Sermon 149
SERMO 149
IN WHICH QUESTIONS ARE RAISED FROM THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES (CHAPTER 10)
And from the Gospel, they are resolved; or concerning the four questions;
First, concerning the vision of Peter. Second, concerning the words of the Gospel:
"Let your light shine before men,"
"That they may see your good works," etc. And a little later:
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men,"
"SO THAT YOU MAY BE SEEN BY THEM," ETC. THIRD, ON THE WORDS OF THE GOSPEL:
"Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing."
FOURTH, ON THE LOVE OF THE ENEMY (MT 5:16; 6:1-4; 5:43-48)
Questions to be resolved: first question, concerning the vision of Peter.
Before last Sunday, I remember that I became a debtor to Your Holiness for certain questions proposed from the Scriptures. But now, as much as the Lord deigns to grant, it is the time to resolve them, lest we owe anything longer, except only love, which is always returned and always owed. We said that there should be an inquiry about the vision of Peter, what that vessel might mean; as if a sheet let down from heaven by four corners, in which were all the four-footed animals of the earth, and creeping things, and birds of the sky; and that it was said to Peter by the divine voice: “Kill and eat”; and that this happened three times and was taken up.
Gluttony was not commanded to Peter.
Against those who think that gluttony was commanded by the Lord God to Peter, it is easy to argue. First, because even if we wish to take literally what was said: "Kill and eat," it is not a sin to kill and eat, but to use immoderately the gifts of God, which He provided for human use.
The abstinence of the Jews from unclean animals was symbolic.
For the Jews had received certain animals which they might eat, and certain ones from which they should abstain; which the apostle Paul indicates they received in the signification of future things, saying: Therefore let no one judge you in food, or in drink, or in part of a feast day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come. Therefore already in the times of the Church, he says in another place: All things indeed are clean to the clean, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. For there were those at that time, when the Apostle was writing these things, who ate meats, to the offense of some of the weaker brethren. For the meat of those animals which soothsayers sacrificed was then sold in the market, and many brethren abstained from eating meat, lest they unwittingly encounter meats of which sacrifices had been made to idols. Whence in another place the same Apostle, so that their conscience might not tremble with fear, says: Eat everything that is sold in the market, asking no questions for conscience's sake. For the earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness. And again: If anyone from the unbelievers invites you, and you wish to go; eat whatever is set before you, asking no questions for conscience's sake. But if anyone says to you: This has been offered in sacrifice; do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience. Therefore everything in these matters, whether clean or unclean, is established not in the touching of flesh, but in the purity of conscience, or in the stain.
Animals prohibited to the Jews are signs.
Whence was given the freedom to Christians, which was not given to the Jews. For all the animals that are forbidden to the Jews to eat are signs of things, and as it is said, shadows of things to come. Just as that circumcision signifies the circumcision of the heart, which they bore in the flesh, and repudiated in the heart; so too those feasts are precepts of mysteries, and signs of things to come. Just as it is written for them, to eat those that chew the cud and have split hooves; but not to eat those to which one or both of these characteristics are lacking; certain men are signified who do not belong to the society of saints. For the split hoof pertains to morals, and chewing the cud pertains to wisdom. Why to morals the split hoof? Because it slips with difficulty. For slipping is a sign of sin. How does chewing the cud pertain to the doctrine of wisdom? Because the Scripture says: “A desirable treasure rests in the mouth of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up.” Therefore, he who hears and through negligence becomes forgetful, swallows what he heard; so that now it has no taste in his mouth, burying the very hearing in forgetfulness. But he who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night, as if chews the cud, and in the palate of the heart enjoys the taste of the word. Therefore, what was commanded to the Jews signifies that those do not belong to the Church, that is, to the body of Christ, to the grace and society of saints, who are either negligent listeners, or have bad morals, or are reprehensible in both vices.
Why the precepts of Jewish observances are read to Christians.
Thus all other things that were commanded in this manner to the Jews are shadowy indications of future things. After the light of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ, came, they are read only to be understood, not also to be observed. Therefore, license was given to Christians that, according to this vain custom, they should not do, but eat what they want, with moderation, with blessing, with thanksgiving. Thus perhaps it was said to Peter: Kill and eat; so that he should no longer hold the observances of the Jews; yet it was not commanded to him as a glutton of the stomach and foul voracity.
A figurative vision of Peter.
