Chapter 12
Chapter XII.
Second, he instructs them to avoid refuted deceit in a twofold manner.
1. Now when great crowds were standing around
etc. After the Lord rebuked in the Pharisees the craftiness of malignant pretense, here he invites the disciples to caution against the pretense that has been rebuked.
And since duplicity of this kind is caused by love that wrongly humbles, or love
that wrongly inflames, therefore this part is divided into two. In the first of which he warns to guard against duplicity arising from timidity;
in the second, against cupidity,
below in the same chapter: But one of the crowd said to him
etc.
First, he warns in a fourfold manner against duplicity arising from timidity.
Now the first part has four parts, in the first of which he instructs them to guard against deceitfulness;
in the second he strengthens them to repel timidity,
there: But I say to you, my friends
etc.; in the third he invites them to preserve truthfulness,
there: But I say to you: Everyone who has confessed
etc.; in the fourth he encourages them to have confidence,
there: But when they bring you into the synagogues.
And these parts correspond to one another, because the last two correspond to the first two.
A twofold instruction for guarding against deceitfulness.
Now he instructs the disciples to guard against deceitfulness
by a public
instruction and a credible
instruction: public,
I say, on account of the multitude of the crowd;
credible,
on account of the certainty of the reason.
2. (Verse 1). First, therefore, as regards the multitude of the crowd rendering the admonition public,
it is said: Now when great crowds were standing around, so that they trampled one another;
and this because each one wished to draw near to him, whether for the sake of obtaining salvation,
as above in chapter six: "The whole crowd sought to touch him" etc.; or for the sake of receiving teaching,
as below in chapter fifteen: "The publicans were drawing near to Jesus" etc.; or for the sake of beholding the kindness of Christ himself,
as is said figuratively in Job chapter twenty-nine: "And when I sat as a king, with the army standing around, I was nevertheless a consoler of those who mourned." In the presence of so great a multitude, the teaching was public.
On account of which he adds: He began to say to his disciples,
in the open, because truth does not require hiding places, according to that passage in John chapter eighteen: "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple" etc. And it was fitting for the teaching to be of such a kind in order to confute the malice of the Pharisees, which always seeks a hiding place, because "contraries are cured by contraries," and darkness is driven out by light.
3. For which reason it is added: Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, that is, take care lest you be hypocrites, like the Pharisees, whose life and doctrine on account of malice and deceit is called leaven, because it corrupts imperceptibly: Hosea 7: "The city rested a little from the leaven, until the whole was leavened." It also corrupts universally, as is said in First Corinthians 5: "A little leaven corrupts the whole lump"; and therefore it is added: "Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump." Now this is the old leaven, which consists in the deceitfulness of doctrine and the malice of life. Whence in the same place it is added: "Not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." From this leaven he calls back in this place; and concerning this it is said figuratively in Deuteronomy 16: "No leaven shall appear in all your borders," because this pretense and hypocrisy ought to be kept far from all our works, and especially from spiritual devotion: Leviticus 2: "Every offering that shall be offered to the Lord shall be made without leaven"; from bodily affliction: Deuteronomy 16: "For seven days you shall eat the bread of affliction without leaven"; from the preaching of the divine word: Exodus 23: "You shall not offer the blood of the sacrifice upon leaven."
4. Whence Scripture teaches that this vice is to be avoided as supremely corruptive. But although it is supremely corruptive, it is nevertheless not a capital sin, because its corruption is caused from another source. For hypocrisy draws its origin from vainglory, and this from pride; and therefore hypocrisy is fittingly compared to leaven. For just as leaven puffs up and by puffing up renders vain and thus corrupts, so pride by puffing up introduces the vanity of glory, and this vanity introduces corrupting falsehood. Whence this leaven is guarded against through the truth of voluntary humiliation, of interior glorying, of outward attestation, according to that saying of Second Corinthians 1: "Our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity of heart and in the sincerity of God, and not in carnal wisdom, but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in this world."
5. (Vers. 2.). Second, with regard to the certitude of the cause rendering credible information, he adds: Nothing however is covered that shall not be revealed, nor hidden that shall not be known: so that by covered is understood knowledge lying hidden in the intellect, and by hidden, delight lurking in the affections: both of which are manifest to God, according to that passage of Jeremiah 17: "I the Lord, searching hearts and reins, who give to each one" etc.; in the Psalm: "God, who searches hearts and reins." And therefore, because it will be his to make manifest and reveal all hidden things in the judgment, according to that passage of Wisdom 6: "Power has been given to you by the Lord, and strength from the Most High, who will examine your works and search out your thoughts"; and First Corinthians 4: "The Lord will come, who will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts" etc.: and thus all evils are to be avoided, however hidden they may be, because all things will be made manifest in the judgment.
6. (Vers. 3.). And what is more, for greater confusion they will be made manifest even to all; on account of which he adds: Because what you have said in darkness shall be spoken in the light. He says this with regard to manifestation in respect of sight. An example of this is found in David in Second Kings 12, where the Lord said to David through Nathan: "You did that thing in secret; but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel and in the sight of this sun." For the light of the sun makes other things manifest to sight.
But with regard to manifestation in respect of hearing it is said: And what you have spoken in the ear in private chambers shall be proclaimed on the housetops, that is, with the rest hearing. This indeed will happen in the judgment, when, namely, according to that passage of John 5, "all who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God." And then the whisperings of detraction will be made manifest, according to that passage of Wisdom 1: "He who speaks wicked things cannot be hidden, nor shall the correcting judgment pass him by. In his thoughts" etc. And therefore counsel is given in Ecclesiastes 10: "In your thought do not detract from the king,
and in the secret of your chamber do not curse the rich, for the birds of the sky will carry your voice."
7. On account of the judgment, therefore, which will manifest all things in the future, all hypocrisy is to be avoided in the present age: Sirach 1: "Do not be a hypocrite in the sight of men, lest God reveal your hidden things and cast you down in the midst of the assembly." — And note that this is the most noble reason why hypocrisy is to be avoided, namely the universal and complete manifestation of interior things, which is most opposed to the dissimulation of hypocrites. This manifestation, however, will be accomplished through Christ, "who is the splendor of the Father's glory and the figure of His substance, sustaining all things by the word of His power." And because He is the innermost splendor, it belongs to Him to uncover all things: Sirach 23: "The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, looking about upon all the ways of men and the depths of the abyss and beholding the hearts of men," etc. But because He is the living Word, therefore all things are open to Him, and He makes all things manifest as the Word: Hebrews 4: "The word of God is living and effective and more piercing than any two-edged sword, reaching even to the division of the soul," etc., continuing to: "No creature is invisible in His sight." And therefore Christ the judge, because He will uncover all things in the judgment, is said to come "as lightning" and to "descend with the voice of the Archangel," because He will most clearly reveal all things to all.
Instruction for repelling timidity through two considerations.
8. (Vers. 4.). But I say to you, my friends,
etc. After He instructed them to guard against deceitfulness, here secondly He strengthens them to repel timidity.
To this end, however, He brings forward a twofold consideration, namely of the punishment of hell,
into which no man can cast; and of the general providence,
which no man can escape. The first looks to divine power;
the second, to divine providence;
and the first instills true fear;
the second, true hope;
and each of these is a remedy against worldly fear.
First, therefore, he calls them back from the fear of men, because they can do nothing with respect to the punishment of gehenna, which alone is to be feared. On account of which he says: But I say to you, my friends, that is, you who love me and are loved by me, according to that passage of John 16: "The Father himself loves you, because you have loved me," etc. To such he says: Be not terrified by those who kill the body, and after these things have nothing more that they can do. Do not fear the punishment of bodily death, because it is partial and momentary; whence Isaiah 51: "Who are you, that you should fear a mortal man and the son of man, who shall wither like grass?" and 1 Maccabees 2: "Fear not the words of a sinful man, for his glory is dung and worms," etc.; whence, because their power is transitory, it is not to be feared, nor are their punishments. Whence Seneca: "Death, exile, grief, pain are not punishments, but the tributes of living"; "what I owe I am prepared to pay, when the creditor calls upon me." And Chrysostom: "If we are to die freely after a little while, why do we not also die a little before, in the cause of God, with glory? If you have received an ox or a horse on loan, you work diligently and say: Perhaps tomorrow it will be taken from me. Why do you not do this with your body?"
Nor are they to be feared for the spirit, because they are done in the flesh and thus as it were outwardly, as in a garment: according to what is said in 2 Corinthians 5: "We would not be unclothed, but clothed upon." Therefore Chrysostom: "God made the body for the sake of the soul, and the enemy greatly envies and persecutes it; but the body is the garment of the soul. Just as, therefore, if someone tears another's garment, that person indeed feels the injury, but suffers no harm in his nature: so the soul feels the pain of killing, but suffers no harm in its nature." And therefore bodily punishment is not to be feared, nor he who inflicts it; but spiritual punishment is most greatly to be dreaded, and he alone who inflicts it.
9. (Verse 5). On account of which he adds: But I will show you whom you should fear, so that by fear of him you may turn away from evil, according to that passage of Jeremiah 10: "Do not fear those things which can do neither evil nor good"; and afterward: "Who shall not fear you, O King of the nations," etc.
Therefore, that we may not fear worldly power, we must fear the divine; on account of which he says: Fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into gehenna: whence in the Psalm: "Let all the earth fear the Lord, and let all the inhabitants of the world be moved by him." — And because this kind of fear is most useful and necessary, he therefore repeats: So I say to you, fear him. Whence Isaiah 8: "Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let him be your dread, and let him be your terror"; and Jeremiah 5: "Will you not then fear me? and before my face," etc.
10. (Vers. 6.). Second, he calls back from the fear of men, because they can do nothing against the general protection of God:
with regard to which he says: Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings
? Dipondius
here is the name of a coin having two obols or asses. Whence Bede: "A dipondius is a weight composed of two asses. Now what in numbers is one, in weights is an as; what is two,
that is a dipondius
." With this agrees, nor does it disagree, what is said in Matthew 10: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?" Because, as we see, when five eggs are sold for one denarius, two are given for an obol. A sparrow is therefore of small price, since so many are found for one denarius: yet not even it is excluded from divine protection. —On account of which he adds: And not one of them is
in forgetfulness before God,
but rather is governed by divine providence, according to that passage of Wisdom 11: "You love all things that are, and hate nothing of those things which you have made: for you did not appoint anything out of hatred." From which it is apparent that divine providence extends itself even to the least things: nor does that passage of 1 Corinthians 9 contradict this: "Does God have care for oxen?" For that is understood of the care of special
providence, by which he leads by the hand along the way of eternal salvation: but this is understood of the providence of general
administration and conservation, of which it is said in the Psalm: "Who gives to beasts their food, and to the young ravens that call upon him."
And note that he says: Is not in forgetfulness before God:
saying less and signifying more, because nothing happens to them except according to divine providence ordaining it; whence Matthew 10: "Not one of them shall fall upon the ground without your Father." And yet sparrows fall most easily: whence they are said to have the falling sickness: and for this reason he most aptly sets forth the example of them as of a manifest thing. From which it is gathered as from the lesser, that divine providence is most especially attentive to the governance of man.
