Sermons 249 part 4/5

growing in the minds of believers. This same Christ is also called the cornerstone set at the head of the corner, who joined and united two peoples — as it were two walls coming from opposite sides, from the circumcision and the uncircumcision — in one faith. And rightly is He at the head, because He Himself is the Head of the Church, who is also called the foundation. For thus says the Apostle: 'Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus' (1 Cor. 3). Therefore He is both the stone at the head, and the foundation below. Why below? This is because Christ is both of things above and of things below; He Himself is God and man, Word and flesh, living unto eternity, and dead for a time;

one thing in Christ is impassible, another passible; one is before the ages, another in time. Therefore He Himself is called a mountain, a stone, and a foundation; 'and the rock,' he says, 'was Christ' (1 Cor. 10). Upon this rock every wise man builds his house, that is, the house of his soul; and the winds coming, and the rain descending, and the floods beat upon that house, and it falls not, for the foundation is upon the rock. Therefore, as we had begun to say, a city set upon a mountain cannot be hidden. There follows: nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but upon a lampstand, that it may give light to all who are in the house.

The lamp set upon the lampstand is the mind established in the substance of the body, which shines and stands out, especially if there be not lacking to it the oil of charity or of chastity, such as was that blessed John the Baptist, of whom it is written: 'He was a burning and a shining lamp' (John 5). He burned and shone: he burned with the warmth of the Holy Spirit, he shone with the light of Christ. Hear this lamp crying out concerning Christ and saying: 'Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world' (John 1); and again he says: 'A man who comes after me is made before me; whose sandals I am not worthy to bear' (cf. John 1). Therefore the mind of blessed John shone with the light of Christ, because of His fullness, as it is written (John 1),

all the saints receive grace upon grace. From His light all the saints receive, and it is not divided into parts, nor is the majesty of Christ's light diminished. For if the light of a lamp, when from it a thousand torches, so to speak, or very many lamps are kindled, is not diminished, that fire, nor divides itself into parts; how much more is the majesty of Christ full, and His fullness abounds in all, and is not divided, but is whole in all. For even our speech, while it is being spoken, is heard by all, and is not divided in individuals, but is whole and entire in all; and a little verse written on a wall, if we all read it, we do not divide it into parts, but it remains whole in the senses of each one;

and therefore, brethren, the saints, ever shining with the light of Christ (as we have said), cried out, saying: 'Do you seek a proof of Him who speaks in me, Christ?' (2 Cor. 13). And therefore they give light to all who are in the house, that is, in the house of this world; because in a great house, as it is written (2 Tim. 2), there are not only vessels of gold or silver, but also of wood and clay. Therefore all the saints are appointed for the enlightenment of men, and the apostles and prophets have been appointed so that the edifice of the Church might be built up through them, by the Lord's gift: to Him, our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, be glory and dominion unto the ages. Amen. It has been read in the Holy Gospel thus:

'After six days,' it says, 'Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them. And His face shone as the sun; and His garments became white as snow. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with Him. And Peter answering said: Master, it is good for us to be here: let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias,' and so forth. 'After six days,' it says; after six days we understand the sabbath to be the seventh day. The first day is the Lord's day, the second day the second weekday, and so all the days. After six days, as has been said, the sabbath is numbered.

This day shows rest, because on the seventh day God also rested from His works. Therefore on that sanctified day the Lord showed that all the saints, both in the Law and in the Prophets, together with the blessed apostles, would be present with Him in His glory, and would abide with Him. Moses the lawgiver, who described all the saints from the origin of the world — with him therefore all the saints shall rise. Elias represents the number of the prophets; and with him all the prophets in Moses and Elias, who died and were buried, shall be found living, and shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The three apostles therefore — Peter, James, and John — believing with Him, and all also who follow the faith of Peter, James, and John. Of these it is written:

