Sermon 288

SERMO 288

On the Birth of John the Baptist

(On the Voice and the Word)

The celebration of the birth of St. John.

The festivity of today's day renews the memory with its annual return, that the forerunner of the Lord was born before the wondrous one wondrously; whose birth it is fitting for us to consider and praise especially today. For this day has been dedicated as an anniversary to this miracle, so that the benefits of God and the great deeds of the Most High might not be erased from our hearts by oblivion. Therefore, John was sent as the herald of the Lord before Him, but made through Him. For all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made. A man sent ahead of the man-God, recognizing his Lord, announcing his Creator; already discerning with his mind the one present on earth, pointing him out with his finger. For his words are of the one showing the Lord and bearing testimony: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sin of the world. Hence, rightly, the barren one bore the herald, the virgin the judge. In the mother of John, barrenness received fruitfulness: in the mother of Christ, fruitfulness did not ruin integrity. If your patience, and calm study, and attentive silence provide me the opportunity, with the Lord's help, to say what He grants for me to say; without a doubt, it will be the fruit of your attention, and the reward of our effort, that I may explain something that pertains to the great sacrament to your ears and hearts.

John, more than a prophet, commends Christ by abasing himself.

There were prophets before John, and many, and great, and holy, worthy of God, full of God, announcers of the Savior; witnesses of the truth. However, it could not be said of any of them what was said of John: Among those born of women, none has arisen greater than John the Baptist. So what does this greatness placed before greatness mean? For the testimony of great humility. For he was so great that Christ could have been thought. John could have exploited the error of men and not exerted himself to persuade that he was the Christ, because those who heard and saw him, already thought he was without him saying it. There was no need for him to sow error, but to confirm it. But that humble friend of the bridegroom, zealous for the bridegroom, not substituting himself as the adulterer for the bridegroom, bears testimony to his friend, and commends him who was truly the bridegroom to the bride: that he might be loved in him, he hates to be loved instead of him. “He who has the bride is the bridegroom,” he says. And as if you might say, “Who are you then?” He adds, “But the friend of the bridegroom stands and hears him, and rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice.” He stands and hears: the disciple hears the master; because he hears, he stands; for if he does not hear, he falls. Hence the greatness of John is especially commended; for when he could have been thought to be Christ, he preferred to bear testimony to Christ, to commend him; to humble himself rather than to be taken instead of him, and to deceive others. Rightly, he was called more than a prophet. For of the prophets, who were before the advent of the Lord, the Lord himself thus speaks: “Many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things you see, and did not see them.” For those who were filled with the Spirit of God, to announce the coming Christ, desired, if possible, to see in the flesh. Wherefore that Simeon was delayed from departing from this world, that he might see the birth, through whom the world was created. And he indeed saw the infant, the Word of God in flesh: but he did not yet teach, he did not yet profess the person of the master, who was already the master to the angels with the Father. Simeon, therefore, saw, but an infant: John, however, saw him preaching, choosing disciples. Where? At the river Jordan. For from there Christ’s ministry began. There the future Baptism of Christ was commended: because the baptism was received, preceding and preparing the way, and saying: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” For the Lord wished to be baptized by a servant, that they might see what those who are baptized by the Lord receive. Therefore, it began from there, where prophecy rightly preceded: “He shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” At that river, where Christ began to reign, John saw Christ, recognized him, and bore testimony. He humbled himself greatly, that he might be exalted by the great. And he called himself the friend of the bridegroom: and what kind of friend? Perhaps an equal? Far from it: far below. How far below? “I am not worthy,” he said, “to loose the strap of his sandal.” This prophet, indeed more than a prophet, deserved to be foretold by a prophet. Isaiah said of him, what we read today: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Cry out: What shall I cry? “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field: the grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.” Your Charity should pay attention. John was asked who he was, whether he was the Christ, Elijah, or a prophet: he said, “I am not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet.” And they said, “Who are you then?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” He called himself the voice. You have John as the voice. What do you have Christ as, if not the Word? The voice precedes, that the Word might be understood afterward. And what kind of Word? Hear it clearly pointing to you. “In the beginning,” he says, “was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: he was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made.” If all things, then John also. Why do we wonder that the Word made a voice for itself? Look, see both at the river, the voice and the Word. The voice is John, the Word is Christ.

What is the difference between sound and word?