11. (Vers. 7.). For the expression of which he adds: But even the hairs of your head are all numbered:
from which it is given to understand that he has the greatest care for man. Whence Bede: " But even the hairs,
to say nothing of the mass of the body: for even the minute particles are preserved by the providence of God." Whence numbering
refers not so much to knowledge as to most diligent preservation, because from the bodies of the Saints who suffer not even a hair can perish; whence below in chapter 21: "A hair of your head shall not perish." So great therefore is God's care for us that not even a hair of our head can be taken away without his will. Therefore it is not fitting that we be troubled by fear, according to that passage of 1 Peter last chapter: "Casting all your care upon him, because he has care for you."
And this is what he infers: Do not therefore fear; you are of more value than many sparrows,
"that is, of greater worth"; in which is touched upon simultaneously the conclusion and the reason of the inference through an argument from the lesser.
For if God has care for the lesser, much more so for the greater; and if he has care for us, the world need not be feared by us. Moreover, we are of greater worth than brute creatures, than birds, because we are rational creatures, and this because we are made in the image of God; on account of which all other things are subject to man: Genesis 1: "Let us make man in our image and likeness, and let him have dominion over the birds of the heavens," etc. And therefore man is most immediately under the protection of God, and especially the just man and friend of God. And for this reason it is not necessary that he have the aid of anything perishable; whence Genesis 15: "Fear not, Abram, I am your protector and your exceedingly great reward"; as if to say: fear not, because you can suffer nothing for lack of aid, nor can you suffer anything without the recompense of reward, so long as you cling to me.
A twofold instruction for preserving truthfulness.
12. (Verse 8). But I say to you: Everyone,
etc. After he has urged them to guard against deceitfulness and to repel timidity, here thirdly he urges them to preserve truthfulness.
For the truthfulness of confession is opposed to the deceitfulness of dissimulation. Moreover, he leads to this in two ways: first, by intimating the equity of the divine sentence;
and second, by intimating the irremissibility of the sin of blasphemy.
By the first he admonishes them to confess the truth;
by the second, to avoid falsehood.
First, therefore, he admonishes them to confess the truth
on account of the equity of the divine sentence,
when he says: But I say to you: Everyone who shall confess me before men. Me,
namely, indicates the person in two natures, namely, whoever confesses me to be true God and man, not only saying in the heart,
according to that of 1 Corinthians 12: "No one can say: Lord Jesus, except in the Holy Spirit," but also expressing with the mouth,
according to what is said in Romans 10: "With the heart one believes unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"; and not only with the mouth,
but also by works,
against hypocrites and wicked Christians, of whom it is said in Titus 1: "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny him." Against whom, Matthew 7: "Not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord," etc.; and therefore 1 John 3: "Let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth."
He who confesses thus confesses fully, namely, by heart, mouth, and works. Of such a one he adds: And the Son of man shall confess him before the Angels of God,
namely, that he is one of his own, according to that of Matthew 25: "Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom." Whence that saying of Proverbs 11 shall be verified: "The soul that blesses shall be made fat."
13. (Vers. 9.). From which appears the equity of retribution with respect to those who confess:
and so that nothing be lacking, the equity with respect to those who deny is shown,
when he adds: But he who shall have denied me before men shall be denied before the Angels of God,
namely when the Lord will say that word from Matthew twenty-five: "I know you not," etc. Whence above, in the ninth chapter: "He who shall have been ashamed of me and of my words, him shall the Son of man be ashamed of," etc. And this the equity of the divine sentence requires, concerning which is said in First Kings two: "Those who honor me, I will honor; but those who despise me shall be ignoble." And note that he who confesses the truth which Christ taught confesses Christ, whether in faith or in morals; but he who denies that truth consequently denies Christ as well. He who says that it is false consequently says that Christ is a liar, and thereby that he is not God, but a deceiver.
14. And note that the confession
of the name of Christ has a great recompense, because the confession by which Christ will confess the one confessing him will be approbative, honorificative,
and salvific:
for Christ is king, judge, and pontiff. His confession also is public, illustrious,
and perpetual;
ours however is small and momentary. And similarly, the contrary is understood concerning his denial
: which manifestly appears in the judicial disputation: "Come, blessed ones," and "Depart, accursed ones."
This therefore is the most noble proposition, which raises our minds to the Truth.
The reason for this is as follows: because the Truth is veracious, therefore he can neither deny himself nor the one confessing him, nor acknowledge a liar nor act against himself; whence Second Timothy two: "If we shall deny him, he also will deny us; if we do not believe, he remains faithful, he cannot deny himself."
15. (Vers. 10.). Secondly, he admonishes to decline falsehood
on account of the irremissibility of blasphemy,
which, although it is remissible when committed through ignorance, is nevertheless irremissible when committed from certain malice. On account of which he says: And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him. Against
. the Son of man he speaks a word
who imputes what is false, deceived through ignorance:
and such ignorance can obtain remission. Whence it shall be forgiven
does not denote the act,
because not all repent, but the aptitude,
because ignorance excuses. Moreover, sin from ignorance is said to be against the Son.
And in this manner Paul blasphemed, and therefore obtained mercy; whence First Timothy one: "I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and insolent, but I obtained mercy, because I did these things ignorantly in unbelief."
But it is not so when someone blasphemes from deliberate malice;
on account of which it is added: But he who shall have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven. He blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
who from deliberate malice attacks the truth and says unworthy things of God; and of such a one it is said that it shall not be forgiven,
not because such a one will never
obtain forgiveness, but because he is unfit
for forgiveness, because that sin has no color of excuse.
Whence Richard says: "One person blasphemes from compulsion, and this one sins against the Father; another from deception, and this one against the Son; another from malice alone, and this one against the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the most wicked in this kind is that in which malice has grown to the utmost, when someone takes delight in reviling God. What else, then, does the spirit of blasphemy seem to be than the desire for divine revilement? From this, therefore, because this evil has nothing
in itself of excuse,
it deserves to receive nothing of forgiveness."
16. He is also unfit for forgiveness because he attacks divine grace,
through which one is prepared for repentance; whence such a one is disposed to impenitence, in which if he perseveres, the fault will never be forgiven. Whence Bede says: "He who, not acknowledging the grace of the Holy Spirit by which repentance is inspired and return to communion is effected, shall have persevered with an impenitent heart—since this is now not human but diabolical—it shall be irremissible." And concerning such blasphemy, which has joined to it final impenitence,
it is true that it shall never be forgiven. Whence in Matthew twelve it is said that "it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the age to come."
He is unfit, thirdly, nonetheless, because, although by appropriation it is appropriated to the Holy Spirit, such a one most greatly dishonors the whole Trinity.
For he who knowingly and deliberately attacks the saving truth and from deliberate malice is the greatest despiser
of divine power, the greatest calumniator of divine truth, the greatest persecutor
of the highest goodness, according to that passage in Job fifteen: "He ran against God with an outstretched neck and was armed with a thick neck." Whence, because such contempt, calumny,
and persecution
cannot exist without hardness of heart, and impenitence accompanies this, and the irremissibility of sin accompanies that, therefore blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven.
A twofold instruction for confidence against faintheartedness.
17. (Verse 11.) But when they shall bring you in,
etc. Here now, fourthly, he exhorts to having confidence against faintheartedness.
And he does this by a twofold way, namely by removing anxiety about danger
and by conferring certainty of protection.
First, therefore, he removes anxiety about danger, when he says: When they shall bring you into synagogues and to magistrates and powers: in which he indicates that the disciples would suffer tribulation from the Jews and the Gentiles. Whence in Matthew 10 this is said more expressly: "For they will deliver you up in councils and in synagogues" etc.; whence in the Psalm: "The kings of the earth stood up" etc.
18. And note that he enumerates three kinds of persons before whom a man fears to speak, namely before the many, before the learned, and before the powerful. Before the many, when he says: In synagogues: against which Job 31: "If I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of kinsmen terrified me." Before the learned, whence he adds: to magistrates: Acts 5: "Then the magistrate went with the officers and brought the Apostles." Before the powerful, when he adds: and powers: Romans 13: "Do you wish not to fear the power? Do what is good." The first are not to be feared, because "there are more with us," 4 Kings 6; the second are not, because one wiser is with us, since Acts 6: "They could not resist the wisdom and the spirit" etc.; likewise neither the third; 1 John 4: "You have overcome them, because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world."
19. And since it is dangerous to speak in the sight of a watchful multitude, and danger induces fears, and fear anxiety, and anxiety restlessness, and restlessness disturbance, and disturbance is the occasion of impatience and ruin: therefore he calls back from superfluous anxiety, when he adds: Be not anxious how or what you shall answer, namely to those "questioning" maliciously, or what you shall say, namely to those "wishing to learn"; in which word he does not remove the anxiety of studiousness, but of curiosity. Concerning which, Philippians 4: "Be anxious for nothing, but in every prayer with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God"; because, as is said in James 1, "if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God" etc. And this is especially to be done in the moment of necessity, where one should not seek ornament of words or profundity of sentences, but the pure and simple truth of faith set forth with great constancy and fervor: according to what is said in 1 Corinthians 2: "Our speech was not in the persuasive words of human wisdom" etc. He does not, however, intend to draw back from the study of truth, since he himself says in John 5: "Search the Scriptures, in which you think you have eternal life"; but he intends to persuade that a man in danger of death should not trust in his own wit, because man fails in discovering, errs in judging, and therefore frequently goes astray, leaning on his own wit. On account of which, Proverbs 3: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not upon your own prudence."
20. (Verse 12). Second, he confers certainty concerning assistance,
when he adds: For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.
Now this Spirit is the best teacher, because he teaches man to understand
and to express himself eloquently.
On account of the first, it is said in Job thirty-two: "The inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding"; and in John sixteen: "When that Spirit of truth shall come, he will teach you all truth," because, as is said in First Corinthians two, "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." On account of the second, it is said in Wisdom ten: "Wisdom opened the mouth of the mute," etc.; and in Matthew ten: "It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father." Therefore the Apostle said in Second Corinthians thirteen: "Do you seek proof of Christ who speaks in me?"
Concerning these two things, below in chapter twenty-one: "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and contradict"; and in First John two: "The anointing teaches you concerning all things." Whence Bernard: "Reading is good, but better is the anointing, which teaches concerning all things
." For the anointing teaches the love of God and neighbor, and on this "the whole Law
hangs and the Prophets,"
according to what is said in Matthew twenty-two. The entire wisdom of philosophy also,
as Augustine says, "herein is natural, moral, and civil philosophy." The Holy Spirit also, by making the soul cling to God, makes it intimate with himself, and through this causes secrets to be revealed; John fifteen: "But I have called you friends." Moreover, the fervor of the spirit elevates the soul above itself, where it hears and sees hidden things, as Paul, Second Corinthians twelve; as Ezekiel, three: "The spirit lifted me up," etc.; as John, Apocalypse one: "I was in the spirit," etc.
Second, to guard against cupidity arising from timidity, he admonishes in two ways.
21. But a certain man said to him,
etc. After he has dissuaded from deceitfulness arising from human timidity and from timidity itself, in this part he dissuades from cupidity.
