Saturday of the 29th week after Pentecost

(Ambrosiaster. Serm. xii. 1.) Also like a wise master inculcating His doctrines as much by His own practice, as by word of mouth, He did that which He commanded all His disciples to do.

The order of regulars corresponds to the Angels, whose function is humility, for the members of regular orders must be more subject to their superior than a pupil to his master or a subject to his prelate, "for so it becomes us to fulfill all justice."

Whence on that passage in Matthew three: Thus it becomes us to fulfill; the Gloss: "that is, all humility, which is all justice." And Gregory in a Homily: "In the other things which you do, hold humility as the root of good work. For even if any works be present, they are nevertheless nothing unless they are seasoned with humility: for a wondrous action accompanied by pride does not elevate but weighs down. For he who gathers virtues without humility carries dust into the wind: and whence he is perceived to see, thence he is the more grievously blinded." The same: "Whatever you build grows entirely toward ruin, if before the mass of the structure you do not lay the foundations of humility."

The perfect ordering according to the rule of abundant justice is that not only should the inferior subject himself to the superior, and the equal to the equal, but also that the superior should voluntarily subject himself to the inferior, according to what is said in Matthew 3: Thus it becometh us to fulfill all justice: where the Gloss says: "Thus, by subjecting himself to a servant and an inferior, it becometh him to fulfill all justice, that is, humility, which is all justice. And this humility has three degrees: the first is to subject oneself to a greater, and this is called sufficient; the second is to subject oneself to an equal, and this is called abundant; the third is to be subject to a lesser, in which consists all justice. This Christ fulfilled." Since therefore a man is then perfectly subjected to another man when he voluntarily binds himself to obey the commands of another in those things that are according to God, especially of one who was not greater than he, but either equal, or sometimes even lesser — for every man surpasses another in some respect, at least according to the soul — hence it is that toward the perfection of the justice that orders according to the way of the dignative order, which runs according to the law of grace, whereby the greater regards himself as the lesser, obedience which is rendered by one man to another both concurs and contributes most greatly.

The Lord here is testing the faithful deference of service on the part of his servant, but he reveals the mystery of his dispensation by saying, "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness," showing this to be true righteousness, that he the Lord and Master should fulfill in himself every sacrament of our salvation. Therefore the Lord did not want to be baptized for his own sake but for ours, in order to fulfill all righteousness. Indeed, it is only right that whatever someone instructs another to do, he should first do himself. Since the Lord and Master of the human race had come, he wanted to teach by his example what must be done for disciples to follow their Master and for servants their Lord.

For by Him must all righteousness have been fulfilled, by whom alone the Law could be fulfilled.

(Verse 15.) Without measure. He spoke beautifully, without measure, to show Christ in water, John to be baptized by Christ in spirit. Or differently, without measure: so that I, who assumed the form of a servant, may fulfill his humility. Otherwise, know that you shall be baptized by me in the day of my judgment. Without measure, says the Lord Jesus, I have another baptism by which I must be baptized. You baptize me in water, so that I may baptize you for me in your blood.

Beautifully said is that now, to show that as Christ was baptized with water by John, so John must be baptized by Christ with the Spirit. Or, suffer now that I who have taken the form of a servant should fulfil all that low estate; otherwise know that in the day of judgment thou must be baptized with my baptism. Or, the Lord says, 'Suffer this now; I have also another baptism wherewithal I must be baptized; thou baptizest Me with water, that I may baptize thee for Me with thy own blood.'

Righteousness; but he adds neither 'of the Law;' nor 'of nature,' that we may understand it of both.

To prove that this was to Him the last good work of those enjoined by the law, hear His own words: "For thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." Now what He saith is like this: "We have performed all the duties of the law, we have not transgressed so much as one commandment. Since therefore this only remains, this too must be added, and so shall we 'fulfill all righteousness.'" For He here calls by the name of "righteousness" the full performance of all the commandments.

And he said not, "And art Thou baptized of me?" nay, for this he feared to say: but what? "And comest Thou to me?" What then doth Christ? What He did afterwards with respect to Peter, this did He then also. For so he too would have forbidden Him to wash his feet, but when he had heard, "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter," and "thou hast no part with me," he speedily withdrew from his determination, and went over to the contrary. And this man again in like manner, when he had heard, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness," straightway obeyed. For they were not unduly contentious, but they manifested both love and obedience, and made it their study to be ruled by their Lord in all things.

And mark how He urges him on that very ground which chiefly caused him to look doubtfully on what was taking place; in that He did not say, "thus it is just," but "thus it becometh." For, inasmuch as the point unworthy of Him was in his mind chiefly this, His being baptized by His servant, He stated this rather than anything else, which is directly opposed to that impression: as though He had said, "Is it not as unbecoming that thou avoidest and forbiddest this? nay, for this self-same cause I bid thee suffer it, that it is becoming, and that in the highest degree."

And He did not merely say, "suffer," but He added, "now." "For it will not be so forever," saith He, "but thou shalt see me such as thou desirest; for the present, however, endure this." Next He shows also how this "becometh" Him. How then doth it so? "In that we fulfill the whole law;" and to express this He said, "all righteousness." For righteousness is the fulfilling of the commandments. "Since then we have performed all the rest of the commandments," saith He, "and this alone remains, it also must be added: because I am come to do away the curse that is appointed for the transgression of the law. I must therefore first fulfill it all, and having delivered you from its condemnation, in this way bring it to an end. It becometh me therefore to fulfill the whole law, by the same rule that it becometh me to do away the curse that is written against you in the law: this being the very purpose of my assuming flesh, and coming hither."

In this he shows that Christ after this baptized John; which is expressly told in some apocryphal booksi. Suffer now that I fulfil the righteousness of baptism in deed, and not only in word; first submitting to it, and then preaching it; for so it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Not that by being baptized He fulfils all righteousness, but so, in the same manner, that is, as He first fulfilled the righteousness of baptism by His deeds, and after preached it, so He might all other righteousness, according to that of the Acts, All things that Jesus began both to do and to teach. (Acts 1:1.) Or thus, all righteousness, according to the ordinance of human nature; as He had before fulfilled the righteousness of birth, growth, and the like.

Or thus; It becometh us to fulfil all righteousness, that is, to give an example of perfect justification in baptism, without which the gate of the kingdom of heaven is not opened. Hence let the proud take an example of humility, and not scorn to be baptized by My humble members when they see Me baptized by John My servant. That is true humility which obedience accompanies; as it continues, then he suffered Him, that is, at last consented to baptize Him.

When he who is perfect according to the law was baptized with the baptism of John, he became the first to achieve the perfection of the law. For this reason even Christ, who was perfect in the law, was baptized with the baptism of John. For this reason he says, "For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."

The baptism of John was at one and the same time perfect and imperfect. It was perfect according to the precept of the law, but it was imperfect in that it did not supply remission of sins but merely made people fit for receiving the perfect one. For this reason, even Christ, since he was perfect with regard to the law, was baptized with this baptism, that is, the baptism of John. And he makes this clear, saying, "For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."

And Jesus answering said unto him, Let it be so now. Permit it now, He says. For there will be a time for us to have the glory that is befitting, even if we do not appear in such glory now. For thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. "Righteousness" means the law. Human nature was accursed, Jesus says, because it was not able to fulfill the law. Therefore I have fulfilled all the other requirements of the law. One thing remains for Me to do, that I be baptized. When I have fulfilled this, I shall have delivered human nature from the curse. And this is befitting for Me to do.

Then he permitted Him; and Jesus, when He was baptized. He was baptized at the age of thirty; for by this age one has experienced all the sins. In the first ten years, there is great foolishness; in the second, during adolescence, the great flame of desire and anger; and in the years of adulthood, great avarice. Jesus waited for this age, therefore, so that He could fulfill the law in all the ages of a man, and sanctify us. Went up straightway out of the water. The Manichean heretics say that He left His body in the Jordan and thereafter displayed another, illusory, body. But their mouths are shut by this, for it says, "Jesus went up"; it was not another who went up, but He Who went down into the water. And lo, the heavens were opened unto Him. Adam had closed the heavens, but through Christ they are opened, so that you may learn, O reader, that when you are baptized, you, too, open the heavens.