'Peter, James, and John, who seemed to be pillars' (Gal. 2); rightly called pillars, who upheld the edifice of the Church, and raised it up from the lower things to the higher, that they might seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Therefore two, Moses and Elias, and three apostles, so that in the mouth of two and three witnesses every word might stand. And the Lord Himself said: 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them' (Matt. 18). Here too the Lord showed that even those who do not receive the Law and the Prophets are to be confounded; because He Himself joined them to Himself, and associated them with the number of the apostles. Moses wrote concerning the Lord (Exod. 17),

and in a type of Christ, on the mountain against Amalek he lifted up his hands, just as Christ on the cross to vanquish the devil. Again Elias (1 Kings 17), that he might raise the dead, stretched himself out — which the Lord did on the cross, that He might put death to flight and restore life. Let us see what follows. Saint Peter said to the Lord: 'It is good for us to be here: let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias.' This Peter said according to the affection of a good disciple, who loved the ministers and friends of the Lord, Moses and Elias. And behold, there came a cloud overshadowing them, and a voice out of the cloud saying: 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased'; as if He should say: not three tabernacles are to be made;

but this is my most beloved Son, whose tabernacle shall be one, that is, one Church, spread throughout the whole world, after the likeness of the one city of Jerusalem which is in heaven. In that Church shall be present Moses and Elias, Peter, James, and John, ever bearing testimony to the Lord, together with all the patriarchs and prophets, and the holy apostles; with whom we too, all believers, may ever exult and glory in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, ever giving thanks to the Father through Him: to whom is glory unto the ages. Amen. The Lord says: 'I have come to send fire upon the earth, and what will I, but that it be kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened until it be accomplished?' and so forth.

'I have come,' He says, 'to send fire upon the earth, and what will I, but that it be kindled?' The Lord sends fire upon the earth of our breast, to cultivate the field of our heart, to burn up the thorns and briers of sins, that the chill of our wickedness may be driven off, and that by the warmth of the Holy Spirit all things fruitful and prosperous may spring up in us. For take a comparison from this earthly fire; a certain author of secular letters says: 'Often too it has profited to set the barren fields ablaze, and to burn the light stubble with crackling flames; whether the earth thence conceives hidden strength and rich nourishment, or whether by the fire every fault is baked out and the useless moisture sweats away, or whether that heat opens more passages and hidden

breathing-holes, whereby the sap may come to the tender blades, or whether it hardens more and binds the gaping veins.' If this earthly and bodily fire affords and effects so much, how much more that heavenly and holy fire, which so penetrates the recesses of the soul that, going even through the whole substance of the body, it renders the whole man clean and fruitful; and this fire effects in man such fruits as Paul the apostle sets forth, saying: 'The fruit of the Spirit' — of that fiery Spirit — 'is charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faith' (Gal. 5), etc. 'Charity,' he says, at the head, because the chill of iniquity never quenches the fire of charity; thus again the divine Scripture says:

'Many waters cannot quench charity, neither shall the floods overwhelm it' (Cant. 8), so that neither the rock nor the hewn tower can overwhelm it. 'I have come,' He says, 'to send fire upon the earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?' It is kindled through good will, through the good purpose of the mind, which in itself somehow increases and inflames that divine fire. This fire is further kindled in us by the frequent breath of the divine Scriptures; wherefore the holy Apostle, knowing this, charged Timothy, his disciple, saying: 'Attend to thyself and to reading; abide in these things. For doing this, thou shalt both save thyself and those who hear thee' (1 Tim. 4). 'And thee,' he says, it shall save, shining with the wholesomeness of fire, and thou shalt enlighten the rest who hear thee.

Then the Lord went on, saying: 'But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened until it be accomplished?' (Luke 12). This the Lord said concerning His own passion. And still He said further: 'Do you think that I have come to give peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but division. For henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three: father against son, and son against his father; mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law' (Luke 12). This division is made by the faithful against the unbelievers. For when some consent to the faith of the Lord, and others dissent, they are separated from the faith; and this separation saves the believers, but condemns the unbelievers.

For it is just that the faithful should depart, because there can be no fellowship of light with darkness, nor can the sweet be mingled with the bitter, nor the faithful with the unfaithful. Therefore, brethren, persevering in the faith of the Lord, let us give diligence both to lead the unbelieving to the faith of the Lord, and that we may all be saved in Christ: to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages. Amen. It has been read where the Lord is said to have had a banquet at Levi's house with publicans and sinners. The Lord did not forbid publicans and sinners, that even by occasion of the banquet they might be taught. The just and holy One did not repel the impious and unjust, He who had come to heal all, as He Himself had said: 'The whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick' (Matt. 9).

