Sermon 20A
SERMON 20/A
OF THE RESPONSORY OF PSALM 56:
"Have mercy on me, Lord, have mercy on me."
"For my soul has trusted in you"
Whether in the good things or in the bad things of this age, there is temptation.
In all the good and bad things of this age, there is temptation in both. For the good things of this age allure to deceive; the bad threaten to break. Because therefore there is temptation in both, that is, both in the good and in the bad of the present age, the Christian is not secure. With the whole heart, let him say and do what we have now sung to God: Have mercy on me, Lord, have mercy on me, for my soul has trusted in you. This voice neither casts down the poor, nor exalts the rich; it makes the downcast hope and does not allow the upright to inflate themselves. For the soul of anyone, if it has trusted in God, is neither exalted by good things, nor broken by bad. It knows all these things as passing shadows, but it does not pass away itself to whom it has said: My soul has trusted in you.
One free voice of a Christian: have mercy on me.
But in you the servant says to the Lord, the creature to the creator, the made to the maker, the captive to the redeemer, the bound to the liberator, and to say it more quickly, the man to God. Two things, however, are proposed to man: to know both God and himself; God in whom to trust, and himself not to trust in himself. For in vain do men who give much to themselves and despise others, in vain do they say: "I do not trust in him; far be it from me to presume about him." For sometimes humility says these things, sometimes pride. It is good not to trust in man, but if you do not trust in yourself. For he who trusts in himself will either trust in man or is not a man. Thus remains one free voice: Have mercy on me. But what merit do I have for you to have mercy on me, which I can list? Not my justices, not riches, not fortitude. Therefore, not for my merits, but because my soul trusts in you. It obtained the reward, because it offered the sacrifice. And what did it offer? Not a bull, not a goat, not a ram, not frankincense of Arabia, not golden ornaments, nothing bought by flesh and highly precious, but what is more precious than everything, itself. For nothing is more precious to God than the image of God.
Christ gives us an example of humility
God therefore makes all things under the man, the man under Himself. If you wish that whatever God has made be under you, you be under God. For indeed, you very impudently require that the inferior creature be under you, while you do not acknowledge Him who created it and is superior. Therefore, God has so ordered what He created, that He placed His own image under Himself, the rest under it. Receive Him, and you will tread upon the man. Do not despise Him, and let whoever wishes despise you. For what harm does it do to you if one despises you, whom God does not despise? He mocks your contemptor because He crowns you. "He despises me." Christ was despised. He to whom it was said: "My soul has trusted in You" came to be despised for you, and the despicable one redeemed you. You would not be redeemed, if He had not been despised. But from what was He despised? Because He took on a servile garment, your form. Indeed, one thing lay hidden, another appeared. God lay hidden, man appeared. Man was despised and glorified by God.
Therefore, He who made Himself the way for us, did not desire to have all the things that people here eagerly seek as great, although He had everything, to whom belonged heaven and earth, by whom heaven and earth were made, to whom angels served in heaven and above the heavens, who cast out demons, who healed fevers, who opened the ears of the deaf and the eyes of the blind, who commanded the sea, winds, and storms, who raised the dead. Who could do so much, could do so much in Him whom He Himself made. The creator of man became subject to man, because He appeared as a man, the liberator of man. He was subject to man, but in the form of a man, God hidden, appearing as a man, despised as a man, found as God, but not found unless previously despised. For He did not want to give you glory before teaching you humility.
Great things are to be desired by man; the way is humble.
Every man desires lofty things. And what is lofty on earth? If, therefore, you desire lofty things, desire heaven, desire celestial things, desire things above the heavens. Long to be a citizen of the angels, seek that city, sigh for it, where you will not lose a friend, nor suffer an enemy, where you will not find anyone then redeemed, because no one can take anyone captive from there. For that city is eternal, where no one is born, no one dies, where eternal and true health is, because that health is called immortality. If you long to be there, you have truly sought lofty things. You see where, but see how. For no one does not seek to be a citizen of the angels, to rejoice in God concerning God under God, to remain always, to be changed by no stain, to be consumed by no old age, to be weakened by no weariness, to be ended by no illness, by no death. Great thing, lofty thing, desirable thing! You long to reach there; see by what means you may come.
An example from the sons of Zebedee.
For indeed, those two disciples of our Lord, the holy and great brothers James and John, sons of Zebedee, as we read in the Gospel, desired from our Lord God that one of them might sit at His right hand in the kingdom and the other at His left. They, however, did not wish to be kings on earth, they did not desire perishable honors from our Lord God, they did not wish to be adorned with riches, not to be paraded with family, not to be honored by clients, not to be deceived by flatterers, but clearly sought something great and solid—to have seats in the kingdom of God which no one can succeed. It is great that they desired this, and yet they are not suppressed by desire but are called back to order. The Lord saw in them the desire for exaltation, and deigned to teach the way of humility, as if saying: "You see where you are aiming, you see who I am for you, and yet I who made you have descended to you, I for your sake have humbled myself." But these words which I say are not read in the Gospel, yet I speak the meaning of those words which are read in the Gospel. For indeed I remind you the words read in the Gospel, so that you may see these things I have said are born from them, that they are the root, while ours are the branches. Therefore when the Lord had heard this from them, He said to them: Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink? You desire to sit on my sides. Tell me first what I ask you: Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink? You who seek seats of exaltation, is the cup of humility not bitter for you?