Then he gives Christ's response. Note that John had done one thing, because he forestalled; and had said two things: "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Yet Christ does not respond to these two things, but to the fact that he forestalled him; hence he says, "Let it be so now." He says, "now," because, according to Chrysostom, John was later baptized by Christ, not only with the baptism of fire but also of water. Or, "Let it be so for now," that I be baptized with the baptism of water, because I have to be baptized with another baptism, namely the baptism of the Passion: "I have another baptism with which to be baptized, and I am straitened until it be fulfilled" (Lk 12:50). John was also baptized with it by Christ, in as much as he died for justice, which is the same as dying for Christ. Or, "Let it be so now," when I bear the form of a servant, let me fulfill the requirements of humility; because when I will appear glorious, I will baptize you with the baptism of glory.

Then Christ responds to the reverence and says, "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all justice." This is explained in three ways: first, "thus it is fitting to fulfill all justice," namely, through baptism. For it would come to pass that Christ would fulfill all justice both of the Law and of nature; but he willed to fulfill it in that way, because it is not fulfilled without baptism: "Unless a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven" (Jn 3:3). Remigius explains it this way: "for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all justice." It behooves me to give an example of this sacrament, because the fullness of grace and of the virtues is given: "The river of God is full of water" (Ps 65:9), i.e., of grace. Or another way: "for thus it is fitting...," i.e., it is fitting to have perfect humility. The first degree is not to prefer oneself to an equal and to subject himself to one who is superior, which, of course, is a matter of necessity. The second is when he subjects himself to an equal. But it is perfect, when a prelate subjects himself to his inferior. And this is what he says: "for thus it is fitting...," i.e., to fulfill perfect humility. But although there was this difference between them, Christ prevailed. Hence he consented, i.e., permitted him to be baptized by him: "That humility is genuine which obedience does not abandon; for to resist obstinately is a sign of pride" (Gloss); "Rebellion is as the crime of idolatry" (1 Sam 15:23). For Jeremiah and Moses are praised for finally consenting.

If the kingdom of heaven is as a grain of mustard seed, and faith is as a grain of mustard seed, surely faith is the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of heaven is faith. One who has faith has the kingdom. The kingdom and faith is among us. We read, "The kingdom of heaven is within you," and "Have faith in yourselves." Peter, who had all faith, received the keys of the kingdom of heaven to unlock it also for others.

In another place, a grain of mustard seed is introduced where it is compared to faith. If then the mustard seed is the kingdom of God, and faith is as the grain of mustard seed; faith is truly the kingdom of heaven, which is within us. (Luke 17:21.) A grain of mustard seed is indeed a mean and trifling thing, but as soon as it is crushed, it pours forth its power. And faith at first seems simple, but when it is buffeted by adversity, pours forth the grace of its virtue. The martyrs are grains of mustard seed. They have about them the sweet odour of faith, but it is hidden. Persecution comes; they are smitten by the sword; and to the farthest boundaries of the whole world they have scattered the seeds of their martyrdom. The Lord Himself also is a grain of mustard seed; He wished to be bruised that we might see that we are a sweet savour of Christ. (2 Cor. 2:15.) He wishes to be sown as a grain of mustard seed, which when a man takes he puts it into his garden. For Christ was taken and buried in a garden, where also He rose again and became a tree, as it follows, And it waxed into a great tree. For our Lord is a grain when He is buried in the earth, a tree when He is lifted up into the heaven. He is also a tree overshadowing the world, as it follows, And the fowls of the air rested in his branches; that is, the heavenly powers and they whoever (for their spiritual deeds) have been thought worthy to fly forth. Peter is a branch, Paul is a branch, into whose arms, by certain hidden ways of disputation, we who were a far off now fly, having taken up the wings of the virtues. Sow then Christ in thy garden; a garden is truly a place full of flowers, wherein the grace of thy work may blossom, and the manifold odour of thy different virtues be breathed forth. Wherever is the fruit of the seed, there is Christ.

He said therefore, "To what is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed. The kingdom of God is the preaching of the Gospel and the knowledge of the Scriptures which leads to life. And concerning which it is said to the Jews, 'The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits' (Matthew XXI). The kingdom is therefore like a mustard seed, due to the fervor of faith particularly, or because it is said to expel poison. Hence, we also read elsewhere that perfect faith is compared to a mustard seed because it evidently conquers all doctrines of perversity, by its simplicity and humility.

He said therefore: To what is it like, etc. After he refuted those who slandered the miracles done on the Sabbath, here he shows secondly that good works are to be done without ceasing. And first he urges this through the guidance of a natural example; but secondly, through the manifestation of a divine decree, at the passage: And he went through cities and towns.

He guides, therefore, by example in a twofold manner: by the first of which we are instructed to advance continually in the knowledge of truth; but by the second, to advance in the fervor of charity, at the passage: And again he said: To what is it like.

First, therefore, he shows continual progress in the knowledge of truth under the metaphor of the grain of mustard seed, and this in a threefold manner, namely with respect to the properties which the grain of mustard seed has in itself, and insofar as it is sown, and insofar as it is grown.

First therefore, regarding the property of the mustard seed in itself, by which it is likened to the knowledge of truth, he says: Therefore he said: To what is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? The kingdom of heaven is here called the knowledge or doctrine of truth: whence Bede in the Gloss: "The kingdom of heaven is the preaching of the Gospel, concerning which it is said elsewhere: The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-one." This knowledge is rightly called a kingdom, because truly the kingdom of heaven is nothing other than the perfect knowledge of divine truth; John seventeen: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

Or else; The kingdom of God is the Gospel, through which we gain the power of reigning with Christ. As then the mustard seed is surpassed in size by the seeds of other herbs, yet so increases as to become the shelter of many birds; so also the life-giving doctrine was at first in the possession only of a few, but afterwards spread itself abroad.

While His adversaries were ashamed, and the people rejoiced, at the glorious things that were done by Christ, He proceeds to explain the progress of the Gospel under certain similitudes, as it follows, Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? It is like a grain of mustard seed, &c. (Mat. 17:19.)

I know quite well that, to you as to me, the Church which once felt like a refuge, now often feels like a trap. There is nowhere else to go! (I wonder if this desperate feeling, the last state of loyalty hanging on, was not, even more often than is actually recorded in the Gospels, felt by Our Lord's followers in His earthly life-time?) I think there is nothing to do but to pray, for the Church, the Vicar of Christ, and for ourselves; and meanwhile to exercise the virtue of loyalty, which indeed only becomes a virtue when one is under pressure to desert it...

The 'protestant' search backwards for 'simplicity' and directness - which, of course, though it contains some good or at least intelligible motives, is mistaken and indeed vain. Because 'primitive Christianity' is now and in spite of all 'research' will ever remain largely unknown; because 'primitiveness' is no guarantee of value, and is and was in great part a reflection of ignorance. Grave abuses were as much an element in Christian 'liturgical' behaviour from the beginning as now. (St Paul's strictures on eucharistic behaviour are sufficient to show this!)

Still more because 'my church' was not intended by Our Lord to be static or remain in perpetual childhood; but to be a living organism (likened to a plant), which develops and changes in externals by the interaction of its bequeathed divine life and history - the particular circumstances of the world into which it is set. There is no resemblance between the 'mustard-seed' and the full-grown tree. For those living in the days of its branching growth the Tree is the thing, for the history of a living thing is pan of its life, and the history of a divine thing is sacred.

The wise may know that it began with a seed, but it is vain to try and dig it up, for it no longer exists, and the virtue and powers that it had now reside in the Tree. Very good: but in husbandry the authorities, the keepers of the Tree, must look after it, according to such wisdom as they possess, prune it, remove cankers, rid it of parasites, and so forth. (With trepidation, knowing how little their knowledge of growth is!) But they will certainly do harm, if they are obsessed with the desire of going back to the seed or even to the first youth of the plant when it was (as they imagine) pretty and unafflicted by evils. The other motive (now so confused with the primitivist one, even in the mind of any one of the reformers): aggiornamento: bringing up to date: that has its own grave dangers, as has been apparent throughout history. With this 'ecumenicalness' has also become confused.

There is written in these words of the Lord, "Someone took and threw it into his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of heaven roosted in its branches." Let us look more closely to find out to whom all these things pertain. We said before that the nature of mustard might resemble the holy martyrs because they are rubbed by different sufferings. Since Scripture says, "And it grew and became a tree, and the birds of heaven roosted in its branches," I think that this is more properly compared to the Lord Christ himself. Born a man, he was humbled like a seed and in ascending to heaven was exalted like a tree. It is clear that Christ is a seed when he suffers and a tree when he rises. He is a seed when he endures hunger and a tree when he satisfies five thousand men with five loaves. In the one case, he endures barrenness in his human condition, in the other he bestows fullness by his divinity. I would say that the Lord is a seed when he is beaten, scorned and cursed, but a tree when he enlightens the blind, raises the dead and forgives sins. In the Gospel, he says that he is a seed: "Unless the grain of wheat, falling upon the earth, dies."