And this part has two parts. In the first of which he calls back from the anxiety of avarice;
in the second he invites to the solicitude of providence,
below in the same chapter: Let your loins be girded,
etc.
One is called back from the anxiety of avarice in four ways.
Now he calls back from the anxiety
of avarice
in four ways: first, by a rational instruction;
second, by a terrifying example,
there: And he spoke a parable to them,
etc.; third, by an irrefutable argument,
there: And he said to his disciples,
etc.; fourth, by a desirable promise,
there: And do not seek what you shall eat,
etc.
Concerning the rational instruction,
by which one is called back from the anxiety of avarice, three things are introduced: the first is the refutation of the avaricious petition; the second is the dissuasion from avarice;
the third is the assignment of the cause.
22. (Vers. 13.). First, therefore, as regards the refutation of the avaricious petition: And one of the crowd said to him: Master, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.
Truly this man was of the crowd,
because he was anxious about earthly things,
according to that passage of Isaiah twenty-nine: "Your speech shall whisper from the ground," etc. He also spoke against himself when he called him Master,
because Christ did not profess himself a master in teaching how to acquire and divide temporal things, but rather how to abandon them: whence to the young man asking and saying: "Good Master, what shall I do to possess eternal life?" he responded: "If you wish to be perfect, go and sell," etc. Whence Christ did not teach how money might be increased, but how poverty might be preserved.
He also speaks against himself when he wishes to be divided from his brother,
to whom he ought to be joined. Now this question arose from private love, which divides things joined together: which the devil especially does, not the Lord: Hosea thirteen: "He shall divide among brothers."
23. (Vers. 14.). And since, as Bede says in the Gloss, "Christ is not the God of dissension, but of peace and unity," therefore he refutes the aforesaid petition, when he adds: But he said to him,
namely Jesus: Man, who appointed me a judge or a divider over you?
A judge, that is, of disputes, and a divider of possessions; the Gloss: "He disdains to be a judge of disputes or an arbiter of possessions, he who holds the judgment of the living and the dead and the arbitration of merits." It is indeed true, as it is said in the Psalm, that "he was appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain," and that "all things are placed under his dominion"; but because God had sent him to communicate spiritual things, therefore he refused to descend to dividing temporal things, intimating in this that passage of Second Timothy two: "No one serving as a soldier of God entangles himself in worldly affairs."
And note that Christ calls him an animal and brutish man, on account of his love
for earthly things and his dispute over division. Whence First Corinthians three: "Since there is among you jealousy and contention," etc.; and the Psalm: "Sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart?" Whence in this is intimated the refutation of the avaricious petition.
24. (Verse 15). Second, with respect to the dissuasion from avarice,
he adds: And he said to them: Take heed and beware of all avarice. Take heed,
namely, so as to be provident, and beware,
so as to be cautious: Ephesians 5: "See, brethren, how you walk cautiously, not as unwise, but as wise," etc. Providence
indeed causes one to beware of the dangers into which one falls through avarice; 1 Timothy, last chapter: "They who wish to become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil and many useless and harmful desires, which plunge men into ruin and perdition. For the root of evils is covetousness," etc. Hence avarice itself blinds a man, which was signified in the blinding of Tobit by the dung of swallows, Tobit 2. And therefore he says: Take heed,
namely of eternal things, and beware of avarice,
which seeks temporal things: 2 Corinthians 4: "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." And since the desire for any transitory good, namely money, power, and honor, can be called avarice,
therefore he says: Beware of all avarice:
Isaiah 33: "Who shall be able to dwell with everlasting burnings?" and there follows: "He who casts away avarice gained by oppression and shakes his hands free from every bribe."
25. Third, with respect to the assignment of the reason and cause,
he adds: For not in the abundance of anyone is his life from the things which he possesses:
that is, the life of anyone is not in abundance: abundance,
I say, from the things which he possesses,
that is, no one on account of the abundance of riches can live longer: Psalm: "They shall leave their riches to strangers, and their sepulchres shall be their houses forever"; and Job 27: "When the rich man shall sleep, he shall take nothing with him," etc.; and Psalm: "They have slept their sleep, and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands." Hence abundance
does not prolong life, but frequently shortens it: Sirach 8: "Gold and silver have destroyed many"; and Acts 8: "Let your money be with you unto destruction." And for this reason, money itself must be lost, lest it destroy its possessor: Sirach 29: "Lose your money for the sake of a brother and friend, and do not hide it under a stone unto destruction."
26. (Verse 16). And he spoke a parable to them, saying,
etc. Here, second, he calls back from the anxiety of avarice by a terrible example; concerning which three things are introduced, namely the occasion of vain security,
the conception of vain security,
and the removal of vain security.
First, therefore, as regards the occasion of vain security arising from the abundance of fruits, he says: The field of a certain rich man brought forth abundant fruits. For these are wont to be the goods of the rich from the abundance of temporal fruits: the Psalm: "Their storehouses are full, overflowing from this into that; their sheep" etc.; whence Job twenty-one: "Why do the wicked live, are raised up and strengthened with riches?" "Their houses are secure and at peace, and the rod of God is not upon them."
27. (Verse 17.). And because riches so make one secure that they render him anxious, therefore he adds: And he thought within himself saying: What shall I do, because I have no place where I may gather my fruits? Ecclesiastes four: "There is another vanity which I saw under the sun: there is one alone and he has not a second, and yet he ceases not to labor, nor are his eyes satisfied with riches," nay rather they are certainly made anxious; Ecclesiastes five: "The fullness of the rich man does not allow him to sleep."
28. (Verse 18.). And the reason for this is that he is compelled to deliberate, and therefore he adds: And he said: This I will do: I will pull down my barns and build greater ones, and there I will gather all my crops and my goods. The Gloss: "Behold, great anxiety from avarice," because there is anxiety about destroying what has been made and building anew. For although the barns were full, cupidity, still empty, sought new receptacles: Ecclesiastes five: "The miser will not be filled with money" etc.; and Sirach fourteen: "The eye of the covetous is insatiable; in the portion of iniquity he will not be satisfied." The barn was filled, but the heart was empty: both because God alone can fill the soul, which is capable of the Trinity; and because temporal things do not enter the heart except according to a phantasmic likeness; and because they increase concupiscence; and because they do not make the soul better; and also because they are of an altogether different nature—just as an Angel and a corporeal place, so the soul and corporeal treasure; and also because the soul, since it has quantity not in mass but in power, is not filled by material quantity but by virtual quantity, such as the grace of the Holy Spirit, Wisdom one and Acts two.
29. (Verse 19.). Secondly, as regards the conception of vain security through a foolish promise, there is added: And I will say to my soul, that is, to my animal nature; John twelve: "He who loves his soul will lose it."
Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years: Revelation three: "You say: I am rich and made wealthy and have need of nothing" etc.; and Zechariah eleven: "Blessed be the Lord, for we have become rich."
And because abundance with security begets the evil of wantonness, he therefore adds: Rest;
behold, negligence:
Ecclesiastes 4: "The fool folds his hands and says: Better is a handful with rest than both hands full with labor and affliction of spirit." Eat:
behold, gluttony:
Sirach 11: "I have found rest for myself, and now I will eat of my goods alone." Drink,
with regard to drunkenness:
against which Proverbs 23: "Do not be among the banquets of drunkards"; "because those who give themselves to drinking and contribute to feasts shall be consumed." Feast:
behold, wantonness:
James 5: "You have feasted upon the earth and nourished your hearts in luxuries." For these are customarily the vices of the wealthy: Amos 6: "Woe to you who are wealthy in Sion"; and afterward: "You who sleep on ivory beds and are wanton on your couches; who eat the lamb from the flock, drinking wine from bowls, and anointed with the finest ointment." Now the cause of this wantonness is vain security, which the soul foolishly conceives, either by promising
itself a long temporal life through presumption,
according to that saying of Isaiah 28: "We have struck a covenant with death and made a pact with hell: the overflowing scourge, when it passes through, shall not come upon us"; or by scorning
through despair:
Isaiah 22: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die."
30. (Verse 20). Third, with regard to the removal of vain security
through the equity of the divine sentence, it is added: But God said to him.
The Gloss: "For God to speak
to a man is to restrain his wicked schemes by sudden punishment."
On account of which he adds the sentence: Fool, this night they shall require your soul of you:
1 Thessalonians 5: "When they shall say: Peace and security, then sudden destruction shall come upon them." He calls him a fool
on account of his earthly wisdom, because, 1 Corinthians 1, "God has made foolish the wisdom of this world." A fool is one who does not foresee future dangers: Ecclesiastes 2: "The eyes of the wise man are in his head; the fool walks in darkness"; because, uncertain of the future, he sleeps securely: against which Proverbs 27: "Do not boast of tomorrow, not knowing what the coming day may bring forth"; and James 4: "What is our life? A vapor appearing for a little while."
And because, when life is lost, these temporal goods are lost, he therefore adds: But the things you have prepared, whose shall they be?
Ambrose: "Those goods are not a man's which he cannot take with him; mercy alone is the companion of the dead"; whence 1 Timothy, the last chapter: "We brought nothing into this world, and without doubt we can carry nothing out"; and Job 20: "When he has obtained what he desired, he shall not be able to possess it; when he is satisfied, he shall be straitened, and all sorrow shall rush upon him."
31. (Vers. 21.). And because this sentiment is common to all the avaricious, he therefore adds: So is everyone
, who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. He stores up treasure for himself
who multiplies treasures for himself on earth; Psalm: "He stores up treasure and knows not for whom he shall gather it"; but is rich toward God
who abounds in merits and works of piety: First Corinthians 1: "In all things you have been made rich in him, so that you lack nothing in any grace." Therefore it is said in Matthew 6: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where rust and moth destroy." "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroys, and where thieves do not dig through nor steal."
Moreover, hope, which we have in him, makes us rich toward God,
according to that passage in First Peter 1: "He has regenerated us unto a living hope, unto an incorruptible inheritance, preserved in heaven." But this hope is rooted in poverty: hence Second Corinthians 6: "As needy, yet enriching many; as having nothing, yet possessing all things." Such was Paul: hence Philippians last chapter: "I have all things and abound." Christ made us such: hence Second Corinthians 8: "He became poor for your sake, so that by his poverty you might be rich." Therefore to such he says: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
32. And he said to his disciples,
etc. Here now for the third time he calls back from the anxiety of avarice by an irrefragable argument,
which is taken from a threefold genus of creature: first, from the rational creature;
second, from the sensible creature,
at: Consider the ravens;
third, from the vegetative creature,
at: Consider the lilies of the field.
First, therefore, from the rational creature
he takes this argument: he who gives what is greater will give what is less; but the soul is more than food, and the body more than clothing; therefore he who gave the soul and the body will give sustenance and clothing; therefore it is not necessary to be anxious about these things. In which reasoning he first sets forth the principal conclusion,
then subjoins the proof.
33. (Vers. 22.). He therefore first sets forth the principal conclusion, when he says: Therefore I say to you: Do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall wear, that is, do not be anxious about food and clothing, which are the things most necessary for life, much less about other things which pertain to the present life; Philippians 4: "Be anxious for nothing, but in every prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." — And note that he does not prohibit the solicitude that comes from prudent forethought, but that which comes from distrust of God, as if God had no care for us: against which, 1 Peter, last chapter: "Casting all your anxiety upon him, because he has care for you"; and in the Psalm: "Cast your thought upon the Lord," etc.; and Ambrose: "It is unbecoming for a man who serves the kingdom to be concerned about food or clothing; for the king knows how to feed, nourish, and clothe his household."
