Sermon 229V

Sermon 229/V

FROM THE SERMON OF THE OCTAVE OF EASTER

FRAGMENT

The individual works of God the Creator are found in man.

On the sixth day God said: Let the earth bring forth a living soul; not reptiles of living souls, but a living soul. And the earth produced all the cattle and beasts and serpents and whatever creeps upon the earth. And God saw that it was good. And God said, on the same sixth day, when the earth brought forth the living soul: Let us make man in our image and likeness, and the other things that follow. We said that God made the light, that is, all the faithful; He made the firmament in the world, the heaven between the waters and the waters; He made the firmament in the Church, the authority of the Scriptures between the people of angels, to whom this is not necessary, and the people of men, who would seek God there; God made in the world the separation of the sea from the land, God made in the Church the separation of the Gentiles from His servants; the dry land thirsts for rain, people in the Church thirst for heavenly rain; the earth brought forth the grass of food and fruit-bearing trees, and people in the Church also produce works of mercy; lights are made in the sky; the greater light, the word of wisdom; the lesser light, the word of knowledge; the stars, the gifts of healing, prophecy, faith, and other things; all these in the firmament of the sky. When they then began to walk and roam the whole world, the waters generated, that is, from the Gentiles emerged the reptiles of living souls, the holy sacraments; and consecrated men having the form; for the form of the sacrament is in man, and sometimes the virtue of the sacrament immediately follows, but already in the land which is separated; therefore the earth brings forth a living soul. And indeed, brothers, it is a work to be a living soul. The brothers received baptism, let the virtue follow the form. Let baptism not be for judgment, but for salvation. It was for judgment for Simon Magus, for salvation for Peter. Let us then see what a living soul is, which the earth brought forth. Attend to man: he has a body, he has a soul. In that soul he has many movements similar to beasts; and he has something else, which the beasts do not have. What movements does he have similar to beasts? Eating and drinking, sleeping and waking, and generating. Are these not common to us with beasts? Whoever casts these movements into luxury has a dead soul, not a living soul. How do we prove this? Hear the Apostle: But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. What is it to live in pleasures, if not to relax those movements of the soul, which we have in common with cattle, into immoderate pleasures and lusts, into gluttony, into drunkenness, into fornication, into drowsiness? They live in pleasures, who live thus; but they are dead alive. If, however, all these affections are restrained, and these movements are held towards chastity, towards continence, the earth brings forth a soul; which, because it was dead in pleasures, remains that being restrained from pleasures it begins to live and to have the virtue of piety. But what is the virtue of piety? Love of God and neighbor. But he who has love restrains through faith all lusts, all desires, all movements of his soul, which he has in common with cattle, it will be a living soul. And it follows that man is already formed in the image and likeness of God. He is formed, however, when all these things that have been said are concluded in that man. Because as God made light, it was said about man in the Church; and He made the firmament, the authority of the Scriptures for man's sake; and He separated the waters from the land, the Gentiles from the faithful; and the earth brought forth grass of food, works of mercy; and the lights in the sky, the holy Evangelists in man; and the earth brought forth the reptile of living souls, the sacraments; and this in men. Afterwards, He brought forth a living soul, the restraints of all lusts; and this in man. Join all these to the understanding, and man was made in the image and likeness of God. Attend to where we prove it from. Therefore, He said of each: God saw that it was good. But when He made the better thing, He did not see that it was made better; but in man Himself, He concluded all things that were made, and it was said: God saw all things that He had made, and behold they were very good. For a long time He said of each that they were good; when man was made, He named all. It is understood that those individual things are found altogether in man. Do you seek light in man? You find faith. Do you seek the firmament? You find the authority of the Scriptures. Do you seek the separation of waters? You find the faithful separated from the Gentiles. Do you seek the sprouting of grass and fruit-bearing trees? You find good works, works of mercy. Do you seek the lights of the sky? You find the Evangelists. Do you seek the reptiles of living souls? You find the sacraments. Do you seek a living soul? You find continence. Do you seek man in man? You find the image and likeness of God.

God seeks His image in man.

And now pay attention: man is set in his punishment, and how much the remnants of the image of God, which remained in him, are worth. He has trampled on that image through sin, and it is reformed through grace, which was worn out through lust. For just as a coin, if rubbed against the earth, loses the image of the emperor, so the mind of man, if rubbed against earthly lusts, loses the image of God. But the minter Christ comes, who will remint the coins. And how does he remint the coins? By forgiving sins through grace: and he will show you that God seeks his image. For when it was said to him about Caesar's tribute: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar? - for they were tempting him, so that if he said: "It should not be given", they might accuse him before the collectors of the tribute: "See who teaches that we should not pay tribute"; but if he said: "It should be given": "See who cursed Jerusalem, made it tributary" - what then did he say, and what did he advise? Why do you tempt me, hypocrites? Bring me a coin. And they brought it to him. Whose image and inscription does it have? They answered: Caesar's. Therefore, render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's; that is: if Caesar seeks his image on the coin, does not God seek his image in man?

Works of mercy are shown to the Lord himself.

The earth brought forth grass for fodder and fruit-bearing trees; men in the Church also produce works of mercy, following those works which were also shown to the Lord when He was in the flesh, not only by men, such as Zacchaeus, but also by women, who ministered to Him from their substance.