P. Gorazd Cetkovský, O.Carm.
Since the beginning of the renewal of the third order of the Carmelite Order in our country after 1990, we have been striving to ensure that participation in the third order does not separate individuals from the community of the local church and does not distract them from engaging in the parish, from belonging to the diocese. The theme I would like to present now beautifully stands at the intersection of two focuses: the preparation for the jubilee of the arrival of St. Cyril and Methodius to our ancestors, associated with the "year of baptism," and at the same time the continuous turning of our attention as Carmelites to the figure of the prophet Elijah, an important source of our spiritual inspiration. The main guide we will adhere to is the book Bibel und Liturgie, authored by Jean Danielou, published in Munich in 1963 (more precisely, one of its chapters).
But let us start a bit broadly...
The core of Christian faith and baptism as its confirmation
The foundation of our Christian faith is the event of Jesus' resurrection as the culmination of his entire life. By accepting baptism, we confirm our faith in Jesus as the Son of God, as the Savior - Christ. A Christian does not strive to please God by keeping the Mosaic law but to participate in Christ's death and resurrection, in Christ's life. How? Through faith, love in the Holy Spirit. By participating in the community of the church, by being united with Christ and the Church through the Eucharist and the sacraments in general. And also by participating in the beatitude of those who "hear the word of God and keep it" (Lk 11:28).
Was it necessary for the Christian church to adopt the Old Testament?
The question is posed too philosophically; it is certain that historically it happened. Jesus himself revered the scriptures of the Old Testament, saying of them that: "Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). And so, even though the basic significance for the faith of the church is Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, it was not really conceivable to simply set aside the scriptures of the Old Testament. The early church, on the contrary, used them in its catechesis, as they represented a great benefit for it. The Old Testament provided the concepts and expressions for grasping and deepening the understanding of the content of the New Testament Revelation. The entire religious experience and the spiritual and moral life of Christians (although most converted to Christianity from paganism) were understood and expressed through biblical thought and language.
The Old Testament was also understood allegorically
Even later, the Church Fathers in antiquity, while interpreting Scripture, primarily dealt with the Old Testament. They understood the New Testament immediately, whereas the Old Testament required interpretation. They viewed it and explained its texts mainly allegorically, in a metaphorical sense. As we will see below, they learned this from the New Testament authors.
The leading figure in this respect was Origen, along with the Alexandrian catechetical school. According to their conviction, each place in the Old Testament has its allegorical meaning, and it is necessary to recognize and learn it. They considered it foolishness to be satisfied with the primary meaning of biblical texts and not to seek spiritual meaning. (On another occasion, we spoke this year about how the psalms primarily represented songs about Christ, his words or the words of the church in relation to him.)
Christians approached the Old Testament with a proud conviction that these are their sacred writings, because they are the true Israel. The Old Testament and the New Testament form a single whole, and we can only truly understand the Scripture of the Old Testament if we are those who have been granted not to remain only with a prefiguring and preparation but to receive the one whom "the Father has sent" (John 5:36, etc.) and who is the fulfillment of the history of salvation and of God's word.
"Classical" prefigurations of baptism from the Old Testament
As we have already said, the entire content of faith and the spiritual experience of the early Church were understood through biblical thought and expressed in biblical images and language. Therefore, the acceptance of salvation, baptism, received on Easter as a sign of acceptance of the share in Christ's mystery, in his death and resurrection, was thought out and explained against the backdrop of certain events from the Old Testament that serve as easily understandable prefigurations of salvation. The most important among them are creation, the flood, and the crossing of the Red Sea.1
However, these prefigurations were not invented by the Church Fathers, but they were already found in the texts of the New Testament. Already St. Paul, without using the term prefiguration, says of a Christian that he is "a new creation" (2 Cor 5:17). The flood as a prefiguration of baptism is mentioned in 1 Peter 3:20-21. And the crossing of the Red Sea is also mentioned as a prefiguration already in the New Testament, in 1 Cor 10:1-6. Paul speaks here of prefiguration in the sense of admonition, but in vv. 1-2 and 4 connects the crossing of the Red Sea and baptism in Moses2 with Christ. Even in our time, the prayer of blessing over the water for baptism, as stated in the rites of the Easter vigil (and in baptismal rites in general), alludes to these three events from the Old Testament era.
Almighty, eternal God,
your invisible power works,
that the sacraments are a visible sign of your grace.
You created water
and on various occasions you showed,
that its effects indicate our baptism.