34. (Vers. 23.). Then he adds the proof, when he says: The life is more than food, and the body more than clothing: from which it follows: he who gave what is greater will also supply what is less. Ambrose: "It is absurd that we should think an abundance of sustenance will be lacking to us, who obtain from God the enduring substance of living." For the soul and the body are the constitutive parts of man, on whose account the other creatures were made, according to that passage in Genesis 1: "Let us make man in our image and likeness, and let him have dominion over the birds of the air," etc. Hence Chrysostom: "God made all things for man, but man for himself; God made all things in wisdom, but man not only in wisdom, but also according to his wisdom." Hence Wisdom 6: "He himself made the small and the great, and he has equal care for all." And Augustine in On the Christian Combat: "God cares for rational souls and Angels through himself, but governs all other things through them."
And note that he rightly compares the soul and sets it above food, and the body above clothing, because the soul gives vigor to the body by animating it, and the body is as it were the garment of the soul, which appears outwardly. If therefore God provides the bodily vigor of the animating soul, much more so the sufficiency of sustaining nourishment. Again, if he provides the soul with the garment of the body, much more so the covering of exterior clothing.
35. (Vers. 24.). Consider the ravens. Here he takes his argument from a sentient creature: and first he sets forth the example, then he draws out the argument.
He therefore sets forth an example
to be considered, when he says: Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap:
behold, they have no exercise of labor; who have no storehouse,
as regards storing wine; nor barn,
as regards storing grain: behold, they have no repository. And God feeds them:
behold, they suffer no want; the Psalm: "Who gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that call upon him."
And note that he sets forth the example of ravens rather than of other birds, and this both because they are of the greatest voracity — whence in Genesis eight it is said that "Noah sent forth a raven through the window of the ark, which went forth and did not return"; and the reason for this is that it settled upon a carcass — and also because this is said to be the nature of the raven, that it does not feed its young at the beginning, because it does not think them to be its own until it sees that they are black; Job thirty-eight: "Who prepares for the raven its food, when its young cry to God, wandering about because they have no food."
Whence by ravens
the other birds can rightly be understood; Matthew six: "Look at the birds of the air, for they do not sow," etc.
36. Then he draws out the argument,
when he adds: How much more are you of greater value than they?
The Gloss: "On account of reason and the immortality which is promised to you, you are of greater worth"; First Corinthians nine: "Does God have care for oxen? For they were written for our sake."
But because someone could argue against this, that solicitude is more fitting for us than for ravens on account of the excellence of reason, he shows that this amounts to nothing. For if the growth
of the body does not come about through human thought but through divine disposition, by equal reasoning neither does nourishment.
37. (Verse 25.) For which reason he adds: And which of you by thinking can add to his stature one cubit?
As if to say: no one, because this is not the work of man thinking but the work of God producing; whence in Second Maccabees seven it is said: "I know not how you appeared in my womb; nor did I give you life, nor did I myself fashion the members of each of you"; and First Corinthians fifteen: "God gives it a body as he wills, and to each of the seeds its own body." Whence also the Philosopher says that "of all things existing by nature there is a limit and proportion of magnitude and growth." If therefore these least things are established not in human but in divine providence, much less are the others.
38. (Verse 26.) Therefore he adds: If therefore you cannot do even the least thing, why are you anxious about the rest?
As if to say: in vain and foolishly. Bede: "Leave the clothing of the body to him who made it reach this measure."
Nevertheless, this argument does not seem to hold, because, although it is not necessary to be anxious about growth,
we can nevertheless, and ought to be, anxious about nourishment.
For although the augmentative
power is not subject to the will and reason, nothing however prevents the nutritive power from needing governance and provision.
Nevertheless, to this the response is that the argument is sound: because if those things which have been entrusted to the providence of nature need not be governed and cared for by man, by equal reasoning neither should those things which have been entrusted to supernatural providence.
Again, just as man cannot increase the body, so neither can he extend the limit of life which the Lord has predetermined.
Finally, if one ought not to be anxious about the measure of the body itself, but man is content with that which the Lord has given: why not likewise concerning external nourishment?
39 (Verse 27.). Consider the lilies etc. Here now thirdly he takes an argument from plant life. And first he sets forth a sensible likeness, then he adds the application.
He sets forth, therefore, the likeness when he says: Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither labor nor spin. Ambrose: "The comparison is clear; lilies do not, like other plants, require any cultivation from farmers"; whence they grow not by human effort, but by divine command, which was given from the very beginning of the world; Genesis 1: "Let the earth bring forth green plants" etc. — And because the work of the supreme Artificer is more excellent than every work of human art, he therefore adds: But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these: and yet Solomon was most fastidious concerning the adornment of garments, possessing at once the will, the industry, and the means to adorn himself. Whence it is said of him in 3 Kings 10: "The Queen of Sheba, seeing all the wisdom of Solomon and the dwellings of his servants and the ranks of his ministers and their garments, had no more spirit in her"; and this, because he had arranged all things most skillfully according to human industry; but nevertheless he could not be made equal to the works and industry of nature, which is the work of God. Whence Bede: "What purple of kings, what tapestry of weavers can be compared to flowers"?
40. (Vers. 28.). Then after the similitude he adds the adaptation and draws the conclusion: But if the grass, which is today in the field and tomorrow is cast into the oven, that is, quickly withers: Psalm: "Let them be as the grass of the housetops, which, before it is plucked up, has withered"; and James 1: "The sun rose with its burning heat and dried up the grass, and its flower fell, and the beauty of its countenance perished"; God so clothes, namely with beautiful ornament and comeliness: "Color itself is called the garment of the flower." - How much more you, O you of little faith: that is, how much more will he clothe you, even if you have but little faith, because you surpass them both by reason of nature and by reason of faith. Whence to Peter, doubting concerning omnipotence in the storm, it is said in Matthew 14: "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" He has little faith concerning the governance of paternal providence who fears dying of hunger daily: Psalm: "They did not believe in God, nor did they hope in his salvation"; and it follows: "And he commanded the clouds from above and opened the doors of heaven and rained down manna upon them to eat," etc. If anyone therefore is of true faith, believing that all things are governed by divine providence; since the providence of God bears and ought to bear greater care for things more precious, more worthy, and more enduring, for rational creatures rather than for irrational or vegetative ones: and for these it exercises such providence that nothing is lacking to them: much less therefore should one doubt concerning those things which pertain to the governance of man, as being more precious, better, and more worthy among the other creatures, because he is rational and made in the image of God. This reasoning is therefore irrefragable, because if anyone should say the contrary of this, he destroys the governance of divine providence and the order of the universe. And therefore such a one is not only of little faith, but also of perverse judgment.
41. (Vers. 29.). And do not you seek what you shall eat. Here fourthly he recalls from the solicitude of avarice through a desirable promise, concerning which three things are introduced: for he dissuades the solicitude of avarice and cupidity by promising sufficiency of provision, superexcellence of reward, and superabundance of treasure.
First therefore he dissuades the solicitude of avarice and cupidity by promising sufficiency of provision, when he says: And do not you seek what you shall eat or what you shall drink, namely as the covetous and the curious seek, that they may abound and be proud.
Therefore he adds: And do not be lifted up on high, for the acquisition of earthly things; 1 Timothy 6: "Command the rich of this world not to be high-minded, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches." For to seek earthly things in this way is not of heavenly men, but of earthly ones.
42. (Vers. 30.). Therefore he adds: For all these things the nations of the world seek, because they have worldly wisdom: Baruch 3: "The sons of Agar, who sought out the prudence that is of the earth, the merchants of Merrha and Theman." But heavenly men ought not to be intent upon these things, because they are of the household of the supreme Father.
Whence he adds: But your Father knows that you need these things;
and there is no doubt that he can
provide; Romans 10: "The same Lord of all, rich unto all who call upon him." Nor is there any doubt that he wills
to: Isaiah 49: "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb?" etc. And therefore those who wish to journey toward the homeland will not be abandoned on the way for want of food.
43. (Verse 31). On account of which he adds: But seek first the kingdom of God,
as the principal object of intention; and all these things shall be added unto you,
as provisions for the journey, because he who is prepared to give the kingdom
will without doubt not deny food;
he who is prepared to give eternal things will not deny temporal things. Whence Augustine: "The Lord shows that temporal things are not to be sought as our goods, even if they are necessary. But the kingdom of God is to be sought, and in it our end is to be placed, for the sake of which we do all things." Therefore our solicitude ought not to be for acquiring food, but for acquiring the eternal kingdom; Romans 14: "The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Chrysostom: "The kingdom of God is the retribution:
justice is the way
by which we come to the kingdom." Therefore Matthew 6: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice
" etc.
And note that this promise is quite fitting, because he who seeks the kingdom and his justice
is a servant
of God, a friend
of God, and a son
of God; Romans 8: "Those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God"; but that God should fail his servant, his friend, and his son, so as not to provide for him what is necessary: this is a most perverse thing to think. For such a one possesses God, such a one is possessed by God, and therefore possesses consequently what God possesses: whence the Apostle, First Corinthians 3: "All things are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's."
44. (Verse 32.). Second, he dissuades the solicitude of avarice by promising the superexcellence of the reward,
when he adds: Fear not, little flock: little flock
is said in respect to the multitude of the reprobate:
Matthew 20: "Many are called, but few are chosen." Or little
by reason of its own smallness:
First Corinthians 1: "See your vocation, brethren, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many are powerful," etc. Or little
by reason of voluntary humility:
Ezekiel 34: "But you are my flocks, you are men, and I am your God." For God is the God of the humble; Sirach 3: "The power of God alone is great, and he is honored by the humble." And to such God promises the kingdom, Matthew 19: "Let the little ones come to me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." — Therefore he adds: Because it has pleased your Father to give you a kingdom:
Proverbs 29: "The humble in spirit shall be upheld by glory"; and Job 22: "He who has been humbled shall be in glory." Now this superexcellence of the promised kingdom induces hope,
and by inducing hope it induces security,
and through this it removes the faintheartedness of fear
and the ardor of cupidity:
Second Corinthians 6: "As needy, yet enriching many; as having nothing, yet possessing all things." For that kingdom alone is the true possession of the heart, which fills the heart and cannot be taken away, because it is within: below, chapter 17: "Behold, the kingdom of God is within you."
45. And note that it pleased the Father to give to the little ones, that is, to the poor in spirit, the kingdom of glory:
whence Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"; because such desire eternal things:
Proverbs 10: "The desire of the just shall be granted to them"; and the Psalm: "The Lord has heard the desire of the poor"; because they despise temporal things;
Matthew 19: "He who has left father or mother shall receive a hundredfold," etc.; and they embrace spiritual things:
Galatians 5: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit; let us not be made desirous of vainglory." — Likewise it pleased him to give them pardon;
Judith 9: "The prayer of the humble and the meek has always pleased you," namely, unto the giving of pardon: Exodus 33: "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." — It pleased him to give grace:
Isaiah 42: "Behold my servant, I will uphold him, my chosen one," etc. — It pleased him to give wisdom:
Matthew 11: "You have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and have revealed them to little ones." — It pleased him to give eternal glory,
as here: Fear not, little flock,
etc. The Psalm: "The Lord is well pleased with those who fear him, and with those who hope in his mercy."
