Sermon 349
SERMO 349
Concerning Charity, and the Blind Man Enlightened
Love is either divine or human. Human love is either licit or illicit.
The Apostle was speaking to us about charity a little while ago, when his Epistle was read: and he commended it to us in such a way that we might understand that all other things, however great gifts of God, profit nothing without it. But where it itself is, it cannot be alone. And so let us render a discourse on charity to your Charity. There is one kind of charity that is divine, another that is human: one human charity is lawful, another unlawful. And so concerning these three kinds of charity or loves (for it has two names among the Latins, which is called in Greek ἀγάπη): I will speak as the Lord shall grant. Therefore, this is my first distribution, that I said, one kind of charity is human, another divine: and I have distributed this human one into two, that one is lawful, the other unlawful. First, then, I shall speak of lawful human charity, which is not blamed: then of unlawful human charity, which is condemned: thirdly, of divine charity, which leads us to the kingdom.
Concerning permissible human charity.
Therefore, to briefly insinuate, human love is lawful, by which a wife is loved; unlawful, by which a prostitute or another man's wife is loved. For indeed, in the market and streets, lawful love is preferred more than a prostitute: in the house of God, in the temple of God, in the city of Christ, in the body of Christ, even the love of a prostitute leads the lover to hell. Therefore, have lawful love: it is human; but, as I said, it is lawful. Not only is it so lawful that it is permitted, but so lawful that if it is lacking, it is reprehended. Let it be lawful for you to love your spouses with human love, to love your children, to love your friends, and to love your fellow citizens. For all these names have a bond of necessity and a sort of glue of love. But you see that this love can also belong to the impious, that is, to Pagans, Jews, heretics. For who among them does not love his wife, children, brothers, neighbors, relatives, friends, etc.? This, therefore, is human. Therefore, if anyone is carried away with such cruelty that he even loses human affection of love and does not love his own children and does not love his wife; neither is he to be numbered among men. For it is not praiseworthy to love one's own children; but he who does not love his children is to be condemned. For even the wild animals love their children: aspics love their children, tigers love their children, lions love their children. For there is no beast which does not sweetly murmur to its own children. For when it frightens men, it cherishes the little ones. The lion roars in the forests so that no one may pass: it enters into the cave where it has its own children, it lays aside all ferocity. It leaves it outside when it itself does not enter. Therefore, he who does not love his children is worse than a lion. These things are human, and they are lawful.
On illicit love.
Avoid illicit love. You are members of Christ, and you are the body of Christ. Listen to the Apostle and be terrified. For he could not have spoken more gravely, he could not have warned Christians more vehemently or sharply against the love of fornications, except where he said: "Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot?" But to say this, he previously said: "Do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot becomes one body with her?" And he gave testimony from Scripture, which is written: "The two shall become one flesh." For this is divinely stated: but it is about a man and his wife where it is permitted, where it is granted, where it is honorable; not where it is shameful, not where it is illicit, not where it is by every reason condemnable. Just as one flesh is made in the legitimate mingling of a man and his wife: so one flesh is made in the illicit mingling of a harlot and a lover. Therefore, when one flesh is made, let that terrify you, let that horrify you that he added: "Shall I then take the members of Christ." Remember the members of Christ, Christian: do not make Christ’s members belong to another, consider the members of Christ within you, who was bought with the blood of Christ. "Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot?" Whoever does not fear this, fears God.
Divine love does not endure unlawful affection.
Absolutely, absolutely I beseech you, my brothers: behold, let us suppose, though it is not so, that God had promised impunity to such and said: "I will have mercy on those who do such things, I will not condemn them." Let us suppose God said this. Even with the promise of impunity, does anyone take the members of Christ and make them now the members of a prostitute? He does not, if there is there the third divine love. For indeed I have mentioned three loves: of the three I promised to speak, as the Lord grants, about human permissible love, human illicit love, and that excellent and divine love. Let us question divine love and set before it two human loves, and say to it: Behold, permissible human love, whereby a wife is loved, and daughters and other secular relations: behold another illicit one, whereby a prostitute is loved, a foreign servant is loved, another's unbetrothed daughter is loved, another's wife is loved. Two loves are before you; with which of these do you wish to remain? He who chooses to remain with that permissible human one, does not remain with that illicit human one. No one says to themselves: I have both. If you have both by admitting the love of a prostitute to yourself, you wrong the divine love, like the matron who dwells within you. For I think that if you are a married man and you love a prostitute, you do not bring the prostitute into your home to dwell with your matron. You do not go that far. You seek darkness, you seek hiding places, you do not profess the disgrace. But even those who do not have wives, and are lovers of prostitutes more freely (for this reason I said: "more freely," because they too are condemned if they are already faithful); I think that even a young man not yet having a wife, if he loves a prostitute, does not make her dwell with his sister, does not make her dwell with his mother, lest he wrong human chastity, lest he offend the honor of his blood. If, therefore, you do not make the prostitute you love dwell with your mother, with your sister, lest, as I said, you offend the honor of your blood; do you make the love of the prostitute dwell in your heart with the love of God and offend the honor of the blood of Christ?
