Luke § 49

He compares foxes to heretics, because they are indeed a wily animal, and, ever intent upon fraud, commit their robberies by stealth. They let nothing be safe, nothing be at rest, nothing secure, for they hunt their prey into the very abodes of men. The fox again, an animal full of craft, makes no hole for itself, yet likes to lie always concealed in a hole. So the heretics, who know not how to construct a house for themselves, circumscribe and deceive others. This animal is never tamed, nor is it of use to man. Hence the Apostle, A heretic after the first and second admonition reject. (Tit. 3:10.) But the birds of the air, which are frequently brought in to represent spiritual wickedness, build as it were their nests in the breasts of the wicked, and as long as deceit reigns over the affections, the divine principle has no opportunity to take possession. But when a man has proved his heart to be innocent, upon him Christ leans in some measure the weight of His greatness, for by a more abundant shedding of grace He is planted in the breasts of good men. So then it does not seem reasonable that we should think him faithful and simple, who is rejected by the judgment of the Lord, notwithstanding that he promised the service of unwearied attendance; but our Lord cares not for this kind of service, but only purity of affection, nor is his attendance accepted whose sense of duty is not proved. For the hospitality of faith should be given with circumspection, lest while opening the interior of our house to the unbelieving, through our imprudent credulity we fall a snare to the treachery of others. Therefore that you may be aware that God despises not attendance upon him but deceit, He who rejected the deceitful man chose the innocent. For it follows, And he said unto another, Follow me. But He says this to him, whose father He knew to be dead. Hence it follows, But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

And Jesus said to them: Foxes have dens, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man does not have a place to lay his head. From the words of the Lord, it is shown that this man who promises service is rejected because, seeing the magnitude of the signs, he wished to follow the Savior, seeking profits from the miraculous works, desiring the same thing that Simon Magus had wished to buy from Peter. Therefore, such faith is justly condemned by the Lord's sentence, and it is said to him: Why do you desire to follow me for wealth and worldly profits when I am of such poverty that I don't even have a place to stay and do not use a roof of my own? Otherwise, it is understood that he wished to follow, moved by the Lord's miracles, for vain boasting, which the birds signify. However, the feigned service of the disciple is signified by the name of foxes. By the reclining of his head, he signified his humility, which had no place in that deceitful and proud man.

Therefore it is said to him, Why do you seek to follow Me for the riches and gain of this world, when so great is My poverty that I have not even a place of rest, and take shelter under another man's roof.

Second, regarding the detection of duplicity, it is added: And Jesus said to him: The foxes have holes, in which, namely, they hide, and the birds of the air have nests, in which they lodge by night: but the Son of man has not where to lay his head. In this, remarkably, he showed his poverty, as if to say that he did not wish to have a companion who loves earthly things; whence below, chapter 14: "Whoever does not renounce all that he possesses cannot be my disciple," that is, a perfect imitator. Whence Chrysostom: "The Lord responds to his intention, as if to say: Why do you follow me for the sake of money, you who see that I have not even as much of a lodging as the birds?"

At the same time, along with this, he also marks him for outward pretense, which is understood in the fox, according to what is said below in chapter 13 concerning Herod: "Go, tell that fox." And therefore by foxes are understood heretics, because they are crooked and crafty and have fire in their tails, as is said of the foxes of Samson in Judges 15.

He also marks him for inward pretense in the bird, which seeks the heights; such is the proud man, as is said in Obadiah 1: "Though you be exalted as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from thence will I bring you down, says the Lord." And on account of these two things, the Lord shows that his company is to be rejected, because, First Corinthians 1, "God chose the ignoble and contemptible things of the world, and things that are not, that he might destroy the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in his sight."

And therefore as an example for imitation he became a beggar, according to that passage in Second Corinthians eight: "He became poor for us, that by his poverty we might be made rich"; whence the imitators of Christ were made rich by the poverty of Christ. For he is truly rich who has as much as the King of heaven and earth. And such is he who has nothing by ownership and possesses everything by charity, like those in Second Corinthians six, "as having nothing and yet possessing all things." Blessed is he who exchanges an earthly den for an eternal hall: "blessed are the poor in spirit," etc.

