Sermon 335E

Sermon 335/E An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master's crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Wretched and captive man, recognize your liberator! Ask of me: who is he who, by his own blood, redeemed you? Recognize his face: beat your breasts. It was he who, while crying out in his own pains, cried out these words: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." What does it mean, "They do not know what they are doing"? Indeed, you learned to know me; for in your simplicity you did not know the power of the enemy, nor were you instructed by those who should have taught you.

CONCERNING THE MARTYRS

There was no martyr who was not squared with the truth.

The Lord has willed us to celebrate with you the solemn day of the blessed martyrs. Hence, let us speak something about what the Lord has given, who wanted the ark, in which He prefigured the Church, to be constructed of squared timbers. For a squared thing, however it may be turned over, stands upright. A marvelous and seemingly impossible thing, yet consider and you will find it so; a squared thing can be overturned, but it cannot be collapsed. The martyrs were cast down to the earth in humility, but they did not fall, for they are crowned in heaven. No martyr existed who was not squared in truth.

Christ was sowing and the Church was budding.

The glory of martyrs on their feast days can be perceived by men, but how great it is before God cannot be seen. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Precious indeed, in the sight of the Lord! For when they were killed in the sight of men, they were deemed worthless. How else would the blood of the martyrs have been shed so abundantly unless it had been considered worthless by the killers? Those who killed the martyrs did not know they were sowing seeds. For from the few who fell into the earth, this harvest has arisen. Therefore, even then, when it seemed worthless in human eyes, the death of His saints was precious in the sight of the Lord, and how precious! What was the price of that death, if not the death of the Holy of Holies? What is the Holy of Holies? He is known, there is no need to say. Why then are we amazed if the death of the saints is precious, for whom the Holy of Holies died? He was the first grain from which this harvest comes. Concerning Him, He Himself spoke in the Gospel: Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Christ was sowing, and the Church was sprouting. And the grain fell, and the grain rose, and the grain ascended into heaven where the multitude of grains is. Ask the Psalm; where is the grain that fell? Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Where is the harvest? Why do you not yet call out before I speak unless you also belong to that harvest? I will nevertheless say what you know. It is delightful to speak what we should so that from this we may deserve to have what we believe. Where is the grain that fell? Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Where is its harvest? And your glory is over all the earth.

A question not to be despised. By loving life, the martyrs despised life. Many bonds hold the soul. The fear of Peter perished, love conquered.

Perhaps, dearest ones, you have noticed in the holy readings that were recited a little while ago some not insignificant question. In the book of Saint John called Revelation, when the glory of the martyrs was read, it was said of them: "And in their mouth was found no lie and they are blameless." Again, a psalm suitable for the martyrs was sung and we heard: "Every man is a liar." Martyrs are praised and it is said: "In their mouth was found no lie." And again from the voice of the martyr it is said: "I said in my haste: every man is a liar." If every man is a liar, he who said this is a liar, but because he who said this is not a liar, therefore, every man is a liar. And yet he who said this because he was a man, was not a liar? How did he say truly: "Every man is a liar?" If I found one truthful man, I would refute the statement saying "every man is a liar." So many thousands were found that were read about in the Apocalypse in whose mouth was found no lie and it is read to me: "Every man is a liar." Or perhaps we must have compassion for him who said this, because troubled, he said it. For he said: "I said in my haste." Haste is understood as fear. For many manuscripts, where it is written: "I said in my haste," have: "I said in my fear." Some have: "in the mental disturbance." Therefore, since some put mental disturbance, others put fear, he who kept the Greek word thought it safe to put it lest the rashness of translation weaken the force of the expression. Therefore, because fear is a moving of the mind from its place, hence he who said fear could not have interpreted absurdly, so that it might agree with him who said: "in the mental disturbance." Perhaps therefore, when he was in temptation and ready to deny, he said in his fear: "Every man is a liar," that is: "What is it necessary to say the truth so that I may die? But if I deny Christ and speak falsely, I will remain a liar: Every man is a liar." Do not believe in fear, in his fear perhaps he is deceived. And when he was trembling, he took strength where he said: "O Lord, I am thy servant and the son of thy handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds." My great bond was the love of living, and in that was the cause of dying. For many, by loving life, have died eternally. And again, many martyrs, by despising life at its end, have obtained life without end. Just as he who loves money, often by loving money, neglects money, so that by neglecting money he may gain more money. Hence a known saying of a certain well-known man: "To disregard money in its place is sometimes the greatest profit." And this is done by money lenders. By giving money, they acquire it, as if they sow little to reap much. So also, martyrs, by loving life, despised life. By fearing death, they died; by willing to live, they did not want to live. Therefore, many bonds hold the soul: love of wealth, love of power, love of wife, parents, children, brothers, love of country, love of one's land, love of this light, love of any kind of life only because it is life. Therefore, tied by these bonds, they came to temptation, so that if they confess Christ, all would be broken. Terrified and tied by so many restraints, fearing to be loosed, he said in his fear: "Every man is a liar." Let us forgive him who fears, support him who rejoices: "Thou hast loosed my bonds." Love made him truthful whom fear had made a liar. See Peter saying: "With you to death." See him promising in presumption, denying in fear; troubled by the questioning of a single maid, he said: "I don't know, I do not know him." Do you think he did not immediately say: "Every man is a liar?" But he wept bitterly and with abundant tears washed away the stains of fear. And the Lord rose again and strengthened him with the example of his resurrection. He saw living him who he had grieved dying. Now Christ did not find him fearful and denying. For why did he deny except because he feared to die, because he despaired of the resurrection? The Lord rose, showed himself to his eyes, strengthened him in love by asking three times about love him who had denied three times out of fear, infused the Holy Spirit. A brief life became worthless, an endless one was loved, and Peter suffered. Fear perished, love conquered. When he was questioned: "Every man is a liar." When he suffered: "Thou hast loosed my bonds."

