Monday of the 8th week after Pentecost

(de Cons. Ev. lib. ii. 42.) But since St. Luke mentions that great things had been already done by Him, which he knows he had not yet related, what is more evident than that he knowingly anticipated the relation of them. For he had not proceeded so far beyond our Lord's baptism as that he should be supposed to have forgotten that he had not yet related any of those things which were done in Capernaum.

And he said to them: Certainly you will quote me this proverb: Physician, heal yourself: whatever, etc. Their insane perfidy, although ignorant of sound faith, confesses it, calling the Lord Christ both a craftsman and a physician. For he is indeed the true craftsman, because all things were made through him. He is a physician, because all things were restored through him in heaven and on earth. And as he himself testifies about himself: Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick (Mark II). And since we have said by what instrument he works as a craftsman, let us also say by what method he heals. Passing by, he saw a man blind from birth, he spat on the ground, and made mud with the saliva, and applied it to his eyes, and said to him: Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which means Sent. So he went and washed, and came back seeing (John IX). Recognize then the greatness of his healing method, and rejoice because through this you have deserved to be enlightened. The mud from the earth is the flesh of Christ. The saliva from the mouth is his divinity, because the head of Christ is God. The saliva mixed with the mud enlightens us when baptized in the pool of Siloam, because the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory (John I), which we could not comprehend before, being hindered by darkness. Therefore, you were created through the craftsman Christ, so that you might exist. You were recreated through the physician Christ, so that after wounds you might be healthy. Although he is advised by the scornful citizens to heal himself, that is, to perform miracles in his own country, he is not excused in vain by another Evangelist, because he could not perform any miracle there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. Lest anyone should think that a lesser affection should be given to one's own country. Therefore, he loved the citizens, but they themselves deprived themselves of the love of their fatherland through spite.

By way of hidden irony he expresses their reproaches, when he adds: And he said to them: Doubtless you will say to me this similitude: for he saw them thinking this secretly. He said therefore: this you propose ironically against me, which you have secretly conceived in your hearts, because, according to what is said in Matthew twelve, "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks"; you propose this similitude, namely by irony: Physician, heal yourself: which is customarily said to physicians who are ailing, when they cannot help themselves, or do not know how, or are negligent: which is a mocking word directed at them. So also you, heal yourself, that is, the infirm one. Which they said rather out of unbelief and derision than out of humility and devotion, as is said in Matthew thirteen, that "he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief." Whence Bede says in the Gloss: "In vain do you await the help of heavenly mercy, if you envy the virtues bestowed on others. For the Lord is a despiser of the envious, and from those who persecute the divine benefits given to others, he turns away the miracles of his power." And note that they ironically call him physician, whom they ought truthfully to confess as physician, according to that passage in Job five: "He himself wounds and heals." They despise him whom they ought to revere and honor, according to that passage in Sirach thirty-eight: "Honor the physician on account of necessity"; and afterward: "The Most High created medicine from the earth, and a prudent man will not abhor it."

But by way of explicit invective he expresses it, when he adds: How great things we have heard done in Capernaum, namely miraculous works: whence Matthew eleven: "Woe to you, Capernaum! For if in Tyre and Sidon the mighty works had been done," etc. But how did they hear these things, since the Evangelist had not yet related that he had performed any miracles? On account of which it must be noted that the Evangelist does not follow the order of events as they happened, but the order of his own intention, and this indeed he does frequently; and therefore, when one Evangelist narrates afterward what another narrates before, there is no contradiction, because they do not intend to say that events occurred in the order in which they were written, as Augustine says in On the Harmony of the Evangelists. Moreover, Luke, together with the other two, Matthew and Mark, narrates nothing about the first coming of Christ into Galilee, but about the second; about the first, however, John alone treats. From the fame, therefore, of miracles performed in a foreign land, they reproached him because he did not perform them in his own land. Whence is added: Do so also here in your own country; and this is to say: heal yourself, that is, heal those of your own country through miracles, as you have healed others, according to that passage in Sirach fourteen: "He who is evil to himself, to whom will he be good?" and First Timothy five: "If anyone does not have care for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith"; it is said in Sirach seventeen: "He gave commandment to each one concerning his neighbor."

Jesus rebuked them, therefore, for asking so foolishly, "Isn't this Joseph's son?" Keeping to the goal of his teaching, he says, "Truly, I tell you, that no prophet is acceptable in his country." As I have mentioned, certain Jews affirmed that the prophecies relating to Christ had been fulfilled in the holy prophets or in certain of their own more distinguished men. For their good, he draws them away from such a supposition. He said that Elijah had been sent to a single widow and that the prophet Elisha had healed but one leper, Naaman the Syrian. By these he refers to the church of the heathen, who were about to accept him and be healed of their leprosy, by reason of Israel's remaining impenitent.

It was a common proverb among the Hebrews, invented as a reproach, for men used to cry out against infirm physicians, Physician, heal thyself.

(ordin.) It was as if they said, We have heard that you performed many cures in Capernaum; cure also thyself, i. e. Do likewise in your own city, where you were nourished and brought up.

(ubi sup.) For though after a long time and when He had begun to show forth His miracles, He came to them; they did not receive Him, but again were inflamed with envy. Hence it follows, And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself.

As far as Luke's narrative is concerned, our Lord is not yet said to have worked any miracle in Capernaum. For before He came to Capernaum, He is said to have lived at Nazareth. I cannot but think therefore that in these words, "whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum," there lies a mystery concealed, and that Nazareth is a type of the Jews, Capernaum of the Gentiles. For the time will come when the people of Israel shall say, "The things which thou hast shown to the whole world, show also to us." Preach thy word to the people of Israel, that then at least, when the fulness of the Gentiles has entered, all Israel may be saved. Our Saviour seems to me to have well answered, No prophet is accepted in his own country, but rather according to the type than the letter; though neither was Jeremiah accepted in Anathoth his country, nor the rest of the Prophets. But it seems rather to be meant that we should say, that the people of the circumcision were the countrymen of all the Prophets. And the Gentiles indeed accepted the prophecy of Jesus Christ, esteeming Moses and the Prophets who preached of Christ, far higher than they who would not from these receive Jesus.

But Christ will be (the Christ) of the prophets, wheresoever He is found in accordance with the prophets. And yet even at Nazareth He is not remarked as having preached anything new, whilst in another verse He is said to have been rejected by reason of a simple proverb.

Therefore, the Savior excuses that he has not worked any miracles of virtue in his own country, so that no one might think that he should have a lower affection for his country. For he could not fail to love his fellow citizens, since he loved all. But those who envy have cast themselves out, through their lack of love for their country. For love does not envy... does not boast (1 Corinthians 13:4). However, the homeland is not devoid of divine blessings. For what greater miracle is there than that Christ was born in her? Therefore, see what evil envy brings. A homeland is judged unworthy because of envy, where a citizen works, which was worthy for the birth of the Son of God.

But the Saviour purposely excuses Himself for not working miracles in His own country, that no one might suppose that love of country is a thing to be lightly esteemed by us. For it follows, But he says, Verily I say unto you, that no prophet is accepted in his own country.