Let us seek what is the difference between voice and word: let us seek attentively; it is not a small matter, and it requires significant attention. The Lord will grant that neither I may tire in explaining, nor you in listening. Behold, two things, voice and word. What is voice? What is word? What? Listen to what you yourselves approve within, and answer yourselves when questioned by yourselves. A word, if it does not have a significant reason, is not called a word. However, a voice, even if it just sounds and irrationally makes noise, like the sound of someone shouting, not speaking, can be called a voice but not a word. Someone groaned, it is a voice: someone wailed, it is a voice. There is an inarticulate sound carrying or bringing noise to the ears without any reason of understanding. However, a word, unless it signifies something, and unless it brings something different to the ears and something else to the mind, is not called a word. Therefore, as I was saying, if you shout, it is a voice; if you say, 'Man,' it is a word; if you say, 'Beast'; if you say, 'God'; if you say, 'World,' or anything else. I have mentioned all these significant words, not empty, not sounding and teaching nothing. So, if you have now distinguished between voice and word, listen to what you may marvel at in these two, John and Christ. The word is very powerful even without voice; the voice is empty without the word. Let us give a reason, and if possible, explain what we have proposed. Behold, you wanted to say something: this very thing you want to say is already conceived in the heart; it is held in memory, prepared by will, lives by understanding. And this very thing you want to say is not of any language. The thing itself, which you want to say, which is conceived in the heart, is not of any language, neither Greek nor Latin, nor Punic, nor Hebrew, nor of any nation. It is only a thing conceived in the heart, ready to proceed. Therefore, as I said, it is a certain thing, a certain thought, a reason conceived in the heart, ready to proceed to be conveyed to the listener. Thus, as it is known to the one whose heart it is in, it is a word, already known to the one about to speak, not yet to the one about to hear. Behold, therefore, the already formed word, already complete, remains in the heart: it seeks to proceed, to be spoken to the listener. The one who conceived the word that should be spoken pays attention, and has the word known to himself in his heart, paying attention to whom it will be spoken. I will speak in the name of Christ to ears taught in the Church, and I dare to insinuate something more subtle to those who are not unlearned. Therefore, let your Charity pay attention. See the word conceived in the heart, it seeks to proceed, to be spoken: it pays attention to whom it will be spoken. It finds a Greek? It seeks a Greek voice to proceed to the Greek. It finds a Latin? It seeks a Latin voice to proceed to the Latin. It finds a Punic? It seeks a Punic voice to proceed to the Punic. Remove the diversity of listeners, and that word which is conceived in the heart is neither Greek, nor Latin, nor Punic, nor of any language. It seeks such a voice to proceed as stands with the listener. Now, brothers, that something is proposed for you to understand, I conceived in my heart to say 'God.' What I conceived in my heart is something great. For 'God' is not merely two syllables; for this short voice 'God' is not. I want to say 'God,' I intend to whom I say it. It is a Latin? I say 'God.' It is a Greek? I say 'Θεόν.' To a Latin I say 'God,' to a Greek I say 'Θεόν.' The sound is different between 'God' and 'Θεόν': the letters are different here and there: in my heart, however, in what I want to say, in what I think, there is no diversity of letters, no varied sound of syllables: it is what it is. To be expressed to a Latin, one voice is used; to a Greek, another. If I wanted to express it to a Punic, I would use another; if to a Hebrew, another; if to an Egyptian, another; if to an Indian, another. How many voices would the variation of persons make for the word of the heart, without any change or variety of itself? It proceeds to the Latin with a Latin voice, to the Greek with a Greek, to the Hebrew with a Hebrew. It reaches the listener, and does not depart from the speaker. For what I make in another by speaking, do I lose? That sound employed in between propagated something to you, it did not leave from me. I was already thinking of 'God': you had not yet heard my voice; having heard it, you also began to have what I was thinking: but I did not lose what I had. Therefore, in me, as if on the hinge of my heart, as if in the secret chamber of my mind, the word preceded my voice. The voice had not yet sounded in my mouth, and the word is already in my heart. But to go out to you what I conceived in the heart, it seeks the service of the voice.

The service of the voice is necessary for the word to be insinuated into the mind of the listener.

