|
1. We rejoice at your numbers, for you have come together with
readiness and in greater numbers than we could have hoped. This it is
that delights and consoles us in all the labors and dangers of this
life, your love towards God, and pious zeal, and assured hope, and
fervor of spirit. You heard when the psalm was read, "that the needy
and poor man cries to God in this world." For it is the voice, as
you have often heard, and ought to remember, not of one man, and yet
of one man; not of one, because the faithful are many many grins
groaning amid the chaff diffused throughout the whole world but of one,
because all are members of Christ, rejoicing of the world is vanity.
With great expectation is it hoped foB and it cannot, when it comes,
be held fast. For this day which is a day of rejoicing in this city to
the lost, tomorrow will, of course, cease to be; nor will they
themselves be the same tomorrow that they are today. And all things
every soul follows what it loves. "All flesh is grass, and all the
goodliness thereof as the flower of the field: the grass withereth,
the flower fadeth; but the word of the Lord abideth forever."
Behold what thou must love if thou dost desire to abide for ever. But
thou hadst this to reply: How can I apprehend the word of God?
"The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."
2. Wherefore, beloved, let it belong to our neediness and poverty
to grieve for those who seem to themselves to abound. For their joy is
as that of madmen. But as a madman rejoices for the most part in his
madness, and laughs, and grieves over him who is in his senses, so
let us, beloved, if we have received the medicine coming from heaven,
because we all were madmen, as if made whole, because those things
which we did love we do not love, let us, I say, groan unto God for
those who are yet in madness, for He is able to themselves, they see
their own confusion. But until this take place, let our pursuits be
different, let the recreations of our souls be different; our grief
avails more than their joy. As far as regards the number of the
brethren, it is difficult to conceive that any one of the men should
have been carried away by that celebration; but as regards the number
of the sisters, it grieves us, and this is a greater cause for grief,
that they do not rather repair to the Church, whom if not fear,
modesty at all events ought to deter from the public scene. May He
see to this who sees it; and may His mercy be present to heal all.
Let us who have come together feed upon the feast of God, and let our
joy be His word. For He has invited us to His gospel, and He is
our food, than whom nothing is sweeter, if only a man have a healthy
palate in his heart.
3. But I imagine, beloved brethren, that you remember that this
Gospel is read in order in suitable portions; and I think that it has
not escaped you what has lately been treated of, specially the recent
matters concerning John and the dove. Concerning John, namely,
what new thing he learned concerning the Lord by means of the dove,
although he had already known the Lord. And this was discovered by
the inspiration of the Spirit of God, that John indeed already knew
the Lord, but that the Lord Himself was to baptize, that the power
of baptizing He would not transfer from Himself to any one, this he
learned by means of the dove, because it was said to him, "On whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending as a dove, and abiding upon
Him, this is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." What is
"This is He"? Not another, although by means of another. But
why by means of a dove? Many things were said, and I am not able,
nor is there need that I should go over all; principally, however,
to denote peace, because also the trees which were baptized outside,
because the dove found in them fruit, it brought to the ark, as you
remember the dove sent out by Noah from the ark, which floated on the
flood and was washed by baptism, was not submerged. When, then, it
was sent forth, it brought an olive branch; but it had not leaves
alone, it had also fruit. This, then, we ought to wish for our
brethren who are baptized outside, that they may have fruit; the dove
will not permit them to remain outside, but bring them back to the
ark. For the whole of fruit is charity, without which a man is
nothing, whatever else he have. And this, which is most fully said
by the apostle, we have mentioned and recounted. For he says,
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not
charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal; and
though I should have all knowledge, and know all mysteries, and have
all prophecy, and should have all faith" (but in what sense did he
say all faith?), "so that I could remove mountains, and have not
charity, I am nothing. And though I should distribute all my goods
to the poor, and though I should give my body to be burned, and have
not charity, it profiteth me nothing." But in no manner are they
able to say that they have charity who divide unity. These things were
said: let us see what follows.
4. John bare record because he saw. What record did he bear?
"That this is the Son of God." It behoved, then, that He
should baptize who is God's only Son, not His adopted son.
Adopted sons are the ministers of the only Son: the only Son has
power; the adopted, the ministry. In the case that a minister
baptizes who does not belong to the number of sons, because he lives
evilly and acts evilly, what is our consolation? "This is He which
baptizeth."