As the text says, the kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed, because the kingdom is brought by a word from heaven. It is received through hearing and sown by faith. It takes root through belief and grows by hope. It is diffused by profession, and it expands through virtue. It is spread out into branches. To these branches, it invites the birds of heaven, the powers of spiritual insight. In those branches, it receives them in a peaceful abode.

A man took it and planted it in his garden. The man is Christ, the garden is His Church, always to be cultivated by His teachings and gifted with His gifts. It is well said that the same man who planted the seed also took it, because indeed the gifts which He bestowed on us with the Father from divinity, He also took with us from humanity, whence it is said, 'He received gifts among men.' And elsewhere Peter said, 'And having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.'"

And it grew and became a tree. The preaching of the Gospel spread throughout the world, and it grows also in the mind of each believer, because no one becomes perfect suddenly, but the ascent (he says) is arranged in his heart in the valley of tears (Psalm 83): and later: They shall go from strength to strength, the God of gods shall be seen in Zion (Ibid.). Certainly, the ascent from the valley of tears is gradual, so that on the mountain of heavenly joys the God of gods may be seen. And by growing, the mustard seed rises not like herbs that quickly wither, but like a tree, rejoicing in long endurance and rich fertility. And note that while the barren fig tree in the old vineyard is reproved, immediately in the garden of the Gospel a new mustard tree is born.

And the birds of the air rest in its branches. The branches of this tree are the diversities of teachings, in which chaste souls, who know how to tend towards the heavens with the wings of virtues, delight to nest and rest. Who will give me (he says) wings like a dove, and I will fly and rest (Psalm 54)? In the mustard seed, the humility of the Lord's incarnation itself can be understood, which a man took and put in his garden, because Joseph, taking the body of the crucified Savior, buried it in a garden. But it grew and became a tree, because He rose and ascended into heaven. It spread out branches in which the birds of the air rested, because He sent preachers into the world, in whose words and consolations the faithful would find rest from the fatigue of this life.

Now the man, is Christ, the garden, His Church, to be cultivated by His discipline. He is well said to have taken the grain, because the gifts which He together with the Father gave to us from His divinity, He took from His humanity. But the preaching of the Gospel grew and was disseminated throughout the whole world. It grows also in the mind of every believer, for no one is suddenly made perfect. But in its growth, not like the grass, (which soon withers,) but it rises up like the trees. The branches of this tree are the manifold doctrines, on which the chaste souls, soaring upwards on the wings of virtue, build and repose.

And this knowledge in the fatherland is sublime and delightful, but on the way it ought to be humble and fervent, in designation of which he adds: It is like a grain of mustard seed. It is therefore likened to a grain of mustard seed, because it is small in size and great in power or fervor: in which it is intimated that our knowledge ought to be humble, according to that passage in Romans eleven: "Be not high-minded, but fear"; and twelve: "Not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think unto sobriety, and to each one as God has divided the measure of faith," because, as it is said in Proverbs eleven, "where there is humility, there is also wisdom," etc. It is also intimated that it ought to be fervent and burning: whence the Gloss of Bede: "The knowledge of the Scriptures is compared to a grain of mustard seed on account of the fervor of faith, or because it is said to expel poisons, that is, all doctrines of depravity." Therefore it is said below in seventeen: "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mulberry tree: Be uprooted and transplanted into the sea, and it shall obey you."

Second, as to the property of it insofar as it is sown, he adds: Which a man took and cast into his garden. By this garden is understood the Church militant; Song of Songs 4: "A garden enclosed, a fountain sealed, my sister, my spouse, a garden enclosed." This is the garden of delight, "where the seeds of virtues grow"; in which the seed of faith must first be sown. But this is done through a man, because the preaching of faith is sown through human ministry; as a figure of which, Genesis 2: "God took the man and placed him in the paradise of delight, to work it and to keep it." Such was Paul; 1 Corinthians 3: "I planted, Apollo watered, but God gave the increase." For it belongs to a man, that is, to one who is rational and prudent, to preach the teachings of faith; but the supreme sower of this faith was Christ, who is called Man par excellence, according to that word of the Psalm: "Shall not Sion say: This man and that man was born in her," etc. Whence he also calls himself everywhere the Son of Man, because humanity existed in him according to its fullest meaning, both as to perfection and as to infirmity; Philippians 2: "Made in the likeness of men and found in appearance as a man." And this man sowed this seed when he preached the doctrine of the Gospel; Matthew 13: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field." He who preaches falsehoods is opposed to this man. Whence it is added there: "But while men slept," that is, prelates, "the enemy man came and oversowed cockle in the midst of the wheat," etc.

Third, as to the property of it insofar as it has grown, he adds: And it grew and became a great tree; which is said with regard to the progress of faith in the strength of its powers. Whence the Gloss: "It grows, not like herbs, which quickly wither and collapse, but like a tree, which rejoices in long age and unexpected fruitfulness"; Colossians 1: "In the word of the truth of the Gospel, which has come to you, as also in the whole world it bears fruit and grows, as also in you"; and a little after: "That you may walk worthy of God, pleasing in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God." But this knowledge grows so much higher through truth as its root descends more deeply through humility; whence Isaiah 37: "That which shall be saved of the house of Judah and that which shall remain shall send roots downward and shall bear fruit upward."

And because the knowledge of faith growing in itself overflows unto the salvation of others, therefore he adds: And the birds of the air rested in its branches. By the birds of the air are understood spiritual men: Isaiah 60: "Who are these who fly as clouds and as doves to their windows?" of whom Proverbs 1: "In vain is the net cast before the eyes of the winged." By the branches of the tree are understood the teachings of truth proceeding from the mouth of the wise: whence in Sirach 24, Wisdom says: "I like a terebinth have spread out my branches, and my branches are of honor and grace." The birds therefore of the air rest in the branches of the growing mustard, because those who arrive at the knowledge of truth are quieted under the teaching of a faithful doctor. Whence the Gloss: "In its branches, that is, in the diverse teachings, spiritual men rest, who ascend to the heights on the wings of virtues." As a figure of this, Daniel 4: "I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth." "Its leaves were most beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and food for all was in it. Under it dwelt the beasts of the earth, and in its branches the birds of the air abode."

Thus therefore a small seed grows into the greatness of a tree through continuous increase. He therefore who is small ought to labor continuously toward the advancement of merit, so that he may thus become a tree whose summit reaches to heaven through the hope and desire of eternal things.

The mode of His love and His instruction we have shown as we could. Wherefore He Himself, declaring Himself very beautifully, likened Himself to a grain of mustard-seed; and pointed out the spirituality of the word that is sown, and the productiveness of its nature, and the magnificence and conspicuousness of the power of the word; and besides, intimated that the pungency and the purifying virtue of punishment are profitable on account of its sharpness. By the little grain, as it is figuratively called, He bestows salvation on all humanity abundantly. Honey, being very sweet, generates bile, as goodness begets contempt, which is the cause of sinning. But mustard lessens bile, that is, anger, and stops inflammation, that is, pride. From which Word springs the true health of the soul, and its eternal happy temperament.

The Kingdom of God is likened to "a grain of mustard seed." And the Kingdom of God is the teaching and preaching, for through preaching it reigned in the souls of men. As mustard is small in appearance but has much power, so also many despise the evangelical teaching and consider it foolishness, but if a person receives it and plants it "in his garden," that is, in his soul, then it produces a great and spreading tree, and "the birds of the air," that is, people who desire to soar to the heights, "lodge in its branches." For those who rise above earthly things find rest in the branches of the preaching, that is, in expansive thoughts. For example, Paul received a seed, a brief instruction from Ananias, but having planted this seed in his well-cultivated garden, he produced branches, that is, abundant and good teaching (Acts 9:17–22) and epistles, in which those lofty in mind and wisdom found shelter not only in that time, such as the Corinthians, Dionysius, Hierotheus, and very many others, but also those who lived in all ages. Under the mustard seed one may also understand the Lord Himself. In appearance, as the son of a carpenter and exceedingly poor, He was not great. But when He fell into the heart of the earth, through death and burial in the tomb (John 12:24), then He put forth beautiful branches — the apostles, under whom all those find rest who formerly were tossed about by every wind of error, for example, the pagans, who are like birds on account of the easy inclination of their mind in any direction, their susceptibility to deception, and their great fickleness. For all such who go astray are like the birds of heaven, that is, of the air.

