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1 <html>
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2 <head>
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3 </head>
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4 <body style=text-align:justify><blockquote>
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5 <CENTER><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 60pt">4</span></p>
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6 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE I</span></p></CENTER>
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7 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>1 When, therefore, Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was making more disciples
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8 and baptizing more than John 2 (although Jesus did not himself baptize, but his disciples did),
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9 3 he left Judea, and went again to Galilee. 4 He had, however, to pass through Samaria. 5 He
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10 came therefore to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the plot of land which Jacob had given
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11 to his son Joseph. 6 This was the site of Jacob&#8217;s well. Jesus, tired from his journey, rested there
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12 at the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus
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13 said to her, &#8220;Give me a drink.&#8221; 8 (His disciples had gone to the town to buy some food.) 9 So the
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14 Samaritan woman said to him, &#8220;How is it that you, being a Jew, ask me, a woman of Samaria,
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15 for a drink?&#8221; (Recall that the Jews had nothing to do with the Samaritans.)</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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16 <p>549 Having set forth the teaching of Christ on spiritual regeneration, and that Christ had given
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17 this grace of spiritual regeneration to the Jews, he now shows how Christ gave this grace to the
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18 Gentiles. Now the salutary grace of Christ had been dispensed in two ways to the Gentiles:
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19 through teaching and through miracles. &#8220;Going forth, they preached everywhere&#8221;: this is the
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20 teaching; &#8220;the Lord cooperated with them, and confirmed the word with signs&#8221;. These are the
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21 miracles (Mk 16:20).</p>
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22 <p>First, he shows the future conversion of the Gentiles through teaching. Secondly, their future
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23 conversion through miracles (v 43). As to the first, he does two things. First, he sets down certain
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24 matters preliminary to the teaching. Secondly, he presents the teaching and its effect (v 10). As
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25 to the first, he sets down three preliminary facts. First, what relates to the one teaching. Secondly,
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26 something about the matter taught. Thirdly, something about who received the instruction (v 7).
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27 As to the person teaching, the preliminary remark is about his journey to the place where he
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28 taught. Here he does three things. First, he gives the place which he left, that is, from Judea.
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29 Secondly, the place where he was going, to Galilee. Thirdly, the place through which he passed,
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30 Samaria. As to the first, he does three things. First, he gives the reason for his leaving Judea.
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31 Secondly, he explains certain facts included in this reason. Thirdly, he describes Christ&#8217;s
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32 departure from Judea (v 3).</p>
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33 <p>550 The Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">When, therefore, Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard,
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34 </span>because he wished to show that after the Baptist had calined the envy of his disciples, Jesus
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35 avoided the ill will of the Pharisees.</p>
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36 <p>551 Since we read: &#8220;All things were known to the Lord God before they were created&#8221; (Sir
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37 23:29), and &#8220;All things are naked and open to his eyes&#8221; (Heb 4:13), it seems that we should ask
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38 why Jesus is said to acquire new knowledge. We must answer that Jesus, in virtue of his divinity,
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39 knew from eternity all things, past, present and to come, as the scriptural passages cited above
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40 indicate. Nevertheless, as man, he did begin to know certain things through experiential
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41 knowledge. And it is this experiential knowledge that is indicated when it says here, <span style="font-weight: bold">When Jesus
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42 learned, </span>after the news was brought to him, <span style="font-weight: bold">that the Pharisees had heard. </span>And Christ willed
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43 to acquire this knowledge anew as a concession, to show the reality of his human nature, just as
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44 he willed to do and endure many other things characteristic of human nature.</p>
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45 <p>552 Why does he say: <span style="font-weight: bold">the Pharisees had heard that he was making more disciples and
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46 baptizing more than John, </span>when this would seem to be of no concern to them? For they
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47 persecuted John and did not believe in him: for as Matthew says (21:25), when the Lord
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48 questioned them about the source of John&#8217;s baptism, they said: &#8220; &#8216;If we say from heaven, he will
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49 say to us, &#8220;Why then did you not believe him?&#8221; &#8220; Thus they did not believe in John.</p>
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50 <p>There are two answers to this. One is that those disciples of John who had spoken against Christ
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51 were either Pharisees or allies of the Pharisees. For we see in Matthew (9:11, 14), that the
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52 Pharisees along with the disciples of John raised questions against the disciples of Christ. And
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53 so according to this explanation, then, the Evangelist says that <span style="font-weight: bold">When, therefore, Jesus learned
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54 that the Pharisees had heard, </span>that is, after he learned that John&#8217;s disciples, who were Pharisees
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55 or allied with the Pharisees, had raised questions and had been disturbed about his baptism and
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56 that of his disciples, <span style="font-weight: bold">he left Judea.</span></p>
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57 <p>Or, we might say that the Pharisees were disturbed at John&#8217;s preaching due to their envy, and for
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58 this reason they persuaded Herod to arrest him. This is plain from Matthew (17:12), where
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59 Christ, speaking of John, says, &#8220;Elijah has already come ... and they did with him whatever they
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60 wanted,&#8221; and then he adds, &#8220;so also will the Son of Man suffer from them.&#8221; The Gloss comments
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61 on this that it was the Pharisees who incited Herod to arrest John and put him to death. Thus it
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62 seems probable that they felt the same way toward Christ because of what he was preaching. And
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63 this is what it says, that is, the envious Pharisees and persecutors of Christ <span style="font-weight: bold">had heard, </span>with the
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64 intention of persecuting him, <span style="font-weight: bold">that he was making more disciples and baptizing more than
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65 John.</span></p>
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66 <p>553 This kind of hearing is described by Job (28:22): &#8220;Death and destruction have said: We have
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67 heard of his deeds.&#8221; The good, on the other hand, hear in order to obey: &#8220;We have heard him in
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68 Ephrathah&#8221; (Ps 131:6), followed by, &#8220;We will adore at his footstool.&#8221;</p>
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69 <p>The Pharisees heard two things. First, that Christ made more disciples than John. This was right
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70 and reasonable, for as we read above (3:30), Christ must increase and John must decrease. The
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71 second thing was that Christ baptized; and rightly so, because he cleanses: &#8220;Wash me from my
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72 injustice&#8221; (Ps 50:4), and again in Psalm (7:7): &#8220;Rise up, O Lord,&#8221; by baptizing, &#8220;in the command
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73 you have given,&#8221; concerning baptism, &#8220;and a congregation of people,&#8221; united through baptism,
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74 &#8220;will surrond you.&#8221;</p>
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75 <p>554 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">although Jesus did not himself baptize, </span>he explains what he has just
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76 said about Christ&#8217;s baptizing. Augustine says that there is an apparent inconsistency here: for he
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77 had stated that Jesus was baptizing, whereas now he says, as though correcting himself, <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus
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78 did not himself baptize.</span></p>
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79 <p>There are two ways to understand this. This first way is that of Chrysostom. What the Evangelist
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80 now says is true, i.e., that Christ did not baptize. When he said above that Jesus was baptizing,
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81 this was the report received by the Pharisees. For certain people came to the Pharisees and said:
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82 You are envious of John because he has disciples and is baptizing. But Jesus is making more
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83 disciples than John. and is also baptizing. Why do you put up with him? So the Evangelist is not
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84 himself saying that Jesus was baptizing, but only that the Pharisees heard that he was. It is with
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85 the intention of correcting this false rumor that the Evangelist says: It is true that the Pharisees
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86 heard that Christ was baptizing, but this is not true. So he adds: <span style="font-weight: bold">although Jesus did not himself
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87 baptize, but his disciples did. </span>And so for Chrysostom, Christ did not baptize, because the Holy
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88 Spirit was not given at any time before the passion of Christ in the baptism of John and his
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89 disciples. The purpose of John&#8217;s baptism was to accustom men to the baptism of Christ and to
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90 gather people in order to instruct them, as he says. Moreover, it would not have been fitting for
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91 Christ to baptize if the Holy Spirit were not given in his baptism; but the Spirit was not given
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92 until after the passion of Christ, as we read below (7:39): &#8220;The Spirit had not yet been given,
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93 because Jesus had not yet been glorified.&#8221;</p>
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94 <p>According to Augustine, however, one should say, and this is the preferable, way, that the
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95 disciples did baptize with the baptism of Christ, that is, in water and the Spirit, and the Spirit was
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96 given in this baptism, and also that Christ did and did not baptize. Christ did baptize because he
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97 performed the interior cleansing; but he did not baptize because he did not wash them externally
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98 with the water. It was the office of&#8217; the disciples to wash the body, while Christ gave the Spirit
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99 which cleansed within. So in the proper sense Christ did baptize, according to: &#8220;The man on
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100 whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit,&#8221;
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101 as was said above (1:33).</p>
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102 <p>With respect to the opinion of Chrysostorn that the Holy Spirit was not yet given and so on, we
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103 might say that the Spirit was not yet given in visible signs, as he was given to the disciples after
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104 the resurrection; nevertheless, the Spirit had been given and was being given to believers through
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105 an interior sanctification.</p>
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106 <p>The fact that Christ was not always baptizing gives an example to us that the major prelates of
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107 the churches should not occupy themselves with things that can be performed by others, but
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108 should allow them to be done by those of lesser rank: &#8220;Christ did not send me to baptize, but to
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109 preach the Gospel&#8221; (1 Cor 1:17).</p>
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110 <p>555 If someone should ask whether Christ&#8217;s disciples had been baptized, it could be said, as
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111 Augustine answered Stelentius, that they had been baptized with the baptism of John, because
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112 some of Christ&#8217;s disciples had been disciples of John. Or, which is more likely, they were
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113 baptized with the baptism of Christ, in order that Christ might have baptized servants through
