反亞流神學文集 第 7 章

SERMON ONE. On the stewards of the Lord. 1. The word of the Lord, which we all ought to hear not only diligently but also wisely, and to which it behooves us to be obedient humbly and gladly, everywhere keeping the tempering of its own moderation — so that neither may pasture be lacking to the sheep, nor nourishment to the shepherds — commands certain things specially to us alone, but others generally both to us and to you. For to us, that is, to the servants whom that Father of the household, the Lord of all things, has appointed in His great house for this purpose, that we may minister the word of grace to His people, the office of holy preaching is specially enjoined; but generally to us and to you, obedience to the saving commandments is prescribed.

In which commandments again, as in the richest of dishes, the abundance of heavenly delights so overflows with spiritual richness, that in the word of God there abounds both what the perfect may eat, and there abounds also what the little one may suck. For there is at once both the milky drink, by which the tender infancy of the faithful may be nourished, and the solid food, by which the robust youth of the perfect may receive the spiritual increases of holy virtue. There indeed provision is made for the salvation of all whom the Lord deigns to save; there is what suits every age, there what befits every station; there we hear the precepts that we should do, there we come to know the rewards that we should hope for; there is the command which by the letter teaches us and instructs us unto knowledge;

there is the promise which through grace draws and leads us to glory. 2. The Lord, therefore, wishing to demonstrate the special office of the servants whom He has set over His people, says what we have just now heard from the Gospel: Who, do you think, is the faithful and prudent steward, whom the Lord has set over His household, to give them their measure of wheat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom, when the Lord comes, He shall find so doing (Luke 12:42-43). Who is this Lord, brethren? Christ, without doubt, who says to His disciples: You call Me Master and Lord; and you say well: for so I am (John 13:13).

What too is the household of this Lord? Assuredly it is that which the Lord Himself redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and made subject to His own dominion. Now this household is the holy Catholic Church, which is spread abroad throughout the world with copious fruitfulness, and glories that it has been redeemed by the precious blood of its Lord. For the Son of Man, as He Himself says, came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). He is also the good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. The flock of the good Shepherd, therefore, is that very household of the Redeemer. But who the steward is, who ought to be at once faithful and prudent, Paul the Apostle shows us, who, speaking of himself and his companions, says:

So let a man account of us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now here it is required among stewards, that a man be found faithful (1 Cor. 4:1-2). And lest any of us should suppose that the apostles alone were made stewards, and, neglecting the office of spiritual soldiery, should like a slothful servant sleep on unfaithfully and imprudently, the blessed Apostle himself, showing that bishops too are stewards, says: For a bishop must be without crime, as the steward of God (Tit. 1:7). We are therefore servants of the head of the household, we are stewards of the Lord, and we have received the measure of wheat which we are to dispense to you.

But if we ask what this measure of wheat may be, the blessed Apostle Paul himself shows it to us, saying: To every one as God hath divided the measure of faith (Rom. 12:3). Therefore the measure of wheat which Christ names, that same measure of faith Paul calls it, so that we may recognize that the spiritual wheat is nothing other than the venerable sacrament of the Christian faith. We give you the measure of this wheat in the name of the Lord as often as, enlightened by the gift of spiritual grace, we discourse according to the rule of the true faith; and you receive that same measure of wheat through the Lord's stewards, when daily through the servants of God you hear the word of truth. Let us then now speak concerning that very measure of wheat.

From it, as God has divided, let us all be fed; from it let us take the nourishment of the good life, that we may be able to attain the rewards of eternal life, believing in Him, hoping in Him, loving Him above all and in all, who both gives Himself to us as nourishment that we may not fail on the way, and keeps Himself as our reward that we may rejoice in our fatherland. For Christ is our nourishment, Christ shall be our reward; Christ is the food and consolation of travellers running their course, He Himself is the fullness and exultation of the blessed who rest. And so to that very measure of wheat pertains what the Lord says: Sell what you possess, and give alms;

make for yourselves purses that do not wear out, a treasure that fails not in heaven, where no thief approaches, nor moth corrupts (Luke 12:33). It is a great good, dearly beloved brethren, most fitting, most profitable, and above all to be sought by all Christians, that no one should take delight in sinking into what is worse, but that we should all strive to advance into what is better. We are trees, brethren, planted in the Lord's field. But God is our husbandman: He waters us, He tills us, He Himself grants fruitfulness, He Himself supplies the grace of bearing fruit. The rain of God is the word of holy preaching, the cultivation of God is the infusion of spiritual grace. God therefore waters us by His precept and tills us by His help.

While He waters us, He takes from us the dryness of ignorance; while He tills us, He bestows the richness of good living; while He rains, He irrigates the soil of our heart; while He tills, from that very soil He roots out the thorns and briers of worldly desire. We ought therefore to be made fruitful by the heavenly rains, we ought by suitable fruit-bearing to answer the hands of the heavenly cultivator. And even if all the trees cannot bear equal fruits, yet none ought to remain barren in the Lord's field. Greatly to be feared by us, brethren, is that sentence of the threatener, by which it is said: Every tree that does not bear good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire (Matt. 3:10). But if barrenness is cast into the fire, what does rapacity deserve?

Or what shall he receive who has taken what belongs to another, if he shall burn forever who has not given of his own? If judgment without mercy shall be to him who has not shown mercy (James 2:13), what judgment shall there be to him who has committed even robbery? Let us therefore fear, brethren, let us fear our deeds. Let him who obeys Christ sell what he possesses and give alms, that he may lift his heart from earth to heaven, that he may trample avarice underfoot, that with all the intention of his mind he may hasten to the summit of perfection, that he may not be anxious about the things that are of the world, but about the things that are of the Lord; that he may have the world crucified to himself, and show himself crucified to the world; that he may be altogether poor in this age and rich in Christ. Who could be ignorant of the greatness of this good?