But this is given for an example, that in vain can you expect the aid of Divine mercy, if you grudge to others the fruits of their virtue. The Lord despises the envious, and withdraws the miracles of His power from them that are jealous of His divine blessings in others. For our Lord's Incarnation is an evidence of His divinity, and His invisible things are proved to us by those which are visible. See then what evils envy produces. For envy a country is deemed unworthy of the works of its citizen, which was worthy of the conception of the Son of God.

He said: Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. That the Lord Christ is called a prophet in the Scriptures, Moses is a witness, who said: God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brothers like me (Deut. XVIII). Not only he who is the head and Lord of the prophets but also Elijah, Jeremiah, and the rest of the prophets were held in less regard in their own country than in distant cities. For it is almost natural that citizens always envy their fellow citizens. For they do not consider the man's present works, but remember his fragile childhood, as if they themselves had not reached mature age through the same stages of life.

Now that Christ is called a Prophet in the Scriptures, Moses bears witness, saying, God shall raise up a Prophet unto you from among your brethren. (Deut. 18:15.)

Here, after the reproaches of the detractors, prophetic examples are added, confuting the detractors. For their full confutation, a general proverb is first set forth; second, a special example in Elijah, the most eminent of the Prophets; third, in Elisha, his disciple. The first is for admonishing, the second for confuting, the third for confirming. Therefore he sets forth the general proverb concerning every Prophet and people, when he says: And he said, namely Christ: Amen I say to you, that is, with certainty, because amen is a sign of affirmation. And truly so, because, as he himself says in Matthew twenty-four, "heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." That no prophet is accepted in his own country, namely neither as regards doctrine nor as regards life, in which Prophets were accustomed to have excellence. And therefore it is not surprising if he does not work miracles in his own country, which are not to be done for the ungrateful and unworthy. This denunciation of the Savior is attested by the fact that Joseph is sold by his brothers, Genesis thirty-seven, and honored by the Egyptians, Genesis forty-one. So Moses suffers insult from Aaron and Miriam, Numbers twelve, and is reproached by his fellow tribesmen, Numbers sixteen. So Abraham suffers from his countrymen; whence it is said to him: "Go forth from your land and from your kindred," Genesis twelve.

Bede in the Gloss assigns the reason for this: "The other Prophets were less honored in their homeland than in other cities, because it is almost natural for citizens to envy their fellow citizens. For they do not consider the present works of the man, nor his virtue, but they recall his frail infancy, as though they themselves had not also passed through the same stages of age to maturity."

As if He says, You wish me to work many miracles among you, in whose country I have been brought up, but I am aware of a very common failing in the minds of many. To a certain extent it always happens, that even the very best things are despised when they fall to a man's lot, not scantily, but ever at his will. So it happens also with respect to men. For a friend who is ever at hand, does not meet with the respect due to him.

And yet even at Nazareth He is not remarked as having preached anything new, whilst in another verse He is said to have been rejected by reason of a simple proverb. Here at once, when I observe that they laid their hands on Him, I cannot help drawing a conclusion respecting His bodily substance, which cannot be believed to have been a phantom, since it was capable of being touched and even violently handled, when He was seized and taken and led to the very brink of a precipice.

By a very apt comparison the arrogance of envious citizens is put to shame, and our Lord's conduct shown to agree with the ancient Scriptures. For it follows, But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias: not that the days were his, but that he performed his works in them.

But he says in a mystery, "In the days of Elias," because Elias brought the day to them who saw in his works the light of spiritual grace, and so the heaven was opened to them that beheld the divine mystery, but was shut when there was famine, because there was no fruitfulness in acknowledging God. But in that widow to whom Elias was sent was prefigured a type of the Church.

(Hom. 2. de jejun. Hom. de fame.) For when he beheld the great disgrace that arose from universal plenty, he brought a famine that the people might fast, by which he checked their sin which was exceeding great. But crows were made the ministers of food to the righteous, which are wont to steal the food of others.

Truly I say to you, there were many widows in the days of Elijah in Israel when the sky was closed for three years, etc. It is not (he says) that I withhold divine benefits from the disdainful citizens, contrary to the deeds of the prophets. For just as when famine once afflicted the whole land, no one in Judea was found worthy of hospitality to Elijah, but a widow of a foreign nation was sought, who, by the grace of faith, should be visited by such a great prophet. And just as among the many lepers there, only Naaman the Syrian, because he sought devoutly, deserved to be cured by the prophet Elisha, so here you will be deprived of the heavenly gift for no other reason than envy and faithlessness. If you were to critically examine the deeds of the prophets, and now allegorically study them, you would indeed find that the Lord, in the faithlessness and arrogance of His own homeland, from which He was not received, has noted the pride of the Jews. But by the name of Capernaum, which is interpreted as the field of consolation, He foretold the salvation of the Gentiles, where greater signs are daily performed by the apostles and the successors of the apostles, not so much in the healing of bodies as in the healing of souls. Therefore, the widow to whom Elijah was sent represents the Church of the Gentiles, which, long deserted by its Maker, nurtured with meager provision, that is, taught with the word devoid of fruit, the people ignorant of the true faith—as if it were a poor son—until the prophetic word came, which, when the fleece of Israel was dried up, with the door of heaven closed, was in danger of famine in Judea, would be nourished there and would simultaneously nourish, and thus, received by those who believed, would both refresh the believers and be refreshed by them. Hence, it is fittingly said that this same widow lived in Sarepta of Sidon. Sidon means useless hunting; Sarepta, on the other hand, denotes fire or famine of bread. For where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Rom. 5). Where efforts were directed to acquiring superfluous things, like a concern for hunting, where there was a dire thirst and a famine of spiritual bread, there the flour and oil are blessed by the prophetic word, that is, the fruit and joy of charity, or the grace of the Lord's body and the anointing of chrism, were enriched by the inexhaustible gift of the heavenly word. So far the oil of spiritual joy and the flour of blessing in the vessels has not run out, while the rest of the nations who do not believe are in misery for the lack of divine bread, and are devoted to useless hunting. For she herself, wonderfully intending to make a mystical bread before she died, testified that she wished to gather two sticks, expressing the sign of the cross not only by the name of the wood but also by the number of the woods, by which the bread of eternal life was prepared for us.

He adds a special example in Elijah, the most distinguished of the Prophets, when he says: In truth I say to you: John 17: "Your word is truth." He spoke in truth, whom they ought to have believed, and yet they did not believe; whence that passage in John 8: "If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me?" and that passage in Job 6: "Why have you detracted from the words of truth?" And this is a certain truth, because it is taken from Scripture. Whence it is added: Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, who were placed in necessity on account of the lack of matrimonial companionship: Jeremiah 15: "Her widows are multiplied above the sand of the sea." They were placed in necessity on account of the lack of heavenly rain: whence he adds: When the heaven was shut up and it did not rain for three years and six months: as the Lord had threatened in Leviticus 26: "But if you will not even so obey me, I will make the heaven above you like iron"; and Deuteronomy 28: "Let the heaven that is above you be bronze." And so it came to pass because of their sins: whence Jeremiah 3: "You have polluted the land with your fornications. Therefore the drops of rain have been withheld, and the latter rain has not come." They were placed in necessity on account of the lack of earthly sustenance: and therefore it is added: When there was a great famine throughout all the land: as it is said in 3 Kings 18: "There was a severe famine," etc.; whence that word of the Psalm was verified concerning the children of Israel: "They shall suffer hunger like dogs and shall go about the city," because the king and the steward of his house went about to find pastures, 3 Kings 18.