God alone is truthful, every man is a liar.

We can say this, and because of the fear of the speaker, we should not consider the saying to be true when it is said: Every man is a liar. But the Apostle Paul corrects this understanding, who presented this testimony from the Scriptures and said: God alone is true, and every man a liar, as it is written. Therefore, every man is a liar. Understand the voice of truth, not of fear, for if you understand the voice of fear and not of truth, you would accuse the Apostle of falsehood. It is entirely true: Every man is a liar. And it is true what is said of so many thousands of men: In their mouth was found no lie. When they suffered martyrdom, they confessed Christ, they did not deny that they were Christians. They professed without doubt and hesitation that they had gathered against the commands of then-unbelieving kings. Because of this, no lie was found in their mouth. And if they previously had any lies, because it is true: Every man is a liar, they washed them away with that truth, covered them with that love, for love covers a multitude of sins.

Every man is a liar in himself, in God truthful.

Let a more diligent searcher of the Scriptures inquire of me further and say: What then when they were truthful, were they not humans? In confession, in suffering, when they were truthful, were they not then humans? If indeed they were humans and were truthful, how is it true: "Every man a liar"? Indeed I say, without injury to the martyrs I say, rather with the glory of the martyrs I say, that whoever glories, let him glory in the Lord. Indeed insofar as they were humans, they were liars. How therefore did they speak the truth? Because the Lord said to them: For it is not you who speak. Did you not also hear today’s reading from the holy Gospel: Do not premeditate what you will say: for I will give you a mouth and wisdom. I give you, for every man is a liar. Therefore, every man is a liar of his own, of God truthful. In himself a liar, in God truthful. For you were once darkness, but now light in the Lord. Look at Peter himself: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. A truthful man, but because he was a man? Not of his own, for every man is a liar. But from where? Hear the Lord himself: Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, that is, a man, for every man is a liar, but my Father who is in heaven. Therefore, from your own lying, from mine truthful. For all that the Father has is mine. Finally, a little later, do you want to hear Peter among all men, because he too is a man, do you want to hear Peter as a man and therefore a liar? Immediately the Lord began to preach his future suffering and death. Where is Peter? Where is man? Far be it from you, Lord; this shall not happen to you. A man, a lying man, as a man of his own. And do you want to know because it is his own? What did the Lord immediately say? Get behind me, Satan, you are a stumbling block to me. Why, unless because he lied, unless because he deceitfully spoke of his own? But from where did he lie? For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.

All good things to us from the highest Good. Let us pray to have them, let us not be ungrateful for those things which we have.

All good things, therefore, are from the highest good to us. All good things come to us from the perpetual fountain of goodness. Unless perhaps we have goodness from God and patience from ourselves. For thus the reading of the Gospel ends: In your patience, you will possess your souls. Therefore, someone might say: Our truth is not ours, since every man is a liar, and the one who is from God is true, when he is true. But our patience is ours. The Lord himself says: In your patience, you will possess your souls. Do not exalt yourself, lest you lose what you have received. Therefore, it is your patience, because you have it, if indeed you have it. Therefore, it is yours because you have it, not because you have it of yourself. For what do you have that you did not receive? How do we say: Give us this day our daily bread, and you say both our and give us. Therefore what you call ours is not yours so that it is yours. For if God did not make what he gives ours, he would not give it at all; what he gives you becomes yours by receiving it. But let us prove this regarding patience, lest it be like bread, but not so regarding patience. Who told us: In your patience, you will possess your souls, who if not Christ, if not God? To whom do we say: Is not my soul subjected to God, for my patience is from him? He himself says to us: In your patience, you will possess your souls. We say to him: Because my patience is from you. Therefore, let the weak say to virtue if he wants to have virtue: I will love you, Lord, my strength. Let us pray so that we may have what we do not yet have. Let us not be unthankful for what we have. For we have not received the spirit of this world but the spirit which is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God.