To those set in the many fevers of their desires, He poured in the sweet refreshments of His words. There was an abundance of foods and drink present; but the Saviour, seeing them intent upon these things, joined Himself with them in the earthly banquet, that He might admonish them to hasten to the heavenly banquets, where are those delights, not temporal but eternal, which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love Him (Isa. 64; 1 Cor. 2). 'The whole,' He says, 'have no need of a physician, but they that are sick.' You who are sick in soul, held by whatever disease of vices;

you who have the fevers either of pride, or of luxury, or of evil concupiscence, or of anger, or of avarice, run to the physician Christ and, praying, say to Him: 'I said, Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee' (Ps. 40); so that He too may say... if you hear my words... you love and... you shall feel the medicine, the aid of divine help, if you bring the devotion of your mind to bear upon the divine precepts with full observance. It is a great and good thing, brethren, to obey the heavenly command; and salvation is acquired thence, where hearing renders the service of obedience. Therefore let us obey the divine precepts, that having obtained the substance of good things, we may ever render thanks to the Father through the Son: to whom is glory unto the ages. Amen.

We have heard today read in the Holy Gospel about two sons, the younger and the elder, to whom the father had distributed his substance; and how the younger, having journeyed away from the father, living luxuriously in sins, lost everything, and afterward, led by repentance and much afflicted, returned to the father; to whom the father commanded to be given the robe, and the ring, and the shoe, and the calf to be slain at the banquet for his redemption... coming... he consoled... 'Son, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine. But it was fitting to feast and to rejoice, because thy brother here was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' These two brothers, as it seems to my littleness, dearly beloved, bear the signification of two peoples.

The elder can be understood as the ancient people of the patriarchs and prophets, who persevered with God the Father, serving Him; the younger, the people of the Gentiles, who, removing themselves far from God, as though gone into a far country, lived in many errors, and who afterward, coming to the father, repenting and praying, received the first robe — namely, the first ornament of redemption; because it is written: 'You Gentiles shall be at the head' (cf. Deut. 28). The ring on the hand is the sign of betrothal; the bride, according to the Apostle, being espoused to one husband, is presented as a chaste virgin; the shoes on the feet, and this too is a sign of the nuptials, since the feet of the bride of Christ are shod in the preparation of the Gospel of peace. The calf too is commanded to be slain at the banquet.

The fatted calf is our Saviour Himself, whom the Father willed to be immolated for the redemption of the human race. But as for what is said, that the elder brother was angered on account of the younger brother, there anger is put in place of wonder; because the ancient people of the just wondered at the reception of the Gentiles. And although some of these were truly angered — that is, the people of the Jews — nevertheless they are admonished by the divine precepts that they ought to rejoice, because the small consideration of human frailty ought kindly to receive the counsel of God's indulgence. Therefore let the people of the Gentiles, converted to the Lord, be glad that they are saved by the Lord's kindness, and ever render thanks to God the Father through His Christ: to whom is glory unto the ages. Amen.

We have heard today read in the Holy Gospel: 'There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day; and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate full of sores, desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. But even the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died, and was buried in hell. And lifting up his eyes, when he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom; and crying out he said:'

'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. And Abraham said to him: Son, remember that thou didst receive good things in thy lifetime, and Lazarus likewise evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And in all these things, between us and you a great chasm is fixed; so that they who wish to pass hence to you cannot, neither to cross thence hither.' Let us consider, brethren, that a rich man is set forth, and a beggar. The rich man's name is passed over in silence, and he is without a name, like a body without a head: in the head the name is recognized;

he was rightly without a name, because he was without a head, who had neither the faith nor the mercy of Christ within him, who is the Head. Then Lazarus is named as the beggar, yet his name is contained in the book of Life, which is also not passed over in silence in the Gospel. First, that rich man too died, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day; and he was buried in hell. Second, but Lazarus the beggar died, and, carried by the angels, was placed in Abraham's bosom. Third, the judgment of God was immediately shown in both: the poor man, after many labours and sorrows, took the longed-for refreshments; and the rich man, after his exaltation, took his fitting torments;