And note here spiritually that in these two examples he shows the unworthiness of the Jews in comparison with the Gentiles with regard to the universal lack of repentance and the universal contagion of malice, which remained uncured in the Jews but was remedied in the Gentiles through Christ. For the closing of heaven designates the lack of grace and doctrine: Deuteronomy 11: "Take heed lest you depart from the Lord"; and thereafter: "And the Lord being angry shut up heaven, and the rain come not down, and the earth yield not her fruit." Concerning which rain in the Psalm: "God shall set apart a voluntary rain"; and from this comes famine and want of every good: Job 18: "Let his strength be wasted with hunger, and let famine invade his ribs." And note that the rain is said to have been withheld for three years and six months, because during the three and a half years in which the Lord preached, they did not receive the rain of grace, their sins requiring it. For although the rain came upon them, Judea nevertheless did not receive it so as to bear fruit: Hebrews 6: "The earth that drinks in the rain that comes often upon it and brings forth herbs meet for those by whom it is tilled, receives blessing from God: but that which brings forth thorns and briers is rejected and near unto a curse." In this time, however, the true preacher Elijah is sent to the widow in Zarephath of Sidon, who rightly designates the Gentile world, as Bede shows in the Great Gloss, and she was saved while the people of the Jews were abandoned, according to that passage in Acts 13: "Since you reject the word of God and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life: behold, we turn to the Gentiles."

He himself, an earthly angel, a heavenly man, who had neither house, nor food, nor clothing like others, carries the keys of the heavens on his tongue. And this is what follows, When the heaven was shut. But as soon as he had closed the heavens and made the earth barren, hunger reigned and bodies wasted away, as it follows, when there was a famine through the land.

For when a famine came upon the people of Israel, i. e. of hearing the word of God, a prophet came to a widow, of whom it is said, For the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband; (Isa. 54:1, Gal. 4:27.) and when he had come, he multiplies her bread and her nourishment.

(Hom. in div.) Every widowed soul, bereft of virtue and divine knowledge, as soon as she receives the divine word, knowing her own failings, learns to nourish it with the bread of virtue, and to water the teaching of virtue from the fountain of life.

Sidonia signifies a vain pursuit, Sarepta fire, or scarcity of bread. By all which things the Gentiles are signified, who, given up to vain pursuits, (following gain and worldly business,) were suffering from the flames of fleshly lusts, and the want of spiritual bread, until Elias, (i. e. the word of prophecy,) now that the interpretation of the Scriptures had ceased because of the faithlessness of the Jews, came to the Church, that being received into the hearts of believers he might feed and refresh them.

And although they were in such great necessity, it is added: And to none of them was Elijah sent, to relieve them by a miracle from the want of famine, so that the word of the Psalm might be verified in them: "Hungering and thirsting, their soul fainted within them." But he relieved a foreign woman, whence he adds: Except to Sarepta of Sidon, to a widow woman, according to what is written in 3 Kings 17: It was said to Elijah: "Arise and go to Sarepta of the Sidonians and remain there: for I have commanded a widow woman there to feed you"—nay rather, she herself through you.

(Hom. in Pet. et Eli.) But when the stream was dried up by which the cup of the righteous man was filled, God said, Go to Sarepta, a city of Sidon; there I wall command a widow woman to feed you. As it follows, But to none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And this was brought to pass by a particular appointment of God. For God made him go a long journey, as far as Sidon, in order that having seen the famine of the country he should ask for rain from the Lord. But there were many rich men at that time, but none of them did any thing like the widow. For in the respect shown by the woman toward the prophet, consisted her riches not of lands, but of good will.

Now in a mystery the people pollute the Church, that another people might succeed, gathered together from foreigners, leprous indeed at first before it is baptized in the mystical stream, but which after the sacrament of baptism, washed from the stains of body and soul, begins to be a virgin without spot or wrinkle.

And there were many lepers in Israel under Elisha the prophet, and none of them were cleansed, except Naaman the Syrian. Because the story is well-known, it is necessary to disclose a few things about the mystery. And thus Naaman the Syrian, who is interpreted as "beauty," represents the people of the nations, once stained by the leprosy of unbelief and sins, but purified from all foulness of mind and body through the sacrament of baptism. Advised by a captured girl, which is the grace of divine inspiration, which the Jews could not keep but the Gentiles seized, he was urged to hope for salvation and to be washed seven times. Because obviously, the only type of baptism that regenerates by the Holy Spirit saves. Hence it is rightly remembered that his flesh appeared like the flesh of a small child after the washing. Either because grace as a mother begets all baptized in Christ to a single infancy, or more likely he is to be understood as the child of whom it was said: A child is born to us, a son is given to us (Isaiah 9). By whose body through baptism the whole offspring of believers is united. And so that you may know all the prefigured sacraments of baptism here, in which we are commanded to renounce Satan and to confess faith, Naaman declares that he will no longer make offerings to foreign gods, but will serve the Lord alone in all things. He also rejoices to take with him a portion of the Holy Land, because the baptized must also be confirmed by participation in the body of the Lord. Therefore, worthily, Naaman, whose body is washed by water while his heart is washed by faith, that is, the people of the nations, is preferred to the Jews, who are sullied by the leprosy of obstinacy. Worthily, the widow of Zarephath, that is, the Church, desiring to be renewed by the wood of the cross, is refreshed with the bread of the holy body and the anointing of the life-giving Spirit, while the Jews perish from the famine of the word. And it is proven that the Lord denied the gifts of virtues to His fellow citizens not because of His inability, but because of their envy, and by this example the whole nation was ultimately forsaken by Him, not because they were not loved, but because they themselves did not desire to be loved, evidently, as the teachers dispersed throughout the whole world for the salvation of the nations. But what the Lord declared about the Jews, they themselves testified by deed about themselves. For it follows:

For Naaman, which means beautiful, represents the Gentile people, who is ordered to be washed seven times, because that baptism saves which the seven-fold Spirit renews. His flesh after washing began to appear as a child's, because grace like a mother begets all to one childhood, or because he is conformed to Christ, of whom it is said, Unto us a Child is born. (Isa. 9:6.)

Another example for the confirmation of the aforesaid concerning Elisha is introduced, when he says: And many lepers were in Israel under Elisha the prophet: whence in 4 Kings 7 it is said that in the time of Elisha "four leprous men were near the gate of Samaria," and many others in similar necessity. And none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian, in 4 Kings 5, where it is said that Naaman at the word of Elisha washed himself seven times in the Jordan and was restored to full health — and this, by the just judgment of God, because they were not worthy. And by a similar argument and according to the imitation of their predecessors, he was showing that they were unworthy of the reception of miracles. Whence a similar passage in Matthew 23: "You are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who killed the Prophets: and you, fill up the measure of your fathers"; and Acts 7: "Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did, so do you. For which of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute?" etc. And thus they are manifestly convicted, because the lack of miracles was not to be imputed to the powerlessness or negligence of Christ, but rather to their own envy and unbelief: whence they were worthy of being deprived of miracles, just as their fathers also had been deprived.

