Sermon 57
SERMO 57
AGAINST ON MT 6
ON THE LORD'S PRAYER, TO THE CATECHUMENS
The Creed first, then the Prayer to be delivered.
The order of your edification is that you may first learn what you believe, and afterwards what you ask for. For thus says the Apostle: "It shall be: everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Blessed Paul placed this testimony from the prophet, because these times were foretold by the prophet, when all would call upon God: "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." And he added: "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent?" Therefore, preachers were sent, they preached Christ. The people heard them preaching, by hearing they believed, by believing they called upon [Him]. Because it was rightly and truly said: "How will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?" Therefore, you first learned what you should believe: today you learned whom to call upon, in whom you have believed.
The Son of God wanted us to be his brothers.
The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, taught us prayer: and although He is Himself the Lord, as you have received and returned in the Creed, the only Son of God, still He did not wish to be alone. He is the only one, and yet He did not wish to be alone: He deigned to have brothers. For to whom does He say: Say: Our Father, who art in heaven? Whom did He want us to call Our Father, if not His own Father? Did He begrudge us? Parents sometimes, when they have begotten one, two, three children, fear to beget more, lest they make others impoverished. But because the inheritance He promises us is such that however many obtain it, no one suffers deprivation; therefore, He called the peoples of the nations into His brotherhood, and the Only One has countless brothers who say: Our Father who art in heaven. Those who were before us have said these things: those who will come after us will say them. See how many brothers the Only One has in His grace, sharing the inheritance with them, for whom He endured death. We had a father and mother on earth, that we might be born to toil and death: we found other parents, God the Father and the mother Church, by whom we might be born to eternal life. Let us think, dearest ones, whose children we have begun to be: and let us live in such a way that befits those who have such a Father. Behold, our Creator deigned to be our Father.
What ought to be asked from the Father.
We have heard whom we should invoke, with what hope of eternal inheritance we have begun to have the Father in heaven: let us hear what we should ask from Him. From such a Father, what are we to ask? Is it not rain that we ask from Him today, yesterday, and the day before yesterday? What we have asked from such a Father is nothing great: and yet you see with what groaning, with what desire we ask for rain, when death is feared, and that is feared which no one can avoid. For every man sooner or later is destined to die: and we groan, we pray, we labor, we cry out to God, that we might die a little later. How much more ought we to cry out to Him, that we might come where we shall never die?
First petition.
Therefore: Hallowed be your name, it is said. This we also ask of Him, that His name may be hallowed in us: for it is always holy. How is His name hallowed in us, unless it makes us holy? For we were not holy, and through His name we are made holy: but He is always holy, and His name is always holy. We pray for ourselves, not for God. For it is not that we wish well for God, to whom nothing evil can ever happen. But we wish the good for ourselves, that His holy name may be hallowed: which is always holy, it may be hallowed in us.
Second petition.
Let your kingdom come. Whether we ask or not, it has to come. Indeed, God's kingdom is eternal. For when has He not reigned? When did He begin to reign? When His kingdom has no beginning, nor will it have an end. But know that we ask this for ourselves, not for God (for we do not say: Let your kingdom come, as if wishing that God should begin to reign); we will be His kingdom if, believing in Him, we progress in Him. All the faithful, redeemed by the blood of His Only Begotten, will be His kingdom. However, the kingdom itself will come when the resurrection of the dead has taken place: then He will come. And when the dead have risen, He will divide them, as He Himself says, and place some on the right, and others on the left. He will say to those on the right: Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom. This is what we wish and ask for, when we say: Let your kingdom come, that it may come to us. For if we are reprobate, that kingdom will come to others, not to us. But if we are among the number who belong to the members of His only begotten Son, His kingdom will come to us: and it will not be delayed. For are there as many ages remaining as have passed? The Apostle John said: Little children, it is the last hour. But for that great day, an hour is long: and see how many years that last hour leads. Nevertheless, let it be thus for you as if one who watches, sleeps, rises, and reigns. Now we watch, in death we sleep, in the end we shall rise, and reign without end.
Third petition. The interpretation of this petition is manifold.
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Thirdly, we ask: Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. And we wish this well for ourselves. For it is necessary that the will of God be done. The will of God is that the good should reign, the evil be damned. Can this will not be done? But what do we wish well for ourselves when we say: Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven? Listen. For in many ways this petition can be understood, and there are many things to think about in this petition; when we ask God: Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Just as your Angels do not offend you, so may we not offend you as well. Again, how is it understood: Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven? All the holy Patriarchs, all the Prophets, all the Apostles, all the spiritual as if heavens to God: we, in comparison to them, are earth. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven: just as in them, so also in us. Also: Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. The Church of God is heaven, its enemies are earth. We wish well for our enemies, that they too may believe and become Christians: and the will of God be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Again: Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Our spirit is heaven, the flesh is earth, just as our spirit is renewed by believing, so the flesh is renewed by rising again: and the will of God be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Likewise, our mind with which we see the truth and delight in the very truth, is heaven. Behold the heaven: I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. What is the earth? I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind. When that battle subsides, and there is full harmony of flesh and spirit, the will of God will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. When we say this petition, let us think of all these things, and ask all these things from the Father. But all these things, dearest, which we have mentioned, these three petitions pertain to eternal life. For what is sanctified in us, the name of our God, shall be eternal. For His kingdom will come, where we shall always live, will be eternal. For His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, in all the ways I have explained, will be eternal.
