Chapter 10
Chapter X.
Second, the mission of the seventy-two disciples is treated with respect to three things.
1. After these things the Lord designated
etc. The part concerning the mission of the Apostles having been completed, here is added the part concerning the mission of the disciples
after the manner of lesser prelates.
This part has three sections, in the first of which he treats of the form of preaching;
in the second, of the form of living,
below in the same chapter: And behold, a certain lawyer;
in the third, of the form of praying,
below in the eleventh chapter: And it came to pass, when he was in a certain place,
etc.
The first part treats of the mission of the accompanying disciples in three ways.
The first part has three sections, in the first of which is set forth the mission of the accompanying disciples;
in the second is added the instruction of those going forth,
at the passage: Carry neither purse
etc.; in the third is added the consolation of those returning,
at the passage: And the seventy-two returned with joy,
etc. The disciples are sent
with the authority of divine command, instructed
from the truth of divine teaching, and consoled
from the familiarity of divine companionship.
The Lord sends
the disciples to preach in this order: first, by designating
them according to the due number; second, by sending forth
those designated into every city and place; third, by hastening
those sent forth toward the salvation of the elect; fourth, by strengthening
those hastened against the fury of persecutors.
2. (Verse 1.). First, therefore, with regard to the designation of the disciples
according to the due number, he says: After these things the Lord designated also other seventy-two,
etc.: he designated
them, that is, he chose them with distinction, according to that passage of John 15: "I have chosen you and appointed you, that you should go forth," etc. Whence in the Gloss: "Just as in the Apostles there is the form of bishops, so in the seventy-two there is the form of priests of the second order." These ought to be designated
by God, that is, assumed to honor, according to that passage of Hebrews 5: "Neither does anyone take the honor to himself, but he who is called by God, as Aaron was." As a testimony of which designation they ought to be marked with the seal of order and of priestly character, with the seal of the tonsure and of all discipline and most holy manner of life; so that it may be apparent that they are of the number of those to whom it is said in Ephesians 4: "You were sealed with the Holy Spirit unto the day of our redemption."
Moreover they designate them in the number seventy,
according as they had been designated in the Old Testament, in Exodus fifteen, in the seventy palm trees,
where it is said that "in Elim there were twelve springs of water" with regard to the Apostles, "and seventy palm trees" with regard to the disciples; and in Numbers eleven, these were signified in the seventy men,
to whom the Lord gave the Holy Spirit of prophesying, where it is said: "The Lord spoke to Moses, taking from the spirit that was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men, who prophesied and did not cease thereafter. Moreover two men remained in the camp, upon whom the spirit rested. For they too had been enrolled"; in which these were expressly prefigured. Moreover the reason why these were seventy-two was, according to the literal
sense, that just as the Apostles preaching to the twelve tribes were twelve, so these were seventy-two, according to what is said in the Gloss: "Seventy-two are sent, who would preach the Gospel to as many nations of languages"; according to the mystical understanding,
because it contains in itself seven times ten and two; in which is designated the sevenfold Spirit given through their ministry for the fulfillment of the Decalogue and the two precepts of charity. — Or, because seventy-two contains the hours of three days, because they were to preach the faith of the Trinity, as is said in the Gloss, according to the three-day circuit of the sun of Christ, namely of the incarnation, passion, and resurrection.
3. Secondly, as to the sending forth of the designated ones
before his sight, it is added: And he sent them two by two before his face. He sent them,
I say, by divine authority, because, as is said in John twenty, "as the Father has sent me, so I send you." Two by two
moreover he sent them, according to the literal sense,
so that they might mutually guard and help one another, according to that passage in Ecclesiastes four: "It is better for two to be together than one, for they have the benefit of their companionship"; or according to the spiritual understanding,
as Bede says, "by this, that he sends them two by two, he intimates that no one ought to undertake the office of preaching who does not have charity toward another." In designation of which thing it is said in Song of Songs four: "Your teeth," that is, preachers, whose task it is to chew food for the little ones, "are like flocks of shorn sheep that have come up from the washing, all with twin offspring, and none among them is barren." As a figure
of which thing also, as the Gloss says, the animals were in pairs in the ark of Noah, as is said in Genesis six. — And since this mission was nothing other than a certain preparation for Christ, therefore he adds: Into every city and place where he himself was about to come;
whence they went before like heralds, according to that passage in Isaiah forty: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." Whence the Gloss: "Where the words of preaching run before, the Lord comes to the dwelling of the mind."
4. (Verse 2.). Third, with regard to the acceleration of the foregoing
toward the salvation of the elect, it is added: And he said to them: The harvest indeed is great,
that is, a multitude prepared for conversion. Whence in John 4, when the Samaritans had believed, the Lord said: "Look at the fields, for they are already white for the harvest." This harvest was sown in the law of nature,
and grew in the law of figure,
but was gathered in the time of grace.
Whence it is said in John 4: "I sent you to reap that which you did not sow; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors." Now the gathering of this harvest is twofold: universal
in the last time, of which in Revelation 14 it is said to the Angel: "Put forth your sickle and reap, for the hour has come to reap, because the harvest of the earth is ripe"; the other is a particular gathering or harvesting
in the preaching of the Gospel.
But because there are few good harvesters, he therefore adds: But the laborers are few;
he pointedly says laborers,
because for the sickle of preaching to gather the harvest, it is necessary that the hand of work
hold it, according to what Gregory says on Ezekiel: "In order that the truthfulness of preaching be preserved, loftiness of living is necessary." Those who do what they say with their mouth are laborers
and are to be rewarded by the Lord, according to that passage in Matthew 20: "Call the laborers and pay them their wages." But few are zealous
laborers, while more are malicious,
according to that passage in Second Corinthians 11: "They are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into Apostles of Christ." But very many are slothful;
whence in Matthew 20 the Lord said to the laborers: "Why do you stand here idle all day?" Very many are like those of whom it is said in Matthew 23: "They say and do not do. For they bind heavy and unbearable burdens; but they are unwilling to move them with their own finger."
And since the harvest is lost when good laborers are lacking, he therefore adds: Ask therefore the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest,
namely good preachers, who carry the sword of the divine word, by which the crops are reaped, not only in their mouth but also in their hand. Whence concerning good preachers in the Psalm: "The praises of God in their throats, and two-edged swords in their hands." Whence preaching is a sword which, unless it is held by the hand, does not terrify the adversary. This was well prefigured in Nehemiah 4 concerning those rebuilding Jerusalem, and there it is said that "each one was doing the work with one hand, and with the other held a sword." Such laborers are given by God, according to what is signified in Genesis 2, that "God placed man in the paradise of pleasure, that he might work and guard it"; and therefore they must be sought from the Lord, that he may hire them by promising and send those hired by commanding, according to that passage in Matthew 20: "Who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. And having made an agreement," etc.
5. (Verse 3). Fourth, however, with regard to the strengthening of those dispatched
against the fury of persecutors, he adds: Go: behold, I send you as lambs among wolves. Go,
that is, swiftly,
like those living creatures in Ezekiel 1: "The living creatures went and returned in the likeness of flashing lightning"; and Proverbs 6: "Run about, make haste, rouse your friend." Or go,
that is, expose yourselves to dangers for the salvation of the sheep,
according to that passage in John 10: "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. But the hireling sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees"; as if to say: go to mourning,
that you may bring back joy, according to that passage in the Psalm: "Going they went and wept, casting their seeds; but coming they shall come with rejoicing," etc.; or go to battle,
that you may bring back triumph, according to that passage in Joshua 1: "Go armed before your brothers, all you who are strong of hand, and fight for them."
6. And because the strongest armor is meekness and patience, therefore he says: As lambs among wolves, that
is, as pious, humble, and meek ones among the impious, proud, and malicious, so that you may conquer them by meekness, just as Christ also did, according to that passage in Isaiah 53: "Like a lamb before its shearer he was silent and did not open his mouth." Thus the Apostles by lamb-like meekness tamed wolfish ferocity, and that passage in Isaiah 11 was fulfilled: "The wolf and the lamb shall dwell together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox"; and chapter 65: "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together." Whence Christ by his meekness converted Paul the wolf into a lamb, and that passage in the second-to-last chapter of Genesis was fulfilled in him: "Benjamin, a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall devour the prey and in the evening shall divide the spoils." For first he persecuted Christ as a wolf, afterward he suffered persecutions for him as a lamb. Such ought the prelates of the Church to be, according to that passage in First Peter 5: "Elders, feed the flock that is among you, exercising oversight," etc.; and afterward: "Neither as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart": as if to say: do not be as wolves among lambs, but rather lambs among lambs and wolves, so that you may cherish the good and bear with the wicked. Whence Chrysostom says: "The grace of God is stronger than nature: while we are sheep, we conquer, even if there be many wolves; but if we become wolves, we are conquered, and the aid of the supreme Shepherd departs from us."
7. Do not carry,
etc. After the sending of the accompanying disciples, he adds the instruction for those who go forth.
Now this part has two sections, in the first of which is set forth a common instruction
with respect to all; second, a particular
instruction with respect to particular persons, at: And into whatever city you enter.
Now by the general instruction
he invites us to four things, namely, to embracing mendicancy,
to avoiding loquacity,
to showing kindness,
and displaying maturity.
8. (Verse 4.). First, therefore, with regard to embracing mendicancy,
he says: Do not carry a purse,
namely for storing money. For purse
is taken to mean a money-bag, according to Proverbs 7: "He took a bag of money with him." Nor a knapsack,
for keeping bread, according to Matthew 6: "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, saying: What shall we eat?" etc. Nor sandals,
namely for covering the feet; for in Mark 6 it is said: "But only shod with sandals." For sandals
protect the foot from injury but do not cover it, as is the case with the soles of the friars. Now the Lord wished to enjoin this upon the disciples so that they would not only be
poor but also appear
poor, and call others to poverty more by examples than by words. "Poverty, as Seneca says, is a hateful good," and therefore, since it appears base and contemptible, the Lord attached to it the greatest dowry,
so that through it poverty might at least be taken in marriage, when he said in Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
9. Second, with regard to avoiding loquacity,
he adds: And greet no one along the way.
On this passage the Gloss says that he says this "lest he be deflected from his enjoined office by the conversation of someone met along the way." For he was sending them in haste, just as Elisha sent his servant, in 4 Kings 4: "If you meet a man, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him." Now the Lord enjoined this not to avoid a sign of affability, since he himself was most kind and most courteous, but to avoid much speaking, about which it is said in Proverbs 10: "In much speaking, sin will not be wanting"; and therefore in Ecclesiasticus 19: "He who hates loquacity extinguishes malice." Now this is very common among travelers and is frequently an occasion for quarrels; whence it is said in Mark 9 concerning the disciples: "For they had disputed among themselves along the way, which of them was the greatest." On account of which, in Genesis 45, it is said that "Joseph said to his brothers as they departed: Do not quarrel along the way."