But the infection of leprosy designates the corruption of malice, which was in all before the coming of Christ, according to that passage of the Psalm: "They are corrupt and have become abominable" etc. From this Judea was not cured: Ezekiel twenty-four: "I wished to cleanse you, and you were not cleansed from your filth; nor will you be cleansed until I cause my indignation to rest upon you." But Naaman is cleansed, who is interpreted as comeliness, and designates the people of the gentiles made comely by the Sacrament of baptism and purged of all foulness of mind and body. And Hosea eight: "How long will she not be able to be cleansed?" according to that passage of Ezekiel thirty-six: "I will pour clean water upon you, and you shall be cleansed from all your defilements." And so according to both interpretations, this was a confutation of the unbelieving Jews.

He cites also another similar example, adding, And there were many lepers in Israel at the time of Eliseus the Prophet, and none of them were cleansed but Naaman the Syrian, who indeed was not of Israel.

For when the sons of the prophets were cutting "wood" with axes on the bank of the river Jordan, the iron flew off and sank in the stream; and so, on Elisha the prophet's coming up, the sons of the prophets beg of him to extract from the stream the iron which had sunk.

If, however, the Creator's prophet Elisha cleansed Naaman the Syrian alone, to the exclusion of so many lepers in Israel, this fact contributes nothing to the distinction of Christ, as if he were in this way the better one for cleansing this Israelite leper, although a stranger to him, whom his own Lord had been unable to cleanse.

Now, although He said in a preceding chapter, that "there were many lepers in lsrµl in the days of Eliseus the prophet, and none of them was cleansed saving Naaman the Syrian," yet of course the mere number proves nothing towards a difference in the gods, as tending to the abasement of the Creator in curing only one, and the pre-eminence of Him who healed ten.

This is not found in many codices. The meaning is clear from the order and harmony of the elements. Both fair and rainy days can be forecast. But the scribes and Pharisees, who were viewed as doctors of the law, could not discern the coming of the Savior from what the prophets had predicted.

He exposes the rashness of their question, saying, "You regard the air as moving according to a certain order, so that by means of signs you are able to predict when the weather will be fair and when stormy. But in the case of miracles you recognize no order at all. You do not recognize any occasions on which doing or not doing wonders is appropriate. You assume that such a thing happens completely without order and without any reason."

He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and threatening. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? He reproves them for their request, the purpose of which was only to test, and He calls them hypocrites, saying, "As it is with the phenomena of the sky where the sign of a storm differs from the sign of calm weather, and one who sees the sign of a storm would not expect calm weather, nor would one seeing the sign of calm weather expect a storm, so too must you think about Me. For this time of My appearing differs from that which is to come. Now there is need for signs on earth, but signs in heaven are reserved for that time when the sun will be extinguished, the moon will be hidden, and the heavens will be changed."

Then he reproves them, and first for their laziness in believing divine things. For if someone has a defect from the nature of his senses, he has an excuse; but when he has wisdom in earthly things and laziness in spiritual things, he is to be reproved; Wis. 13:1: all men are vain, in whom there is not the knowledge of God. And first he shows their shrewdness in earthly things; second, their laziness in spiritual things. He says therefore but he answering, said: when it is evening etc. This has both a literal and a mystical sense. The literal, because from a certain disposition of the sky they could know the sign of fair weather. You say: it will be fair weather, for the sky is red. Likewise of a storm, because you say today there will be a storm, for the sky is red and lowering, because it designates sadness. For when the air is troubled, men are not so cheerful. For redness in the evening is a sign of fair weather. The reason is, according to the Philosopher, from the diffusion of the sun's rays upon the vapors. For when the vapors are many, then the rays cannot penetrate, and then a dark color appears in the air; but when the vapors are thin, the rays penetrate. But when the fiery element dominates, then a red color appears, as is seen in a flame, because the more it is raised up, the more redness appears in it. Therefore it signifies that the vapors are not many, and fair weather is signified. But when in the morning it sometimes resolves into dew or into rain, it is a sign of a storm. According to the mystery, by evening the passion of Christ is signified. In the evening the sun sets; so Christ suffered in the evening of the world; Mal. 3:2: who shall be able to think of the day of his coming, and who shall stand to see him? For he is like a refining fire; Ps. 29:6: in the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness. Hence he appeared glowing in the evening, and signified tranquility; Tob. 3:22: after a storm thou makest a calm, and after tears and weeping thou pourest in joyfulness. In the resurrection, which is signified by morning, redness appeared in the martyrs, and it signifies a storm for sinners. Or by morning is signified the morning of the day of judgment, which a redness shall precede; Ps. 96:3: a fire shall go before him. Hence you are instructed in these earthly things. You know how to discern the face of the sky, but the signs of the times you cannot know? There are two times: one corresponds to the first coming, the other to the second coming. Certain signs preceded the first coming; Isa. 45:8: drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just one: let the earth be opened, and bud forth a Savior etc. And 45:15: verily thou art a hidden God. But at the end God will come manifestly, and signs from heaven will not appear. But the time has not yet come. Or otherwise: you know how to discern the face of the sky etc., as if to say, you seek a sign of the coming. It is superfluous to seek a sign where there are many signs. Above 11:5: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed etc. This sign had been given by Isa. 35:4: the Lord himself will come, and will save us; then shall the eyes of the blind be opened etc. Some, from this authority, argue that we ought to be diligent in knowing the second coming. But Augustine expounds it of the first coming. The first is most certain, because it is unto salvation, salvation is through faith, faith is through knowledge; therefore it is necessary that it be recognized. But the second is for rewarding; therefore it is hidden, so that men may be more solicitous.

Just as that whale was not able to digest Jonah nor was able to keep him alive inside himself for long, so too voracious Death assuredly received the Lord. But since he was not able to keep him alive and in custody inside himself, Death regurgitated him on the third day, just as the whale had regurgitated Jonah. For Death, though accustomed always to eat and digest the dead, was nauseated and vomited out the Lord alive. Truly he was not able to digest him, for he was a rock—as the apostle says: "Moreover, Christ was a rock." And indeed the whale gulped and expelled only Jonah. But Death in ingesting the Lord cast out not that very one alone but many with him. For we read that many corpses of the holy had risen up with the Lord.

But he descended from the sky and established for these an earthly sign that he might preserve among them a conviction of bodily humility, saying that the sign was to be given by Jonah. The Lord compares himself by means of like appearance with this one whom he had dispatched to Nineveh to accomplish the coming suffering for the proclamation of repentance. Indeed, Jonah was thrown from the ship by furiously raging winds and was devoured by the whale. After the space of three days he was cast out alive, not retained by the monster. He was not digested as food, but contrary to the nature of the human body, he escaped whole and unharmed into the open air. He prefigured the Lord. Therefore Jesus demonstrated that this sign of his own power had been divinely constituted, thus proclaiming in himself the forgiveness of sins through repentance. For he was soon to be cast out of Jerusalem and the synagogue by the blast of unclean spirits and by the power of Pontius Pilate.

Observe, we do not read here as in other places, that He sent the multitudes away and departed; but because the error of unbelief held the minds of the presumptuous, it is said that He left them.

"And besides, how shall I give the great signs, when the little are not believed?" Little, I mean, as regards display, since in power these latter were much greater than the former. For what could be equal to remitting sins, and raising the dead, and driving away devils, and creating a body, and ordering all other things aright?