Eternal goods as well as temporal ones are to be sought. The daily bread is twofold: corporal and spiritual.
The requests remaining for this life of our pilgrimage follow: Therefore it continues: Give us this day our daily bread. Give eternal, give temporal. You promised the kingdom, do not deny support. You will give everlasting adornment with you, give on earth temporal nourishment. Therefore daily, therefore today, that is, at this time. When this life shall have passed, shall we ask for daily bread? Then indeed it will not be called daily; but today. Now it is called daily, when the day passes, and another day comes. Will it be called daily, when there shall be an eternal one day? Indeed, this petition for daily bread is to be understood in two ways: either for the necessity of bodily sustenance, or even for the necessity of spiritual nourishment. The necessity of bodily food, for daily sustenance, without which we cannot live. Food is also clothing, but the whole is understood by the part. When we ask for bread, we receive everything there. The faithful also know the spiritual nourishment, which you too will know, receiving from the altar of God. The bread will also be daily, necessary for this life. For shall we receive the Eucharist, when we have come to Christ himself, and begin to reign with him forever? Therefore the Eucharist is our daily bread: but let us receive it in such a way, that we may be refreshed not only in the belly, but also in the mind. For the virtue itself which is understood there is unity, so that being brought into his body, made members of him, we may be what we receive. Then it will truly be our daily bread. And what I discuss with you, it is daily bread: and what you hear daily in the readings in Church, it is daily bread: and what you hear and say in hymns, it is daily bread. For these are necessary for our pilgrimage. When we shall have come there, shall we hear a book? We shall see the Word itself, we shall hear the Word itself, we shall eat the Word itself, we shall drink the Word itself, as the Angels do now. Do the Angels need books, or disputers, or readers? By no means. They read by seeing: for they see the very Truth, and they are satisfied with that source, from which we are sprinkled. Therefore it is said about daily bread; because this petition is necessary for us in this life.
All sins are forgiven by baptism.
Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. Is it necessary except here? For there we will not have debts. For what are debts, but sins? Behold, you will be baptized, all your sins there will be wiped away: not one will remain there at all. If you have ever done, performed, said, desired, thought anything evil, it will all be wiped away. And yet if there was security in this later life, we would not learn such a prayer, where we would say: Forgive us our debts. But surely let us do what follows: As we also forgive our debtors. Therefore especially you who are about to receive the full indulgence of your debts, see that you do not hold anything in your hearts against another, so that you may proceed securely from there, as if free and absolved from all debts; and you may begin to want to take revenge on your enemies, who previously did you wrong. Forgive, just as you are forgiven. God has done no injury to anyone, and yet He forgives who owes nothing. How should he who is forgiven forgive, when He forgives everything who owes nothing that He should be forgiven?
Double temptation.
Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Will this also be necessary in that life? It is not said, "Do not lead us into temptation," unless where there can be temptation. In the book of holy Job, we read: "Is not the life of man upon earth a temptation?" What then do we ask? What, listen. The Apostle James says: "Let no man say when he is tempted that he is tempted by God." He called that temptation evil by which anyone is deceived and subjected to the devil; that he called temptation. For there is another temptation which is called a trial: concerning that temptation it is written: "The Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love him." What does it mean, 'to know'? To make you know: for He knows. In that temptation by which anyone is deceived and seduced, God tempts no one: but certainly, by His high and hidden judgment, He abandons some. When He has deserted, the tempter finds what to do. For he does not find a wrestler against him but immediately presents himself as a possessor if God abandons. Therefore, let Him not abandon us, hence we say: "Do not lead us into temptation." For each one is tempted, says the same Apostle James, by his own desire, being drawn away and enticed: then, desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. What did He teach us? That we fight against our desires. For in holy Baptism you are going to be forgiven sins: desires will remain, with which, being reborn, you may fight. Conflict remains in you yourselves. No enemy should be feared from outside: conquer yourself, and the world is conquered. What will the foreign tempter do to you, whether the devil or the devil's minister? Whoever proposes gain to seduce, let him not find greed in you: what does the proposer of gain do? But if greed is found in you, seeing gain, you ignite, and you are caught in the snare of a harmful lure. But if he does not find greed in you, the trap remains futilely extended. The tempter proposes to you a very beautiful woman: let chastity be within, and iniquity outside is conquered. So to prevent you from being taken by the proposed beauty of another’s woman, fight within yourself against your own desire. You do not feel your enemy, but you feel your desire. You do not see the devil, but you see what delights you. Conquer within what you feel. Fight, fight; for he who has reborn you is the judge: he proposed the struggle, he prepares the crown. But because without doubt you will be conquered if you do not have him as a helper, if He deserts you; therefore, you propose in the Prayer: "Do not lead us into temptation." The wrath of the judge has delivered some to their desires: and the Apostle says that: "God gave them over to the desires of their hearts." How did He deliver? Not by compelling, but by deserting.
