Moralia in Job 1456

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: Let your loins be girded, and lamps burning in your hands. And you yourselves like to men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom, when the lord comes, he shall find watching. Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and passing will minister to them. And if he shall come in the second watch, and if he shall come in the third watch, and shall so find them, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the householder knew at what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken into.

Therefore be you also ready, because at what hour you think not the Son of man will come. The lesson of the holy Gospel that has been read, dearest brethren, is open to you. But lest to some its very plainness perhaps seem too lofty, we run through it briefly, so that its exposition may become known to those who know it not, yet be not burdensome to those who know. That in men lust is in the loins, in women in the navel, the Lord attests, who speaking of the devil to blessed Job says: His strength is in his loins, and his force in the navel of his belly (Job 40:11). From the principal sex, therefore, lust is designated by the name of the loins, when the Lord says: Let your loins be girded.

For we gird our loins when we restrain the lust of the flesh by continence. But because it is a lesser thing not to do evil, unless each one also strives and toils in good works, it is straightway added: And lamps burning in your hands. For we hold burning lamps in our hands when by good works we show examples of light to our neighbours. Of which works assuredly the Lord says: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16). But there are two things which are commanded, both to restrain the loins and to hold the lamps: that there be both the cleanness of chastity in the body, and the light of truth in action.

For to our Redeemer the one without the other can by no means be pleasing, if either he who does good things still does not forsake the defilements of lust, or he who is preeminent in chastity does not yet exercise himself in good works. Neither therefore is chastity great without good work, nor is good work anything without chastity. But even if both are practised, it remains that whosoever he be should tend toward the heavenly homeland, and by no means restrain himself from vices for the sake of the esteem of this world. Who, even if he sometimes begins certain good things for the sake of esteem, ought not to persist in that intention, nor through good works to seek the glory of the present world, but should set all his hope in the coming of his Redeemer. Whence too it is straightway added:

And you yourselves like to men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding. To the wedding indeed the Lord went, because rising from the dead, ascending into heaven, the new Man joined to Himself the supernal multitude of angels. Who then returns, when He is already made manifest to us through the judgement. And well it is added of the servants who wait: That when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. For the Lord comes when He hastens to judgement; He knocks indeed when by the troubles of sickness He signifies approaching death. To whom we immediately open, if we receive Him with love. For he is unwilling to open to the Judge knocking who dreads to go out of the body, and fears to see as Judge Him whom he remembers to have despised.

But he who is secure concerning his hope and his working opens immediately to Him who knocks, because he awaits the Judge with gladness; and when he perceives the time of approaching death, he grows joyful over the glory of the recompense. Whence too it is straightway added: Blessed are those servants whom, when the lord comes, he shall find watching. He watches who keeps the eyes of the mind open to the sight of the true light; he watches who guards by working what he believes; he watches who repels from himself the darkness of sluggishness and negligence. For hence Paul says: Awake, you just, and sin not (1 Cor. 15:34). Hence again he says: It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep (Rom. 13:11). But let us hear what the lord coming will bestow on the watching servants:

Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and passing will minister to them. He will gird himself, that is, He will prepare Himself for the recompense; and He will make them sit down to meat, that is, be refreshed in eternal rest. For our sitting down to meat is to rest in the kingdom. Whence again the Lord says: They shall come and shall recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matt. 8:11). And the Lord passing ministers, because by the illumination of His light He satisfies us. And it is said 'to pass' when He returns from judgement to the kingdom. Or certainly the Lord passes over to us after the judgement, because from the form of His humanity He lifts us up into the contemplation of His divinity.