46. (Verse 33.). Third, he dissuades the anxiety of avarice by promising a superabundance of treasure
in exchange for the renunciation of the world, when he says: Sell what you possess and give alms,
that is, distribute your goods to the poor, according to that passage in Matthew 19: "Go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor."
And because it is hard to sell and give without recompense, he therefore adds: Make for yourselves purses that do not grow old:
Sirach 17: "The alms of a man is like a purse with him, and it will preserve the grace of a man as the apple of his eye; and afterward he will rise up and render them their recompense, to each one upon their head."
And because this recompense, which is in these purses, is most abundant,
he therefore adds: A treasure unfailing in heaven:
the word make is understood,
and this is accomplished through almsgiving. Whence Tobit 12: "Prayer with fasting and almsgiving is good, more than to store up treasures of gold; for almsgiving delivers from death and causes one to find eternal life." — And he shows that this heavenly treasure is unfailing:
because it cannot be lost through thieves,
nor can it be corrupted in itself;
therefore he adds: Where no thief draws near, nor does moth corrupt.
Chrysostom: "A threefold destruction takes away all the goods of the world: for either they grow old of themselves, or they are consumed by the extravagance of their owners, or they are seized by outsiders through deceit, force, or false accusation." And therefore an unfailing treasure cannot be possessed on earth. He who wishes therefore to have an unfailing one, let him scatter on earth, so that he may abound in heaven; the Psalm: "He has distributed, he has given to the poor; his justice endures forever and ever." Whence Augustine: "The Lord did not command that we should lose our treasure, but he showed us the place where we should store it."
47. (Vers. 34.). Now great effort must be made regarding where the treasure is placed, because the mind is also placed in the same place; therefore he adds:. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Treasure
is that which the mind principally loves, according to that passage in Matthew 13: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden" etc. But where the principal object of love is, there the mind will dwell; whence Bernard says: "The soul is more truly where it loves than where it gives life." And therefore where your treasure is, there also is your heart. Bede says: "If it is on earth, the heart is below; if in heavenly things, it is fixed in Christ; for it is necessary that where the treasure of love has preceded, there the affection of thought follows." And because the wise man has his treasure in heaven, and the fool on earth, therefore Ecclesiastes 10: "The heart of the wise man is at his right hand, and the heart of the fool at his left" etc.; Second Corinthians 4: "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." For this visible
and earthly treasure consists in money;
but the invisible
treasure consists in wisdom;
Wisdom 7: "All good things came to me together with her"; and afterward: "For she is an infinite treasure to men, which they that use are made partakers of the friendship of God."
48. And note that this treasure, which consists in wisdom, begins
from the fear of reverence:
Isaiah 33: "The riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure." It advances,
moreover, in the pursuit of learning:
Matthew 13: "Every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven" etc. It is preserved in holiness of conscience:
Luke 6: "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart" etc. It is consummated,
moreover, in the sublimity of glory:
Matthew 19: "If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you have, and you shall have treasure in heaven."
And he speaks here of such things; whence he promises to the poor the provision of refreshment, the kingdom of excellence,
and the treasure of abundance,
because the poor are accustomed to being afflicted and despised and needy for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
One is invited to the solicitude of providence in a twofold manner.
49. Let your loins be girded
etc. After he has recalled from the solicitude of avarice, here secondly he invites to the solicitude of providence,
lest anyone believe that he wished to remove all solicitude from the heart. He invites, moreover, to this kind of solicitude from the consideration of the twofold advent: first, namely, from consideration of the second advent,
which will be terrible; second, from consideration of the first advent,
which was lovable, at the passage: I have come to cast fire upon the earth.
First, one is invited by consideration of the second advent.
The first part has two sections: in the first of which he invites all in common to the solicitude of watchfulness;
in the second, prelates in particular,
at the place: And Peter said to him.
Concerning the general introduction of all
to the solicitude of watchfulness, he proceeds in this order: first setting forth the manner of watchfulness;
second, adding the motive,
at the place: Blessed are those servants,
etc.; third, subjoining the stimulus,
at the place: But know this,
etc. The first of these regards merit,
the second regards reward,
the third regards imminent danger.
Concerning the manner
of watchfulness,
the Evangelist introduces two things
to which the Lord invites the disciples, namely, promptness of readiness in the body
and solicitude of expectation in the heart.
50. (Verse 35). First, therefore, as regards promptness of readiness in the body,
he says: Let your loins be girded,
etc. Just as he is ready who is girded for setting out on a journey, so he is ready who restrains in himself carnal desires. Whence Gregory: "By the name of the loins,
from the principal seat of desire, lust is designated"; Job 40: "His strength is in his loins," etc. "We gird our loins,
therefore, when we restrain the lust of the flesh through continence. But because it does not suffice not to do evil unless one also strives to labor in good works, there is immediately added: And lamps burning in your hands.
We indeed have burning lamps in our hands when through good works we show examples of light to our neighbors." For a lamp
rightly signifies the divine commandment: Proverbs 6: "The commandment is a lamp, and the law is light," etc. This lamp is in the hand when the commandment is in practice: Proverbs, the last chapter: "Her lamp shall not be extinguished in the night. And she put her hand to strong things," etc.; and Matthew 5: "So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works," etc.
And note that just as a lamp shields its light from the wind but not from sight, so good works are compared to a lamp: because "the work ought to be in public in such a way that the intention remains hidden"; thus should a person wish to give others an example of virtue, yet not seek the reward of transitory favor.
51. (Verse 36.). Second, with regard to the solicitude of expectation in the heart,
he adds: And you yourselves like men waiting for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding,
that is, when he shall come to judgment, descending from heaven. Whence Gregory: "The Lord went to the wedding when, after his resurrection, the new man joined to himself the multitude of Angels: he shall then return when through judgment he is manifested to us." Whence he ought always to be awaited by the good; Philippians 3: "We look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ," etc. And this expectation is not vain:
Proverbs 17: "The expectation of him who waits is a most pleasing gem"; nor is it drowsy:
Psalm: "Wait for the Lord and act manfully."
And therefore he adds: That when he comes,
"hastening to judgment," and knocks,
through the scourge of infirmity, they may open to him at once,
through intimate desire: Apocalypse 3: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if anyone shall open to me, I will enter in to him," etc. Bede: "He does not wish to open to the judge who knocks who, fearing to see him angered whom he despised, dreads to depart from the body. He opens who awaits the judge gladly and securely and rejoices at approaching death." Song of Songs 5: "The voice of my beloved knocking," and after: "I arose to open," etc.
52. And it should be noted here that this Gospel is read on the feasts of Confessors, because they are commended in a threefold manner, namely with regard to the avoidance of evil
in the girding of the loins, and with regard to the doing of good
in the carrying of lamps, and with regard to the expectation of the best
in the likeness of men waiting for their lord; according to those three things which are said in Micah 6: "I will show you, O man, what is good: to do judgment," with respect to yourself, "and to love mercy," with respect to your neighbor, "and to walk solicitously with your God," with respect to God.
53. Moreover, in order that evil
may perfectly cease in us,
our loins must be girded in a threefold manner,
namely the loins of carnal contact,
concerning which the Psalm says: "My loins are filled with illusions, and there is no health in my flesh"; and these are to be girded with the belt of chastity:
Isaiah 32: "Gird your loins, beat upon the breasts," etc.
Likewise, the loins of carnal affection
with the belt of virtue:
Job 40: "Gird your loins like a man"; and Jeremiah 1: "Gird your loins, arise and speak to them."
Likewise, the loins of carnal thought
with the belt of truth:
1 Peter 1: "Having girded the loins of your mind, be sober," etc.
54. Moreover, in order that the good
may perfectly shine forth in us, the lamp of right intention must be carried:
above, chapter 11: "The lamp of your body is your eye."
Likewise, the lamp of true preaching must be carried:
Psalm: "Your word is a lamp to my feet"; Ecclesiasticus forty-eight: "Elijah arose like fire, and his word burned like a torch."
Likewise, the lamp of honorable conduct must be carried:
John five: "He was a burning and shining lamp"; and in the Psalm: "There I will make the horn of David spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ."
55. Finally, for this purpose, that desire may be perfectly enkindled, Christ must be awaited confidently:
Habakkuk two: "If he should delay, wait for him, for he who is coming will come," etc. — Likewise, he must be awaited joyfully:
Proverbs ten: "The expectation of the just is joy," etc. — Likewise, he must be awaited watchfully:
Job fourteen: "All the days in which I now serve, I wait, until my change shall come." And in this way the servants await "their lord, when he returns from the wedding." Thus the blessed Confessors are perfectly praised, according to that passage in Titus two: "Let us live soberly and justly and piously in this age, awaiting the blessed hope and the coming of the glory of the great God," etc.
56. (Verse 37). Blessed are those servants,
etc. Here secondly he introduces the motive for vigilant watching, and this is twofold, namely the beatification of the watchful
without failing
and without any exception.
First, therefore, as regards the beatification of the watchful without failing,
he says: Blessed are those servants whom, when the lord comes, he finds watching:
Proverbs eight: "Blessed is the man who hears me and who watches at my gates daily"; and therefore Ecclesiasticus thirty-nine: "The just man will give his heart to watching at dawn," etc. Such ones the Lord declares blessed: Job eight: "If you rise at dawn and beseech the Almighty, he will immediately awake to you and will restore the dwelling of your justice in peace."
Therefore he adds: Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself, "preparing himself for recompense"; Psalm: "The Lord has reigned, he has clothed himself with beauty," etc.
And he will make them recline, namely at the eternal banquet: Ezekiel thirty-four: "I will feed my sheep, and I will make them lie down."
And passing by, he will minister to them,
through the most generous sharing. Passing by,
that is, causing them to pass over: Sirach twenty-four: "Come over to me, all you who desire me," etc.; because from Christ
and through Christ
we pass over to Christ,
namely from the glory of the body to the glory of the soul, and from this to the glory of the Godhead. On account of which he says in John ten: "I am the door; if anyone enters through me, he shall be saved"; and in the fourteenth chapter: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." But Christ is said to minister,
because he will always give the substance of joy, of actual unfailing refreshment: Revelation seven: "They shall hunger no more, nor thirst anymore"; "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall rule them and lead them to the fountains of the waters of life." "Blessed therefore are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb," Revelation nineteen: in which the spotless Lamb will be the bridegroom, the food, the lord,
and the minister;
the Psalm: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of your house, and you shall give them to drink of the torrent of your pleasure." He himself will minister
and invite,
according to that passage of the Song of Songs five: "Eat, O friends, and drink and be inebriated, dearest ones."
57. (Verse 38.). Then, as regards beatitude without exception,
he adds: And if he comes in the second watch, and if he comes in the third watch, and finds them so, blessed are those servants.
And note here that by the three watches
are understood three states of the present life, namely of childhood, youth,
and old age.
