Works › Sermons for the Seasons of the Year
Volume 13 · pp. 7–11
Sermon II. On the Second Sunday of Advent
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Sermo II.
In Dominica II Adventus.
Tunc videbunt Filium hominis venientem in nube cum potestate magna, et majestate. Luc. xxi, 27.
Nota, quod quadruplex est adventus Domini. Primus fuit in Virginis uterum, secundus in mundum, tertius est in cor humanum, quartus erit in judicium. In uterum Virginis venit, ut carne humana indueretur. In mundum venit, ut per suum sanguinem genus humanum redimeretur. In cor hominis venit ut per eum a suis languoribus sublevetur. Ad judicium venit, ut ventilabro judiciariae sententiae granum a paleis separetur.
Omissis autem tribus aliis adventibus, ad praesens de redemptione humani generis aliqua breviter tangemus. Unde tria principaliter sunt hic notanda:
I. Quod signum ad istam redemptionem concurrerit? II. A quibus, et per quae homo redemptus exstiterit? III. Quid redemptionem in cruce factam secutum fuerit?
I.
De primo nota, quod multiplex signum in redemptione hominis accidit. De his signis dicitur in praesenti Evangelio 1: Erunt signa in sole, et luna, et stellis, et in terris pressura gentium, etc. Per solem intelligitur ipse Dei Filius. Ipse enim est sol justitiae, sicut dicitur Malach. iv, 2.
1. In hoc sole signum magnum apparuit: quia videlicet obscuratus fuit, sicut praedixerat Joel ii, 31: Sol convertetur in tenebras. Nonne sol iste respectu Judaeorum conversus fuit in tenebras, quando velatus fuit, et post velationem percussus et colaphizatus? Dictumque fuit ei: Prophetiza, quis est, qui te percussit 2? quasi ipse ignoraret percutientes se. Quidquid etiam claritatis fuit in specioso vultu solis istius, quasi obtenebratum fuit per sputa Judaeorum, qui exspuerunt in eum: sicut testantur Matthaeus et Marcus. Hinc etiam dicit Isa. liii, 2: Non est species ei, neque decor.
2. Per lunam figuratur Virgo Maria. Unde quidam Sanctus dicit in laudem ipsius: "Tu pulchra ut luna diceris, eique non immerito compararis. Illa enim astrorum omnium sola soli simillima, et candore venusta argenteo, caeteris in caelo praemicat sideribus. Tu veri solis imago expressissima inter millia Angelorum Deo assistentium virginali puritate in excelsis gloriosa refulges." In hac ergo luna, id est, in Beata Virgine Maria factum est signum mirabile: quia scilicet conversa fuit in sanguinem. Hoc etiam praedixit Joel ii, 31: Luna, inquit, convertetur in sanguinem. Tunc autem Beata Virgo conversa fuit in sanguinem, quando intellexit dulcissimum filium suum traditum, et captum, et colaphizatum, et consputum, et ad crucis martyrium postulatum. Tunc vero tota luna facta est, ut sanguis, quando assistens cruci vidit filii caput spinis laceratum, et dorsum, et omne corpus sanguine cruentatum. Cum etiam vidit manus et pedes clavis perforari, et postremo latus ejus crudeli lancea transfigi; quis sufficienter explicare poterit, quantos dolores tunc sustinuit Virgo Maria?
Sermon II.
On the Second Sunday of Advent.
Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and majesty. Luke 21:27.
Note that the coming of the Lord is fourfold. The first was into the womb of the Virgin, the second into the world, the third is into the human heart, the fourth will be into judgment. He came into the womb of the Virgin so that he might be clothed with human flesh. He came into the world so that through his blood the human race might be redeemed. He came into the heart of a human being so that through him it might be relieved from its weaknesses. He comes to judgment so that by the winnowing fan of the judicial sentence the grain may be separated from the chaff.
But with the other three comings omitted, for the present we will briefly touch on some things concerning the redemption of the human race. Hence three things are principally to be noted here:
I. What sign concurred with that redemption? II. From whom, and through what, the human being existed as redeemed? III. What followed the redemption made on the cross?
