Forty Homilies on the Gospels
Forty Homilies on the Gospels
continued
Homily 20
Delivered to the people in the basilica of Saint John the Baptist, on the Saturday of the Four Seasons before the Nativity of Christ.
A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Luke
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governing Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, under the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, the word of the Lord came upon John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. And he went into all the region of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low. And the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways shall become smooth. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Therefore he said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him: Offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance; and do not begin to say: We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. For even now the axe is laid at the root of the tree. Therefore every tree not bearing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. And the crowds asked him, saying:
What then shall we do? And he answered and said to them: He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none, and he who has food, let him do likewise. The time when the precursor of our Redeemer received the word of preaching is indicated by mention of the prince of the Roman commonwealth and the kings of Judea, when it is said: "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, under the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, the word of the Lord came upon John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. For since he was coming to preach him who would redeem some from Judea and many from the Gentiles, the times of his preaching are indicated by the king of the Gentiles and the rulers of the Jews. Moreover, because the Gentiles were to be gathered in and Judea was to be scattered on account of the guilt of faithlessness, the very description of earthly rule shows that one man is described as having been in charge of the Roman commonwealth, while in the kingdom of Judea very many ruled over a fourth part each. For by the voice of our Redeemer it is said: "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste.
It is clear, therefore, that Judea had come to the end of its kingdom, since it lay subject to so many kings by whom it was divided. It is also fittingly demonstrated not only under which kings but also under which priests this took place; because John the Baptist was preaching him who would be both king and priest at the same time, Luke the Evangelist indicated the times of his preaching through both the kingdom and the priesthood. And he came into all the region of Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. It is clear to all readers that John not only preached the baptism of repentance, but also gave it to some, yet nevertheless he was not able to give his baptism for the remission of sins. For the remission of sins is granted to us only in the baptism of Christ. Therefore it must be noted what is said: Preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, because the baptism that would loose sins, since he was not able to give it, he preached: so that just as he preceded the incarnate Word of the Father with the word of preaching, so he might precede the baptism of repentance, by which sins are loosed, with his own baptism, by which sins cannot be loosed; so that because his speech preceded the presence of the Redeemer, his baptism also by preceding might become a shadow of the truth. There follows:
As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Indeed, the same John the Baptist, when asked who he was, answered, saying: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. He, as was said by us before, was called a voice by the prophet because he preceded the Word. But what he cried out is revealed when it is added: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Everyone who preaches right faith and good works, what else does he do but prepare a way for the coming Lord into the hearts of his hearers? So that the power of grace may penetrate, so that the light of truth may illuminate, so that he may make straight paths for God, while he forms pure thoughts in the mind through the word of good preaching. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low. What is designated by the name of valleys in this place except the humble, what by mountains and hills except proud people? At the coming of the Redeemer, therefore, valleys were filled, but mountains and hills were brought low, because according to his voice: Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.
For a valley that is filled grows, but a mountain and hill that is brought low decreases, because indeed in the faith of the Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, the Gentiles received the fullness of grace, while Judea through the error of unbelief lost that by which it was puffed up. For every valley shall be filled, because the hearts of the humble will be filled with the grace of virtues through the eloquence of sacred teaching, according to what is written: He sends forth springs in the valleys. And from which again it is said: And the valleys shall abound with grain. For water flows down from mountains; because the teaching of truth abandons proud minds. But springs rise in the valleys, because humble minds receive the word of preaching. Already we see, already we perceive that the valleys abound with grain, because their mouths are filled with the food of truth who, being meek and simple, seemed despicable to this world. The people, seeing that John the Baptist himself was endowed with wonderful holiness, believed him to be that singularly lofty and solid mountain of which it is written: "In the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of the mountains. For they thought he was Christ, as it is said through the Gospel: "And as the people were in expectation, and all were reasoning in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he might be the Christ," whom they also sought out saying:
"Are you the Christ? But unless John had been a valley within himself, he would not have been filled with the spirit of grace. To show what he was, he said: "There comes one mightier than I after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to loose. And again he said: "He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. Behold, although he was such through his wonderful working of virtues that he was believed to be Christ, he not only answered that he was not Christ, but also declared that he was not worthy to loose the strap of his sandal, that is, to scrutinize the mystery of his incarnation. Those who thought John was Christ believed the Church to be his bride. But he said: "He who has the bride is the bridegroom. As if to say: I am not the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom. Nor did he declare that he rejoiced because of his own voice, but in the voice of the bridegroom, because he did not rejoice in his heart because he was humbly heard by the people when he spoke, but because he himself heard the voice of truth within so that he might speak outwardly. He rightly says his joy was fulfilled, because whoever rejoices in his own voice does not have full joy. And he adds:
"He must increase, but I must decrease." 5. In this matter we must ask in what way Christ increased and in what way John decreased, unless it be that the people, seeing John's abstinence and observing that he was withdrawn from men, thought he was Christ; but seeing Christ eating with tax collectors and walking among sinners, they believed he was not Christ but a prophet. But as time passed, Christ who was thought to be a prophet was recognized as Christ, and John who was believed to be Christ became known to be a prophet, and thus was fulfilled what his forerunner predicted about Christ: "He must increase, but I must decrease. Indeed, in the estimation of the people Christ increased because he was recognized as what he was; and John decreased because he ceased to be called what he was not. Therefore, since John persisted in holiness because he persevered in humility of heart, and many fell because they swelled up with proud thoughts within themselves, let it rightly be said: "Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low," because the humble receive the gift which the hearts of the proud repel from themselves. The text continues: "And the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth. The crooked are made straight when the hearts of the wicked, twisted by injustice, are directed to the rule of justice.
And the rough are changed into smooth ways when harsh and wrathful minds, through the infusion of heavenly grace, return to the gentleness of meekness. For when the word of truth is not received by a wrathful mind, the roughness of the path, as it were, repels the step of one journeying. But when a wrathful mind, through the received grace of meekness, accepts the word of correction or exhortation, there the preacher finds a smooth way where previously, because of the roughness of the path, he was unable to proceed—that is, to set the step of preaching. There follows: "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Because by "all flesh" is meant every person, not every person was able to see the salvation of God, namely Christ, in this life. Where then does the prophet direct the eye of prophecy in this statement except to the day of the last judgment? When, with the heavens opened, angels ministering, apostles seated alongside, Christ shall appear on the throne of His majesty, all—both the elect and the reprobate alike—will see Him, so that the just may rejoice without end in the gift of recompense, and the unjust may groan perpetually in the vengeance of punishment. For because this statement aims at this—that He will be seen by all flesh at the final examination—it is rightly added: "He said therefore to the crowds that went out to be baptized by him: You offspring of vipers, who has shown you to flee from the wrath to come?
For the wrath to come is the punishment of final vengeance, which the sinner cannot then escape who does not now have recourse to the laments of penance. And it should be noted that evil offspring, imitating the actions of evil parents, are called offspring of vipers, because by envying the good and persecuting them, by returning evil to some, by seeking injuries against their neighbors—since in all these things they follow the ways of their carnal forebears—they are as if venomous children born from venomous parents. But because we have already sinned, because we are entangled by the habit of evil custom, let him say what we must do in order to be able to flee from the wrath to come. There follows: "Therefore bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. In these words it should be noted that the friend of the bridegroom admonishes that not only fruits of repentance should be brought forth, but fruits worthy of repentance. For it is one thing to bring forth a fruit of repentance, another to bring forth a fruit worthy of repentance. For to speak according to fruits worthy of repentance, it must be known that whoever has committed no unlawful things, to him it is rightly granted to use lawful things; and so let him do works of piety, yet if he does not wish, he need not abandon the things that are of the world.