Or, any man receiving a grain of mustard seed, that is, the word of the Gospel, and sowing it in the garden of his soul, makes it a great tree, so as to bring forth branches, and the birds of the air (that is, they who soar above the earth) rest in the branches, (that is, in sublime contemplation.) For Paul received the instruction of Ananias (Acts 9:17.) as it were a small grain, but planting it in his garden, he brought forth many good doctrines, in which they dwell who have high heavenly thoughts, as Dionysius, Hierotheus, and many others.

The grain of wheat is Christ, because he was spiritual leaven for us, and many think that Christ is the leaven that enlivens the virtue which we have received. Since the leaven in the flour surpassed its own kind in strength and not in appearance, Christ was preeminent among the fathers, equal in body, incomparable in divinity. The holy church is prefigured in the woman in the Gospel. We are her flour, and she hides the Lord Jesus in the inner parts of our mind until the radiance of heavenly wisdom envelopes the secret places of our spirit.

There are three measures: of the flesh, of the soul and of the spirit. This is truer of the spirit in which we all live.… The woman, who prefigures the church, mixes with them the virtue of spiritual doctrine, until the whole hidden inner person of the heart is leavened and the heavenly bread arises to grace. The doctrine of Christ is fittingly called leaven, because the bread is Christ. The apostle said, "For we, being many, are one bread, one body." Leavening happens when the flesh does not lust against the Spirit, nor the Spirit against the flesh. We mortify the deeds of the flesh, and the soul, aware that through the breath of God it has received the breath of life, shuns the earthly germs of worldly needs.

Many think Christ is the leaven, for leaven which is made from meal, excels its kind in strength, not in appearance. So also Christ (according to the Fathers) shone forth above others equal in body, but unapproachable in excellence. The Holy Church therefore represents the type of the woman, of whom it is added, Which a woman, took and hid in three measures (sata) of meal, till the whole was leavened.

But we are the meal of the woman which hide the Lord Jesus in the secrets of our hearts, until the heat of heavenly wisdom penetrates our innermost recesses. And since He says it was hid in three measures, it seems fitting that we should believe the Son of God to have been hid in the Law, veiled in the Prophets, manifested in the preaching of the Gospel. Here however I am invited to proceed farther, because our Lord Himself has taught us, that the leaven is the spiritual teaching of the Church. Now the Church sanctifies with its spiritual leaven the man who is renewed in body, soul, and spirit, seeing that these three are united in a certain equal measure of desire, and there breathes forth a complete harmony of the will. If then in this life the three measures abide in the same person until they are leavened and become one, there will be hereafter an incorruptible communion with them that love Christ.

A woman took some yeast when the church, by the Lord's generosity, secured the energy of love and faith from on high. She hid this in three measures of flour until the whole batch was leavened. She did this when she performed her ministry of imparting the word of life to parts of Asia Minor, Europe and Africa, until all the ends of the world were on fire with love for the heavenly kingdom.

And again he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God, and what is it like? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until the whole was leavened." A measure called "satum" is a unit of measure according to the custom of the province of Palestine, holding one and a half modii. Therefore, the leaven refers to love, which heats up and stirs the mind. That woman, to whom he previously laid his hands and who immediately stood up straight glorifying God, signifies the Church, of which we are the flour; all who, through the exercise of fear and hope, are ground down by the upper and lower millstones, so that according to the Apostle, we may be one bread and one body in Christ. Therefore, the woman hid the leaven of love in three measures of flour, because the Church commands that we love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength. Under the type of Sarah, it is said to Abraham: "Hurry, get three measures of fine flour, knead it, and make cakes" (Gen. XVIII). Also, in the three measures of flour, the three fruits of the Lord's seed can be understood, namely the thirtieth, the sixtieth, and the hundredth, that is, of the married, the continent, and the virgins. And it is fitting that he says until the whole was leavened, because the love hidden in our mind ought to grow until it changes the whole mind into its perfection, so that the soul can love, act, and remember nothing except the love of its Creator. This indeed begins here, but there it is perfected, where, since God is all in all, he warms everyone with the same fire of his love.

The Satum is a kind of measure in use in the province of Palestine, holding about a bushel and a half.

Or, by the leaven He speaks of love, which kindles and stirs up the heart; the woman, that is, the Church, hides the leaven of love in three measures, because she bids us love God with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength. And this until the whole is leavened, that is, until love moves the whole soul into the perfection of itself, which begins here, but will be completed hereafter.

And again he said: To what is it like, etc. After he set forth an example inciting to continuous progress in the knowledge of truth, here he adds an example inciting to progress in the fervor of charity, and this under the metaphor of leaven, from whose likeness he incites to continuous progress in charity with respect to its threefold analogous property, namely that which leaven has on the part of its own nature, on the part of another's industry, and on the part of both.

First, therefore, with respect to the property which it has on the part of its own nature, through which he intends to arouse us to progress in charity, he says: And again he said: To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? And here by the kingdom of God is rightly understood the love of God, because God reigns only in those who love him: Colossians 1: "He rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love"; because, as is said in Romans 14, "the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

The leaven is small in quantity, yet it immediately seizes the whole mass and quickly communicates its own properties to it. The Word of God operates in us in a similar manner. When it is admitted within us, it makes us holy and without blame. By pervading our mind and heart, it makes us spiritual. Paul says, "Our whole body and spirit and soul may be kept blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." The God of all clearly shows that the divine Word is poured out even into the depth of our understanding.…We receive the rational and divine leaven in our mind. We understand that by this precious, holy and pure leaven, we may be found spiritually unleavened and have none of the wickedness of the world, but rather be pure, holy partakers of Christ.

With regard, indeed, to the following similitude, I have my fears lest it should somehow presage the kingdom of the rival god! For He compared it, not to the unleavened bread which the Creator is more familiar with, but to leaven. Now this is a capital conjecture for men who are begging for arguments. I must, however, on my side, dispel one fond conceit by another," and contend with even leaven is suitable for the kingdom of the Creator, because after it comes the oven, or, if you please, the furnace of hell.

(Serm. 111.) Or, the three measures of meal are the race of mankind, which was restored out of the three sons of Noah. The woman who hid the leaven is the wisdom of God.

And since charity and joy dilate and warm the heart from within, and this is the outward likeness with leaven, therefore he adds: It is like leaven.

And note that by leaven is sometimes understood the corruption of peace and unity, as above in the twelfth chapter: "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy"; and this quite rightly, because leaven is old dough, corrupted by age and turned to sourness, which corrupts the remaining mass and turns it to sourness. Therefore it is pointedly said in First Corinthians five: "Purge out the old leaven." — Sometimes by leaven is understood fervor and love, as here, because leaven heats the dough and induces a certain fervor as if from something hidden and interior: whence not unfittingly leaven is charity. Nor is it contrary to reason that leaven should be taken in this way and in that way by reason of diverse properties. Whence Augustine, in the third book of On Christian Doctrine: "Since things appear similar to other things in many ways, let us not think it prescribed that whatever a thing has signified by similitude in some passage, we should believe it always signifies this. For the Lord used leaven both in blame, when He said: Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and in praise, when He said: The kingdom of heaven is like a woman who hid leaven in three measures of flour." Moreover many things of this kind, as he says, are similar in Scripture, just as "the lion signifies Christ, Apocalypse five: The lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered; the devil, First Peter five: Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, etc.; and so also very many others." The cause of this diversity is the multiplicity of properties, from which the diversity of similitudes and representations arises in figures.

Second, as to the property on the part of another's industry, he adds: Which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour. According to the literal sense, as Bede says, "a satum is a kind of measure according to the custom of Palestine, holding a modius and a half."

And note that by this woman is understood divine wisdom, or the Church: Proverbs last chapter: "Who shall find a valiant woman?" etc. The flour, moreover, represents the faithful, who are ground between two millstones, namely the upper and the lower, that is, fear and hope: Deuteronomy twenty-four: "You shall not take the lower and the upper millstone as a pledge." From which flour is made one bread, which Christ transforms into His mystical body: First Corinthians ten: "We being many are one bread in Christ."

But the three measures are the three classes of the faithful, in whom the wisdom of God hid love on the way, namely good prelates, good contemplatives, and good actives. Whence the Gloss: "Three measures, three kinds of men: Noah, Daniel, and Job"; Ezekiel 14: "If Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the midst of it, they shall be delivered by their own righteousness." This first exposition therefore accords more closely with the literal sense; Bede in the Gloss expounds it otherwise and in manifold ways, so that there may appear to him the "manifold wisdom of God," "which is hidden in mystery."