5. "The next day, John stood, and two of his disciples; and
looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of
God!" Assuredly, in a special sense, the Lamb; for the disciples
were also called lambs: "Behold, I send you as lambs in the midst
of wolves." They were also called light: "Ye are the light of the
world; " but in another sense is He called so, concerning whom it
was said, "That was the true light, which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world." In like manner was He called the dove in a
special sense, alone without stain, without sin; not one whose sins
have been washed away, but One who never had stain. For what?
Because John said concerning the Lord, "Behold the Lamb of
God," was not John himself a lamb? Was he not a holy man? Was he
not the friend of the Bridegroom? Wherefore, with a special
meaning, said John of Him, "This is the Lamb of God;" because
solely by the blood of this Lamb alone could men be redeemed.
6. My brethren, if we acknowledge our price, that it is the blood
of the Lamb, who are they who this day celebrate the festival of the
blood of I know not what woman? and how ungrateful are they! The
gold was snatched, they say, from the ear of a woman, and the blood
ran, and the gold was placed on a pair of scales or on a balance, and
the advantage was much on the side of the blood. If the blood of a
woman was sufficiently weighty to outweigh the gold, what power to
outweigh the world has the blood of the Lamb by whom the world was
made? And, indeed, that spirit, I know not who, was pacified by
the blood that he should depress the weight. Impure spirits knew that
Jesus Christ would come, they had heard of His coming from the
angels, they had heard of it from the prophets, and they expected it.
For if they were not expecting it, why did they exclaim, "What have
we to do with Thee? art Thou come before the time to destroy us? We
know who Thou art; the Holy One of God." They expected that He
would come, but they were ignorant of the time. But what have you
heard in the psalm regarding Jerusalem? "For Thy servants have
taken pleasure in her stones, and will pity the dust thereof. Thou
shall arise," says he, "and have mercy upon Zion: for the time is
come that Thou wilt have mercy upon her." When the time came for
God to have mercy, the Lamb came. What sort of a Lamb whom wolves
fear? What sort of a Lamb is it who, when slain, slew a lion? For
the devil is called a lion, going about and roaring, seeking whom he
may devour. By the blood of the Lamb the lion was vanquished.
Behold the spectacles of Christians. And what is more: they with
the eyes of the flesh behold vanity, we with the eyes of the heart
behold truth. Do not think, brethren, that our Lord God has
dismissed us without spectacles; for if there are no spectacles, why
have ye come together today? Behold, what we have said you saw, and
you exclaimed; you would not have exclaimed if you had not seen. And
this is a great thing to see in the whole world, the lion vanquished by
the blood of the Lamb: members of Christ delivered from the teeth of
the lions, and joined to the body of Christ. Therefore some spirit
or other contrived the counterfeit that His image should be bought for
blood, because he knew that the human race was at some time to be
redeemed by the precious blood. For evil spirits counterfeit certain
shadows of honor to themselves, that they may deceive those who follow
Christ. So much so, my brethren, that those who seduce by means of
amulets, by incantations, by the devices of the enemy, mingle the
name of Christ with their incantations: because they are not now able
to seduce Christians, so as to give them poison they add some honey,
that by means of the sweet the bitter may be concealed, and be drunk to
ruin. So much so, that I know that the priest of that Pilleatus was
sometimes in the habit of saying, Pilleatus himself also is a
Christian. Why so, brethren, unless that they were not able
otherwise to seduce Christians?
7. Do not, then, seek Christ elsewhere than where Christ wished
Himself to be preached to you; and as He wished Himself to be
preached to you, in that fashion hold Him fast, in that manner write
Him on your heart. It is a wall against all the assaults, and
against all the snares of the enemy. Do not fear, he does not tempt
unless he has been permitted; it is certain that he does nothing unless
permitted or sent. He is sent as an evil angel by a power holding him
in control: he is permitted when he asks anything; and this,
brethren, does not take place unless that the just may be tried, the
unjust punished. Why, then, dost thou fear? Walk in the Lord thy
God; be thou assured, what He does not wish thee to suffer thou dost
not suffer; what He permits thee to suffer is the scourge of one
correcting, not the punishment of one condemning. We are being
educated for an eternal inheritance, and do we spurn to be scourged?