But if anyone has fallen into the sin of fornication, or perhaps, what is more serious, into adultery, he ought to cut off from himself lawful things to the same degree that he remembers having perpetrated unlawful things. For the fruit of good work ought not to be equal for him who has sinned less and him who has sinned more, or for him who has fallen into no crimes and him who has fallen into some crimes, and him who has fallen into many. Therefore by what is said, "Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance," the conscience of each person is addressed, so that one may seek greater gains of good works through repentance to the same degree that one has brought upon oneself greater losses through sin. But the Jews, glorying in the nobility of their lineage, were unwilling to acknowledge themselves as sinners for this reason: that they had descended from the stock of Abraham. To them it is rightly said: "And do not begin to say, 'We have Abraham as our father'; for I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. For what were the stones but the hearts of the Gentiles, insensible to the understanding of Almighty God? As it is also said to certain ones among the Jews: "I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh. Nor is it undeserved that the Gentiles were signified by the name of stones, because they worshipped stones. Whence it is written:
"Let those who make them become like them, and all who trust in them. From these stones, indeed, children of Abraham were raised up, because when the hard hearts of the Gentiles believed in the seed of Abraham, that is, in Christ, they became children of him to whose seed they were united. Whence also it is said to these same Gentiles through the outstanding preacher: "But if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed. If therefore we, through faith in Christ, are now the seed of Abraham, the Jews on account of their unbelief have ceased to be children of Abraham. That indeed on that day of the dreadful judgment good parents cannot benefit wicked children, the prophet testifies who says: "If Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the midst of them, as I live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter, but they themselves shall deliver their own souls by their righteousness. And again, that good children profit wicked parents nothing, but rather the goodness of children increases the guilt of wicked parents, the Truth Himself says to the unbelieving Jews: "If I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. There follows: "For now the axe is laid to the root of the tree. For every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire. The tree of this world is the entire human race.
The axe, however, is our Redeemer, who is held as if by a handle and iron through His humanity, but cuts through His divinity. This axe is now laid to the root of the tree because, although He waits through patience, it is nevertheless seen what He is about to do. "For every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire," because every perverse person more quickly finds the prepared burning of Gehenna who scorns to produce the fruit of good work here. And it should be noted that he says the axe is laid not beside the branches, but to the root. For when the children of the wicked are taken away, what else is done but the branches of an unfruitful tree are cut off? But when an entire lineage together with the parent is taken away, the unfruitful tree is cut off from the root, so that nothing may remain from which a wicked offspring might grow again. From these words of John the Baptist it is clear that the hearts of the hearers were disturbed, since it is immediately added: "And the crowds asked him, saying: 'What then shall we do?'" For they had been struck with terror who were seeking counsel. It follows: "But he answered and said to them: He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.
By the fact that a tunic is more necessary for our use than a cloak, it pertains to fruit worthy of repentance that we ought to share with our neighbors not only whatever external and less necessary things we have, but even those things that are very necessary to us—namely, either the food by which we live bodily, or the tunic by which we are clothed. For since it is written in the law: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," he is proven to love his neighbor less who does not share with him even those things necessary to himself in his neighbor's time of need. Therefore the precept is given about dividing two tunics with one's neighbor, because this could not be said of one tunic, since if one is divided, no one is clothed. For with half a tunic, both he who receives remains naked and he who gave remains naked. But amid these things it should be known how greatly works of mercy avail, since for fruits worthy of repentance these are commanded above all others. Hence Truth also says through itself: "Give alms, and behold, all things are clean to you. Hence again he says: "Give, and it shall be given to you. Hence it is written: "Water extinguishes a burning fire, and almsgiving resists sins. Hence again it is said: "Store up almsgiving in the bosom of the poor, and it will pray for you. Hence a good father admonishes his innocent son, saying: "If you have much, give abundantly;
if you have little, take care to impart even that little willingly. But so that our Redeemer might show how great is the virtue in continence and in receiving the needy, he says: "He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. In these words it should be noted that he does not say "a reward from the prophet" or "a reward from the righteous man," but "he shall receive a prophet's reward" and "a righteous man's reward. For a reward from the prophet is one thing, and the prophet's reward is another; and a reward from the righteous man is one thing, and the righteous man's reward is another. For what does it mean to say "He shall receive a prophet's reward," except that he who sustains a prophet by his generosity, even though he himself does not have the gift of prophecy, will nevertheless have the rewards of prophecy before the almighty Lord? For perhaps this man is righteous, and the less he possesses in this world, the greater confidence he has in speaking for justice.
When he who possesses something in this world sustains this man, and perhaps does not yet presume to speak freely for justice, he makes himself a sharer in that man's freedom of justice, so that he may receive equally with him the rewards of justice—he whom he helped by sustaining him, so that he might be able to speak that same justice freely. That man is full of the spirit of prophecy, but nevertheless needs bodily nourishment. And if the body is not refreshed, it is certain that the voice itself is diminished. Therefore, he who provides food to the prophet because he is a prophet gives strength to that man's prophecy for speaking. He will therefore receive a prophet's reward along with the prophet, because even if he was not full of the spirit of prophecy, he nevertheless displayed before God's eyes what he assisted. Hence it is said to Gaius through John concerning certain traveling brothers: "For they went forth for the name of Christ, taking nothing from the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such persons, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. For he who provides temporal assistance to those who have spiritual gifts becomes a fellow worker in those very spiritual gifts. For since few are those who receive spiritual gifts, and many are those who abound in temporal things, through this the rich insert themselves into the virtues of the poor: by providing comfort to those same holy poor from their riches.
Hence when the Lord promised to the abandoned Gentile world, that is, to the holy Church, the merits of spiritual virtues through the voice of Isaiah, as if promising trees to a desert, he also promised the elm at the same time, saying: "I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the pathless land into streams of water; I will place in the wilderness the cedar and the thorn, the myrtle and the olive tree; I will set in the desert the fir, the elm, and the box tree together, that they may see and know, and consider and understand together. The Lord indeed turned the desert into pools of water and the pathless land into streams of water, because to the Gentile world, which previously through the dryness of its mind bore no fruits of good works, he gave the streams of holy preaching, and it, to which previously because of the harshness of its dryness no way lay open to preachers, afterward poured forth rivers of doctrine. To this is still promised from a great gift: "I will give in the wilderness the cedar and the thorn. The cedar, because it is of great fragrance and incorruptible nature, we rightly accept in the promise. But concerning the thorn, since it was said to sinning man, "Your land shall bring forth thorns and thistles for you," what wonder is it if what is multiplied as punishment for sinning man is promised to the holy Church?