Second, by the three measures are understood the three modes of loving, namely with the whole heart, with the whole soul, and with the whole mind. Whence Bede's Gloss: "The Church hid the leaven of love in three measures of flour, because it commands that we love God with our whole heart, with our whole soul, and with all our strength"; Deuteronomy 6: "You shall love the Lord your God," etc.; and Matthew 22: "You shall love the Lord your God," etc. "On this commandment," etc.

In the third way thus, so that by the three measures are understood spirit and soul and body, from which man is made whole. The Gloss: "So that spirit and soul and body, brought back into unity, may not be at variance with one another," according to that passage of 1 Thessalonians 5: "May your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire without complaint unto the day of the coming of the Lord," etc.

In the fourth way thus, so that by the three measures are understood the three powers of the soul, which are reformed by charity. The Gloss: "Let the three powers of the soul be brought back into one, so that in reason we may possess prudence, in the irascible hatred of vices, in the concupiscible desire for virtues," according to that passage of Micah 6: "To do judgment and to love mercy and to walk solicitously with your God."

In the fifth way thus, so that charity may be joined and in a certain way mingled with faith in the Trinity, so that one may not only believe in the true God, but also by believing tend toward him. Whence the Gloss: "The Church mingles man's faith in three measures of flour, that is, with belief in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Whence it is said of charity in 1 Corinthians 13 that it "believes all things."

In the sixth way thus: by the three measures, the threefold fruit to which charity is ordered; whence the Gloss: "In these measures can be understood the fruits of that dominical seed, namely thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold, that is, of the married, the continent, and virgins"; concerning which Matthew 13: "It bears fruit and yields some indeed a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold."

Seventh, by the three measures of flour can be understood the three portions of the human race dispersed throughout the whole world from the three sons of Noah; concerning whom Genesis 10: "These are the generations of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth."

In the eighth way, according to Hilary, by the flour is understood Scripture: by the three measures, the three parts of Scripture, namely the Mosaic, the prophetic, and the evangelical. And in these the wisdom of God hid charity, because, Matthew twenty-two, "on these two commandments the whole Law hangs, and the Prophets."

In the ninth way, according to Ambrose, thus: "The woman is the Church: her flour is us: who hid the Lord Jesus as leaven in our inward parts, until the heat of heavenly wisdom covers them over."

In the tenth way, according to Bernard, thus: "The woman is the Virgin Mary: the three measures, the threefold nature or substance in the one person of Christ, namely flesh, soul, and Divinity. The first measure is ancient, the second is new, but the third is eternal. These, moreover, she mixed through the leaven of her faith and love." Whence Hugh: "Because love burned singularly in her mind, therefore he worked miracles in her flesh." As a figure of this it is said in Genesis eighteen: "Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah and said to her: Make haste, mix three measures of fine flour." And so did the blessed Virgin, because at the word of the Angel she immediately consented: "Behold," she said, "the handmaid of the Lord," etc.

From these things, therefore, it is apparent how from one small matter the Holy Spirit drew forth various understandings outwardly through his Saints, so that from this there might appear "the manifold wisdom of God," which after the manner of the woman hid leaven in the measures. For, as Dionysius says, the whole of mystical theology, "which is hidden in mystery," itself wholly consists in ecstatic love according to the threefold hierarchical power: purgative, illuminative, and perfective.

Third, as to the effect on the part of both, he adds: Until the whole was leavened: the Gloss: "Charity hidden in the mind must grow so long until it changes the whole mind into its own perfection, so that it loves nothing besides God." For just as leaven spreads more and more, so also does the charity of God. Whence Gregory: "The love of God is never idle; for it works great things, if it exists: but if it refuses to work, it is not love"; and Bernard: "Charity either advances or declines"; whence "Charity never fails," but converts the whole into its own nature after the manner of leaven and fire. Whence Exodus nineteen: "The whole of Mount Sinai smoked, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire."

For this fire and heat of charity is begun on the way, but it occupies the whole heart in the homeland: Isaiah thirty-one: "The Lord said, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem." Whence, just as from the heart, which is at the center, vital heat flows into the whole body, so from perfect charity all the assemblies of the works of the virtues receive heat and vigor, by which they tend upward. And just as it is said: "If your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light," so, if your heart is burning, your whole body will be made warm: if the heart is divine, the whole man is divine through deifying love, according to that word of the Psalm: "My flesh and my heart have failed: God of my heart, and God is my portion forever."

Or else, by the leaven our Lord means the Holy Spirit, the Sower proceeding (as it were) from the seed, which is the word of God. But the three measures of meal, signify the knowledge of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which the woman, that is, Divine wisdom, and the Holy Spirit, impart.

The divine teaching "is like leaven, which a woman," that is, human nature, "took and hid in three measures of meal," that is, in body, soul, and spirit, so that all was sanctified, as the blessed Paul says (1 Tim. 4:5), and became one lump of dough through communion with the Holy Spirit. By the woman you may understand the soul, and by the three measures its three powers: the mind, the heart, and the will. Whoever hides the word of God in these powers will make them entirely spiritual, so that neither will the mind doubt the teaching, nor will the heart and will strive toward what is unreasonable, but they will be leavened and become like the Word of God.

Or, for the woman you must understand the soul; but the three measures, its three parts, the reasoning part, the affections, and the desires. If then any one has hidden in these three the word of God, he will make the whole spiritual, so as not by his reason to lie in argument, nor by his anger or desire to be transported beyond control, but to be conformed to the word of God.

Surely few are saved. You recall the question from the Gospel just read to us. The Lord was asked: Are there few who are saved? What did the Lord respond to this? He did not say: Not few, but many are saved. He did not say this. But what did He say when He heard: Are there few who are saved? Strive to enter through the narrow gate. Therefore, when He heard: Are there few who are saved? The Lord confirmed what He heard. Few enter through the narrow gate. In another place, He Himself said: Narrow is the way and constricted that leads to life, and few are those who find it. But wide and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who walk through it. Why do we rejoice in crowds? Listen to me, few. I know that many hear, and few obey. I see the threshing floor, I seek the grains. And grains are scarcely visible when the threshing floor is being threshed, but it will be winnowed. Therefore, few are saved in comparison to the many lost. For indeed, these few will form a great mass. When the winnower comes, carrying his winnowing fork in his hand, he will cleanse his threshing floor; he will gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Let not the chaff mock the grain. This speaks truth, it deceives no one. Therefore be among many, many, but in comparison to certain many, few. Such a mass will come forth from this threshing floor to fill the barn of heaven.

(Serm. 111.) Now our Lord in no wise contradicts Himself when He says, that there are few who enter in at the strait gate, and elsewhere, Many shall come from the east and the west; (Matt. 8:11.) for there are few in comparison with those who are lost, many when united with the angels. Scarcely do they seem a grain when the threshing floor is swept, but so great a mass will come forth from this floor, that it will fill the granary of heaven.

(in reg. ad int. 240.) For as in earthly life the departure from right is exceeding broad, so he who goes out of the path which leads to the kingdom of heaven, finds himself in a vast extent of error. (int. 241.). But the right way is narrow, the slightest turning aside being full of danger, whether to the right or to the left, as on a bridge, where he who slips on either side is thrown into the river.

(Hom. in Psalm 1, 15.) For the soul wavers to and fro, at one time choosing virtue when it considers eternity, at another preferring pleasures when it looks to the present. Here it beholds ease, or the delights of the flesh, there its subjection or captive bondage; here drunkenness, there sobriety; here wanton mirth, there overflowing of tears; here dancing, there praying; here the sound of the pipe, there weeping; here lust, there chastity.

Because many, I tell you, will seek to enter, and will not be able. They seek to enter provoked by the love of salvation, and will not be able deterred by the harshness of the journey. They seek this out of ambition for rewards, from which they soon flee because of the fear of the burdens. Not because the yoke of the Lord is harsh or the burden is heavy, but because they do not want to learn from Him that He is gentle and humble of heart, so that they may find rest for their souls: and thus, the gate by which one enters into life is narrow.

Urged thereto by their love of safety, yet shall not be able, frightened by the roughness of the road.

Whence he adds: And he said to them: Strive to enter through the narrow gate: Matthew 7: "How narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leads to life, and few there are who find it!" This gate is Christ: John 10: "I am the door"; he himself is the way; John 14: "I am the way"; "no one comes to the Father except through me." This way is strait and the gate narrow, not on account of the smallness of power, but on account of the straitness of modesty and the rectitude of justice; whence Chrysostom: "The strait gate is Christ, not by smallness of power, but by reason of humility. Christ does not receive into himself except those who have stripped themselves of sins and laid down every burden of the world." And therefore Matthew 19: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." Therefore the gate of heaven is called narrow, because unless one reduces himself to smallness and austerity, he cannot enter.