My brethren, if a boy were to refuse the punishment of cuffs or
stripes from his father, would he not be called proud, incorrigible,
ungrateful towards paternal discipline? And for what does an earthly
father educate his son? That he may not lose the temporal things which
he has acquired for him, which he has collected for him, which he does
not wish him to lose, which he who leaves them cannot retain
eternally. He does not teach a son with whom he is to possess, but
one who is to possess after him My brethren, if a father teaches a son
who is to succeed him, and teaches him also that he will have to pass
through all these things, in same way as he who is admonishing him is
destined to pass through them, how do you wish that He educate us,
our Father to whom we are not to succeed, but to whom we are to
approach, and with whom we are to abide eternally in an inheritance
which does not decay nor die, and which no storms can desolate? He is
Himself both the inheritance and the Father. Shall we possess Him,
and ought we not to undergo training? Let us hear the instruction of
the Father. When our head aches, let us not have recourse to the
superstitious intercessor, to the diviners and remedies of vanity. My
brethren, shall I not mourn over you? Daily do I find these
things; and what shall I do? Not yet have I persuaded Christians
that their hope ought to be placed in God. Behold, if one dies to
whom one of these remedies has been given (and how many have died with
remedies, and how many have lived without them!), with what
confidence does the spirit go forth to God? He has lost the sign of
Christ, and has received the sign of the devil. Perhaps he may say
that he has not lost the sign of Christ. Thou canst have, then, the
sign of Christ along with the sign of the devil. Christ does not
desire community of ownership, but He desires to possess alone what
He has purchased. He has bought at so great a price that He may
possess alone: thou makest Him the partner of that devil to whom thou
didst sell thyself by thy sin. " Woe to the double-hearted," to
those who in their hearts give part to God and part to the devil.
God, being angry that the devil has part there, departs, and the
devil will possess the whole. Not in vain, therefore, says the
apostle, "Neither give place to the devil." Let us know the
Lamb, then, brethren; let us know our price.
8. "John stood, and two of his disciples." Behold two of
John's disciples: since John, the friend of the Bridegroom, was
such as he was, he sought not his own glory, but bore witness to the
truth. Did he wish that his disciples should remain with him and not
follow the Lord? Rather he himself showed his disciples whom they
should follow. For they accounted of him as though he were the lamb;
and he said, "Why do you give heed to me? I am not the lamb;
behold the Lamb of God," of whom also he had already said, Behold
the Lamb of God. And what benefit does the Lamb of God confer upon
us? "Behold," he says, "who taketh away the sin of the world."
The two who were with John followed Him when they heard this.
9. Let us see what follows: "Behold the Lamb of God." This
John said, and the two disciples heard him speak, and followed
Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them following, and saith unto
them, "What seek ye?" And they said, "Rabbi (that is to say,
being interpreted, Master), where dwellest Thou?" They did not
follow Him in such manner as that they should cleave to Him; for it
is plain when they cleave unto Him, for He called them from the
ship. For one of the two was Andrew, as you have just heard, and
Andrew was the brother of Peter; and we know from the Gospel that
the Lord called Peter and Andrew from the ship, saying, "Come ye
after me, and I will make you fishers of men." And from that time
they clave unto Him, so as not to go away. On the present occasion
these two followed Him, not as those who were not again to leave
Him, but to see where He dwelt, and to fulfill the Scripture:
"Let thy foot wear out the threshold of His doors; arise to come to
Him continually, and be instructed in His precepts." He showed
them where He dwelt: they came and remained with Him. What a
blessed day they spent, what a blessed night! Who can make known to
us those things which they heard from the Lord? Let us also build in
our heart, and make a house into which He may come and teach us, and
have converse with us.
10. "What seek ye?" They said unto Him, "Rabbi (which is to
say, being interpreted, Master), where dwellest Thou? He says to
them, Come and see. And they came and saw where He dwelt, and
abode with Him that day: and it was about the tenth hour." Do we
think that it did in no wise pertain to the evangelist to tell us what
hour it was? Is it possible that he wished us to give heed to nothing
in that, to inquire after nothing? It was the tenth hour. That
number signifies the law, because the law was given in ten
commandments. But the time had come for the law to be fulfilled by
love, because it could not be fulfilled by the Jews by fear. Hence
the Lord says, "I did not come to destroy the law, but to
fulfill." Suitably, then, at the tenth hour did these two follow
Him, at the testimony of the friend of the Bridegroom, and that He
at the tenth hour heard" Rabbi (which is interpreted, Master)."
If at the tenth hour the Lord heard Rabbi, and the tenth number
pertains to the law, the master of the law is no other than the giver
of the law. Let no one say that one gave the law, and that another
teaches the law: for the same teaches it who gave it; He is the
Master of His own law, and teaches it. And mercy is in His I
tongue therefore mercifully teacheth He the law, as it is said
regarding wisdom, The law and mercy doth she carry in her tongue."