But by the name of cedars are signified those who display virtues and signs in their work, who are able to say with Paul: "We are a good fragrance of Christ to God. Their hearts are so solidified in eternal love that no rot of earthly love any longer corrupts them. By the thorn are signified men of spiritual teaching who, while they discourse on sins and virtues, now threatening eternal punishments, now promising the joys of the heavenly kingdom, pierce the hearts of their hearers. And thus they pierce through the mind with the pain of compunction, so that from their eyes, as if a kind of blood of the soul, tears flow down. The myrtle indeed is of tempering virtue, so that it restrains loosened limbs by tempering. What therefore is signified by the myrtle except those who know how to suffer with the afflictions of their neighbors and temper their tribulation through compassion? According to what is written: "Thanks be to God, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any distress. For when they bring a word or work of consolation to afflicted neighbors, they undoubtedly restrain them to a state of uprightness, lest they be dissolved into despair by immoderate tribulation. Whom do we understand by the olive except the merciful? For in Greek mercy is called ἔλεος, and the fruit of mercy shines before the eyes of almighty God like the liquid of the olive. To this is still added in the promise:
"I will set in the desert the fir, the elm, and the box tree together. By the fir, which by growing greatly rises up to the heights of the air, who are designated except those who, placed within the holy Church still in earthly bodies, already contemplate heavenly things? And although by being born they came forth from the earth, yet by contemplating they already raise up the summit of their mind near the heavens. And what is expressed by the elm except the minds of worldly people? For while they still serve earthly cares, they bear no fruit of spiritual virtues. But although the elm does not have its own fruit, it is accustomed nevertheless to carry the vine with its fruit, because worldly men within the holy Church, although they do not have the gifts of spiritual virtues, yet when they sustain holy men full of spiritual gifts by their generosity, what else do they carry but the vine with its clusters? And whom else does the box tree designate, which does not grow to height and although it has no fruit nevertheless has greenness, except those who within the holy Church still cannot bear good works because of the weakness of their age, but nevertheless, following the belief of their faithful parents, hold the faith of perpetual greenness? After all these things it is fittingly added: "That they may see and know, and consider and understand together.
For the cedar is placed in the Church so that whoever draws the fragrance of spiritual virtues from a neighbor may not himself grow sluggish in the love of eternal life, but may be set ablaze with desires for heavenly goods. The thorn is placed so that whoever has been pierced by the word of its preaching may himself also learn by that example to pierce the hearts of his followers with the word of preaching. The myrtle is placed so that whoever in the heat of tribulation has received the tempering of consolation from the mouth or work of a compassionate neighbor may himself also learn how to bring forth the tempering of his consolation to afflicted neighbors. The olive is placed so that whoever knows the works of another's mercy may learn how he himself ought to show mercy to a needy neighbor. The fir is placed so that whoever has recognized its power of contemplation may himself also be set ablaze to contemplate eternal rewards. The elm is placed so that whoever has observed him who cannot have the fruit of spiritual virtues but nevertheless sustains those who are full of spiritual gifts may himself also serve the life of the saints with whatever generosity he can, and may bear by sustaining the clusters of heavenly goods that he cannot bear by producing. The box tree is placed so that whoever considers that many still placed in weakness have the greenness of true faith may himself also be ashamed to be faithless.
Therefore, after the trees have been described first, it is well said: "That they may see and know, and consider and understand. Where it is also fittingly added "together," because since within the holy Church the different characters of people are different orders, it is necessary that all learn together, while in it spiritual men of diverse quality, age, and order are seen together for imitation. But behold, while we seek to show the elm, we have wandered rather far through many trees. Let us therefore return to that for which we brought forth the testimony of the prophet. "He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward," because even if the elm has no fruit, yet carrying the vine with its fruits, it makes its own what it sustains well from another. But because John admonishes us to great works, saying: "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance. And again: "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise"; now it is clearly given to understand what Truth means when it says: "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent seize it. These words of the heavenly pronouncement must be thoroughly examined by us. For it must be asked how the kingdom of heaven can suffer violence. For who inflicts violence upon heaven?
And again it must be asked, if the kingdom of heaven can suffer violence, why it endured that same violence from the days of John the Baptist, and not also before. But since the law says: "If anyone does this or that, let him die the death," it is clear to all who read that it struck all sinners with the punishment of its severity, but did not lead them back to life through repentance. But when John the Baptist, preceding the grace of the Redeemer, preaches repentance, so that the sinner who is dead from guilt may live through conversion, surely from the days of John the Baptist the kingdom of heaven suffers violence. But what is the kingdom of heaven, if not the place of the just? For the rewards of the heavenly homeland are owed only to the just, so that the humble, the chaste, the meek, and the merciful may arrive at the joys above. But when someone swollen with pride, or defiled by a sin of the flesh, or inflamed by anger, or impious through cruelty, returns to repentance after his faults and receives eternal life, the sinner enters, as it were, into a place not his own. Therefore from the days of John the Baptist the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent seize it, because he who proclaimed repentance to sinners—what else did he teach but that violence should be done to the kingdom of heaven?
Let us therefore reflect, dearly beloved brethren, on the evils we have done, and let us wear ourselves down with constant lamentations. The inheritance of the righteous, which we did not hold through our life, let us seize through repentance. Almighty God wills to suffer such violence from us. For the kingdom of heaven wills to be seized by our tears, since it is not owed to our merits. Therefore let no quality, no quantity of our evils break us from the certainty of hope. That venerable thief provides great confidence in pardon—venerable not because he was a thief, for he was a thief from cruelty, but venerable from his confession. Think therefore, think how incomprehensible are the depths of mercy in Almighty God. This thief, dragged away with bloody hands from the throat of the road, was hung on the gibbet of the cross; there he confessed, there he was healed, there he deserved to hear: "Today you will be with me in paradise. What is this? Who would be sufficient to speak of, who to estimate such goodness of God? From the very punishment of his crime he arrived at the rewards of virtue. For this reason Almighty God permitted His elect to fall in certain lapses, so that He might restore hope of pardon to others lying in fault, if they rise up to Him with their whole heart, and open to them through the laments of repentance the way of His mercy.
Let us therefore exercise ourselves in lamentations, let us extinguish with tears and worthy fruits of repentance the faults we have committed; let not the time granted us for forgiveness perish, because when we see many already healed from their iniquities, what else do we hold but a pledge of heavenly mercy?
Homily 21
Delivered to the people in the basilica of the blessed Virgin Mary, on the holy day of Easter.
Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Mark
At that time, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb, the sun having already risen. And they were saying to one another: Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. For it was very large. And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were amazed. He said to them: Do not be afraid. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified one; he has risen, he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he told you. To many of you, dearest brothers, I have been accustomed to speak through dictation in the readings; but because, with my stomach growing weary, I am unable to read aloud what I have dictated, I observe that some of you listen less willingly. Therefore I now wish to require of myself, contrary to custom, that during the sacred solemnities of the Mass I expound the reading of the holy Gospel not by dictating, but by conversing.
And so let it be received as we speak, because the voice of conversation rouses torpid hearts more than the discourse of a reading, and strikes them as if with a certain hand of solicitude that they might awaken. And indeed I do not see that I am sufficient for this work; but nevertheless the strength that inexperience denies, charity supplies. For I know Him who said: "Open your mouth, and I will fill it. Therefore let the good work be in our will, for from divine assistance it will be in its completion. The very great solemnity of the Lord's resurrection itself also gives boldness for speaking, because it is very unworthy that on that day the tongue of flesh should be silent from due praises, on which day, namely, the flesh of the Author rose again. You have heard, most beloved brethren, that the holy women who had followed the Lord came to the tomb with spices, and to him whom they had loved while living, they render service with devoted care even when dead. But this deed signifies something to be done in holy Church. For we must hear what was done in such a way that we may also consider what we ought to do in imitation of them. We therefore, believing in him who died, if we seek the Lord filled with the fragrance of virtues and with a reputation for good works, we indeed come to his tomb with spices.