But we see that the power of selling their goods is not in all men. For everyone has his own gift from God, one after this manner, and another after that (1 Cor. 7:7). Behold, this so great good only few are able to fulfil, many are not able. Is it that, because this perfection is granted to few, therefore all who cannot yet be perfect in the good must be the very worst? Ought a Christian therefore to persist in the vice of rapacity, because perhaps he cannot yet distribute all his goods to the poor? Or ought he to covet what belongs to another, because he cannot yet altogether despise what is his own? God forbid this, brethren, from all Christians; may God turn this away from His faithful.

For the Apostle truly says that neither the covetous, nor the rapacious, shall possess the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10). And it is manifest that all who shall be estranged from the kingdom of God shall be damned in eternal fire with the devil and his angels. Therefore, dearly beloved, if not all can fulfil what the Lord says, Sell what you possess (Luke 12:33), yet that which He added, saying, Give alms (ibid.), is possible for all, if good will be present; easy for all, if dire cupidity be absent; wholesome for all, if charity be fervent: let it therefore be common to all, that to all may be granted eternal happiness.

He therefore who receives from the Lord such great power that he despises all things that are in the world for love of the heavenly kingdom, let him sell what he has and spend it on the needy. But he who is not yet of such great power, let him give alms of the things he has, according to what he has. Let good will accomplish as much as ability affords. Let the perfect possess the first rank of virtue, let the imperfect at least attain to the second. Let the one become gloriously worthy, let the other be praiseworthily generous. Let the one be the most ardent lover of holy poverty, let the other be the most devoted consoler of the holy poor. Let the latter have the poor as his patrons before God, whom the former rejoices to have as partners of his virtue. Let the latter be such as to sit as judge with the Lord;

let the former be such as to stand at the right hand to be judged. Let the former be such as to possess the eternal tabernacles by perpetual right; let the latter be such as the former may receive. For the Lord admonishes us, saying: Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity, that they may receive you into the everlasting tabernacles (Luke 16:9). This therefore, brethren, is necessary for us all, that in good works no one be sluggish, no one be barren, no one through love of present things despise those to come, no one, despising eternal things, perversely regard temporal things alone; let no one prefer bodily things to spiritual, no one set earthly things before heavenly. Let us place our treasure, brethren, in heaven, that we may be able to have also our heart in heaven.

For it is necessary that where the treasure of love has gone before, thither also the affection of thought should follow. Wherefore the Truth says: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matt. 6:21). That we may therefore lay up treasure in heaven, let us love heavenly things. Do you wish to know where you lay up treasure? Attend to what you love. Do you wish to know what you love? Attend to what you think about. So it will come to pass that you may know your treasure from your love, and understand your love as an indication of your thought. And the Lord, showing how we may lay up treasure in heaven, says: Let your loins be girded, and lamps burning (Luke 12:35).

If we wished to receive this saying of the Lord according to the letter, we should be able to gain no spiritual profit in it; but from the girded loins and burning lamps a spiritual understanding is to be sought, one which may be worthy of the divine precept, and which may be found suitable and profitable for our salvation. For not in vain does the Lord Himself say in a certain place: The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life (John 6:63). By the loins, then, carnal concupiscence is signified; but by the lamps, Christian faith and charity are shown. Therefore the Lord, in bidding our loins to be girded, without doubt commands that the concupiscences of the flesh be restrained.

But in commanding that we have burning lamps, He surely bids this: that we both shine with the light of true faith and be fervent in the works of holy charity. In bidding our loins to be girded, He charges us to flee evil desires and works; in bidding our lamps to be burning, He admonishes us to love and do good things. Let us compare these things which we have set forth from the Gospel with the prophetic sayings. For the one God instituted both Testaments, the one Lord gave them; and although the sacraments of the two Testaments are diverse according to the times, yet in both there agrees the same purpose of human salvation, by which it is enjoined that we sin not, and commanded that we persist in good works.

The Lord therefore commands through blessed David, saying: Turn away from evil, and do good (Ps. 33:15). Through Isaiah also He admonishes all with these words: Take away the evil of your thoughts from before my eyes; cease to act perversely, learn to do good (Isa. 1:16). This therefore the Lord now commands through Himself, which He also charged us through the holy patriarchs and prophets. For what is, Let your loins be girded, but, Turn away from evil? What is, Let your lamps be burning, but, Do good? What is, Let your loins be girded, but, Cease to act perversely? What is, Let your lamps be burning, but, Learn to do good? Therefore the loins are girded,

namely the loins of the faithful are girded, when evil concupiscence is suppressed, when wicked thought is checked, when the mind resists lust, when affection is denied to wantonness, when luxury is trampled down, when avarice and rapine are despised, when injury to one's neighbour is avoided, when pride is conquered, when envy is overcome.

But the lamps of the faithful burn, when they keep the rule of right faith, when they persevere long-sufferingly in the bosom of Mother Church, when they despise earthly things and desire heavenly things, when they solicitously guard peace, when they purely love one another, when they anticipate one another in mutual honour, when they advance in meekness of heart and humility, when they gladly and cheerfully perform the works of mercy, and when in good works they strive to please not men, but God. Every Christian therefore should have his loins girded, that he may flee lust; let him have a burning lamp, that he may guard chastity: let him have his loins girded, that he may neither seize nor steal anything belonging to another; let him have a burning lamp, that he may work mercifully of his own.