Do not fear that thou art not able to fulfill the law, flee to mercy.
If thou canst not fulfill the law, make use of that covenant, make
use of the bond, make use of the prayers which the heavenly One,
skilled in the law, has ordained and composed for you.
11. For those who have a cause, and wish to supplicate the
emperor, seek for some one skilled in the law, and trained in the
schools, to compose their petition for them; lest perchance, if they
ask in an unbecoming manner, they not only do not obtain what they
seek, but get punishment instead of a benefit. When, therefore, the
apostles sought to petition, and could not find how to approach the
Emperor God, they said unto Christ, "Lord, teach us to pray;"
that is to say, "O thou who art our skilled One in the law, our
Assessor, yea, the Concessor of God, compose for us prayers."
And the Lord taught them from the book of the celestial law, taught
them how to pray; and in that which He taught, He laid down a
certain condition: "Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our
debtors." If thou seekest not according to the law, thou becomest
guilty. Dost thou not tremble before the Emperor, having become
guilty? Offer the sacrifice of humility, offer the sacrifice of
mercy; pray, saying, Forgive me, for I also forgive. But if thou
sayest, do. For what wilt thou do? whither wilt thou go if thou hast
lied in thy prayers? Not as it is said in the forum, thou shalt lose
the benefit of the rescript; but thou shall not obtain a rescript.
For it is the law of the forum that he who shall have lied in his
petition shall derive no benefit from that which he has obtained. But
this among men, because a man can be deceived: the emperor might have
been deceived, when thou didst address to him thy petition; for thou
saidest what thou wouldest, and he to whom thou didst speak knew not
whether it was true or false; he sent thee away to thy adversary to be
confuted if possible, so that if before the judge thou shouldest be
convicted of falsehood (because he was not able not to grant the
rescript, not knowing whether thou hadst lied), thou shouldest lose
the benefit of the rescript, in the place to which thou hadst taken
it. But God, who knows whether thou liest or speakest the truth,
does not cause thee to lose in the judgment the benefit, but does not
permit thee to obtain it, because thou hast dared to lie to the
Truth.
12. What, then, wilt thou do? Tell me. To fulfill the law in
every part, so as to offend in nothing, is difficult: the condition
of guilt is therefore certain; wilt thou refuse to use the remedy?
Behold, my brethren, what a remedy the Lord hath provided for the
sicknesses of the soul! What then? When thy head aches, we praise
thee if thou placest the gospel at thy head, instead of having recourse
to an amulet. For so far has human weakness proceeded, and so
lamentable is the estate of those who have recourse to amulets, that we
rejoice when we see a man who is upon his bed, and tossed about with
fevers and pains, placing his hope on nothing else than that the gospel
lies at his head; not because it is done for this purpose, but because
the gospel is preferred to amulets. If, then, it is placed at the
head to allay the pain of the head, is it not placed at the heart to
heal it from sin? Let it be done then. Let what be done? Let it be
placed at the heart, let the heart be healed. It is well, well that
thou shouldest have no further care regarding the safety of the body,
than to ask it from God. If He knows that it will do thee good, He
will give it thee; if He give it not to thee, it would not have
profited thee to have it. How many are sick in bed, and for that
reason are innocent! for if they were to recover, they would go forth
to commit acts of wickedness. To how many is health an injury! The
robber who goes forth to the narrow path to slay a man, how much better
for him would it have been to have been sick! And he who rises by
night to dig through his neighbor's wall, how much better for him to
be tossed by fever! If he were ill, he would have been comparatively
innocent; being well, he is guilty of wickedness. It is known,
then, to God what is expedient for us: let us make this only our
endeavor, that our hearts be whole from sins; and when it happens that
we are scourged in the body, let us pray to Him for relief. The
Apostle Paul besought Him that He would take away the thorn in his
flesh, and He would not. Was he disturbed? Was he filled with
sadness, and did he speak of himself as deserted? Rather did he say
that he was not deserted, because that was not taken away which he
desired to be taken away, to the end that infirmity might be cured.