At the same time, note also that poverty is not pleasing unless it is simple against the craftiness of the fox, and humble against the pride of the bird. Whence Isaiah sixty-six: "But to whom shall I look, except to the poor and contrite in spirit, who trembles at my words?" where he joins poverty with simplicity and humility. Whence Augustine: "What profit is it to have left riches behind, when a wretched man is made prouder by despising riches than he had been by possessing them?" For a proud pauper is hateful to God and men, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus twenty-five: "Three kinds my soul has hated"; "A proud pauper," etc.

Likewise, Luke 9: Foxes have dens, the Gloss says: "I am of such great poverty that I have not even a lodging nor use my own roof": therefore etc.

This, I think, is signified by the utterance of the Saviour, "The foxes have holes, but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head." For on the believer alone, who is separated entirely from the rest, who by the Scripture are called wild beasts, rests the head of the universe, the kind and gentle Word, "who taketh the wise in their own craftiness. For the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain;"...

See how our Lord sets forth by his works the poverty which he taught. For him was no table spread, no lights, no house, nor any such thing.

And by the hand of that one feeble disciple, concerning whom it is written in the Gospel of our Redeemer, Jesus hath rebuked this wicked thought in all His foot-soldiers. "And one came and drew nigh and said unto Him, Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever thou goest. Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head." "Depart thou from me, O disciple of iniquity, for I have not that to give unto thee which thou desirest, and that which I can give thee thou dost not wish to receive. I know that which thy desire asketh, and that which thou seekest, but I will not give them unto thee, for through the love of the thought of riches thou hast been pleased to come after Me, and being in the light thou hast come forth to seek darkness, and having the true possession, to seek poverty, and having life, to seek death. That which I command every man, to forsake the world and to cleave unto Me, I desire that thou shouldst possess in thy coming unto Me. By the door through which I desire to bring thee out, by that same door thou pressest to come in unto Me, and therefore I will not receive thee. For in My outward appearance I am poor, and for this reason I have not things which are manifest to give in the world into which I have come. I am in appearance a stranger, for I have neither house nor roof, and whosoever seeketh to be My disciple must inherit poverty from Me. Why dost thou wish to inherit from Me that of the possession of which I have made thee destitute?"

That Lord walked in humility and obscurity, with no definite home: for "the Son of man," said He, "hath not where to lay His head; " unadorned in dress, for else He had not said, "Behold, they who are clad in soft raiment are in kings' houses: " in short, inglorious in countenance and aspect, just as Isaiah withal had fore-announced.

The man said, "Allow me first to go and bury my father." The Lord replied, "Let the dead bury their dead; but go and preach the kingdom of God." Another man said, "Let me first arrange my affairs at home." He rebuked him with a stern threat, saying, "No man, putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." A person who wishes to become the Lord's disciple must repudiate a human obligation, however honorable it may appear, if it slows us ever so slightly in giving the wholehearted obedience we owe to God.

But he said to another: Follow me. But he said: Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father. He did not reject discipleship, but first, with the piety of completing his father's funeral, he desired to follow him more freely, worthy in all things in whom the Son of Man may lay his head, that is, in whose humble heart divinity may rest with a certain familiar dwelling.

He did not refuse the discipleship, but his wish was, having fulfilled the filial duty of burying his father, to follow Christ more freely.

But he said to another. After the repulsion of the double-minded, here is added the calling of the simple, concerning which two things are introduced: the first is the calling of the innocent; the second is the instruction of the ignorant.

Therefore, first, as regards the calling of the innocent, it says: But he said to another: Follow me, as a son follows a father: Jeremiah three: "You shall call me Father and shall not cease to walk after me." Or as a disciple follows a master, as the Lord said to the young man seeking counsel in Matthew nineteen: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor; and come and follow me." And he called this one selectively, as he did Peter, in John last: "You, follow me."

And pointedly he says another, because he was of a different disposition: for he was simple and humble. To designate this, he adds: But he said: Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. In this there appears purity, because he did not conceal the affection of his heart, nor did he refuse counsel. Whence Isidore says: "He did not reject being a disciple, but with the duty of his father's funeral fulfilled, he wishes to follow more freely." There appears humility, because he wished to render service to his dead father, according to Ecclesiasticus 3: "He who fears the Lord honors his parents, and as to masters he will serve those who begot him, in deed and word and all patience." Moreover, he was moved to this by obedience to the divine precept: Exodus 20, "Honor your father"; he was also moved by clemency of soul: for burying the dead is a work of mercy, for which Tobit is commended, chapter 1: "When the king was killing many of the children of Israel, Tobit buried their bodies"; he was also moved by laudable custom, according to Ecclesiasticus 38: "Over the dead bring forth tears, and as one suffering grievously, begin to weep, and according to judgment cover his body and do not despise his burial." Whence it is apparent that he did not say this out of carnality, but out of a certain piety and humility, just as Elisha said to Elijah in 3 Kings 19: "Let me kiss, I pray, my father and my mother, and so I will follow you."

