Sermon 30
SERMO 30
SERMON GIVEN IN THE BASILICA OF TRICILA ON SUNDAY,
On the Verse of Psalm CXVIII and on the Words of the Apostle:
"For we know that the law is spiritual"
"I, however, am carnal" and the rest
The law threatens in vain when injustice dominates.
Without a doubt, brothers, he sought to avoid a heavy burden and a grave yoke of iniquity, who said to God: "Direct my steps according to your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me." Let us see then when iniquity has dominion over a man, so that we understand what we have heard praying and what we too have prayed by responding. For we all responded to the holy psalm, as I judge, with a devout and truthful heart, praying and saying to our Lord God: "Direct my steps according to your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me." We have been redeemed from the dominion of this most wicked mistress by precious blood. And what was the benefit of having received a law that commands and threatens but does not help, so that we were guilty under it before the grace of God? The law threatens in vain when iniquity dominates. For the law is not corporeal, not carnal. But since God is spirit who gave the law, without a doubt the law is spiritual. But what does the Apostle say? "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin." Do not marvel, therefore, O one sold under sin, if that dominates you to whom you are sold. Hear the Apostle John: "Sin is iniquity." Against such a mistress, therefore, we invoke the Lord when we say: "Let no iniquity have dominion over me."
The one who is sold cries out, let the redeemer hear him. Man himself sold himself through free will under dominant iniquity, and took as a price a small pleasure from the forbidden tree. Therefore, he cries out: Direct my paths, which I have distorted; direct my steps, which I have perverted by my own will. Direct according to your word. What does it mean: Direct according to your word? So that my steps are straight, because your word is upright. "I," he says, "am distorted under the weight of iniquity, but your word is the rule of truth. Therefore, correct me who am distorted as by a rule, that is, by the upright word. Therefore, direct my steps according to your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me. I sold myself, redeem me. I sold myself by my own will, redeem me by your blood." In the seller, let pride be ashamed; in the redeemer, let grace be glorified. For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
By willing evil, man lost the ability to do good.
For the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions; for I do not do what I want. Carnal says: I do not do what I want. He does not accuse the law, but himself. For the spiritual law has no fault. The carnal man sold incurs blame. He does not do what he wants. When he wants, he cannot, because when he could, he did not want. By wanting evil, he lost the power to do good. And the captive now speaks, and the captive says: I do not do what I want. For I do not do what I want, the good, but the evil I hate is what I do. I do not do what I want. And the man contradicts: "You surely want to." I do not do what I want. "Indeed, you do what you want." I do not do what I want. Believe, my brother, I do not do what I want. "Oh, if you wanted, you would do it; because you do not want, you do not do good." I do not do what I want. Believe, my brother, I know what happens within me: I do not do what I want. Opponent of grace, you are not a judge of conscience. I know myself not doing what I want, and you say: "You do what you want"? No one knows what is done in a man, except the spirit of the man which is in him.
I see another law in my members.