Whence the Gloss of Bede: "He calls them watches after the likeness of those keeping guard in the night. The first watch is the guardianship of childhood, the second is of youth, and the third of old age. If anyone has neglected to keep watch in childhood,
let him not despair; if he has neglected in youth,
let him at least come to his senses at last in old age,
because the merciful Lord patiently awaits our repentance"; Isaiah thirty: "Therefore the Lord waits, that he may have mercy on you; and therefore he shall be exalted, sparing you, because the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all who wait for him."
And note that in Mark 13 four watches are indicated according to the manner of distinguishing hours among those keeping watch: "Watch," he says, "for you know not when the Lord will come: at evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning." And by these watches are understood four states in which man exercises freedom of choice: the first and the last, and two intermediate ones; one is in advancement, and the other in decline. In this it is indicated that the Lord accepts our watchfulness at every hour without exception, but especially that which begins from childhood: Lamentations 3: "It is good for a man when he has borne the yoke from his youth"; and yet he does not refuse even the last stage of old age: whence it is said in Matthew 14 that "in the fourth watch of the night he came to the disciples walking upon the sea." At any hour, therefore, it is not useless but most useful to watch; below in chapter 21: "Watch, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of Man," etc.
58. (Verse 39.). But know this, etc. Here thirdly he subjoins an incitement to watchfulness, which he introduces in this manner, namely by proposing a parabolic example and by concluding with the principal intent.
As to the first, therefore, he sets forth the parabolic example when he says: But know this, that if the householder knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch, namely for the guarding of the house, lest the thief stealthily carry something away.
Therefore he says: And he would not suffer his house to be broken into. And if he always held the hour suspect, he would never leave his house without a guard; otherwise he would manage the care of the household not wisely but foolishly. An example concerning Ishbosheth, of whom it is read in 2 Kings 4 that "Ishbosheth was sleeping upon his bed at midday. And the doorkeeper, cleaning wheat, fell asleep. But Rechab and Baana his brother entered the house secretly and struck him in the groin and fled." So also spiritually it happens to him who neglects to guard his house watchfully; whence Gregory says: "While the doorkeeper sleeps, Ishbosheth is slain, because when the solicitude of discernment has ceased, it opens a path for evil spirits to slay the soul." And therefore the spiritual man on the contrary says that word of Isaiah 21: "Upon the watchtower of the Lord I stand, standing continually by day, and upon my watch I stand throughout the nights"; and therefore 1 Peter, last chapter: "Be sober and watch, because your adversary," etc.
59. (Verse 40.). Then he concludes the principal intention. And you also be ready, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of man will come.
The Gloss: "The Lord always wished the last hour to be unknown, so that it might always be suspected, and we might always prepare ourselves for it." Hence Matthew twenty-four: "Of that day and hour no one knows" etc.; and First Thessalonians five: "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night"; and after: "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief"; and Ecclesiastes nine: "Man does not know his end, but as fish are caught with a hook, so are men seized in an evil time."
So also those who do not prepare themselves: therefore it is said in Sirach five: "Do not delay to turn to the Lord, and do not defer from day to day: for his wrath will come suddenly, and in the time of vengeance he will destroy you." Hence Alcuin: "It is a dissolute thought to think of tomorrow's conversion and to neglect today's." And Seneca: "Every day of our life ought to be ordered as the last." On this account, therefore, so that we might always be ready, the Lord willed that we be ignorant of the hour of death and the day of judgment. "For nothing is more certain than death, and nothing is more uncertain than the hour of death";
therefore Sirach thirty-eight: "Remember my judgment; for so also shall yours be: yesterday for me, and today for you"; and concerning the hour of judgment it is said in Matthew twenty-five: "At midnight a cry was made: Behold, the bridegroom comes"; and after: "Those who were ready entered with him to the wedding, and the door was shut." Gregory: "O if one could taste with the palate of the heart, what wonder the bridegroom comes! holds,
what sweetness they entered with him to the wedding!
what bitterness, the door was shut"!
60. (Verse 41.). And Peter said to him.
After he had invited all to vigilance in general, here he invites prelates in particular.
This indeed he does in this order. For first he commends the vigilance of prelates:
second, he reproves insolence,
there: But if that servant shall say
etc.; third, he aggravates negligence,
there: But that servant who knew.
Commending
then the vigilance of prelates,
first he commends it with respect to the prerogative of merit; second, with respect to the excellence of the reward;
there: Blessed is that servant.
He shows the first in responding to the question of Peter, when he says: And Peter said to him: Lord, do you speak this parable to us, or to all?
He asks well and usefully, that he might know to what he ought to be obligated:
hence Sirach three: "The things that God has commanded you, think upon those always"; and especially those things are to be learned which are spoken in parables: Proverbs one: "The wise man hearing will be wiser. He will discern parables and their interpretation, the words of the wise and their riddles."
61. (Vers. 42.). To this question of Peter, the Lord does not seem to respond on the surface; but if one attends more deeply, He responds perfectly, intimating that the aforementioned parable about vigilance pertains commonly to all, but specially to prelates,
when He says: And the Lord said: Who, do you think, is the faithful and prudent steward? Stewards
he calls prelates: First Corinthians 4: "Let a man so account of us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God," etc. Such men are difficult to find faithful; whence First Corinthians 4: "Here now it is required among stewards that a man be found faithful"; and Proverbs 20: "Many men are called merciful, but a faithful man who shall find"? Who, do you think, then is a faithful steward?
in intention:
First Timothy 1: "I obtained mercy, that I might be faithful"; and Apocalypse 2: "Be faithful unto death." And prudent,
in choice:
Proverbs 14: "An intelligent minister is acceptable to the king"; whence Proverbs 27: "Be diligent to know the countenance of your cattle, and consider your flocks."
62. Whom the Lord appointed over his household,
through the authority committed to him: Hebrews 5: "Neither does anyone take the honor to himself, but he who is called by the Lord, as Aaron"; the Psalm: "But I have been appointed king by him over Zion, his holy mountain."
That he may give them their measure of wheat in due time,
by communicating sound doctrine: Ecclesiastes 8: "The heart of the wise man shall understand the time and the answer," etc. Let him also attend to the capacity of the hearers; whence He says: measure.
Gregory: "The discourse of teachers ought to be shaped according to the quality of the hearers, so that it both fittingly bestows upon each what is proper to them, and yet never departs from the citadel of common edification." We have an example of this in Joseph, who was appointed over the land of Egypt to dispense grain, Genesis 41, in whom there was faithfulness
and prudence, authority
and vigilance
or diligence.
And because these things were found in holy prelates, therefore this Gospel is chanted in praise of Confessors and Bishops, who were commendable in these four aforementioned qualities. - And concerning these four, it is said in the Gloss of Bede: "How rare is he serving the Lord for the Lord's sake,
feeding the sheep of Christ not for gain, but out of love for Christ! prudent,
providing for himself in the future: whom he appointed,
that is, how rare is he who is called by God as Aaron was
and has not rather thrust himself forward, and who does not feed himself
rather than the sheep." Whence, on account of the defect of faithfulness,
Malachi chapter one: "Who is there among you who will shut my doors and kindle fire upon my altar for nothing?" and Philippians chapter two: "All seek the things that are their own," etc. Few also are prudent:
whence Isaiah chapter twenty-four: "As the people, so the priest"; and Hosea chapter four: "Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you shall not minister to me as priest." Few also are divinely appointed:
therefore it is said in Hosea chapter eight: "They have reigned, but not by me." Few likewise are intent upon the welfare of the flock:
whence Ezekiel chapter thirty-four: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who fed themselves! Are not the flocks fed by the shepherds?" etc. Therefore, speaking pointedly, he begins with: Who do you think?
on account of the rarity and difficulty and preciousness by which such persons excel in the prerogative of merit.
63. (Verse 43.). Second, with regard to the excellence of the reward,
he adds: Blessed is that servant whom, when his lord comes, he shall find so doing:
Matthew chapter twenty-five: "Well done, good and faithful servant," etc. So doing,
that is, faithfully, prudently,
and watchfully,
according to that passage in First Peter chapter four: "As every one has received grace, ministering the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." And Chrysostom says: "These things are said concerning speech and virtue, concerning riches and every stewardship which has been entrusted to each one. For each one ought to use for the common benefit what he has, whether wisdom, or authority, or riches, not to the harm of his fellow servants."
64. (Verse 44.). But to this use of grace is rendered the perfect fruit of glory,
with regard to which he adds: Truly I say to you, that he will set him over all that he possesses,
"over the joys of the heavenly kingdom," "not that they alone should have eternal joys, but that they should have them above others, both for their own life and for their guardianship of the flock." Whence First Peter chapter five: "Elders, feed the flock of God which is among you." "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive an unfading crown of glory." Whence Chrysostom says: "When the people act well, each one is rewarded for his own good; but the priest is rewarded for the good of all"; First Thessalonians chapter two: "What is my hope, or joy, or crown of glory? Are not you before our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?"
65. (Vers. 45.). But if that servant shall say
etc. After he commended the vigilance and providence or care of prelates, here he censures their insolence
; which indeed he does by reproving the enormity of sin
and by threatening the severity of judgment.
First, therefore, as regards the reproving of the enormity of sin,
he says: But if that servant shall say in his heart: My lord delays his coming.
The Gloss: "On the contrary, if he shall disregard the judgment about to come soon, promising himself security," according to that passage of Ezekiel twelve: "What is this proverb in the land of Israel of those who say: The days shall be prolonged, and every vision shall perish"? and Second Peter three: "There shall come scoffers, walking according to their own lusts, saying: Where is the promise or his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." — And since such thinking begets complacency, and complacency begets contempt, and contempt begets iniquity, therefore he adds: And shall begin to strike the menservants and maidservants,
namely by scandalizing the little ones, when he ought rather to nourish them by word and example. On account of which, Isaiah three: "Why do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor"? And this is a grave sin: First Corinthians eight: "Sinning against the brethren and wounding their weak consciences, you sin against Christ"; and especially when they sin against the little ones: Matthew eighteen: "Whoever shall scandalize one of these little ones who believe in me, it were better for him," etc.
And because the mother of faithlessness is concupiscence,
therefore he adds: And to eat and drink and be drunk,
namely by doing the will of the flesh, according to that passage of Isaiah twenty-eight: "The priest and the prophet have been ignorant through drunkenness; they are swallowed up by wine, they have gone astray through drunkenness." And this is especially unbecoming in pastors and prelates, in whom the spirit of wisdom and understanding ought to reign: Malachi two: "The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law from his mouth." But on the contrary, Isaiah fifty-six: "His watchmen are all blind, they are all ignorant; dumb dogs not able to bark, seeing vain things and loving dreams; and most impudent dogs that never knew satiety," etc.