Those women see angels who came with spices, because those souls behold the heavenly citizens who set out toward the Lord with the fragrance of virtues through holy desires. But we must note what it means that the angel is seen sitting on the right side. For what is designated by the left except the present life, and what by the right except eternal life? Hence it is written in the Song of Songs: His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me. Since therefore our Redeemer had already passed beyond the corruption of the present life, rightly the angel who had come to announce his eternal life was sitting on the right. He appeared covered with a white robe because he announced the joys of our festival. For the brightness of the garment proclaims the splendor of our solemnity. Should we say ours, or his? But to speak more truly, let us say both his and ours. For that resurrection of our Redeemer was both our festival, because it brought us back to immortality, and the festival of the angels, because by calling us back to heavenly things it filled up their number. Therefore at his own and our festival the angel appeared in white garments, because while we are brought back to heavenly things through the Lord's resurrection, the losses of the heavenly homeland are repaired. 3. But let us hear what he says to the women as they arrive: Do not be afraid. As if he were saying openly:
Let those fear who do not love the coming of the heavenly citizens; let those be terrified who, weighed down by carnal desires, despair of being able to reach their fellowship. But why should you be afraid, who see your fellow citizens? Hence Matthew also, describing the angel's appearance, says: His appearance was like lightning, and his garments like snow. For in lightning there is the terror of fear, but in snow there is the gentleness of brightness. Since indeed almighty God is both terrible to sinners and gentle to the just, rightly the angel, witness of his resurrection, is shown both with a countenance like lightning and with garments of brightness, so that by his very appearance he might both terrify the reprobate and soothe the devout. Hence also the pillar of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day rightly went before the people journeying through the desert. For in fire there is terror, but in cloud there is the gentle comfort of vision; and day is taken as the life of the just, and night as the life of the sinner. Hence Paul also says to converted sinners: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Therefore by day the pillar was shown through cloud, and by night through fire, because almighty God will appear both gentle to the just and terrible to the unjust. Coming in judgment, he soothes the former through the mildness of gentleness, but terrifies the latter through the severity of justice.
But now let us hear what the angel adds: "You seek Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus in the Latin tongue means "salutary," that is, it is interpreted as "Savior. But indeed many at that time could be called Jesus, yet not substantially, but only nominatively. Therefore the place is also added, so that it might be made clear which Jesus is meant: "of Nazareth. And he immediately added the reason: "the Crucified One. And he added: "He has risen, He is not here. "He is not here" is said with respect to the presence of His flesh, though He is nowhere absent with respect to the presence of His majesty. "But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He goes before you into Galilee. We must ask why, when the disciples are named, Peter is designated by name. But if the angel had not expressly named him who had denied his Master, he would not have dared to come among the disciples. Therefore he is called by name, lest he despair because of his denial. In this matter we must consider why Almighty God permitted him whom He had determined to place over the whole Church to fear the voice of a servant girl and to deny himself. This we recognize was done by a dispensation of great mercy, so that he who was to be the Pastor of the Church might learn through his own fault how he ought to show mercy to others.
Therefore He first showed him to himself, and then set him over the rest, so that from his own weakness he might learn how mercifully he should bear with the weaknesses of others. It is well said of our Redeemer: "He goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you. For Galilee is interpreted as "migration accomplished. Indeed, our Redeemer had already migrated from passion to resurrection, from death to life, from punishment to glory, from corruption to incorruption. And he was first seen by the disciples in Galilee after the resurrection, because we will joyfully see the glory of his resurrection afterward, if we now migrate from vices to the heights of virtues. Therefore, he who is announced at the tomb is shown in the migration, because he who is recognized in the mortification of the flesh is seen in the migration of the mind. These things, dearest brothers, we have run through from the exposition of the Gospel reading on account of so great a solemnity of the day, but it is fitting that we speak somewhat more subtly about this same solemnity. For there were two lives, of which we knew one and did not know the other. One indeed is mortal, the other immortal; one of corruption, the other of incorruption; one of death, the other of resurrection. But the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, came, took up the one, and showed forth the other.
He endured the one by dying, and showed forth the other by rising again. If therefore He had promised us, who knew only mortal life, the resurrection of the flesh, and yet had not visibly displayed it, who would believe His promises? Therefore, having been made man, He appeared in the flesh, deigned to die by His own will, rose again by His own power, and showed by example what He promised us as a reward. But perhaps someone may say: He rightly rose again who, being God, could not be held by death. Therefore, to instruct our ignorance, to strengthen our weakness, He did not wish the example of His own resurrection alone to suffice for us. He alone died at that time, and yet He by no means rose again alone. For it is written: Many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose. Therefore all arguments of unbelief have been removed. For lest anyone say: A man ought not to hope for himself what God made man displayed in His flesh, behold we know that men rose again together with God, and we do not doubt that they were mere men. If therefore we are members of our Redeemer, let us presume in ourselves what is established to have taken place in the Head. If we greatly abase ourselves, we who are the lowest members ought to hope in ourselves for what we have heard concerning His higher members. Behold, there comes to mind what the Jews said in mockery to the crucified Son of God:
"If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross, and we will believe him. If he had then come down from the cross, yielding to the mockers, he would not have demonstrated to us the virtue of patience. But he waited a little, endured the insults, bore the ridicule, preserved his patience, and deferred their amazement; and he who was unwilling to come down from the cross rose from the tomb. Therefore it was a greater thing to rise from the tomb than to come down from the cross. It was a greater thing to destroy death by rising than to preserve life by coming down. But when the Jews did not see him come down from the cross at their taunts, when they saw him dying, they believed they had conquered him; they rejoiced that they had, as it were, extinguished his name. But behold, from his death his name has grown throughout the world—that death by which the faithless crowd believed they had extinguished it; and the one whose killing they celebrated, they now grieve as dead, because they recognize that he has attained his glory through suffering. This is well signified by the deeds of Samson in the Book of Judges, who, when he had entered Gaza, a city of the Philistines, the Philistines, immediately learning of his entry, suddenly surrounded the city with blockades, appointed guards, and rejoiced that they had captured the mighty Samson. But we know what Samson did.
At midnight he carried off the gates of the city and climbed to the top of a mountain. Whom, dearest brothers, does Samson signify in this deed, if not our Redeemer? What does the city of Gaza designate except hell? What is demonstrated by the Philistines except the treachery of the Jews? When they saw the Lord dead and his body already placed in the tomb, they immediately appointed guards, and they rejoiced that they had captured in the prison of hell, like Samson in Gaza, him who had shone forth as the author of life. But Samson at midnight not only went out but also carried off the gates, because our Redeemer, rising before dawn, not only went out free from hell but also destroyed the very bars of hell. He carried off the gates and climbed to the top of the mountain, because by rising he removed the bars of hell, and by ascending he entered the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, dearest brothers, let us love with our whole mind this glory of his resurrection, which was first shown through a sign and afterward was made manifest through the deed; let us die for love of him. Behold, in the resurrection of our Author we have recognized his ministers, the angels, as our fellow citizens. Let us therefore hasten to that crowded solemnity of these citizens. Let us join ourselves to them in desire and mind, since we cannot yet do so in vision.
Let us pass over from vices to virtues, that we may deserve to see our Redeemer in Galilee. May almighty God aid our desire for life, he who gave his only Son to death for us, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as God with him in the unity of the Holy Spirit, through all ages of ages. Amen.
Homily 22
Delivered to the people in the basilica of blessed John, which is called the Constantiniana, on the Saturday after Easter.
Reading of the Holy Gospel According to John
At that time, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came early, while it was still dark, to the tomb, and she saw the stone taken away from the tomb. Therefore she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them: They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have put him. Peter therefore went out, and that other disciple, and they came to the tomb. But the two were running together; and that other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter, and came first to the tomb. And when he had stooped down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered the tomb. And he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the cloth that had been over his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up separately in one place. Then therefore that disciple who had come first to the tomb also entered, and he saw, and believed. For they did not yet know the Scriptures, that he must rise from the dead. My stomach, broken by long illness, has for a long time prevented me from speaking to your charity about the exposition of the Gospel reading. For my very voice fails in the strength of its cry; and because I cannot be heard by many, I confess I am ashamed to speak among many.