And because few are of this kind, he therefore adds: Because many, I say to you, will seek to enter: Gloss: "Prompted by love of salvation and rewards"; and will not be able, Gloss: "Terrified by the harshness of the journey," because they do not seek with a whole and full will. For they wish to attain Christ but are unwilling to follow him, according to that saying of Proverbs thirteen: "The sluggard wills and wills not." Hence Chrysostom: "Unless someone walks along the way, he will not be able to reach the gate. If you have not been and are not on the way of justice, and you think that you know Christ, you lie: just as one who hears that honey is sweet but does not taste it knows the name of honey but is ignorant of the grace and flavor of honey"; hence the slothful, who will and will not, cannot enter; likewise neither can those who desire both the present age and God, of whom Hosea five says: "With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, and shall not find him." And of such it is said in Matthew six: "No one can serve two masters"; "you cannot serve God and mammon." These do not go straight to heaven; hence 3 Kings eighteen: "How long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him."

Because it is impossible to enter the kingdom of heaven with desires for earthly things, and it is difficult to lay these aside, therefore one must strive against appetite; and for this reason he says: Strive to enter through the narrow gate, as if to say: it is impossible to enter with desires, which many seek to do; but at least strive, having trampled upon your desires. Hence also Matthew eleven: "From the days of John the Baptist the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." Nor does it stand against this that it is said in the same place: "My yoke is sweet," because the gate and heavenly way is narrow for those beginning, but is widened for those advancing, and is broad for those arriving. For the first the Psalm said: "Because of the words of thy lips I have kept hard ways"; for the second: "I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart"; for the third: "I have been delighted in the way of thy testimonies, as in all riches." For these three it is said in Proverbs four: "The path of the just, as a shining light, goes forward and increases even to the perfect day"; and again after: "I will lead thee by the paths of equity, which when thou shalt have entered, thy steps shall not be straitened, and running thou shalt have no stumbling block."

"Strive to enter in by the narrow door." This reply may seem perhaps to wander from the scope of the question. The man wanted to learn whether there would be few who are saved, but he explained to him the way whereby he might be saved himself. He said, "Strive to enter in by the narrow door." What do we answer to this objection?… It was a necessary and valuable thing to know how a man may obtain salvation. He is purposely silent to the useless question. He proceeds to speak of what was essential, namely, of the knowledge necessary for the performance of those duties by which people can enter the narrow door.

I now consider it my duty to mention why the door to life is narrow. Whoever would enter must first before everything else possess an upright and uncorrupted faith and then a spotless morality, in which there is no possibility of blame, according to the measure of human righteousness.… One who has attained to this in mind and spiritual strength will enter easily by the narrow door and run along the narrow way.

"Wide is the door, and broad the way that brings down many to destruction." What are we to understand by its broadness? It means an unrestrained tendency toward carnal lust and a shameful and pleasure-loving life. It is luxurious feasts, parties, banquets and unrestricted inclinations to everything that is condemned by the law and displeasing to God. A stubborn mind will not bow to the yoke of the law. This life is cursed and relaxed in all carelessness. Thrusting from it the divine law and completely unmindful of the sacred commandments, wealth, vices, scorn, pride and the empty imagination of earthly pride spring from it. Those who would enter in by the narrow door must withdraw from all these things, be with Christ and keep the festival with him.

(Mor. 11. c. 50.) Now when He was about to speak of the entrance of the narrow gate, He said first, strive, for unless the mind struggles manfully, the wave of the world is not overcome, by which the soul is ever thrown back again into the deep.

(24, 40. in Matt.) What then is that which our Lord says elsewhere, My yoke is easy, and my burden is light? (Matt. 11:30.) There is indeed no contradiction, but the one was said because of the nature of temptations, the other with respect to the feeling of those who overcame them. For whatever is troublesome to our nature may be considered easy when we undertake it heartily. Besides also, though the way of salvation is narrow at its entrance, yet through it we come into a large space, but on the contrary the broad way leadeth to destruction.

More easily, it may be, through the "strait gate" of salvation will slenderer flesh enter; more speedily will lighter flesh rise; longer in the sepulchre will drier flesh retain its firmness.

For Christ has hidden enemies as well. All who live unrighteously and impiously are enemies of Christ, even if they are marked with His name and called Christians. To whom He will say: "I never knew you"; and they say: "Lord, in Your name we ate and drank, in Your name we performed many miracles." What, we ate and drank in Your name? They did not boast of their own foods, and from there they claimed to belong to Christ. There is a certain food that is eaten and drunk, and it is Christ; and by His enemies Christ is eaten and drunk. The faithful know the spotless Lamb which they consume; and may they consume so as not to be debtors to punishment! For as the Apostle says: "Whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment upon themselves." Therefore, the enemies of Christ are those who choose to live unrighteously rather than obey Him, and when it is said He will come to judge the living and the dead, they fear His coming. If it were up to them, they would prevent Him from coming. Because they could not stop Him from coming, they would try to stop Him from returning.

But when the head of the family has entered and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door saying: Lord, open to us. The head of the family is evidently Christ, who is everywhere fully present in divinity, indeed He is within those whom He gladdens with His vision in the heavenly homeland, but as if He is still outside to those whom He secretly helps as a comforter in this journey, according to what He promised: Behold, I am with you all days until the end of the age (Matt. XXVIII). But He will enter and shut the door when He leads His whole body, which is the Church, glorified by the glory of the resurrection to the joy of His contemplation, taking away from the reprobates the place of repentance, which He now opens to all who piously knock. For standing outside and knocking at the door is to beg in vain for the mercy they had neglected from God, being separated from the lot of the blessed.

And He will answer and say to you: I do not know where you are from. How does He not know where they are from? When the Psalm says: The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain (Ps. XCIII). And elsewhere it is written: He knows the deceiver and him who is deceived; unless knowing by God is sometimes said to mean acknowledging, sometimes approving. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish (Ps. I). And thus He knows the reprobates whom He judges by knowing, for He would not judge those He did not at all know, and yet in some way He does not know where they are from, among whom He does not approve the character of His faith and love.

The master of the house is Christ, who since as very God He is every where, is already said to be within those whom though He is in heaven He gladdens with His visible presence, but is as it were without to those whom while contending in this pilgrimage, He helps in secret. But He will enter in when He shall bring the whole Church to the contemplation of Himself. He will shut the door when He shall take away from the reprobate all room for repentance. Who standing without will knock, that is, separated from the righteous will in vain implore that mercy which they have despised. Therefore it follows, And he will answer and say to you, I know you not whence ye are.

But when the householder shall have entered. After he has aroused them to continual progress in good work on account of the difficulty in merit, here secondly he arouses them to this on account of the severity in the future judgment, which he shows in two ways, namely, because he will reject the supplication of prayers and the allegation of reasons.

First, as regards the rejection of supplication, he says: But when the master of the house has entered and shut the door, through judicial severity; Matthew twenty-five: "Those who were ready entered with him to the wedding, and the door was shut." And note that Christ is called the master of the house in respect of the just: whence Matthew twenty: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man, a master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard." He is called the master of the house because he has a large household; in whose figure, Job one: "The possession of Job was seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household."

He is also a judge in respect of the wicked, for whom he shuts the door of mercy: whence it is said in Deuteronomy eleven: "Take heed lest you depart from the Lord, and the Lord being angry shut up heaven, and the rains not descend." This gate is open throughout the entire span of the way, but is closed at the end: Ezekiel forty-six: "But the gate shall not be shut until the evening; and the people of the land shall worship at the entrance of that gate on Sabbaths and on New Moons before the Lord."

And because the withdrawal of mercy leads man to the recognition of his own misery, and this in turn leads to the importunity of prayers, therefore he adds: And you shall begin to stand outside and knock at the door, through belated penitence: Wisdom five: "Seeing this, they shall be troubled with terrible fear"; "saying within themselves, repenting"; and Hebrews twelve: "He found no place of repentance, although he had sought it with tears." Saying: Open to us, Lord, through importunate supplication: Matthew twenty-five: "Last of all the other virgins come, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us."

