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Volume 13 · pp. 259–262
Sermon LXVII. On the Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity
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SERMO LXVII.
IN DOMINICA XIII POST TRINITATEM.
Homo quidam descendebat ab Jerusalem in Jericho, et incidit in latrones, qui etiam despoliaverunt eum: et plagis impositis abierunt semivivo relicto. Luc. X, 30.
In praesenti Evangelio quatuor principaliter sunt notanda:
I. Quid per hominem illum qui ab Jerusalem descendit, intelligatur? II. Quid per Jerusalem et Jericho, a quo, in quam descendit, exprimatur? III. Quid per latrones in quos incidit, significetur? VI. Quid per Samaritanum qui circa eum motus est misericordia, figuretur?
I.
De primo nota, quod per hominem istum quilibet homo Christi sanguine redemptus intelligitur, ac baptismi lavacro regeneratus. Ad hoc enim Dominus nos suo redemit cruore, et propter hoc in aqua baptismi regenerati sumus, ut efficiamur concives Sanctorum, et domestici Dei in illa sancta civitate Jerusalem, quae supra nos est, videlicet in Ecclesia triumphante. Unde dicit Apostolus ad Eph. II, 19, et loquitur de quibuslibet Christianis qui jam spe in caelesti Jerusalem commorantur: Jam non estis hospites, et advenae: sed estis cives Sanctorum, et domestici Dei, etc.
II.
De secundo nota, quod per Jerusalem patria caelestis exprimitur, quae ad similitudinem civitatis, ex vivis et electis lapidibus construitur in caelis, de qua dicitur in Psal. CXXI, 2 et 3: Stantes erant pedes nostri, in atriis tuis Jerusalem. Jerusalem, quae aedificatur ut civitas. Igitur in superna Jerusalem, id est, in regno Dei, ubi est vera pacis visio, pedes affectuum nostrorum et desideriorum jugiter stare deberent, et modo deberemus in ea habitare per spem, ut postea ad eam pertingere mereremur per rem.
Sed, heu! multi ab ista Jerusalem descendunt in Jericho, id est, delectantur in transitoria voluptate praesentis saeculi. Jericho quippe luna interpretatur, et certe luna defectum patitur, et maculam habet. Unde per Jericho mundus iste figuratur, qui licet se stabilem esse mentiatur et clarum, verissime tamen instabilis est, et maculis plenus. Unde qui mundo innititur, necesse est ut labatur et maculetur. Qui enim labenti et polluenti innititur, inevitabile est quin cum labente labatur, et polluente polluatur.
III.
De tertio nota, quod per latrones in quos homo ab Jerusalem descendens incidit, daemones significantur. Ipsi quippe jacent in insidiis, in via jerichontina, ut interficiant animas Christianorum. Unde legitur in IV Reg. XXV, 5, et seq., quod exercitus Chaldaeorum Sedeciam Regem Jerusalem comprehendit in planitie Jericho, cujus filios Rex Babylonis occidit: et oculos ejus effodit, vinxitque eum in catenis, et duxit in Babylonem. Sedecias interpretatur justitia Domini, et certe quilibet Christianus ad hoc vocatus est, ut fiat Rex in Jerusalem; et cum homo de sancta Jerusalem vadit in voluptates hujus mundi, comprehendit eum exercitus Chaldaeorum, id est, turba daemonum, et sic filii ejus, id est, bona opera ejus quae fecerat, occiduntur, et oculi animae suae per Dei oblivionem eruuntur; et postremo multis peccatorum catenis vinctus ducitur in Babylonem, id est, in confusionem gehennae sempiternae. Babylon quippe confusio interpretatur. Quod autem daemones sint latrones, testatur Job, XIX, 12, qui ita dicit in persona peccatoris: Simul venerunt latrones ejus, et fecerunt sibi viam per me, et obsederunt in gyro tabernaculum meum.
SERMON LXVII.
ON THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who also stripped him; and, wounds having been inflicted, they went away, leaving him half-alive. Luke X, 30.
In the present Gospel four things are principally to be noted:
I. What is understood by that man who went down from Jerusalem? II. What is expressed by Jerusalem and Jericho, from which and into which he went down? III. What is signified by the robbers among whom he fell? VI. What is figured by the Samaritan who was moved with mercy concerning him?
I.
Concerning the first, note that by this man any human being redeemed by the blood of Christ is understood, and regenerated by the washing of baptism. For to this end the Lord redeemed us by his blood, and because of this we were regenerated in the water of baptism, that we may be made fellow-citizens of the Saints and members of the household of God in that holy city Jerusalem which is above us, namely in the Church triumphant. Hence the Apostle says at Ephesians II, 19, and speaks concerning any Christians who already by hope dwell in heavenly Jerusalem: Now you are not guests and strangers, but you are citizens of the Saints and members of the household of God, etc.
