Sermon 255

SERMO 255

IN THE DAYS OF EASTER

Of Alleluia.

In this journey, we say Alleluia as a comfort.

Since the Lord wished that we should see your Charity in Alleluia, we owe you a word about Alleluia. I will not be a burden if I remind you of what you know: for we daily say Alleluia, and we are daily delighted. You know that Alleluia, in Latin, means "Praise God": and in this word, sounding together with the mouth and agreeing with the heart, we exhort each other to praise God. Only a person who has nothing to displease him praises securely. And in this time of our pilgrimage, we say Alleluia as a comfort for the journey; now Alleluia is a song of the traveler for us: however, we strive along a laborious way to a peaceful homeland, where, with all our actions withdrawn, nothing will remain but Alleluia.

Of Mary and Martha.

Mary had chosen for herself that most delightful part, which was idle, learning, praising: but Martha her sister had been occupied with many things. Indeed, she was doing what was necessary, but not permanent: she was doing the work of the journey, not yet of the homeland: she was doing the work of pilgrimage, not yet of possession. For she had received the Lord, and those who were with Him. And the Lord had taken on flesh: just as He had deigned to take on flesh for us, so He deigned to hunger and thirst. And because He deigned to hunger and thirst, He deigned to be fed by those whom He Himself had enriched: He deigned to be received, not out of need, but out of grace. Therefore, Martha was doing what pertained to the needs of the hungry and thirsty: she was preparing with diligent care, what would be eaten and drunk by the saints and by the Holy of holies Himself in her house. A great work, but transitory. Will there always be hunger and thirst? When we will cling to that most pure and perfect goodness, there will be no reason to serve necessity. We will be blessed, needing nothing; having much, seeking nothing. And what is it that we will have, so that we will seek nothing? I said: that which you believe, you will see later. So, what we said, having much and seeking nothing, that is, needing nothing; what is it exactly that we will have? God, to those serving Him, worshipping Him, believing in Him, hoping in Him, loving Him, what will He give?

Health is so sweet that it never comes into disrepute.

For we see how much He grants in this time to those who distrust Him, despair of Him, turn away from Him, and blaspheme Him; we see how many gifts He bestows. From Him comes health first: which is so sweet that it never becomes wearisome. When a poor man has this, what is he lacking? When the rich man does not have this, whatever else he has, what benefit is it to him? From Him, therefore, that is, from our Lord God whom we worship, the true God in whom we believe, hope, and love; from Him comes such a great thing, health. Yet see how, though health is a great thing, He gives it to both good and evil, to His blasphemers and His praisers. And what shall I say? Both are human. Even an evil man is better than any animal. He grants health even to beasts and dragons; He gives health to flies and little worms; and He saves all who created all. So let us pass over other things; because we find nothing better than health: not only does God give it to humans, but also to animals, as the Psalm says: You save both man and beast, O Lord; as your mercy is multiplied, God. For you are such, because you are God; that your goodness does not remain in the highest and abandon the lowest. It reaches from Angels down to the very smallest animals. For it reaches from one end to the other mightily, and sweetly orders all things: and in that sweet ordering, health is sweet to all.

Through the first man, ruin; through the Son of Man, salvation.

Since therefore He gives such goodness both to the good and the evil, to humans and to animals, what is it, my brothers, that He reserves for the good? For already He had said: "You save humans and animals, Lord; as Your mercy is multiplied, God." And then He added: "And the children of men." Who are these? As if they are different humans, of whom He had said a little before: "You save humans and animals, Lord;" and different children of men. For are humans different from the children of men, and the children of men different from humans? What then does this distinction mean? Unless perhaps because humans pertain to man, the children of men to the Son of Man: humans, to man; children of men, to the Son of Man. For there is a certain man who was not the son of man. For he who was created first was man, but was not the son of man. What then comes to us through man, and what comes to us through the Son of Man? I recall what comes through man, and I speak the words of the Apostle: "Through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin, death: and thus death passed to all men, in whom all have sinned." Behold what man has given us, behold what we have drunk from our parent, and we hardly digest. If this through man, what through the Son of Man? "He spared not His own Son," he says. If He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all; how will He not also, with Him, freely give us all things? Likewise, "As by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners; so by the obedience of one Man many will be made righteous." Through him therefore sin, through Christ righteousness. So all sinners pertain to man: all the just to the Son of Man. Why then do you marvel because sinners, because the impious, because the wicked, because the despisers of God, turned away from God, lovers of the world, embracing iniquity, hating the truth, that is, humans pertaining to man; why do you marvel that they have this health, when you hear the Psalm: "You save humans and animals, Lord?" That people might not exalt themselves, because they have temporal health, animals are added to them. What is it then from which you rejoice, man? Is it not shared with your donkey, and with your chicken, with any animate being in your house, with these sparrows? is not the health of the body common to you and to all these?

Now sings love hungering, then love enjoying.