I.
Concerning the first, note that a manifold sign occurred in the redemption of the human being. Concerning these signs it is said in the present Gospel 1: There will be signs in the sun, and moon, and stars, and on the earth distress of nations, etc. By the sun is understood the Son of God himself. For he is the sun of justice, as is said in Malachi 4:2.
1. In this sun a great sign appeared, because namely it was darkened, as Joel 2:31 had foretold: The sun will be turned into darkness. Was not this sun, with respect to the Jews, turned into darkness when he was veiled and, after the veiling, struck and slapped? And it was said to him: Prophesy, who is it who struck you 2? as though he himself did not know those striking him. Whatever brightness there was in the beautiful face of that sun was as if darkened by the spittle of the Jews, who spat upon him, as Matthew and Mark testify. Hence also Isaiah 53:2 says: There is no form in him, nor beauty.
2. By the moon the Virgin Mary is figured. Hence a certain Saint says in praise of her: "You are said to be beautiful as the moon, and not undeservedly are you compared to it. For that one alone among all the stars is most like the sun and, lovely with silvery brightness, shines before the other stars in heaven. You, the most express image of the true sun, among thousands of Angels standing before God, shine gloriously in the heights by virginal purity." Therefore in this moon, that is, in the Blessed Virgin Mary, a wonderful sign was made, because namely she was turned into blood. Joel 2:31 also foretold this: The moon, he says, will be turned into blood. But then the Blessed Virgin was turned into blood when she understood that her most sweet son had been handed over, and seized, and struck, and spat upon, and demanded for the martyrdom of the cross. Then truly the whole moon became as blood, when, standing by the cross, she saw the son's head torn by thorns, and his back and whole body bloodied with blood. When she also saw his hands and feet pierced by nails, and at last his side transfixed by the cruel lance, who will be able sufficiently to explain how many sorrows the Virgin Mary then sustained?
3. In stellis etiam signa contigerunt. Per stellas autem intelliguntur Apostoli. Sicut enim stellae affixae sunt firmamento, ita et ipsi semper adhaeserunt Christo. Sed certe tunc etiam in stellis hoc signum apparuit; quod scilicet a firmamento ceciderunt. Dicit enim Matth. xxvi, 56, et Marc. xiv, 50, quod tunc Discipuli omnes, relicto eo, fugerunt. Petrus etiam, qui quasi constantior aliis eum a remotis sequebatur, territus ad vocem unius ancillae, eumdem quem secutus fuerat, cum juramento negavit. Unde et Dominus dixerat Marc. xiii, 25: Stellae caeli erunt decidentes.
4. Tunc etiam in terris facta fuit pressura. Per terras intelliguntur illae bonae mulieres, quae Dominum sequentes plangebant, et lamentabantur eum, sicut dicit Luc. xxiii, 27. Sicut enim terra alit homines per fructus suos, quos producit: sic et ipsae paverunt Jesum per terras euntem et praedicantem. Unde dicitur Luc. viii, 3: Maria Magdalena, et Joanna uxor Chusae procuratoris Herodis, et Susanna, et aliae multae quae ministrabant ei de facultatibus suis. Hae itaque, cum viderunt Jesum duci ad mortis supplicium, magnas pressuras dolorum in cordibus suis passae fuerunt. Et hoc propter crudelitatem gentium, id est, eorum qui Dominum gentiliter et impie tractabant.
5. Tunc etiam quidam homines, circa quos Christus miracula fuerat operatus, prae timore quasi arescebant. Timebant enim, ne et ipsi impeterentur a Judaeis: utpote quasi propter eorum curationem Jesus ipsorum sabbata violasset. Tanta quippe tunc erat confusio sonitus maris ac fluctuum!