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114 whom he would baptize others. This is the meaning of what is said below (13:10): &#8220;He who has
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115 bathed does not need to wash, except his feet,&#8221; and then follows, &#8220;and you are clean, but not all.&#8221;</p>
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116 <p>556 He then mentions Christ&#8217;s going away, <span style="font-weight: bold">he left Judea. </span>He left for three reasons. First, to get
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117 away from the envy of the Pharisees, who were disturbed because of what they had heard about
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118 Christ, and were preparing to harass him. By this he gives us the example that we should, with
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119 gentleness, yield ground to evil for a time: &#8220;Do not pile wood on his fire&#8221; (Sir 8:4). Another
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120 reason was to show us that it is not sinful to flee from persecution: &#8220;If they persecute you in one
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121 town, flee to another&#8221; (Mt 10:23). The third reason was that the time of his passion had not yet
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122 come: &#8220;My time has not yet come&#8221; (above 2:4). And there is an additional reason, a mystical one:
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123 he indicated by his leaving that because of persecution the disciples were destined to abandon
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124 the Jews and go to the Gentiles.</p>
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125 <p>557 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and went again to Galilee, </span>he shows where he was going. He says,
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126 <span style="font-weight: bold">again, </span>because above (2:12) he had mentioned another time when Christ went to Galilee: when
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127 he went to Capernaum after the miracle at the wedding. Since the other three evangelists did not
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128 mention this first trip, the Evangelist says <span style="font-weight: bold">again </span>to let us know that the other evangelists had
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129 mentioned none of the matters he mentions up to this point, and that he is now beginning to give
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130 his account contemporaneous with theirs. According to one interpretation, Galilee is understood
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131 to signify the Gentile world, to which Christ passed from the Jews; for Galilee means &#8220;passage.&#8221;
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132 According to another interpretation, Galilee signifies the glory of heaven, for Galilee also means
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133 &#8220;revelation.&#8221;</p>
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134 <p>558 Then he describes the intermediate place through which Christ passed; first in a general way,
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135 then specifically.</p>
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136 <p>559 On his way to Galilee, Christ passes through Samaria; hence he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He had to pass
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137 through Samaria. </span>He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">had to pass, </span>lest he seem to be acting contrary to his own teaching,
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138 for Christ says in Matthew (10:5): &#8220;Do not go on the roads of the Gentiles.&#8221; Now since Samaria
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139 was Genthe territory, he shows that he went there of necessity and not by choice. Thus he says,
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140 <span style="font-weight: bold">had to pass, </span>the reason being that Samaria was between Judea and Galilee.</p>
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141 <p>It was Amri, the king of Israel, who bought the hill of Samaria from a certain Somer (1 Kgs
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142 16:24); and it was there he built the city which he called Samaria, after the name of the person
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143 from whom he bought the land. After that, the kings of Israel used it as their royal city, and the
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144 entire region surrounding this city was called Samaria. When we read here that Christ <span style="font-weight: bold">had to
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145 pass through Samaria, </span>we should understand the region rather than the city.</p>
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146 <p>560 Describing it in more detail, he adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">He came therefore to a city of Samaria, </span>i.e., of the
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147 region of Samaria, <span style="font-weight: bold">called Sychar. </span>This Sychar is the same as Shechem. Genesis (33:18) says that
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148 Jacob camped near here and that two of his sons, enraged at the rape of Dinah, Jacob&#8217;s daughter,
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149 by the son of the king of Shechem, killed all the males in that city. And so Jacob took possession
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150 of the city, and he lived there and dug many wells. Later, as he lay dying, he gave the land to his
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151 son Joseph: &#8220;I am giving you a portion more than your brothers&#8221; (Gn 48:22). And this is what
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152 he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">near the plot of land which Jacob had given to his son Joseph.</span></p>
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153 <p>The Evangelist is so careful to record all these matters in order to show us that all the things
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154 which happened to the patriarchs were leading up to Christ, and that they pointed to Christ, and
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155 that he descended from them according to the flesh.</p>
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156 <p>561 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">This was the site of Jacob&#8217;s well, </span>the Evangelist gives the material
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157 setting for the spiritual doctrine about to be taught. And this was most fitting: for the doctrine
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158 about to be taught was about water and a spiritual font, and so he mentions the material well, thus
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159 giving rise to a discussion of the spiritual font, which is Christ: &#8220;For with you is the fountain of
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160 life&#8221; (Ps 35:10), namely, the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of life. Likewise, the well symbolizes
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161 baptism: &#8220;On that day a fountain will be open to the house of David, to cleanse the sinner and
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162 the unclean&#8221; (Zec 13:1).</p>
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163 <p>He does three things here. First, he describes the well. Secondly, Christ&#8217;s rest at the well. Thirdly,
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164 the time.</p>
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165 <p>562 He describes the water source saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">the site of Jacob&#8217;s well. </span>Here one might object that
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166 further on (v 11) he says this source is deep; thus it did not gush water like a fountain. I answer,
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167 as does Augustine, that it was both a well and gushed water like a fountain. For every well is a
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168 fountain, although the converse is not true. For when water gushes from the earth we have a
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169 fountain; and if this happens just on the surface, the source is only a fountain. But if the water
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170 gushes both on the surface and below, we have a well; although it is also still called a fountain.
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171 It is called Jacob&#8217;s well because he had dug this well there due to a shortage of water, as we read
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172 in Genesis (c 34).</p>
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173 <p>563 <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus, tired from his journey, rested there at the well. </span>Jesus reveals his weakness (even
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174 though his power was unlimited), not because of a lack of power, but to show us the reality of
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175 the [human] nature he assumed. According to Augustine, Jesus is strong, for &#8220;In the beginning
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176 was the Word&#8221; (above 1:1); but he is weak, for &#8220;the Word was made flesh&#8221; (above 1:14). And
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177 so Christ, wishing to show the truth of his human nature, allowed it to do and to endure things
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178 proper to men; and to show the truth of his divine nature, he worked and performed things proper
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179 to God. Hence when he checked the inflow of divine power to his body, he became hungry and
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180 tired; but w4en he let his divine power influence his body, he did not become hungry in spite of
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181 a lack of food, and he did not become tired in his labors. &#8220;He had fasted forty days and forty
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182 nights, and was hungry&#8221; (Mt 4:2).</p>
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183 <p>564 Seeing Jesus becoming tired from his journey is an example to us not to shrink from our
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184 work for the salvation of others: &#8220;I am poor, and have labored since my youth&#8221; (Ps,87:16). We
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185 also have an example of poverty, as Jesus <span style="font-weight: bold">rested there, </span>upon the bare earth.</p>
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186 <p>In its mystical meaning, this resting [literally, a sitting] of Christ indicates the abasement of his
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187 passion: &#8220;You know when I sit down (i.e., the passion), and when I rise&#8221; (Ps 138:2). Also, it
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188 indicates the authority of his teaching, for he speaks as one having power; thus we read in
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189 Matthew (5:1) that Christ, &#8220;sitting down, taught them.&#8221;</p>
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190 <p>565 He indicates the time, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">It was about the sixth hour. </span>There are both literal and
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191 mystical reasons for fixing the time. The literal reason was to show the cause of his tiredness: for
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192 men are more weary from work in the heat and at the sixth hour [at noon]. Again, it shows why
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193 Christ was resting: for men gladly rest near the water in the heat of the day.</p>
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194 <p>There are three mystical reasons for mentioning the time. First, because Christ assumed flesh and
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195 came into the world in the sixth age of the world. Another is that man was made on the sixth day,
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196 and Christ was conceived in the sixth month. Third, at the sixth hour the sun is at its highest, and
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197 there is nothing left for it but to decline. In this context, the &#8220;sun&#8221; signifies temporal prosperity,
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198 as suggested by Job (31:26): &#8220;If I had looked at the sun when it shone, etc.&#8221; Therefore Christ
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199 came when the prosperity of the world was at its highest, that is, it flourished through love in the
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200 hearts of men; but because of him natural love was bound to decline.</p>
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201 <p>566 Next, we have a preliminary remark concerning the one who listens to Christ. First, we are
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202 introduced to the person who is taught. Secondly, we are given her preparation for his teaching.</p>
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203 <p>567 The teaching is given to a Samaritan woman; so he says, a <span style="font-weight: bold">Samaritan woman came to
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204 draw water. </span>This woman signifies the Church, not yet justified, of the Gentiles. It was then
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205 involved in idolatry, but was destined to be justified by Christ. She <span style="font-weight: bold">came </span>from foreigners, i.e.,
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206 from the Samaritans, who were foreigners, even though they lived in the neighboring territory:
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207 because the Church of the Gentiles, foreign to the Jewish race, would come to Christ: &#8220;Many will
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208 come from the East and the West, and will sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the
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209 kingdom of heaven,&#8221; as we find in Matthew (8:11).</p>
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210 <p>568 Christ prepares this woman for his teaching when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Give me a drink. </span>First, we have
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211 the occasion for his asking her. Secondly, the Evangelist suggests why it was opportune to make
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212 this request (v 8).</p>
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213 <p>569 The occasion and the preparation of the woman was the request of Christ; thus he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Give
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214 me a drink. </span>He asks for a drink both because he was thirsty for water on account of the heat of
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215 the day, and because he thirsted for the salvation of man on account of his love. Accordingly,
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216 while hanging on the cross he cried out: &#8220;I thirst.&#8221;</p>
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217 <p>570 Christ had the opportunity to ask this of the woman because his disciples, whom he would
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218 have asked for the water, were not there, thus the Evangelist says, <span style="font-weight: bold">His disciples had gone to the
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219 town.</span></p>
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220 <p>Here we might notice three things about Christ. First, his humility, because<span style="font-weight: bold"> he was left alone.
