wanting to sympathize with a woman?

But the one who is not weary will have the rewards brought to his feet briefly.

A woman labored with our redeemer. This one gave birth to and nursed the creator of the race, this one gave drink to the nourisher of the creation, the one who planned the springs for creation, in her arms she bore 'the one measuring the heavens with a span and the earth with a cubit,' the one who regulated and sealed the sea with his palm.

To him belong the glory and the power into the ages of the ages. Amen.