66. (Vers. 46.). Secondly, with regard to the threatening of the severity of judgment,
he adds: The lord of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect, and at an hour when he does not know:
Deuteronomy thirty-two: "The day of destruction is near, and the times hasten to arrive"; and Zephaniah one: "The great day of the Lord is near, near and exceedingly swift." And although it is near,
nevertheless it comes upon the worldly unexpectedly; whence Ecclesiastes nine: "Man does not know his own end, but as fish are caught with a hook, and as birds are seized in a snare, so are men caught in an evil time, when it suddenly comes upon them." - And because a grave judgment threatens those who despise the judge, therefore he adds: And he will divide him,
namely from the company of the good, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-five: "He will set the lambs on his right hand, but the goats on his left." And will place his portion with the unbelievers,
who namely have already been judged: John three: "He who does not believe has already been judged"; and this rightly, because in First Timothy five it is said: "If anyone does not have care for his own and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." This portion
is very evil, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Fire, brimstone, and the blast of tempests, the portion of their cup"; and Revelation twenty-one: "For the timid and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and fornicators and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their portion will be in the lake burning with fire and brimstone." From which it appears that just as the reward of good prelates is great, so also the punishment of the reprobate will be the greatest: Wisdom six: "The most severe judgment will be made upon those who govern. For to the lowly, mercy is granted, but the powerful will suffer torments powerfully."
67. (Vers. 47.). But that servant
etc. After he invited to vigilance and censured insolence, here thirdly he aggravates negligence;
which he does in two ways, namely by reason of the greatness of knowledge
and by reason of the authority entrusted.
First, therefore, with regard to the aggravation of negligence
by reason of the greatness of knowledge,
he says: But that servant who knew the will of his lord,
through the gift of knowledge: First Corinthians eight: "Knowledge puffs up, but charity edifies. If anyone thinks he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know." - And did not prepare himself,
to receive the gift of grace: Proverbs sixteen: "It is for man to prepare his soul" etc.; whence First Kings seven: "Prepare your hearts for the Lord."
And did not act according to his will,
supply: through the vice of his own negligence; James four: "To him who knows the good and does not do it, it is sin."
He shall be beaten with many stripes,
namely through the severity of the divine sentence: whence Second Peter 2: "It were better for them not to have known the way of truth," etc.; and Romans 1: "Who, when they had known God, glorified Him not as God," etc. "Wherefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness, to dishonor their own bodies among themselves." And the reason for this is that, as Gregory says, "where the gift of knowledge is greater, there the transgressor is subject to greater fault"; whence also ignorance excuses.
68. (Vers. 48.). On account of which he adds: But he who
did not know,
through a defect of knowledge, and did things worthy of stripes,
through the commission of fault, shall be beaten with few stripes,
through the mitigation of the divine sentence.
And note that there is simple ignorance,
and this excuses, according to that of First Timothy 1: "Therefore I obtained the mercy of God, because I did it ignorantly"; and below in chapter twenty-three: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." There is also another ignorance, affected,
concerning which in the Psalm: "He would not understand, that he might do well." Such shall be gravely punished: whence First Corinthians 14: "He who is ignorant shall be ignored"; and Hosea 4: "The people that does not understand shall be beaten." And this Bede says in the Gloss, because Proverbs 28: "He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, his prayer shall be abominable"; and the Psalm: "Their fury is according to the likeness of a serpent, like the deaf asp that stops its ears," etc.
69. Secondly, as regards the aggravation of negligence
by reason of the authority committed,
he says: But of everyone to whom much has been given,
namely in gift, much shall be required of him,
in accounting. Whence Gregory: "When gifts are increased, the accountings of gifts also grow. Therefore each one ought to be so much the more humble and more ready to serve God from his gift, as he perceives himself to be more obligated in rendering an account"; below in chapter sixteen: "Render an account of your stewardship."
Whence he adds: And to whom they have committed much, namely the divine judgments, or the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit: they will demand more from him, namely at the future judgment of all; Matthew twenty-five: "But after a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them." Whence from prelates, to whom the care of subjects has been committed, the Lord will require not only their own souls, but also the souls committed to them; on account of which it is said in Hebrews, the last chapter: "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch, as those who will render an account for your souls." For to each of them is said that passage of Third Kings twenty: "Guard this man: if he should escape, your life shall be for his life"; and Jeremiah thirteen: "Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful flock? What will you say when he visits you? For you taught them against you and instructed them against your own head." And therefore in Acts twenty, Paul said to the elders of the Church: "Take heed to yourselves and to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops to govern the Church of God, which he acquired with his own blood"; and Ezekiel thirty-four: "Behold, I myself will seek my flock from the hand of the shepherds and will make them cease, so that they may no longer feed the flock, nor may the shepherds feed themselves any longer."
Secondly, one is invited to vigilance by consideration of the first coming.
70. (Verse 49.). I have come to cast fire upon the earth, etc. After he has aroused to vigilance from consideration of the second coming, here he arouses to consideration of the first coming. And this part has two sections: in the first of which, by showing the efficacy of the first coming, he arouses to vigilance; in the second, he rebukes the foolishness and negligence of the Jews, at the passage: And he said also to the crowds, etc.
In expressing therefore the efficacy of the first coming for arousing to vigilance, he shows that he came for three things, namely: to send forth the fire of love, to accomplish the remedy of the passion, and to introduce the separation from carnal affection.
First, therefore, as regards the sending of the fire of love through the efficacy of the first coming, he says: I came to cast fire upon the earth, the fire, namely, of divine love, which is compared to fire in the last chapter of Song of Songs: "Love is strong as death, jealousy is hard as hell: its lamps are lamps of fire," etc. But carnal love is like infernal fire: Job thirty-one: "It is a fire that devours unto destruction"; and Sirach three: "As water extinguishes fire," etc. But spiritual love is like celestial fire: Lamentations one: "From on high he sent fire into my bones," etc. The Lord sends this by communicating doctrine: Psalm: "Your word is exceedingly refined by fire"; and Jeremiah twenty-three: "Are not my words like fire, and like a hammer that shatters rock?" Likewise, by infusing grace: Deuteronomy four: "From heaven he made you hear his voice, and on earth he showed you his exceedingly great fire." Likewise, by inflaming toward justice: Sirach forty-eight: "Elijah arose like fire"; whence, because in him was the fire of divine zeal, concerning which Zephaniah three says: "In the fire of my zeal all the earth shall be devoured"; therefore fittingly at his word fire descended from heaven both upon the sacrifice, in 3 Kings eighteen, and upon the captain of fifty, in 4 Kings one: "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven," etc.
And since this fire is sent in vain unless it is kindled, therefore he adds: And what do I desire, except that it be kindled? This is kindled by meditation on present benefits; Psalm: "My heart grew hot within me, and in my meditation fire shall blaze forth"; and below in the last chapter: "Was not our heart burning within us," etc. Likewise, remembrance of past things: Leviticus six: "The fire on my altar shall burn always, which the priest shall feed, laying on wood in the morning and on each day," etc. Likewise, anticipation of future promises: Proverbs thirty: "Every word of God is a fiery shield to all who hope in him."
71. (Verse 50.). Secondly, as to the perfection of the remedy of the passion
it is added: But I have a baptism
to be baptized with. Note that the passion of Christ is called a baptism,
because in his blood they are purified as in the bath of baptism: Revelation 7: These are they who have come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb"; whence Hebrews 9: "If the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on the defiled sanctifies for the cleansing of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ cleanse our conscience," etc. With this baptism Christ was baptized, because his whole body was reddened with this blood: Isaiah 63: "Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah"? and after: " Why then is your garment red, and your vestments like those of them that tread in the winepress," etc. - And note that the passion of Christ is compared to a baptism,
as here, because it was universal:
Psalm: " All your waves you have brought upon me." - Likewise it is compared to a cup:
Matthew 26: " Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me," because it was voluntary:
Matthew 20: " Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?"
Likewise, because it was most bitter
and heavy, it is compared to a winepress:
Isaiah 63: " I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the nations there is no man with me."
72. With this baptism, therefore, Christ was baptized, not from the indigence of necessity, but from the abundance of charity: therefore he adds: And how am I straitened: straitened,
namely, by love, which has dominion over the heart: Ephesians 2: " God, who is rich in mercy, on account of his exceeding great charity," etc.
And note that love straitens by its attractive force;
John 3: " God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son"; Jeremiah 31: "With an everlasting charity I have loved you, therefore I have drawn you, having mercy on you." Whence Hugh: "Great is the force you have, O charity: you alone were able to draw God from heaven to earth. O how strong is your bond, by which even God could be bound, and thus bound he destroyed the bonds of iniquity! I know not what greater thing I can say in your praise than that you drew God from heaven and raised man from earth to heaven." Whence Hosea 11: "I will draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bonds of charity."
Likewise, it expands by its diffusive benevolence;
Psalm: " Your commandment is exceedingly broad"; 2 Corinthians 6: " Our heart is enlarged."
It elevates by its excessive adherence:
Song of Songs, last chapter: "Who is she who ascends from the desert, abounding in delights"? John 4: " Whoever shall drink, it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life."
It bows down through gracious condescension:
Galatians 2: "Who loved me and delivered himself for me." — On account of these four things, Ephesians 3: "Rooted and grounded in charity, that you may be able to comprehend with all the Saints," etc. — And since this charity was shown perfectly in the passion, therefore he says: Until it be perfected,
namely in the shedding of blood: Revelation 1: "He loved us and washed us from our sins in his blood"; and First John 3: "In this we have known the charity of God, because he laid down his life for us." And this was what Christ thirsted for on the cross; John 19: "Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said: I thirst." "When therefore Jesus had received the vinegar, he said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the spirit."
73. (Verse 51). Third, as regards the introduction of the divorce of carnal affection,
he adds: Do you think that I came to give peace on earth
? earthly peace, that is. This he came not to give, but to take away, because this is an evil
peace, of which Isaiah 28 says: "We have struck a covenant with death and with hell we have made a pact."
This peace the just man rejects: in the Psalm: "I was envious of the wicked, seeing the peace of sinners"; because such a peace is a perverse
peace: Deuteronomy 29: "Peace shall be with me, and I will walk in the perversity of my heart."
It is a false
peace: Jeremiah 6: "They healed the destruction of the daughter of my people with disgrace, saying: Peace, peace, and there was no peace."
It is a momentary
peace: First Thessalonians 5: "When they shall say: Peace and security, then sudden destruction shall come upon them."
It is a deceptive
peace: Jeremiah 9: "With his mouth he speaks peace with his friend, and secretly he lays snares for him."
It is a disquieting
peace: in the canticle, Isaiah 38: "Behold, in peace my bitterness is most bitter"; Ecclesiasticus 41: "O death, how bitter is the remembrance of you to a man who has peace in his possessions"!
74. This peace is hostile to true peace.
For the peace of Christ is a good
peace: above, chapter 2: "On earth peace to men of good will"; therefore the Apostle says: "Grace to you and peace."
It is a true
peace: Romans 14: "The kingdom of God is justice and peace and joy."
An abiding
peace: John 14: "Peace I leave to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you."
It is a directing
peace: above, chapter 1: "Through the bowels of mercy, in which he has visited us"; "to direct our feet into the way of peace."
There is a consoling peace;
John 16: "That in me you may have peace: in the world you shall have tribulation"; and Philippians 4: "The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds." — Since therefore it is in all things contrary to worldly peace, and contraries cannot exist simultaneously, therefore it cannot be introduced by the author of peace except through the dissolution of this feigned peace.