6. Per mare denique Judaeorum majores, videlicet Principes Sacerdotum, et ipsi Sacerdotes notantur. Per fluctus vero Scribae et Pharisaei figurantur. Hi omnes in tantam insaniam et furorem eruperant, ut libenter exterminassent Jesu memoriam de terra. Tunc igitur, qui ante eum dilexerant, prae timore et exspectatione eorumdem cruciatuum, qui superveniebant universo orbi, id est, Christo, quasi arescebant. Christus enim ideo universus orbis appellatur: quia in eo vivimus, et movemur, et sumus, ut dicit Apostolus 3. Etiam virtutes, quae in caelis sunt, movebuntur 4. Sol etenim et luna, necnon et alia sidera retraxerunt splendorem suum, et factae sunt tenebrae super universam terram ab hora sexta usque ad horam nonam, sicut testantur Matt. xxvii, 45, et Luc. xxiii, 44. Ecce quae, et quanta signa occurrerunt tempore redemptionis humanae.
3. Signs also happened in the stars. By the stars the Apostles are understood. For as stars are fastened to the firmament, so also they always adhered to Christ. But surely then this sign also appeared in the stars, namely that they fell from the firmament. For Matthew 26:56 and Mark 14:50 say that then all the disciples, having abandoned him, fled. Peter also, who followed him from afar as though more constant than the others, terrified by the voice of one maidservant, denied with an oath the same one whom he had followed. Hence also the Lord had said in Mark 13:25: The stars of heaven will be falling.
4. Then also distress was made on the earth. By the earths are understood those good women who, following the Lord, were mourning and lamenting him, as Luke 23:27 says. For as earth feeds human beings through its fruits that it produces, so also they fed Jesus as he went and preached through the lands. Hence it is said in Luke 8:3: Mary Magdalene, and Joanna the wife of Chusa, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many other women who were ministering to him from their resources. Therefore these women, when they saw Jesus being led to the punishment of death, suffered great pressures of sorrows in their hearts. And this was because of the cruelty of the nations, that is, of those who treated the Lord in a gentile and impious manner.
5. Then also certain human beings, around whom Christ had worked miracles, were as if drying up from fear. For they were afraid lest they too be attacked by the Jews, as though because of their healing Jesus had violated their Sabbaths. Indeed so great then was the confusion of the sound of the sea and of the waves!
6. Finally, by the sea are marked the greater men of the Jews, namely the chief priests and the priests themselves. By the waves, however, the scribes and Pharisees are figured. All these had broken out into such madness and fury that they would gladly have exterminated the memory of Jesus from the earth. Therefore then those who before had loved him, because of fear and expectation of the same torments that were coming upon the whole world, that is, upon Christ, were as if drying up. For Christ is therefore called the whole world, because in him we live, and move, and are, as the Apostle says 3. Even the powers that are in the heavens will be moved 4. For the sun and moon, and also the other stars, withdrew their brightness, and darkness was made over the whole earth from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, as Matthew 27:45 and Luke 23:44 testify. Behold what signs, and how many, occurred at the time of human redemption.
II.
De secundo nota, quod Filius Dei nos ab iniquitatibus nostris redemit in cruce. Hanc redemptionem promiserat Spiritus Sanctus per os David in Psal. cxxix, 7 et 8: Quia apud Dominum est misericordia; subaudi, ideo et copiosa est apud eum redemptio. Et ipse redimet Israel, ex omnibus iniquitatibus suis. Nota, quod per copiosam redemptionem ipse Filius Dei intelligitur. Ipse enim erat redemptor, et redemptio: sicut dicit Apost. I ad Corinth. i, 30: Qui factus est nobis redemptio. Redemptor igitur fuit, quia in propria persona nos redemit. Redemptio fuit, quia in semetipso hoc accepit, per quod nos redemit, scilicet pretiosum sanguinem suum, qui erat in gremio cordis sui. Propter quod dicit Apost. ad Eph. i, 6 et 7: Deus pater gratificavit nos in dilecto Filio suo. In quo habemus redemptionem per sanguinem ejus. Haec ergo copiosa redemptio, id est, ipse Filius ab aeterno adstitit vultui Patris, quasi paratus carnem assumere, et genus humanum redimere, quando hoc Patri placeret. Igitur Dei Filius redemit in cruce genus humanum ex omnibus iniquitatibus suis, quas originaliter traxerat a primis parentibus.