But do thou see their hardened heart, how on being told, that "no sign should be given them but the sign of the prophet Jonas," they do not ask. And yet, knowing both the prophet, and all that befell him, and having been told this a second time, they ought to have inquired and learnt what the saying could mean; but, as I said, there is no desire of information in these their doings. For this cause "He also left them, and departed."

Now he called them evil because their wicked deeds had made them evil people (evil because of deliberate wickedness) and adulterous because when the Pharisees and Sadducees left their metaphoric spouse, the true word, they committed adultery, with falsehood and the law of sin.Assume there are two laws: the law of our bodies, which is in conflict with the law of our mind. We might say then that the law of the mind (that is, the law of the Spirit) is the husband to whom the soul was betrothed by God as wife according to the Scripture; a wife is married to a man by God. But the other law is a seducer of the soul and as such is called "adulterous."

A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign: and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And He left them and departed. He calls them "a wicked generation" for tempting Him, and "adulterous" for deserting God and going over to the devil's side. Although they asked for a sign from heaven, He gives only the sign of Jonah, which is, that for three days He will be in the belly of the great whale of death, and then He will rise. Yet you might say that this sign too is from heaven, for at His death the sun was darkened and all creation was changed. Mark the words "there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah." It was for them that the signs were given, that is, the signs took place for their sakes, yet they did not believe. This is why He left them as incurable and departed.

Then he denies the sign they asked for; hence it is said: a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. It is called a wicked generation, because it departs from God: for evil is through departure from God. He forsook God who made him, and he departed from God his Savior, as is found in Deut. 32:15. But adulterous, because it has joined itself to another; Ps. 26: if I forsake thee in my life; Isa. 55:7: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts. It seeketh a sign, and it ought not to have one, because a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas, because just as Jonas was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so etc.; as was treated above in chapter 12. But why does he set forth the sign of the resurrection rather than another sign? It must be said that through the resurrection salvation came to us; Rom. 10:9: if thou confess in thy heart that Christ is risen, thou shalt be saved, because by rising he restored life, because through the resurrection of Christ we shall rise. Therefore this sign was given to the faithful, and all others are directed to this, namely that he raised Lazarus, etc. Hence no other sign was given to them. But to his disciples he gave a sign from heaven, when he showed them his glory, as is found below in chapter 17. So then he showed their laziness. There follows the part in which he refutes them by the act of departing from them. And he left them, and went away; for he does not dwell with the wicked; Wis. 1:3: he separateth himself from the perverse.

The apostles are ordered to watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They are warned not to be involved in the disputes of the Jews. The works of the law are now to be viewed in the light of faith. They are forewarned that they, into whose time and age the truth had appeared incarnate, should judge nothing except which lies within the position of hope in likeness of the truth that is revealed. They are warned against allowing the doctrine of the Pharisees, who are unaware of Christ, to corrupt the effectiveness of the truth of the gospel.

Herein the Apostles are admonished not to be partakers in the doctrine of the Jews; for the works of the Law were established to produce faith, and to prefigure the things that were to follow; and they on whose times truth itself had chanced should look for no further types of truth; lest the teaching of the Pharisees, which knew not of Christ, should stay the effect of Gospel truth.

(Verses 6, 7.) Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. But they were discussing among themselves, saying, 'We did not bring any bread.' He who avoids the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees does not observe the precepts of the Law and the teachings of men, neglecting the traditions in order to fulfill God's commandment.

For he that takes heed of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, does not observe the precepts of the Law and of the letter, and neglects the traditions of men that he may do the commandments of God. This is the leaven of which the Apostle speaks, A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. (1 Cor. 5:6.) By every means also we should avoid that leaven which Marcion, Valentinus, and all the heretics had. For the nature of leaven is such, that when mixed with flour, that which seemed a little increases to a large quantity, and brings the whole mixture to its own flavour. Thus heretical doctrine if it have cast but a small spark into your breast, in a short time a mighty flame is raised, and drives the whole temper of the man along with it.

And again in another place our Lord taught His disciples to beware of the cunning of the Pharisees and Sadducees, saying, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, and of the leaven of Herod;" and thou mayest know that He here calleth cunning and wickedness by the name of leaven. Our Lord did not bid them beware of the doctrine of Moses which the Pharisees taught, but of their traditions which they invented in their cunning that they might be material for the merchandise of iniquity; and of their feigning to be righteous before the children of men; and of their being careful of the honour of God while in their secret works they belittled Him; and of their making long their prayers in order to devour widow's houses; and of their disfiguring their countenances that they might appear to be men who fasted; and of their washing the outside of the cup and platter—that is to say, they beautified and made fair the parts of them which were manifest—being filled within with iniquity and all impurity; and of their adorning their persons outside with a reverent and venerable demeanour to be observed with the eye, being secretly filled with rapine, and deceit, and wantonness, and the desire for all objects of lust. Of all this doctrine then of the Pharisees our Lord commanded His disciples to beware. All these things which arise from deceit, and which are wrought under a false disguise are born of cunning.

Because he said: take heed and beware etc. Here the teaching is set forth. By leaven he means corrupt doctrine; hence he does not mean the doctrine of the law, but the traditions of the Pharisees, which are called leaven, because just as from a little leaven the whole is corrupted, so from a small error the whole of life is corrupted, just as from a road from which a man departs a little, he afterwards goes far astray: hence the Philosopher says in the first book of On the Heavens that a small error in the beginning becomes great at the end. The spiritual meaning is bread, not leaven. Hence by bread true doctrine is understood; Ecclus. 15:3: she fed him with the bread of life and understanding. Hence it says take heed, and beware, because false doctrine is dangerous. For while faith remains in a man, there is no danger; but when the foundation has been removed, there is no hope. Ps. 136:7: rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. The foundation is faith; Titus 3:10: a man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, avoid. Because false doctrine has an appearance of truth, therefore he says take heed, i.e., consider diligently; Prov. 4:25: let thy eyes look straight on, and let thy eyelids go before thy steps.

(de Cons. Ev. lib. ii. 42.) But since St. Luke mentions that great things had been already done by Him, which he knows he had not yet related, what is more evident than that he knowingly anticipated the relation of them. For he had not proceeded so far beyond our Lord's baptism as that he should be supposed to have forgotten that he had not yet related any of those things which were done in Capernaum.

And he said to them: Certainly you will quote me this proverb: Physician, heal yourself: whatever, etc. Their insane perfidy, although ignorant of sound faith, confesses it, calling the Lord Christ both a craftsman and a physician. For he is indeed the true craftsman, because all things were made through him. He is a physician, because all things were restored through him in heaven and on earth. And as he himself testifies about himself: Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick (Mark II). And since we have said by what instrument he works as a craftsman, let us also say by what method he heals. Passing by, he saw a man blind from birth, he spat on the ground, and made mud with the saliva, and applied it to his eyes, and said to him: Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which means Sent. So he went and washed, and came back seeing (John IX). Recognize then the greatness of his healing method, and rejoice because through this you have deserved to be enlightened. The mud from the earth is the flesh of Christ. The saliva from the mouth is his divinity, because the head of Christ is God. The saliva mixed with the mud enlightens us when baptized in the pool of Siloam, because the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory (John I), which we could not comprehend before, being hindered by darkness. Therefore, you were created through the craftsman Christ, so that you might exist. You were recreated through the physician Christ, so that after wounds you might be healthy. Although he is advised by the scornful citizens to heal himself, that is, to perform miracles in his own country, he is not excused in vain by another Evangelist, because he could not perform any miracle there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. Lest anyone should think that a lesser affection should be given to one's own country. Therefore, he loved the citizens, but they themselves deprived themselves of the love of their fatherland through spite.