75. Therefore He adds: No, I say to you,
that is, I declare to you that I came not to give peace, but separation, according to that passage in Isaiah 52: "Depart, depart, go out from there, touch not the unclean thing"; and 2 Corinthians 6: "Come out from among them and be separated, says the Lord"; and Matthew 10: "For I came to set a man against his father," etc. And the reason for this is that it is said in the same place: "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me"; and therefore below in chapter 14: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and even his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."
76. (Verses 52–53). And for this reason He adds: For from this time there shall be five in one house divided,
that is, separated from carnal affection; and according to that passage in the penultimate chapter of Deuteronomy: "Who said to his father and to his mother: I know you not, and to his brethren: I know them not, and they knew not their own children. These have kept your word and preserved your covenant."
And He adds the manner
of the division: Three against two, and two against three shall be divided,
that is, the persons who seem most closely joined by the flesh shall be severed from carnal love by the spirit of charity. Nor is it a wonder if this is accomplished through the divine word, because Hebrews 4: "The word of God is living and effective and more piercing than any two-edged sword, reaching even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints also and marrow, and a discerner of thoughts," etc.
And He adds the manner and example: Father against son, and son against father,
namely, shall be divided.
Chrysostom: "God alone is the father of souls. To carnal fathers one renders the service of the flesh; to the spiritual Father, the holiness of the soul." Nor shall this occur only among the male sex, but also among the female; therefore He adds: Mother against daughter, and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
77. And note that the Lord put forward five persons and set down six relationships: of father and son, mother and daughter, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, because one person is both mother and mother-in-law at the same time. And he sets down two men and three women, either because women are more prone to division on account of their instability, or because more people are effeminate and carnal than spiritual; whence First Corinthians eleven: "Therefore among you many are weak and feeble, and many sleep." Literally, it happened just as he says, after his healing; whence the Gloss of Bede: "After the baptism of the passion, after the coming of fire, the whole world was divided against itself; each household had believers and unbelievers, the latter fighting against the faith, the former for the faith," according to that passage of Zechariah eight: "All men were divided, each one against his neighbor"; and Sirach thirty-three: "Behold all the works of the Most High: two against two, and one against one"; Matthew ten: "Brother will hand over brother to death, and father his son, and children will rise up against parents and put them to death."
78. Spiritually, "every man is a house either of God or of the devil"; insofar as there is in him an evil peace, which is that of sin, the devil is the father: John eight: "You are of your father the devil"; the flesh, however, is the daughter-in-law and the mother: Ezekiel sixteen: "Your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite," that is, garrulous. Then the son is divided against the father and the mother and the mother-in-law, when he abandons the desires of the flesh and renounces the devil and his pomps and is divided from them through baptism; whence the Psalm: "For my father and my mother have abandoned me, but the Lord has taken me up." To make this division, one must be born again: John three: "Unless one is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." For the fire of divine love and the baptism both of the Spirit and of water and of blood divides all from their domestic enemies; and this is the efficacy of the first coming.
79. (Vers. 54.). And he said also to the crowds, etc. After he invited to vigilance, here secondly he rebukes negligence, which does not care about the grace of Christ coming. And this part has two sections. In the first of which he rebukes negligence with respect to recognizing grace; and secondly, with respect to doing penance, at the passage : Now there were present at that very time some. For Christ came to confer grace and to preach penance.
He rebukes negligence, however, with respect to recognizing grace, for three reasons, namely on account of the admonition of exterior judgment, interior judgment, and superior edict.
First, therefore, as regards the admonition of external judgment,
on account of which negligence in knowing is blameworthy, he says: And he said also to the crowds: When you see a cloud rising from the west, you say at once: A storm comes,
that is, a shower of rain, and so it happens,
because this is a sign: when the sky is covered with a cloud, rain is being prepared for the earth; Psalm: "Who covers the sky with clouds and prepares rain for the earth."
80. (Verse 55). And when you see the south wind blowing, you say: There will be heat, and so it happens:
Job thirty-seven: "Are not your garments hot, when the earth has been blown through by the south wind?"
81. (Verse 56). And because from these sensible things man is led by the hand to the understanding of those things which they were neglecting to consider, therefore he adds: Hypocrites, you know how to judge the face of the sky and the earth; but how is it that you do not judge this time?
Therefore he calls them hypocrites,
because they professed knowledge of the Scriptures more, like Catholics, than of natures and stars, like astrologers; and yet they attended more to the latter than to the former. And this is hypocrisy in the Christian religion: to be more anxious about natural things than about things of grace. Whence Augustine: "More praiseworthy is the soul to which its own infirmity is known than the one which scrutinizes the constellations of the heavens and the foundations of the earth." Therefore Sirach three: "What God has commanded you, think on those things always, and in many of his works be not curious." Therefore those are blameworthy who are anxious to discern the time of rain clouds and neglect to discern the time of grace, when through these sensible things they could be led by the hand to spiritual things: whence they have abandoned the homeland for the road, and the face of the Lord for his footprints. Against whom Augustine in the second book of On Free Will: "Woe to those who have abandoned you as guide and wander in your footprints, who love your signs instead of you and forget what you are signifying."
82. On account of which it should be understood that the cloud
intimates the flesh of Christ; Isaiah nineteen: "The Lord will ascend upon a light cloud and will enter Egypt."
The appearance of the cloud from the west designates the flesh of Christ rising and ascending; Psalm: "He who ascends above the west, the Lord is his name."
The descent of the storm and rain
designates the descent of the Holy Spirit after the ascension of Christ: 3 Kings eighteen: "A little cloud like the footprint of a man was ascending from the sea." "And there was a great rain."
By the south wind blowing,
the breath of the Holy Spirit coming upon the disciples: Song of Songs four: "Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind, blow through my garden." This was fulfilled, Acts two, when "suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty wind approaching."
By the heat following,
the fervor of charity is understood, which ripened all the harvests of the Church; Proverbs ten: "He who gathers in the harvest is a wise son; but he who sleeps in summer is a son of confusion," etc.
83. Morally, however, by the cloud coming from the west is understood the pain of compunction arising from the memory of death; by the shower is understood a rain of tears; by the south wind blowing, a gladdening devotion; by the heat, an inflaming devotion; Tobit 3: "After a storm He makes calm, and after weeping and tears He pours in exultation." - Whence here is the order of the descent of grace into our heart, because first a man considers his end and death, and then conceives sorrow, after this he bursts forth into tears, then he feels consolation, and finally he is inflamed unto love; whence above in the seventh chapter, concerning the penitent sinful woman, it is said that "standing behind at the feet of the Lord, she began to wash His feet with tears and anointed them with ointment," etc.
84. (Verse 57). Secondly, as to the admonition of the interior judgment, it is added: Why do you not even of yourselves judge what is just? As if to say: even if you neglect the exterior admonition, do not neglect the interior one. Whence Ecclesiasticus 31: "Know the things of your neighbor from yourself," that is, from your natural judgment. For there is implanted in man a natural judgment, by which he is directed to see and to choose; Psalm: "The light of Your countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us"; and Isaiah 46: "Return, transgressors, to the heart"; for there it is dictated what is just. And among all things that are just, natural reason dictates this, which even Antiochus said, 2 Maccabees 9: "It is just to be subject to God, and that a mortal man should not think himself equal to God." This therefore is most especially what is just, which everyone ought to judge, namely, that God is to be worshipped and Christ honored and the gift of the Holy Spirit received with reverence; because, John 5, "he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father," etc. It is also just to judge that "God will judge the world in equity," and to forestall that judgment by judging oneself, because, 1 Corinthians 11, "if we judged ourselves, we would certainly not be judged," etc. Whence conscience naturally protests, and it also testifies that our evils will not remain without consequence. And therefore from it we ought to be stirred to meriting divine grace; Romans 2: "When the Gentiles, who do not have the Law, do by nature the things that are of the Law, such as these, not having the Law, are a law unto themselves, because they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness to them," etc.
85. (Verse 58.). The third point, concerning the warning of the higher edict, he adds: When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, on the way. Bede: "Our adversary on the way is the word of God, which is contrary to our carnal desires in the present life"; our magistrate is Christ; Isaiah thirty-two: "The prince shall think the things that are worthy of a prince." To this magistrate the word of God directs us by a threefold way, namely the way of innocence, concerning which the Psalm says: "He who walks in the immaculate way, he ministered to me"; the way of penance: Exodus eight: "We shall go a journey of three days into the wilderness"; the way of wisdom; Proverbs four: "I will show you the way of wisdom, I will lead you through the paths of equity."
The Prophet asked that these ways be shown to him, saying: "Show me your ways." He showed these by example: John fourteen: "I am the way, the truth, and the life"; he showed them by word; Isaiah thirty: "You shall hear the word of your teacher: This is the good way, walk in it"; he showed them also by a divinely inspired gift; Wisdom ten: "The Lord led the just man through right ways and showed him the kingdom of God."
86. Since, therefore, the word of God directs us along the right way, along which carnality refuses to go, and reason ought to trust the word of God more than carnal suggestion, he therefore adds: Make an effort to be freed from him, by fulfilling precepts, by avoiding what is forbidden, by hoping in promises, and by fearing threats. He who does these things is safe from the adversary: Ecclesiasticus thirty-six: "Raise up the adversary and afflict the enemy." For he who exalts the divine word afflicts the enemy, that is, the flesh, the world, and the devil. Bede: "When in this life you prepare yourself to see the pleasing face of the judge, although the word of God is contrary to your flesh, nevertheless use it as a guard given to you on this journey, lest when despised it accuse you." — Therefore he adds: Lest perhaps he drag you to the judge, that is, to Christ: Acts ten: "He is the one who was appointed judge of the living and the dead," etc.
And the judge hand you over to the exactor, that is, to the devil, who will exact punishment for guilt; Job three: "They did not hear the voice of the exactor." And the exactor cast you into prison, namely hell. Isaiah twenty-four: "They shall be gathered together in the gathering of one bundle into the pit and shall be shut up there in prison"; because that punishment is irremediable.
87. (Vers. 59.). Therefore he adds: I say to you, you shall not go out from there until you have paid the last mite,
that is, never, because you will never pay it back. Bede: "He always pays penalties by suffering for sins, but never by obtaining pardon." Hence until
does not set a limit here, just as neither does it there: "The Lord said to my Lord, etc., until I place," etc. Augustine: "Until
does not signify a limit of punishment, but you will always be paying and never finish paying." And it says to pay the last mite,
because the reprobate are punished not only for great sins, but also for lesser ones. Hence Chrysostom: "If once condemned you are cast into prison, punishments will be exacted from you not only for grave sins, but even for every idle word that you have spoken." Into these punishments are cast those who do not keep the divine words, which direct man to divine grace and to Christ: hence John 5: "Search the Scriptures. They are the ones that bear witness concerning me."
88. From these things, therefore, it is apparent that man's negligence in knowing and receiving God's grace is inexcusable, because he is roused to it by a threefold admonition, namely through the book of creation, conscience,
and Scripture,
as if through three witnesses, of which one is exterior,
another interior,
and the third as it were superior.
Wherefore, as it is said in Hebrews 2, "we ought more abundantly to heed the things that we have heard, lest perhaps we drift away. For if the word spoken through Angels was made firm, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation"?