But I myself reproach this embarrassment in me. For what? If I cannot benefit many, shall I not care to benefit even a few? And if I cannot carry many sheaves from the harvest, must I therefore return to the threshing floor empty-handed? For although I cannot carry as many as I ought, surely I shall carry at least a few, surely at least two, surely at least one. For the very intention of weakness has the certainty of its reward, because our heavenly Judge, although He considers the weight in the recompense, nevertheless weighs the strength against the weight. The reading of the holy Gospel which you have just heard, brothers, is very clear on the surface of its historical meaning, but we must seek out its mysteries in brief. Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while it was still dark. According to the historical account, the hour is noted; but according to the mystical understanding, the intelligence of the one seeking is signified. For Mary was seeking at the tomb the author of all things, whom she had seen dead in the flesh; and because she did not find him, she believed he had been stolen. Therefore it was still dark when she came to the tomb. She ran quickly and announced it to the disciples. But those ran before the others who loved more than the others, namely Peter and John. Now the two were running together, but John ran ahead more quickly than Peter and arrived first at the tomb, but did not presume to enter.
Peter came later, and entered. What, brothers, what does this running signify? Surely this very subtle description by the evangelist is not to be thought devoid of mysteries? Not at all. For John would not have said that he both arrived first and did not enter, if he had believed that mystery was absent from his very hesitation. What then is designated by John except the Synagogue, what by Peter except the Church? Nor should it seem strange that the Synagogue is said to be signified by the younger and the Church by the elder, because even if the Synagogue is prior to the Church of the Gentiles in the worship of God, nevertheless the multitude of the Gentiles is prior to the Synagogue in the practice of the world, as Paul attests when he says: "Because what is spiritual is not first, but what is natural. Therefore by the elder Peter is signified the Church of the Gentiles, but by the younger John the Synagogue of the Jews. Both ran together, because from the time of its origin until its setting, the Gentile world ran with the Synagogue by a common and equal path, even if not with a common and equal understanding. The Synagogue came first to the tomb, but did not enter, because although it received the commandments of the law and heard the prophecies concerning the incarnation and passion of the Lord, it refused to believe in the one who died.
For John saw the linen cloths lying there, yet did not enter, because the Synagogue both recognized the mysteries of sacred Scripture and yet delayed entering through faith by believing in the Lord's passion. The one whom it had long prophesied from afar, it saw present and rejected; it despised him as a man and refused to believe that God had been made mortal in flesh. What does this mean, except that it both ran more quickly and yet stood empty before the tomb? But Simon Peter came following him and entered the tomb, because the Church of the Gentiles, coming after, both recognized the mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, dead in the flesh, and believed him to be the living God. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the cloth that had been over his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up separately in one place. What do we believe it means, brothers, that the cloth from the Lord's head is not found with the linen cloths in the tomb, except that, as Paul attests, God is the head of Christ, and the incomprehensible mysteries of his divinity are separated from the knowledge of our weakness, and his power transcends the nature of creation? And it should be noted that it is said to be found not only separately but also rolled up in one place. For when a cloth is rolled up, neither its beginning nor its end can be seen.
Rightly therefore was the cloth from his head found rolled up, because the majesty of divinity neither began to exist nor ceases; it is neither born through a beginning nor confined by an end. And rightly is it added: "In one place," because God is not in the division of minds. For God is in unity, and those merit to have His grace who do not divide themselves from one another through the scandals of sects. But because sweat is usually wiped away from workers by a cloth, the labor of God can also be expressed by the name of cloth—He who indeed always remains quiet and unchangeable in Himself, yet nevertheless declares that He labors when He bears the harsh depravities of men. Whence He also says through the prophet: "I have labored in enduring. Now God appeared in the flesh, He labored from our infirmity. When unbelievers saw this labor of His passion, they refused to venerate Him. For they disdained to believe that He whom they saw mortal in the flesh was immortal in His divinity. Whence Jeremiah also says: "You will render to them their recompense, O Lord, according to the works of their hands; You will give them as a shield for the heart Your labor.
For lest the darts of preaching should penetrate their hearts, since they disdained the labor of His passion, they held that same labor of His as if it were a shield, so that by the very fact that they saw Him labor even unto death, they would not permit His words to pass through to them. But what are we except members of our Head, that is, of God? Therefore by the linens of the body are signified the bonds of labors which now bind all the elect, that is, His members. The cloth, therefore, which had been upon His head is found separately, because the passion itself of our Redeemer is far removed from our passion, since He without guilt bore what we endure with guilt. He willingly chose to succumb to death, to which we come unwilling. Then therefore that disciple who had come first to the tomb also entered. After Peter entered, John also went in. He who had come first entered later. It should be noted, brothers, that at the end of the world Judea too will be gathered to faith in the Redeemer, as Paul testifies when he says: "Until the fullness of the Gentiles should enter, and so all Israel should be saved. And he saw and believed. What, brothers, what are we to think he believed? Was it that the Lord whom he was seeking had risen? Certainly not, because there was still darkness at the tomb, and the words that follow also contradict this when it says:
"For they did not yet know the Scriptures, that he must rise from the dead. What then did he see, and what did he believe? He saw the linen cloths lying there, and he believed what the woman had said, that the Lord had been taken from the tomb. In this matter the greatness of divine providence must be considered, that the hearts of the disciples are both kindled to seek and yet delayed from finding, so that the weakness of the soul, tormented by its own sorrow, might become purer for finding, and might hold on more firmly when it found, the later it found what it was seeking. We have run through these things briefly from the Gospel reading, dearest brothers; now it remains for us to say something about the nobility of so great a solemnity itself. For rightly shall I call this the nobility of the solemnity, because it surpasses all other solemnities. For just as in sacred Scripture we speak of the holy of holies, or the Song of songs, because of their greatness, so this festival can rightly be called the solemnity of solemnities. From this solemnity indeed the example of resurrection was given to us, the hope of the heavenly homeland was opened, and the glory of the supernal kingdom was made something we might already anticipate. Through this, the elect, who although they were in the bosom of tranquility, were nevertheless held in the confines of hell, were led back to the delights of paradise.
What the Lord said before His passion, He fulfilled in His resurrection: "If I am lifted up from the earth," He said, "I will draw all things to myself. For He drew all things, He who left none of His elect in the underworld. He took away all things—that is, all the elect. For He did not restore to pardon by rising again any unbelievers or those consigned to eternal punishments for their crimes; but He snatched from the confines of hell those whom He recognized as His own in faith and in deeds. Whence rightly also He says through Hosea: "I will be your death, O death; I will be your sting, O hell. For what we kill, we cause to exist no more entirely. But from what we bite, we take away a part and leave a part behind. Therefore, because in His elect He utterly killed death, He became the death of death. But because He took away a part from hell and left a part behind, He did not utterly kill but bit hell. Therefore He says: "I will be your death, O death. As if He were saying openly: Because in my elect I utterly destroy you, I will be your death; I will be your sting, O hell, because when they have been taken away, I pierce you in part. What then is this solemnity which destroyed the confines of hell and opened to us the gates of the heavenly kingdom? Let its name be inquired into more carefully.