What, then, was the Saviour's answer? "Leave the dead burying their dead: but go thou, preach the kingdom of God." For there were, no doubt, other guardians and relatives of his father: but as I consider dead, because they had not yet believed in Christ, nor been able to receive the new birth by holy baptism unto the life incorruptible. Let them, He says, bury their dead, because they also have within them a dead mind, nor as yet have been numbered among those who possess the life that is in Christ. From this, then, we learn, that the fear of God is to be set even above the reverence and love due to parents. For the law of Moses also, while it commanded, in the first place, that "thou shalt love the Lord God with all thy soul, and all thy might, and all thy heart:" put as second to it the honour due to parents, saying, "Honour thy father and thy mother."

For come, and let us examine the matter in dispute, and inquire what is the reason why we consider the honour and love due to parents, not a thing to be neglected, but, on the contrary, carefully to be attended to. One may say, then, that is because we have our being by their means. But the God of all brought us into being, when we absolutely did not exist. He is the Creator and Maker of all: and, so to speak, the principle and radical essence of everything. For to everything existence is His gift. The father, then, and mother, were the means by which their offspring came into existence. Ought not, therefore, the primary Author justly to be loved more than the secondary and subsequent? And will not He Who gave the more precious gifts require of us the more marked honour? Our endeavours, therefore, to please our parents must give way to our love to God, and human duties must yield precedence to those which are divine. And this the Saviour has Himself taught us, saying, "He who loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me: and he who loveth son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me." He does not say that they are condemned for simply loving, but for loving them more than Me. He permits sons and daughters, therefore, to love their parents, but not more than they do Him. When therefore any thing which concerns God's glory has to be done, let no impediment stand in the way; let thy earnestness be without pretext: thy zealous exertions ardent and irrepressible. Forthwith let father and mother and children be disregarded, and the power of natural affection towards them cease, and yield the victory to the love of Christ.

Or else, his father was borne down with years, and he thought he was doing an honourable act in proposing to pay the kind offices which were due to him, according to Exodus, Honour thy father and thy mother. (Exod. 20:12.) Hence when calling him to the ministry of the Gospel, our Lord said, Follow me, he sought for a time of respite, which should suffice for the support of his decrepit father, saying, Permit me first to go and bury my father, not that he asked to bury his deceased father, for Christ would not have hindered the wish to do this, but he said, Bury, that is, support in old age even till death. But the Lord said to him, Let the dead bury their dead. For there were other attendants also bound by the same tie of relationship, but as I consider dead, because they had not yet believed Christ. Learn from this, that our duty to God is to be preferred to our love for our parents, to whom we show reverence, because through them have we been born. But the God of all, when as yet we were not, brought us into being, our parents were made the ministers of our introduction.

And again in another place He restrained that man who wished to perform two things in one, that is, honour to his parents and discipleship to Himself, and told him that it was impossible that two things which were the opposites of each other could happen at the same time: "Teacher, suffer me to go and bury my father and my mother, and I will come after Thee," that is to say, "I will keep the first commandment which God commanded me, Honour thy parents and be obedient unto them, and then I will come after Thee and minister unto Thee." And what answer did Jesus return to this? "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; and go thou and preach the kingdom of God. It is not necessary for thee to keep the law, for it hath been kept and is dissolved, neither hast thou any need to minister unto natural parents, because I have been obedient unto parents according to the body, and I have ministered unto them on behalf of everyone. The yoke of the law and nature is henceforth lifted from off thee, and thou art left a free man unto thyself, there being no worldly power that can subdue thee, for thou art dead unto the world, and thou art dead unto it. Dead bodies have not service paid unto them, they are only wrapped in shrouds and buried; leave the dead then to bury their dead, and do thou go and preach the kingdom of God."