Deliverance from evil.
Deliver us from evil: it can pertain to the same sentiment. Therefore, it is so that you may understand one sentiment: Do not lead us into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Thus, he added "but" to show that this whole pertains to one sentiment: do not lead us into temptation; but deliver us from evil. How? I will propose each part: Do not lead us into temptation; but deliver us from evil. By delivering us from evil, he does not lead us into temptation: by not leading us into temptation, he delivers us from evil.
A great temptation, a terrible temptation, to want vengeance.
Indeed, it is a great temptation, beloved, a great temptation in this life, when that which we possess, whereby we earn pardon if we falter when tempted, is put to the test. Dreadful is the temptation when that is taken from us, by which we can be healed from the wounds of other temptations. I know that you have not yet understood: be attentive in order to understand. Suppose, avarice tempts, someone is overcome (because even a good wrestler and an experienced fighter is sometimes wounded) in a particular temptation: avarice has conquered the man, even a good wrestler, and led him to commit some wrong driven by greed. Passion might pass by, it might not lead to debauchery, nor reach the point of adultery. For when that happens, the man must also be prevented from committing adultery. But he has seen a woman with lust, he has thought something more pleasing than he ought; he has faced a struggle, even the best fighter has been struck; yet he has not consented, has repelled the lustful impulse, has chastised it with the bitterness of regret, has repelled and conquered it. Yet, because he has faltered in this, he has grounds to say: Forgive us our debts. Likewise for all other temptations, it is difficult not to have grounds to say: Forgive us our debts. What, then, is that dreadful, burdensome, and fearful temptation, that great necessity to be avoided with all strength and virtue? What is this? When we are moved to seek vengeance for ourselves. Anger is exacerbated; and man gnashes his teeth for revenge: dreadful temptation. For in seeking pardon for other offenses, you lose it here. If you have sinned through other senses, other desires, it could be healed by saying: Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. He who urges you to seek revenge, will take from you what you were about to say: As we forgive our debtors. With that lost, all else is held bound: nothing at all is forgiven.
Daily debts.
Knowing this dangerous temptation in this life, our Lord, Master, and Savior, when teaching us this Prayer with six or seven petitions, took none aside to treat on and earnestly commend to us, except this one. Did we not say: Our Father, who art in heaven, and the rest following? Why, after ending the Prayer, did He not deal with something either from the beginning, or what He concluded with, or what He placed in the middle? For if God’s name is not sanctified in you, or if you do not pertain to God's kingdom, or if God’s will is not done in you as in heaven, or if God does not guard you that you do not enter into temptation: why none of these? But what? Amen, I say to you, that if you forgive the sins of others : because of this: Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Passing by all the petitions He taught us, He especially taught that one. Those were not greatly to be commended, in which, if a sinner recognizes where he is to be cured: this must be commended, wherein if you sin, there is nothing else from which to be healed. For you ought to say this: Forgive us our debts. What debts? There is no lack: we are humans. I have spoken a little more than I ought, I have said something I ought not, I have laughed more than I ought, I have drunk more than I ought, I have eaten more than I ought, I have listened willingly to what I ought not, I have seen willingly what I ought not, I have thought willingly what I ought not: Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. You are lost if you lose this.
Hortatio.
See, my brothers; see, my sons; see, children of God; see, for I say to you. Fight with your heart, as much as you can. And if you see your anger standing against you, pray to God against it: may God make you victorious over yourself; may God make you victorious, not over an external enemy, but over the inner enemy of your soul. For He will come and He will do it. He wants us to ask this of Him more than rain. For you see, dearest ones, how many petitions the Lord Christ taught us, and scarcely there do we find one that sounds concerning daily bread: so that we think of all things for the sake of the future life. For why do we fear that He will not give to us who promised and said: Seek first the kingdom and the righteousness of God, and all these things will be added to you? For your Father knows that these things are necessary for you before you ask Him. Seek first the kingdom and the righteousness of God, and all these things will be added to you. For many have been tempted by hunger and found gold, and not deserted by God. They would perish with hunger if the inner daily bread of their heart deserted them. Let us hunger for it most of all. For blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. But He can mercifully look at our weakness and see us, as it is said: Remember that we are dust. He who made man from dust and animated him, for this creation gave His only-begotten to death. How much He loves us, who can explain, who can even worthily think?