If I can, with the aid of your intention and prayers, say what I want, I think that he who understands will rejoice: but he who does not understand, let him forgive the struggling man, and supplicate the compassionate God. For what I speak is from Him. From where I speak, there is in my heart what I will say: but the ministries of the voices labor towards your ears. What then, brothers? What then? Surely you have paid attention, surely now you understand, that the word was in my heart before it took up the voice with which it proceeded to your ears. I think that all people understand: because what happens to me happens to every speaker. Behold, now I know what I want to say, I hold it in my heart, I seek the ministry of the voice; before the voice sounds in my mouth, the word is already held in my heart. Therefore, the word preceded my voice, and in me the word is first, the voice is later: but for you, in order to understand, the voice comes first to your ear so that the word may be introduced into your mind. For you could not know what was in me before the voice, unless it were in you after the voice. Therefore if John is the voice, Christ is the word: Christ was before John, but with God; after John, Christ was with us. A great sacrament, brothers. Be attentive, again and again, grasp the grandeur of the matter. For your understanding delights me, and makes me bolder towards you, with the help of Him whom I proclaim, such a tiny one, such a significant one, any human being, the Word of God. Therefore, with His help, I become bolder towards you, and having prearranged this information of the distinction between the voice and the word, I will explain what follows. John bore the person of the voice in the sacrament: for he was not the only voice. For every man who announces the Word is the voice of the Word. For what the sound of our mouth is to the word we carry in our heart, so is every pious soul that preaches to that Word of which it is said: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: the same was in the beginning with God. How many words, or rather how many voices, does the word conceived in the heart produce! How many preachers has the Word, remaining with the Father, made! He sent the Patriarchs, He sent the Prophets, He sent so many of His announcers. The Word remaining sent voices, and after many voices were sent ahead, the Word itself came as if in its vehicle, in its voice, in its flesh. Therefore gather together as one all the voices that preceded the Word, and place them all in the person of John. He bore the sacrament of all these, he was the sacred and mystical person of all these. Therefore he was properly called the voice, as the sign and mystery of all voices.

The service of the voice is diminished as the progress of the mind towards the Word increases.

Therefore, pay attention now to what this pertains: He must increase, but I must decrease. Pay attention, if I am able to speak; if I do not say it, to insinuate it, but at least I will succeed in thinking it, in what manner, by what reasoning, with what intention, for what cause, according to the distinction I spoke of between the voice and the word, that the voice itself, John himself, said: He must increase, but I must decrease. O great and marvelous sacrament! Pay attention to the person of the voice, in which were the sacraments of all voices, speaking about the person of the Word: He must increase, but I must decrease. Why? Pay attention. The Apostle says: We know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect has come, that which is in part will be done away. What is perfect? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This is perfect. What is perfect? Let the Apostle Paul also say: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. We will see Him equal to God the Father, this Word of God with God, by whom all things were made, as He is, but in the end. For now, what the Evangelist John says: Beloved, we are the children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. Beloved, we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. This vision is promised to us, to this vision we are educated, to this vision we purify our hearts. For, He says, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. He showed His flesh, He showed it to His servants, but the form of a servant; as if His own voice, among the many voices, which He sent before, He even showed His flesh. The Father was sought, as if He Himself were to be seen as He is: the Son equal to the Father, in the form of a servant, spoke to the servants. Lord, Philip said to Him, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us. He was seeking the end of all his intention, that is, the end of his progress, to which when he had come, he would seek nothing more. Show us, he said, the Father, and it suffices for us. Well, Philip, well, you understand very well that the Father suffices for you. What is sufficient? You will seek nothing further: He will fill you, satisfy you, perfect you. But see whether perhaps even this one suffices for you whom you hear. Does He alone suffice, or with the Father? But how alone, when He never departs from the Father? So, let Him answer Philip wanting to see: Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. What is: He who has seen me has seen the Father; but You have not seen me, therefore you seek the Father? Philip, who has seen me, has seen the Father. But you see me, and do not see me. For you do not see me who made you; but you see what I became for you. He who has seen me has seen the Father. From where, unless because in the form of God He thought it not robbery to be equal with God? What then did Philip see? That He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man. Philip saw this, the form of a servant, intended to be free to the form of God. Therefore, John is the person of all voices, Christ the person of the Word. All voices must decrease, as we progress to see Christ. For the more you progress to see wisdom, the less you need the voice. The voice in the Prophets, the voice in the Apostles, the voice in the Psalms, the voice in the Gospel. Let this come: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. When we see Him as He is, will the Gospel still be recited there? Will we hear the prophecies? Will we read the letters of the Apostles? Why? Because the voices will cease as the Word increases: because He must increase, but I must decrease. And indeed the Word in itself neither grows nor diminishes. But it is said to increase in us, when by progressing, we grow in Him: just as light increases in the eyes, when by the strengthening of sight it is seen more, which by the weakening of sight was indeed seen less. And it was smaller to sick eyes, greater to healthy eyes: though it has neither diminished before nor grown afterward by itself. Therefore, the ministry of the voice is diminished, when the progress of the mind to the Word takes place. Thus Christ must increase, but John must decrease. Their passions indicate this. For John was decreased, being beheaded; Christ was exalted, He increased as if on the cross. Their birth days indicate this. For from the birth of John begins the decrease of days; but from the birth of Christ, the increase is renewed.