Let the excellent preacher be consulted. Let us see what he declares concerning the estimation of Him. For he says: "For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. If therefore Christ is the Passover, we must consider what the law says about the Passover, so that we may investigate more carefully whether these things seem to have been said about Christ. For Moses says: "They shall take of the blood of the lamb and put it on both doorposts and on the lintels of the houses in which they shall eat it; and they shall eat the flesh that night roasted with fire, and unleavened bread with bitter herbs. You shall not eat any of it raw, nor boiled in water, but only roasted with fire. You shall devour the head with its feet and entrails, and nothing of it shall remain until morning. If anything is left over, you shall burn it with fire. Where it is also added: "And thus you shall eat it: You shall gird your loins, and you shall have sandals on your feet, holding staffs in your hands, and you shall eat in haste. All of which things indeed bring forth great edification for us, if they are examined through mystical interpretation. For who the blood of the lamb is, you have learned not now by hearing, but by drinking. This blood is placed on both doorposts when it is received not only by the mouth of the body but also by the mouth of the heart.
For the blood of the lamb is placed on both posts when the sacrament of His passion is received by the mouth for Redemption, and is also contemplated with attentive mind for imitation. For he who receives the blood of his Redeemer in such a way that he does not yet wish to imitate His passion has placed the blood on only one post; it must also be placed above on the lintels of the houses. For what do we understand spiritually by houses except our minds, in which we dwell through thought? The lintel of this house is the very intention that presides over action. Therefore, whoever directs the intention of his thought toward the imitation of the Lord's passion places the blood of the lamb on the lintel of the house. Or certainly our houses are the bodies themselves, in which we dwell as long as we live. And we place the blood of the lamb on the lintel of the house because we bear the cross of His passion on our forehead. Concerning this lamb it is added further: "And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted with fire. Indeed we eat the lamb at night, because we now receive the Lord's body in the sacrament when we do not yet see one another's consciences. Yet these meats must be roasted with fire, because fire indeed dissolves the meats that water has boiled; but those that fire cooks without water, it strengthens.
And so fire cooked the meats of our Lamb, because the very power of His passion rendered Him stronger for resurrection and strengthened Him for incorruption. For He who recovered from death—clearly His flesh was hardened by fire. Hence also through the Psalmist He says: "My strength has dried up like a potsherd. For what is a potsherd before fire except soft clay? But it is subjected to fire so that it may become solid. Therefore the strength of His humanity dried up like a potsherd, because from the fire of passion it grew into the power of incorruption. But having received the sacraments of our Redeemer alone is not sufficient for the true solemnity of the mind, unless good works are also joined to them. For what does it profit to receive His body and blood with the mouth, and to oppose Him with perverse conduct? Hence it is well added concerning the eating: "And unleavened bread with wild lettuce. For he eats bread without leaven who performs righteous works without the corruption of vainglory, who shows the commands of mercy without admixture of sin, lest he wickedly seize what he seems to dispense rightly. They had also mixed this leaven of sin into their good action, to whom the Lord spoke through the voice of the prophet in rebuke: "Come to Bethel and act impiously. And after a few words: "And sacrifice praise from what is leavened. For he offers praise from what is leavened who prepares a sacrifice to God from robbery.
Wild lettuces are indeed very bitter. Therefore the flesh of the Lamb must be eaten with wild lettuces, so that when we receive the body of the Redeemer, we afflict ourselves with weeping for our sins, so that the very bitterness of repentance may cleanse from the stomach of the mind the humor of a perverse life. Where it is also added: "You shall not eat any of it raw, nor cooked in water. Behold, now the very words of the history drive us from a historical understanding. Surely, dearest brothers, that Israelite people established in Egypt had not been accustomed to eat raw lamb, that the law should say to them: "You shall not eat any of it raw"? Where it is also added: "Nor cooked in water. But what does water signify except human knowledge, according to what is said by Solomon in the voice of heretics: "Stolen waters are sweeter. What do the raw flesh of the Lamb signify except His humanity considered without reflection and left without reverence of thought? For everything that we consider carefully we, as it were, cook with the mind. But the flesh of the lamb is neither to be eaten raw nor cooked in water, because our Redeemer is neither to be considered a mere man, nor is how God was able to become incarnate to be thought through by human wisdom.
For everyone who believes our Redeemer to be a mere man, what else does he do but eat the raw flesh of the lamb, which he was unwilling to cook through understanding of His divinity? And everyone who attempts to examine the mysteries of His incarnation according to human wisdom wishes to cook the flesh of the lamb in water, that is, he wishes to penetrate the mystery of His dispensation through dissolute knowledge. Therefore, whoever desires to celebrate the solemnity of Paschal joy, let him neither cook the lamb in water nor eat it raw, so that he may neither seek to penetrate through human wisdom the depth of His incarnation, nor believe in Him as in a mere man; but let him eat the flesh roasted by fire, so that he may know that all things were dispensed through the power of the Holy Spirit. Concerning which it is rightly added: "You shall consume the head with the feet and the entrails," because our Redeemer is the Alpha and Omega, that is, God before the ages and man at the end of the ages. And as we have already said, brothers, we have learned from Paul's testimony that God is the head of Christ. Therefore, to consume the head of the lamb is to receive His divinity by faith. To consume the feet of the lamb is to seek out the footsteps of His humanity by loving and imitating. What indeed are the entrails except the hidden and mystical commands of His words?
These we consume when we take up the words of life with eagerness. In this word "consuming," what else is reproved but the torpor of our sloth? We who do not seek out His words and mysteries by ourselves, and hear the things spoken by others unwillingly. "Nothing of it shall remain until morning," because His words must be examined with great care, so that before the day of resurrection appears, in this night of the present life all His commands may be penetrated through understanding and doing. But because it is very difficult for all sacred eloquence to be understood and every mystery of it to be penetrated, it is rightly added: "But if anything remains, you shall burn it with fire. What remains of the lamb we burn with fire when we humbly reserve to the power of the Holy Spirit that which we cannot understand and penetrate concerning the mystery of His incarnation, so that no one may proudly dare either to despise or to proclaim what he does not understand, but hands it over to the fire when he reserves it to the Holy Spirit. Since therefore we have learned how the Passover ought to be eaten, let us now recognize by whom it ought to be eaten. It follows: "And thus shall you eat it. You shall gird your loins. What is understood by the loins except the delight of the flesh? Hence the Psalmist also asks, saying: "Burn my loins.
For if he had not known that the pleasure of lust resides in the loins, he would by no means have asked that they be burned. Hence, because the power of the devil has prevailed over the human race especially through lust, it is said of him by the voice of the Lord: "His power is in his loins. Therefore he who eats the Passover ought to have his loins girded, so that he who celebrates the solemnity of resurrection and incorruption may no longer be subject to corruption through any vices, may subdue pleasures, and may restrain the flesh from lust. For he does not know what the solemnity of incorruption is who still lies subject to corruption through incontinence. These things are hard for some, but narrow is the gate that leads to life. And we now have many examples of the continent. Hence it is also well added: "You shall have sandals on your feet. For what are our feet except our works? And what are sandals except the skins of dead animals? Now sandals protect the feet. And what are the dead animals from whose skins our feet are protected, except the ancient fathers who have gone before us to the eternal homeland? When we contemplate their examples, we protect the feet of our works. Therefore to have sandals on our feet is to contemplate the life of the dead and to guard our steps from the wound of sin. "Holding staffs in your hands. What does the law designate by the staff except pastoral care?
And it should be noted that we are first commanded to gird our loins, afterward to hold staffs, because those ought to undertake pastoral care who already know how to subdue the excesses of lust in their own bodies, so that when they preach difficult things to others, they themselves do not weakly succumb to soft desires. And it is well added: "And you shall eat in haste. Note, dearest brothers, note what is said: "in haste. Learn the commandments of God, the mysteries of the Redeemer, the joys of the heavenly homeland with haste, and take care to fulfill the precepts of life with haste. For since we know that it is still permitted today to do good, we do not know whether it will be permitted tomorrow. Therefore eat the Passover in haste, that is, yearn for the solemnity of the heavenly homeland. Let no one grow sluggish on the journey of this life, lest he lose his place in the homeland. Let no one interweave delays in pursuing his endeavors, but let him complete what he has begun, lest he not be permitted to fulfill what he has started. If we are not lazy in the love of God, he whom we love helps us himself, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.