For this he found in the voice of the Physician, "My grace is
sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
Whence knowest thou, then, that God does not wish to heal thee? As
yet it is expedient for thee to be scourged. Whence knowest thou how
diseased that is which the physician cuts, using his knife on the
diseased parts? Does he not know the measure, what he is to do, and
how far he is to do it? Does the shrieking of him he cuts restrain the
hands of the physician cutting according to his art? The one cries,
the other cuts. Is he cruel who does not listen to the man crying
out, or is he not rather merciful in following the wound, that he may
heal the sick man? These things have I said, my brethren, in order
that no one seek any other aid than that of God, when we happen to be
under the reproof of God. See that ye perish not; see that ye do not
depart from the Lamb, and be devoured by the lion.
13. We have declared, then, why it was at the tenth hour. Let us
see what follows: "One of the two which heard John speak, and
followed Him, was Andrew. Simon Peter's brother. He findeth his
own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias,
which is, being interpreted, the Christ." Messias, in Hebrew;
Christ. in Greek; in Latin, Anointed. crtsma is anointing in
Greek; Christ, therefore, is the Anointed. He is peculiarly
anointed, pre-eminently anointed; wherewith all Christians are
anointed, He is pre-eminently anointed. Hear how He speaks in the
psalm: "Wherefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil
of gladness above Thy fellows." For all the holy ones are His
fellows, but He in a peculiar sense is the Holy of Holies,
peculiarly anointed, peculiarly Christ.
14. "And he brought him to Jesus; and when Jesus beheld him,
He said, Thou art Simon the son of Joannes: thou shall be called
Cephas, which is, by interpretation, Peter." It is not a great
thing that the Lord said whose son Peter was. What is great to the
Lord? He knew all the names of His own saints, whom He
predestinated before the foundation of the world; and dost thou wonder
that He said to one man, Thou art the son of this man, and thou
shall be called this or that? Is it a great matter that He changed
his name, and converted it from Simon to Peter? Peter is from
petra, a rock, but the petra [rock]; is the Church; in the name
of Peter, then, was the Church figured. And who is safe, unless
he who builds upon the rock? And what saith the Lord Himself? "He
that heareth these my words, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a
wise man building his house upon a rock" (he doth not yield to
temptation). "The rain descended, the floods came, the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded
upon a rock. But he that heareth my words, and doeth them not" (now
let each one of us fear and beware), " I will liken him to a foolish
man, who built his house upon the sand: the rain descended, the
floods came, the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell:
and great was the fall of it." What profit is it to enter the Church
for him who builds upon the sand? For, by hearing and not doing, he
builds indeed, but on the sand. For if he hears nothing, he builds
nothing; but if he hears, he builds. But we ask, Where? For if
he hears and does, he builds upon the rock; if he hears and does not,
he builds upon the sand. There are two kinds of builders, those
building upon the rock, and those building upon the sand. What,
then, are those who do not hear? Are they safe? Does He say that
they are safe because they do not build? They are naked beneath the
rains, before the winds, before the floods; when these come, they
carry away: those persons before they overthrow the houses. It is
then the only security, both to build, and to build upon the rock.
If thou wilt hear and do not, thou buildest; but thou buildest a
ruin: and when temptation comes it overthrows the house, and carries
away thee with the ruin. But if thou dost not hear, thou art naked;
thou thyself art dragged away by those temptations. Hear, then, and
do; it is the only remedy. How many, perchance, on this day, by
hearing and not doing, are hurried away on the stream of this
festival! For, through hearing and not doing, the flood cometh,
this annual festival; the torrent is filled, it will pass away and
become dry, but woe to him whom it shall carry away! Know this,
then, beloved, that unless a man hears and does, he builds not upon
the rock, and he does not belong to that great name which the Lord so
commended. For He has called thy attention. For if Simon had been
called Peter before, thou wouldest not have so clearly seen the
mystery of the rock, and thou wouldest have thought that he was called
so by chance, not by the providence of God; therefore God willed
that he should be called first something else, that by the very change
of name the reality of the sacrament might be commended to our notice.
15. "And the day following He would go forth into Galilee, and
finding Philip, He saith unto him, Follow me. Now he was of the
city of Andrew and Peter. And Philip findeth Nathanael" (Philip
who had been already called by the Lord); "and he said units him,
We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did
write, Jesus, the son of Joseph." He was called the son of that
man to whom His mother had been espoused. For that He was conceived
and born while she was still a virgin, all Christians know well from
the Gospel. This Philip said to Nathanael, and he added the
place, "from Nazareth." And Nathanael said unto him, "From
Nazareth something good can come." What is the meaning, brethren?