Et nota, quod ad minus sex erant iniquitates Adam et Evae. Prima erat iniquitas, quod similitudinem Dei superbe petierunt. Ad hoc enim invitavit eos persuasio serpentis, qui dixit eis: Eritis sicut dii. Secunda fuit, quod scientiam boni et mali indebite sitierunt. Illecti enim erant per promissionem serpentis, qui ait: Et eritis scientes bonum et malum. Tertia fuit, quod id quod suum non erat, rapuerunt, scilicet, fructum Domini, quem sine licentia sua fregerunt. Quarta fuit, quod hoc quod eis inhibitum fuit, gulose comederunt. Unde legitur Gen. iii, 6 5: Vidit mulier quod bonum esset lignum ad vescendum, et pulchrum oculis, adspectuque delectabile: et tulit de fructu illius, et comedit: deditque viro suo, qui comedit. Quinta fuit, quod cum elatione se excusaverunt, quasi culpam suam retorquentes in Deum. Adam enim excusando se ait: Mulier, quam dedisti mihi sociam, dedit mihi de ligno, et comedi. Quasi diceret: Si non dedisses mihi sociam, cui societatem exhibere debueram, non comedissem. Mulier etiam dixit: Serpens decepit me, et comedi. Quasi diceret: Nisi tu creasses astutum serpentem, per eum decepta non fuissem. Sexta iniquitas fuit, quia inobedientes suo Creatori exstiterunt. Et hoc peccatum quasi radix et finis exstitit aliorum peccatorum.
II.
Concerning the second, note that the Son of God redeemed us from our iniquities on the cross. The Holy Spirit had promised this redemption through the mouth of David in Psalm 129:7 and 8: Because with the Lord there is mercy; supply, therefore there is also abundant redemption with him. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Note that by abundant redemption the Son of God himself is understood. For he himself was redeemer and redemption, as the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 1:30: Who was made redemption for us. Therefore he was redeemer because in his own person he redeemed us. He was redemption because in himself he received that by which he redeemed us, namely his precious blood, which was in the bosom of his heart. On account of this the Apostle says in Ephesians 1:6 and 7: God the Father has made us pleasing in his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood. Therefore this abundant redemption, that is, the Son himself, stood from eternity before the face of the Father, as if ready to assume flesh and to redeem the human race when this pleased the Father. Therefore the Son of God redeemed the human race on the cross from all its iniquities, which it had drawn originally from its first parents.
And note that there were at least six iniquities of Adam and Eve. The first iniquity was that they proudly sought the likeness of God. For to this the persuasion of the serpent invited them, which said to them: You will be as gods. The second was that they unduly thirsted for the knowledge of good and evil. For they were enticed by the promise of the serpent, who said: And you will know good and evil. The third was that they seized what was not their own, namely the fruit of the Lord, which they broke off without his permission. The fourth was that they greedily ate what had been forbidden to them. Hence it is read in Genesis 3:6 5: The woman saw that the tree was good for eating, and beautiful to the eyes, and delightful to behold; and she took of its fruit and ate, and gave it to her husband, who ate. The fifth was that with elation they excused themselves, as if turning their fault back upon God. For Adam, in excusing himself, said: The woman whom you gave me as a companion gave me from the tree, and I ate. As if he were saying: If you had not given me a companion to whom I ought to have shown fellowship, I would not have eaten. The woman also said: The serpent deceived me, and I ate. As if she were saying: If you had not created the clever serpent, I would not have been deceived through him. The sixth iniquity was that they existed as disobedient to their Creator. And this sin was as it were the root and end of the other sins.