By way of hidden irony he expresses their reproaches, when he adds: And he said to them: Doubtless you will say to me this similitude: for he saw them thinking this secretly. He said therefore: this you propose ironically against me, which you have secretly conceived in your hearts, because, according to what is said in Matthew twelve, "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks"; you propose this similitude, namely by irony: Physician, heal yourself: which is customarily said to physicians who are ailing, when they cannot help themselves, or do not know how, or are negligent: which is a mocking word directed at them. So also you, heal yourself, that is, the infirm one. Which they said rather out of unbelief and derision than out of humility and devotion, as is said in Matthew thirteen, that "he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief." Whence Bede says in the Gloss: "In vain do you await the help of heavenly mercy, if you envy the virtues bestowed on others. For the Lord is a despiser of the envious, and from those who persecute the divine benefits given to others, he turns away the miracles of his power." And note that they ironically call him physician, whom they ought truthfully to confess as physician, according to that passage in Job five: "He himself wounds and heals." They despise him whom they ought to revere and honor, according to that passage in Sirach thirty-eight: "Honor the physician on account of necessity"; and afterward: "The Most High created medicine from the earth, and a prudent man will not abhor it."

But by way of explicit invective he expresses it, when he adds: How great things we have heard done in Capernaum, namely miraculous works: whence Matthew eleven: "Woe to you, Capernaum! For if in Tyre and Sidon the mighty works had been done," etc. But how did they hear these things, since the Evangelist had not yet related that he had performed any miracles? On account of which it must be noted that the Evangelist does not follow the order of events as they happened, but the order of his own intention, and this indeed he does frequently; and therefore, when one Evangelist narrates afterward what another narrates before, there is no contradiction, because they do not intend to say that events occurred in the order in which they were written, as Augustine says in On the Harmony of the Evangelists. Moreover, Luke, together with the other two, Matthew and Mark, narrates nothing about the first coming of Christ into Galilee, but about the second; about the first, however, John alone treats. From the fame, therefore, of miracles performed in a foreign land, they reproached him because he did not perform them in his own land. Whence is added: Do so also here in your own country; and this is to say: heal yourself, that is, heal those of your own country through miracles, as you have healed others, according to that passage in Sirach fourteen: "He who is evil to himself, to whom will he be good?" and First Timothy five: "If anyone does not have care for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith"; it is said in Sirach seventeen: "He gave commandment to each one concerning his neighbor."

Jesus rebuked them, therefore, for asking so foolishly, "Isn't this Joseph's son?" Keeping to the goal of his teaching, he says, "Truly, I tell you, that no prophet is acceptable in his country." As I have mentioned, certain Jews affirmed that the prophecies relating to Christ had been fulfilled in the holy prophets or in certain of their own more distinguished men. For their good, he draws them away from such a supposition. He said that Elijah had been sent to a single widow and that the prophet Elisha had healed but one leper, Naaman the Syrian. By these he refers to the church of the heathen, who were about to accept him and be healed of their leprosy, by reason of Israel's remaining impenitent.

It was a common proverb among the Hebrews, invented as a reproach, for men used to cry out against infirm physicians, Physician, heal thyself.

(ordin.) It was as if they said, We have heard that you performed many cures in Capernaum; cure also thyself, i. e. Do likewise in your own city, where you were nourished and brought up.

(ubi sup.) For though after a long time and when He had begun to show forth His miracles, He came to them; they did not receive Him, but again were inflamed with envy. Hence it follows, And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself.

As far as Luke's narrative is concerned, our Lord is not yet said to have worked any miracle in Capernaum. For before He came to Capernaum, He is said to have lived at Nazareth. I cannot but think therefore that in these words, "whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum," there lies a mystery concealed, and that Nazareth is a type of the Jews, Capernaum of the Gentiles. For the time will come when the people of Israel shall say, "The things which thou hast shown to the whole world, show also to us." Preach thy word to the people of Israel, that then at least, when the fulness of the Gentiles has entered, all Israel may be saved. Our Saviour seems to me to have well answered, No prophet is accepted in his own country, but rather according to the type than the letter; though neither was Jeremiah accepted in Anathoth his country, nor the rest of the Prophets. But it seems rather to be meant that we should say, that the people of the circumcision were the countrymen of all the Prophets. And the Gentiles indeed accepted the prophecy of Jesus Christ, esteeming Moses and the Prophets who preached of Christ, far higher than they who would not from these receive Jesus.

But Christ will be (the Christ) of the prophets, wheresoever He is found in accordance with the prophets. And yet even at Nazareth He is not remarked as having preached anything new, whilst in another verse He is said to have been rejected by reason of a simple proverb.

Therefore, the Savior excuses that he has not worked any miracles of virtue in his own country, so that no one might think that he should have a lower affection for his country. For he could not fail to love his fellow citizens, since he loved all. But those who envy have cast themselves out, through their lack of love for their country. For love does not envy... does not boast (1 Corinthians 13:4). However, the homeland is not devoid of divine blessings. For what greater miracle is there than that Christ was born in her? Therefore, see what evil envy brings. A homeland is judged unworthy because of envy, where a citizen works, which was worthy for the birth of the Son of God.

But the Saviour purposely excuses Himself for not working miracles in His own country, that no one might suppose that love of country is a thing to be lightly esteemed by us. For it follows, But he says, Verily I say unto you, that no prophet is accepted in his own country.

But this is given for an example, that in vain can you expect the aid of Divine mercy, if you grudge to others the fruits of their virtue. The Lord despises the envious, and withdraws the miracles of His power from them that are jealous of His divine blessings in others. For our Lord's Incarnation is an evidence of His divinity, and His invisible things are proved to us by those which are visible. See then what evils envy produces. For envy a country is deemed unworthy of the works of its citizen, which was worthy of the conception of the Son of God.

He said: Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. That the Lord Christ is called a prophet in the Scriptures, Moses is a witness, who said: God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brothers like me (Deut. XVIII). Not only he who is the head and Lord of the prophets but also Elijah, Jeremiah, and the rest of the prophets were held in less regard in their own country than in distant cities. For it is almost natural that citizens always envy their fellow citizens. For they do not consider the man's present works, but remember his fragile childhood, as if they themselves had not reached mature age through the same stages of life.

Now that Christ is called a Prophet in the Scriptures, Moses bears witness, saying, God shall raise up a Prophet unto you from among your brethren. (Deut. 18:15.)

Here, after the reproaches of the detractors, prophetic examples are added, confuting the detractors. For their full confutation, a general proverb is first set forth; second, a special example in Elijah, the most eminent of the Prophets; third, in Elisha, his disciple. The first is for admonishing, the second for confuting, the third for confirming. Therefore he sets forth the general proverb concerning every Prophet and people, when he says: And he said, namely Christ: Amen I say to you, that is, with certainty, because amen is a sign of affirmation. And truly so, because, as he himself says in Matthew twenty-four, "heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." That no prophet is accepted in his own country, namely neither as regards doctrine nor as regards life, in which Prophets were accustomed to have excellence. And therefore it is not surprising if he does not work miracles in his own country, which are not to be done for the ungrateful and unworthy. This denunciation of the Savior is attested by the fact that Joseph is sold by his brothers, Genesis thirty-seven, and honored by the Egyptians, Genesis forty-one. So Moses suffers insult from Aaron and Miriam, Numbers twelve, and is reproached by his fellow tribesmen, Numbers sixteen. So Abraham suffers from his countrymen; whence it is said to him: "Go forth from your land and from your kindred," Genesis twelve.