And he shall answer and say to you: I know you not, whence you are, through final reprobation; Proverbs one: "Then they shall cry out, and I will not hear; they shall rise early and shall not find me, because they held discipline hateful and did not receive the fear of the Lord"; whence also Proverbs six: "The jealousy and fury of the husband will not spare in the day of vengeance, nor will he yield to anyone's prayers."

And note that the Lord is said not to know us, not because he does not know us by simple knowledge, since it is said in Job twelve: "He himself knows both the deceiver and the one who is deceived"; and in the Psalm: "In your book all shall be written"; but because he does not know them with the knowledge of approbation, because it is said in Second Timothy two: "The Lord knows those who are his"; Job eight: "If it swallows him up from his place, it will deny him and say: I knew you not."

But that they who cannot enter are regarded with wrath, He has shown by an obvious example, as follows, When once the master of the house has risen up, &c. as if when the master of the house who has called many to the banquet has entered in with his guests, and shut to the door, then shall come afterwards men knocking.

(Moral. 2. c. 5.) For God not to know is for Him to reject, as also a man who speaks the truth is said not to know how to lie, for he disdains to sin by telling a lie, not that if he wished to lie he knew not how, but that from love of truth he scorns to speak what is false. Therefore the light of truth knows not the darkness which it condemns. It follows, Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, &c.

How often has He already displayed Himself as a Judge, and in the Judge the Creator? How often, indeed, has He repelled, and in the repulse condemned? In the present passage, for instance, He says, "When once the master of the house is risen up; " but in what sense except that in which Isaiah said, "When He ariseth to shake terribly the earth? " "And hath shut to the door," thereby shutting out the wicked, of course; and when these knock, He will answer, "I know you not whence ye are; "and when they recount how "they have eaten and drunk in His presence," He will further say to them, "Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

How often has He already displayed Himself as a Judge, and in the Judge the Creator? How often, indeed, has He repelled, and in the repulse condemned? In the present passage, for instance, He says, "When once the master of the house is risen up; " but in what sense except that in which Isaiah said, "When He ariseth to shake terribly the earth? " "And hath shut to the door," thereby shutting out the wicked, of course; and when these knock, He will answer, "I know you not whence ye are; "and when they recount how "they have eaten and drunk in His presence," He will further say to them, "Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." But where? Outside, no doubt, when they shall have been excluded with the door shut on them by Him.

The "master of the house" is the Lord. He calls all people to be filled and to delight in inexhaustible blessings. Those who are diligent strive to enter before the hour of the meal itself. But for the lazy and those who arrive after the hour of the meal, the doors are shut. And what is the hour of the meal if not the present life? It is truly the most excellent time for preparation for spiritual nourishment. When the master of the house "rises," that is, rises for judgment, and "shuts the door," that is, the path of virtue, along which one cannot walk after departing from this life (for we can walk the path of virtue only in this life), then although those who lived here negligently will "knock at the door," for only then with useless repentance will they seek the path of virtue, calling upon it with bare words, without deeds, as if with blows and knocking; yet the master of the house, having rightly locked the doors, will act as though he does not even know where they are from. He will act justly in doing so, because they are of the devil, and the Lord knows His own (2 Tim. 2:19).

Then you will begin to say: We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets. Or simply to be understood that the Jews, rejecting the mysteries of faith, think themselves known to the Lord if they only bring victims to the temple, feast before the Lord, listen to the reading of the prophets, not knowing what the Apostle says: The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. XIV); and elsewhere: Whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame (Phil. III), that is, in carnal circumcision; or mystically it is to be felt that they eat and drink before the Lord, who receive the food of the word with worthy eagerness. Hence, those who say these things, as if explaining, add: And you taught in our streets. For sacred Scripture is sometimes food for us, sometimes drink. In more obscure places it is food, because it is as if it is broken down by explaining and swallowed by chewing. Truly, it is drink in clearer places, because it is taken in as it is found. Therefore, they testify that they understood both the hidden and revealed commands of the sacred word, who complain to the judge rejecting them that they ate and drank before him. But it is greatly to be feared what is added.

Or mystically, he eats and drinks in the Lord's presence who eagerly receives the food of the word. Hence it is added for explanation, Thou hast taught in our streets. For Scripture in its more obscure places is food, since by being expounded it is as it were broken and swallowed. In the clearer places it is drink, where it is taken down just as it is found. But at a feast the banquet does not delight him whom the piety of faith commends not. The knowledge of the Scriptures does not make him known to God, whom the iniquity of his works proves to be unworthy; as it follows, And he will say unto you, I know not whence ye are; depart from me.

Second, as to the rejection of the allegation of reasons, he adds: Then you will begin to say: We ate before you and drank: behold, the allegation of familiarity in life; and in our streets you taught, as to familiarity in doctrine. Or the first can be referred to the miracles which Christ performed among the Jews, when he multiplied the loaves, John 6, and changed water into wine, John 2: the second to teachings. For these had seen miracles and heard teachings: whence Matthew 11: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if in Tyre and Sidon had been done the mighty works that have been done in you, they would long ago have done penance in sackcloth and ashes." Thus they allege knowledge of Christ, because they knew his works and miracles, and they also knew his words and teachings. Such will be the wicked Christians at the judgment, of whom it is said in Titus 1: "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny him."

This refers to the Israelites, who, according to the practice of their law, when offering victims to God, eat and are merry. They heard also in the synagogues the books of Moses, who in his writings delivered not his own words, but the words of God.

And let those who are not found living as He taught, be understood to be no Christians, even though they profess with the lip the precepts of Christ; for not those who make profession, but those who do the works, shall be saved, according to His word: "Not every one who saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. For whosoever heareth Me, and doeth My sayings, heareth Him that sent Me. And many will say unto Me, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten and drunk in Thy name, and done wonders? And then will I say unto them, Depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity. Then shall there be wailing and gnashing of teeth, when the righteous shall shine as the sun, and the wicked are sent into everlasting fire. For many shall come in My name, clothed outwardly in sheep's clothing, but inwardly being ravening wolves. By their works ye shall know them. And every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire." And as to those who are not living pursuant to these His teachings, and are Christians only in name, we demand that all such be punished by you.

This is spoken generally to the Israelites. For Christ is from them according to the flesh (Rom. 9:5), and with them He ate and drank. However, the words "we ate and drank before You" can also be understood in a higher sense. In performing the lawful worship and offering bloody sacrifices to God, the Israelites ate and made merry; they also listened to the reading of the Divine books in the synagogues. And through the prophets, without doubt, it was the Lord Himself who taught. For the prophets did not offer their own teaching, but proclaimed the word of God, which is why they said: "Thus says the Lord" (Isa. 56:1; Jer. 2:1, 5; Ezek. 3:27). Therefore, for the Jews, if they did not accept the faith that justifies the ungodly (Rom. 4:5), bloody worship was not sufficient for justification. And in my opinion, this can also apply to Christians in name only, who are negligent in their way of life. Do we not also eat the Divine Body? And do we not drink the Blood of God before Him, approaching the Divine Table daily? And does not the Lord teach in the streets — that is, in our souls? But there will be no benefit to us if we are only hearers of the Divine Law and not doers of it (Rom. 2:13). On the contrary, hearing will serve as the cause of greater torments for us, just as partaking of the Divine Mysteries will be counted as condemnation. Take note, then, that those in the streets whom the Lord teaches are rejected. But if we have Him as Teacher not in broad hearts, but in narrow, contrite, and grief-stricken hearts, then we shall not be rejected.

Or it is said to the Israelites, simply because Christ was born of them according to the flesh, and they ate and drank with Him, and heard Him preaching. But these things also apply to Christians. For we eat the body of Christ and drink His blood as often as we approach the mystic table, and He teaches in the streets of our souls, which are open to receive Him.

Observe also that they are objects of wrath in whose street the Lord teaches. If then we have heard Him teaching not in the streets, but in poor and lowly hearts, we shall not be regarded with wrath.

(reg. brev. ad int. 282.) He perhaps speaks to those whom the Apostle describes in his own person, saying, If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have all knowledge, and give all my goods to feed the poor, but have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. For whatever is done not from regard to the love of God, but to gain praise from men, obtains no praise from God.

And He will say to you: I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity. He does not (say) that the feasting of legal festivals helps, one whom the piety of faith does not commend, the knowledge of Scriptures does not make known to God, whom the iniquity of deeds shows to His eyes as unworthy.