And so, when the rich man saw Lazarus resting in the bosom of Abraham, he cried out and said: 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger, that he may cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.' And Abraham said to him: 'Son, remember that you received good things in your life, and Lazarus likewise evil things; but now he is comforted here, while you are tormented.' The rich man sought to be touched by the dew of Lazarus's fingertip, and it was not granted him, because it is written: 'In death who is mindful of you; and in hell who shall confess to you?' (Ps. 6). And even now, if the rich are willing, let them take counsel for the poor; they have many Lazaruses and see them;

if they show mercy to them, they prepare refreshment for themselves in the age to come, for whoever is merciful shall obtain mercy. For he who himself has not been merciful will not be able to merit the mercy of God; let them rather be humbled in prosperity, for pride belongs to... the world; above all, let them not be haughty in wisdom, nor place their hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who bestows all things upon us. Hence the Apostle teaches that, in order to be fruitful in good works, they should be generous, ready to share, communicative, laying up for themselves a good treasure for the time to come, that they may lay hold of the true life (1 Tim. 6).

There are many rich who are not blameworthy, who seem to possess what they own not for themselves alone but for many, who bestow it dutifully upon many, who distribute it well to many. He is truly rich toward God who gives to the sighing poor man, and not to the dancing actor. There are many rich who are bishops, presbyters, and deacons; but he who dispenses his riches well will be able to have neither the fault of luxury, nor the mark of a crime, nor the penalty of damnation. Assuredly God willed some to be rich for this reason, that there might be those who give to the poor; and for this reason he made the poor, that they might receive necessities from the rich. For the counsel of God in all things is holy, in all things to be venerated, and ever to be praised: to this same God the Father be glory forever. Amen.

'Behold,' he says, 'a sower went out to sow,' etc. The Lord Jesus came into the world, having gone forth from the Father himself, saying: 'I came forth from the Father, and I came into this world; again I leave the world, and go to the Father' (John 16). Therefore he says of himself: 'Behold, a sower went out to sow.' He went out to sow the Gospel in the world, to sow faith, justice, truth, peace, chastity, humility, and the other virtues. And the devil, on the contrary, began to sow his own things, that is, pride, wrath, concupiscence, murders, adulteries, thefts, and the other vices, which in the divine writings are called tares. For when the disciples said to the Lord Jesus: 'Did you not sow good seed in your field? Whence then has it tares?' the Saviour said:

'An enemy has done this' (Matt. 13); calling this enemy of man the devil, who casts enmities between God and men, that is, sins, by which he separates men from God. For he it was who also encompassed those first men, Adam and Eve, when they were set in paradise, changing himself into the form of a serpent with slippery coils, deceiving them with speech as though of a man, and beguiled their untried souls into incautious credulity. He even now casts in depraved thoughts, doomed to burn with him in the judgment of Christ. And therefore let us consider, brethren, the seeds of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the seeds of the enemy, the devil.

For when each one sees rising in his heart thoughts and desires of piety, mercy, humility, chastity, patience, and other good things, let him know that these are the seeds of Christ. But if a desire of adultery, fornication, theft, fraud, and other evils, let him understand that these are the seeds of the devil. And therefore let him make ready his heart for God, and not for the devil, as the prophet says in the Psalms: 'My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready; I will sing and give praise to you in your glory' (Ps. 56); inasmuch as I have received the seeds of your justifications, I offer to you the fruits of praise and blessing. 'Behold,' he says, 'a sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, some on rocky ground, some among thorns, some into good soil.'

As for that which fell by the wayside, the birds come and take it away. He who does not walk in the way, which is Christ, being himself placed outside the way, will not be able to hold within himself the seed of the word of God; but it is snatched away by the birds, that is, by the wandering spirits. But he who has a rocky mind, that is, hardness laden with faithlessness, does not keep within himself the roots of the word of God; rather it quickly withers, because it does not bring forth stable fruits from the depth of the heart. But he who is among thorns is choked by the density of the thorns, that is, by the pricking of worldly cares, which press down the word, and it cannot become fruitful.