10. Now according to the spiritual understanding,
he forbids desiring the salvation that belongs to the way,
not the salvation that belongs to the homeland;
which is indicated when he says: Along the way.
For salvation is to be desired for all, as it is said in 1 Timothy 2 that "God wills all men to be saved," and this because he himself is salvation
and savior. But that salvation
ought to be desired of which the Psalm says: "But the salvation of the just is from the Lord." This the Apostles always desired, and concerning this it is said in Ecclesiasticus 22: "Do not be ashamed to greet a friend"; and in Romans 16: "Greet one another with a holy kiss"; and in the Psalm: "You are my king and my God, who commands the salvations of Jacob."
It can be explained otherwise, so that it is said: Greet no one along the way,
that is, do not yet declare anyone saved, since he can still be condemned as long as he is on the way: for Matthew 10: "He who perseveres to the end, he shall be saved." Therefore salvation
is at the end of the way, not in the middle or at the beginning.
Or otherwise: Greet no one along the way,
that is, on account of the fellowship of the way,
but on account of the fellowship of life.
From which it is apparent that salvation does not come to men through conversation with the Saints, but through the imitation of them: whence Matthew 7: "Not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven."
11. (Verse 5.). Third, as regards showing kindness,
he adds: And into whatever house you enter, first say: Peace to this house:
so that it may appear that you are men who love and announce peace, according to that passage of Isaiah 52: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who announces and preaches peace"! This peace the Lord made,
according to that passage of Colossians 1: "Making peace through the blood of his cross," etc.: the Lord also left
it: John 14: "Peace I leave to you, my peace I give to you"; the Lord announced it; John 20: "Jesus stood in the midst and said to them: Peace to you"; the Lord commanded
and proclaimed
peace, as is said in Ephesians 2: "Coming, he proclaimed peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near."
12. (Verse 6.). And because they might fear that they would offer peace in vain, therefore he adds: And if a son of peace be there:
of peace
according to eternal foreknowledge, of whom it is said in John 11 that "Jesus suffered, that he might gather together the children of God who were scattered"; of whom it is said in 2 Timothy 2: "The Lord knows who are his." Such are sons of peace, because it is said in Matthew 5: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." — In such a one the word of preaching has efficacy: on account of which he adds: Your peace shall rest upon him,
that is, the peace announced by you: whence Isaiah 66, according to another translation: "Upon whom shall my spirit rest, if not upon the humble and quiet one"? Assuredly the peace of Christ that was announced rests upon those predestined by God, according to that passage of Acts 13: "As many as were preordained to life believed"; and John 10: "You do not believe, because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice."
It is useful therefore to speak the Gospel of peace to the predestined; it is also useful to speak to the foreknown; and therefore he adds: But if not, it shall return to you, according to that passage of the Psalm: "My prayer shall return into my own bosom"; and this, because a work of piety and mercy is always useful to the one doing it and returns to the doer, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus seventeen: "The alms of a man is as a purse with him, and shall preserve the grace of a man as the apple of the eye; and afterward he shall rise up and shall render retribution to each one upon his own head."
13. (Verse 7.). Fourth, indeed, as regards showing maturity, he adds: But remain in the same house, as mature men, lest perhaps you be noted for instability; whence Ecclesiasticus twenty-one: "The foot of a fool is quick into his neighbor's house." Therefore Bede says: "It is foreign to a preacher to run about through houses and to change his lodging." And because they might believe that lodging should be changed on account of food, therefore he adds: Eating and drinking such things as are with them, without discrimination of foods, as First Corinthians ten: "Whatever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience's sake"; also without rejection of foods, according to that passage of First Timothy four: "Every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected which is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer"; also without demanding of foods, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus thirty-one: "You have sat down among many; do not stretch out your hand before them, nor be the first to ask for drink."
And because they might believe that it was not permitted to be fed from another's substance, therefore he adds: For the laborer is worthy of his hire, not only in the homeland for remuneration, but also on the way for sustenance. Whence First Corinthians nine: "The Lord ordained that those who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel"; and Galatians six: "Let him who is instructed in the word communicate to him who instructs him in all good things"; whence First Corinthians nine says: "If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we reap your carnal things?" And the Apostle proves there that such a laborer is worthy, both by authorities and by many reasons, as is evident there. Since therefore he is worthy of refreshment, on account of that it is not necessary to change one's lodging.
Therefore at the end he adds: Do not pass from house to house; lest you appear wandering, lest you be like that wandering woman of whom it is said in Proverbs seven, that "she is loud, wandering, impatient of quiet, not able to stand still in her house with her feet." Such are heretics; whence Second Timothy three: "Of these are they who creep into houses and lead captive silly women laden with sins." Preachers of truth ought not be such; whence Ambrose: "One must not move from house to house with wandering fickleness, so that constancy may be preserved in hospitable love, lest the close bond of friendship that has grown together be easily dissolved."
14. And into whatever city you enter.
After the common instruction of the disciples, the Evangelist here subjoins a special instruction
according to the diversities of the hearers. And since some were prepared to receive
them, as the faithful, but others to repel
them, as the unfaithful, whose guilt increased from contempt of divine grace and disregard of apostolic authority; therefore this part has four sections. In the first of which is set forth the instruction with respect to the faithful;
in the second, with respect to the rebellious,
at: Into whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you;
in the third is added the rebuke of the contemptuous,
at: WOE to you, Chorazin,
etc.; in the fourth is subjoined the authentication of the preachers,
at: He who hears you,
etc.
Concerning the instruction with respect to the faithful, two things are introduced; the first of which is the reception of temporal sustenance,
the second is the communication of spiritual benefit.
15. (Verse 8). First, therefore, regarding the reception of temporal sustenance,
he instructs, when he says: And into whatever city you enter,
namely to preach the truth, as it is said in Jonah 3, that "Jonah began to enter the city, a day's journey, and he cried out." So also these men ought to rouse the city at their entrance by the cry of the divine word, according to what is said of Philip the disciple in Acts 8, that "going down to the city of Samaria, he preached Jesus to them. And the crowds gave heed to those things which were said by Philip."
And since it belongs to the faithful to give heed to divine words, therefore he adds: And they receive you,
namely through faith and love, as messengers of Christ; since, in Matthew 18, "whoever receives one such little child in my name, receives me." But he receives the preacher who accepts his doctrine with meekness and patience, according to what is said in James 1: "Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." And since from those who receive spiritual teachings, bodily nourishment can be received, therefore he adds: Eat such things as are set before you,
namely to relieve necessity, so that you may labor more vigorously, according to that of the Psalm: "You shall eat the labors of your hands; blessed are you, and it shall be well with you." Whence, on that passage of 1 Corinthians 9: "A dispensation is entrusted to me," the Gloss says: "We ought not to evangelize in order that we may eat, but rather to eat in order that we may evangelize, so that food is not a good that is sought after, but a necessity that is added."
16. And note that he says: What is set before you, and
this with cheerfulness; because, Proverbs fifteen, "it is better to be invited to vegetables with love than to a fatted calf with hatred." Eat also what is set before you,
not what you yourselves prepare: which he says to avoid gluttony, concerning which Seneca says: "They heap costly things into the belly as though it would preserve what is heaped in: what does it matter what it receives, since it will lose everything that it receives?" And therefore it is said in Sirach two: "Accept whatever is brought upon you." This, however, especially pertains to the poor, that they should be content with humble refreshment as those who hunger: because it is said in Proverbs twenty-seven: "The hungry soul will take even the bitter for sweet"; and Job six: "The things which my soul previously refused to touch are now my food in my distress."
17. (Verse 9.). Secondly, with regard to the communication of spiritual benefit,
it is added: And heal the sick who are in it:
and this through the power conferred upon you by the Holy Spirit, concerning which First Corinthians twelve: "To another is given the grace of healings in one spirit, to another the working of powers." This the Lord gave to the lesser disciples for the confirmation of his teaching; whence Jerome: "Because no one would believe rustic men without the charm of eloquence promising the kingdom of heaven, he gives them the power of working miracles." This gift of power he had previously granted, just as also to the Apostles above in chapter nine: "He gave them power over all demons, and to cure diseases"; but here he commands that they use the gift they have received, according to what is said in First Peter four: "As each one has received grace, ministering it to one another," etc. - And because bodily healing was ordered to the illumination of the mind, therefore he adds: And say to them: The kingdom of God has drawn near to you:
in which is simultaneously enclosed the truth of doctrine, the goodness of grace,
and the sublimity of glory,
according to what was thus expounded and the Interlinear Gloss
says: "The kingdom of God is Christ, or eternal life, or the knowledge of the Scriptures." And thus it drew near
when he was among them, according to what is said below in chapter seventeen: "The kingdom of God is within you." Truly it drew near, since he was already present, of whom it is said in Revelation nineteen, that "he had on his garment and on his thigh the inscription: King of kings and Lord of lords." And he says pointedly: To you,
that is, to those who receive the word of God through faith, of whom Revelation five: "You have made us a kingdom for our God, and we shall reign over the earth"; and through the grace of faith, according to that passage in Colossians one, "he has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love."
Thus therefore it is clear how they ought to conduct themselves toward the faithful, because they ought to receive the stipend of sustenance and minister the benefit of healing and instruction. Those therefore who do not minister these spiritual benefits receive bodily stipends unworthily. Whence Gregory: "What do we teachers say to these things, we who, running before the coming of Christ, undertake the ecclesiastical office and eat bread in silence?" And Bernard: "They will come before the tribunal of the judge, where there will be a harsh plea of the poor, a grave accusation, on whose stipends they lived yet did not wash away their sins."
18. (Verse 10.). Into whatever city you enter.
After the instruction regarding the faithful, there follows the instruction regarding the rebellious,
concerning which two things are introduced: the first is the attestation of the truth of the Gospel,
the second is the threatening of the severity of judgment.
First therefore, as regards the attestation of the truth of the Gospel,
it is said: Into whatever city you enter,
for the proclamation of truth, according to that passage in Acts 17: "When they had come to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews, Paul went in to them and reasoned with them from the Scriptures." And they do not receive you,
through the hearing of the truth, which is to be granted to preachers, as is said in the Third Epistle of John: "We ought to receive such as these, that we may be fellow workers of the truth. I would perhaps have written to the Church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us."
Going out into its streets,
as a testimony to the truth, on account of which it is said in Matthew 10: "What I tell you in darkness, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops."
19. (Verse 11.). Say: Even the dust from your feet that clings to us from your city, we wipe off against you,
on account of contempt of the truth, which is a sin greatly to be detested, according to that passage in John 15: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin." And therefore, for the detestation of this offense, he says the dust is to be wiped off,
as Peter said to Simon in Acts 8: "May your money be with you unto destruction."