And you are a man. If you do not want to believe me, pay attention to yourself. Do you live in this corruptible body in such a way that it burdens the soul, so that the flesh does not desire against your spirit and the spirit against the flesh? Is this quarrel not in you? Is there no desire of the flesh in you that resists the law of the mind? If nothing in you resists another, see where the whole is. If your spirit does not disagree with the flesh that desires against it, be careful lest perhaps your mind entirely consents to the flesh, be careful lest perhaps the reason there is no war is because there is a perverse peace. Perhaps you consent entirely to the flesh, and there is no quarrel. What hope do you have that you might ever overcome, you who have not yet begun to fight? But if you delight in the law of God according to the inner man, yet you see another law in your members warring against the law of your mind—if you delight in this and are bound by this, free in mind but a slave in flesh—if it has come to this, sympathize more with the man who says, "For what I will to do, that I do not practice." For do you not want that desire which resists your mind to be completely absent in you? You are accustomed to grim desiring if you do not want to be free from such adversary. I admit to you: whatever rebels in me against my mind and argues with me with contrary delight, whatever is of this kind in me—I desire to completely kill it. And if, by the Lord's help, I do not consent to it, I do not wish to have something with which to argue. It is much more preferable to me to have no enemy than to conquer. For that which the flesh desires against the spirit is not of me, or am I composed of a contrary nature? Both that it is mine and that I do not consent to it is mine. The free part somewhat resists the remnants of slavery. I want the whole to be healthy because I am whole. I do not want my flesh to be separated from me forever as if it were foreign, but rather to be healed completely with me. If you do not want this, I do not know what you think of the flesh. I suppose you think it comes from no known source, as if from a contrary race. It is false, heretical, blasphemous: the mind and flesh have one creator. When he created man, he made both, and joined both. He subjected the flesh to the soul, and the soul to himself. If they both remained always subservient to their Lord, the other would always obey its mistress. Do not wonder, therefore, if that which abandoned its superior suffers punishment by the inferior. For the flesh desires against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. "For these," he says, "are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you desire." Hence, this one also said, "For the good that I will to do, I do not do." For the flesh desires against the spirit, and I do not want it to desire. I consider it a great burden if I do not consent but still wish that I were free from it. Therefore, "For the good that I will to do, I do not do." For I will that the flesh not desire against the spirit, and I cannot. This is what I said: "For the good that I will to do, I do not do."
He who created you when you were falling heals and lifts you.
Why do you accuse me? I say: I do not do what I want, and you say: "You do what you want." Why do you accuse me? Ingrate to the physician, why do you accuse the sick? Allow me to seek the physician. Redeem me from the accusations of men, and I will keep your commandments. I will keep them through your redemption, not by my own power. Therefore, I do not arrogate to myself the health which I do not yet have, because I seek the physician. But you, defender of nature—if only you were truly so, you would not apply false defense as if to a healthy nature, but would seek the physician for the not yet healthy—now indeed you, defender of nature or rather its attacker, while you praise the Creator as if for a healthy nature, exclude the Savior from the ailing one. The one who created heals, he lifts up by himself what falls by itself. That is faith, that is truth, this is the foundation of the Christian faith. One and one. One man through whom the fall, another man through whom the restoration. Through that one the fall, through this one the restoration. He who did not remain fell, he who did not fall lifts up. That one fell because he abandoned the one who remained, this one who remained descended to the fallen.
Let not sin reign in our mortal body.
If, therefore, the flesh desires against the spirit, so that in this very thing you do not do what you wish, because you wish that it does not desire and you cannot, at least hold on to the will in the grace of the Lord, and persevere in His assistance. Say to Him what you sing: Direct my steps according to Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me. What does it mean: Let no iniquity have dominion over me? Listen to the Apostle: Let not sin reign in your mortal body. What does it mean to reign? To obey its desires. He did not say: "Do not have evil desires." For how in this mortal flesh, where the flesh desires against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, will I not have evil desires? Therefore do this: Let not sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires. And if there are desires, do not obey them, so that iniquity does not dominate. Nor present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin. Let not your members become instruments of unrighteousness, and all iniquity will not dominate you. But even this, that your members do not become instruments of unrighteousness, can you achieve this by your own strength? This very thing, I say, this very thing that your members do not become instruments of unrighteousness, can you achieve this by your own strength? For when your members do not become instruments of unrighteousness, indeed there is iniquity in your members, in illicit desires, but it does not reign. How does one reign who has no arms? Your part, your flesh, the lust of your flesh, is feeble, rebelling against you. This feebleness is a tyrant. If you wish to be the victor over the tyrant, invoke Christ the emperor.
For I know what you were about to say to me, or what you are now saying to yourself. Whoever you are here and are listening to me, I know what wickedness speaks to you inwardly. For you are still under the yoke of wickedness when you do not recognize the price of the Redeemer. I know what you say to yourself: "Behold, my flesh desires against my spirit. It desires adultery, but I do not consent, I do not agree, I do not decide. Not only do I not do it, but I do not even consent to do it. Not only do I not commit it physically, but I do not follow it in my mind where it rebels. Do I agree with the one who resists, do I yield to the one who struggles? I do not. Behold, no wickedness dominates me. Is it so? Is it true? Give thanks, if it is so, to Him who granted you to be so. Do not claim this for yourself, lest you lose what you received and begin to ask in vain. Do you not fear: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble?"