Do you hesitate about arts, and trades, and about professions likewise, for the sake of children and parents? Even there was it demonstrated to us, that both "dear pledges," and handicrafts, and trades, are to be quite left behind for the Lord's sake; while James and John, called by the Lord, do leave quite behind both father and ship; while Matthew is roused up from the toll-booth; while even burying a father was too tardy a business for faith. None of them whom the Lord chose to Him said, "I have no means to live.

When, however, He answers the man, who alleged as an excuse his father's burial, "Let the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach the kingdom of God," He gave a clear confirmation to those two laws of the Creator-that in Leviticus, which concerns the sacerdotal office, and forbids the priests to be present at the funerals even of their parents.

If that was wanting to the apostles, I know not in the faith of what things it was, that, roused by one word of the Lord, one left the toll-booth behind for ever; another deserted father and ship, and the craft by which he gained his living; a third, who disdained his father's obsequies, fulfilled, before he heard it, that highest precept of the Lord, "He who prefers father or mother to me, is not worthy of me.

Us, moreover, Jesus, the Father's Highest and Great Priest, clothing us from His own store -inasmuch as they "who are baptized in Christ have put on Christ"-has made "priests to God His Father," according to John. For the reason why He recalls that young man who was hastening to his father's obsequies, is that He may show that we are called priests by Him; (priests) whom the Law used to forbid to be present at the sepulture of parents: "Over every dead soul," it says, "the priest shall not enter, and over his own father and over his own mother he shall not be contaminated.

But the Lord calls those upon whom He has compassion. Hence it follows, And Jesus said, Let the dead bury their dead. Since we have received as a religious duty the burial of the human body, how is it thus that the burial even of a father's dead body is forbidden, unless you are to understand that human things are to be postponed to divine? It is a good employment, but the hindrance is greater, for he who divides his pursuits, draws down his affections; he who divides his care, delays his advances. We must first set about the things which are most important. For the Apostles also, that they might not be occupied in the office of distributing alms, ordained ministers for the poor.

The performance of a father's burial is not then prohibited, but the observance of religious duty is preferred to the ties of relationship. The one is left to those in like condition, the other is commanded to those who are left. But how can the dead bury the dead? unless you here understand a twofold death, one a natural death, the other the death of sin. (Rom. 9:11.) There is also a third death, by which we die unto sin, live unto God.

Or because the throat of the ungodly is an open sepulchre, their memory is ordered to be forgotten whose services die together with their bodies. Nor is the son recalled from his duty to his father, but the faithful is separated from the communion of the unbelieving; there is no prohibition of duty, but a mystery of religion, that is, that we should have no fellowship with the dead Gentiles.

And Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. It must be noted in this sentence that sometimes in our actions, lesser goods should be omitted for the sake of greater goods. For who does not know the merit of good work is to bury the dead? And yet, he who asked to be allowed to bury his father was told: Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. For the duty of this service was to be postponed for the duty of preaching. For with that, he would bury the dead in flesh in the earth, but with this, he would raise the dead in soul to life. But how can the dead bury their dead unless you understand a double death? One of nature, the other of guilt; one by which the soul is separated from the body, the other by which God is separated from the soul. Or he says the dead, meaning unbelievers. But their dead, who likewise without faith depart from the body.

If parents should wish, say, or command something that is against the advancement of our salvation, piety is not to be shown to them in such matters. The Lord wills that on account of paternal affection a man should not cease to do what pertains to his salvation. And this is what the Lord says: Let the dead bury their dead; but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. And Jerome says: 'If your father should lie across the threshold, if your mother should bare the breasts with which she nursed you, trample over your father, trample over your mother, and fly to the standard of the cross. For the only kind of piety in this matter is to be cruel.'

Secondly, with respect to the instruction of the ignorant, there follows: And Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead. In this he first instructs him to avoid the company of sinners: for the dead here are called sinners and unbelievers — whence Ephesians 2: "You, when you were dead in your offenses and sins, in which you once walked." The company of such persons must be abandoned by a holy man, according to Ecclesiasticus 13: "What fellowship has a holy man with a dog?" — that is, with a sinner and unbeliever. Whence however closely he may be joined to them, they must nevertheless be abandoned, especially when they impede the good. Whence Deuteronomy 33: "He who said to his father and his mother: I do not know you; and to his brothers: I know them not — these are they who kept your judgments, O Jacob, and your law, O Israel."