Not as some read, for it is likewise wont to be read, "Can any good
thing come out of Nazareth?" For the words of Philip follow, who
says, "Come and see." But the words of Philip can suitably follow
both readings, whether you read it thus, as confirming, "From
Nazareth something good can come," to which Philip replies, "Come
and see;" or whether as doubting, and making the whole a question,
"Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Come and see." Since
then, whether read in this manner or in that, the words following are
not incompatible, it is for us to inquire which of the two
interpretations we shall adopt.
16. What sort of a man this Nathanael was, we prove by the words
which follow. Hear what sort of a man he was; the Lord Himself
bears testimony. Great is the Lord, known by the testimony of
John; blessed Nathanael, known by the testimony of the truth.
Because the Lord, although He had not been commended by the
testimony of John, Himself to Himself bore testimony, because the
truth is sufficient for its own testimony. But because men were not
able to receive the truth, they sought the truth by means of a lamp,
and therefore John was sent to show them the Lord. Hear the Lord
bearing testimony to Nathanael: " Nathanael said unto him, Can any
good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip says to him, Come and see.
And Jesus sees Nathanael coming to Him, and says concerning him,
Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." Great
testimony! Not of Andrew, nor of Peter, nor of Philip was that
said which was said of Nathanael, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in
whom is no guile."
17. What do we then, brethren? Ought this man to be the first
among the apostles? Not only is Nathanael not found as first among
the apostles, but he is neither the middle nor the last among the
twelve, although the Son of God bore such testimony to him, saying,
"Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." Is the reason
asked for? In so far as the Lord intimates, we find a probable
reason. For we ought to understand that Nathanael was learned and
skilled in the law and for that reason was the Lord unwilling to place
him among His disciples, because He chose unlearned persons, that
He might by them confound the world. Listen to the apostle speaking
these things: "For ye see," saith he, "your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many
noble, are called: but God hath chosen the weak things of the world
to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world,
and things that are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which
are not, as though they were things that are, to bring to nought
things that are. If a learned man had been chosen, perhaps he would
have said that he was chosen for the reason that his learning made him
worthy of choice. Our Lord Jesus Christ, wishing to break the
necks of the proud, did not seek the orator by means of the fisherman,
but by the fisherman He gained the emperor. Great was Cyprian as an
orator, but before him was Peter the fisherman, by means of whom not
only the orator, but also the emperor, should believe. No noble was
chosen in the first place, no learned man, because God chose the weak
things of the world that He might confound the strong. This man,
then, was great and without guile, and for this reason only was not
chosen, lest the Lord should seem to any to have chosen the learned.
And from this same learning in the law, it came that when he heard
"from Nazareth," for he had searched the Scripture, and knew that
s the Saviour was to be expected thence, what the other scribes and
Pharisees had difficulty in knowing, this man, then, very learned in
the law, when he heard Philip saying, "We have found Him, of whom
Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Joseph; " this man, who knew the Scriptures excellently
well, when he heard the name "Nazareth," was filled with hope, and
said, "From Nazareth something good can come."
18. Let us now see the rest concerning this man. "Behold an
Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." What is" in whom is no
guile?" Perhaps he had no sin? Perhaps he was not sick? Perhaps
he did not need a physician? God forbid. No one is born here in such
fashion as not to need that Physician.
What, then, is the meaning of the words, "in whom is no guile"?
Let us search a little more intently it will appear presently in the
name of the Lord. The Lord says dolus [guile]; and every one who
understands Latin knows that dolus is when one thing is done and
another feigned. Give heed, beloved. Dolus (guile) is not dolor
(pain). I say this because many brethren, not well skilled in
Latin, so speak as to say, Dolus torments him, using it for dolor.
Dolus is fraud, it is deceit. When a man conceals one thing in his
heart, and speaks another, it is guile, and he has, as it were, two
hearts; he has, as it were, one recess of his heart where he sees the
truth, and another recess where he conceives falsehood. And that you
may know that this is guile, it is said in the Psalms, "Lips of
guile." What are "lips of guile"? It follows, "In a heart and
in a heart have they spoken evil." What is "in a heart and in a
heart," unless in a double heart? If, then, guile was not in
Nathanael, the Physician judged him to be curable, not whole. A
whole man is one thing, a curable another, an incurable a third: he
who is sick, but not hopelessly sick, is called curable; he who is
sick hopelessly, incurable; but he who is already whole does not need
a physician. The Physician, then, who had come to cure, saw that
he was curable, because there was no guile in him. How was guile not
in him, if he is a sinner? He confesses that he is a sinner. For if
he is a sinner, and says that he is a just man, there is guile in his
mouth. Therefore in Nathanael He praised the confession of sin, He
did not judge that he was not a sinner.