Ecce ex istis iniquitatibus redemit nos Dei Filius in cruce, contraria praedictis vel patiendo, vel agendo. Contra hoc enim, quod illi per superbiam similari volebant optimo, Dei Filius assimilari voluit sceleratissimo. Quasi enim esset omnium hominum sceleratissimus, Barraba eximio latrone absoluto, ipse ad crucem est postulatus, et in medio duorum latronum suspensus, et sic dicitur Marc. xv, 28: Impleta est Scriptura, quae dicit: Et cum iniquis reputatus est.
Item, Contra hoc, quod ipsi ex minima scientia indebite sitierunt, iste quasi quidam impotens persistit in doloribus et in tormentis. Dicit enim Matth. xxvii, 41 et 42: Quod Principes Sacerdotum illudentes cum Scribis, et senioribus dicebant: Alios salvos fecit, seipsum non potest salvum facere: Si Rex Israel est, descendat nunc de cruce, et credimus ei. Verisimile est, quod multi, qui tunc adstabant, et istas illusiones audiebant, Jesumque in suis cordibus diligebant; quod scilicet videbatur eis esse stultitia, quod non descendit de cruce, si poterat descendere. Et forsitan hoc vehementer optabant, ut descenderet ad suiipsius salvationem, et Judaeorum confusionem: sed vere ipse melius et sapientius egit non descendendo. Unde dicit Isa. liii, 11, in persona Patris de Filio: In scientia sua justificabit ipse justus servus meus multos, et iniquitates eorum ipse portabit.
Nota, quod Dei Filius servus Patris appellatur: quia ad mandatum ejus nobis servivit, tamquam bonae voluntatis servus.
Item, Contra hoc, quod ipsi fructum illum, qui non erat ipsorum, abstulerunt: Dei Filius praedae patuit impiorum, qui Domino, cum aliud non haberet quod possent ei auferre, ipsi sua vestimenta abstulerunt: sicut sancti Evangelistae testantur, et sicut ipse dicit in Psal. xxi, 19: Diviserunt sibi vestimenta mea, et super vestem meam, id est, in tunicam meam, miserunt sortem. Hanc enim ut dicit Joan. xix, 23 et 24, scindere nolebant, quia erat inconsutilis desuper contexta per totum.
Behold, from these iniquities the Son of God redeemed us on the cross by things contrary to the aforesaid, either by suffering or by acting. For contrary to this, that they by pride wanted to be made like the Best, the Son of God willed to be made like the most wicked. For as if he were the most wicked of all human beings, after Barabbas the distinguished robber had been released, he himself was demanded for the cross, and hung in the midst of two robbers, and thus it is said in Mark 15:28: The Scripture was fulfilled that says: And he was counted with the wicked.
Likewise, contrary to this, that they unduly thirsted out of the smallest knowledge, that one persisted as a certain powerless man in pains and torments. For Matthew 27:41 and 42 says that the chief priests, mocking him with the scribes and elders, were saying: He saved others; he cannot save himself. If he is King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we believe him. It is likely that many who then were standing by and hearing these mockeries, and loving Jesus in their hearts, thought it seemed folly that he did not come down from the cross, if he was able to come down. And perhaps they vehemently desired this, that he would come down for the salvation of himself and the confusion of the Jews. But truly he acted better and more wisely by not coming down. Hence Isaiah 53:11 says, in the person of the Father concerning the Son: In his knowledge my just servant himself will justify many, and he himself will bear their iniquities.
Note that the Son of God is called the servant of the Father, because at his command he served us as a servant of good will.
Likewise, contrary to this, that they took away that fruit that was not theirs, the Son of God lay open to the prey of the impious, who, when the Lord had nothing else that they could take away from him, took away his own garments from him, as the holy Evangelists testify, and as he himself says in Psalm 21:19: They divided my garments for themselves, and over my vestment, that is, over my tunic, they cast lots. For, as John 19:23 and 24 says, they did not wish to cut this tunic, because it was seamless, woven from above throughout.
Item, Contra hoc, quod ipsi pomum cum gulae concupiscentia comederunt, ipse vehementer sitiens vinum myrrhatum, acetum, fel, et absynthium bibit cum amaritudine.
