Sermon 29

Above all, God is good.

We have been warned and instructed by the Spirit of God to confess to the Lord. And this is the reason given for confessing to the Lord, because He is good. It is briefly said what is deeply thought. Confess, he says, to the Lord. And as if we asked: "Why," the answer is: Because He is good. What more do you seek, or if you seek anything else, what do you seek but the good? Such is the strength of the good that even the wicked seek the good. But the things that are called good are good because they owe their goodness to some good. If we seek all good things from where they have their goodness, let us remember: And God made everything, and behold, it was very good. Therefore there would be nothing good unless it were made by the good. And by what kind of good? A good that nobody made. Therefore, there would be nothing good unless it were made by the good, which itself was not made. The heavens are good, but created good; the angels are good, but created good; the stars, sun and moon, the alternation of night and day, the changes of seasons, the ages of the world, the cycles of the years, the sprouts of trees and herbs, the nature of animals, and among all these, the praising creature, man. All are good, but created good. And they are good from God, not from themselves. He who made these things is above all and is good, because nobody made Him good, but He is good in Himself. Yet He is not good to Himself alone, but also to us. Therefore, confess to the Lord, for He is good.

The confession is either of one praising or one repenting.

Confession is either of one praising or of one repenting. Indeed, there are those who are poorly educated, who when they have heard confession in the Scriptures, as if it could only be of sins, immediately beat their chests, as if they were already being admonished to confess sins. But that your Charity may know that confession does not pertain to sins alone, let us hear him of whom we cannot doubt that he had no sin at all, exclaiming and saying: I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. Who said this? He who did no sin, nor was guile found in his mouth. He who alone could truly say: Behold, the prince of the world is coming, and he will find nothing in me. And yet he confesses. But this confessor is a praiser, not a sinner. Finally, hear what he confesses. Hear praises, and the praise itself is our salvation. For what does the Son without sin confess to God the Father? I confess to you, he says, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to little ones. He commended this praise of the Father because He has hidden these things from the wise and prudent, that is, the proud and arrogant, and revealed them to little ones, that is, the weak and humble.

Sins are not to be excused but accused.

But what is true is also the healthy confession of sins. Hence we heard in the psalm that was read first: Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips, so that my heart may not incline to evil words, to make excuses for sins. He asks God to set a guard over his mouth and explains what kind of guard he means. For there are people who are very abundant, who, when they begin to be accused, rush to excuse themselves. To excuse is to seek causes and to weave fabrications so that the sin does not seem to pertain to you. One says: "The devil made me do it"; another says: "Fortune made me do it"; another: "I was compelled by fate," no one to himself. When you wish to be your own excuser, your accuser triumphs over you. Do you wish to do what will cause your accuser, that is, the devil, to grieve and lament? Do what you heard, do what you learned, and say to your God: I said, O Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you. I, he says, I have said, not the devil, not fortune, not fate. I said: I do not excuse myself, but I accuse myself. I said, have mercy on me, heal my soul. Why is it sick? Because I have sinned against you.

Confess therefore to the Lord, for He is good. If you wish to praise, what can you praise more safely than the good? If you wish to praise, if you wish to have the confession of praise, what can you praise more safely than the good? If you wish to confess your sins, to whom more safely than to the good? To a man, since he is evil, you confess and are condemned. To God, since He is good, you confess and are cleansed. If you attend to the confession of praise, whatever you are going to praise abundantly, your intention is focused on showing that what you praise is good. For good things are rightly praised, just as bad things are rightly blamed. The praise of your Lord has been briefly told to you: He is good. If you also are good, praise whence you are good; if you are evil, praise whence you are good. For if you are good, you are good from Him; if you are evil, you are evil from yourself. Flee from yourself and come to Him who made you, because by fleeing from yourself, you follow yourself, and by following yourself, you stick to Him who made you.

We desire nothing except good.

How many good things are you seeking, wicked man! Surely, you are wicked. Tell me what you wish for except good? You seek a horse, only a good one; you seek a farm, only a good one; you seek a house, only a good one; you seek a wife, only a good one; a tunic only good, a boot only good. Your soul alone is wicked! Are you not contrary to yourself, who seeks good things while you are wicked? If you seek good things, first be yourself what you seek. But if you, being wicked, have found many good things, what does it profit you since you have perished? Love your good souls: hate your wicked souls. But by loving Him from whom all good comes, you will be good. Hating your wickedness, choose good.

What does it mean to hate your own evils? By repenting, to confess your sins. For everyone who repents and confesses their sins by repenting, is angry at themselves, and in a certain way by repenting avenges in themselves what displeases them. For God hates sin. If you also hate in yourself what God hates, for a time you are joined to God by some will, while you hate in yourself what God also hates. Be harsh on yourself, so that God may intercede for you and not condemn you. For sin undoubtedly must be punished. This is owed to sin: punishment, damnation. Sin must be punished, either by you or by Him. If it is punished by you, then it will be punished without you; but if it is not punished by you, it will be punished with you. Therefore, confess to the Lord for He is good. Praise Him as much as you can, love Him as much as you can: Pour out your hearts before Him, God our helper, for He is good.