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221 This </span>is an example to his disciples that they should suppress all pride. Someone might ask what
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222 need there was to train the disciples in humility, seeing that they had been but lowly fishermen
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223 and tentmakers. Those who say such things should remember that these very fishermen were
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224 suddenly made more deserving of respect than any king, more eloquent than philosophers and
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225 orators, and were the intimate companions of the Lord of creation. Persons of this kind, when
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226 they are suddenly promoted, ordinarily become proud, not being accustomed to such great honor.</p>
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227 <p>Secondly, note Christ&#8217;s temperance: for he was so little concerned about food that he did not
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228 bring anything to eat. Thirdly, note that he was also left alone on the cross: &#8220;I have trodden the
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229 wine press alone, and no one of the people was with me&#8221; (Is 63:3).</p>
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230 <p>571 Our Lord prepared the woman to receive his spiritual teaching by giving her an occasion to
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231 question him. First, her question is given. Secondly, her reason for asking it (v 9).</p>
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232 <p>572 Here we should point out that our Lord, when asking the woman for a drink, had in mind
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233 more a spiritual drink than a merely physical one. But the woman, not yet understanding about
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234 such a spiritual drink, though only of a physical drink. So she responds: <span style="font-weight: bold">How is it that you,
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235 being a Jew, ask me, a woman of Samaria, for a drink? </span>For Christ was a Jew, because it was
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236 promised that he would be from Judah: &#8220;The scepter will not be taken away from Judah ... until
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237 he who is to be sent comes&#8221; (Gn 49:10); and he was born from Judah: &#8220;It is evident that our Lord
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238 came from Judah&#8221; (Heb 7:14). The woman knew that Christ was Jewish from the way he dressed:
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239 for as Numbers (15:37) says, the Lord commanded the Jews to wear tassels on the comers of their
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240 garments, and put a violet cord on each tassel, so that they could be distinguished from other
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241 people.</p>
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242 <p>573 Then the reason for this question is given: either by the Evangelist, as the Gloss says, or by
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243 the woman herself, as Chrysostom says; the reason being, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Jews had nothing to do with
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244 Samaritans.</span></p>
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245 <p>Apropos of this, we should note that, as mentioned in 2 Kings, it was on account of their sins that
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246 the people of Israel, i.e., of the ten tribes, who were worshipping idols, were captured by the king
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247 of the Assyrians, and led as captives into Babylonia. Then, so that Samaria would not remain
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248 unpopulated, the king gathered people from various nations and forced them to live there. While
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249 they were there, the Lord sent lions and other wild beasts to trouble them; he did this to show that
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250 he let the Jews be captured because of their sins, and not because of any lack in his own power.
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251 When news of their trouble reached the Assyrian king and he was informed that this was
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252 happening because these people were not observing the rites of the God of that territory, he sent
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253 them a priest of the Jews who would teach them God&#8217;s law as found in the law of Moses. This
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254 is why, although these people were not Jewish, they came to observe the Mosaic law. However,
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255 along with their worship of the true God, they also worshipped idols, paid no attention to the
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256 prophets, and referred to themselves as Samaritans, from the city of Samaria which was built on
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257 a hill called Somer (1 Kgs 16:24). After the Jews returned to Jerusalem from their captivity, the
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258 Samaritans were a constant source of trouble, and as we read in Ezra, interfered with their
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259 building of the temple and the city. Although the Jews did not mix with other people, they
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260 especially avoided these Samaritans and would have nothing to do with them. And this is what
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261 we read: <span style="font-weight: bold">Jews had nothing to do with the Samaritans. </span>He does not say that the Samaritans do
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262 not associate with Jews, for they would have gladly done so and have cooperated with them. But
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263 the Jews rebuffed them in keeping with what is said in Deuteronomy (7:2): &#8220;Do not make
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264 agreements with them.&#8221;</p>
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265 <p>574 If it was not lawful for the Jews to associate with Samaritans, why did God ask a Samaritan
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266 woman for a drink? One might answer, as Chrysostorn does, that the Lord asked her because he
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267 knew that she would not give him the drink. But this is not an adequate answer, because one who
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268 asks what is not lawful is not free from sin&#8212;not to mention the scandal&#8212;even though what he
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269 asks for is not given to him. So we should say, as we find in Matthew (12:8): &#8220;The Son of Man
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270 is Lord even of the sabbath.&#8221; Thus, as Lord of the law, he was able to use or not use the law and
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271 its observances and legalities as it seemed suitable to him. And because the time was near when
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272 the nations would be called to the faith, he associated with those nations.</p>
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273 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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274 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 2</span></p>
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275 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>10 Jesus replied and said:</p>
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276 <p style="margin-left: 0.5in">&#8220;If you knew the gift of God,
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277 <br>and realized who it is who says to you,
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278 <br>&#8216;Give me a drink,&#8217;
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279 <br>You perhaps would have asked him
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280 <br>that he give you living water.&#8221;
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281 <p style="text-align: justify">11 The woman challenged him: &#8220;You, sir, have no bucket, and the well is deep. How then could
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282 you have living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank
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283 from it with his sons and his flocks?&#8221; 13 Jesus replied and said:</p>
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284 <p style="margin-left: 0.5in">&#8220;Whoever drinks this water
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285 <br>will be thirsty again,
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286 <br>but whoever drinks the water that I give,
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287 <br>will never be thirsty again.
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288 <br>14 The water that I give
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289 <br>will become a fountain within him,
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290 <br>leaping up to provide eternal life.&#8221;
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291 <p style="text-align: justify">15 &#8220;Lord,&#8221; the woman said, &#8220;Give me this water so that I shall not grow thirsty and have to keep
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292 coming here to draw water.&#8221; 16 Jesus said to her: &#8220;Go, call your husband, and then come back
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293 here.&#8221; 17 &#8220;1 have no husband,&#8221; replied the woman. Jesus said, &#8220;You are right in saying you have
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294 no husband, 18 for you have had five, and the man you are living with now is not your husband.
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295 What you said is true.&#8221; 19 &#8220;Sir,&#8221; said the woman, &#8220;I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors
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296 worshiped on this mountain, but you people claim that Jerusalem is the place where men must
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297 worship God.&#8221; 21 Jesus said to her:</p>
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298 <p style="margin-left: 0.5in">&#8220;Believe me, woman,
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299 <br>the hour is coming
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300 <br>when you will worship the Father
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301 <br>neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
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302 <br>22 You people worship what
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303 <br>you do not understand,
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304 <br>while we understand what we worship,
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305 <br>since salvation is from the Jews.
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306 <br>23 But the hour is coming, and is now here,
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307 <br>when true worshipers will worship the Father
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308 <br>in spirit and in truth.
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309 <br>Indeed, it is just such worshipers the Father seeks.
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310 <br>24 God is spirit,
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311 <br>and those who worship him
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312 <br>ought to worship in spirit and truth.&#8221;
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313 <p style="text-align: justify">25 The woman said to him: &#8220;I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called Christ; when he
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314 comes he will tell us everything.&#8221; 26 Jesus replied:</p>
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315 <p style="margin-left: 0.5in">&#8220;I who speak to you am he.&#8221;</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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316 <p>575 Now (v 10), the Evangelist gives us Christ&#8217;s spiritual teaching. First, he gives the teaching
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317 itself. Secondly, the effect it had (v 27). As to the first, he does two things. First, a summary of
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318 the entire instruction is given. Secondly, he unfolds it part by part (v 11).</p>
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319 <p>576 He said therefore: You are amazed that I, a Jew, should ask you, a Samaritan woman, for
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320 water; but you should not be amazed, because I have come to give drink, even to the Gentiles.