II.
Concerning the second, note that by Jerusalem the heavenly homeland is expressed, which is constructed in the heavens after the likeness of a city from living and elect stones, concerning which it is said in Psalm CXXI, 2 and 3: Our feet were standing in your courts, Jerusalem. Jerusalem, which is built as a city. Therefore in the Jerusalem above, that is, in the kingdom of God, where there is true vision of peace, the feet of our affections and desires ought continually to stand; and now we ought to dwell in it through hope, so that afterward we may deserve to reach it in reality.
But, alas, many go down from that Jerusalem into Jericho, that is, they delight in the transitory pleasure of the present age. For Jericho is interpreted moon, and certainly the moon suffers defect and has a spot. Hence by Jericho this world is figured, which, although it lies that it is stable and bright, nevertheless most truly is unstable and full of stains. Hence one who leans on the world must necessarily fall and be stained. For one who leans on what is falling and polluting, it is inevitable that with what is falling he falls, and by what is polluting he is polluted.
III.
Concerning the third, note that by the robbers among whom the man going down from Jerusalem fell, demons are signified. For they lie in ambush on the Jericho road in order to kill the souls of Christians. Hence it is read in IV Kings XXV, 5 and following, that the army of the Chaldeans seized Sedecias king of Jerusalem in the plain of Jericho; the king of Babylon killed his sons, dug out his eyes, bound him in chains, and led him into Babylon. Sedecias is interpreted justice of the Lord, and certainly any Christian has been called to this, that he may become a king in Jerusalem; and when a human being goes from holy Jerusalem into the pleasures of this world, the army of Chaldeans, that is, the crowd of demons, seizes him, and thus his sons, that is, his good works which he had done, are killed, and the eyes of his soul are dug out through forgetfulness of God; and finally, bound with many chains of sins, he is led into Babylon, that is, into the confusion of everlasting gehenna. For Babylon is interpreted confusion. But that demons are robbers Job XIX, 12 testifies, who speaks thus in the person of the sinner: His robbers came together, and made a way for themselves through me, and besieged my tent round about.
Et nota, quod isti latrones tria mala faciunt.
1. Primo enim spoliant hominem nobilibus virtutum indumentis, de quibus dicitur in Psal. XLIV, 10: Adstitit regina a dextris tuis in vestitu deaurato: circumdata varietate. Vestitus deauratus, in quo regina, id est, anima, assistita dextris aeterni Regis, est nobilis charitas, quae splendidam reddit animam, etiam aliarum virtutum varietate circumdatam, utpote castitatis, humilitatis, mansuetudinis, pietatis, aequitatis, et veritatis: et sic de aliis virtutibus.
2. Secundo, daemones homines vulnerant criminibus et peccatis. Peccata namque plagae et vulnera sunt animae, de quibus Job, XVI, 14, loquitur in persona peccatoris: Circumdedit me lanceis suis, convulneravit lumbos meos, non pepercit, et effudit in terra viscera mea. Concidit me vulnere super vulnus, hoc dicit de diabolo.
Et nota, quod daemones per superbiam et jactantiam capiti lethale vulnus infligunt. In capite enim est principalis ostentatio superbiae, sicut dicit Gregorius. Per avaritiam vero brachia mortali plaga vulnerant et transfigunt. Avarorum quippe manus et brachia ad accipiendum sunt porrecta. Per iram vero pectus et cor transfigunt, quia iracundi semper habent cor et pectus turbulentum. Porro per invidiam ipsas medullas ossium vulnerant et disturbant. Putredo enim ossium est invidia, sicut dicitur in Prov. XIV, 30. Per gulam vero venter et viscera mortaliter vulnerantur. Gulosi quippe ad hoc inhiant solum, ut ventrem et viscera cibis et potibus repleant. Per luxuriam lumbi et femora mortali vulnere transfiguntur. Luxuriosi namque ad hoc summo studio laborant, ut expleant libidinem femorum et lumborum. Postremo coxae et tibiae per acediam vulnerantur. Acediosi quippe pigri sunt, et segnes coxae et tibiae movent ad obsequium Dei.
And note that those robbers do three evils.
1. For first they strip a human being of the noble garments of the virtues, concerning which it is said in Psalm XLIV, 10: The queen stood at your right hand in gilded clothing, surrounded with variety. The gilded garment, in which the queen, that is, the soul, assisted at the right hand of the eternal King, is noble charity, which makes the soul splendid, surrounded also with the variety of other virtues, as of chastity, humility, meekness, piety, equity, and truth; and so concerning the other virtues.
