Sermon 260D

Sermon 260/D

TREATISE ON THE LORD'S DAY OF THE OCTAVE OF HOLY EASTER

We were once darkness, but now light in the Lord.

On the first day of the Lord your Love must recognize this: that before these eight days we sang to the Lord what we sing today: This is the day which the Lord has made. For which day has the Lord not made? But by the name of the day, the Spirit of God wished to commend a certain special work of God. And what is better among all the works of God than a faithful man? For as we mentioned to you on that day, in the first works of the world, God said: Let there be light, and there was light. And God divided the light from the darkness; and He called the light Day, and the darkness Night. Therefore, if He called the light Day, undoubtedly those to whom the Apostle says: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, are Day. All the saints, all the faithful, and therefore all the just - because the just shall live by faith - all together in the most harmonious unity are Day; and the unity of all is one Day. For how could it not be one day, of which it is said in the Acts of the Apostles: They had one soul and one heart in the Lord? Clearly, God also divided among men between Day and Night, between Light and Darkness; giving eternity to the Light and damnation to the Darkness. It is not yet apparent, but God has already divided. A man lives wickedly, and perhaps in the predestination of God, he is Light: and another lives well, and perhaps in predestination, he is Night. God therefore divided, and He keeps this division hidden, lest Day should grow proud and become Night. For there are some who wish to attribute to their own virtue that they are just, and with an infernal heart and sacrilegious mouth dare to say: God made us men, but we made ourselves just. If they make themselves just, this is not the day which the Lord has made. Therefore let the faithful, made light out of darkness, to whom the Apostle says: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; say with the Apostle himself: I am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. Behold Night, behold Darkness. When he persecuted the Church of God, darkness was over the abyss. The Lord called him from above: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? He cast off the darkness, and light rose; he began to preach whom he had persecuted, and said: I am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. Whence then do you have what you are? By the grace of God, I am what I am. This is the day which the Lord has made.

We who are called faithful, let us live faithfully.

I therefore address you, who are one day infants ill-born of Adam, well reborn in Christ. See that you are the day, see that the Lord has made you. He has driven the darkness of sins from your hearts, he has renewed your life. You are to be mixed today with the number of peoples: choose whom you will imitate, do not choose for yourselves the lost, with whom you will perish. Do not say: Why, this one is not faithful? and he gets drunk. Why, this one is not faithful? and he has a wife, and also a concubine. Why, this one is not faithful? and daily swears lying for profit. Why, this one is not faithful? and gives his money at interest. Why, this one is not faithful? and consults a witch. Why, this one is not faithful? and when his head aches, he ties charms to his neck; and he who does not want to die, ties it to his neck. If you say these things, you perish. I give you testimony before God and his angels; what was ours, we gave what we received; neither did we give it, but it was given through us. The Lord's money is: we are administrators, not givers. We have a common Lord, we measure out food for fellow-servants: from that very barn we live. We are not our own, but his who shed his blood for us. We were redeemed together, we all have one price: our grain is the holy Gospel. He made us brothers from servants, who redeemed us: he made us coheirs. He was one, and he deemed it worthy to have brothers: do not forget this dignity, beloved. You are called faithful, live faithfully: keep faith with your Lord in your heart and your manners. Do not mingle yourselves with evil manners in the crowd of evil Christians. See what I say: be grains. Chaff abounds on the threshing floor, but the winnowing is coming, the chaff will be separated; neither does a single straw enter the barn with you, nor does a single grain go into the fire. He knows how to separate, who was able to gather; you err if you think the Lord errs. He knows you, who created you, and recreated you; for if he had only created you, and not recreated you, you would enter into the mass of perdition. Am I telling you, my brothers, that you cannot find Christians living well? Far be it from me to think this of my Lord's threshing floor. If this is so, why do I labor? See the good ones, whom you can imitate: be, and you will find. But if you begin to be evil, you will believe that all are evil; and it is a lie, you are deceived. You look far at the threshing floor, therefore only chaff meets you: approach, search, fill your hand, apply the judgment of the mouth; all that flies away is shaken out from there, and what is heavy remains. You will find good Christians, believe me; good married couples, showing faith to their wives; good married women, showing faith to their husbands. Seek and you will find: be, and you will not miss it. Like meets like. Are you a grain? you apply yourself to grain. Are you chaff? you apply yourself to chaff. You will find those who do not give their money at interest, you will find those who hate fraud more than loss: you will find these. Begin to be, and you will see how many there are. They are few, but in comparison to many. It will be winnowed, and it is a mass. He will winnow, who carries the winnowing fan in his hand.

Just now, beloved, I also address you, who are long baptized, baptized last year, baptized in previous years, and I address you; go by the same way, by which you may not perish, if they wish to follow. For it will pertain to your judgment, if with your evil habits you are destroyed and lost.