Just as the blind pray to God with love for light, so should we also beseech God.
Love God, you will find nothing better. You love silver because it is better than iron and bronze: you love gold more because it is better than silver: you love precious stones more because they surpass even the value of gold: you love finally this light, which everyone fears to leave who fears death; you love, I say, this light, just as he desired it with a certain great love, who cried out after Jesus: Have mercy on me, son of David. The blind man cried out while Christ was passing by. For he feared lest He would pass by and not heal him. And how much did he cry out? So much that he did not become silent even with the crowd preventing him. He conquered the adversary, he clung to the Savior. With the crowd shouting and forbidding him to cry out, Jesus stood still, called him, and said to him: What do you want me to do for you? Lord, he said, that I may see. Look, your faith has made you well. Love Christ; desire the light, which is Christ. If that man desired the light for his body, how much more should you desire the light of your heart? Let us cry out to Him, not with voices, but with manners. Let us live rightly, let us despise the world; let all that passes be nothing to us. People will reprimand us when we live in this way, as if our lovers are worldly people, loving the earth, savoring the dust, deriving nothing from heaven, snatching up free breezes by heart and mind: they will undoubtedly reprimand us and say, if they see us despise these human, earthly things: What are you suffering? why are you going insane? That crowd is contradicting, so that the blind man does not cry out. And there are some Christians who prevent living as a Christian: for even that crowd walked with Christ, and prohibited the shouting man desiring Christ and the light from the benefit of Christ Himself. Such are these Christians: but let us conquer them, let us live rightly; and let our very life be our voice to Christ. He will stop: because He stands.
The passage of Christ.
For there also is a great mystery. He was passing by when he cried out; when he healed, he stood still. The passing of Christ should make us eager to cry out. What is the passing of Christ? Whatever He endured for us temporally is His passing. He was born, He passed: is He still being born? He grew, He passed: is He still growing? He nursed: is He still nursing? Tired, He slept: is He still sleeping? He ate and drank: is He still doing this? Finally, He was seized, bound, beaten, crowned with thorns, struck with slaps, covered with spittle, hung on the wood, killed, pierced with a lance, buried, resurrected: He still passes. He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father: He stood still. Cry out as much as you can: now He enlightens you. For even in that very thing that the Word was with God, indeed He stood, because He was not changed. And the Word was God: and the Word was made flesh. The flesh through passing did many things and suffered: the Word stood still. By the Word, the heart is enlightened; because by the Word, the flesh which He assumed is honored. Take away the Word, what is the flesh? It is the same as yours. But the flesh of Christ is honored that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Let us therefore cry out and live well.
Parents should be loved, but Christ more.
Love your children, love your spouses, even if secularly. For you ought to love according to Christ, so that you may look after them according to God, and in them love nothing but Christ, and despise in your own those who do not wish to have Christ. For this indeed is that divine charity. For what will your transient and mortal love profit them? However, when you love humanly, love Christ more. I do not say that you should not love your wife; but love Christ more. I do not say that you should not love your father, I do not say that you should not love your children; but love Christ more. Hear Him saying, do not think these are my words: Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. When you hear: Is not worthy of me, are you not afraid? Of whom does Christ say: Is not worthy of me, is not with him: if he is not with him, where will he be? If you do not love to be with him, fear to be without him. Why fear to be without him? Because you will be with the devil, if you are not with Christ. And where will the devil be? Hear Christ himself: Depart into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels. If you are not kindled by the fire of heaven, fear the fire of hell. If you do not love to be among the Angels of God, fear to be among the angels of the devil. If you do not love to be in the kingdom, fear to be in the furnace of burning, unquenchable, eternal fire. Let fear conquer you first, and there will be love. Let fear be a teacher, not to remain in you, but to lead you to charity, as to a master.