Yet know this, that the kingdom of God has drawn near,
that is, the truth of the Gospel, according to that passage in Matthew 24: "This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations," so that no one may be able to excuse himself through ignorance. And for this reason, so that this may be done publicly, he commands the dust to be wiped off in the streets,
concerning which Jerome says that he commands this "as a testimony that their preaching reached even to that city." And thus they have no excuse for their unbelief.
20. But according to the spiritual
understanding, the feet of the Apostles
are the affections of preachers, to which a threefold dust is wont to cling, namely of vain glory,
concerning which in the Psalm: "Let him bring down my glory to the dust"; of indignation and impatience,
concerning which at Micah 7: "They shall lick the dust like a serpent"; of cupidity and avarice,
according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 27: "In the shaking of the sieve the dust remains." The first dust clings to the feet of those preaching when they are praised:
but it is shaken off through consideration of oneself,
according to that passage of Matthew 10: "It is not you who speak"; and First Corinthians 12: "No one says: 'Lord Jesus,' except in the Holy Spirit"; and First Corinthians 4: "What do you have that you have not received?" Therefore Ecclesiasticus 10: "Why are you proud, O earth and ashes?" — The second dust clings when they are not accepted:
but this is shaken off through remembrance of Christ,
according to that passage of John 15: "Remember my word which I spoke to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also," etc.
The third dust clings when gifts are offered,
which blind the eyes of leaders, according to that passage of Baruch 6: "Their eyes are full of dust from the feet of those entering"; but this is shaken off through the memory of our death.
Jerome: "He easily despises all things who always thinks himself about to die";
and in First Timothy, last chapter: "We brought nothing into this world; without doubt, neither can we carry anything away."
21. (Vers. 12.). Secondly, with regard to the threatening of the severity of judgment, he adds: I say to you, that for Sodom in that day it shall be more tolerable than for that city: from which the magnitude of the punishment is apparent. For it is said in the Epistle of Jude that "Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire." Whence the Lord was also most strongly indignant against them, according to what is said in Genesis nineteen, that "the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire and overthrew these cities and the entire surrounding region." The magnitude of the guilt is also apparent from this, because contempt of truth is a greater fault than the lust of carnality. Now the reason for this is that so great a grace was not offered to them; and according to what is said below in chapter twelve, "to whom much has been given, much will be required of him." Whence Hebrews two: "For if the word spoken through Angels was made firm, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which, having first begun to be declared by the Lord, was confirmed unto us by those who heard?" — Another reason is on account of greater knowledge of the truth; whence Gregory: "Where the gift of knowledge is greater, there the transgressor is subject to greater guilt"; because it is said in James four: "To him who knows to do good and does not do it, it is sin." — And that the greatest punishment is owed to contemners of truth is clear from what is said in Romans one concerning certain ones who, "although they knew God, did not glorify Him as God," that "God delivered them over to a reprobate mind." And the reason for this is given, because "they did not see fit to have God in their knowledge."
22. (Vers. 13.). Woe to you, Chorazin etc. Here in the third place is subjoined the rebuke of the contemners, who are shown to be deserving of rebuke by the Lord on two accounts and are convicted as damnable, namely on account of hardness of heart and on account of loftiness of mind: hardness of heart rendered them impenitent, but loftiness rendered them arrogant.
First, therefore, rebuking the hardness of heart, he says: Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! which were two cities of Galilee, where He had performed very many signs, and yet hardness still remained in them.
On account of which he adds: Because if in Tyre and Sidon had been done the mighty works that have been done in you, that is, if the Lord had shown them such great miracles before their overthrow, which the Lord threatened through Ezekiel twenty-seven: "You, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre," and at the end of the chapter: "You are brought to nothing and shall not be forever" — they would not have been overthrown, and this because they would have repented.
Whence he adds: They would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes, as the Ninevites did, concerning whom Jonah three says that "they proclaimed a fast and were clothed in sackcloth from the least to the greatest."
23. And note that he says three things, in which he expresses the perfection of penance, namely sackcloth, ashes, and sitting. For in the penitent there ought to be sorrow from the consideration of the divine offense, and this in sackcloth; fear, from the consideration of vengeance, and this in ashes, which presents the image of death; there ought to be shame in the consideration of the consequence or of one's vileness, and this in sitting. Therefore Jerome says that "ashes and sackcloth are the weapons of the penitent." And for this reason, Jeremiah 6: "O daughter of my people, gird yourself with sackcloth and sprinkle yourself with ashes; make for yourself the mourning of an only child, bitter lamentation." And on account of the shame of humility, which ought to accompany it, it is said in Jeremiah 13: "Say to the king and to the queen: Humble yourselves, sit down, for the crown of your glory shall descend from your head." If therefore they had done such penance, they would not have such great hardness of heart, and consequently neither so harsh a sentence.
24. (Verse 14.). And therefore he adds: Nevertheless, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you: because, according to what is said below in chapter 12, "the servant who knew the will of his lord and did not do it shall be beaten with many stripes." The reason for this, however, is excessive hardness against such great benefits; whence in Romans 2 it is said: "Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But according to your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the just judgment of God"; because in Ecclesiasticus 3 it is said: "The hard heart shall fare ill at the last" and "the sinner shall add sin to sin."
25. (Verse 15.). But secondly, rebuking with regard to the loftiness of mind, he adds: And you, Capernaum, exalted even unto heaven, namely through arrogance, you shall be thrust down even unto hell, by divine sentence. Whence Obadiah 1: "If you shall be exalted as the eagle and shall set your nest among the stars, thence will I drag you down"; and Job 20: "If his pride shall ascend even to heaven and his head shall touch the clouds, he shall be destroyed at the end like a dunghill." Now Capernaum is said to have been exalted on account of the very many miracles that were done in it, on account of which it grew more proud than it profited; whence above in chapter 4 it is said: "How great things we have heard done by you in Capernaum," etc. First, therefore, it was exalted on account of the gifts of divine grace, but afterwards it was plunged down by the desert of its pride. And this had been foretold in Isaiah 9: "At the first time the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali were lightened," namely by the preceding miracles, "and at the last the way of the sea was heavily burdened," that is, cast down in judgment on account of its sins, as the Gloss there explains. And therefore divine gifts are to be received with fear and great reverence, as Gregory says that "when gifts are increased, the accounts for those gifts also grow."
26. (Vers. 16.). He who hears you
etc. Here in the fourth place is added the authentication of the preachers. He shows them to be authentic both on account of the authority of Christ the mediator,
and also on account of the authority of the supreme ruler.
First, therefore, he authenticates them through the authority of Christ the mediator,
when he says: He who hears you hears me.
For they bore the person of Christ: whence the Apostle in Second Corinthians chapter two: "For I also, if I have forgiven anything, for your sakes in the person of Christ"; and in chapter thirteen: "Do you seek a proof of him who speaks in me, Christ"? And therefore it is said in First Thessalonians chapter two: "And you, when you had received from us the word of the hearing of God, you received it not as the word of men, but, as it truly is, the word of God." In the hearing of the disciples of Christ, therefore, Christ is heard, and likewise in their contempt he is contemned.
And therefore he adds: And he who despises you despises me:
whence Ezekiel chapter three: "The house of Israel will not hear you, because they will not hear me." And this he intimates in Matthew chapter twenty-five, when he says: "As long as you did not do it for one of the least of mine, neither did you do it for me." And therefore the Apostle said in First Thessalonians chapter five: "Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecies," that is, true preachings.
27. Second, he authenticates them on account of the authority of the supreme ruler,
when he adds: He who despises me despises him who sent me,
both on account of committed authority,
and on account of consubstantiality.
Whence John chapter five: "He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him." And therefore it follows that if anyone despises the Apostles, he despises Christ; and he who despises Christ despises God; therefore he who despises the Apostles despises God; and this is no small sin. On account of which, Isaiah chapter thirty-three: "Woe to you who despise! Shall you not yourself also be despised? When, wearied, you shall have ceased to contemn, you shall be contemned." Great, therefore, is the authority of preachers, inasmuch as in their reception God is received, and in their contempt he is contemned. For they are the mouth of God by announcing his words, as it is said in Jeremiah chapter fifteen: "If you shall separate the precious from the vile, you shall be as my mouth." And therefore, as the mouth of God, they ought to be fed and honored; and they themselves also ought especially to guard their mouth both from gluttony and from loquacity, so that it may truly be said of them that passage of Revelation chapter fourteen: "These were purchased from among men, firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found; for they are without blemish before the throne of God."
28. But they returned
etc. After the sending of the companions and the instruction of those going forth, here in the third place is added the consolation of those returning.
This part, moreover, has two sections. In the first of which the Lord restrains vain joy in the disciples:
in the second he invites them to true joy,
at the passage: But rejoice, because your names
etc.
Concerning the repression of vain joy
in the disciples, he introduces four points. The first is the expression of vain exultation;
the second is the repression of vain exultation;
the third is the occasion of vain exultation;
the fourth is the prohibition of vain exultation.
29. (Vers. 17.). First, therefore, he sets forth the expression of vain exultation,
when he says: The seventy-two returned with joy,
which namely was not only felt in the heart but was also expressed in speech, so that the saying of Proverbs 15 might be verified: "A joyful heart makes the face cheerful." - For which reason he adds: Saying: Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name:
in which they were expressing that they rejoiced because they had been made stronger than the demons. And this joy indeed came from a hidden pride, just as that of the Pharisee, of whom it is said below in chapter eighteen, that praying he said: "I give you thanks, O God, that I am not like the rest of men," etc.
30. And note that concerning divine gifts, some are openly puffed up,
like those who attribute them to themselves: of whom Deuteronomy 32 says: "My exalted hand, and not the Lord, has done all these things." Against whom Deuteronomy 9 says: "Do not say in your heart, when the Lord has destroyed the nations before you: Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me into this land."
But some are openly humbled,
of whom it is said below in chapter seventeen: "When you have done all things well, say: We are unprofitable servants." Such was Paul, who says of himself in First Corinthians 15: "I am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace in me was not void, but abounded," etc.
But some are partly humbled by giving thanks, partly puffed up by rejoicing foolishly, as these disciples, who rejoiced over the subjection of demons, yet attributed this not to themselves but to the name of the Lord, when they say: in your name, like that Pharisee. Hence they had something commendable, namely this, that they returned to the fountain of graces, acknowledging the graces received from him and rendering thanks to the same: according to what is said in Ecclesiastes 1: "To the place from which the rivers flow, they return, that they may flow again"; and Job 38: "Will you send forth lightnings, and will they go, and returning will they say to you: We are here"? Upon which the Gloss says: "The lightnings go forth when preachers flash with miracles and pierce the hearts of their subjects with heavenly reverence: returning they say: We are here, when they attribute not to themselves but to the powers of God whatever they recognize they have done mightily." Such are perfect men, in whose person it is said in Isaiah 26: "All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord"; and in the Psalm: "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory." They also had something reprehensible in this, that they were puffed up by the height of their power: which is evident in that they say: The demons are subject to us; against which Ecclesiasticus 11: "In the day of your honor do not exalt yourself, for the works of the Most High alone are wonderful, and his works are glorious and hidden and unseen." And this is what Bede says: "They confess well, but because they are puffed up by the working of signs, they are frightened by an example and recalled to humility."