He also instructs him that lesser goods must be set aside for greater ones: whence Ambrose teaches that "lesser goods must be passed over for the benefit of greater ones. For it is greater to raise the souls of the dead by preaching than to hide the body of a dead man in the earth."

And therefore he adds: But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God: as if to say: set aside a lesser good for a greater one, according to what is said in First Timothy four: "Exercise yourself unto godliness. For bodily exercise is profitable for a little" etc. From this it is clear that works of spiritual piety, according to the judgment of both the Apostle and the Lord, are altogether to be preferred to corporal works. For although it is a great work of piety to bury the dead, and especially one's own father, nevertheless Christ wills that it be set aside for the office of preaching. On account of which the Apostles said in Acts six: "It is not fitting that we should leave the word of God and serve tables." For as much as the soul is better than the body, so much better is it to feed the soul by preaching than to minister food to the body; especially because there are more persons suited to providing burial than to giving doctrine. Whence the Apostles said in Acts six: "Look for men of good repute, whom we may appoint over this work. But we will be devoted to prayer and to the ministry of the word"; because it is said below in chapter ten: "Mary has chosen the best part"; and therefore in Daniel twelve: "Those who instruct many unto justice shall be as stars" etc. - And note that he says: Proclaim the kingdom of God, namely to those willing to repent: according to what Christ said in Matthew four: "Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Therefore, just as it is a great sin when a rich man does not give alms to one in need, so it is a greater sin when one who has knowledge does not share doctrine: whence Proverbs eleven: "He who hides grain shall be cursed among the peoples." Therefore he says: Proclaim, do not hide.

On that passage in Luke 9: Let the dead bury their dead; the Gloss says: "The Lord teaches that lesser goods are to be passed over for the advantage of greater ones; for it is greater to raise the souls of the dead by preaching than to lay a dead body in the earth." If therefore to bury the dead, and especially one's father, is a work of the greatest natural and corporeal piety, and the Lord teaches that this is to be set aside, and those devoted to preaching are not bound to this: therefore such persons are not bound to manual works, however needy they may be.

If they quote the Lord's words to Philip, "Let dead bury their dead, but do thou follow me," they ought to consider that Philip's flesh is also formed in the same way; body is not a polluted corpse. How then could he have a body of flesh which is not a corpse? Because he rose from the tomb when the Lord killed his passions, and he began to live unto Christ.

He sees and follows who puts into practice the good that he understands. But he sees and does not follow who indeed understands the good, but disdains to do good works. If therefore, dearest brothers, we now recognize the blindness of our pilgrimage, if by believing in the mystery of our Redeemer we sit by the wayside, if by praying daily we seek light from our Creator, if having been illuminated after our blindness we now see that same light through understanding, let us follow in our works the Jesus whom we perceive in our mind. Let us observe where he walks, and by imitating hold to his footsteps. For he follows Jesus who imitates him. For this reason he says: "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead." For "follow" means "imitate." Again he admonishes on this point, saying: "If anyone serves me, let him follow me." Let us therefore consider where he walks, that we may deserve to follow. Behold, though he is Lord and Creator of the angels, about to take up our nature which he created, he came into the womb of the Virgin. Yet he did not wish to be born in this world through the wealthy; he chose poor parents. Hence even a lamb to be offered for him was lacking; his mother found young doves and a pair of turtledoves for the sacrifice. He did not wish to prosper in the world; he endured reproaches and mockeries; he bore spitting, scourging, blows, a crown of thorns, and the cross; and because we fell from inner joy through delight in bodily things, he showed with what bitterness one returns there. What therefore ought man to suffer for himself, if God endured such things for men? He therefore who has now believed in Christ, but still pursues the gains of avarice, is lifted up in the pride of honor, burns with the torches of envy, pollutes himself with the filth of lust, desires the prosperous things that are in the world—he disdains to follow the Jesus in whom he has believed. For he walks by a different path, if he seeks joys and pleasures, when his guide showed him the way of bitterness.