Item, Contra hoc, quod ipsi timide se excusaverunt, Jesus se excusare nolebat, cum stans ante Praesidem, accusaretur a Principibus Sacerdotum et senioribus populi. Cum etiam diceret ei Pilatus: Non audis quanta adversus te dicunt testimonia 6? et non respondit ei ad ullum verbum: ita ut miraretur Praeses vehementer. Jesus etiam cum staret in cruce, non ostendit innocentiam suam excusando: quod tamen optime facere potuisset.
Item, Contra hoc, quod ipsi Creatori suo inobedientes exstiterunt, ipse in Patris obedientia, per quam nostras poenalitates susceperat, usque in mortem crucis tam vilissimam quam amarissimam perseveravit. Unde etiam cum clamore valido exspirans ait, teste Luca: Pater, in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum 7. Spiritum, inquam, tuae voluntati per omnia fideliter obedientem.
Caveamus ergo, charissimi, ne iniquitates istae, quas Filius Dei tam amarissime luit, inveniantur in nobis, ne scilicet simus superbi ac ambitiosi, et ad mala aliorum investiganda curiosi. Caveamus etiam, ne simus avari et gulosi. Praeterea, ne peccata nostra stulte excusemus, nec eis resistamus quibus obedire debemus.
III.
De tertio nota, quod cum esset in crucis patibulo celebrata redemptio generis humani per sanguinem filii Dei, tunc daemones viderunt animam Filii hominis venientem in nubibus, id est, comitatu angelico cum potestate magna innocentiae, et majestate divinae gloriae. Tunc etiam animae justorum, quae erant in limbo, et diuturno desiderio redemptionem exspectaverant, respexerunt lucem desuper venientem, et cum ingenti gaudio capita sua a maerore tristitiae levaverunt, quoniam venit ipsarum redemptio, quae eas a diabolo Domino liberaret.
Det nobis, charissimi, Dominus, ut eum, qui nos a nostris iniquitatibus redemit, sic per bonam vitam nunc sequamur, ut etiam ab ipso in die judicii ex omni misericordia redimi mereamur. Amen.
Likewise, contrary to this, that they ate the apple with concupiscence of gluttony, he himself, vehemently thirsting, drank myrrhed wine, vinegar, gall, and wormwood with bitterness.
Likewise, contrary to this, that they timidly excused themselves, Jesus did not wish to excuse himself when, standing before the governor, he was being accused by the chief priests and elders of the people. When Pilate also said to him: Do you not hear how many testimonies they speak against you 6? he did not answer him a single word, so that the governor wondered greatly. Jesus also, when he stood on the cross, did not show his innocence by excusing himself, which nevertheless he could have done very well.
Likewise, contrary to this, that they existed as disobedient to their Creator, he, in obedience to the Father, through which he had received our penalties, persevered even unto a death of the cross as most base as it was most bitter. Hence also, breathing out with a loud cry, he said, with Luke as witness: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit 7. My spirit, I say, faithfully obedient in all things to your will.
Therefore, dearly beloved, let us beware lest those iniquities that the Son of God atoned for so bitterly be found in us, namely lest we be proud and ambitious, and curious for investigating the evils of others. Let us also beware lest we be avaricious and gluttonous. Moreover, let us beware lest we foolishly excuse our sins, or resist those whom we ought to obey.
III.
Concerning the third, note that when the redemption of the human race had been celebrated on the gibbet of the cross through the blood of the Son of God, then the demons saw the soul of the Son of Man coming in the clouds, that is, with an angelic company, with the great power of innocence and with the majesty of divine glory. Then also the souls of the just, which were in limbo and had awaited redemption with long desire, looked upon the light coming from above, and with immense joy lifted up their heads from the sorrow of sadness, because their redemption came, which would liberate them from the devil for the Lord.
May the Lord grant us, dearly beloved, that him who redeemed us from our iniquities we may now follow through a good life, so that also by him on the day of judgment we may merit to be redeemed out of all mercy. Amen.
Notes
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