31. (Verse 18). Second, he adds the repression of vain exultation, when he adds: And he said to them: I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven: as if the Lord were saying: do not be puffed up by divine benefits, lest you fall with the proud angels: 2 Peter 2: "If God did not spare the angels who sinned, but dragged them down with the chains of hell and delivered them to tartarus to be tormented"; supply: he will not spare you, if you sin through pride. Hence Bernard: "The Lord did not spare the proud angels: how much more will he not spare you, rottenness and worm!"
Moreover, he fell like lightning, that is, swiftly, cruelly, and irrevocably. Hence by his example let the rest beware, lest they seek lofty things, on account of which Lucifer fell to the lowest depths, according to that passage in Isaiah 14: "How have you fallen, O Lucifer, you who rose in the morning? You who said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven"; and further: "Yet you shall be dragged down to hell, to the depths of the pit." And therefore Romans 11: "Do not be high-minded, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you either."
By this example the Lord in a wondrous way repressed pride in the disciples, as if He were saying that word of Proverbs 17: "He who makes his house high," namely by being proud with Lucifer, "seeks ruin," by falling with him. Hence Bernard, speaking to an ambitious man: "Follow your leader, multiply your prebends, hasten to the bishopric, aspire to the archbishopric; you ascend gradually, but you will not descend gradually. I was watching Satan fall like lightning from heaven
." And therefore, conversely, Seneca says: "Reduce yourself to small things, from which you cannot fall." Hence Proverbs 18: "Before he is crushed, the heart of man is exalted; and before he is glorified, he is humbled"; because
it is the sentence of the Judge, below in chapter 18: "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted."
32. (Vers. 19.). Third, He subjoins the occasion of vain exultation,
when He adds: Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions,
namely with respect to bodily snares,
according to what is said to the serpent in Genesis 3: "She shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for her heel"; and over all the power of the enemy,
with respect to spiritual snares,
concerning which in Ephesians 6: "Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world," etc., up to "in the heavenly places."
And nothing shall harm you,
on account of supernatural protections, according to that passage of Mark, the last chapter: "In my name they shall cast out demons, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents. And if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not harm them." And this power conferred upon them could be an occasion for presumption, according to what is said of Hezekiah, at whose prayers God worked wonders, in 2 Chronicles 32: "Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, and He heard him and gave him a sign; but he did not render according to the benefits he had received, because his heart was lifted up, and wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem."
Hence the multitude of divine gifts was for many an occasion of downfall, as is said of Lucifer in Ezekiel 28: "You were the seal of resemblance, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty"; and a little after: "Your heart was lifted up"; and therefore: "You sinned, and I cast you out from the holy mountain of God, and I destroyed you," etc. And therefore a certain holy man used to say that it is a great grace not to have grace, because all these exterior graces are nothing but temptations, and anyone outwardly exalted ought to fear that passage of Job 30: "You have lifted me up and, as it were setting me upon the wind, You have dashed me down mightily."
33. (Verse 20.) Fourth, he adds the prohibition of vain exultation,
when he says: Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you:
because such joy is like the joy of the proud
over their own promotion and the abasement of others, which does not befit true Saints, according to Ecclesiasticus 8: "Do not rejoice over your dead enemy"; and Job 31: "If I rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me." Do not
also rejoice,
because such joy is ruinous,
according to Proverbs 14: "Mourning takes hold of the end of joy." Such is the joy over a transitory good, according to Job 20: "The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment"; and again Job 21: "They rejoice at the sound of the organ, they spend their days in good things, but in a moment they descend to hell." Hence the Lord did not want the disciples to rejoice in miracles, but rather in torments and reproaches, according to Matthew 5: "Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you," etc.; and afterward: "Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for your reward is great in heaven." So also the Apostles did, according to Acts 5: "The Apostles went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus." Therefore do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you,
although it has been divinely granted, lest it become an occasion of pride and consequently of ruin. On account of which Augustine says that "the Lord said to his disciples: Learn from
me, not to raise the dead, not to walk upon the waters, but that I am meek and humble of heart
"; because they ought not to rejoice in miracles, but in humility.
34. But rejoice that your names,
etc. After the Savior repressed vain joy in the disciples, here secondly he invites them to true joy.
And he does this by proposing a fourfold cause or matter of joy. For he shows that joy was to come to the disciples from God's infallible foreknowledge,
from his irreproachable providence, from his incomprehensible power,
and from his desirable presence.
And in these four they had very great matter for exulting.
The first joy was concerning God's infallible foreknowledge:
with regard to which he says: But rejoice that your names are written,
in the book of life, in heaven:
which is called the book of life
because the things written in it live,
according to that passage of John 1: "What was made, in him was life"; or because according to its inscription a person is predestined to life. Whence according to it the final judgment will be made, as is said in Revelation 20: "Books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life"; in which book indeed the wicked will not be found finally inscribed, according to what is said in the Psalm: "Let them be blotted out from the book of the living, and let them not be written with the just." This indeed is said, not because this book is changed, but because many seem inscribed
according to present justice, who will appear not inscribed
according to divine foreknowledge. Since therefore this belongs only to those who are finally good and to be saved, and is an interminable and infallible good, therefore one should rightly rejoice over this, not over the gift of miracles, which belongs to the good and the wicked alike. Whence the wicked are not inscribed in heaven,
but rather in the earth,
according to that passage of Jeremiah 17: "Those who depart from you shall be written in the earth." As a sign of this, the Lord, confounding the unbelief of the Pharisees, who were estranged from the kingdom of heaven, "wrote with his finger on the ground," as is said in John 8.
35. And note that the divine knowledge is called a book,
but the knowledge of simple awareness
is called simply a book:
and in this all things and all persons are inscribed, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Your eyes saw my imperfect being, and in your book all shall be written." And there is the knowledge of approbation,
and this is called the book of life,
and in this none are inscribed according to truth except those who are finally good; and concerning this, Exodus 32: "Either forgive them this offense, or blot me out from your book, which you have written." Upon which the Gloss says that "he said this with confidence, knowing that he could not be blotted out"; for he speaks of the inscription of foreknowledge, not of present justice.
36. (Vers. 21.). Secondly, he shows him to be rejoicing over irreproachable providence:
with respect to which he adds: In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit,
that is, in spiritual joy, which ought to be in the Holy Spirit, not in the flesh, according to that passage in Romans 14: "The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit"; whence also the glorious Virgin above in chapter one: "My spirit has rejoiced," she says, "in God my savior." And in this he gave the disciples a manner of rejoicing and at the same time expressed the reason they ought to rejoice, when he adds: I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
that you are not only creator through power, but also governor through providence, according to that passage in Jeremiah 23: "I fill heaven and earth"; and Isaiah last chapter: "Heaven is my throne, and earth is the footstool of my feet." To this universal provider he confesses with a confession, namely of praise. Confession
is not only of fault,
according to that passage in James 5: "Confess your sins to one another"; but also of true faith,
of which it is said in Romans 10: "With the heart one believes unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"; but also of divine praise,
according to that passage in Hebrews 13: "Let us offer a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips confessing his name"; and in the Psalm: "Confess to the Lord, for he is good," etc. And in this way it is taken here as praise of God himself as governor.
37. Moreover, he praises him for his providence:
on account of which he adds: That you have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and have revealed them to little ones.
For this happens according to the judgment of divine providence, that "God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble," as is said in James 4; and in the Psalm: "The Lord is on high and regards the lowly, and knows the lofty from afar." Therefore these things,
that is, the mysteries of our redemption, he hid from the wise and the prudent of the world,
who consider themselves to be wise
in divine matters and prudent
in temporal matters, according to what is said in 1 Corinthians 1: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject"; and afterwards he adds: "God has made foolish the wisdom of this world"; and therefore Isaiah 5: "Woe to you who are wise in your own eyes and prudent before yourselves." For from such people the divine mysteries are hidden, but on the contrary they are revealed to little ones:
whence in the Psalm: "The declaration of your words gives light and gives understanding to little ones." And note that "he does not say to the foolish and the dull, but to little ones,
that is, to the humble, to show that he does not condemn the sharpness of intelligence, but the swelling of pride," as the Gloss says. Whence Bernard: "Humility is the key of knowledge," according to that passage in Proverbs 11: "Where there is humility, there is wisdom."
38. And since this judgment of providence is irreproachable, he therefore adds: Even so, Father, for so it was well-pleasing before you:
as if to say: justly, because it pleases you: for, as the Gloss says, "that which has pleased the Just One cannot be unjust." Hence it suffices to have given this reason, nor did he wish to assign another, either because this one is most sufficient and primary,
according to that passage in Exodus thirty-three: "I will have mercy on whom I will, and I will be clement to whom it shall please me"; and Romans nine: "He has mercy on whom he wills," etc. Or so that curiosity may be restrained,
lest we dare to scrutinize the judgments from above; hence the Gloss: "From this we receive an example of humility, lest we rashly scrutinize the counsels from above"; for it is said in Proverbs twenty-five: "The searcher of Majesty shall be overwhelmed by glory." Or to show
that divine providence is to be praised in all its deeds
and altogether irreproachable in all things, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The Lord is just in all his ways and holy in all his works."
Therefore one must rejoice and exult in the irreproachable providence of God, not dispute with presumptuous petty reasonings; because, as Gregory says, "divine judgments are not to be rashly scrutinized, but to be venerated with fearful silence."
39. (Verse 22). Third, he shows that one must rejoice in incomprehensible power,
when he says: All things have been delivered to me by my Father.
For in that he says: All things,
without limit, delivered,
he shows that his power is universal,
according to that passage in John one: "All things were made through him," that is, through the Word; and again in chapter seventeen: "All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine." In that he adds: By my Father,
he indicates that this power is natural,
according to that passage in John five: "Whatever the Father does, all these things the Son likewise does." In both together he shows equality
and immensity:
hence the Gloss: "When you hear all things,
you recognize the Omnipotent; when you hear delivered,
you confess the Son, to whom all things are properly his own by right through the nature of one substance, not conferred as a gift through grace." And from this it is apparent that the power of the Son is immense and incomprehensible. And then he adds: And no one knows who the Son is except the Father,
that is, no intellect perfectly comprehends this except the paternal intellect; and therefore the Holy Spirit is not excluded by this, but only created intellect, which cannot comprehend him, since he is immense. Hence Job eleven: "Can you perhaps comprehend the traces of God and discover the Almighty unto perfection? He is higher than heaven, and what will you do?" etc.
