Sermon 250
SERMO 250
ON THE DAYS OF EASTER
God chooses the lowly things of the world.
The Lord Jesus, choosing the weak things of the world to confound the strong, and gathering His Church from the whole world, did not begin with emperors or senators, but with fishermen. For whatever dignity those first chosen might have previously had, they would dare to attribute it to themselves, not to the grace of God. This is the secret counsel of God, this is the counsel of our Savior which the Apostle explains when he says: “For consider your calling, brothers” – these are the words of the Apostle – “for consider your calling, brothers, that not many of you were wise according to the flesh, not many powerful, not many of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; and God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no flesh might boast in the presence of God.” This is also what the Prophet said: “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; the uneven ground shall become level.” Finally, today the noble and the ignoble, the learned and the unlearned, the poor and the rich, together come to the grace of the Lord. To receive this grace, pride does not set itself above humility, nothing of knowledge, nothing of possession, nothing of power. But what did He say to them? “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” If those fishermen had not gone before us, who would have taken us? Now, any great orator is esteemed if he can well expound on that which the fisherman has written.
The multitude of those living badly disturbs those living well.
When therefore the Lord Jesus Christ had chosen fishermen of fish and made them fishers of men, in those very activities of their fishing, He also wished to instruct us about the calling of peoples. Observe two distinct fishings necessary for distinction: one when the Lord chose them from fishermen and made them His disciples, the other which we have just heard when the holy Gospel was read after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, that one before the resurrection, this one after the resurrection. We must carefully consider the difference between these fishings; this navigation is our instruction. The new preaching of the Gospel; at that time He found them fishing; He approached and said to them: Cast the nets. They said to Him: We have labored all night and caught nothing, labored in vain. Behold, in Your name we will cast the nets. They cast and caught so much that they filled two boats which were so burdened with the multitude of fish that they almost sank. Then He said to them: Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. Then, leaving their nets and boats, they followed Christ. Now, after the resurrection, the Lord Christ showed us another fishing, different from that earlier one. At that time He said: Cast the nets; neither "to the left" nor "to the right," but simply: Cast the nets. For if He had said: "to the left," He would signify the wicked alone; "to the right," the good alone. Since He did not say "to the right" or "to the left," both good and wicked are signified, of whom the Gospel speaks elsewhere, because the householder sent his servants to the prepared meal and they brought in whom they could find, both good and wicked, and the marriage feast was filled with those reclining. Such now is the Church, full of good and wicked. The Church is filled with a multitude, but sometimes this multitude oppresses and almost leads to shipwreck. The multitude of those living wickedly disturbs those living well, so much so that the one living well thinks himself foolish when he notices others living wickedly, especially because according to the goods of this world, many guilty are found happy, many innocent are found unhappy. And how fearful it is lest it be overwhelmed and sunk in shipwreck! How fearful it is, dearest ones, lest the one living well says: What use is it to me to live well? Behold, for that one lives wickedly and is more honored than me. What good is it to me that I live well? In danger of perishing, I fear he may be overwhelmed. I will speak to him, lest he who lives well sinks deeper. You live well, do not tire and look back. The promise of your Lord is true. He who endures to the end will be saved. - You say, "You observe that another lives wickedly and is fortunate!" - You are mistaken, he is unfortunate and all the more unfortunate the happier he seems to himself. It is madness not to recognize his own misery. If you saw a feverish person laughing, you would lament over the madman. What is promised to you has not yet come. He who seems happier to you is fed with visible and temporary things, rejoices in them; neither brought them, nor will he take them, naked he came in, naked he will go out; from false joys, he will come to real pains. But what is promised to you has not yet come; endure to reach it; persevere lest by failing you deceive yourself, for God cannot deceive you. Behold, I have spoken briefly lest the boats sink. Another comes to that fishing with a greater curse, so the nets were torn. The nets were torn, heresies were made. For what else is schisms but tears? Thus the first fishing must be borne and tolerated, lest anyone is worn out with weariness, although it is written: "I was weary from the sinners forsaking your law." The ship cries out that it is burdened by the multitude, as if the ship itself has this voice: "I was weary from the sinners forsaking your law." Even if you are burdened, always see to it that you are not sunk. The wicked must be tolerated for now, not separated. We will sing mercy and judgment to the Lord; first mercy is bestowed, and later judgment is exercised; separation will be done in judgment. Now let the good hear me and be better, let the wicked hear and become good; while it is the time of repentance, not the time of judgment. Let us pass from this fishing, which has joys mixed with tears; joys because the good are gathered, mixed with tears because the wicked are hardly borne.