And they teach that He pointed out the three kinds of men as follows: the material, when He said to him that asked Him, "Shall I follow Thee?" "The Son of man hath not where to lay His head;"-the animal, when He said to him that declared, "I will follow Thee, but suffer me first to bid them farewell that are in my house," "No man, putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of heaven" (for this man they declare to be of the intermediate class, even as they do that other who, though he professed to have wrought a large amount of righteousness, yet refused to follow Him, and was so overcome by [the love of] riches, as never to reach perfection)-this one it pleases them to place in the animal class;-the spiritual, again, when He said, "Let the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach the kingdom of God," and when He said to Zaccheus the publican, "Make haste, and come down, for to-day I must abide in thine house"-for these they declared to have belonged to the spiritual class.

(Hom. 27. in Matt.) But what more necessary than the burial of his father, what more easy, seeing that there would not be much time given to it? We are then hereby taught that it becomes us not to spend even the slightest portion of our time in vain, although we have a thousand things to compel us, nay to prefer spiritual things to even our greatest necessities. For the devil watchfully presses close upon us, wishing to find any opening, and if he causes a slight negligence, he ends in producing a great weakness.

(ubi sup.) By thus saying, their dead, he shows that this man's father was not his dead, for I suppose that the deceased was of the number of the unbelieving.

Behold also we learn from this testimony that the man who becometh a disciple of Jesus hath not even power to minister unto his natural parents, because he hath a true Father, Who by His grace hath enrolled him for Himself as a son, and Who hath set him apart for the ministration of His will. And unto the man who sought to honour his parents according to the body, so long as they were alive, and after their death to become His disciple, He said, "Let the dead bury their dead."

(Nilus Monac.) For the frequent looking upon the things which we have forsaken, through the force of habit draws us back to our past way of life. For practice has great power to retain to itself. Is not habit generated of use, and nature of habit? But to get rid of or change nature is difficult; for although when compelled it for a while turns aside, it very rapidly returns to itself.

And Jesus said to him: No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. To put one's hand to the plow, is as if with a kind of instrument of compunction, with wood and iron to grind down the hardness of one's heart in the passion of the Lord, and open it to bring forth the fruits of good works. If anyone, having begun to cultivate this, in delight looks back at the vices he left behind with Lot's wife, he is deprived of the gift of the future kingdom.

To put one's hand to the plough, is also, (as it were by a certain sharp instrument,) by the wood and iron of our Lord's passion, to wear away the hardness of our heart, and to open it to bring forth the fruits of good works. But if any one, having begun to exercise this, delights to look back with Lot's wife to the things which he had left, he is deprived of the gift of the kingdom to come.

Concerning entrance into religious life, some say that one shoe does not fit all feet; but religious life imposes one rule upon all. If you say this, you are calling Christ and the apostles foolish. He also says: 'No one, putting his hand to the plow of God and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.' Anyone can shape himself to the rule of religious life, because it is applied differently to the young, differently to the old, differently to the strong, differently to the weak.

Second, with regard to the rebuke of inconstancy, he adds: Jesus said to him: No one putting his hand to the plow, etc., that is, to the exercise of divine perfection and preaching, which is rightly designated by the plow on account of its cultivation and fruit, according to that passage in Hosea 10: "Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his furrows."

No one, I say, being such, and looking back, that is, toward the world, is fit for the kingdom of God, that is, for possessing the kingdom of God: because, according to that passage in Second Timothy 2, "no one serving as a soldier for God entangles himself in worldly affairs, that he may please him to whom he has proven himself."

A figure of this preceded in the wife of Lot, who, looking back behind her, was turned into a pillar of salt; because such a man is rendered useless and barren. And therefore it is said below in chapter 17: "He who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember the wife of Lot."

Such a man is not fit for the kingdom, but rather for reproach; whence Second Peter 2: "It is better not to have known the way of truth than, after having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment that had been delivered to them. For that saying of the true proverb has happened to them: The dog returned to his own vomit," etc.; which can rightly be understood of those who relapse and apostatize. And therefore, on the contrary, Ecclesiasticus 5 urges: "Be firm in the way of the Lord." Such was the Apostle, as it is said in Philippians 3: "Forgetting what is behind and stretching myself forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly calling."

And therefore he himself exhorted in Ephesians 3: "Rooted and grounded in charity, that you may be able to comprehend," etc. For he knew that it had been said by the Lord in Matthew 10: "He who perseveres to the end, he shall be saved." Scripture invites us to this most especially: whence throughout the entire Law and Prophets it forbids the children of Israel to return to Egypt, that is, lest a man turn from divine service to the world. Whence also on account of that transgression nearly all the children of Israel were slain by the Lord in the desert.