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321 Thus he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">If you knew the gift of God, and realized who it is who says to you, Give me
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322 a drink, you perhaps would have asked him.</span></p>
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323 <p>577 We may begin with what is last, and we should know first what is to be understood by water.
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324 And we should say that water signifies the grace of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes this grace is
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325 called fire, and at other times water, to show that it is neither one of these in its nature, but like
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326 them in the way it acts. It is called fire because it lifts up our hearts by its ardor and heat: &#8220;ardent
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327 in Spirit&#8221; (Rom 12:11), and because it burns up sins: &#8220;Its light is fire and flame&#8221; (Sg 8:6). Grace
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328 is called water because it cleanses: &#8220;I will pour clean water upon you, and you will be cleansed
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329 from all your uncleanness&#8221; (Ez 36:25), and because it brings a refreshing relief from the heat of
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330 temptations: &#8220;Water quenches a flaming fire&#8221; (Sir 3:33), and also because it satisfies our desires,
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331 in contrast to our thirst for earthly things and all temporal things whatever: &#8220;Come to the waters,
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332 all you who thirst&#8221; (Is 5 5:1 ).</p>
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333 <p>Now water is of two kinds: living and non-living. Non-living water is water which is not
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334 connected or united with the source from which it springs, but is collected from the rain or in
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335 other ways into ponds and cisterns, and there it stands, separated from its source. But living water
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336 is connected with its source and flows from it. So according to this understanding, the grace of
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337 the Holy Spirit is correctly called living water, because the grace of the Holy Spirit is given to
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338 man in such a way that the source itself of the grace is also given, that is, the Holy Spirit. Indeed,
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339 grace is given by the Holy Spirit: &#8220;The love of God is poured out into our hearts by the Holy
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340 Spirit, who has been given to us&#8221; (Rom 5:5). For theHoly Spirit is the unfailing fountain from
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341 whom all gifts of grace flow&#8221;One and the same Spirit does all these things&#8221; (1 Cor 1251,1.). And
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342 so, if anyone has a gift of the Holy Spirit without having the Spirit, the water is not united with
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343 its source, and so is not living but dead: &#8220;Faith without works is dead&#8221; (Jas 2:20).</p>
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344 <p>578 Then we are shown that in the case of adults, living water, i.e., grace, is obtained by desiring
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345 it, i.e., by asking. &#8220;The Lord has heard the desire of the poor&#8221; (Ps. 9:17), for grace is not given
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346 to anyone without their asking and desiring it. Thus we say that in the justification of a sinner an
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347 act of free will is necessary to detest sin and to desire grace, according to Matthew (7:7): &#8220;Ask
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348 and you will receive.&#8221; In fact, desire is so important that even the Son himself is told to ask: &#8220;Ask
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349 me, and I will give to you&#8221; (Ps 2:8). Therefore, no one who resists grace receives it, unless he
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350 first desires it; this is clear is the case of Paul who, before he received grace, desired it, saying:
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351 &#8220;Lord, what do you want me to do?&#8221; (Acts 9:6). Thus it is significant that he says, you perhaps
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352 would have asked him. He says perhaps on account of free will, with which a person sometimes
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353 desires and asks for grace, and sometimes does not.</p>
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354 <p>579 There are two things which lead a person to desire and ask for grace: a knowledge of the
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355 good to be desired and a knowledge of the giver. So, Christ offers these two to her. First of all,
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356 a knowledge of the gift itself; hence he says, If you knew the gift of God, which is every desirable
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357 good which comes from the Holy Spirit: &#8220;I know that I cannot control myself unless God grants
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358 it to me&#8221; (Wis 8:2 1). And this is a gift of God, and so forth. Secondly, he mentions the giver;
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359 and he says, and realized who it is who says to you, i.e., if you knew the one who can give it,
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360 namely, that it is I: &#8220;When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit
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361 of truth ... he will bear witness to me&#8221; (below 15:26); &#8220;You have given gifts to men&#8221; (Ps 67:19).</p>
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362 <p>Accordingly, this teaching concerns three things: the gift of living water, asking for this gift, and
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363 the giver himself.</p>
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364 <p>580 When he says, The woman challenged him, he treats these three things explicitly. First, the
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365 gift; secondly, asking for the gift (v 19); and thirdly, the giver (v 25). He does two things about
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366 the first. First, he explains the gift by showing its power. Secondly, he considers the perfection
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367 of the gift (v 15). About the first he does two things. First, he gives the woman&#8217;s request.
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368 Secondly, Christ&#8217;s answer (v 13).</p>
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369 <p>581 We should note, with respect to the first, that this Samaritan woman, because she was
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370 sensual, understood in a worldly sense what the Lord understood in a spiritual sense: &#8220;The
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371 sensual man does not perceive those things that pertain to the Spirit of God&#8221; ( 1 Cor 2:14).
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372 Consequently, she tried to reject what our Lord said as unreasonable and impossible with the
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373 following argument: You promise me living water; and it must come either from this well or
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374 from another one. But it cannot come from this well because <span style="font-weight: bold">You, sir, have no bucket, and the
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375 well is deep; </span>and it does not seem probable that you can get if from some other well, because you
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376 are not <span style="font-weight: bold">greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well.</span></p>
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377 <p>582 Let us first examine what she says, <span style="font-weight: bold">You, sir, have no bucket, </span>i.e., no pail to use to draw
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378 water from the well, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the well is deep</span>, so you cannot reach the water by hand without a
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379 bucket.</p>
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380 <p>The depth of the well signifies the depth of Sacred Scripture and of divine wisdom: &#8220;It has great
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381 depth. Who can find it out?&#8221; (Ecc 7:25). The bucket with which the water of wisdom is drawn
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382 out is prayer: &#8220;If any of you lack wisdom, ask God&#8221; (Jas 1:5).</p>
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383 <p>583 The second point is given at, <span style="font-weight: bold">Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this
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384 well?</span> As if to say: Have you better water to give us than Jacob? She calls Jacob her father not
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385 because the Samaritans were descendants of the Jews, as is clear from what was said before, but
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386 because the Samaritans had the Mosaic law, and because they occupied the land promised to the
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387 descendants of Jacob.</p>
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388 <p>The woman praised this well on three counts. First, on the authority of the one who gave it; so
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389 she says: our father Jacob, who gave us this well. Secondly, on account of the freshness of its
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390 water, saying: Jacob drank from it with his sons: for they would not drink it if it were not fresh,
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391 but only give it to their cattle. Thirdly, she praises its abundance, saying, and his flocks: for since
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392 the water was fresh, they would not have given it to their flocks unless it were also abundant.</p>
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393 <p>So, too, Sacred Scripture has great authority: for it was given by the Holy Spirit. It is delightfully
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394 fresh: &#8220;How sweet are your words to my palate&#8221; (Ps 118:103). Finally, it is exceedingly
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395 abundant, for it is given not only to the wise, but also to the unwise.</p>
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396 <p>584 Then when he says, Jesus replied and said, he sets down the Lord&#8217;s response, in which he
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397 explains the power of his doctrine. First, with respect to the fact that he had called it water.
