Sermon 178

SERMO 178

From the words of the Apostle (Titus 1, 9):
"That he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine,"
And to refute those who contradict.
AGAINST THE PLUNDERERS OF OTHER PEOPLE'S GOODS

The work of the bishops.

When the Blessed Apostle's Epistle was read concerning the establishment of bishops, he certainly reminded us to look at ourselves; and he reminded you not to judge us; especially because we all heard the last sentence of the recent chapter of the Gospel reading: "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." Therefore, in judging, no one assumes another's person if he does not take his own. The Blessed Apostle says in a certain place: "I do not fight as one beating the air; but I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified." He alarmed us with his fear. For what will the lamb do where the ram trembles? Among the many things the Apostle wrote about what a bishop ought to be, we heard even that which may be sufficient to talk and discuss now. For if we try to examine each thing, and to discuss each as it deserves, neither our strength is enough to speak, nor yours to listen. Therefore, what is it that I wish to say, if he who alarmed me helps me? Among other things, he says that a bishop should be skilled in sound doctrine, so that he can refute those who contradict. A great task it is, a heavy burden, a steep ascent. But: "I will hope," he says, "in God, for He will free me from the snare of the hunters, and from the harsh word." For there is no cause that more makes a steward of God lazy in refuting contradictors than fear of a harsh word.

The greedy hoarder of his own is condemned.

First, therefore, I will explain to you, as the Lord allows, what it means to reprove those who contradict. Those who contradict must not be understood in one way. Very few contradict us by speaking; but many do so by living wickedly. When does a Christian dare to tell me that it is good to take other people's property; if indeed he does not dare to say that it is good to tenaciously keep his own property? For did that rich man, who had a region succeed to him and did not find where to place his fruits, and rejoiced thinking he had found the advice of destroying the old storehouses and building new, larger ones to fill them, and said to his soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years, relax, eat, drink, be merry," was this rich man seeking others' possessions? He intended to gather his own fruits, he was consulting about where to place them, not about any neighbor's fields, not by disturbing boundaries, not by robbing the poor, not by deceiving the simple, but was only thinking about gathering his own. Hear what the one who tenaciously kept his own heard; and understand from this what awaits those who take others' possessions. So when he thought he had found a most prudent counsel, in destroying the narrow old storehouses and building new, larger ones, and gathering and storing all his fruits, not desiring and taking others' possessions; God said to him, "Fool; where you thought yourself wise, there you are foolish. Fool," he said, "this night they will demand your soul from you; the things you have prepared, whose will they be? If you keep them, they will not be yours; if you distribute them, they will be yours. Why," he says, "do you store up what you are about to leave behind?" See, the fool is rebuked for storing badly. If he is a fool who stores up his own, find a name for him who takes others'. If the one who stores his own is miserable, the one who takes others’ is ulcerous. But not like that ulcerous one who lay at the rich man's gate, and whose sores the dogs licked. For he was ulcerous in body; the taker, in heart.

The rich man, because he is unmerciful, is punished.

Perhaps someone will respond and say: The punishment for that man to whom God said "Fool" was not very great. God does not say "Fool" as a man does. Such a word from God is a judgment. Will God give the kingdom of heaven to fools? But to those to whom He will not give the kingdom of heaven, what remains for them except the punishment of hell? We seem to infer this: let us see this clearly and openly. For that rich man, before whose gate the poorest man covered with sores lay, was not said to be a plunderer of others' possessions. It said: "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day." He was rich, it said; it did not say he was a calumniator, it did not say he was an oppressor of the poor, it did not say he was a plunderer of others' possessions, or an informer, or a receiver, it did not say he was a despoiler of orphans, it did not say he was a persecutor of widows; none of these things, but: "There was a certain rich man." What is so great? He was rich, he was rich of his own. From whom had he taken anything? Perhaps he had taken, and the Lord would remain silent about him, and show him partiality, if He were to conceal his crimes, who tells us: "Do not judge by appearances"? Therefore, if you want to hear the crime of that rich man, do not seek more than you hear from the Truth. He was rich; he was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day. So what is his crime? The poor man, lying at his gate, covered with sores, was not helped. For it is clearly said about him that he was merciless. For, dear ones, if that poor man lying at the gate had received sufficient bread from the rich man, would it be said of him that he desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table? Because of this sole inhumanity, by which he despised the poor man lying at his gate and did not feed him properly and worthily, he died and was buried; and being in torment in Hades, he lifted up his eyes, and saw the poor man in Abraham's bosom. And what more need I stay? He desired a drop, who did not give a crumb; he did not receive rightful judgment, who did not give in cruel greed? So if this is the punishment of the greedy, what punishment awaits the plunderers?