Now, it is a very great thing to abandon opinion, by taking one's stand between accurate knowledge and the rash wisdom of opinion, and to know that he who hopes for everlasting rest knows also that the entrance to it is toilsome "and strait." And let him who has once received the Gospel, even in the very hour in which he has come to the knowledge of salvation, "not turn back, like Lot's wife," as is said; and let him not go back either to his former life, which adheres to the things of sense, or to heresies. For they form the character, not knowing the true God. "For he that loveth father or mother more than Me," the Father and Teacher of the truth, who regenerates and creates anew, and nourishes the elect soul, "is not worthy of Me"-He means, to be a son of God and a disciple of God, and at the same time also to be a friend, and of kindred nature. "For no man who looks back, and puts his hand to the plough, is fit for the kingdom of God."

It was my duty not to conceal these special matters, nor to hide them alone in my own consciousness,-matters by which each one of us may be both instructed and guided. And do not you for your part keep this letter concealed among yourselves, but let the brethren have it to mad. For it is the part of one who desires that his brother should not be warned and instructed, to intercept those words with which the Lord condescends to admonish and instruct us. Let them know that we are proved by our Lord, and let them never fail of that faith whereby we have once believed in Him, under the conflict of this present affliction. Let each one, acknowledging his own sins, even now put off the conversation of the old man. "For no man who looks back as he putteth his hand to the plough is fit for the kingdom of God." And, finally, Lot's wife, who, when she was delivered, looked back in defiance of the commandment, lost the benefit of her escape. Let us look not to things which are behind, whither the devil calls us back, but to things which are before, whither Christ calls us. Let us lift up our eyes to heaven, lest the earth with its delights and enticements deceive us. Let each one of us pray God not for himself only, but for all the brethren, even as the Lord has taught us to pray, when He bids to each one, not private prayer, but enjoined them, when they prayed, to pray for all in common prayer and concordant supplication. If the Lord shall behold us humble and peaceable; if He shall see us joined one with another; if He shall see us fearful concerning His anger; if corrected and amended by the present tribulation, He will maintain us safe from the disturbances of the enemy. Discipline hath preceded; pardon also shall follow.

That those who are snatched from the jaws of the devil, and delivered from the snares of this world, ought not again to return to the world, lest they should lose the advantage of their withdrawal therefrom. In Exodus the Jewish people, prefigured as a shadow and image of us, when, with God for their guardian and avenger, they had escaped the most severe slavery of Pharaoh and of Egypt-that is, of the devil and the world-faithless and ungrateful in respect of God, murmur against Moses, looking back to the discomforts of the desert and of their labour; and, not understanding the divine benefits of liberty and salvation, they seek to return to the slavery of Egypt-that is, of the world whence they had been drawn forth-when they ought rather to have trusted and believed on God, since He who delivers His people from the devil and the world, protects them also when delivered. "Wherefore hast thou thus done with us," say they, "in casting us forth out of Egypt? It is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in this wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Trust, and stand fast, and see the salvation which is from the Lord, which He shall do to you to-day. The Lord Himself shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." The Lord, admonishing us of this in His Gospel, and teaching that we should not return again to the devil and to the world, which we have renounced, and whence we have escaped, says: "No man looking back, land putting his hand to the plough, is fit for the kingdom of God." And again: "And let him that is in the field not return back. Remember Lot's wife." And lest any one should be retarded by any covetousness of wealth or attraction of his own people from following Christ, He adds, and says: "He that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple."