And since the allegation of knowledge avails little without the allegation of imitation and work, therefore he adds: And he will say to you: I do not know you, whence you are. Chrysostom: "I do not recognize my image in you. You cannot receive the wages of my soldiers, you who have carried the banners of the tyrant." Chrysostom says this not with respect to the image of creation, of which it is said in the Psalm: "Man passes through as an image"; but with respect to the image of re-creation, of which Augustine says: "The Lord does not know them, since he does not find in them the mark of faith and love." Whence the denial of knowledge does not regard the strangeness of persons, against which they allege familiarity, but only the diversity of conduct, according to that saying in Habakkuk 1: "Your eyes are pure, O Lord, and you cannot look upon iniquity."

Therefore he adds: Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity: Psalm: "Depart from me, all you who work iniquity."

Now the reason for this departure is the distance between justice and iniquity; 2 Corinthians 6: "What participation has justice with iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? And what agreement has Christ with Belial?" Since therefore the reprobate will be unjust and darkened and men of Belial; but Christ the judge will be just, will be the true light, will be supremely good: therefore he will compel the wicked to descend into hell through the final judgment, saying: "Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels." Since therefore man will be judged not according to the greatness of knowledge, but the strength of work: one must continually devote oneself to good works: whence Romans 2: "Not the hearers of the Law, but the doers are just before God"; on account of which, in the Psalm: "God has spoken once: these two things have I heard, that power belongs to God, and to you, O Lord, belongs mercy, for you will render to each one according to his works."

Let us, then, not only call Him Lord, for that will not save us. For He saith, "Not every one that saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall be saved, but he that worketh righteousness." Wherefore, brethren, let us confess Him by our works, by loving one another, by not committing adultery, or speaking evil of one another, or cherishing envy; but being continent, compassionate, and good. We ought also to sympathize with one another, and not be avaricious. By such works let us confess Him, and not by those that are of an opposite kind. And it is not fitting that we should fear men, but rather God. For this reason, if we should do such wicked things, the Lord hath said, "Even though ye were gathered together to Me in My very bosom, yet if ye were not to keep My commandments, I would cast you off, and say unto you, Depart from Me; I know you not whence ye are, ye workers of iniquity."

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Weeping is usually stirred by heat, gnashing of teeth by cold. Where a double hell is shown: that is, of excessive cold, and of intolerable heat. Blessed Job's sentence agrees with this saying: They pass by violently from the waters of snow to excessive heat (Job. XXIV). Or certainly the gnashing of teeth betrays the feeling of the indignant, because each one repents too late, groans too late, is angry at themselves too late, who have sinned with such obstinate wickedness.

But the twofold punishment of hell is here described, that is, the feeling cold and heat. For weeping is wont to be excited by heat, gnashing of teeth by cold. Or gnashing of teeth betrays the feeling of indignation, that he who repents too late, is too late angry with himself.

There will be weeping there. Here now thirdly, after he has urged them to continual progress by showing the difficulty in merit and the severity in judgment, he urges the same by showing the calamity in punishment. Which indeed he does in two ways, namely from the consideration of one's own abjection and from the consideration of the glorification of others.

First therefore, as regards the consideration of one's own abjection, he says: There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, as regards the punishment of sense. And the punishment of heat is touched upon, from which comes the weeping of eyes, and the punishment of cold, from which comes the gnashing of teeth. These two bodily punishments are more fully expressed, either because these two qualities are active and more afflictive: on account of which Job 24: "They shall pass from the waters of snow to excessive heat." Or because sin is committed in the body in two ways, namely through the concupiscence of the eyes and through the concupiscence of the flesh, whence they are punished in both: Wisdom 11: "By what things a man sins, by these also is he tormented." Or because weeping comes from within, and the gnashing of teeth comes from without: and in these is understood the totality of punishments, especially bodily ones. Whence the Gloss of Bede: "Note that by weeping, which belongs to the eyes, and gnashing, which belongs to the teeth, the true resurrection of the bodies of the impious is understood." This weeping, however, will not be a dissolution of moisture, but through pain and groaning: or if it will be, there will be a miraculous restoration of moisture, just as also miraculously in such great torments they will have bodies sustained by spirits.

And because the punishment of sense is conjoined with the punishment of loss, which will be the loss of the fellowship of the Saints in the glory of paradise; therefore he adds: When you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the kingdom of God, that is, all the Patriarchs and Prophets. The former had been an example of living in life: whence John 8: "If you are children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham"; the latter in life and doctrine: 2 Peter 1: "We have the more firm prophetic word, to which you do well to attend." Or the Patriarchs were those to whom the promise was made; the Prophets those through whom the promulgation of the promise was made, according to that passage above in chapter one: "As he spoke through the mouth of his holy Prophets who have been from of old." And both the former and the latter urged and called men to enter the kingdom of God, which those who are children of the flesh and who refused to be imitators of the Saints will not enter, but will be excluded. Therefore he adds: But you will be cast out; Revelation last chapter: "Outside are dogs and sorcerers and the unchaste and those who serve idols and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." As a figure of this, Genesis 21 says: "Cast out the handmaid and her son: for the son of the handmaid shall not be heir with the son of the free woman"; because John 8 says: "The servant does not remain in the house forever, but the son remains forever."

Or the teeth will gnash which here delighted in eating, the eyes will weep which here wandered with desire. By each He represents the real resurrection of the wicked.

Vain, too, is [the effort of] Marcion and his followers when they [seek to] exclude Abraham from the inheritance, to whom the Spirit through many men, and now by Paul, bears witness, that "he believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness." And the Lord [also bears witness to him, ] in the first place, indeed, by raising up children to him from the stones, and making his seed as the stars of heaven, saying, "They shall come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, and shall recline with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;" and then again by saying to the Jews, "When ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of heaven, but you yourselves cast out." This, then, is a clear point, that those who disallow his salvation, and frame the idea of another God besides Him who made the promise to Abraham, are outside the kingdom of God, and are disinherited from [the gift of] incorruption, setting at naught and blaspheming God, who introduces, through Jesus Christ, Abraham to the kingdom of heaven, and his seed, that is, the Church, upon which also is conferred the adoption and the inheritance promised to Abraham.

For how happens it, if the kingdom belong to the most lenient god, that it is closely followed up by a fervent judgment, the severity of which brings weeping? With regard, indeed, to the following similitude, I have my fears lest it should somehow presage the kingdom of the rival god! For He compared it, not to the unleavened bread which the Creator is more familiar with, but to leaven.

These words are fitting both for the Jews, to whom the Lord spoke them, and for the unbelievers of the last times.

This also refers to the Israelites with whom He was speaking, who receive from this their severest blow, that the Gentiles have rest with the fathers, while they themselves are shut out. Hence He adds, When you shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God, &c.

The shepherds therefore come from nearby to see, and the Magi come from afar to worship. This is the humility by which the wild olive tree deserved to be grafted into the olive tree, and to produce an olive against nature; because it deserved to change nature through grace. For when the world was becoming entirely wild and bitter with this wild olive, it shined forth, having been made rich through the grace of grafting. For they come from the ends of the earth, according to Jeremiah, saying: Truly our fathers have worshipped lies. And they come, not from one part of the world, but as the Gospel according to Luke says, from the East, and from the West, from the North and the South, who will recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Thus, the whole world is called from the four corners into faith by the grace of the Trinity.

Secondly, as to the consideration of the glorification of others, he adds: And they shall come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, that is, from the universality of the nations gathered from every part of the world. For when the Jews were rejected on account of their carnality, the Lord called the nations as spiritual children; whence it is said in John 10: "Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, and those I must bring." These were gathered from every part of the world through the ministry of the Apostles, according to that of the Psalm: "All nations, whatsoever thou hast made, shall come and shall adore before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name"; and Isaiah 43: "From the east I will bring thy seed, and from the west I will gather thee: I will say to the north: give up; and to the south: do not withhold." Therefore they are said to be called from such distant parts on account of the diversity of customs, from which they are called to the unity of charity and felicity.

On account of which he adds: And they shall recline in the kingdom of God: Isaiah 25: "The Lord shall make for all peoples in this mountain a feast of fat things, a feast of vintage, of fat things full of marrow, of vintage refined."

Behold, therefore, the things which are foretold in a mystery are fulfilled. But whereas He said also, 'Many shall come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and shall recline in the bosom of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob;' this also is, as you see, in like manner fulfilled. Wherefore I entreat you, my fellow-servants and helpers, that you would learn diligently the order of preaching, and the ways of absolutions, that you may be able to save the souls of men, which by the secret power of God acknowledge whom they ought to love, even before they are taught.

For it was especially unpleasant for the Jews to hear that others, from among the Gentiles, would recline with Abraham and (other) forefathers (of theirs), while they themselves would be cast out.