Even at the beginning, when your Spirit moved over the waters,
you, God, put life and blessing into water.
And when you destroyed sin in the floods of the flood,
water became a sign of new righteousness and new life.
When you brought your people out of Egyptian slavery through the Red Sea,
you thought of those who would be baptized.
And when your Son was baptized in the waters of the Jordan,
you anointed him with the Holy Spirit...
Thus, after three Old Testament prefigurations, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan is immediately mentioned, followed by the springing forth of water from the pierced side of Christ on the cross and finally the command of the Risen Lord to the apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." (Mt 28:19).
These three Old Testament prefigurations of baptism are also mentioned in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in nos. 1217–1221. According to it, these texts interpret baptism in this light: baptism is also a new creation, filled with life-giving Spirit. As in the waters of the flood, so in baptismal water, God justly destroys sin and begins a new stage of life for his creatures. Just as the crossing of the Red Sea is both a way of salvation, survival, and deliverance, so is baptism.
Let us bear in mind that then baptism concerned adults and took the form of submerging the entire person in the baptismal spring. Thus, it was – just as in all three mentioned biblical stories – a flood of water, i.e., being surrounded by water and disappearing under it!
Moreover, the mentioned catechism in no. 1222 also cites the crossing of the Jordan (Josh 3) as a prefiguration of baptism. In addition to the further crossing through a flood, the promised gift and inheritance came to Abraham's descendants – they entered the Promised Land. In it, we see a prefiguration of eternal life, into which we enter through baptism.
The Church Fathers interpreted other Old Testament passages also as prefigurations of baptism. These passages that we have noticed are mentioned in the liturgy and catechesis of practically all the early church communities.
Another group of such Old Testament texts
Coptic and Ethiopian prayers at the blessing of baptismal water, in addition to the aforementioned Old Testament prefigurations of baptism (and additionally the water at Mara3 and the rock at Horeb), also introduce another distinct group of prefigurations.4
You, O Lord, during the times of Joshua, the son of Nun,
held back the greatly stirred waters of the Jordan,
you – who could stand before your face! – accepted
Elijah's sacrifice, soaked in water,
and as a sign of that you sent down fire from heaven;
you, by the word of Elisha, healed the water from death and
barrenness5
and caused Naaman to be healed of leprosy in the waters of the Jordan.
You can do all things, and nothing is impossible for you.
Grant this water a great gift from the Jordan
and let the Holy Spirit descend upon it.
These prefigurations of baptism are also mentioned by St. Gregory of Nyssa and even earlier by Origen. The corresponding sermon of St. Gregory is intended for the feast of the Epiphany, just as those Coptic and Ethiopian prayers. When celebrating this feast, they remembered the event of the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan in the Alexandrian church area. Thus, it is understandable that texts from the Old Testament, which mention the river Jordan or Elijah, were commonly alluded to. After all, concerning John, who baptized Jesus, Jesus later declared that he was the Elijah who was to come as a precursor of the Messiah (Mt 11:14).
The Church in antiquity considered the event of the Baptism of the Lord as the establishment of baptism. St. Gregory of Nyssa, in his sermon on the Baptism of the Lord, states: "As the only one among rivers, the Jordan received into itself the firstfruits of healing and sanctification, and the grace of baptism sprang forth as from a single spring (...) throughout the earth."
A very important text that early Christian catechesis and prayers frequently refer to, and which we have already mentioned, is the crossing of the Israelites across the river Jordan under Joshua's leadership (Josh 3). This event signifies God's miraculous act and entry into the Promised Land. Both also happen in baptism.
Prefigurations of baptism in the cycle of stories about the prophet Elijah
In the time of Jesus, the Jews were expecting the arrival of Elijah. This is evident even from the gospels. The disciples asked Jesus: "Why then do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come first?" (Mk 9:11) and some people considered Jesus to be Elijah (Mk 6:15 and 8:28). Thus, seeing the Old Testament prophet Elijah as a prefiguration of someone who would come when "the time is fulfilled" originates in Judaism, not just in Christianity. Therefore, the figure of Elijah was generally regarded as a prefiguration.