The godly are promised the delight of God's praise, which is not given to the ungodly. Therefore, seek what is promised to the sons of men, and hear what follows: But the sons of men will hope under the shadow of your wings. Meanwhile, they will hope, as long as they are on the way. But the sons of men will hope under the shadow of your wings. For we are saved by hope. This does not pertain to men and cattle, to hope under the shadow of God's wings. And behold, hope feeds us, nourishes us, strengthens us, and comforts us in this laborious life; in this very hope we sing Alleluia. Behold how much joy hope has. What will the reality be? What will it be, you ask? Hear what follows: They will be intoxicated with the abundance of your house. This is the hope of it. We thirst, we hunger, we need to be satisfied: but on the way there is hunger, in the homeland there is satiety. When will we be satisfied? I shall be satisfied when your glory is revealed. But now the glory of our God, the glory of our Christ, is hidden: and with him, ours is also hidden. But when Christ, your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. Then there will be Alleluia in reality: but now in hope. Hope sings it, love sings it now, love will sing it then: but now love sings hungering, then love will sing enjoying. For what is Alleluia, my brothers? I have told you, it is the Praise of God. Behold, now you hear the word, and in hearing you are delighted, and in the delight you praise. If you love the dew so much, how will you love the fountain itself? For what belching is to a sated stomach, that is praise to a full heart. For if we praise what we believe, how will we praise when we see? Behold what Mary had chosen for herself: but she signified that life, she did not yet hold it.

Before we reach one, we need many.

There are two lives: one pertaining to pleasure, the other pertaining to necessity. That regarding necessity is laborious; that regarding pleasure is luxurious. But enter inside, do not seek pleasure outside: lest you become swollen with it, and are unable to enter through the narrow gate. Behold how Mary saw the Lord in the flesh, and heard the Lord through the flesh, as you heard when the Epistle to the Hebrews was read, as through a veil. There will be no veil when we see face to face. Therefore, Mary sat, that is, she was idle, and listened, and praised; while Martha was busy with much serving. And the Lord said to her: Martha, Martha, you are anxious about many things: but one thing is necessary. The one true thing: many things will not be necessary. Before we reach the one, we need many things. Let one thing extend us, lest many things stretch us and tear us apart from the one. The apostle Paul mentioned this one thing, because he had not yet received it. I, he said, do not consider myself to have laid hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind, straining forward to what lies ahead. Not stretched thin, but stretched forward. For one thing stretches forward, not stretches thin. Many things stretch thin; one stretches forward. And how long does it stretch forward? As long as we are here. When we arrive, it gathers, it does not stretch forward. But one thing, forgetting what lies behind, straining forward to what lies ahead, according to intention. Behold the stretching forward: never the stretching thin. I follow according to intention, to the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. The order of the words is: But one thing I follow. Then we will come, and delight in the one thing; but that one thing will be everything to us. For what did we say, brothers, when I began to speak? What is the much that we will have when we will not need? What is the much that we will have? This is what I intended to say: what will God give us that He will not give to others? Let the wicked be removed, that he may not see the glory of God. Therefore, God will give us His glory, in which we will delight: from which the wicked will be removed, that he may not see the glory of God. All the much that we will have, God Himself will be. Greedy one, what were you seeking to receive? What does the one ask from God, for whom God is not enough?

But when it is said that we will have God, and be content with Him alone, indeed we will delight in Him alone so much that we will not seek anything else; because we will both enjoy Him alone, and mutually enjoy Him in ourselves: (for what are we if we do not have God? Or what else in us should we love than God, either because we have Him or so that we may have Him?) Therefore when it is said that other things are taken away, and God alone will be what we delight in; the soul, accustomed to many delights, feels constricted; and the carnal soul, devoted to flesh, entangled in carnal desires, having wings wrapped in the sticky substance of evil desires, preventing it from flying to God, says to itself: What will I have, where I will neither eat, nor drink, nor sleep with my wife? What kind of joy will I have? This joy of yours comes from illness, not from health. Surely your own flesh in this time is sometimes sick, sometimes healthy. Consider, that I may explain something, an example of a thing which I cannot describe. There are certain desires of the sick: they burn with the desire for some spring, or some fruit; and they burn so much that they think that if they were well, they ought to enjoy those desires. Health comes, and the desire perishes. What it desired, it now loathes: because the fever was seeking this in it. And what kind of health is this, in which the sick person recovers?

Our health will be immortality.

This health, by which we are called healthy, what is it? Yet take an example from this. Because while there are many desires of the sick which this health removes; just as health removes those desires, so immortality removes all things: because our health is immortality. Recall the Apostle and see what shall be: This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. And we shall be equal to the Angels of God. Are they miserable, who do not feast? Are they not happier for not needing these things? Or will any rich man be equal to the Angels? Angels are truly wealthy. What are called riches? Resources. Angels have great resources, who have great ease. You hear it when a rich man is praised: How great he is, he is a master, he is rich, he is powerful. How great it is for him to go where he wills, he has animals, he has expenses, he has servants, he has services. The rich man has all these: he goes where he wills, he does not suffer labor. The Angel, wherever he wishes, there he will be: nor does he say, 'Prepare,' nor does he say, 'Spread,' what the rich say with pride, and wish to swell from that they have those to whom they say, 'Prepare and Spread.' Unhappy man, these words are of weakness, not of resources. Therefore, we shall not be in need: and for this reason, we shall be blessed. For we will be filled, but with our God: and all that we desire here greatly, He Himself will be for us. Here you seek food greatly: God will be your food. Here you seek the embrace of flesh: But for me, it is good to cling to God. Here you seek riches: how will all things be lacking to you, when you have Him who made all things? And to make you secure with the Apostle's words, he said this about that life: That God may be all in all.