19. Wherefore, when the Pharisees, who seemed righteous to
themselves, blamed the Lord, because, as physician, he mixed with
the sick, and when they said, "Behold with whom he eats, with
publicans and sinners," the Physician replied to the madmen, "They
that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick: I came
not to call the righteous, but sinners." That is to say, because
you call yourselves righteous when you are sinners, because you judge
yourselves to be whole when you are languishing, you put away from you
the medicine, and do not hold fast health.
Hence that Pharisee who had asked the Lord to dinner, was whole in
his own eyes; but that sick woman rushed into the house to which she
had not been invited, and, made impudent by the desire of health,
approached not the head of the Lord, nor the hands, but the feet;
washed them with tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed them,
anointed them with ointment, made peace, sinner as she was, with the
footprints of the Lord. The Pharisee who sat at meat there, as
though whole himself, blamed the Physician, and said within himself,
"This man, if he were a prophet, would have known what woman touched
his feet." He suspected that He knew not, because He did not
repulse her to prevent His being touched with unclean hands; but He
did know, He permitted Himself to be touched, that the touch itself
might heal. The Lord, seeing the heart of the Pharisee, put forth
a parable: "There was a certain creditor, which had two debtors;
the one owed five hundred denars, and the other fifty; and when they
had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Which of them loved
him most?" He answered, "I suppose, Lord, he to whom he forgave
most."
And turning to the woman, He said unto Simon, "Seest thou this
woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my
feet; but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the
hairs of her head: thou gavest me no kiss; she hath not ceased to kiss
my feet: thou gavest me no oil; she hath anointed my feet with
ointment. Wherefore, I say unto thee, to her are forgiven many
sins, for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same
loveth little." That is to say, thou art more sick, but thou
thinkest thyself whole; thou thinkest that little is forgiven thee when
thou owest more. Well did she, because guile was not in her, deserve
medicine. What means, guile was not in her? She confessed her
sins. This He also praises in Nathanael, that guile was not in
him; for many Pharisees who abounded in sins said that they were
righteous, and brought guile with them, which made it impossible for
them to be healed.
20. Jesus then saw this man in whom was no guile, and said,
"Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." Nathanael
saith unto Him, "Whence knowest Thou me?" Jesus answered and
said, "Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig
(that is, under the fig-tree), I saw thee." Nathanael answered
and said unto Him, "Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art
the King of Israel." Some great thing Nathanael may have
understood in the saying, "When thou wast under the fig-tree, I
saw thee, before that Philip called thee;" for his words, "Thou
art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel," were not
dissimilar to those of Peter so long afterwards, when the Lord said
unto him, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."
And there He named the rock, and praised the strength of the
Church's support in this faith. Here already Nathanael says,
"Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel."
Wherefore? Because it was said to him, "Before that Philip called
thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee."
21. We must inquire whether this fig-tree signifies anything.
Listen, my brethren. We find the fig-tree cursed because it had
leaves only, and not fruit. In the beginning of the human race, when
Adam and Eve had sinned, they made themselves girdles of fig leaves.
Fig leaves then signify sins. Nathanael then was under the
fig-tree, as it were under the shadow of death. The Lord saw him,
he concerning whom it was said, "They that sat under the shadow of
death, unto them hath light arisen." What then was said to
Nathanael? Thou sayest to me, O Nathanael, "Whence knowest thou
me?" Even now thou speakest to me, because Philip called thee. He
whom an apostle had already called, He perceived to belong to His
Church. O thou Church, O thou Israel, in whom is no guile! if
thou art the people, Israel, in whom is no guile, thou hast even now
known Christ by His apostles, as Nathanael knew Christ by Philip.
But His compassion beheld thee before thou knewest Him, when thou
wert lying under sin. For did we first seek Christ, and not He seek
us? Did we come sick to the Physician, and not the PhySician to
the sick? Was not that sheep lost, and did not the shepherd, leaving
the ninety and nine in the wilderness, seek and find it, and joyfully
carry it back on his shoulders? Was not that piece of money lost, and
the woman lighted the lamp, and searched in the whole house until she
found it? And when she had found it, "Rejoice with me," she said
to her neighbors, "for I have found the piece of money which I
lost." In like manner were we lost as the sheep, lost as the piece
of money; and our Shepherd found the sheep, but sought the sheep;
the woman found the piece of money, but sought the piece of money.