Homily 23
Delivered to the people in the basilica of the blessed apostle Peter, on the day after Easter.
Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Luke
At that time, two of Jesus' disciples were going on that same day to a village which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem, called Emmaus, and they were talking with one another about all the things that had happened. And it came to pass, while they conversed and questioned among themselves, that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were held, so that they did not recognize him. And he said to them: What are these words that you exchange with one another as you walk, and why are you sad? And one of them, whose name was Cleophas, answered and said to him: Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know what has happened there in these days? He said to them: What things? And they said: Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; and how our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one who would redeem Israel. And now besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. But also certain women from among us astonished us, who were at the tomb before dawn, and not finding his body, came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
And some of our company went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not find. And he said to them: O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning from Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew near to the village where they were going. And he made as if to go farther. And they urged him, saying: Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in with them. And it came to pass, as he reclined at table with them, he took bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. And they said to one another: Was not our heart burning within us while he spoke on the road and opened the Scriptures to us? And rising up that same hour, they returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven gathered together, and those who were with them, saying: The Lord has truly risen and has appeared to Simon. And they related the things that had happened on the road, and how they recognized him in the breaking of the bread. Since you labor in daily observance, few words should be spoken to you;
and perhaps these will prove more useful because often food that is less abundant is consumed more eagerly. Therefore I have decided to discuss the meaning of the Gospel reading in summary rather than through individual words, lest a lengthy sermon of exposition burden your beloved selves. Behold, you have heard, dearest brothers, that to two disciples walking on the road—not indeed believing, but nevertheless speaking about Him—the Lord appeared, yet He did not show them an appearance they could recognize. Therefore the Lord performed outwardly in the eyes of the body what was happening within them in the eyes of the heart. For they themselves within were both loving and doubting, while the Lord outwardly was both present to them and yet did not reveal who He was. To those speaking about Him He showed His presence, but from those doubting Him He hid the appearance of His recognition. Indeed He exchanged words with them, He rebuked the hardness of their understanding; He opened up the mysteries of Sacred Scripture that pertained to Himself, and yet because He was still a stranger to faith in their hearts, He pretended to go farther. For we say "fingere" means to fashion; hence we also call shapers of clay "figuli" [potters]. Therefore the simple Truth did nothing through duplicity, but showed Himself to them in body such as He was with them in mind. Moreover they were to be tested, whether those who did not yet love Him as God could at least love Him as a stranger.
But because those with whom Truth walked could not be strangers to charity, they invite Him to lodging as a stranger. But why do we say "invite," when it is written there "And they constrained Him"? From this example indeed it is gathered that strangers should not only be invited to lodging but even compelled. They set the table, they offer food, and the God whom they had not recognized in the exposition of Sacred Scripture, they recognize in the breaking of bread. Therefore, by hearing the precepts of God they were not enlightened; by doing them they were enlightened, because it is written: Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. Whoever therefore wishes to understand what he has heard, let him hasten to fulfill in deed those things which he has already been able to understand. Behold, the Lord was not recognized while He was speaking, and He deigned to be recognized while He was being fed. Therefore, dearest brothers, love hospitality, love the works of charity. For hence it is said through Paul: Let brotherly love continue in you, and do not forget hospitality. For through this some have pleased, having received angels as guests. Hence Peter says: Be hospitable to one another without murmuring. Hence Truth itself says: I was a stranger, and you took me in. There is a story well regarded and handed down to us by the account of our elders.
A certain father of a household served with great zeal for hospitality along with his whole house; and while he received strangers at his table daily, one day a certain stranger came among others and was led to the table. And while the father of the household, from his custom of humility, wished to pour water on his hands, he turned and took the pitcher, but suddenly did not find the one on whose hands he had wished to pour water. And while he marveled at this occurrence to himself, that same night the Lord said to him through a vision: On other days you received me in my members, but yesterday you received me in myself. Behold, coming to judgment, He will say: What you did for one of my least ones, you did for me. Behold, before the judgment, when He is received through His members, He also visits His hosts through Himself; and yet we are sluggish toward the grace of hospitality. Consider, brothers, how great is the virtue of hospitality. Receive Christ at your tables, that you may be worthy to be received by Him at the eternal banquet. Offer now hospitality to Christ the stranger, that He may not disregard you as strangers at the judgment, but may receive you as His own into the kingdom, with the help of Him who lives and reigns as God forever and ever. Amen.
Homily 24
Delivered to the people in the basilica of the blessed martyr Lawrence, outside the walls of the City, on Wednesday of Easter Week.
Reading of the Holy Gospel According to John
At that time, Jesus manifested himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. And he manifested himself thus. Simon Peter, and Thomas who is called Didymus, and Nathanael who was from Cana of Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them: I am going fishing. They said to him: We are coming with you also. And they went out and got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when morning came, Jesus stood on the shore, yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus therefore said to them: Children, do you have any fish? They answered him: No. And he said to them: Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some. They cast it therefore, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter: It is the Lord. When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he was naked) and cast himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits away) dragging the net full of fish. When therefore they came to land, they saw coals laid there, and fish placed upon them, and bread. Jesus said to them:
Bring some of the fish that you have just caught. Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them: Come, dine. And none of those reclining dared to ask him: Who are you? knowing that it was the Lord. And Jesus came and took bread and gave it to them, and fish likewise. This was now the third time that Jesus was manifested to his disciples after he had risen from the dead. The reading of the holy Gospel which was just now read in your ears, my brothers, strikes the mind with a question, but by its striking it reveals the force of discernment. For it can be asked why Peter, who was a fisherman before his conversion, returned to fishing after his conversion; and since the Truth says: No one putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God, why did he return to what he had left behind? But if the virtue of discernment is examined, it is quickly seen that indeed the occupation which existed without sin before conversion was not a fault to take up again even after conversion. For we know that Peter was a fisherman, but Matthew was a tax collector;
and after his conversion Peter returned to fishing, but Matthew did not return to the business of tax collecting, because it is one thing to seek a living through fishing, but another thing to increase wealth through the profits of tax collecting. For there are many occupations which can be carried on without sins either with difficulty or not at all. Those occupations, therefore, which involve one in sin—it is necessary that the mind not return to these after conversion. It can also be asked why, when the disciples were laboring on the sea, the Lord stood on the shore after His resurrection, though before His resurrection He had walked on the waves of the sea before His disciples. The reason for this matter is quickly understood if the cause that was then present is considered. For what does the sea signify except the present age, which dashes itself against the tumults of affairs and the waves of corruptible life? What is figured by the solidity of the shore except that perpetuity of eternal rest? Because the disciples were still amid the waves of mortal life, they were laboring on the sea. But because our Redeemer had already passed beyond the corruption of the flesh, after His resurrection He was standing on the shore. As if He were speaking the very mystery of His resurrection to His disciples through these things, saying: I no longer appear to you on the sea, because I am not with you in the waves of disturbance.
Hence it is that in another place after His resurrection He says to these same disciples: "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you. For He was not absent from those to whom He appeared bodily present, yet He denies that He is still with them, from whose mortal body He was separated by the immortality of His flesh. What He there, while placed with them, confesses—that He is not with them—this He also indicates here by the position of His body, when, while they are still sailing, He shows Himself to be already on the shore. A great difficulty in fishing arose for the disciples, so that when the Master came there would be a great height of wonder. He immediately said: Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find. Twice in the holy Gospel it is read that the Lord commanded that nets be cast for fishing, namely before the Passion and after the Resurrection. But before our Redeemer suffered and rose again, He commands the net to be cast for fishing, but does not command whether it should be cast on the right or on the left; however, appearing to the disciples after the Resurrection, He commands the net to be cast on the right. In that fishing so many were caught that the nets were torn; but in this one both many were caught and the nets were not torn.