Let him have his loins girded, that he may not oppress the weaker; let him have a burning lamp, that he may afford to the oppressed the help of just defence under the veil of justice: let him have his loins girded, that he may not take away food from him who has it; let him have a burning lamp, that he may give nourishment to the hungry: let him have his loins girded, that he may not despoil the clothed; let him have a burning lamp, that he may clothe the naked: let him have his loins girded, that he may invade no man's house; let him have a burning lamp, that he may gladly receive the pilgrims of Christ: let him have his loins girded, that he may flee haughtiness; let him have a burning lamp, that he may keep humility: let him have his loins girded, that he may drive from himself envy and malice;

let him have a burning lamp, that he may show pure charity to all: let him have his loins girded, that he may not present his members as weapons of iniquity unto sin; let him have a burning lamp, that he may present his members as weapons of justice unto God (Rom. 6:13). This, brethren, is the true and sound doctrine of the catholic faith. This is the measure of wheat by which the family of the Lord our Redeemer is to be fed. From this we give to you, as much as the Lord bestows; and we continually beseech the Lord Himself, that He may deign by His help to feed both us and you in the fear of His grace. May He take from us the dominion of depraved cupidity, and grant to all the increase and perseverance of charity.

May He Himself gird our loins, may He Himself make our lamps to burn and keep them burning: that neither may our charity grow cold, nor any iniquity have dominion over us. But may our Lord and Redeemer bestow grace on all, and pour into all the gift of holy illumination and virtue. May He grant us that we rightly understand what we hear from Him and do as we ought, and that we preach to you what is to be done with sufficient and fitting discourse. May He grant to you also that what you hear from Him through His servants, you may both understand in your heart and accomplish in your work. May the divine mercy therefore work this in us all, that we, whom He willed to be stewards, may be so profitably. SERMON II.

On the twofold Nativity of Christ: one eternal from the Father, the other temporal from the Virgin. 1. Desiring to relate something of the solemnity of this day, and at the same time considering that one Word of whom we wish to speak, we find no words by which we might be able to say anything sufficiently. For this Word is not one that ceases when uttered, but one that abides being begotten; not transitory, but eternal; not made by God the Father, but begotten; nor only begotten, but even the Only-begotten. For God the Father begot one Word, of Himself, through which He created all things from nothing. For in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him,

and without Him was made nothing (John 1:1-3). But in that God the Father made all things through that Word, it is shown that He begot this Word, not made it. That Word therefore is God of God, Creator of the Creator. Whence it has this naturally in itself: to be that which the Father is. 2. The Son God was therefore born of the Father God, another in person, not other in nature: always with the Father, always together with the Father, always of the Father, always in the Father: always with the Father, with whom is His one natural immensity; always together with the Father, with whom is His one natural eternity; always of the Father, of whom is His naturally eternal nativity;

always in the Father, with whom He has one naturally equal divinity: and the one indeed is He who is the Father, the other is He who is the Son; yet neither is the other God, for the Father and the Son are one God. Wherefore, when discourse is made concerning God the Father and God the Son, we worthily say that the Father is one and the Son another; and none the less we worthily say that the Father and the Son are one God. For when we say that the Father is one and the Son another, we show the distinct persons of the begetter and the begotten; but when we say that the Father and the Son are one God, we manifest the very one nature of the undivided divinity. For the person of the begetter and the begotten is one thing, but the nature of the begetter and the begotten is one.

But how can anyone speak sufficiently or worthily? And of whom? Man of God, mortal of the immortal, visible of the invisible, mutable of the immutable, the work of the workman, the creature of the Creator, the thing made of the maker, the little one of the immense, the temporal of the eternal, the lowly of the most high, one formed of clay of Him who created all things from nothing. His grace is unspeakable, who by the free favour of His omnipotence made all, and omnipotently fulfilled the work of saving grace: there having the power of founding and governing His creature, here having the power of laying down and taking up His soul for us. And this omnipotence we call that,

by which the Word, which was in the beginning, and was with God, and was God, made everything that was not; but grace we call that by which the Word made flesh came to seek and to save that which had perished; omnipotence, by which He made every day; grace, by which He deigned to be conceived on a certain day and to be born on a certain day. 4. The same, therefore, made a little lower than the angels, was made on the day of men, who, coeternal and equal to God the Father, is ever the day of the holy angels. For of Him the prophet says: Announce well the day from the day, His salvation (Ps. 95:2). What is the day from the day, but the Son from the Father? There is therefore of the Father the Son, of the day the day; yet the Father and the Son are not two days, but one day.

The Son is of the Father, God of God; yet the Father and the Son are not two gods, but one God. Therefore one day of eternity, the Father and the Son together, is acknowledged by us; but in the day of time the Son alone is found. For the eternal day, the Father and the Son, made our body and soul; but in the day of time the Son alone took up our body and soul. Christ, the eternal day, the Only-begotten, remaining in the form of God; Christ, in the day of time, the Only-begotten, taking the form of a servant. Christ, the eternal day, remaining rich that He might create us; Christ, in the day of time, made poor that He might redeem us. The eternal day, Christ God of God the Father; Christ, in the day of time, God-man of the Virgin Mother.

Christ, the eternal day, the Word poured forth (Ps. 44:1) from the heart of the Father; Christ, in the day of time, the Word made flesh from the womb of the Virgin Mother. Christ, the eternal day, true God of true God; Christ, in the day of time, the bridegroom coming forth from his chamber (Ps. 18:6). The day of eternity, Christ creating the angels; the day in time, Christ saving men. The day of eternity, Christ in heaven feeding the holy angels; the day of time, Christ refreshing men on earth. For that man might eat the bread of angels, the Creator of the angels was made man, feeding both, and remaining whole.