Bede in the Gloss assigns the reason for this: "The other Prophets were less honored in their homeland than in other cities, because it is almost natural for citizens to envy their fellow citizens. For they do not consider the present works of the man, nor his virtue, but they recall his frail infancy, as though they themselves had not also passed through the same stages of age to maturity."

As if He says, You wish me to work many miracles among you, in whose country I have been brought up, but I am aware of a very common failing in the minds of many. To a certain extent it always happens, that even the very best things are despised when they fall to a man's lot, not scantily, but ever at his will. So it happens also with respect to men. For a friend who is ever at hand, does not meet with the respect due to him.

And yet even at Nazareth He is not remarked as having preached anything new, whilst in another verse He is said to have been rejected by reason of a simple proverb. Here at once, when I observe that they laid their hands on Him, I cannot help drawing a conclusion respecting His bodily substance, which cannot be believed to have been a phantom, since it was capable of being touched and even violently handled, when He was seized and taken and led to the very brink of a precipice.

By a very apt comparison the arrogance of envious citizens is put to shame, and our Lord's conduct shown to agree with the ancient Scriptures. For it follows, But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias: not that the days were his, but that he performed his works in them.

But he says in a mystery, "In the days of Elias," because Elias brought the day to them who saw in his works the light of spiritual grace, and so the heaven was opened to them that beheld the divine mystery, but was shut when there was famine, because there was no fruitfulness in acknowledging God. But in that widow to whom Elias was sent was prefigured a type of the Church.

(Hom. 2. de jejun. Hom. de fame.) For when he beheld the great disgrace that arose from universal plenty, he brought a famine that the people might fast, by which he checked their sin which was exceeding great. But crows were made the ministers of food to the righteous, which are wont to steal the food of others.

Truly I say to you, there were many widows in the days of Elijah in Israel when the sky was closed for three years, etc. It is not (he says) that I withhold divine benefits from the disdainful citizens, contrary to the deeds of the prophets. For just as when famine once afflicted the whole land, no one in Judea was found worthy of hospitality to Elijah, but a widow of a foreign nation was sought, who, by the grace of faith, should be visited by such a great prophet. And just as among the many lepers there, only Naaman the Syrian, because he sought devoutly, deserved to be cured by the prophet Elisha, so here you will be deprived of the heavenly gift for no other reason than envy and faithlessness. If you were to critically examine the deeds of the prophets, and now allegorically study them, you would indeed find that the Lord, in the faithlessness and arrogance of His own homeland, from which He was not received, has noted the pride of the Jews. But by the name of Capernaum, which is interpreted as the field of consolation, He foretold the salvation of the Gentiles, where greater signs are daily performed by the apostles and the successors of the apostles, not so much in the healing of bodies as in the healing of souls. Therefore, the widow to whom Elijah was sent represents the Church of the Gentiles, which, long deserted by its Maker, nurtured with meager provision, that is, taught with the word devoid of fruit, the people ignorant of the true faith—as if it were a poor son—until the prophetic word came, which, when the fleece of Israel was dried up, with the door of heaven closed, was in danger of famine in Judea, would be nourished there and would simultaneously nourish, and thus, received by those who believed, would both refresh the believers and be refreshed by them. Hence, it is fittingly said that this same widow lived in Sarepta of Sidon. Sidon means useless hunting; Sarepta, on the other hand, denotes fire or famine of bread. For where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Rom. 5). Where efforts were directed to acquiring superfluous things, like a concern for hunting, where there was a dire thirst and a famine of spiritual bread, there the flour and oil are blessed by the prophetic word, that is, the fruit and joy of charity, or the grace of the Lord's body and the anointing of chrism, were enriched by the inexhaustible gift of the heavenly word. So far the oil of spiritual joy and the flour of blessing in the vessels has not run out, while the rest of the nations who do not believe are in misery for the lack of divine bread, and are devoted to useless hunting. For she herself, wonderfully intending to make a mystical bread before she died, testified that she wished to gather two sticks, expressing the sign of the cross not only by the name of the wood but also by the number of the woods, by which the bread of eternal life was prepared for us.

He adds a special example in Elijah, the most distinguished of the Prophets, when he says: In truth I say to you: John 17: "Your word is truth." He spoke in truth, whom they ought to have believed, and yet they did not believe; whence that passage in John 8: "If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me?" and that passage in Job 6: "Why have you detracted from the words of truth?" And this is a certain truth, because it is taken from Scripture. Whence it is added: Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, who were placed in necessity on account of the lack of matrimonial companionship: Jeremiah 15: "Her widows are multiplied above the sand of the sea." They were placed in necessity on account of the lack of heavenly rain: whence he adds: When the heaven was shut up and it did not rain for three years and six months: as the Lord had threatened in Leviticus 26: "But if you will not even so obey me, I will make the heaven above you like iron"; and Deuteronomy 28: "Let the heaven that is above you be bronze." And so it came to pass because of their sins: whence Jeremiah 3: "You have polluted the land with your fornications. Therefore the drops of rain have been withheld, and the latter rain has not come." They were placed in necessity on account of the lack of earthly sustenance: and therefore it is added: When there was a great famine throughout all the land: as it is said in 3 Kings 18: "There was a severe famine," etc.; whence that word of the Psalm was verified concerning the children of Israel: "They shall suffer hunger like dogs and shall go about the city," because the king and the steward of his house went about to find pastures, 3 Kings 18.

And note here spiritually that in these two examples he shows the unworthiness of the Jews in comparison with the Gentiles with regard to the universal lack of repentance and the universal contagion of malice, which remained uncured in the Jews but was remedied in the Gentiles through Christ. For the closing of heaven designates the lack of grace and doctrine: Deuteronomy 11: "Take heed lest you depart from the Lord"; and thereafter: "And the Lord being angry shut up heaven, and the rain come not down, and the earth yield not her fruit." Concerning which rain in the Psalm: "God shall set apart a voluntary rain"; and from this comes famine and want of every good: Job 18: "Let his strength be wasted with hunger, and let famine invade his ribs." And note that the rain is said to have been withheld for three years and six months, because during the three and a half years in which the Lord preached, they did not receive the rain of grace, their sins requiring it. For although the rain came upon them, Judea nevertheless did not receive it so as to bear fruit: Hebrews 6: "The earth that drinks in the rain that comes often upon it and brings forth herbs meet for those by whom it is tilled, receives blessing from God: but that which brings forth thorns and briers is rejected and near unto a curse." In this time, however, the true preacher Elijah is sent to the widow in Zarephath of Sidon, who rightly designates the Gentile world, as Bede shows in the Great Gloss, and she was saved while the people of the Jews were abandoned, according to that passage in Acts 13: "Since you reject the word of God and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life: behold, we turn to the Gentiles."

