Sermon 196

SERMO 196

On the Birth of the Lord

Two births of Christ.

Today, the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ has dawned festively for us. It is the day of birth, on which the day itself is born. And therefore today, because from today the day grows longer. The births of our Lord Jesus Christ are twofold; one divine, the other human: both wonderful; the former without a female mother, the latter without a male father. As the holy prophet Isaiah said: Who shall declare his generation? This can be referred to both generations. Who can worthily tell of the generating God? Who can worthily tell of the virgin birth? That birth is without a day, this on a specific day: both beyond human estimation and filled with great wonder. Consider that first generation: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Whose Word! Of the Father Himself. What Word? The Son Himself. The Father never without the Son. And yet the Father who was never without the Son, begot the Son. And He begot, and did not begin. Without a beginning generated, there is no beginning. And yet the Son, and yet begotten. A man will say: How is He begotten and does not have a beginning? If begotten, He has a beginning: if He has no beginning, how is He begotten? How, I do not know. Do you ask a man how God was begotten? I labor with your question; but I call upon the Prophet: Who shall declare his generation? Come with me to this human generation, come with me to this one, in which He Himself emptied Himself taking the form of a servant; if perhaps we might be able to grasp even this, if perhaps we might be able to speak anything whatsoever about it. For who can grasp: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God? Who can grasp this? Who can worthily think about it? Whose mind dares to scrutinize this? Whose tongue dares to proclaim it? Whose thought is able to grasp it? Meanwhile, let us omit this: it is too much for us. So that it might not be too much for us, He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. Where? In the Virgin Mary. From there, therefore, let us speak something, if perhaps we can. The angel announces, the virgin hears, believes, and conceives. Faith in the mind, Christ in the womb. The virgin conceived, marvel at it: the virgin gave birth, marvel even more: after the birth, the virgin remained. Therefore, who shall declare this generation?

Married life, widowed life, and virginal life in the Church.

I say what will please you, dearest. There are three lives in the Church of the members of Christ: the conjugal, the widowed, the virginal. Because those lives, those chastities were to be in the holy members of Christ; all these three lives have borne witness to Christ. The first, the conjugal: when Mary the virgin conceived, Elizabeth the wife of Zachariah had also conceived; she bore the forerunner of this Judge in her womb. Holy Mary came to her, as to her relative to be greeted. The child leaped in Elizabeth's womb. He leaped, she prophesied. You have the conjugal chastity bearing witness. Where is the widowed? In Anna. You heard just now when the Gospel was read, that there was a holy prophetess widow of eighty-four years, who had lived with her husband for seven years; frequenting the temple of the Lord, serving in prayers night and day. The widow too recognized Christ. She saw the little one, she recognized the great one. And she also bore witness. You have the widowed life in her. In Mary, the virginal. Let each choose from these three which he will. Whoever wishes to be beyond these does not intend to be in the members of Christ. Let not the married say: We do not belong to Christ. Holy women had husbands. Let the virgins not be proud. The greater they are, the more let them humble themselves in all things. All examples of salvation are set before our eyes. Let no one swerve. Let no one be beyond marriage: it is better without a wife. If you seek conjugal chastity, you have Susanna; if widowed, you have Anna; if virginal, you have Mary.

Where are you, Christ, for me?

The Lord Jesus willed to be a man for our sake. Let not mercy be slighted: Wisdom lies on the ground. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. O food and bread of Angels: by you Angels are filled, by you they are satisfied, and they do not grow weary; by you they live, by you they are wise, by you they are blessed. Where are you for me? In a narrow inn, in cloths, in a manger. For whom? He who rules the stars, nurses at breasts: he fills the Angels, speaks in the bosom of the Father, is silent in the bosom of the mother. But he will speak at the right age, fulfilling the Gospel for us. For our sake to suffer, for our sake to die, to resurrect as an example of our reward, to ascend into heaven before the eyes of the disciples, to come from heaven for judgment. Behold the one who lay in the manger was diminished, but did not lose himself: he took what he was not, but remained what he was. Behold, we have the infant Christ, let us grow with him.

The superstitious solemnity of the January calends.

Let this be sufficient for your love. Since I see many here because of the solemnity, I must speak. The calends of January are coming. You are all Christians; by God's blessing, the city is Christian. Here are two kinds of people, Christians and Jews. Do not do the things that God hates: iniquity through play, wickedness through jest. Let men not make themselves judges, lest they come into the hands of the true Judge. Listen, you are Christians, you are members of Christ. Think about what you are, think about how much you were bought for. Finally, if you want to know what you are doing: I say this to those who do it. Do not take it as an insult if this displeases you: I say it to those who do it and those it pleases. Do you want to know what you are doing, and what kind of sorrow you are causing us? Are the Jews doing it? Even so, be ashamed so it doesn't happen. On the birthday of John, that is six months earlier (for so many months are between the herald and the Judge), from the pagan superstitious solemnity, Christians came to the sea and baptized themselves there. I was absent: but, as I heard, through the discipline of Christian presbyters, they gave some worthy and ecclesiastical discipline. People murmured about this and some said: Why wasn't it announced to us? If we had been warned earlier, we would not have done it. The presbyters themselves should have warned us, we would not have done it. Behold, the bishop warns; I admonish, I forewarn, I announce. Let the bishop be heard commanding, let the bishop be heard admonishing, let the bishop be heard begging, let the bishop be heard adjuring. I adjure by Him who is born today: I adjure, I enjoin, let no one do it. I absolve myself. It is better to be heard admonishing than to feel sorrowful.