How good is the bread that both feeds the angels through vision, that they may be satisfied by Him in their fatherland, and feeds us through faith, that we may not fail on the way! That bread, which gives itself to the angels for the joy of stability, gave itself to men for the remedy of health; and He who is the food of angels, was made medicine for us. 5. Nevertheless, dearly beloved brethren, attend here to the greatness of grace, and acknowledge what God deigned to bestow upon man in advance. For Christ the Son of God, true God of true God, and by nature one God with the Father, ever feeds the holy angels from Himself; yet the Son of God did not take angelic nature.

But that God might commend His charity in us, His Son took up our nature from us: and God the Only-begotten, who is the bread of angels, that He might also make Himself the bread of men, took up both the soul and the flesh of man at once. He took both true, both holy, both clean: He took our soul without iniquity, He took our flesh with mortality; He took a just soul, through which He might restore justice to our souls; but He deigned to have mortal flesh for this reason, that dying according to it He might conquer death, and according to it also might rise again, through which He might likewise raise up our bodies. 6. A great mystery, dearly beloved brethren, a great token of divine love.

Man, despising God, departed from God; God, loving man, came to men. He loved the impious, that He might make him just; He loved the infirm, that He might make him whole; He loved the perverse, that He might make him upright; He loved the dead, that He might make him alive. And what more shall I say? Since God the Only-begotten so loved human nature that He not only freed it from the power of the evil angel, but even in Himself placed it above all the good angels at the right hand of the Father. For the nature which in the first man had been taken captive by the evil angel, that very nature now in the second man reigns above all the good angels. The nature which in the first man polluted the world by sin, that very nature in the second man cleansed the world from sin.

The first man of earth, earthly; the second man from heaven, heavenly (1 Cor. 15:47). A woman with corrupted mind deceived the first man; a virgin with uncorrupted virginity conceived the second man. In the spouse of the first man the wickedness of the devil, having seduced her, depraved her mind; but in the mother of the second man the grace of God preserved both the mind whole and the flesh: to the mind it conferred most firm faith, from the flesh it took away lust altogether. Since, therefore, man was pitiably damned for sin, therefore without sin God-man was wondrously born. 7. Attend, brethren, to the lines of healing grace, shown to us by divine kindness.

Then the evil angel approached Eve, that through her man, whom God had made, might be separated from God; but now the good angel came to Mary, that in her God the Only-begotten might be united to human nature. The devil came to Eve, that the malignant one might take life from us; Gabriel came to Mary, that he might announce life to be restored to men. Through the fault of the first man the devil began to have dominion over man; through the grace of the second man he began to be overcome by man: proud over the first, captive under the second. Through the former he held us captive, through the latter he lost us set free. The first Adam became for us the author of guilt, the last Adam became for us the author of grace.

The former, formed of clay, brought forth earthly ones; the latter, born of the Holy Spirit, made heavenly ones. Through the former we lost the former grace, through the latter we received a fuller one. For the former brought upon us the stain of sin, with which we were born unto punishment; the latter conferred on us the grace of justification, that we might be reborn unto the kingdom. Through the former the carnal generation made us sons of this age, through the latter the spiritual generation showed us sons of God. The former subjected us to vices, the latter made us flourish in virtues. The former by vices cast us down, whither he first fell; the latter by virtues raises us up, whither he first ascended. For the former first fell into hell, the latter first ascended into heaven.

Meanwhile, brethren, it is fitting that on the day of the Lord's Nativity you should also solemnly hear of the day of the Lord's Resurrection. For God the Only-begotten, as He deigned to be born for us, so for us according to the flesh He deigned to die, He deigned also to be raised up. For this indeed is the day of visitation, that of redemption. For the work of grace, by which God the Only-begotten made us saved, began when conceived in the womb; and that same work of grace He fulfilled when raised from the sepulchre. Conceived in the womb, He was made a partaker of our death; rising from the sepulchre, He made us partakers of His life.

Now therefore let us all beseech the Lord that, as on this day He bestowed joy upon His people, so He may bring us all with joy and peace unto that day also, and keep His people in faith and charity. Amen. SERMON III. On the holy Stephen the protomartyr, and the Conversion of blessed Paul. 1. Yesterday we celebrated the temporal Birth of our everlasting King; today we celebrate the triumphal passion of the soldier. For yesterday our King, clothed in the garment of flesh, coming forth from the palace of the virginal womb, deigned to visit the world; today the soldier, going out from the tabernacle of the body, migrated as a triumpher to heaven. The former, keeping the majesty of everlasting deity, taking on the servile girdle of flesh, entered into the field of this world to fight;

the latter, laying aside the corruptible garments of the body, ascended to reign eternally in the palace of heaven. The former descended veiled in flesh, the latter ascended crowned with laurel by his blood. The latter ascended while the Jews stoned him, because the former descended while the angels rejoiced. Glory to God in the highest (Luke 2:14) the holy angels sang yesterday, exulting; today, rejoicing, they received Stephen into their fellowship. Yesterday the Lord went forth from the womb of the Virgin; today the servant went out from the prison of the flesh. Yesterday Christ was wrapped in swaddling clothes for us; today Stephen was clothed by Him in the robe of immortality. Yesterday the narrowness of the manger bore Christ the infant; today the immensity of heaven received Stephen triumphing.