40. And because the Son is incomprehensible, therefore He can comprehend the Father. On account of which He adds: And who the Father is, except the Son:
supply: no one knows: because, John 1, "No one has ever seen God except the Only-begotten, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." Since He alone comprehends, therefore He alone can reveal; and therefore He adds: And to whomever the Son wills to reveal.
For the Son is the Wisdom and Word of the Father, and the Speaker manifests Himself through His Word; whence Wisdom 9: "Who will know Your mind, unless You give wisdom from on high?" Whence Chrysostom: "The philosophers, striving to inquire about God, confessed that they had found nothing else except that God is unknowable, just as one who undertakes to navigate an unnavigable ocean, when he cannot cross over, must necessarily return by the same way: so they began from ignorance and ended in ignorance. And the reason for this is that they were not disciples of Jesus Christ, who is the truth, nor did they have the Spirit, of whom John 16 says: 'When that Spirit of truth comes, He will teach you all truth.'"
41. (Verse 23). Fourth, He shows that one should rejoice over the desirable presence,
with regard to which He adds: And turning to His disciples, He said: Blessed are the eyes that see what you see:
therefore you can rightly rejoice, because you see Me both in mind and in body, since Abraham rejoiced, who saw only by faith, according to that passage of John 8: "Abraham, your father, rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it and was glad." And therefore as a figure of this it is said in 3 Kings 10 to Solomon: "Blessed are your men and blessed are your servants, those who stand before you always and hear your wisdom." This is said of Solomon as a figure of Christ, because, as He says of Himself in Matthew 12, "behold, something greater than Solomon is here." Whence this was a special gift.
42. (Verse 24). And on this account He adds: But I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see what you see, and did not see it.
Those sublime in knowledge and power desired the presence of Christ,
according to that passage of Haggai 2: "The desired of all nations will come." Whence on account of their vehement desire it is said in Isaiah 64: "O that You would rend the heavens and come down!" and Numbers 24: "A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a scepter shall spring up from Israel"; and after: "Alas! who shall live when the Lord does these things?" Nor is it a wonder, because in the penultimate chapter of Esther it is said to Ahasuerus in the person of Christ: "You are exceedingly wondrous, lord, and your face is full of graces." And therefore they desired to see the presence of Christ.
They also desired to hear the teaching,
and therefore he adds: And to hear what you hear, and they did not hear,
that is, my words: because, as it is said in Hosea 10, "it is time to seek the Lord, when he shall come who will teach you justice." For this was the very greatest benefit, to hear God speaking, not through a subject creature, but in his own person and in a united creature. Commemorating which benefit, the Apostle says in Hebrews 1: "In many ways and by many modes God, speaking of old to the Fathers through the Prophets, in these last days" etc. Blessed
is he who hears this speech humbly and obediently, according to that passage below in chapter eleven: "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it." Hence blessed are those who through faith saw and heard Christ on the way, according to that passage in Proverbs 8: "Blessed is the man who hears me and who watches at my gates daily and waits at the posts of my door." But most blessed
are those who will see in the homeland, according to that passage in Revelation 19: "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb."
The second part treats of the form of living given to the disciples in two ways.
43. And behold, a certain lawyer
etc. After the Evangelist described the form of preaching, here secondly he introduces the form of living.
Now one can be instructed in right living in two ways, namely by word
and by example;
therefore the Evangelist first sets forth for instruction the divine precept;
and secondly subjoins a human example,
at that passage: It came to pass, as they went, he entered
etc.
For instruction, the divine precept is set forth, proposed in two ways.
Since moreover the instruction of the precept
avails only one who understands, therefore first is set forth the precept regulating
for living; and secondly is added the teaching aiding
toward understanding, at that passage: But Jesus, looking up.
Now concerning the expression of the regulative precept,
four things are introduced, namely the inquiry into salvific
truth, the discovery of the truth
sought, the approbation of the truth
discovered, and the investigation of the truth
approved.
44. (Vers. 25.). First, therefore, regarding the inquiry into saving truth, he says: And behold, a certain lawyer stood up, testing him. This man was an expert and considered himself an expert; and because he considered himself an expert, he therefore did not ask in order to learn but in order to test, as is the custom of the proud, according to Ecclesiasticus thirteen concerning the rich man: "From much speaking he will test you." But again, because he was an expert, he therefore asked aptly and rightly; for which reason he adds: And saying: Master, what must I do to possess eternal life? He calls him Master because by this very fact it pertains to him to respond to what is asked, according to what is said in Matthew twenty-two: "Master, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth." Hence, because Christ professed the office of teaching salvation, he therefore poses a question about saving truth. A similar question is said to have been proposed by the young man in Matthew nineteen: "Good Master, what shall I do that I may have eternal life?" These men were asking studiously, not curiously, because not about works already done but about works to be done for the merit of salvation, according to Ecclesiasticus three: "In the many works of his, be not curious; but what God has commanded you, think upon those things always." Hence they ask about the way of going to life, according to the counsel of Jeremiah six: "Stand upon the ways and see, and ask about the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." For these are the things that the Lord teaches in Isaiah forty-eight: "I am the Lord who teaches you profitable things."
45. (Vers. 26.). Second, regarding the discovery of the truth sought, he adds: But he said to him: What is written in the Law? How do you read? From this it is apparent that the Master of truth was a friend of the Law, according to Matthew five: "Do you think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets? I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill." In this word, the Savior wins the good will of the lawyer in this, that he shows himself to be in agreement with him in love of the Law; he also arouses attention, since he directs him to the Law as to an authoritative scripture; he also prepares docility, since he grants the way to finding the truth, and this indeed is done by reading the divine law. Hence in John five he said to the lawyers: "Search the Scriptures, in which you think you have eternal life." For this is the way of coming to truth and through truth to life. Hence Baruch four: "This is the book of the commandments of God and the law that is forever: all who hold fast to it will attain to life; but those who have abandoned it, to death. Turn back, O Jacob, and lay hold of it," etc.
46. (Verse 27.). And this way led him by the hand to the truth; on account of which it is added: But he answering said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with all thy strength and with thy whole mind.
This is read in Deuteronomy 6: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart," etc. In this commandment the lawgiver reduced all the precepts to one, in which word the entire form of living is enclosed, according to what is said in Matthew 22: "On these two commandments the whole Law depends, and the Prophets."
47. But there seems to be a contradiction, because here it is said that the lawyer
answered; in Matthew 22 it is said that Christ
did; here four
conditions are set down, there three.
But it is clear that this was one question and that was another, as Augustine indicates in the Harmony of the Evangelists, where he says that Christ first answered, according to what Matthew says, and then the lawyer by repeating approved it, as Luke says, and that both occurred is narrated in Mark 12. And thus it is clear that Mark brings these two into harmony.
48. But nevertheless a disagreement still seems to remain on the part of the conditions of loving,
because in Deuteronomy 6 it is said: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with all thy strength"; but here is added: With thy whole mind,
and in Matthew is omitted: With all thy strength.
For understanding this, note that for the perfect manner of loving God it is required that we refer to Him all thoughts,
all affections,
and all actions.
And these three are touched upon in the Law. But because thoughts
are of the intellective heart and of the memorative mind, therefore here and in Matthew is added: With thy whole mind,
in which there is an explication of the Law. And because he who refers what is interior, namely the act of memory, understanding, and will, to God, consequently refers his works; therefore in these three is enclosed the reference of all the powers.
Luke, however, for greater explication adds this very thing, namely: With all thy strength:
similarly Mark. — Or, that which is with all thy strength
is a determination of the other three conditions, so that according to Augustine the sense is: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart,
namely with the intellect without error; with thy whole soul,
that is, with the will without contradiction; with thy whole mind,
that is, with the memory without forgetfulness; and with all thy strength,
that is, with all virtue without pretense. Or according to Bernard: "With thy whole heart,
that is, wisely; with thy whole soul,
that is, sweetly; with thy whole mind,
that is, strongly"; and in this is enclosed with all thy strength.
Or thus: With the whole heart,
that is, vigilantly, according to that passage from Song of Songs 5: "I sleep, and my heart watches"; with the whole soul,
that is, ardently, according to that passage from Song of Songs 5: "My soul melted when my beloved spoke"; with all your strength,
that is, constantly, according to that passage from the last chapter of Song of Songs: "Strong as death is love, hard as hell is jealousy: its lamps are lamps of fire and flames; many waters could not extinguish charity, nor shall rivers overwhelm it"; with all your mind,
that is, unceasingly, according to that passage from Deuteronomy 8: "Observe and take care, lest at any time you forget the Lord your God"; and Tobit 4: "In all the days of your life, keep God in your mind." And thus it is clear that the third and fourth conditions are very closely related, and therefore one is sometimes included in the other.
In all the aforesaid conditions, however, it should be understood that insofar as they express a totality of sufficiency,
they fall under precept and pertain to the state of the wayfarer; insofar as they express a totality of consummation,
they pertain to the state of the fatherland and indicate rather the goal toward which one must tend than impose an obligation to observe. Through this commandment, therefore, the whole person according to his entirety is ordered toward God, and consequently toward himself.
49. And because one must also be ordered toward one's neighbor, he therefore adds: And your neighbor,
supply: love, as yourself.
This second precept is found in Leviticus 19, where it says: "You shall love your friend as yourself"; according to the Septuagint translation it says: You shall love your neighbor as yourself, that is, from which
you love yourself, namely from the affection and effect of charity; or in which
you love yourself, that is, in God; or on account of which
you love yourself, that is, on account of God; or toward which
you love yourself, that is, toward grace in the present and glory in the future; or in the manner
you love yourself, that is, above things and one's own body and below God. For whoever loves his neighbor in this way is a true observer of the Law; whence Romans 13: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law."
And truly one ought to love one's neighbor as oneself, on account of the conformity of nature:
whence Sirach 13: "Every animal loves its like, so also every person loves his neighbor"; also on account of the unity of grace,
according to that passage from Ephesians 4: "Speak the truth, each one with his neighbor, for we are members of one another"; on account of the unity of the eternal reward:
Ephesians 4: "One body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling." - Therefore, to commend this love, God willed that we be born from one father, Adam; that we be redeemed by the same blood, namely the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; that we be rewarded with the same reward; the Psalm: "Jerusalem, which is built as a city, whose participation is in the selfsame."
50. (Vers. 28.). Thirdly, with regard to the approbation of the truth discovered,
it is added: And he said to him: You have answered rightly:
because you brought forth a word of rectitude, which pertains to love, according to that of Song of Songs 1: "The righteous love you"; or you spoke according to the rule of wisdom, according to that of Proverbs 8: "All my words are just, there is nothing crooked or perverse in them; they are right to those who understand and equitable to those who find knowledge."