The gifts of the thief are not accepted by God.

But the thief of others' goods says to me: I am not like that rich man. I make love-feasts, send nourishment to the chained in prison, clothe the naked, and receive strangers. You think you're giving? Do not steal, and you have given. To whom you give, they rejoice; from whom you take, they weep; which of these two will the Lord hear? You say to the one to whom you have given: Give thanks because you have received. But the other says to you from the other side: I grieve because you have taken from me. And you held almost everything, and gave so little. Therefore, if you had given to the needy what you have taken from another, God does not love such works. God says to you: Fool, I commanded that you give, but not from another's property. If you have, give from your own; if you do not have anything to give from your own, it is better to give nothing than to rob others. The Lord Christ will say, when he sits in his judgment, and separates others to the right and others to the left, to those who do well: Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom; but to the fruitless, who have done no good to the poor: Go into eternal fire. And what will he say to the good? For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat, and so on. And they will answer him: Lord, when did we see you hungry? And he to them: When you did it to one of the least of mine, you did it to me. Understand therefore, fool, who wants to give alms from robbery, that if ever you feed a Christian, you feed Christ; when you rob a Christian, you rob Christ. Consider what he will say to those on the left: Go into eternal fire. Why? For I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat; I was naked, and you did not clothe me. Go. Where? Into eternal fire. Absolutely go. Why? I was naked, and you did not clothe me. Therefore, if he will go into eternal fire to whom Christ will say: I was naked, and you did not clothe me; what place in the eternal fire will he have to whom Christ will say: I was clothed, and you stripped me?

It is not allowed to seize the property of pagans.

Here perhaps you might avoid this speech, lest Christ says to you: I was clothed, and you stripped me; changing customs, you think to strip a Pagan and clothe a Christian. And here Christ will answer you, rather now He will answer you through some kind of servant, His minister; Christ will answer you, and will say: Even here spare me the loss. For when you strip a Pagan as a Christian, you hinder him from becoming a Christian. Even here perhaps you will still answer: I do not inflict punishment out of hatred, but rather out of the love of discipline; therefore I strip the Pagan, so that through this harsh and healthy discipline I may make him a Christian. I would hear and believe, if what you took away from the Pagan, you would give to the Christian.

He rebukes the robbers.

We have spoken against one vice of plunder, by which human affairs are ravaged everywhere; we have spoken, and no one contradicts us. For who dares to contradict the most evident truth by speaking against it? Therefore, we do not do what the Apostle advised, to refute those who contradict; we speak to the obedient, we instruct with praise; we do not refute those who contradict. Thus, indeed, they do not contradict with the tongue, but with life. I advise, he plunders; I teach, he plunders; I command, he plunders; I rebuke, he plunders; how does he not contradict? Therefore, I will say what I consider sufficient concerning this matter. Abstain, brothers, abstain, sons, abstain from the habit of robbery; and you who groan under the hands of robbers, abstain from the desire to rob. Another is powerful, and he robs; you groan under the hand of the robber; because you cannot rob, you do not do it. Withhold the opportunity, and there I will praise the curbed desire.

The thing found must be returned.

Blessed, says the holy Scripture, is he who has not gone after gold; who could transgress and did not transgress; who could do evil and did not do it. But you say: I have never denied someone else’s property. Perhaps because no one entrusted it to you; or perhaps someone did entrust it, but entrusted it under witnesses. Tell me, did you return it when you received it alone, where God was between you? If you did return it then, if you returned it to the son of the deceased who entrusted it to you, who did not know, then I will praise you because you did not go after gold; because you could transgress and did not transgress; because you could do evil and did not do it. If perhaps you found a stranger's bag of coins where no one saw you on the road, and without any delay returned it to whom it belonged. Come on, brothers, return to yourselves, examine yourselves, question yourselves, answer truthfully to yourselves, and judge yourselves not according to appearance, but judge just judgment. Behold, you are a Christian, you frequent the church, you hear the word of God, you are joyfully moved by the reading of the word of God. You praise the speaker, I seek the one who acts; you, I say, praise the speaker, I seek the one who acts. You are a Christian, you frequent the church, you love the word of God, and you listen willingly. Behold, in what I propose, examine yourself, weigh yourself, rise to the tribunal of your mind, and place yourself before yourself, and judge yourself; and if you find anything wrong, correct yourself. Therefore, I propose: God says in His law that found items should be returned; God says in His law, which He first gave to His people, for whom Christ had not yet died, that found items should be returned as belonging to another; if anyone, for example, finds a stranger's bag of coins on the road, they must return it. But they do not know to whom? Ignorance does not excuse if greed does not dominate.

An outstanding example of restoring another's property.