And His passing is to lead us into the beholding of His brightness, when we see also in His divinity, after the judgement, Him whom we discern in His humanity at the judgement. For coming to the judgement, He appears to all in the form of a servant, because it is written: They shall look on Him whom they pierced (Zech. 12:10; John 19:37). But when the reprobate fall down into punishment, the just are drawn to the glory of His brightness, as it is written: Let the wicked be taken away, that he may not see the glory of God (Isa. 26:10). But what if the servants are found negligent in the first watch? The first watch indeed is the guardianship of the first age. But not even so is one to despair and to cease from good work. For, intimating the patience of His long-suffering, the Lord adds:

And if he shall come in the second watch, and if he shall come in the third watch, and shall so find them, blessed are those servants. The first watch indeed is the earliest time, that is, childhood. The second is adolescence or youth, which by the authority of sacred eloquence are one, since Solomon says: Rejoice, O young man, in your adolescence (Eccles. 11:9). The third is taken as old age. He therefore who would not watch in the first watch, let him keep at least the second, so that he who neglected to be converted from his depravities in childhood may awaken to the ways of life at least in the time of youth. And he who would not awaken in the second watch, let him not lose the remedies of the third watch, so that he who does not awaken to the ways of life in youth may at least come to his senses in old age.

Consider, dearest brethren, that the piety of God has hemmed in our hardness. There is now nothing whereby a man may find excuse. God is despised, and He waits; He sees Himself contemned, and He calls back; He receives injury from His own contempt, and yet He promises rewards to those who at some time return. But let no one neglect this His long-suffering, because He will exact so much the stricter justice in the judgement, as He has advanced longer patience before the judgement. For hence Paul says: Are you ignorant that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But according to your hardness and impenitent heart you treasure up to yourself wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the just judgement of God (Rom. 2:4-5). Hence the Psalmist says:

God is a just judge, strong and long-suffering (Ps. 7:12). About to say 'long-suffering,' he set 'just' first, so that Him whom you see long and patiently bear the sins of transgressors, you may know also at some time strictly to judge. Hence too through a certain wise man it is said: For the Most High is a patient repayer (Ecclus. 5:4). He is called a patient repayer because He both bears and repays the sins of men. For those whom He long tolerates that they may be converted, when unconverted He damns the more harshly. But to shake off the sloth of our mind, even outward losses are brought forward by way of comparison, that through these the soul may be roused to guardianship of itself. For it is said:

But know this, that if the householder knew at what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken into. From which premised similitude an exhortation too is subjoined, when it is said: And you also be ready, because at what hour you think not the Son of man will come. For while the householder is unaware the thief breaks into the house, because while the spirit sleeps from guardianship of itself, unforeseen death coming bursts into the dwelling of our flesh, and slays as lord of the house him whom it finds sleeping, because when the spirit least foresees the coming losses, death seizes him unawares to punishment.

But he would resist the thief if he watched, because, taking precaution against the coming of the Judge who secretly seizes the soul, he would meet Him by repenting, lest he should perish impenitent. Our Lord willed the last hour to be unknown to us for this reason, that it might always be able to be held in suspicion, so that, while we cannot foresee it, we may without intermission prepare for it. Wherefore, my brethren, fix the eyes of your mind on the condition of your mortality; prepare yourselves daily by weeping and lamentation for the Judge who is to come. And since certain death remains for all, do not think anxiously about the uncertain provision of temporal life. Let not the care of earthly things weigh you down.

For with however great masses of gold and silver the flesh be surrounded, with whatever precious garments it be clothed, what is it other than flesh? Do not therefore heed what you have, but what you are. Do you wish to hear what you are? The prophet indicates it, saying: Truly the people is grass (Isa. 40:7). For if the people is not grass, where are those who together with us celebrated the birthday feast of blessed Felix, which we honour today, a year ago now past? O how great and what manner of things they pondered concerning the provision of the present life, but, the moment of death stealing upon them, suddenly they were found in those things which they refused to foresee, and lost all at once all the temporal things which, once gathered, they seemed to hold as though stably.

If therefore the past multitude of the human race flourished in the flesh through nativity, and withered in the dust through death, it was clearly grass. Since therefore the hours flee away in their moments, act, dearest brethren, that they may be held fast in the reward of good work. Hear what the wise Solomon says: Whatsoever your hand is able to do, do it earnestly, because neither work, nor reason, nor knowledge, nor wisdom shall be in hell, whither you hasten (Eccles. 9:10). Since therefore we are ignorant of the time of future death, and after death we cannot work, it remains that before death we seize the times granted to us. For thus, thus, death itself, when it comes, will be conquered, if before it comes it is ever feared.