The Lord alone descended, that He might raise up many; our King humbled Himself, that He might exalt His soldiers. For He who prepared for His own body the womb of the Virgin, He Himself deigned to open heaven for His martyr. The Lord Christ did not disdain to enter the narrows of the womb, that the breadth of heaven might receive the soul of Stephen. 2. It is necessary for us, dearly beloved brethren, to acknowledge with what arms Stephen, being girded, was able to overcome the savagery of the Jews, so that he thus merited happily to triumph. For neither such virtue nor such a triumph is to be lightly esteemed. Truly he could not be fortified with cheap arms, who could not be overcome by many. For the mark of unconquered virtue shone in him, which neither feared the savagery of the raging,

nor, being subdued, succumbed to the blows of those stoning him. For to such a degree did he remain undaunted among the raging, and secure amid the torments of stones, that he confidently reproved the unbelief of the Jews, and kindly prayed for those who stoned him. What then is that kind of arms, so great and insuperable, fortified with which he might reprove the raging and not fear; not striking back at those who stoned him, but conquer by suffering; and moreover, being slain, might enter alive and crowned into the hall of the heavenly kingdom? Without doubt, hedged about by royal protection, he was in no way overcome by his adversaries: since our King, though He is the most high, came humble for us, but could not come empty.

For He brought a great largess to His soldiers, by which He not only richly enriched them, but also most invincibly strengthened them for the contest. For He brought the gift of charity, by which He might lead men to fellowship in the deity. What therefore He brought, He bestowed: nor did He lessen anything for Himself, but wondrously enriched even the poverty of His own, and Himself remained full with undiminishing treasures. 3. The charity therefore which brought Christ down from heaven to earth, that same charity raised Stephen from earth to heaven. The charity which went before in the King, that same charity shone forth afterwards in the soldier. O power of the Saviour to be admired everywhere! O grace of the Redeemer to be proclaimed without ceasing!

He showed in the mother the miracle of eternal virginity, He demonstrated in the martyr the token of unconquered charity. For inviolate integrity remained in the Virgin, the unconquered virtue of love persevered in the martyr. And as in the Mother of the Lord virginity could not be violated, so in the mind of the martyr the charity of Christ could not be overcome by so great a throng of the raging. Stephen therefore, that he might merit to receive the crown of his name, had charity for arms, and through it conquered everywhere. Through the charity of God he did not yield to the raging Jews, through the charity of his neighbour he interceded for those stoning him. Through charity he reproved those erring, that they might be corrected; through charity he prayed for those stoning him, that they might not be punished.

Supported by the virtue of charity, he conquered Saul who was cruelly raging, and him whom he had as persecutor on earth, he merited to have as companion in heaven. That holy and untiring charity desired by praying to gain those whom it could not convert by admonishing. For neither, brethren, is Stephen to be thought to have loved his enemies then, when he prayed for them, and not to have loved them when he reproved and corrected their unbelief. Far be this from the soul of the martyr hastening to the palace of heaven. For that holy charity kept firm patience in prayer, which held rigid censure in correction. And therefore in prayer his gentleness merited to be heard, because without charity there was no severity in his correction:

And so, whether by praying or by rebuking, blessed Stephen kept charity intact, for in both ways he was mindful of the salvation of those who erred, and by the witness of his holy prayer he showed that his rebuke sprang not from hatred but from love. Now in doing this the blessed martyr both displayed charity toward those present and left an exceedingly useful example to those who came after. For he demonstrated the twofold diligence of the steward of the Church: that, to correct the error of any sinner, rebuke should not be lacking on the lips, and prayer should be poured out to God as a suppliant on his behalf. Thus he who has done evil is, through rebuke, confounded for his evil deeds, and, through prayer, is aided in the sight of God;

and thus charity itself both sounds forth justice on the lips, so as to correct the one who errs, and keeps patience in the heart, so as to pour out prayer for the one who errs with the pure affection of love. For he who does not rebuke one who errs is judged for negligence; but he who does not pray for him is condemned for that man's ruin. Wherefore, brethren, whenever anyone is rebuked for the salvation of his soul, let him not receive the admonitions of charity with disdain, nor look to the present grief of his own will, but let him consider what gains of profit he acquires. For he is reproved precisely that he may be corrected from his wicked works. And yet, when he sees the correction burning with some severity of words, let him not suppose that charity has grown cold in the heart.

For rebuke keeps watch on the lips in such a way that prayer does not sleep in the heart. And by this the sinner is prudently cared for in both respects: that while a man, being rebuked, is confounded for his sin, he is both separated from evil works and, through prayer (God being merciful), is saved. For holy Scripture also says: 'For whom the Lord loveth, He correcteth: and He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth' (Prov. III, 12). Being therefore compelled by the charity of Christ, we both exhort the good, that they may abide in the good, and we constrain the evil, that they may depart from evil: especially since in these two holy men a twofold token of salvation is shown to us: that if anyone is good, let him imitate the perseverance of charity in Stephen;

but he who is evil, let him follow the example of conversion in Paul: and let him who is good hold fast to equity even to the end; but let him who is evil depart as quickly as possible from his perversity; and let not presumption of righteousness make the good man negligent, nor let consideration of iniquity make the evil man despair, but let the former hold fast the good bravely, and let the latter quickly forsake the evil. Let the good man fear lest he fall; let the evil man strive to rise. Whoever therefore is evil, let him be prostrate with Paul in evil, that with him he may be raised up in good: for that man too fell as an evil man and rose as a good one. The unrighteous was prostrated, and the righteous was raised up; the most savage persecutor fell, and the truthful preacher rose.

Falling, the impious man lost the light of his body, but rising, being justified, he received the light of his heart. And so he was joined to Stephen, and from a wolf was made a sheep. And behold, now Paul rejoices with Stephen, with Stephen he fully enjoys the brightness of Christ, with Stephen he exults, with Stephen he reigns. For where Stephen went before, slain by the stones of Paul, thither Paul followed, aided by the prayers of Stephen. How true a life it is, my brethren! where Paul is not confounded over the slaying of Stephen, but Stephen rejoices over the fellowship of Paul, since charity rejoices in them both.