I will tell your Charity, because these are gifts of God; and there are in the people of God those who do not listen to the word of God in vain; I will tell what a very poor man did, when we were established in Milan; so poor, that he was the assistant of a grammarian; but clearly a Christian, although that grammarian was a Pagan; better on the sail than in the chair. He found a purse, unless I am mistaken in the number, with nearly two hundred solidi; mindful of the law, he publicly posted a notice. For he knew it should be returned; but to whom he should return it, he did not know. He posted a public notice: Who lost solidi, let him come to that place, and seek that man. He who was wandering around lamenting, upon finding and reading the notice, came to the man. And lest he seek someone else's goods, he asked for signs, inquired about the quality of the purse, the seal, even the number of solidi. And when the man answered everything faithfully, he returned what he had found. But he, filled with joy and seeking to repay him, offered him twenty solidi as if they were tithes; he refused to accept them. He offered ten; he refused to accept them. At least he begged him to accept five; he refused. The indignant man threw the purse: "I lost nothing," he said; "if you do not want to accept anything from me, I lost nothing." What a contest, my brothers, what a contest? What a battle, what a conflict? The world is a theater, God the spectator. At last, the man accepted what was offered; he immediately distributed it all to the poor, not keeping a single solidus in his house.

The same argument is discussed.

What is it? If I have done anything in your hearts, if the word of God has settled in you, if it has found rest with you, do this, my brothers; do not think you are suffering loss if you do this; it is a great gain if you do what I say. I lost twenty coins, I lost two hundred, five hundred. What did you lose? They disappeared from your house; another person had lost, not you. The earth is common, you are in one house, in this world both travelers, you have entered one inn of this life. He placed it there, he forgot it; it fell from him, you found it elsewhere. Who found it? A Christian. Who found it? One who heard the law, a Christian who heard the law. Who found it? One who, when you heard many things, you praised, you found it. If therefore you truly praised, return what you found. If therefore you did not return what you found; when you praised, you gave testimony against yourself. Be faithful finders, and then blame unjust takers. For what you found and you did not return, you took. As much as you could, you did; because you could not do more, therefore you did not do more. One who denies another's property, if he can, he also takes it. What you do not take, fear prohibits; you do not do good, but you fear evil.

The servile fear does not prevent the wickedness of the heart.

What is great, to fear evil? It is great not to do evil; it is great to love good. For even a thief fears evil; and when he cannot, he does not do it; and yet he is a thief. For God examines the heart, not the hand. A wolf comes to the sheepfold, seeks to invade, seeks to slaughter, seeks to devour; the shepherds are vigilant, the dogs bark; he can do nothing, does not take, does not kill; yet the wolf comes, the wolf returns. Is it because he did not take a sheep that he is coming as a wolf and returning as a sheep? The wolf comes growling, the wolf returns trembling; he is, however, a wolf both growling and trembling. Therefore, ask yourself, whoever you wish to judge; and see if you do not do evil when you can do it without being punished by man. Then you fear God. No one is there except you and the one to whom you are doing evil, and God who sees both; see, fear there. It is not enough that I say: See, fear evil there. Love good there. For even if you refrain from doing evil out of fear of hell, you are not yet perfect. I dare to say, if you refrain from doing evil out of fear of hell, there is indeed faith in you, because you believe that God's judgment is to come; I rejoice in your faith, but I still fear your malice. What did I say? Because if you refrain from doing evil out of fear of hell, you do good not out of love for righteousness.

The love of justice is chaste whence it is proven.

It is one thing to fear punishment; it is another to love justice. Pure love ought to be in you, by which love you desire to see, not heaven and earth, not the liquid fields of the sea, not idle spectacles, not the gleam and glitter of jewels; but desire to see your God, to love your God; because it is said: Beloved, we are the children of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be; but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Behold for what vision you should do good, behold for what reason you should not do evil. If indeed you love to see your God, if in this pilgrimage you sigh with that love; behold, the Lord your God tests you, as if to say to you: Behold, do what you wish, fulfill your desires, extend wickedness, spread luxury, consider whatever pleases you to be lawful; I do not punish you for this, I do not send you to hell, I only deny you my face. If you have feared, you have loved; if that which was said: "God will deny you His face," made your heart tremble, if in not seeing your God you deemed it a great punishment; you have loved freely. Therefore, if my word has found in your hearts any spark of gratuitous love for God, nourish it; invoke yourselves with prayer, humility, the sorrow of penance, the love of justice, good works, sincere groans, laudable behavior, faithful friendship to increase it. Fan that spark of good love within you, nourish it within you; when it has grown, and has made the most worthy and ample flame, it consumes the hay of all carnal desires.