2. Second, demons wound human beings with crimes and sins. For sins are blows and wounds of the soul, concerning which Job XVI, 14 speaks in the person of the sinner: He surrounded me with his lances; he wounded my loins, he did not spare, and he poured out my entrails on the earth. He cut me with wound upon wound; this he says concerning the devil.
And note that demons through pride and boasting inflict a lethal wound on the head. For in the head is the chief ostentation of pride, as Gregory says. But through avarice they wound and pierce the arms with a mortal blow. For the hands and arms of the avaricious are stretched out to receive. But through anger they pierce the breast and heart, because angry persons always have a turbulent heart and breast. Further, through envy they wound and disturb the very marrow of the bones. For envy is rottenness of the bones, as is said in Proverbs XIV, 30. But through gluttony the belly and entrails are mortally wounded. For gluttonous persons gape only for this, that they may fill belly and entrails with foods and drinks. Through lust the loins and thighs are pierced with a mortal wound. For lustful persons labor with the greatest zeal for this, that they may fulfill the lust of thighs and loins. Finally the hips and legs are wounded through acedia. For acedious persons are lazy, and sluggish hips and legs move toward the service of God.
3. Tertio, daemones vulneribus tam diversimode inflictis abeunt, peccatore semivivo relicto. Per hoc quod daemones abeunt, intelligitur quod dant peccatori spem et praesumptionem longioris vitae. Multi siquidem peccatores per quamdam animae syrenesim non sentientes dolorem vulnerum suorum delectantur in peccatis suis: quasi somniantes sibi longam vitam, non timent aeterna supplicia, quae a daemonibus inferentur.
Quod autem legitur, quod reliquerunt hominem quem vulneraverant, semivivum: hoc significat, quod miser homo postquam se daemonibus subjecit per consensum et peccati actum, statim anima ejus morte spirituali trucidatur, et nihil in eo vivum relinquitur nisi corpus tantum. Homo quippe ex anima constat et corpore. Anima vero per peccata mortificata, corpori tantum secundum animalitatem vita relinquitur.
IV.
De quarto nota, quod per Samaritanum Dei Filius figuratur. Samaritanus quippe custos interpretatur. Et certe Dei Filius custodit filios gratiae. Unde dicitur in Psal. CXX, 4: Non dormitabit, neque dormiet, qui custodit Israel. Et vere necessarius est adventus ejus, ut visitet miserum peccatorem, et faciat illa quae fecit Samaritanus, de quo agitur in praesenti Evangelio.
Ipse enim illi sauciato octo bona fecit. Primo quippe videns hominem vulneratum jacentem, misericordia motus est. Secundo appropinquavit. Tertio vulneribus sauciati vinum infudit. Quarto oleum effudit. Quinto plagas alligavit. Sexto jumento suo imposuit. Septimo in stabulum duxit, id est, in hospitium. Octavo curam ejus agit.
Igitur et nos, quia peccatorum vulneribus sauciati sumus, rogare primo debemus Dei Filium creatorem nostrum, ut circa nos misericordia moveatur: si enim ipse, qui nos creavit, averterit misericordiam suam a nobis, quis miserebitur nostri?
3. Third, the demons, after wounds so variously inflicted, go away, leaving the sinner half-alive. By this, that the demons go away, is understood that they give the sinner hope and presumption of a longer life. Indeed many sinners, through a certain syrenesis of the soul, not feeling the pain of their wounds, delight in their sins; as if dreaming a long life for themselves, they do not fear the eternal punishments that will be brought in by the demons.
But what is read, that they left the man whom they had wounded half-alive, signifies this: that after a miserable human being has subjected himself to demons through consent and the act of sin, immediately his soul is slaughtered by spiritual death, and nothing living is left in him except the body alone. For a human being consists of soul and body. But when the soul has been mortified through sins, life is left to the body only according to animality.
IV.
Concerning the fourth, note that by the Samaritan the Son of God is figured. For Samaritan is interpreted keeper. And certainly the Son of God keeps the sons of grace. Hence it is said in Psalm CXX, 4: He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. And truly his coming is necessary, so that he may visit the miserable sinner and do those things which the Samaritan did, concerning whom the present Gospel treats.
For he did eight good things to that wounded man. First, seeing the wounded man lying there, he was moved with mercy. Second, he approached. Third, he poured wine into the wounds of the wounded man. Fourth, he poured oil. Fifth, he bound the wounds. Sixth, he placed him on his beast. Seventh, he led him into a stable, that is, into an inn. Eighth, he takes care of him.