Who indeed does not know that the good are signified by the right and the wicked by the left? That fishing, therefore, in which it is not specifically commanded on which side the net should be cast, designates the present Church, which gathers the good together with the wicked, and does not choose whom it draws in, because it does not know whom it might choose. But this fishing done after the Lord's Resurrection was cast only on the right, because only the Church of the elect attains to seeing the glory of His brightness, which will have nothing from sinful works. In that fishing the net is torn because of the multitude of fish, because now so many reprobate enter into the confession of faith along with the elect that they even tear the Church itself apart with heresies. But in this fishing both many fish and large ones are caught, and the net is not torn, because the holy Church of the elect, resting in the continual peace of its Author, is no longer torn apart by any dissensions. Now when such great fish were caught, Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land. I believe your charity now perceives what it means that Peter draws the net to land. To him indeed the holy Church was entrusted, to him specifically it is said: "Simon son of John, do you love me? Feed my sheep. What therefore is later revealed in words is now signified in action.
Because therefore the preacher of the Church separates us from the waves of this world, it is surely necessary that Peter bring the net full of fish to land. For he himself draws the fish to the firmness of the shore, because by the voice of holy preaching he shows the faithful the stability of the eternal homeland. This he did by words, this by epistles, this he does daily by signs of miracles. As often as through him we are converted to the love of eternal rest, as often as we are separated from the tumults of earthly things, what else but fish cast into the net of faith are we drawn to the shore? But when the net is said to be full of great fish, it is also added how many, namely one hundred fifty-three. The number is not without great mystery, but the depth of so great a mystery awaits your attention. For the evangelist would not have carefully expressed the sum of the quantity unless he had judged it to be full of sacred meaning. For you know that in the Old Testament all action is commanded through the precepts of the Decalogue, but in the New Testament the power of that same action is given through the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit as the faithful are multiplied. Announcing this, the prophet says: "The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and piety, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him.
But he receives action in this Spirit who acknowledges the faith of the Trinity, so that he believes the Father and the Son and the same Holy Spirit to be of one power and confesses them to be of one substance. Because therefore the seven things we mentioned above were given more broadly through the New Testament, but the ten precepts through the Old, all our virtue and action can be fully comprehended through ten and seven. Let us therefore multiply ten and seven by the triangular number, and they come to fifty-one. This number indeed is not without great mystery, because in the Old Testament we read that the fiftieth year was commanded to be called the jubilee, in which of course all the people would rest from all work. But true rest is in unity. For one cannot be divided; where there is a tear of division, there is no true rest. Let us therefore multiply fifty-one by the triangular number, so that they become one hundred fifty-three. Because therefore all our action exhibited in faith of the Trinity tends toward rest, we multiply ten and seven by three, so that we should arrive at fifty-one. And our true rest is then, when we now acknowledge that very brightness of the Trinity, which we hold certain to exist in the unity of divinity. We multiply fifty-one by three, and we hold the sum of the elect in the heavenly homeland as the number of one hundred fifty-three fish.
After the resurrection of the Lord, therefore, it was fitting that the cast net should catch so many fish as would designate only the elect citizens of the heavenly homeland. In the midst of these things, both yesterday's reading of the holy Gospel and today's admonishes us that we ought to carefully consider why our Lord and Redeemer is recorded to have eaten roasted fish after his resurrection. For what is repeated in deed is not without mystery. For in this reading he ate bread and roasted fish, but in that which was read yesterday he ate with the roasted fish also a honeycomb. What do we believe the roasted fish signifies, except the Mediator himself between God and men who suffered? For he deigned to hide in the waters of the human race, he willed to be caught, caught in the snare of our death, and was as it were roasted by tribulation at the time of his passion. But he who deigned to become a roasted fish in his passion, became a honeycomb for us in his resurrection. Or did he who wished to prefigure the tribulation of his passion in the roasted fish, wish to express both natures of his person in the honeycomb? For a honeycomb is honey in wax, but honey in wax is divinity in humanity. This does not differ from this reading either, for he ate fish and bread. For he who could be roasted like a fish from his humanity, refreshes us with bread from his divinity, who says:
"I am the living bread who came down from heaven. Therefore he ate roasted fish and bread, so that by his own food he might show us that he both endured suffering from our humanity, and provided our refreshment from his divinity. If we consider this carefully, we see how it is also fitting for us to imitate. For thus the Redeemer shows his own things, that he might prepare the way of imitation for us who follow. Behold, in his food our Lord wished to join a honeycomb to the roasted fish, because clearly he receives into his body for eternal rest those who, while they feel tribulations here for the Lord, do not depart from the love of inner sweetness. The honeycomb is taken with the roasted fish, because those who here accept affliction for the truth are satisfied there with true sweetness. It should also be noted that the Lord is described as having his last banquet with seven disciples; for Peter and Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples are mentioned as having been present. Why does he celebrate the last banquet with seven disciples, unless because he announces that only those who are full of the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit will be with him in eternal refreshment? All this present time also unfolds in seven days, and often perfection is designated by the number seven.
Therefore those feast at the last banquet on the presence of truth who now transcend earthly things by the pursuit of perfection, whom the love of this world does not bind, for whom even if it somehow clamors through temptations, it still does not blunt their begun desires. Of this final banquet it is said elsewhere through John: "Blessed are those who are called to the wedding supper of the Lamb. For this reason he relates that they are called not to a lunch but to a supper, because surely a banquet at the end of the day is a supper. Therefore those who, when the time of the present life is finished, come to the refreshment of heavenly contemplation, are called not to the lunch but to the supper of the Lamb. This supper is expressed by this last banquet, at which seven disciples are mentioned as being present, because, as we said, inner refreshment then restores those who are now full of sevenfold grace and pant in the love of the Spirit. Therefore, brothers, do these things with me, desire to be filled with the presence of this Spirit. Consider from the present what can follow you into the future. Weigh whether you are full of this Spirit; know whether you are able to arrive at that banquet. For whoever that person is whom this Spirit does not now restore, certainly fasts from the refreshment of that eternal banquet. Remember what Paul says about this same Spirit:
"If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. This spirit of love is like a certain title deed of divine possession. Does he have the Spirit of Christ whose mind hatreds scatter, pride inflates, anger exasperates even to division of mind, avarice tortures, luxury weakens? Consider what the Spirit of Christ is. Surely it is that which makes friends and enemies be loved, earthly things be despised, makes one burn for heavenly things, makes the flesh be crushed on account of vices, makes the mind be restrained from lusts. If therefore you wish to know the right of God's possession, consider the person of your possessor. For behold what we said, Paul cries out with truthful voice: "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. As if he were to say openly: He who is not now ruled by God dwelling within him will not afterward rejoice in the sight of divine brightness. But we nevertheless are weakened toward these things that have been said, we do not yet attain the summit of perfection; let us place the steps of holy desire daily on the way of God. The Truth consoles us who says through the Psalmist: "Your eyes saw my imperfection, and in your book all shall be written. Our imperfection will not be entirely harmful to us if, established on the journey of God, we neither look back to things past nor hasten to pass over to those things which remain.
For he who graciously inflames the desires of the imperfect, at some time strengthens these to perfection, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who with him lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.