For charity in Stephen overcame the savagery of the Jews; charity in Paul covered a multitude of sins; charity in both alike merited to possess the kingdom of heaven. Charity therefore is the fountain and origin of all good things, an excellent bulwark, the way that leads to heaven. He who walks in charity will be able neither to err nor to fear. It directs, it protects, it leads through to the end. Wherefore, brethren, since Christ has set up the ladder of charity, by which every Christian may be able to ascend to heaven, hold fast pure charity bravely, show it to one another, and by advancing in it, ascend.

Persist in good works, that you may be able to attain to the eternal rewards, aided by the grace of the Saviour, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. SERMON IV. On the Epiphany, and on the slaying of the Innocents, and the gifts of the Magi. You know, dearly beloved brethren, that this day which is celebrated by us each year in honor of the Lord is reverently called the Epiphany by the mouth of all the faithful. And because it is proved to be a Greek word, it is unknown to many Latin speakers. Hence it comes about that all the Latins indeed say this name, but not all are found to know what they say.

Therefore it is good that all who call this present day the Epiphany, yet do not know why it is so called, should come to know the mystery of this day through the interpretation of the name. For the solemnity of this day ought to be said to be celebrated by the faithful, and therefore the reason for the solemnity ought not to be unknown. This day, then, as we have said, the Christian religion calls the Epiphany. And Epiphany is interpreted 'Manifestation.' Now we hold it handed down from the Fathers that the Only-begotten of God, after He was born according to the flesh in time, was on this day made manifest to the Magi who came, by whom, with gifts offered, He was suppliantly adored. For since He Himself is the God who in the Old Testament (Exodus...) commanded that first-fruits be offered to Himself,

the same God, born a man, dedicated to His own worship the first-fruits of the Gentiles. And the apostolic authority testifies that there is one God who justifies the circumcision from faith, and the uncircumcision through faith (Rom. III, 30): by the name of circumcision plainly indicating the Jews, and by the name of uncircumcision the Gentiles. These are the two walls which came from different sides, and met in unity of faith in the stone which was made the head of the corner. The one wall came from the Jews, the other came from the Gentiles. Far apart from each other were they, when they believed different things:

the cornerstone was set in the midst, which would draw both walls to itself, and would call both by one name, and they would be one in the sharing of a title, becoming one in the one grace of the sacrament. For through Christ, who is our peace, making both one (Eph. II, 14), Jews and Gentiles were made one, upon whom the unity of faith bestowed the one title of the Christian name. To the cornerstone, then, both walls came, and the unity of faith made the true corner. Of these two walls, one was brought when the angel announced Christ born to the Jewish shepherds; the other wall was brought when a new star appeared to the Gentile Magi.

Those were the first-fruits of the Jews; these were made the first-fruits of the Gentiles; those were brought from near at hand, these were led back from afar. For near were the Jews who worshiped God, far off were the Gentiles who served idols. This surely the shepherds signified, who were found near at Christ's birth, and the Magi, who were brought from distant regions. Yet these, when they came, though they themselves were not Jews, professed that they sought the King of the Jews, and said that they had come to adore Him. For the evangelist says that the Magi came from the East to Jerusalem, saying: 'Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East, and are come to adore Him' (Matt. II, 1, 2).

What is this, most sweet brethren, that these Magi sought to adore the King of the Jews, when they themselves were not Jews? And what King? Certainly not Herod, but Christ. They wish to adore a king newly born, and do not adore a king appointed some years before. They desire to adore a suckling infant, and do not adore a king ruling over peoples. For Herod, king of the Jews, already had sons born who were to reign after their father's death. For when this Herod died, Archelaus reigned in Judea, and the younger Herod obtained the principality of Galilee. Archelaus was born in a palace, Christ in an inn. Archelaus, when born, was placed on a silver bed; but Christ, when born, was laid in a tiny manger.

The one was perhaps wrapped in precious silks, the other was wrapped in the meanest swaddling clothes. And yet the one, born in a palace, is despised; the other, born in an inn, is sought. The one is in no way named by the Magi; the other, being found, is suppliantly adored. Utterly is the firstborn of a king spurned, and with gifts is adored the firstborn of a poor little woman. Who is this King of the Jews, poor and rich, humble and sublime? Who is this King of the Jews who is carried like a little child, adored as God? A little child in the manger, immense in heaven; lowly in swaddling clothes, precious in the stars: at whose birth, being known, Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him (Matt. II, 3). Why is it that you are so troubled, Herod?

Because you have heard that the King of the Jews is born, you are troubled, agitated by suspicions, inflamed by the goads of envy, and on this account you try to kill the newborn king. Empty is this trouble of yours, and utterly vain your thought. This King who is born came not to overcome kings by fighting, but to subdue them wondrously by admonition; nor was He born to succeed you, but that the world might faithfully believe in Him. For He came not to fight while living, but to triumph when slain; not to seek an army with gold from other nations for Himself, but to shed His precious blood for the saving of the nations. Vainly, through envy, you feared a successor, whom by believing you ought to have sought as a Saviour: for if you believed in Him, you would reign with Him;

and as you received a temporal kingdom from Him, you would also receive an eternal one. For the kingdom of this child is not of this world, but through Him one reigns in the world. For He Himself is the Wisdom of God, who says in the Proverbs: 'By me kings reign' (Prov. VIII, 15). This child is the Word of God; this child is the Power and Wisdom of God. If you can, you turn against the Wisdom of God to your own ruin, and you know it not. For you would in no way have had a kingdom, unless you had received it from this child who is now (elsewhere: then) born. The child who is now called by the Magi King of the Jews is the same who is Creator and Lord of the angels. Wherefore, you who fear the infancy of Him being born, ought rather to fear the omnipotence of Him judging.