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398 Secondly, with respect to the fact that he called it living water (v 14).</p>
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399 <p>585 He shows that his doctrine is the best water because it has the effect of water, that is, it takes
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400 away thirst much more than does that natural water. He shows by this that he is greater than
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401 Jacob. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus replied and said, </span>as if to say: You say that Jacob gave you a well; but
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402 I will give you better water, because <span style="font-weight: bold">whoever drinks this water, </span>that is, natural water, or the
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403 water of sensual desire and concupiscence, although it may satisfy his appetite for a while, <span style="font-weight: bold">will
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404 be thirsty again, </span>because the desire for pleasure is insatiable: &#8220;When will I wake up and find
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405 wine again?&#8221; (Prv 23:35). <span style="font-weight: bold">But whoever drinks the water, </span>that is, spiritual water, <span style="font-weight: bold">that I give,
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406 will never be thirsty again. </span>&#8220;My servants will drink, and you will be thirsty,&#8221; as said in Isaiah
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407 (65:13).</p>
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408 <p>586 Since we read in Sirach (24:29): &#8220;Those who drink me will still thirst,&#8221; how is it possible
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409 that we will never be thirsty if we drink this water of divine wisdom, since this Wisdom itself
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410 says we will still thirst? I answer that both are true: because he who drinks the water that Christ
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411 gives still thirsts and does not thirst. But whoever drinks natural water will become thirsty again
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412 for two reasons. First, because material and natural water is not eternal, and it does not have an
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413 eternal cause, but an impermanent one; therefore its effects must also cease: &#8220;All these things
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414 have passed away like a shadow&#8221; (Wis 5:9). But spiritual water has an eternal cause, that is, the
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415 Holy Spirit, who is the unfailing fountain of life. Accordingly, he who drinks of this will never
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416 thirst; just as someone who had within himself a fountain of living water would never thirst.</p>
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417 <p>The other reason is that there is a difference between a spiritual and a temporal thing. For
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418 although each produces a thirst, they do so in different ways. When a temporal thing is possessed
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419 it causes us to be thirsty, not for the thing itself, but for something else; while a spiritual thing
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420 when possessed takes away the thirst for other things, and causes us to thirst for it. The reason
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421 for this is that before temporal things are possessed, they are highly regarded and thought
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422 satisfying; but after they are possessed, they are found to be neither so great as thought nor
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423 sufficient to satisfy our desires, and so our desires are not satisfied but move on to something
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424 else. On the other hand, a spiritual thing in not known unless it is possessed: &#8220;No one knows but
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425 he who receives it&#8221; (Rv 2:17). So, when it is not possessed, it does not produce a desire; but once
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426 it is possessed and known, then it brings pleasure and produces desire, but not to possess
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427 something else. Yet, because it is imperfectly known on account of the deficiency of the one
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428 receiving it, it produces a desire in us to possiss it perfectly. We read of this thirst: &#8220;My soul
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429 thirsted for God, the living fountain&#8221; (Ps 41:2). This thirst is not completely taken away in this
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430 world because in this life we cannot understand spiritual things; consequently, one who drinks
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431 this water will still thirst for its completion. But he will not always be thirsty, as though the water
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432 will run out, for we read (Ps 35:9): &#8220;They will be intoxicated from the richness of your house.&#8221;
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433 In the life of glory, where the blessed drink perfectly the water of divine grace, they will never
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434 be thirsty again: &#8220;Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for what is right,&#8221; that is, in this world,
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435 &#8220;for they will be satisfied,&#8221; in the life of glory&#8221; (Mt 5:6).</p>
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436 <p>587 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The water that I give will become a fountain within him, leaping up
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437 to provide eternal life, </span>he shows from the movement of the water that his doctrine is living
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438 water; thus he says that it is a leaping fountain: &#8220;The streams of the river bring joy to the city of
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439 God&#8221; (Ps 45:4).</p>
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440 <p>The course of material water is downward, and this is different from the course of spiritual water,
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441 which is upward. Thus he says: I say that material water is such that it does not slake your thirst;
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442 but the water that I give not only quenches your thirst, but it is a living water because it is united
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443 with its source. Hence he says that this water <span style="font-weight: bold">will become a fountain within </span>one: a fountain
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444 leading, through good works, to eternal life. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">leaping up</span>, that is, making us leap up,
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445 <span style="font-weight: bold">to eternal life, </span>where there is no thirst: &#8220;He who believes in me, out of his heart there will flow
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446 rivers &#8220; that is, of good desires, &#8220;of living water&#8221; (below 7:38); &#8220;With you is the fountain of life&#8221;
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447 (Ps 3 5:10).</p>
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448 <p>588 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The woman said, </span>he states her request for the gift. First, her
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449 understanding of the gift is noted. Secondly, the woman is found guilty (v 17). As was said, the
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450 way to obtain this gift is by prayer and request. And so first, we have the woman&#8217;s request.
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451 Secondly, Christ&#8217;s answer (v 16).</p>
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452 <p>589 We should note with respect to the first that at the beginning of this conversation the woman
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453 did not refer to Christ as &#8220;Lord,&#8221; but simply as a Jew, for she said: &#8220;How is it that you, being a
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454 Jew, ask me, a woman of Samaria, for a drink?&#8221; But now as soon as she hears that he can be of
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455 use to her and give her water, she calls him &#8220;Lord&#8221;: Lord, give me this water. For she was
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456 thinking of natural water, and was subject to the two natural necessities of thirst and labor, that
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457 is, of going to the well and of carrying the water. So she mentions these two things when asking
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458 for the water: saying in reference to the first, <span style="font-weight: bold">so that I shall not grow thirsty; </span>and in reference
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459 to the second, <span style="font-weight: bold">and have to keep coming here to draw water, </span>for man naturally shrinks from
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460 labor: &#8220;They do not labor as other men&#8221; (Ps 72:5).</p>
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461 <p>590 Then (v 16), the answer of Jesus is given. Here we should note that our Lord answered her
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462 in a spiritual way, but she understood in a sensual way. Accordingly, this can be explained in two
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463 ways. One way is that of Chrysostom, who says that our Lord intended to give the water of
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464 spiritual instruction not only to her, but especially to her husband, for as is said, &#8220;Man is the head
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465 of woman&#8221; (1 Cor 11:3), so that Christ wanted God&#8217;s precepts to reach women through men, and
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466 &#8220;If the wife wishes to learn anything, let her ask her husband at home&#8221; (1 Cor 14:35). So he says,
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467 <span style="font-weight: bold">Go, call your husband, and then come back here; </span>and then I will give it to you with him and
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468 through him.</p>
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469 <p>Augustine explains it another way, mystically. For as Christ spoke symbolically of water, he did
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470 the same of her husband. Her husband, according to Augustine, is the intellect: for the will brings
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471 forth and conceives because of the cognitive power that moves it; thus the will is like a woman,
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472 while the reason, which moves the will, is like her husband. Here the woman, i.e., the will, was
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473 ready to receive, but was not moved by the intellect and reason to a correct understanding, but
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474 was still detained on the level of sense. For this reason the Lord said to her, Go, you who are still
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475 sensual, <span style="font-weight: bold">call your husband, </span>call in the reasoning intellect so you can understand in a spiritual
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476 and intellectual way what you now perceive in a sensual way; <span style="font-weight: bold">and then come back here, </span>by
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477 understanding under the guidance of reason.</p>
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478 <p>591 Here (v 17), the woman is found guilty by Christ. First, her answer is set down. Secondly,
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479 the encounter in which she is found guilty by Christ.</p>
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480 <p>592 As to the first, we should note that the woman, desiring to hide her wrongdoing, and
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481 regarding Christ as only a mere man, did answer Christ truthfully, although she keep silent about
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482 her sin, for as we read, &#8220;A fornicating woman will be walked on like dung in the road&#8221; (Sir 9:10).
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483 She said, <span style="font-weight: bold">I have no husband. </span>This was true; for although she previously had a number of
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484 husbands, five of them, she did not now have a lawful husband, but was just living with a man;
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485 and it is for this that the Lord judges her.</p>
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486 <p>593 Then the Evangelist reports that Jesus said to her: <span style="font-weight: bold">You are right in saying you have no
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487 husband, </span>a legitimate husband; <span style="font-weight: bold">for you have had five, </span>before this one, <span style="font-weight: bold">and the man you are
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488 living with now, </span>using as a husband, <span style="font-weight: bold">is not your husband. What you said is true, </span>because you
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489 do not have a husband. The reason our Lord spoke to her about these things he had not learned
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490 from her and which were her secrets, was to bring her to a spiritual understanding so that she
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491 might believe there was something divine about Christ.</p>
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492 <p>594 In the mystical sense, her five husbands are the five books of Moses: for, as was said, the
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493 Samaritans accepted these. And so Christ says, <span style="font-weight: bold">you have had five, </span>and then follows
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494 [understanding Christ&#8217;s words in a slightly different sense, as meaning:] <span style="font-weight: bold">and he whom you now
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495 have, </span>i.e., he to whom you are now listening, i.e., Christ, <span style="font-weight: bold">is not your husband, </span>because you do
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496 not believe.</p>
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497 <p>This explanation, as Augustine says, is not very good. For this woman came to her present
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498 &#8220;husband&#8221; after having left the other five, whereas those who come to Christ do not put aside the
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499 five books of Moses. We should rather say, <span style="font-weight: bold">you have had five, </span>i.e., the five senses, which you
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500 have used up to this time; but <span style="font-weight: bold">the man you are living with now, </span>i.e., an erring reason, with
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501 which you still understand spiritual things in a sensual way, <span style="font-weight: bold">is not your </span>lawful <span style="font-weight: bold">husband, </span>but an
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502 adulterer who is corrupting you. <span style="font-weight: bold">Call your husband, </span>i.e., your intellect, so that you may really
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503 understand me.</p>
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504 <p>595 Now the Evangelist treats of the request by which the gift is obtained, which is prayer. First
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505 there is the woman&#8217;s inquiry about prayer. Secondly, Christ&#8217;s answer (v 21). Concerning the first
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506 the woman does two things. First, she admits that Christ is qualified to answer her question.
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507 Secondly, she asks the question (v 20).</p>
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508 <p>596 And so this woman, hearing what Christ had told her about things that were secret, admits
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509 that the one who up to now she believed was a mere man, is a prophet, and capable of settling
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510 her doubts. For it is characteristic of prophets to reveal what is not present, and hidden: &#8220;He who
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511 is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer&#8221; (I Sin 9:9). And so she says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Sir, I see that
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512 you are a prophet. </span>As if to say: You show that you are a prophet by revealing hidden things to
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513 me. It is clear from this, as Augustine says, that her husband was beginning to return to her. But
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514 he did not return completely because she regarded Christ as a prophet: for although he was a
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515 prophet&#8212;&#8220;A prophet is not without honor except in his own country&#8221; (Mt 13:57)&#8212;he was more
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516 than a prophet, because he produces prophets: &#8220;Wisdom produces friends of God and prophets&#8221;
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517 (Wis 7:27)</p>
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518 <p>597 Then she asks her question about prayer, saying: <span style="font-weight: bold">Our ancestors worshiped on this
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519 mountain, but you people claim that Jerusalern is the place where men must worship God.