And because one must live according to the rule of rectitude, therefore he adds: Do this, and you shall live,
because, according to that of James 1, "if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer" etc.; and Romans 2: "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." And truly you shall live,
because you will attain eternal life: for Matthew 19: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments"; whence John 13: "If you know these things, blessed shall you be, if you do them."
51. (Vers. 29.). Fourthly, with regard to the investigation of the truth approved,
it is added: But he, wishing to justify himself,
that is, to show himself just, "because, as the Interlinear Gloss
says, he thought he stood not before God but before man," according to that below in chapter 16: "You are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts" etc. — Or, wishing to justify himself,
that is, to prepare himself for justice: which is done through faith and the understanding of truth, according to that of Romans 3: "For we reckon that a man is justified by faith without the works of the Law"; therefore, in order to understand the truth handed down, he inquires.
On account of which it is added: He said to Jesus: And who is my neighbor?
so that I may understand the commandment, according to that of Hosea 10: "It is the time to seek the Lord, when he shall come who will teach you justice." Therefore he asks about the neighbor
diligently, because in Scripture it is spoken of in multiple ways, namely by kinship,
according to that of the Psalm: "My friends and my neighbors drew near against me and stood"; and again: "As though a neighbor and as our brother, so was I pleasing" etc. By religion:
Sirach 15: "He will exalt him among his neighbors." By compassion
or the showing of kindness, according to what follows below in the same chapter: "Which of these do you think was neighbor to him who fell among robbers? And he said: He who showed mercy to him." By natural likeness,
according to that of Sirach 13: "Every animal loves its like, so also every man his neighbor." And Augustine says: "By the name neighbor
every man is understood." — And therefore, because it was doubtful, and the understanding of neighbor
was manifold, for this reason it had to be investigated and inquired into, not only on account of that lawyer, but for the benefit of the faithful, by whom the aforesaid commandment had to be fulfilled, which is the consummation of the commandments.
52. But Jesus, looking up, said.
After the precept directing toward living, there follows a teaching that arouses understanding,
and this through a parabolic saying; and this is indicated when it says: But Jesus, looking up:
in which he shows that whoever wishes to understand the truth must look upward, whence the true light shines forth: Isaiah 60: "Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem," etc.; because, Ecclesiasticus 1, "the fountain of wisdom is the word of God on high." In this parabolic saying, four things are introduced. The first is a person in need because of misery;
the second is a person who despises because of hardness,
at the passage: It happened that a priest,
etc.; the third is a person who helps because of mercy,
at the passage: But a Samaritan,
etc.; the fourth is a teaching that follows from the parable,
at the passage: Which of these three seems
etc.
Concerning the person in need because of misery,
two things are introduced by the Evangelist: the first is the removal of good,
the second is the infliction of evil.
53. (Vers. 30.). First, therefore, as regards the removal of good,
he says: A certain man was going down from Jerusalem
to Jericho and fell among robbers, who also stripped him.
Perhaps they did this because he was alone,
which is indicated in the fact that it says: A certain man,
so that that saying of Ecclesiastes 4 may appear true: "Woe to him who is alone! For when he falls, he has no one to lift him up,"
but rather such a one has those who plunder him.
Whence this man could say that word of Job 19: "He has stripped me of my glory and taken the crown from my head." "His troops came together and made their way against me." He fell among these robbers perhaps because of the desolation of the road,
where robbers are accustomed to lurk, according to that saying of Jeremiah 3: "You sat in the ways, waiting for them like a robber in the wilderness."
54. Second, as regards the infliction of evil,
he adds: And having inflicted wounds, they departed, leaving him half dead:
as if to say that they wounded him even unto death,
according to what is said of robbers in Proverbs 1: "Their feet run to evil and hasten to shed blood"; and in the Psalm: "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood." They did not merely beat him
but also left him half dead, lest he betray them, as is said of Ishmael in Jeremiah 41, that "Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, he and the men who were with him, killed the men coming to Gedaliah near the middle of the cistern"; and this, lest they betray him, just as also here.
55. (Vers. 31.). It happened that a priest,
etc. After the person in need because of a twofold misery, there follows here the person who despises because of hardness.
Here a twofold person is introduced, namely a superior
and an inferior
in ecclesiastical dignity.
First, therefore, as regards the superior person,
he says: It happened that a certain priest went down the same way,
whose duty it was to teach and fulfill the law of God, according to that passage of Malachi 2: "The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law from his mouth." They, moreover, were bound to be holy, according to that passage of Leviticus 10: "I will be sanctified in those who draw near to me, and in the sight of all the people I will be glorified." Hence it was especially the duty of priests to keep the law of God and above all with regard to mercy; but this one did not keep it, on account of hardness of heart.
Hence he adds: And seeing him, he passed by,
not heeding that passage of Deuteronomy 22: "If you see your brother's
donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not despise it, but you shall lift it up with him." This one despised
this brother
on account of avarice. Already that passage of Jeremiah 6 was verified: "From the least even to the greatest, all are given to avarice, and from the prophet even to the priest, all practice deceit"; and likewise that passage of Isaiah 1: "Your princes are faithless, companions of thieves," etc.
56. (Verse 32). Second, as regards the inferior person,
he adds: Likewise also a Levite, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by:
and this one was not heeding that passage of Ecclesiasticus 7: "Do not fail those who weep in consolation, and walk with those who mourn: do not be reluctant to visit the sick." He was reluctant, because, although he was near the place and saw him, he was unwilling to visit him. This one was not like that Tobit, in chapter 4, teaching his son: "Do not turn your face away from any poor person." But this one turned his eyes away from a poor man, naked, wounded, and of his own people. And this was more reprehensible in priests and Levites than in other persons: on account of which it is said in Hosea 6: "I desired mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings"; whence this lawyer is said to have spoken, in Mark 12: "To love one's neighbor as oneself is greater than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
57. (Verse 33). But a certain Samaritan,
etc. Here in the third place is added the person who comes to aid out of clemency.
Concerning whom a twofold effect of mercy is shown, namely the support of infirmity
and the relief of destitution.
First, therefore, as regards the mercy that supports infirmity,
he says: But a certain Samaritan, making his journey, came near him and,
with the eye of his benevolence and the work of the greatest piety, seeing him, was moved with compassion,
so that he could say that passage of Job 30: "I wept once for him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor"; and again in chapter 31: "From my infancy compassion grew up with me."
58. (Vers. 34.). And because true mercy appears in deed, therefore he adds: And drawing near,
by effect, to whom he was already close by affection, calling back to unity, he bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine,
so that the oil
might soothe the pain, and the wine
might cleanse, and the binding
might preserve. And this was the work of a good physician, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight: "In these things the healer shall mitigate pain, and the perfumer shall make sweet ointments and shall prepare salves of health"; Proverbs twenty-one: "A desirable treasure and oil are in the dwelling of the just."
And because he needed not only medicine, but also transport and lodging and food, therefore he adds: And setting him upon his own beast,
as regards transport, he brought him to an inn,
as regards lodging, and took care of him,
as regards food. And thus he fulfilled that passage of Isaiah fifty-eight: "Break your bread for the hungry and bring the needy and the wandering into your house," etc.
59. (Vers. 35.). Secondly, as regards mercy relieving destitution,
he adds: And the next day he brought out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper.
He brought out a small sum of money, because perhaps he had but little, according to that passage of Tobit four: "As you are able, be merciful. If you have much, give abundantly; but if you have little, strive to share even that little willingly."
And because, although the money was small, the will to help was great, therefore he adds: And he said: Take care of him, and whatever you spend over and above, I, when I return, will repay you.
From which it appears that his mercy was complete, not like that of those of whom it is said in Hosea six: "Your mercy is like a morning cloud and like the dew that passes away early." But of this man could truly be said that word of the Psalm: "All day long he shows mercy and lends, and his seed shall be in blessing," and truly, because, according to what is said in Proverbs nineteen, "he who has mercy on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him his recompense."
60. (Vers. 36. 37.). Which of these three seems
etc. Here in the fourth place is subjoined the doctrine following from the parable,
and this with respect to two things: first, as regards the instruction of the intellect,
and second, as regards the exhortation of the affections.
First, therefore, as regards the instruction of the intellect,
it is said: Which of these three seems to you to have been neighbor to him who fell among robbers?
He asks this of him so that from his mouth He might draw out the true judgment — which He also did.
Whence there follows: But he said: He who showed mercy to him.
But those two were of the same nation, while this one was a foreigner: therefore the name neighbor
is extended not only to kinsmen, but also to strangers. Whence Bede: "According to the letter it is clear that the foreigner was nearer to the man of Jerusalem, to whom he showed mercy, than the priest and the Levite of the same nation." It is also clear that nearness
is measured more by natural love and compassion than by carnal kinship. Whence Ambrose: "Kinship does not make one a neighbor, but mercy, which mercy is according to nature. For nothing is so according to nature as to help a fellow sharer in nature." It is also clear from this that "by the name neighbor
is understood everyone who is in need of mercy, or who can show mercy," and through this, "every person." And thus the understanding of the lawyer was illuminated by a wonderful leading by the hand. For if the Lord had said this by an absolute response, that man would by no means have believed it. Therefore the Lord most sagaciously drew out the truth from his own mouth and formed him in the truth more by the mode of questioning than by the mode of pronouncing judgment. In this he gives a model of how the proud ought to be answered.
61. Second, with respect to the exhortation of the affections,
there is added: And Jesus said to him: Go and do thou likewise, so that you may show mercy to every person, if you wish to be truly merciful, because, Sirach eighteen, "the mercy of God is upon all flesh," that is, mercy which proceeds from God. For the mercy of God extends to all: whence above, chapter six: "You shall be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be therefore merciful, even as your heavenly Father is merciful."
True mercy, moreover, is not only in the affection, but also in the effect:
therefore he says: And do thou likewise.
Whence Galatians six: "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we shall reap, if we do not give up. Therefore, while we have time, let us work good toward all." And in this the law of God is fulfilled, when the neighbor, whoever is in need, is supported not only by word and spirit, but also by deed, according to that passage in Galatians six: "Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ," which consists in the love of neighbor: and "he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law," Romans thirteen. — Thus therefore the doctrine drawn out from the parable according to the literal
sense is clear.