That he who has attained to trust, having put off the former man, ought to regard only celestial and spiritual things, and to give no heed to the world which he has already renounced. In Isaiah: "Seek ye the Lord; and when ye have found Him, call upon Him. But when He hath come near unto you, let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him be turned unto the Lord, and he shall obtain mercy, because He will plentifully pardon your sins." Of this same thing in Solomon: "I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; and, lo, all are vanity." Of this same thing in Exodus: "But thus shall ye eat it; your loins girt, and your shoes on your feet, and your staves in your hands: and ye shall eat it in haste, for it is the Lord's passover." Of this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: "Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewith shall we be clothed? for these things the nations seek after. But your Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Likewise in the same place: "Think not for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for itself. Sufficient unto the day is its own evil." Likewise in the same place: "No one looking back, and putting his hands to the plough, is fit for the kingdom of God." Also in the same place: "Behold the fowls of the heaven: for they sow not, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of more value than they? " Concerning this same thing, according to Luke: "Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning; and ye like unto men that wait for their lord, when he cometh from the wedding; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may open to him. Blessed are those servants, whom their lord, when he cometh, shall find watching." Of this same thing in Matthew: "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where He may lay His head." Also in the same place: "Whoso forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple." Of this same thing in the first to the Corinthians: "Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body." Also in the same place: "The time is limited. It remaineth, therefore, that both they who have wives be as though they have them not, and they who lament as they that lament not, and they that rejoice as they that rejoice not, and they who buy as they that buy not, and they who possess as they who possess not, and they who use this world as they that use it not; for the fashion of this world passeth away." Also in the same place: "The first man is of the clay of the earth, the second man from heaven. As he is of the clay, such also are they who are of the clay; and as is the heavenly, such also are the heavenly. Even as we have borne the image of him who is of the clay, let us bear His image also who is from heaven." Of this same matter to the Philippians: "All seek their own, and not those things which are Christ's; whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and their glory is to their confusion, who mind earthly things. For our conversation is in heaven, whence also we expect the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall transform the body of our humiliation conformed to the body of His glory." Of this very matter to Galatians: "But be it far from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Concerning this same thing to Timothy: "No man that warreth for God bindeth himself with worldly annoyances, that he may please Him to whom he hath approved himself. But and if a man should contend, he will not be crowned unless he fight lawfully." Of this same thing to the Colossians: "If ye be dead with Christ from I the elements of the world, why still, as if living in the world, do ye follow vain things? " Also concerning this same thing: "If ye have risen together with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting on the right hand of God. Give heed to the things that are above, not to those things which are on the earth; for ye are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ your life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." Of this same thing to the Ephesians: Put off the old man of the former conversation, who is corrupted, according to the lusts of deceit. But be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, him who according to God is ordained in righteousness, and holiness, and truth." Of this same thing in the Epistle of Peter: "As strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; but having a good conversation among the Gentiles, that while they detract from you as if from evildoers, yet, beholding your good works, they may magnify God." Of this same thing in the Epistle of John: "He who saith he abideth in Christ, ought himself also to walk even as He walked." Also in the same place: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loveth the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Because everything which is in the world is lust of the flesh, and lust of the eyes, and the ambition of this world, which is not of the Father, but of the lust of this world. And the world shall pass away with its lust. But he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever, even as God abideth for ever." Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new dough, as ye are unleavened. For also Christ our passover is sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not in the old leaven, nor in the leaven of malice and wickedness, but in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

"No man, having put his hand upon the ploughshare, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God," that is to say, "Whosoever fulfilleth this work in nature, and who guideth the plough with oxen according to the custom of man, and who suffereth himself to look behind him instead of in front — now in this manner the work would never be completed — is not able to advance, nor are his furrows cut straight, and the oxen also do not travel forwards; and although this work be visible, and one which can be seen, and it taketh place in the very earth itself, yet if the ploughman look behind him, his labour is spoiled. Now as concerning My own discipleship, one labour differeth from another, even as world differeth from world, and life from life, and immortal from mortal beings, and God from the children of men; if then thou takest the yoke of My discipleship upon thy soul and body, thou must perform the service of My commandments, and thou must turn thyself back to the world, and it must not be a care to thee to make peace with thy kinsfolk, and thou must not be anxious to pay unto them the obligation of honour according to the body, and to fulfil unto them the law of the fulness of the world, and then to come after Me. For if thou wouldest pay the obligations of the world, those which are due unto Me cannot be paid; and if thou art anxious not to offend the world in anything, why then shouldst thou set thyself to provoke Me? Let there be no peace between thee and the world, in order that thou thyself mayest have peace with Me."

"But provision must be made for children and posterity." "None, putting his hand on the plough, and looking back, is fit" for work. "But I was under contract.

Yet I must necessarily prescribe you a law, not to stretch out your hand after the old things, not to look backwards: for "the old things are passed away," according to Isaiah; and "a renewing hath been renewed," according to Jeremiah; and "forgetful of former things, we are reaching forward," according to the apostle; and "the law and the prophets (were) until John," according to the Lord.