Therefore we also, because we have been wounded by the wounds of sins, ought first to ask the Son of God our creator, that he be moved with mercy concerning us; for if he, who created us, turns his mercy away from us, who will have mercy on us?
Secundo supplicare debemus, quatenus humanitatis suae recordatione per compassionem nobis appropinquare dignetur; propinquus enim noster factus est per humanitatis assumptionem.
Tertio rogandus est, ut vinum ferventissimae contritionis vulneribus animarum nostrarum infundat. Sine vera quippe contritione salvari non possumus.
Quarto supplicandum est ei, ut oleum internae consolationis vino contritionis effundat. Alias enim numquam laeti esse vere possumus, nisi ipse intrinsecus nos per Spiritum paraclitum consoletur.
Quinto libenter sustinere debemus, ut alliget vulnera nostra ligaminibus praeceptorum suorum, et devota satisfactione. Heu! pauci sunt, qui hodie divinis praeceptis plagas suas alligari permittant. Omnes, et majores, et minores, id est, subditi, et praelati, et pauperes, et divites rumpunt vincula praeceptorum, sicut dicit Dominus, Jerem. V, 5.
Sexto indigemus, ut jumento suo nos imponat. Jumentum Domini est crux benedicta. Tunc autem jumento suo nos imponit, quando nos reminisci facit et imitari amaritudinem passionis suae. Proh dolor! multi refugiunt hoc jumentum. Pauci enim sunt, qui divinae passionis amaritudines intueantur, et qui Domino in suis doloribus compatiantur. Cum tamen dicat Apostolus II ad Tim. II, 12: Quod si sustinebimus, et conregnabimus.
Septimo necessarium nobis est, ut nos in stabulum, id est, in hospitium suum ducat. Hospitium vero Domini est sancta Ecclesia. Tunc autem inducit nos in suum hospitium, quando nos participes facit omnium bonorum et laborum, quae fiunt in sancta Ecclesia, per devotionem electorum. Unde dicit Psal. CXVIII, 63: Particeps ego sum omnium timentium te, et custodientium mandata tua.
Octavo necesse est nobis, ut quotidie nostri curam agat. Tunc curam nostram agit, cum facit nos proficere de bono opere in aliud bonum opus, et cum nos transire facit de virtute in virtutem. Curam etiam circa nos per hoc ostendit, quod nos stabulariis, id est, Sacerdotibus Ecclesiae committit, qui nobis Ecclesiae Sacramenta ad salutem corporis et animae fideliter administrent.
Rogate ergo Dominum, ut sic nostram curam agat, quod omnes in die judicii nos salvari contingat. Quod nobis, etc.
Second, we ought to supplicate that, by remembrance of his humanity, through compassion he may deign to draw near to us; for he has been made our neighbor through the assumption of humanity.
Third, he is to be asked to pour the wine of most fervent contrition into the wounds of our souls. For without true contrition we cannot be saved.
Fourth, he must be supplicated that he pour the oil of inward consolation with the wine of contrition. For otherwise we can never truly be joyful unless he consoles us inwardly through the Spirit Paraclete.
Fifth, we ought freely to endure that he bind our wounds with the bindings of his precepts, and with devoted satisfaction. Alas, few are those who today permit their wounds to be bound by the divine precepts. All, both greater and lesser, that is, subjects and prelates, poor and rich, break the bonds of the precepts, as the Lord says, Jeremiah V, 5.
Sixth, we need him to place us on his beast. The beast of the Lord is the blessed cross. But then he places us on his beast, when he makes us remember and imitate the bitterness of his passion. O sorrow! many flee this beast. For few are those who gaze upon the bitternesses of the divine passion and who suffer with the Lord in his pains. Yet the Apostle says, II Timothy II, 12: But if we endure, we will also reign together.
Seventh, it is necessary for us that he lead us into his stable, that is, into his inn. But the inn of the Lord is holy Church. Then he brings us into his inn, when he makes us participants in all the goods and labors that take place in holy Church, through the devotion of the elect. Hence Psalm CXVIII, 63 says: I am a participant with all who fear you and keep your commandments.
Eighth, it is necessary for us that he take care of us daily. Then he takes care of us when he makes us advance from one good work into another good work, and when he makes us pass from virtue into virtue. He also shows care around us through this, that he commits us to innkeepers, that is, the Priests of the Church, who faithfully administer to us the Sacraments of the Church for the salvation of body and soul.
Therefore ask the Lord that he may so take care of us that it may happen that all of us are saved on the day of judgment. May he grant this to us, etc.
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