He himself, an earthly angel, a heavenly man, who had neither house, nor food, nor clothing like others, carries the keys of the heavens on his tongue. And this is what follows, When the heaven was shut. But as soon as he had closed the heavens and made the earth barren, hunger reigned and bodies wasted away, as it follows, when there was a famine through the land.

For when a famine came upon the people of Israel, i. e. of hearing the word of God, a prophet came to a widow, of whom it is said, For the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband; (Isa. 54:1, Gal. 4:27.) and when he had come, he multiplies her bread and her nourishment.

(Hom. in div.) Every widowed soul, bereft of virtue and divine knowledge, as soon as she receives the divine word, knowing her own failings, learns to nourish it with the bread of virtue, and to water the teaching of virtue from the fountain of life.

Sidonia signifies a vain pursuit, Sarepta fire, or scarcity of bread. By all which things the Gentiles are signified, who, given up to vain pursuits, (following gain and worldly business,) were suffering from the flames of fleshly lusts, and the want of spiritual bread, until Elias, (i. e. the word of prophecy,) now that the interpretation of the Scriptures had ceased because of the faithlessness of the Jews, came to the Church, that being received into the hearts of believers he might feed and refresh them.

And although they were in such great necessity, it is added: And to none of them was Elijah sent, to relieve them by a miracle from the want of famine, so that the word of the Psalm might be verified in them: "Hungering and thirsting, their soul fainted within them." But he relieved a foreign woman, whence he adds: Except to Sarepta of Sidon, to a widow woman, according to what is written in 3 Kings 17: It was said to Elijah: "Arise and go to Sarepta of the Sidonians and remain there: for I have commanded a widow woman there to feed you"—nay rather, she herself through you.

(Hom. in Pet. et Eli.) But when the stream was dried up by which the cup of the righteous man was filled, God said, Go to Sarepta, a city of Sidon; there I wall command a widow woman to feed you. As it follows, But to none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And this was brought to pass by a particular appointment of God. For God made him go a long journey, as far as Sidon, in order that having seen the famine of the country he should ask for rain from the Lord. But there were many rich men at that time, but none of them did any thing like the widow. For in the respect shown by the woman toward the prophet, consisted her riches not of lands, but of good will.

Now in a mystery the people pollute the Church, that another people might succeed, gathered together from foreigners, leprous indeed at first before it is baptized in the mystical stream, but which after the sacrament of baptism, washed from the stains of body and soul, begins to be a virgin without spot or wrinkle.

And there were many lepers in Israel under Elisha the prophet, and none of them were cleansed, except Naaman the Syrian. Because the story is well-known, it is necessary to disclose a few things about the mystery. And thus Naaman the Syrian, who is interpreted as "beauty," represents the people of the nations, once stained by the leprosy of unbelief and sins, but purified from all foulness of mind and body through the sacrament of baptism. Advised by a captured girl, which is the grace of divine inspiration, which the Jews could not keep but the Gentiles seized, he was urged to hope for salvation and to be washed seven times. Because obviously, the only type of baptism that regenerates by the Holy Spirit saves. Hence it is rightly remembered that his flesh appeared like the flesh of a small child after the washing. Either because grace as a mother begets all baptized in Christ to a single infancy, or more likely he is to be understood as the child of whom it was said: A child is born to us, a son is given to us (Isaiah 9). By whose body through baptism the whole offspring of believers is united. And so that you may know all the prefigured sacraments of baptism here, in which we are commanded to renounce Satan and to confess faith, Naaman declares that he will no longer make offerings to foreign gods, but will serve the Lord alone in all things. He also rejoices to take with him a portion of the Holy Land, because the baptized must also be confirmed by participation in the body of the Lord. Therefore, worthily, Naaman, whose body is washed by water while his heart is washed by faith, that is, the people of the nations, is preferred to the Jews, who are sullied by the leprosy of obstinacy. Worthily, the widow of Zarephath, that is, the Church, desiring to be renewed by the wood of the cross, is refreshed with the bread of the holy body and the anointing of the life-giving Spirit, while the Jews perish from the famine of the word. And it is proven that the Lord denied the gifts of virtues to His fellow citizens not because of His inability, but because of their envy, and by this example the whole nation was ultimately forsaken by Him, not because they were not loved, but because they themselves did not desire to be loved, evidently, as the teachers dispersed throughout the whole world for the salvation of the nations. But what the Lord declared about the Jews, they themselves testified by deed about themselves. For it follows:

For Naaman, which means beautiful, represents the Gentile people, who is ordered to be washed seven times, because that baptism saves which the seven-fold Spirit renews. His flesh after washing began to appear as a child's, because grace like a mother begets all to one childhood, or because he is conformed to Christ, of whom it is said, Unto us a Child is born. (Isa. 9:6.)

Another example for the confirmation of the aforesaid concerning Elisha is introduced, when he says: And many lepers were in Israel under Elisha the prophet: whence in 4 Kings 7 it is said that in the time of Elisha "four leprous men were near the gate of Samaria," and many others in similar necessity. And none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian, in 4 Kings 5, where it is said that Naaman at the word of Elisha washed himself seven times in the Jordan and was restored to full health — and this, by the just judgment of God, because they were not worthy. And by a similar argument and according to the imitation of their predecessors, he was showing that they were unworthy of the reception of miracles. Whence a similar passage in Matthew 23: "You are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who killed the Prophets: and you, fill up the measure of your fathers"; and Acts 7: "Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did, so do you. For which of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute?" etc. And thus they are manifestly convicted, because the lack of miracles was not to be imputed to the powerlessness or negligence of Christ, but rather to their own envy and unbelief: whence they were worthy of being deprived of miracles, just as their fathers also had been deprived.

But the infection of leprosy designates the corruption of malice, which was in all before the coming of Christ, according to that passage of the Psalm: "They are corrupt and have become abominable" etc. From this Judea was not cured: Ezekiel twenty-four: "I wished to cleanse you, and you were not cleansed from your filth; nor will you be cleansed until I cause my indignation to rest upon you." But Naaman is cleansed, who is interpreted as comeliness, and designates the people of the gentiles made comely by the Sacrament of baptism and purged of all foulness of mind and body. And Hosea eight: "How long will she not be able to be cleansed?" according to that passage of Ezekiel thirty-six: "I will pour clean water upon you, and you shall be cleansed from all your defilements." And so according to both interpretations, this was a confutation of the unbelieving Jews.

He cites also another similar example, adding, And there were many lepers in Israel at the time of Eliseus the Prophet, and none of them were cleansed but Naaman the Syrian, who indeed was not of Israel.

For when the sons of the prophets were cutting "wood" with axes on the bank of the river Jordan, the iron flew off and sank in the stream; and so, on Elisha the prophet's coming up, the sons of the prophets beg of him to extract from the stream the iron which had sunk.

If, however, the Creator's prophet Elisha cleansed Naaman the Syrian alone, to the exclusion of so many lepers in Israel, this fact contributes nothing to the distinction of Christ, as if he were in this way the better one for cleansing this Israelite leper, although a stranger to him, whom his own Lord had been unable to cleanse.

Now, although He said in a preceding chapter, that "there were many lepers in lsrµl in the days of Eliseus the prophet, and none of them was cleansed saving Naaman the Syrian," yet of course the mere number proves nothing towards a difference in the gods, as tending to the abasement of the Creator in curing only one, and the pre-eminence of Him who healed ten.