Do not fear Him as a successor to your kingdom, but fear Him as the most just condemner of your unbelief. Would that you, together with the Magi adoring, had also adored Him, and had not sent the Magi to Him with fraudulent cunning! 'Go,' he said, 'and inquire diligently concerning the child; and when you have found Him, bring me word again, that I also may come and adore Him' (Matt. II, 8). O feigned cunning! O impious unbelief! O fraudulent wickedness! If you were most certainly resolved to adore this child, why were you killing many children on his account? The blood of the innocents, which you credulously shed, testifies what you willed concerning this child. And yet you not only did not find this child, but neither did you harm those children at all:

nay rather, unwittingly, you did that which profited them. For through your savagery they were made martyrs, who through their infancy had been innocent: since through the grace of this child they merited to die for Him, before they could confess Him before men. And so this child, who created the world, who rules the world, who does all things whatsoever He wills; who disposes all things in a wondrous and insuperable order, ordained this, and did this, that through your furious envy those children might receive a precious death, and that what you, as a friend, could not have bestowed on them for your (elsewhere: their) salvation, this you, as an enemy, might do for your own damnation. To this end, therefore, He permitted you to kill the infants, that He might make them triumph over you.

You, then, He permitted to wickedness; them He led to the palm of victory. For one and the same is the Lord Almighty, who as a little child cries; one and the same is He who deigned to flee your cruelty, whose majesty you cannot escape. For He fled not from human fear, but by divine dispensation; He fled not by necessity, but by power. And He deigned to flee into Egypt for this reason, that He might afterward deign to ascend the cross; and by that power the child lay hidden in Egypt, by which power the young man hung upon the wood. For one and the same is the receiver of death and the giver of life: one and the same, immortal from the Father, mortal from the mother; dying by His own power, rising by His own power.

And so this child who is born is for this reason not found among the number of the little ones dying, because He Himself is the expectation of the nations. The blood of this child is on this account not shed together with the blood of those children, because He alone is to be shed for the remission of sins; and all those children would die in vain, unless they were saved by His blood. And this child indeed will most certainly die, because if He were unwilling to die, He would in no way be born. But He will die, not to fulfill your savagery, but to perfect His own gentleness: for His own kindness, not another's malice, will make Him die. He will die, not that you, the unbeliever, may reign in the world, but that He may make the faithful reign with Him in heaven.

He will die not to lose a kingdom, but to acquire those who will reign. He will die not to lose a brief life, but to bestow an everlasting one. He will die not as a servant of iniquity, but as the Lord of majesty. He will die not by the bond of necessity, but by the purpose of His will. He will die wondrously, He will die mercifully, He will die uniquely, He will die by His own power, that He may fulfill His will in all things. For to this end He will mercifully die, that rising again He may have dominion over all nations. He will die, then, as one, and indeed as the one whom the faith of the Virgin conceived as God-man, and the fruitfulness of the Virgin bore as God-man.

If you do not know the true deity of this child, behold the star gleaming in heaven, going before the Magi, and showing the way to those who knew it not. This star never appeared before, because now this child created it, and appointed it to go before the Magi coming to Him. This child, indeed, is placed as a little one in the manger, but great He works wondrously in heaven. He permits Himself to be carried by hands upon the earth, but He commands the heavenly things to serve Him. What is it, then, that you regard His infant age, and do not understand His divine power? Thus the natural divinity and the natural humanity of this child were truly to be made known, both naturally true, both united, neither confounded with each other, nor separated from each other.

For Mary had Him as a Son born of herself, to whom the star rendered the ministry of its due service. Him, the same One, Mary bore in Bethlehem as God (elsewhere: Lord) and man, whom the star announced to the Magi placed in the East. The Magi therefore came, and recognized the Son of the Virgin as one and the same God (elsewhere: Lord) and man. Then attend to what they offered, and acknowledge what they believed. For the evangelist relates that, entering the house, they found the child with Mary His mother: and falling down they adored Him; and opening their treasures they offered Him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matt. II, 11).

Through these three kinds of gifts, in the one and the same Christ are intimated both the divine majesty, and the royal power, and the human mortality. For frankincense pertains to sacrifice, gold pertains to tribute, myrrh pertains to the burial of the dead. All these things holy faith does not cease truly to offer to Christ, while it believes one and the same to be the true God, the true King, and the true man, and truly acknowledges Him truly to have died for us. In the offering of frankincense the Arian is confounded, who contends that sacrifice ought to be offered to the Father alone: in the offering of myrrh the Manichaean is confounded, who does not believe that Christ truly died for our salvation:

but in the gold both are confounded at once, because the Manichaean does not believe Him to be a king born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and the Arian strives to assign a natural servitude to the Only-begotten God. Accordingly each of them will not experience Him as a King by whom he might be governed (elsewhere: might reign) through faith, but as one by whom he might be punished for the crime of unbelief: because by the one the truth of the divinity is denied, by the other the truth of the flesh. In these same gifts Nestorius also is confounded, who strives to divide Christ into two persons: since he sees that the Magi offered not other gifts to God and other to the man, but the same gifts suppliantly to the one God-man. Let Him therefore not be divided in persons, who is not found divided in gifts.