But indeed that which fell into good soil abounds with fruits and grows into abundance, so that it brings forth, as the Lord says, fruits, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold; the fruits of hope, of faith, of charity; the fruits of widowhood, of virginity, of martyrdom. By these fruits the Church grows well, and prepares its harvests worthily for the heavenly barns, just as it is said generally of all the prophets, or apostles, or the various teachers. Hence the Lord well says: 'He who speaks sows the word.' And so it is, since he who speaks the word scatters words indeed as seeds, but God gives the increase. For the apostle Paul also said: 'We have sown to you spiritual things' (1 Cor. 9).

Since therefore he who speaks sows the word, and just as the seed, when it is cast into the earth, being drenched by the heavenly shower, takes root and grows in the hearts of individuals; and thence are produced those fruits which are called fruits of good will, both thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold. 'The Lord Jesus,' it says, 'having entered into a house, wished no one to know, and could not be hidden,' etc. First let us consider this, brethren, what it is: 'The Lord, having entered into a house, wished no one to know, and could not be hidden.' For if he wished no one to know, why could he not be hidden? Assuredly the Lord in such a way does not wish to show himself, yet in such a way that he does not wish to be hidden.

For is it that, because the divine substance is not now seen by our eyes, it is therefore absent from us, or does not wish to be present with us? For he himself pours the light of his knowledge upon all, he who is the true light, enlightening every man who comes into this world. He entered a house, but neither was he absent in public; he was in a body, but he was not absent from heaven; he was seen... of whom he speaks in the psalm through the prophet David, saying: 'Who stretches out the heaven like a skin, who covers with waters its upper parts; who makes the clouds his ascent, who walks upon the wings of the winds, who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a burning fire' (Ps. 103). Therefore he it is who together with the Father founded the world.

'There came to him,' it says, 'a certain woman, a Syrophoenician by race, a Gentile, and she begged him to cast out a demon from her daughter' (Mark 7:25). This woman, that we may speak according to the allegory, was both Gentile error and ancient ignorance, which had begotten a daughter subject to the demon, a wretched and infirm offspring, which had no manly, that is, strong sense in faith, but a flux in faithlessness. This woman, running to the Lord, when she begged him, the Saviour said: 'It is not good to take the bread of the children and give it to the dogs.' But she answered and said: 'Yes, Lord; for even the little dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their master's table' (Mark 7). She likened herself to the little dogs longing at the table of their masters.

She humbled herself not only before the master, but even before the servants and children of the master, comparing herself to the puppies. And the Lord said to her: 'Go, for this saying the demon will go out of your daughter.' You see therefore that if anyone comes to Christ out of the error of Gentilism, and acknowledges him as Lord and Saviour, he both profits himself and acquires salvation for his children, so that, being taken out from the power of demons, they may obtain the reward of deliverance. Then it was recited that the Lord put his fingers into the ears of a certain deaf and mute man, and touched his tongue with his spittle, and immediately he spoke and received his hearing. Nothing is impossible with God (Rom. 10); whatever he touches has power, whatever he looks upon shall live;

the tongue felt, the ears felt the kindness of their Lord, they were freed from impediments, and received the use of their inactivity... 'Ephphatha,' that is, 'be opened,' and at the Lord's command the benefits followed: the bond of the tongue was loosed; with his spittle he touched his tongue: out of the substance of his own flesh he bestowed health; again out of the fingers of his hands he poured hearing into the ears. Through the members the power of the Divinity was at work. He even now makes the deaf hear, that is, the unbelieving to believe; because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God; and the mute to speak:

those who knew not how to speak the word of truth he makes into teachers and masters in the Church, preachers of truth, so that they may penetrate the ears of others by their teaching and open them up by piercing them through, and make even the tongues of hearers eloquent, and all, strengthened in the unity of faith, may ever rejoice in the same Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is glory and dominion forever. Amen. It was said today, as the holy Gospel was read, that the Lord Jesus Christ fed the people from seven loaves and a few fishes, and that seven baskets full of fragments were gathered up. The heavenly King, our Lord Jesus Christ, feeds his people from both land and sea. All are satisfied by seven loaves.