But yet, in order for you to understand that this was shown as a figure, there were crawling creatures in that vessel. Could he indeed eat serpents? What then does this signify? That vessel signifies the Church: the four lines by which it was extended represent the four parts of the world, through which the Catholic Church extends, which is spread everywhere. Therefore, whoever wishes to go into a part and separate from the whole does not belong to the mystery of the four lines. But if it does not pertain to Peter's vision, nor to the keys given to Peter. For from the four winds, God says he will gather his saints in the end; because now through all these four corners the evangelical faith is spread. Therefore, those animals are the Gentiles. For all the Gentiles, who were unclean in their errors and superstitions and lusts before Christ came, upon his coming, with their sins forgiven, were made clean. Hence now, after the remission of sins, why should they not be received into the body of Christ, which is the Church of God, whose person Peter bore?
Peter bears the character of the Church.
For Peter appears in many places of Scripture to bear the person of the Church; especially in that place where it is said: To you I hand over the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound also in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed also in heaven. Did Peter receive these keys, and Paul did not receive them? Did Peter receive them, and John and James did not receive them, and the other Apostles? Or are not these keys in the Church, where sins are forgiven daily? But because Peter was bearing the person of the Church in signification, what was given to him alone was given to the Church. Therefore, Peter was bearing the figure of the Church; the Church is the body of Christ. Let therefore the Gentiles, already purified and whose sins have been forgiven, be accepted; from which Cornelius, a Gentile man, and those who were Gentiles with him, had sent to him. His alms had been accepted and had cleansed him in some manner; it remained that, as clean food, he would be incorporated into the Church, that is, the body of the Lord. But Peter feared to deliver the Gospel to the Gentiles; because those who had believed from the circumcision prohibited the Apostles from delivering the Christian faith to the uncircumcised; and they said that they should not approach the participation of the Gospel, unless they had received the circumcision, which had been handed down to their ancestors.
The reception of the Gentiles within the Church.
That vessel therefore removed this doubt; and thus, after that vision, he was instructed by the Holy Spirit to descend and go with those who had come from Cornelius, and he went. For Cornelius and those who were with him were regarded as being among those animals which had been shown in the vessel; yet God had already purified them, because He had accepted their alms. Therefore, they were to be killed and eaten, that is, that their former life, in which they did not know Christ, should die in them; and they should enter into His body, as into a new life of the fellowship of the Church. For even Peter himself, when he had come to them, briefly recalled what had been shown to him in that vision. For he said: "And you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to join or approach a foreigner; but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean." God indeed showed this then, when that voice sounded: "What God has cleansed, do not call unclean." And later, when he came to the brothers in Jerusalem, as some were agitated that the Gospel was being delivered to the Gentiles, calming their agitation, he also recalled that vision; which would not have been worth recalling unless it pertained to the same understanding.
The linen of Peter's vision.
Perhaps it may also be asked why it was a linen cloth in which those animals were. Surely not without reason. For we know that the moth does not consume linen, which corrupts other garments. Let each one exclude from his heart the corruptions of evil desires, and thus be immovably established in faith without being penetrated by perverse thoughts, like moths, if he wishes to belong to the sacrament of that linen cloth, by which the Church is figured.
Threefold humility.
Why was it sent down from heaven three times? Because all the Nations themselves, which belong to the four parts of the world, where the Church is spread, symbolized by the four lines by which that vessel was connected, are baptized in the name of the Trinity. Those who believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit are regenerated, so that they belong to the fellowship and communion of the saints. Therefore, the four lines and the triple descent also indicate the number of the twelve Apostles, as if appointed three by four. For four times three make twelve. Enough, I think, has been discussed about this vision.
Second question, from the Gospel.
Another question was postponed by us, why the Lord, in the same sermon which he gave on the mount, said to his disciples: Let your works shine before men, that they may see your good deeds, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. And a little later in that same sermon he says: Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be seen by them; and: Let your alms be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Often the doer wavers between these two commandments, and does not know which to obey, when indeed he wishes to obey the Lord, who commanded both. How will our works shine before men, that they may see our good deeds; and how will our alms be in secret again? If I wish to observe this, I offend against that; if I observe that, I sin here. Therefore each place of Scripture must be moderated in such a way that divine precepts cannot be shown to be in opposition to each other. For this apparent conflict in words seeks the peace of the interpreter. Let each one have harmony in his heart with God's word, and there is no discord in Scripture.