What is the woman? The flesh of Christ. What is the lamp? "I
have prepared a lamp for my Christ." Therefore were we sought that
we might be found; having been found, we speak. Let us not be
proud, for before we were found we were lost, if we had not been
sought. Let them then not say to us whom we love, and whom we desire
to gain to the peace of the Catholic Church, "What do you wish with
us? Why seek you us if we are sinners?" We seek you for this reason
that you perish not: we seek you because we were sought; we wish to
find you because we have been found.
22. When, then, Nathanael had said "Whence knowest Thou me?"
the Lord said to him, "Before that Philip called thee, when thou
wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee." O thou Israel without
guile, whosoever thou art O people living by faith, before I called
thee by my apostles, when thou wast under the shadow of death, and
thou sawest not me, I saw thee. The Lord then says to him,
"Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, thou
believest: thou shalt see a greater thing than these." What is
this, thou shalt see a greater thing than these? And He saith unto
him, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye shall see heaven open,
and angels ascending and descending upon the Son of man." Brethren,
this is something greater than "under the fig-tree I saw thee."
For it is more that the Lord justified us when called than that He
saw us lying under the shadow of death. For what profit would it have
been to us if we had remained where He saw us? Should we not be lying
there? What is this greater thing? When have we seen angels
ascending and descending upon the Son of man?
23. Already on a former occasion I have spoken of these ascending
and descending angels; but lest you should have forgotten, I shall
speak of the latter briefly by way of recalling it to your
recollection. I should use more words if I were introducing, not
recalling the subject. Jacob saw a ladder in a dream; and on a ladder
he saw angels ascending and descending: and he anointed the stone which
he had placed at his head. You have heard that the Messias is
Christ; you have heard that Christ is the Anointed. For Jacob did
not place the stone, the anointed stone, that he might come and adore
it: otherwise that would have been idolatry, not a pointing out of
Christ. What was done was a pointing out of Christ, so far as it
behoved such a pointing out to be made, and it was Christ that was
pointed out. A stone was anointed, but not for an idol. A stone
anointed; why a stone? "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, elect,
precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded."
Why anointed? Because Christus comes from chrisma. But what saw he
then on the ladder? Ascending and descending angels. So it is the
Church, brethren: the angels of God are good preachers, preaching
Christ; this is the meaning of, "they ascend and descend upon the
Son of man." How do they ascend, and how do they descend? In one
case we have an example; listen to the Apostle Paul. What we find
in him, let us believe regarding the other preachers of the truth.
Behold Paul ascending: "I know a man in Christ fourteen years ago
was caught up into the third heaven (whether in the body, or whether
out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth), and that he heard
unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." You
have heard him ascending, hear him descending: "I could not speak
unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal; as babes in Christ I
have fed you with milk, not with meat." Behold he descended who had
ascended. Ask whether he ascended to the third heaven. Ask whether
he descended to give milk to babes. Hear that he descended: "I
became a babe in the midst of you, even as a nurse cherisheth her
children." For we see both nurses and mothers descend to babes, and
although they be able to speak Latin, they shorten the words, shake
their tongues in a certain manner, in order to frame childish
endearments from a methodical language; because if they speak according
to rule, the infant does not understand nor profit. And if there be a
father well skilled in speaking, and such an orator that the forum
resounds with his eloquence, and the judgment-seats shake, if he have
a little son, on his return home he puts aside the forensic eloquence
to which he had ascended, and in child's language descends to his
little one. Hear in one place the apostle himself ascending and
descending in the same sentence: "For whether," says he, "we be
beside ourselves, it is to God; or whether we be sober, it is for
your cause. " What is "we are beside ourselves "? That we see
those things which it is not lawful for a man to speak. What is "we
are sober for your cause? Have I judged myself to know anything among
you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified?" If the Lord Himself
ascended and descended, it is evident that His preachers ascend by
imitation. descend by preaching.
24. And if we have detained you somewhat longer than is our wont,
the design was that the dangerous hours might pass: we imagine that
those people have now brought their vanity to a close. But let us,
brethren, having fed upon the feasts of salvation, do what remains,
that we may in a religious manner fill up the Lord's day with
spiritual joys, and compare the joys of verity with the joys of
vanity;' and if we are horrified, let us grieve; if we grieve, let
us pray; if we pray, may we be heard; if we are heard, we gain them
also.
|
|