He who places a great structure locates the foundation at the bottom.
However, where there is a hard command, there is great solace. For the cup of suffering, the cup of humiliation, men do not want to drink. They seek the heights? Let them love the lowly. For from the lowly one rises to the heights. No one builds a high structure without placing the foundation in the lowest place. Consider all these things, my Brothers, and be instructed by this, be built up by this in faith, so that you may see the way by which you must reach those things you desire. For I know and I know well: none of you does not desire immortality, eternal exaltation, and to have fellowship with God. We all desire all these things. Let us see the way by which we may come, for we love that to which we may come. Therefore I have said this: Someone intending to build a temporary straw hut does not dig a foundation. But if he thinks of constructing a lofty building with heavy masses, enduring for a long time, he does not first lift his eyes to see how high it will rise, but first directs his plan to the lower parts, considering how deep he must dig. And as high as the peak of the building will be, so deep will be the trench of the foundation. Who does not wish to see tall crops? For tall future crops, you first prepare the soil with humility by plowing. He who plows cuts into the depths. He who plows descends into the furrow so that the crop may rise. The taller are the trees, the deeper they have their roots in the lower parts, for all height rises from humility.
The kingdom of heaven is prepared for the humble.
But you were afraid, O man, to suffer the contempt of humility! It benefits you to drink the most bitter cup of suffering. Your innards swell, your insides are inflated. Drink the bitterness to maintain health. The healthy physician drinks. Does the languishing sick one not wish to drink? For this reason, he said to the sons of Zebedee: Can you drink the cup? He did not say to them: "Can you drink the cup of contempt, the cup of gall, the cup of vinegar, the most bitter cup, the cup filled with poison, the cup of all sufferings?" If he said these things, he would frighten rather than encourage. Where there is participation, there is consolation. Why do you disdain, servant? The Lord drank that cup. Why do you disdain, sick one? The physician drinks. Why do you disdain, weak one? The healthy one drinks. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink? Then those eager for elevation, not knowing what they could, promising what they did not yet have: "We can," they said. And he: "You will indeed drink my cup, because I grant that you drink, I who make you strong from the weak, I who give you the grace of endurance, so that you drink the cup of humility, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by my Father." If not to them, to whom else? If the apostles do not deserve it, who does? But who are the others? Among these two was that John. Which John? That one, brothers, whom the Lord loved above others, who reclined on the Lord's breast, who drank from his breast what he proclaimed in the Gospel. This is the John who said: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was nothing made." A great utterance, but first there was a great imbibing. Does the utterance delight you? See from where he drank. He reclined on the Lord's breast, in that feast he drank all these things which he proclaimed with great felicity in the Gospel. So great was he who reclined on the Lord's breast, to whom it was also said what your Charity has heard: It is not mine to give you, it is prepared by my Father for others. For whom others, O Lord? If John did not receive it who reclined on the Lord's breast, if he did not receive it who surpassed the sea, the sharpness, the sky, and reached the Word, who surpassed so much and reached you as you are equal to the Father, if he did not receive what he asked, who will receive it? The Lord knows what he said: it is prepared for others. What is it, for others? For the humble, not for the proud, therefore also for you if you will be others, if you lay aside pride and are clothed in humility.
Whether poor or rich, they ought to trust in God.
Therefore, my brothers, we have learned, we learn, we sing, let us do: Have mercy on me, Lord, have mercy on me, for my soul has trusted in you. O happy soul! Are you poor? Trust in Him, because you have nothing greater in which to trust. Are you rich? Trust in Him, because all flesh is grass and the glory of flesh is like the flower of grass. The grass withered, the flower fell, but the word of the Lord remains forever. Are you poor? Trust in Him like ulcerated Lazarus. Lazarus was poor, Abraham rich. When we hear in the Gospel that the ulcerated poor man died and was carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham, all ulcerous beggars, weak outcasts, when they hear this reading, what do they say? "He said this about us." Perhaps a poor, needy man, barely sustaining himself or perhaps a beggar, sees a rich man in the house of God wearing clothes fitting his honor. When he hears this reading, he says: "He said this about me. When I die, I will be taken by angels to the bosom of Abraham." He hears the Gospel saying about the rich man: And when he died, he began to be tormented in hell. When the poor man hears this, he says to himself: "This was said about me, that about him." Do not err, poor man. Do not be afraid, rich man. It is not said about you, poor man, if you are a drunkard. Nor is it said about you, rich man, if you are pious. He crowns piety, not poverty. For God will not say in His judgment: "Let the senator come to me, let the plebeian depart." But neither will He say this: "Let the plebeian come, let the senator depart." Nor will He say: "Let the emperor come to me, let the soldier depart." But neither will He say this: "Let the soldier come, let the emperor depart." But: "Let the righteous come, let the unrighteous depart." Therefore, poor man, hold onto piety if you wish to arrive. For do you want to know that the Lord chose piety, not condemning riches? The poor man was taken up. But where to? To the bosom of Abraham. Read what Abraham was and you will find him rich. The rich man preceded to prepare lodging and a home for the poor man. Behold how you have it in the psalm: Together in one, the rich and the poor.
Let us glorify God and our Lord Jesus Christ in our good works, and from the heart let us say: Have mercy on me, Lord, have mercy on me, for not in gold, not in silver, not in honor, not in wealth, not in a great friend, not in a crowd of clients, not in the pomp of servants, but in you my soul trusts.