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520 </span>Here we should admire the woman&#8217;s diligence and attention: for women are considered curious
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521 and unproductive, and not only unproductive, but also lovers of ease (1 Tim 5), whereas she did
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522 not ask Christ about worldly affairs, or about the future, but about the things of God, in keeping
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523 with the advice, &#8220;Seek first the kingdom of God&#8221; (Mt 6:33)</p>
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524 <p>She first asks a question about a matter frequently discussed in her country, that is, about the
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525 place to pray; this was the subject of argument between Jews and Samaritans. She says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Our
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526 ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you people say. </span>We should mention that the
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527 Samaritans, worshiping God according to the precepts of the law, built a temple in which to
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528 adore him; and they did not go to Jerusalem where the Jews interfered with them. They built their
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529 temple on Mount Gerizim, while the Jews built their temple on Mount Sion. The question they
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530 debated was which of these places was the more fitting place of prayer; and each presented
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531 reasons for its own side. The Samaritans said that Mount Gerizim was more fitting, because their
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532 ancestors worshiped the Lord there. So she says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain.</span></p>
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533 <p>598 How can this woman say, <span style="font-weight: bold">our ancestors, </span>since the Samaritans were not descended from
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534 lsrael? The answer, according to Chrysostom, is that some claim that Abraham offered his son
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535 on that mountain; but others claim that is was on Mount Zion. Or, we could say that <span style="font-weight: bold">our
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536 ancestors </span>means Jacob and his sons, who as stated in Genesis (33) and as mentioned before,
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537 lived in Shechem, which is near Mount Gerizim, and who probably worshiped the Lord there on
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538 that mountain. Or it could be said that the children of Israel worshiped on this mountain when
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539 Moses ordered them to ascend Mount Gerizim that he might bless those who observed God&#8217;s
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540 precepts, as recorded in Deuteronorny (6). And she calls them her ancestors either because the
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541 Samaritains observed the law given to the children of Israel, or because the Samaritans were now
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542 living in the land of Israel, as said before.</p>
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543 <p>The Jews said that the place to worship was in Jerusalem, by command of the Lord, who, had
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544 said: &#8220;Take care not to offer your holocausts in every place, but offer them in the place the Lord
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545 will choose&#8221; (Dt 12:13). At first, this place of prayer was in Shiloh, and then after, on the
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546 authority of Solomon and the prophet Nathan, the arc was taken from Shiloh to Jerusalem, and
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547 it was there the temple was built: so we read: &#8220;He left the tabernacle in Shiloh,&#8221; and a few verses
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548 later, &#8220;But he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved&#8221; (Ps 77:60). Thus the
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549 Samaritans appealed to the authority of the patriarchs, and the Jews appealed to the authority of
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550 the prophets, whom the Samaritans did not accept. This is the issue the woman raises. It is not
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551 surprising that she was taught about this, for it often happens in places where there are
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552 differences in beliefs that even the simple people are instructed about them. Because the
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553 Samaritans were continually arguing with the Jews over this, it came to the knowledge of the
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554 women and ordinary people.</p>
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555 <p>599 Christ&#8217;s answer is now set down (v 21). First he distinguishes three types of prayer.
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556 Secondly, he compares them to each other (v 22).</p>
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557 <p>600 As to the first, he first of all gains the woman&#8217;s attention, to indicate that he was about to say
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558 something important, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Believe me, </span>and have faith, for faith is always necessary: &#8220;To come
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559 to God, one must believe&#8221; (Heb 11:6); &#8220;If you do not believe, you will not understand&#8221; (Is 7:9).</p>
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560 <p>Secondly, he mentions the three kinds of worship: two of these were already being practiced, and
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561 the third was to come. Of the two that were current, one was practiced by the Samaritans, who
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562 worshiped on Mount Gerizini-, he refers to this when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the hour is coming when you will
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563 worship the Father neither on this mountain, </span>of Gerizim. The other way was that of the Jews,
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564 who prayed on Mount Zion; and he refers to this when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">nor in Jerusalem.</span></p>
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565 <p>The third type of worship was to come, and it was different from the other two. Christ alludes
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566 to this by excluding the other two: for if the hour is coming when they will no longer worship on
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567 Mount Gerizim or in Jerusalem, then clearly the third type to which Christ refers will be a
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568 worship that does away with the other two. For if someone wishes to unite two people, it is
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569 necessary to eliminate that over which they disagree, and give them something in common on
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570 which they will agree. And so Christ, wishing to unite the Jews and Gentiles, eliminated the
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571 observances of the Jews and the idolatry of the Gentiles; for these two were like a wall separating
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572 the peoples. And he made the two people one: &#8220;He is our peace, he who has made the two of us
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573 one&#8221; (Eph 2:14). Thus the ritual observances [of the Jews] and the idolatry of the Gentiles were
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574 abolished, and the true worship of God established by Christ.</p>
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575 <p>601 As for the mystical sense, and according to Origen, the three types of worship are three kinds
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576 of participation in divine wisdom. Some participate in it under a dark cloud of error, and these
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577 adore on the mountain: for every error springs from pride: &#8220;I am against you, destroying
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578 mountain&#8221; (Jer 51:25). Others participate in divine wisdom without error, but in an imperfect
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579 way, because they see in a mirror and in an obscure way; and these worship in Jerusalem, which
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580 signifies the present Church: &#8220;The Lord is building Jerusalem&#8221; (Ps 146:2). But the blessed and
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581 the saints participate in divine wisdom without error in a perfect way, for they see God as he is,
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582 as said in 1 John (3:2). And so Christ says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the hour is coming, </span>i.e., is waited for, when you will
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583 participate in divine wisdom neither in error nor in a mirror in an obscure way, but as it is.</p>
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584 <p>602 Then (v 22), he compares the different kinds of worship to each other. First, he compares the
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585 second to the first, Secondly, the third to the first and second (v 23). As to the first he does three
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586 things. First, he shows the shortcomings of the first type of worship. Secondly, the truth of the
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587 second (v 22b). Thirdly, the reason for each statement.</p>
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588 <p>603 As to the first he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">You people worship what you do not understand.</span></p>
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589 <p>Some might think that the Lord should have explained the truth of the matter and solve the
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590 woman&#8217;s problem. But the Lord does not bother to do so because each of these kinds of worship
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591 was due to end.</p>
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592 <p>As to his saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">You people worship, </span>and so on, it should be pointed out that, as the
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593 Philosopher says, knowledge of complex things is different than knowledge of simple things. For
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594 something can be known about complex things in such a way that something else about them
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595 remains unknown; thus there can be false knowledge about them. For example, if someone has
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596 true knowledge of an animal as to its substance, he might be in error touching the knowledge of
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597 one of its accidents, such as whether it is black or white; or of a difference, such as whether it has
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598 wings or is four-footed. But there cannot be false knowledge of simple things: because they are
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599 either perfectly known inasmuch as their quiddity is known; or they are not known at all, if one
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600 cannot attain to a knowledge of them. Therefore, since God is absolutely simple, there cannot be
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601 false knowledge of him in the sense that something might be known about him and something
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602 remain unknown, but only in the sense that knowledge of him is not attained. Accordingly,
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603 anyone who believes that God is something that he is not, for example, a body, or something like
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604 that, does not adore God but something else, because he does not know him, but something else.</p>
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605 <p>Now the Samaritans had a false idea of God in two ways. First of all, because they thought he
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606 was corporeal, so that they believed that he should be adored in only one definite corporeal place.