Discord from the improper interpretation of passages.
Therefore, propose a man doing alms, in such a way that no one at all knows, if it can be done, not even the one to whom it is given; avoiding also his eyes, he should prefer to place what he finds rather than hand over what he receives. What more can he do to hide his alms? He surely incurs that sentence, and does not do what the Lord said: Let your deeds shine before men, that they may see your good works. No one sees his good deeds, he does not invite imitation. The others will be barren, as far as it depends on him, while they think that no one does what God commands, if men act such that their good works are not seen; since greater mercy is bestowed upon him, to whom the example of good imitation is shown, than to whom the food for refreshing the body is handed. Propose another ventilating and boasting his alms among the people, desiring nothing other in them than to be praised; his deeds shine before men. You see that he does not offend against that command; but he offends against the other saying of the Lord: Let your alms be in secret. Such a one, even neglects, if there are some impious ones who perhaps reproach what he does. He depends on the tongue of the praisers; he is, however, like the virgins who do not carry oil with them. For you know the five foolish virgins, who did not carry oil with them; but the wise ones carried oil with them. The lamps of all were shining: but some did not have with them what they had to sustain that light, and they were so distinguished from those who had, that the foolish were called foolish, the wise were called wise. What is it then to carry oil with oneself, but to have the conscience of pleasing God with good works, and not to place the end of one's joy there, if men praise, who cannot see conscientiousness? For man can see what he does; but with what mind he does it, God sees.
Places that are seemingly opposed are reconciled.
Let us therefore propose someone keeping both commandments, obedient to both. He extends bread to the hungry and extends it before those whom he wants to make his imitators; having also imitated the Apostle saying: Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Therefore, he extends bread to the poor, manifest in deed, devout in heart. Whether he seeks his own praise there, or the glory of God, no man sees, no man judges; but those who are ready with benevolent zeal to imitate believe that what they see being done well is also done with a pious mind; and they praise God, by whose command and gift they see such things done. Therefore, his work appears so that men may see and glorify the Father who is in heaven; but its effect is in the heart, so that his almsgiving is in secret, and the Father who sees in secret will reward him. This one kept the proper measure, not a despiser of any commandment, but a fulfiller of both. For he took care that his righteousness would not be before men, that is, that it would not end there, to be praised by men, when he wanted not himself, but God to be praised in his good work. Since that will is within the conscience itself, that almsgiving was in secret, so that He who sees everything hidden may reward him. For who can show his heart to men when he acts, to show with what intention of mind he does it?
The legitimate sense of each place is derived from the words of Christ themselves.
For, brothers, those words themselves were said by the Lord with sufficient consideration. Observe how He says: Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If He had ended where He said “to be seen by them,” this end is reprehensible and blameworthy, wanting to do good up to the praise by men, seeking nothing more from it. Therefore, anyone who does so only to be seen by men is rebuked by the Lord in this teaching. Rather, where He commands that our good deeds be seen, He did not place the end there so that just men would see the man, and praise the man; but it passes to the glory of God, so that the intention of the doer is led up to that. He says, Let your works shine before men, so that they may see your good works; but you should not seek this. What then? He adds and says: and glorify your Father who is in heaven. If you seek this, so that God may be glorified, do not fear to be seen by men. Even so, your charity is inwardly in secret; where only He whose glory you seek sees you seeking this. Hence, after the apostle Paul was struck down as a persecutor of the Gospel, and raised up as a preacher, he says: I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. They had only heard that he who once persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy; and in me, he says, they glorified God. He did not rejoice because the man who had received was recognized; but because God who gave was praised. For he himself said: If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. Yet in another place he says: Even as I try to please everyone in every way. And that is a similar question. But what does he add? Not seeking what is profitable for me, but what is profitable for many, that they may be saved. This is what he meant there: And in me they glorified God; as also the Lord says: That they may glorify your Father who is in heaven. For they are saved when, in the works which they see performed by men, they glorify Him from whom these men received them.
The third question, about the Gospel, is that the left hand should not know what the right hand is doing.