Christ, our healer, calls us to Himself.
Therefore, do you ensure that iniquity does not rule over you? If your presumption is true, our prayer where we said to God, "Let no sin rule over me," is in vain. Did you sing these words today, or not? Were you here when we all said: "Direct my steps according to your word, and let no sin rule over me?" You were here, you sang these words, I believe you will not deny it. Therefore, you sang in the congregation of God and you prayed to God, saying: "Direct my steps according to your word, and let no sin rule over me." If you could ensure this for yourself, why did you pray with me? I hold you praying, I hold you invoking, I convict you laboring. Therefore, let us together hear Him saying: "Come to me all you who labor." Let us hear and come. What does it mean: Let us come? By believing, let us progress; by giving thanks, let us approach; by persevering, let us reach. Let us come to Him who says: "Come to me all you who labor." And you labor, and I labor. Let us hear Him, let us come to Him. Why do we dispute among ourselves? Let us both listen, because we both labor. Why do we dispute among ourselves? Is it that we may not hear the calling doctor? O miserable sickness! The doctor calls to himself, and the patient is occupied with disputes. See what he says by calling: "Come to me all you who labor." Where do you labor, if not under the burdens of sins, if not under the yoke of the evil mistress iniquity? Therefore, come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. I who made you, will refresh you. I, He says, will refresh you because without me you can do nothing.
God became man for your sake.
How shall I refresh you? Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. What do we learn from you? We know you, Lord, in the beginning, the Word, the Word of God, the Word with God: we know that all things were made through you, what we see and what we do not see. What do we learn from you? For your disciples are not going to create another world, as the disciples of a craftsman and maker. You created one world, you made heaven and earth, you adorned both with their creatures and ornaments. What do we learn from you? Learn, he says, from me. When I was in the beginning God with God, I created you. I do not want you to learn this from me. But I became what I made, lest what I made should perish. How did I become what I made? He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself. Learn this from me. For he humbled himself, he says. Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart. For I do not, he says, teach you this, as if you had ever been in the form of God, not considering it robbery to be equal with God. It was proper to him alone, it was not robbery to him, whose nature it was. He was born equal to the Father from the Father. Yet what did he do for you? He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and being found in human form. Behold, for your sake God was made man, and do you not want to recognize yourself as a man? Behold, for your sake he was made man without sin, and do you not want to recognize yourself with sin? That you may come to him who said: Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you, take my yoke upon you.
Love the Lord's burden, for it is sweet.
Did you bear this yoke? Did you bear it? Did you feel that you had a rider? Did you bear this yoke? You say: "I bore it." Do you feel that you have a rider? Do you feel that you have a guide? "I feel," you say. Then say to Him: Direct my steps according to your word. He leads you under His yoke and under His burden. So that His burden may be light for you and His yoke gentle, He inspired love in you. To the lover it is gentle; to the non-lover it is hard. To the lover it is gentle: the Lord gave gentleness. Or is it perhaps because you came hearing: Come to me, you intend to boast in this very thing, that you came? "Behold," you say, "I came to Him by my own decision, by my will. Since I came, He refreshes me. Since I came, He imposes His gentle yoke on me. Since He gives love, He imposes His light burden on me who loves and cherishes. He did all these things in me, but because I came to Him." Do you therefore think that because you came, you have bestowed this upon yourself? For what do you have that you did not receive? How did you come? By believing you came, but you have not yet arrived. We are still on the way. We have come, but we have not yet arrived. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling, lest the Lord becomes angry, and you perish from the righteous way. Fear lest, as you boast that the righteous way was found by you, in that very arrogance, you perish from the righteous way. "I," he says, "came, by my own decision I came, by my will I came." Why do you swell? Why do you puff up? Do you want to know that even this was bestowed upon you? Listen to Him who calls: No one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. Turned to the Lord.