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607 Further, because they did not believe that he transcended all things, but was equal to certain
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608 creatures, they adored along with him certain idols, as if they were equal to him. Consequently,
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609 they did not know him, because they did not attain to a true knowledge of him. So the Lord says,
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610 <span style="font-weight: bold">You people worship what you do not understand, </span>i.e., you do not adore God because you do
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611 not know him, but only soipe imaginary being you think is God, &#8220;as the Gentiles do, with their
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612 foolish ideas&#8221; (Eph 4:17).</p>
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613 <p>604 As to the second, i.e., the truth of the worship of the Jews, he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">we understand what we
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614 worship. </span>He includes himself among the Jews, because he was a Jew by race, and because the
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615 woman thought he was a prophet and a Jew. <span style="font-weight: bold">We understand what we worship, </span>because through
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616 the law and the prophets the Jews acquired a true knowledge or opinion of God, in that they did
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617 not believe that he was corporeal nor in one definite place, as though his greatness could be
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618 enclosed in a place: &#8220;If the heavens, and the heavens of the heavens cannot contain you, how
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619 much less this house that I have built&#8221; (1 Kgs 8:27). And neither did they worship idols: &#8220;God
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620 is known in Judah&#8221; (Ps 75:2).</p>
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621 <p>605 He gives the reason for this when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">since salvation is from the Jews. </span>As if to say:
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622 The true knowledge of God was possessed exclusively by the Jews, for it had been determined
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623 that salvation would come from them. And as the source of health should itself be healthy, so the
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624 source of salvation, which is acquired by the true knowledge and the true worship of God, should
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625 possess the true knowledge of God. Thus, since the source of salvation and its cause, i.e., Christ,
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626 was to come from them, according to the promise in Genesis (22:18): &#8220;All the nations will be
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627 blessed in your descendents,&#8221; it was fitting that God be known in Judah.</p>
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628 <p>606 Salvation comes from the Jews in three ways. First in their teaching of the truth, for all other
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629 peoples were in error, while the Jews held fast to the truth, according to Romans (3:2): &#8220;What
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630 advantage do Jews have? First, they were entrusted with the words of God.&#8221; Secondly, in their
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631 spiritual gifts: for prophecy and the other gifts of the Spirit were given to them first, and from
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632 them they reached others: &#8220;You,&#8221; i.e., the Gentiles, &#8220;a wild olive branch, are ingrafted on them,&#8221;
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633 i.e., on the Jews (Rom 11:17); &#8220;If the Gentiles have become sharers in their (i.e., the Jews&#8217;)
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634 spiritual goods, they ought to help the Jews as to earthly goods&#8221; (Rom 15:27). Thirdly, since the
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635 very author of salvation is from the Jews, since &#8220;Christ came from then in the flesh&#8221; (Rom 9:5).</p>
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636 <p>607 Now (v 23), he compares the third kind of worship to the first two. First, he mentions its
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637 superiority to the others. Secondly, how appropriate this kind of worship is (v 23b).</p>
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638 <p>608 As to the first point, we should note, as Origen says, that when speaking above of the third
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639 kind of worship, the Lord said, <span style="font-weight: bold">the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither
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640 on this mountain nor in Jerusalem; </span>but he did not then add, <span style="font-weight: bold">and is now here. </span>But now, in
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641 speaking of it, he does say, <span style="font-weight: bold">the hour is coming, and is now here. </span>The reason is because the first
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642 time he was speaking of the worship found in heaven, when we will participate in the perfect
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643 knowledge of God, which is not possessed by those still living in this mortal life. But now he is
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644 speaking of the worship of this life, and which has now come through Christ.</p>
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645 <p>609 So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship
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646 the Father in spirit and in truth.</span></p>
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647 <p>We can understand this, as Chrysostom does, as showing the superiority of this worship to that
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648 of the Jews. So that the sense is: Just as the worship of the Jews is superior to that of the
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649 Samaritans, so the worship of the Christians is superior to that of the Jews. It is superior in two
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650 respects. First, because the worship of the Jews is in bodily rites: &#8220;Rites for the body, imposed
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651 only until the time they are reformed&#8221; (Heb 9:10); while the worship of the Christians is in spirit.
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652 Secondly, because the worship of the Jews is in symbols: for the Lord was not pleascd with their
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653 sacrificial victims insofar as they were things; so we read, &#8220;Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink
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654 the blood of goats?&#8221; (Ps 49:13), and again, &#8220;You would not be pleased with a holocaust&#8221; (Ps
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655 50:18), that is, as a particular thing; but such a sacrificial victim would be pleasing to the Lord
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656 as a symbol of the true victim and of the true sacrifice: &#8220;The law has only a shadow of the good
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657 things to come&#8221; (Heb 10:1). But the worship of the Christians is in truth, because it is pleasing
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658 to God in itself: &#8220;grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ,&#8221; as we saw above (1:17). So
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659 he is saying here that <span style="font-weight: bold">true worshipers will worship in spirit, </span>not in bodily rites, <span style="font-weight: bold">and in truth,
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660 </span>not in symbols.</p>
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661 <p>610 This passage can in interpreted in a second way, by saying that when our Lord says, <span style="font-weight: bold">in spirit
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662 and in truth, </span>he wants to show the difference between the third kind of worship and not just that
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663 of the Jews, but also that of the Samaritans. In this case, <span style="font-weight: bold">in truth, </span>refers to the Jews: for the
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664 Samaritans, as was said, were in error, because they worshiped what they did not understand. But
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665 the Jews worshiped with a true knowledge of God.</p>
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666 <p>611 <span style="font-weight: bold">In spirit and in truth </span>can be understood in a third way, as indicating the characteristics of
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667 true worship. For two things are necessary for a true worship: one is that the worship be spiritual;
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668 so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">in spirit, </span>i.e., with fervor of spirit: &#8220;I will pray with spirit, and I will pray with my
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669 mind&#8221; (1 Cor 14:15); &#8220;Singing to the Lord in your hearts&#8221; (Eph 5:19). Secondly, the worship
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670 should be <span style="font-weight: bold">in truth. </span>First, in the truth of faith, because no fervent spiritual desire is meritorious
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671 unless united to the truth of faith, &#8220;Ask with faith, without any doubting&#8221; (Jas 1:6). Secondly, <span style="font-weight: bold">in
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672 truth, </span>i.e., without pretense or hypocrisy; against such attitudes we read: &#8220;They like to pray at
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673 street cofners, so people can see them&#8221; (Mt 6:5).</p>
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674 <p>This prayer, then, requires three things: first, the fervor of love; secondly, the truth of faith; and
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675 thirdly, a correct intention.</p>
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676 <p>He says, the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, because under the law,
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677 worship was not given to the Father, but to the Lord. We worship in love, as sons; whereas they
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678 worshiped in fear, as slaves.</p>
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679 <p>612 He says <span style="font-weight: bold">true </span>worshipers, in opposition to three things mentioned in the above
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680 interpretations. First, in opposition to the false worship of the Samaritans: &#8220;Put aside what is not
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681 true, and speak the truth&#8221; (Eph 4:25). Secondly, in opposition to the fruitless and transitory
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682 character of bodily rites: &#8220;Why do you love what is without profit, and seek after lies&#8221; (Ps 4:3).
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683 Thirdly, it is opposed to what is symbolic: &#8220;Grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ&#8221;
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684 (above 1:17).</p>
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685 <p>613 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Indeed, it is just such worshipers the Father seeks, </span>he shows that this
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686 third kind of worship is appropriate for two reasons. First, because the One worshiped wills and
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687 accepts this worship. Secondly, because of the nature of the One worshiped (v 24).</p>
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688 <p>614 Concerning the first, we should note that for a man to merit receiving what he asks, he
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689 should ask for things which are not in opposition to the will of the giver, and also ask for them
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690 in a way which is acceptable to the giver. And so when we pray to God, we ought to be such as
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691 God seeks. But God seeks those who will worship him in spirit and in truth, in the fervor of love
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692 and in the truth of faith; &#8220;And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God want from you, but that
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693 you fear the Lord your God, and walk in his ways, and love him, and serve the Lord your God
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694 with all your heart&#8221; (Dt 10:12); and in Micah (6:8): &#8220;1 will show you, man, what is good, and
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695 what the Lord requires of you: to do what is right, and to love mercy, and to walk attentively with
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696 your God.&#8221;</p>
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697 <p>615 Then he shows that the third type of worship is appropriate from the very nature of God,
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698 saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">God is spirit. </span>As is said in Sirach (13:19), &#8220;Every animal loves its like&#8221;; and so God
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699 loves us insofar as we are like him. But we are not like him by our body, because he is
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700 incorporeal, but in what is spiritual in us, for <span style="font-weight: bold">God is spirit: </span>&#8220;Be renewed in the spirit,&#8221; of your
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701 mind (Eph 4:23).</p>
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702 <p>In saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">God is spirit, </span>he means that God is incorporeal: &#8220;A spirit does not have flesh and
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703 bones&#8221; (Lk 24:39); and also that he is a life-giver, because our entire life is from God, as its
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704 creative source. God is also truth: &#8220;I am the way, and the truth, and the life&#8221; (below 14:6).
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705 Therefore, we should worship him in spirit and in truth.</p>
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706 <p>616 When he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The woman said to him, </span>he mentions the one who gives the gift; and this
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707 corresponds to what our Lord said before, <span style="font-weight: bold">If you knew the gift of God, and realized who it is
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708 who says to you, Give me a drink, you perhaps would have asked him. </span>First, we have the
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709 woman&#8217;s profession. Secondly, the teaching of Christ (v 26). As to the first, he does two things.