We Christians are convinced that this prefiguration has already been fulfilled. According to Jesus' words (Mk 11:13), the Elijah who was to come is John the Baptist. However, this is not the only interpretation. At the same time, Jesus himself is in the gospel of St. Luke in some ways similar to Elijah and Elisha. When Jesus encountered disbelief from his neighbors and acquaintances in the Nazareth synagogue, he pointed out that Elijah was sent to a widow in pagan Zarephath (1 Kings 17:19) and Elisha was instructed by the Lord to help only and precisely the Syrian Naaman (2 Kings 5:9). Both Old Testament events could be considered as prefigurations of Jesus' mission to open the Kingdom of God also to the pagans. When the apostles were contemplating the idea of calling down fire from heaven (Lk 9:54), they were inspired by Elijah and wanted to do the same as he did.6 And Elijah's ascension is a prefiguration of Christ's ascension into heaven.7
But let us return to our topic. Ancient Christians saw the prefiguration of baptism primarily in the story from the cycle of Elijah, called Elijah's sacrifice (1 Kings 18). This divine judgment on Mount Carmel was understood as prefiguration of baptism in two ways. First, in terms of the fundamental meaning of the story: Elijah's sacrifice completely defeats paganism, and the people confess that the true God is the Lord. Just as baptism signifies a definitive break with paganism and conversely confession of true faith in God – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Elijah's triple pouring of water on the prepared sacrifice in the story, according to the Fathers' understanding, metaphorically suggests the Holy Trinity. And baptism in the first Christian centuries was administered by triple immersion of the catechumen or triple pouring.
In the second respect, this pericope prefigures baptism in how water and fire from heaven are associated in it.
St. Gregory writes: "Elijah, through that wonderful sacrifice, clearly prefigured the sacrament of baptism that was to come afterward. Fire descended upon the three-times poured water to make clear that where there is blessed water, there is also the Spirit..." Thus, it is a prefiguration of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon those who receive the sacrament of baptism. In ancient Christian tradition, some ancient texts remarkably speak of how when the Lord Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, visible fire also appeared. St. Justin writes: "When Jesus descended into the water, fire was stirred up in the Jordan; and when he was coming up from [the water], the Holy Spirit was hovering over him in the form of a dove."
Prefigurations of baptism in the stories of Elijah and Elisha, connected with the Jordan
These pericopes are mentioned in baptismal catechesis much more frequently than Elijah's sacrifice. The first of them is Elijah's crossing of the Jordan (2 Kings 2:7–9):
Fifty prophetic disciples also went and stood far off, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water, so that it divided to the two sides, and they both crossed on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha: Ask what I should do for you before I am taken from you...
The connection between crossing the Jordan and the subsequent taking up of Elijah into heaven is important. "Elijah was taken up, but not without water. When he crossed the Jordan, he was immediately taken up in a fiery chariot to heaven" (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, catechesis on baptism). Cyril of Jerusalem and Gregory of Nazianzus use the expression "heavenly chariot" for baptism (in Greek: ochēma). Its origin is unclear. The Fathers certainly borrowed it from somewhere. The Neoplatonists thus called the body that "carries the soul" when it ascends to heaven. However, the Greek text of the Old Testament (Septuagint) does not contain the word ochēma; thus, the biblical origin of its use is certainly not. We can speculate that the Fathers associated it with the idea of the fiery chariot that took Elijah; but the correctness of this hypothesis would need to be proven.
Elijah's crossing of the Jordan signifies a new crossing of the Red Sea; Elijah here is like a second Moses. But what is specific and new here is the theme of ascension into heaven. Elijah crossed the Jordan and was taken up to heaven. Thus, he prefigures Christ, who passed through death and then ascended into heaven. And a Christian, through baptism, passes through the water and is united with Christ to become like him one day also in the ascension to heaven.
However, the pericope most frequently cited describes the miraculous emergence of the axe head from the Jordan (2 Kings 6:1–7 – Czech Ecumenical Translation):
The prophetic disciples said to Elisha: "Behold, the place where we stand before you is too cramped for us. Let us go to the Jordan and let us take from there each one a log and make us a place where we may sit." He said: "Go!" But one of them said: "Be so kind and come with your servants." He replied: "Yes, I will go." And he went with them. When they came to the Jordan, they began to cut down trees. As one was felling a tree, the iron axe head fell into the water. He cried out and exclaimed: "Alas, my master, it was borrowed!" The man of God asked: "Where did it fall?" When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick, threw it in there, and the iron floated. Then he said: "Take it up!" He stretched out his hand and took it.
Here we encounter another group of texts that the early Christian tradition selected from the Old Testament because they feature both water and wood. These pericopes were understood as prefigurations of baptism because through baptism the power of Christ's cross acts through water.8
St. Justin writes: "Elisha threw a piece of wood into the Jordan, thus raising the iron of the axe head... In the same way, our Christ redeemed us from the gravest sins through his crucifixion on wood and baptism in water."