62. Another interpretation can also be drawn according to the spiritual sense,
so that the person in need
is understood on account of misery as the human race,
which in Adam's sinning descended from Jerusalem to Jericho,
that is, from paradise into the world, and fell among thieves,
that is, into the power of demons, who stripped
him of gratuitous gifts and wounded
him in his natural endowments. And they left him half-dead,
because, with the likeness
withdrawn, only the image
remained: so that truly that word of the Psalm may be said: "Man, when he was in honor, did not understand: he was compared to senseless beasts," etc.; and again: "Surely man passes as an image." Yet that image
is stripped
on account of the turning away and wounded
on account of the turning toward, according to that word of Jeremiah 2: "My people have done two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have dug for themselves broken cisterns." Therefore he is stripped
and wounded,
according to that word of Lamentations, last chapter: "The crown of our head has fallen: woe to us, because we have sinned! Therefore our heart has become sorrowful, therefore our eyes have been darkened."
63. The person
moreover passing by with hardness
was legal justice,
which bestowed neither mercy nor medicine. This was well signified in Exodus 17, where it is said that "the hands of Moses were heavy"; whence in the Gloss of Bede: "The priest
announces the law of God: indeed the Law descended into the world through Moses and conferred no healing upon man. The Levite
descended, who showed the type of the Prophets, but he too heals no one, because the Law reproves sins but passes by, because it does not bestow pardon." And that was well designated in 4 Kings 4 by the staff of Elisha, which he sent to raise the boy, "and yet there was neither voice nor sense"; whence it was rather a staff for chastising than for healing. Whence it is said in Hebrews 10: "Anyone who violates the law of Moses dies without any mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses."
64. The person
moreover coming to aid out of mercy
is rightly understood as Christ the Lord, because Samaritan
is interpreted as "guardian"; and he himself is the one of whom it is said in the Psalm: "Unless the Lord guard the city," etc.; and in Isaiah 21: "Guardian, what of the night?" because "behold, he who guards Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep."
He came alongside the wounded man,
because "he was made in the likeness of men and found in appearance as a man," Philippians 2. He came, I say, "in the likeness of sinful flesh," as is said in Romans 8.
And coming, he does three things for the wounded man: he applied a remedy,
and this through the grace of the Sacraments,
in which anointings and unctions are performed that heal the wounds of sins, which was not done before the coming of the Savior, according to that passage of Isaiah 1: "Wound and bruise and swelling sore are not bound up, nor treated with medicine, nor soothed with oil." But this was done after the coming of Christ: whence 1 Peter 2: "Who himself bore our sins in his body upon the tree; by his bruise we have been healed."
He also provided a conveyance,
and this through the grace of virtues and gifts,
by which we are carried to the inn
of the Church, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Blessed is the man whose help is from you; he has disposed ascents in his heart, in the valley of tears"; and afterwards: "For the lawgiver shall give a blessing; they shall go from virtue to virtue." And this indeed takes place in the inn
of the Church: whence it is added: "I have chosen to be abject in the house of God," etc.; and afterwards: "Because God loves mercy and truth, the Lord will give grace and glory."
He applied nourishment,
which is done through the teaching of the two testaments,
which is understood in the offering of the two denarii
that he gave to the innkeeper,
that is, to the prelate, whose task it is to minister the teaching of Christ and by expounding to spend beyond what is owed.
Whence Sirach 45: "The Lord gave Moses a heart for precepts and the law of life and discipline, to teach Jacob his covenant and his judgments to Israel." To these the Lord will repay,
when he returns on the day of judgment, all that was spent beyond what was owed;
for, as is said in Daniel 12, "those who instruct many unto justice shall shine as stars for perpetual eternities"; Matthew 25: "Well done, good and faithful servant, because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things," etc.
For the instruction of the disciples, a human example is subjoined, set forth in a twofold manner.
65. Now it came to pass, as they went,
etc. After he handed down a form of living through the divine precept, here secondly he hands it down through a human example.
Whence the Gloss of Bede: "Having given a discourse on the love of God and neighbor, he supplies an example of each." For here is introduced literally an example of perfection,
an example of the active and contemplative life, and a comparison of the two.
Whence this part has two parts: in the first of which there is set forth a rational comparison;
and in the second there is added a judicial determination,
at the place: And the Lord answering said to her.
Concerning the rational
comparison, however,
four things are introduced: the first is the fellowship of the divine presence,
the second is the leisure of the contemplative life,
the third is the exercise of the active life,
the fourth is the dispute between the two.
66. (Verse 38.). First, therefore, as regards the fellowship of the divine presence,
it is said: Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain town,
either for the sake of preaching the kingdom of God,
according to what is said above in the eighth chapter: "He journeyed through cities and towns, preaching and evangelizing the kingdom of God"; or for the sake of seeking lodging,
according to what is said above in the ninth chapter, that when the Samaritans were unwilling to receive him and his disciples as guests, they "departed to another town." Concerning this town it is stated more explicitly in John 11: "There was a certain man who was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the town of Mary and Martha, his sisters." In this town, I say, he found lodging.
On account of which it is added: And a certain woman, Martha by name, received him into her house,
namely, as one who was poor and needy. Hence to such persons he will say that word at the judgment in Matthew 25: "I was a stranger, and you took me in," namely, to those like Martha, such as Job was, of whom it is said in the thirty-first chapter: "The stranger did not remain outside, and my door was open to the traveler." And in that lodging he was present bodily,
just as he is present to those in the active and contemplative lives spiritually,
according to that word of Revelation 3: "I stand at the door and knock: if anyone shall open to me, I will enter in to him and will sup with him"; because in Proverbs 8 it is said: "My delights are to be with the sons of men"; and conversely, whence Wisdom 8: "Entering into my house, I shall find rest with her: for her conversation has no bitterness, nor her company any weariness."
67. (Vers. 39.). Second, with regard to the leisure of the contemplative life, he adds: And she had a sister, named Mary, who was perfect in the leisure of contemplation; whence it is added: Who also, sitting at the feet of the Lord, heard his word. This indeed was the leisure of this woman: to attend to the Lord, to be at rest, to sit, and to be silent. Whence it is said in John eleven that "Mary sat at home," and this at his feet: because, in Deuteronomy thirty-three, "those who approach his feet shall receive of his teaching." By sitting at his feet is understood humility, which ought to be in contemplative persons so that they may abound in the fruits of devotion, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Who sends forth springs in the valleys," etc. But he who so sits as a humble person is watered by the tears of compunction, according to that passage of Jeremiah fifteen: "I sat alone, because you have filled me with bitterness"; and that is the office of the contemplative soul, namely to devote oneself to the tears of compunction and devotion. Whence this Mary, the exemplar of contemplation, is always described as it were weeping: above, namely in chapter seven, where it is said that "standing behind at the feet of the Lord, she began to wash his feet with tears," etc.; and in John eleven, where it is said that "Mary, when she had come where Jesus was, seeing him, fell at his feet. Jesus therefore, when he had seen her weeping, groaned in spirit"; and in John twenty: "Mary stood at the tomb outside, weeping." And the first are tears of compunction; the second, of compulsion; the third, of devotion, which contemplatives ought to have, sitting at the feet of the Lord.
68. (Vers. 40.). Third, with regard to the exercise of the active life, it is added: But Martha was busy about much serving; and this as a good active person, avoiding idleness, according to the counsel of the Wise Man, in Ecclesiastes nine: "Whatever your hand is able to do, work diligently, because neither work nor reason nor wisdom nor knowledge shall be in the netherworld, to which you hasten." Martha always did this; whence it is said in John twelve that "Jesus came to Bethany; and they made a supper for him there, and Martha served." And note that it says she was busy, that is, she was doing enough, about much serving, to show that in her work there was at once perfection and due measure, according to the counsel of blessed Peter, in Second Peter one: "Brothers, be the more diligent, that by good works you may make your calling and election sure." For the work of ministry is that which most pleases the Lord, and in which one most imitates Christ, as is said below in chapter twenty-two: "But I am in your midst as one who serves"; and again in Matthew twenty: "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve." Whence such ministry is pleasing and honorable before God and worthy of reward, according to that passage of John twelve: "If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him," etc.
69. Fourth, as to the dispute between the two, he adds: Who stood and said: Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Here the industrious Martha complains about the idle Mary, as though she could not alone bear the weight of labor, according to what Moses complained to the Lord in Numbers 11: "I cannot alone sustain all this people, because it is heavy for me." So also Martha, on account of the heaviness of the burden, sought Mary's help, knowing that what is said in Galatians 6 pertains to the law of Christ: "Bear one another's burdens." Therefore she confidently sought Christ's judgment, that she might obtain her sister's help.
For which reason she adds: Tell her therefore to help me, that she might act according to the counsel of the Apostle in Galatians 5: "Through the charity of the Spirit, serve one another"; and in Ephesians 4: "Bearing with one another in charity."
In this dispute Mary is silent; and Gregory gives the reason for this: "Mary does not respond, but as one at leisure commits her cause to the Judge. For if she were preparing a word of response, she would relax her attention to listening." For it is not for contemplatives to contend, but rather to be silent and to listen and to meditate, according to that passage in Lamentations 3: "He shall sit alone and be silent"; whence Job 4: "Moreover, a hidden word was spoken to me, and as if by stealth I received the veins of its whisper." But Mary loses nothing by being silent, because the Lord takes up her cause by defending it. Whence Bernard: "Everywhere the Lord answers for Mary, whether when she is reproached by the Pharisee, above in chapter seven, or when she is accused by her sister, as here, or when by the disciples, as is said in Matthew 26."
70. Now Martha sometimes complains by placing her own office above others, and then it is blameworthy.
Whence the Gloss: "Martha speaks in the person of those who, still ignorant of divine contemplation, say that only the work of fraternal love, which they have learned, is pleasing to God, and therefore think that all who wish to be devoted to Christ should be bound to this work." — Sometimes she complains by preferring Mary's leisure. Whence Bernard: "Do you think that in the house in which Christ is received, the voice of murmuring is heard?" And he adds: "Happy the house and blessed the congregation in which Martha complains about Mary." And the reason for this is that the contemplative life is to be chosen for its own sake without complaint, but Martha, that is, the active life, is to be sustained out of necessity. Whence Jacob chose Rachel, but as was necessary, he first received Leah, as is said in Genesis 29.
It is therefore permissible for Martha to complain in order to be like Mary, because this is of humility; but if she complains about the fact that she is not helped, this is of weakness; but if she complains about the fact that Mary at some time wishes to help, and she herself does not wish it, this is of impiety, because such a complaint impedes the law of charity.
71. (Vers. 41.). And the Lord answering said to her.
After the rational comparison, the Evangelist subjoins the judicial determination:
concerning which four things are introduced, namely the humiliation of the active life, the commendation of the contemplative life, the promulgation of the sentence,
and the assignment of the cause.
First, therefore, as regards the humiliation of the active life,
he says: Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things.