For this very reason one and the same is honored with these gifts, that one and the same may be known as God and man. This offering of the Magi confounds also the madness of Eutyches, who is unwilling to proclaim both true natures in Christ. For he takes away the truth of these gifts, while he contends to proclaim one nature in Christ. Let us therefore, most beloved brethren, offer to Christ without doubt in faith what the Magi are known to have offered in gift: that the confession of the true divinity and humanity may itself be our faithful offering before Christ. Let us offer these gifts with the Magi with one accord, and let us press on toward the region of the saints with the whole devotion of our heart.

Let us not hold to the way of the old life, but humbly obeying the divine commandments, let us change our way, and walk in the way in which the Lord has commanded, that we may be able to attain to the fatherland, where without end we may rejoice with the Lord Himself. For the way of a man is his life. He who lives wickedly holds the way of error; he who lives well walks by the way of truth. Wherefore, he who used to walk the way of fornication, let him hold the way of chastity; he who held the way of avarice, let him hold the way of mercy; he who used to walk by the way of pretense, let him now hold the way of purity. Let us walk well by faith, that we may attain to sight (elsewhere: hope),

where our joy shall be full, because our desire shall be fulfilled in good things, through Him who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. SERMON V. On the love of God and neighbor. As much as I desire to render to your holiness the debt of a sermon concerning charity, so much do I see myself becoming more a debtor of charity; nor do I find how I might be able to unfold in words the praise of charity, in which we so ought, as long as we live in this world, to grow by loving one another, just as we are commanded always to owe it by rendering it. For the blessed apostle Paul, when he had commanded us to be discharged from all debts, willed that we should be forever held only by the debt of mutual charity, saying:

'Owe no man anything, but to love one another' (Rom. XIII, 8). This is the sum of the apostolic teaching. These are the counsels of fatherly charity, that we should owe no man anything, but to love one another. When therefore we hear that we should owe no man anything, let us not stop at this word, but let us hear and do what follows, that we should love one another: and we shall find holy charity, which we may render by always owing, and by rendering may healthfully owe. A great thing is charity, most beloved brethren, which, by the Apostle's teaching, we are so commanded always to render, that nonetheless we are commanded to owe without ceasing.

O good debt of charity, holy debt, a debt filled with heavenly advantages, a debt full of everlasting riches altogether! Great gains, brethren, do we win by this debt; immense advantages do we procure by such interest. For while charity is rendered and owed by us, all our iniquity is dismissed and blotted out. This charity, in short, blessed David begged to be given back to himself for the blotting out of his iniquities, when he tearfully entreated the Lord for his grave sin.

For when, once captivated by an enticing sight, he committed adultery with the wife of his soldier, and, doubling the crime, also slew the innocent husband, after the perpetration of the sin he was rebuked by an oracle through the prophet, and after his confession was restored by a medicinal reply; and while, prostrated in suppliant entreaty, he uttered words of penitence, by which he might as quickly as possible appease the just God, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, among other things he is known to have said: 'Turn away Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities' (Ps. L, 11); and because he perceived that this could not be done without the gift of charity, he immediately added: 'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me' (Ibid., 12).

And that the clean heart is the dwelling place of charity, the Apostle commends by these words, saying: 'For the end of the commandment is charity from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and faith unfeigned' (1 Tim. I, 5). Accordingly two things must be diligently considered by us in these words of the prophet: one which he begged to be taken away from himself, the other which he asked to be granted to himself. For he asked that his iniquities be blotted out, but that a clean heart be created in him, and a right spirit renewed within him. But what is iniquity, if not depraved desire? And what is cleanness of heart, if not the holy love of God and neighbor? When therefore the prophet says: 'Turn away Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities,' and immediately adds:

'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me,' what else did he say, but: Blot out from me the stain of depraved desire, and grant me the grace of charity? Take away from me the desire by which I can be damned; and grant me the charity by which I may deserve to be crowned. Take away from me the desire, on account of which one grieves and groans without ceasing in torment; and grant me the charity, by which one reigns in heaven without end. For if I have the charity which I may render by owing, and owe by rendering, I shall not fear the iniquity which I would pay off by grieving without end. Well, then, does the Apostle command that we owe no man anything, but to love one another:

for by this debt is taken away from us the heap of all offenses, because charity covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet. IV, 8). But let no one suppose, brethren, that charity ought to be so rendered by us that, once rendered, it may sometime cease to be owed. For when it is rendered, more is owed; and it is the more acquired, the more it is rendered while it is owed. For he who does not always reckon himself a debtor of charity, let him not rejoice as one discharged from debt, but let him mourn as one destitute of the gift of charity. For neither does he have the charity which he has ceased to have, because the prodigal debtor, by not rendering, lost that which he had received in order always to render and always to have. Wherefore he will know that he has then lost what he had received, when he has not rendered what he owed. But someone says:

To whom do I owe this? Or to whom must I render this charity? We answer that charity is to be rendered to all men, that is, to those known and unknown, to the good and the bad, to friends and enemies. For when the blessed Apostle says: 'Therefore, while we have time, let us work that which is good toward all, but especially toward those who are of the household of faith' (Gal. VI, 10), he plainly shows that in the work of charity one is indeed to be preferred to others (elsewhere: another), yet no one is to be excluded from the benefits of charity.

That charity, therefore, holy, pure, and, that I may speak properly, Christian charity, which is patient, which is kind, which envies not, which deals not perversely, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeks not the things that are its own, which is not provoked, thinks no evil, rejoices not over iniquity, but rejoices with the truth, which bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, charity which never falls (1 Cor. XIII, 4 ff.), let it so embrace friends that it may be extended even to enemies: let it render itself to friends who are willing, let it press itself upon enemies who are unwilling; let it hold the former, acquire the latter; let it delight the former, so that from friends they may not become enemies; let it invite the latter, that from enemies they may become friends.