If you take away the Spirit, the law is worth nothing.
Let us turn our minds to that last fishing; there let us be refreshed, there let us be consoled. And therefore it was done after the resurrection of the Lord because it signified the Church as it will be after the resurrection. Behold, it is said to the fishing disciples, the Lord says, who also said before, He Himself and afterwards, but before what they would cast, now where they would cast, that is, on the right side of the boat. Therefore, those are now caught who will stand on the right, those are caught to whom it was said: Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom. They cast and they catch. There no number was said in the first fishing, only a multitude was mentioned, no number was defined. For now, many are beyond number, that is they come, enter, fill churches; they fill both theaters and churches; beyond number they fill; to that number which will be in eternal life they do not belong, unless they are changed while they live. And will all be changed? How? Nor do all good ones persevere. Therefore, it was said to them: He who perseveres to the end will be saved. And to those who are still evil it is said: I do not want the death of the sinner but that he may be converted and live. Therefore, there no number was said because many were made beyond number, as often as the Psalm said: I have announced and spoken, they were multiplied beyond number. Now to the right, not beyond number; one hundred and fifty-three fish were caught but large ones. For this was said: And though they were large, the net was not torn. Then indeed there will be the congregation of saints, there will not be divisions and rent of heretics, there will be peace and perfect unity, no one will be less, no one will be more, the whole number. But they are very few if there are only one hundred and fifty-three. May it be far from us that there are that few in this people, how much more in the whole Church of God. The Apocalypse of that blessed John the Evangelist shows that such a multitude of saints and happy ones was seen in that eternity that no one could number them. Thus you have it written there. And yet all pertain to that number of one hundred and fifty-three. I wish to reduce this number to a greater smallness. One hundred and fifty-three they are, let us make them fewer, they are seventeen. These one hundred and fifty-three are seventeen. Why ten? Why seven? Ten for the law, seven for the Spirit. For the sevenfold form for the perfection preached in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Blessed Isaiah the prophet said, and said, The Holy Spirit will rest upon him. And when he mentioned the Holy Spirit he enumerated seven virtues: spirit of wisdom and understanding, spirit of counsel and might, you have four. Spirit of knowledge and piety, spirit of fear of the Lord. He began with wisdom, ended with fear, as if he spoke descending from the highest to the lowest, from wisdom to fear. From the lowest to the highest: from fear to wisdom. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. This is the gift of grace, by this sevenfold virtue in the beloved of God the Holy Spirit works so that the law has something to work there. For if you take away the Spirit, what is the law worth? It makes a transgressor, therefore it was said: The letter kills. It commands and does not make. It did not kill before it was commanded to you and if providence held you as a sinner, yet it did not hold you as a transgressor. It is commanded and you do not do, it is forbidden and you do, behold the letter kills. The law, however, has ten precepts. The first precept of the law is: to worship one God, no other, to make no idol. The second precept is: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. The third precept is: Observe the sabbath day spiritually not carnally as the Jews. These three precepts pertain to the love of God, but because in these two precepts, he said, the whole Law and the Prophets depend, that is, in the love of God and in the love of neighbor. When you have heard what pertains to the love of God: unity, truth, rest; attend to what pertains to the love of neighbor. Honor your father and mother; you have the fourth precept. Do not commit adultery; you have the fifth. Do not murder; you have the sixth. Do not steal; you have the seventh. Do not bear false witness; you have the eighth. Do not covet your neighbor's goods; you have the ninth. Do not covet your neighbor's wife; you have the tenth. He who says: You shall not covet touches the inner parts, strikes inwardly where concupiscence has its business. Behold, this law is in ten. What use is it to have learned and not done it? You will be a transgressor. But that you may do, help is necessary. Whence help? From the Spirit. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Let ten be joined with seven they become ten and seven. In this number is all the multitude of the blessed. But how they reach one hundred and fifty-three, I am accustomed to say to you and many anticipate me, nevertheless the sermon must be returned solemnly. Many have forgotten, some have not heard. But those who have not forgotten and have heard, bear patiently so that others may also be reminded and instructed. When two walk the way, one faster and the other slower, it is in the power of the faster not to abandon the companion. Nothing is lost to the one who hears what he knew and in that nothing is lost he should rejoice and because the one who did not know is instructed. Number seventeen from one to seventeen in such a way that you add all and you will reach one hundred and fifty-three. What do you expect of me? Count for yourselves.