Therefore he repeats the name of Martha,
so that he might rouse her to consider her own defect, and this with attention to the divine word: just as it is said of Moses in Exodus 3 that the Lord, seeing that he went forward to look, called him from the midst of the bush and said: "Moses, Moses." And the Lord, wishing to rouse sinners to attention, repeats the call in Jeremiah 22: "O earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord." And so now he rouses Martha, showing that in her there is a threefold defect, namely of anxiety
in thought, disturbance
in affection, and division
in action. And all these things hinder us from tending wholly toward God.
Hence excessive anxiety
is to be avoided, according to that passage in the last chapter of Philippians: "Be anxious for nothing, but in every prayer let your petitions be made known before God"; and the last chapter of First Peter: "Casting all your anxiety upon him, for he has care of you."
Disturbance is also to be avoided:
hence John 14: "Let not your heart be troubled nor let it fear. You believe in God; believe also in me." Hence also concerning Christ, Isaiah 42: "He shall not be sad nor turbulent." For a troubled eye is not fit for seeing.
Division is also to be avoided:
hence Sirach 11: "Son, let not your pursuits be in many things."
And these disadvantages belong to the active life, not the contemplative; hence First Corinthians 7: "He who is with a wife is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinks about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and spirit; but she who is married thinks about the things of the world." — Thus therefore the importunity of action is humbled through the showing of its disadvantage and defect.
72. (Verse 42). Second, with regard to the commendation of the contemplative life,
he adds: But one thing is necessary:
this, namely, is the kingdom of God, which once possessed, nothing is lacking; whence Matthew 6: "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you"; and in the Psalm: "One thing have I asked of the Lord, this will I seek"; this, however, is the blessed life, which consists in cleaving to God, to which the contemplative life is devoted; in whose person it is said in the Psalm: "But it is good for me to cleave to God." And this is that one thing which is necessary; because "he who cleaves to the Lord is one spirit," as is said in First Corinthians 6. He who has this one thing has every good; whence as a figure of this it is said in Tobit 10: "Having all things together in you alone, we ought not to have let you go from us"; and Wisdom 7: "All good things came to me together with her," etc. And therefore the Lord said to Moses, in the person of the contemplative man, in Exodus 33: "I will show you all good."
73. Third, with regard to the promulgation of the judgment,
it is added: Mary has chosen the best part
; because, namely, she chose the one thing above all else. "For the one
is set before the many," as Augustine says, because "not the one from the many, but the many from the one. Many are the things that were made; one is he who made them. Very good are the things he made — how much better is he who made them"; indeed, he is simply the best. And this is the portion of the contemplative soul; whence Lamentations 3: "The Lord is my portion, said my soul; therefore I will wait for him. The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him"; and in the Psalm: "How good is the God of Israel to those who are upright in heart"! Very
good, I say,
and the best; therefore the contemplative soul says in the Psalm: "I cried to you, O Lord; I said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living," namely, with Mary; which indeed the contemplatives have already chosen, by contemplating and desiring it. Whence in the person of the contemplative it is said in Deuteronomy 3: "I will cross over and see this excellent land, and that noble mountain, and Lebanon." And on account of love for this, he wished to possess nothing on earth except poverty alone, according to that word of the Psalm: "For one day in your courts is better than a thousand. I have chosen to be abject in the house of my God"; because, as is said in Matthew 13, "the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which when a man found, he hid," etc.
74. Fourth, as regards the assignment of the cause, he adds: Which shall not be taken away from her. The Gloss says: "The part of Martha is not reproved, for it too is good, but the part of Mary is praised, and why it is the best is added: Which shall not be taken away from her." "From the opposite, understand that from Martha the part which she chose shall be taken away, because the labor of multiplicity passes away, and the charity of unity remains." And this is the reason why the part of Mary is simply better and more worthy of choice, because the contemplative life begins here and is perfected in the future. This is signified in the figure of John, according to what is said in the last chapter of John: "So I will him to remain," as if the contemplation once begun remains, "until I come," to be perfected when I shall have come. And because it is more enduring, therefore it is better, as the Apostle says of charity in First Corinthians thirteen: "Charity never fails," and from this he concludes that charity is the greatest. So also concerning the contemplative life; whence Bede in the Gloss says: "Which begins to burn here, when it shall see him whom it loves, will be more greatly kindled in love"; Isaiah thirty-one: "Whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem." Whence, as far as it is in itself, it is to be preferred, according to that passage in Second Corinthians four: "While we contemplate not the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
75. On account of this, the contemplative life is simply more to be desired as that which is better and of itself to be preferred, both because it is more secure, and because it is more sweet, and because it is more stable; nevertheless the active life is not to be despised, but for place and time it is to be preferred for a time, both because it is prior, and because it is more laborious, and because it is more fruitful: for it avails both for oneself and for others.
And this is well signified in the two wives of Jacob, namely Rachel and Leah, of whom one signifies the active life, the other the contemplative. Whence the Bridegroom sometimes compels the Bride to go forth to action, according to what is said in Song of Songs two: "Let your voice sound in my ears," etc. Whence, if the question concerns superiority, simply speaking the contemplative is better, according to what Gregory says in the sixth book of the Moralia: "Great are the merits of the active life, but those of the contemplative are greater." For Mary has chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her.
But if the question is raised concerning choosability,
sometimes the active life is to be preferred,
namely for an imperfect man, who must first exercise himself in the field of action, or when someone is obligated to the works of the active life by precept or by office: and therefore sometimes doubt arises in the choice, according to that passage in Philippians 1: "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if to live in the flesh, this is for me the fruit of labor, and what I shall choose, I know not. For I am straitened between the two, having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, which is far the better: but to remain in the flesh is necessary for your sake." - Therefore spiritual men must sometimes go out, sometimes enter in, sometimes ascend, sometimes descend, as Jacob saw, Genesis 28.
76. Now this Gospel is customarily read on the Assumption of the Virgin, either because its ending most fittingly applies to Mary, when it says: Mary has chosen the best part, which shall not be taken from her.
For although this was said literally of Mary Magdalene, yet it is more truly said of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Whence Bernard: "Mary has chosen the best part. The best
indeed: good is the fruitfulness of marriage, better however is the chastity of virginity, but altogether best is virginal fruitfulness, or fruitful virginity: it is the privilege of Mary, it shall not be given to another, because it shall not be taken from her
." - Or also, because in this Gospel there is described in the two sisters the perfection of the active and the contemplative lives, both of which were in the Virgin most perfectly. For what was given to these two sisters in parts was given to Mary wholly and completely. Whence Jerome: "To others it was given in parts, but into Mary the fullness of grace poured itself all at once."
Or, because here there is treated the twofold reception of Christ: bodily
and spiritual: bodily
by Martha in the lodging of the outer house: spiritual
by Mary in the lodging of the inner house. And this twofold reception was most perfectly in Mary, who received him in the chamber of the body,
nourished and fed and raised him and diligently ministered to him: she also received him in the chamber of the heart,
by seeing him, believing, loving, and imitating him. And from both
of these she was blessed: whence below in chapter 11: "Blessed is the womb that bore you"; "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it." Whence Augustine: "More blessed was Mary in receiving the faith of Christ than in conceiving the flesh of Christ. For maternal kinship would have profited Mary nothing, had she not more happily borne him in her mind than in her flesh."
77. Or also, because here three things are set forth, namely divine lodging,
divine ministry,
divine companionship:
which three were most perfectly in the Virgin Mary: lodging
in the village, ministry
in Martha, and companionship
in Mary.
Rightly the Virgin Mary in receiving Christ was a castle fortified and elevated with towers of virtues, whose first tower was the strength of severity, concerning which Song of Songs chapter four says: "Your neck is like the tower of David, which was built with bulwarks; a thousand shields hang from it," because the Virgin Mary could be overcome by no vice.
The second tower was the rectitude of discernment, concerning which Song of Songs chapter seven says: "Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, which looks toward Damascus"; where the discernment of good from evil is understood. The third tower was the abundance of devotion, concerning which the last chapter of Song of Songs says: "I am a wall, and my breasts are like a tower," on account of the sweetness of devotion, in which she excelled. Whence these three towers were built by the Holy Spirit through grace upon the three powers of the soul: the first upon the irascible, the second upon the rational, and the third upon the concupiscible.
And from these the Virgin was a stronghold fit for receiving the beloved Son of the Father, who was the power and wisdom of the Father, because the Virgin was most strong, most prudent, and most devout.
78. Rightly also in ministering she was Martha, who ministered to the Lord faithfully and humbly and courageously. So also Mary, though she was the Mother, made herself a handmaid and servant, according to that passage above in chapter one: "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word." Whence she was prefigured by that good woman Abigail, who, when she was sought by David in marriage, offered herself for service: 1 Kings chapter twenty-five: "Behold, let your handmaid be a servant, to wash the feet of your servants." Such was the Virgin Mary on account of her exceeding humility; whence she said of herself: "He has regarded the humility of his handmaid." And this is what Augustine says: "Everyone who is of sound mind understands that Mary was the minister of Christ in the performance of her work and in the most steadfast truth of her faith. For without doubt she was his minister, who bore him in her womb and nourished and cherished him when brought forth in birth, and, as the Gospel says, laid him in a manger, and fleeing from the face of Herod went into Egypt, and attended to his entire infancy with the tender affection of a mother."
79. Rightly also was Mary in dwelling together or in contemplating. For she herself, like the other Mary, stood beside Christ, according to that passage in John 19: "There stood beside the cross of Jesus his Mother and his Mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene." For the Virgin herself was the one who most closely drew near to him, and therefore she most fully received his words and preserved them for others. For above in chapter two it is said: "Mary kept all these words." Whence she was rightly signified by the ark of the covenant of the Lord, of which it is said in Hebrews 9: "In which was a golden urn containing manna," through her great devotion of charity; "and the rod of Aaron," through her great uprightness of virtue; "and the tablets of the testimony," through her great knowledge of the contemplation of truth. And she herself was also most supremely contemplative. Whence Bernard says: "Blessed Mary penetrated the most profound abyss of divine wisdom, beyond what can be believed, so that, as far as the condition of a creature permits without personal union, she may be seen as immersed in that inaccessible light." And Bede says: "What did she not know of God, in whom the Wisdom of God lay hidden and from whose womb he fashioned a body for himself?"
80. And thus it is clear how this Gospel passage was assigned to the Assumption of the Virgin not through human invention but through divine inspiration, because the Holy Spirit enclosed within it a commendation of the Virgin with respect to her multitude of prerogatives; for the preservation of which he adds at the end: Mary has chosen the best part, which shall not be taken from her. For Mary chose the best part both in grace and in glory, in which is enclosed the perfect and proper praise of the Virgin; for as Jerome says: "Just as in comparison with God no one is good, so in comparison with the Mother of the Lord no woman is found perfect, however much she may be proven outstanding in virtues." Therefore among women she alone is the best through every manner of superabundance, by reason of which "she is seen to have neither a predecessor like her nor a successor."