Two questions remain; but I fear that I may be a burden to those who are already weary, and likewise I fear that I may deceive those who are still hungry. Yet I remember what I have solved and what I owe. It remains to be seen what this means: "Let not your left hand know what your right hand does"; and about the love of the enemy, why was it considered permissible for the ancients to hate their enemies, whom we are commanded to love. But what should I do? If I discuss these briefly, perhaps I will not be understood as I ought; if I discuss longer, I fear that I may burden you more with the weight of my speech than relieve you with the benefit of the explanation. But certainly, if you understand less than enough, you will hold me still as a debtor, so that these things may be discussed more fully at another time. However, now these things should not be left so that nothing at all is said about them. The left hand is the desire of the carnal mind, the right hand is the charity of the spiritual mind. Therefore, if when someone gives alms, they mix in the desire for temporal advantages, seeking something of that kind through that work; they mix the awareness of the left hand with the works of the right hand. But if he assists a man with simple charity and pure conscience before God, aiming at nothing else than to please Him who commands these things, the left hand does not know what the right hand does.
Fourth question, about the love and hatred of the enemy.
The question of loving an enemy is more difficult and cannot be resolved briefly. But when you hear this, pray for us, and perhaps the Lord God will quickly give what we consider difficult. For we live from one granary; because we are in one family. What we think is very hidden within, perhaps He who promises places it on the threshold, so that it may be given most easily to those who ask. The Lord Christ Himself loved His enemies; for, hanging on the cross, He said: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. Stephen followed His example, when stones were cast at him, and he said: Lord, do not hold this sin against them. The servant imitated the Lord, so that no servant may be lazy and think that this was something only the Lord could do. Therefore, if it is too much for us to imitate the Lord, let us imitate the fellow servant. For we are all called to the same grace. Why then was it said to the ancients: You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy? Because perhaps it was truly said to them; but to us more openly, according to the distribution of times, through His presence who saw what should be concealed or revealed to whom. For if we have an enemy whom we are never commanded to love; however, it is the devil: You shall love your neighbor, a man; and hate your enemy, the devil. But since enmity often exists within humans, in their spirits who give place to the devil through infidelity and become his vessels in order to work in the children of disobedience; it can happen that a man abandons his evil and turns to the Lord; and while he is still raging, still persecuting, he must be loved, and prayed for, and good must be done to him; thus you will fulfill the first commandment, to love your neighbor, a man, and hate your enemy, the devil; and the second, to love your human enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Pray for those who persecute.
Unless perhaps you think that Christians did not pray at that time for Saul, the persecutor of Christians. Perhaps the voice of Stephen the martyr was heard for his conversion. For he was in that number of his persecutors, and he kept the garments of those who stoned him. The same also, writing to Timothy, says: I beseech therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. Therefore, he commanded to pray for kings; and then kings persecuted the churches. But those whom they then persecuted praying for them, now being heard, defend them.
The one closest in name is also commanded to be loved as an enemy.
Do you wish to also keep that commandment of the ancients? Love your neighbor, that is, every human being. For we are all certainly neighbors, having been born from two first parents. Surely, our Lord Jesus Christ himself, who commands enemies to be loved, has testified that in these two commandments the entire Law and the Prophets are contained: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind; and: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. He did not command anything there about the love of an enemy. So do these two commandments not contain everything? By no means. Because when he says: You shall love your neighbor, all people are included there, even if they are enemies; for, according to spiritual kinship, you do not know what a man is to you in the foreknowledge of God, who seems to you an enemy for a time. For the patience of God leads him to repentance, perhaps he will know and follow the one leading him. For if God himself, who knows who will persevere in sins, who will abandon justice and irrevocably fall into iniquity, still makes his sun rise over the good and the evil, and rains on the just and the unjust, surely inviting to repentance through patience, so that those who have neglected his goodness may experience severity at the end; how much care must a man take to be placable, lest, not knowing what he will be like, he may hate him who will reign with him in eternal happiness after having considered his present enmities? Therefore, fulfill the first commandment: Love your neighbor, every human being; and hate your enemy, the devil. Also fulfill the second. Love your enemies, but as humans; pray for those who persecute you, but as humans; do good to those who hate you, but as humans.
The place of the Apostle is explained.
If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head. And here lies the question. For how can one love whom he wishes to burn with coals? But if it is understood, there is no contention. For it is said of those destructive coals which are given to a man against a deceitful tongue. For when anyone has done good to an enemy, and not overcome by his evil, has overcome evil with good; often he will regret his enmities, and will rage against himself for having harmed such a good man. Moreover, the burning itself is repentance, which, like burning coals, consumes his enmities and malice.