The relevance of this event to baptism lies in the fact that both the emerging of the axe head and baptism are powerful acts of God, miracles, and that in both cases, water and wood are important. The Church Father Didymus embarks on a more detailed interpretation: "Elisha, the man of God, who turned to his disciples [in search of the axe head] with the question: 'Where did it fall?' is an image of the Lord who came to [the first] people with the question: 'Adam, where are you?' [The heavy] iron that sank into the dark abyss represents the magnitude of human nature, which has turned away from the light. The piece of wood, thrown into the place where the lost object lay, symbolizes the glorious [Lord's] cross. The Jordan is baptism, which gives immortality. For it is in the Jordan that the one who created the Jordan allowed himself to be baptized for us. Finally, that the iron floated up from the water and returned to the one who lost it means that through baptism we ascend to heavenly exaltation and regain the former grace and our true home."
Didymus' interpretation of the pericope is "pure allegory." But even the more sober St. Ambrose considers the story of the axe to be a prefiguration of baptism, based on the fact that it shows God's power over natural elements. Additionally, the role of the prophet Elisha in the story indicates that humans cannot save themselves [from the state of sin] – without the intervention of God's power. Therefore, since this story involves the Jordan and wood, this miracle became a popular prefiguration of baptism.
The third miracle related to the Jordan is the healing of Naaman from Syria, who was commanded by the prophet Elisha to wash himself in the Jordan seven times (2 Kings 5:9–14).
Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, came with his horses and chariot and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to him with the message: "Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan and your body will be restored; go and you will be clean!" Naaman became angry and went away saying: "I thought he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?"
He turned away and went away in rage. But his servants approached and urged him: "My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed!'?" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God instructed, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
This Old Testament text leads us to view baptism from a new perspective, namely as cleansing. Naaman was healed from leprosy by bathing in the Jordan. Catechumens are cleansed from sin through baptism. However, there is also another important aspect: this pericope symbolizes the calling of the pagans to participate in the new People of God.
According to Origen's commentary on this passage of Scripture, the prefiguration of Christ is the Jordan river itself. Naaman's anger at being sent to wash in the Jordan particularly highlights the universality of baptism (it will be offered to anyone willing to convert, regardless of nation) and his sevenfold dipping in the Jordan reminds us of the Holy Spirit and his seven gifts.
The Jordan has a special significance in the eyes of ancient Christians. As we have said, according to their conviction, the baptism of the Lord sanctified the waters of the Jordan and marked the establishment of baptism. And since the moment of Jesus' baptism, every baptismal water has received Christ's grace. Naaman's bathing in the Jordan is seen as a prefiguration of this event. We can again quote St. Gregory of Nyssa: "As the only one among [all streams and] waters accepted the Jordan into itself the firstfruits of healing and sanctification, and the grace of baptism sprang forth as from a single spring (...) throughout the earth." According to St. Gregory, then, the Jordan does prefigure both baptism and the establishment of baptism.
From St. Ambrose's catechesis, it is evident that this pericope generally belonged to the content of basic catechesis. Naaman is a clear prefiguration of the future salvation even for the pagans.
What does this imply for us?
The symbolic interpretation of Scripture comes alive before us. It was used in the church until the Middle Ages. Undoubtedly, it was often found foolishly and incorrectly. But when used sensitively, it has the power to engage us with biblical texts anew, even if somewhat differently. To connect even the "marginal" pericopes of Scripture with the very core of the proclamation of salvation. To show the gospel from another perspective. And to revitalize and allow the texts that we would otherwise pay much less attention to to speak through the poetic symbolic language about the most essential matters between God and us.
Thus, against the backdrop of the Old Testament texts, baptism emerges vividly before our spiritual vision as a new creation, destruction of sin, salvation from slavery, stepping into freedom, break with paganism, confession of true faith, outpouring of the Spirit, elevation to heaven, salvific touch of the Cross, miracle, cleansing from destructive infection, calling the pagans to receive salvation.
Whether we have an enthusiastic or reserved attitude towards the allegorical interpretation of Scripture, it reminds us that baptism is a great and wonderful mystery, set in the broad context of the history of salvation. Its content can never be expressed exhaustively. But every successful expression of the content of the mystery of baptism, even if only partial, is for us a source of joy and strengthens our love for Christ and our determination to follow him.