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710 First, the woman professes her faith in the Christ to come. Secondly, in the fulness of his
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711 teaching, <span style="font-weight: bold">he will tell us everything.</span></p>
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712 <p>617 The woman, wearied by the profound nature of what Christ was saying, was confused and
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713 unable to understand all this. She says: <span style="font-weight: bold">I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called
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714 Christ. </span>As if to say: I do not understand what you are saying, but a time will come when the
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715 Messiah will arrive, and then we will understand all these things. For &#8220;Messiah&#8221; in Hebrew
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716 means the same as &#8220;Anointed One&#8221; in Latin, and &#8220;Christ&#8221; in Greek. She knew that the Messiah
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717 was coming because she had been taught by the books of Moses, which foretell the coming of
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718 Christ: &#8220;The scepter will not be taken away from Judah ... until he who is to be sent comes&#8221; (Gn
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719 49:10). As Augustine says, this is the first time the woman mentions the name &#8220;Christ&#8221;: and we
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720 see by this that she is now beginning to return to her lawful husband.</p>
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721 <p>618 When this Messiah comes, he will give us a complete teaching. Hence she says, <span style="font-weight: bold">when he
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722 comes he will tell us everything. </span>This was foretold by Moses: &#8220;I will raise up a prophet for
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723 them, from among their own brothers, like them; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he
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724 will tell them all I command him&#8221; (Dt 18:18). Because this woman had now called her husband,
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725 i.e., intellect and reason, the Lord now offers her the water of spiritual teaching by revealing
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726 himself to her in a most excellent way.</p>
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727 <p>619 And so Jesus says: <span style="font-weight: bold">I who speak to you am he, </span>i.e., I am the Christ: &#8220;Wisdom goes to meet
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728 those who desire her, so she may first reveal herself to them&#8221; (Wis 6:14), and below (14:21): &#8220;I
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729 will love him, and reveal myself to him.&#8221;</p>
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730 <p>Our Lord did not reveal himself to this woman at once because it might have seemed to her that
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731 he was speaking out of vainglory. But now, having brought her step by step to a knowledge of
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732 himself, Christ revealed himself at the appropriate time: &#8220;Words appropriately spoken are like
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733 apples of gold on beds of silver&#8221; (Prv 25:11). In contrast, when he was asked by the Pharisees
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734 whether he was the Christ, &#8220;If you are the Christ, tell us clearly&#8221; (below 10:24), he did not reveal
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735 himself to them clearly, because they did not ask to learn but to test him. But this woman is
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736 speaking in all simplicity.</p>
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737 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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738 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 3</span></p>
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739 <BLOCKQUOTE><p style="text-align: justify">27 His disciples, returning at this point, were amazed that Jesus was speaking with a woman. But
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740 no one said, &#8220;What do you want?&#8221; or &#8220;Why are you talking to her?&#8221; 28 The woman then left her
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741 water jar and went off to the town. And she said to the people: 29 &#8220;Come, and see the man who
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742 told me everything that I have done. Could he not be the Christ?&#8221; 30 At that they set out from the
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743 town to meet him. 31 Meanwhile, his disciples asked him saying, &#8220;Rabbi, eat something.&#8221; 32 But
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744 he said to them,</p>
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745 <p style="margin-left: 0.5in">&#8220;I have food to eat of which you do not know.&#8221;</p>
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746 <p>33 At this the disciples said to one another, &#8220;Do you suppose that someone has brought him
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747 something to eat?&#8221;</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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748 <p>620 After presenting the teaching on spiritual water, the Evangelist now deals with the effect of
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749 this teaching. First, he sets down the effect itself. Secondly, he elaborates on it (v 3 1). The effect
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750 of this teaching is its fruit for those who believe. And first we have its fruit which relates to the
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751 disciples, who were surprised at Christ&#8217;s conduct. Secondly, its fruit in relation to the woman,
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752 who proclaimed Christ&#8217;s power (v 28).</p>
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753 <p>621 We are told three things about the disciples. First, their return to Christ: he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">His
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754 disciples, returning at this point. </span>As Chrysostorn reminds us, it was very convenient that the
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755 disciples returned after Christ had revealed himself to the woman, since this shows us that all
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756 events are regulated by divine providence: &#8220;He made the small and the great, and takes care for
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757 all alike&#8221; (Wis 6:8); &#8220;There is a time and fitness for everything&#8221; (Ecc 8:6).</p>
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758 <p>622 Secondly, we see their surprise at what Christ was doing; he says, they <span style="font-weight: bold">were amazed that
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759 Jesus was speaking with a woman. </span>They were amazed at what was good; and as Augustine
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760 says, they did not suspect any evil. They were amazed at two things. First, at the extraordinary
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761 gentleness and humility of Christ: for the Lord of the world stooped to speak with a poor woman,
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762 and for a long time, giving us an example of humility: &#8220;Be friendly to the poor&#8221; (Sir 4:7).
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763 Secondly, they were amazed that he was speaking with a Samaritan and a foreigner, for they did
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764 not know the mystery by which this woman was a symbol of the Church of the Gentiles; and
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765 Christ sought the Gentiles, for he came &#8220;to seek and to save what was lost&#8221; (Lk 19:10).</p>
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766 <p>623 Thirdly, we see the disciples&#8217; reverence for Christ, shown by their silence. For we show our
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767 reverence for God when we do not presume to discuss his affairs: &#8220;It is to the glory of God to
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768 conceal things; and to the glory of kings to search things out&#8221; (Prv 25:2). So the Evangelist says
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769 that although his disciples were surprised, none of them said, <span style="font-weight: bold">What do you want? </span>or asked him,
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770 <span style="font-weight: bold">Why are you talking to her? </span>&#8220;Listen in silence&#8221; (Sir 32:9). Yet the disciples had been so trained
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771 to observe order, because of their reverence and filial fear toward Christ, that now and then they
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772 would question him about matters that concerned themselves, i.e., when Christ said things
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773 relating to them, but which were beyond their understanding: &#8220;Young men, speak if you have to&#8221;
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774 (Sir 3 2:10). At other times they did not question him; in those matters that were not their
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775 business, as here.</p>
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776 <p>624 Then (v 28), we have the fruit which relates to the woman; by what she said to her people,
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777 she was taking on the role of an apostle. From what she says and does, we can learn three things.
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778 First, her affective devotion; secondly, her way of preaching; thirdly the effect her preaching had
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779 (v 30).</p>
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780 <p>625 Her affection is revealed in two ways. First, because her devotion was so great that she forgot
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781 why she had come to the well, and left without the water and her water jar. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the
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782 woman then left her water jar and went off to the town, </span>to tell of the wonderful things Christ
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783 had done; and she was not now concerned for her own bodily comfort but for the welfare of
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784 others. In this respect she was like the apostles, who &#8220;leaving their nets, followed the Lord&#8221; (Mt
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785 4:20). The water jar is a symbol of worldly desires, by which men draw out pleasures from the
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786 depths of darkness&#8212;symbolized by the well&#8212;i.e., from a worldly manner of life. Accordingly,
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787 those who abandon worldly desires for the sake of God leave their water jars: &#8220;No soldier of God
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788 becomes entangled in the business of this world&#8221; (2 Tim 2:4). Secondly, we see her affection
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789 from the great number of those to whom she brings the news: not to just one or two, but to the
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790 entire town; we read that she <span style="font-weight: bold">went off to the town. </span>This signifies the duty Christ gave to the
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791 apostles: &#8220;Go, teach all nations&#8221; (Mt 28:19); and &#8220;I have chosen you to go and bring forth fruit&#8221;
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792 (below 15:16).</p>
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793 <p>626 Next we see her manner of preaching (v 29). She first invites them to see Christ, saying,
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794 <span style="font-weight: bold">Come and see the man. </span>Although she had heard Christ say that he was the Christ, she did not
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795 at once tell the people that they should come to the Christ, or believe, so as not to give them a
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796 reason for scoffing. So at first she mentions things that were believable and evident about Christ,
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797 as that he was a man: &#8220;made in the likeness of men&#8221; (Phil 2:7). Neither did she say, &#8220;believe,&#8221;
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798 but <span style="font-weight: bold">Come, and see</span>; for she was convinced that if they were to taste from that well by seeing him,
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799 they would be affected in the same way she was: &#8220;Come, and I will tell you the great things he
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800 has done for me&#8221; (Ps 65:16). In this she is imitating the example of a true preacher, not calling
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801 men to himself, but to Christ: &#8220;What we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ&#8221; (2 Cor 4:5).</p>
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802 <p>627 Secondly, she mentions a clue to Christ&#8217;s divinity, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">who told me everything that I
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803 have done, </span>that is, how many husbands she had had. For it is the function and sign of the divinity
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804 to disclose hidden things and the secrets of hearts. Although the things she had done would cause
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805 her shame, she is still not ashamed to mention them; for as Chrysostom says: &#8220;When the soul is
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806 on fire with the divine fire, it no longer pays attention to earthly things, neither to glory nor to
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807 shame, but only to that flame that holds it fast.&#8221;</p>
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808 <p>628 Thirdly, she infers the greatness of Christ, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Could he not be the Christ? </span>She did not
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809 dare to say that he was the Christ, lest she seem to be trying to teach them; they could have
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810 become angry at this and refuse to go with her. Yet she was not entirely silent on this point, but
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811 submitting it to their judgment, set it forth in the form of a question, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Could he not be the
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812 Christ? </span>For this is an easier way to persuade someone.</p>
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813 <p>629 This insignificant woman signifies the condition of the apostles, who were sent out to
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814 preach: &#8220;Not many of you are learned in the worldly sense, not many powerful ... But God chose
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815 the simple ones of the world to embarrass the wise&#8221; (1 Cor 1:26). Thus in Proverbs (9:3) the
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816 apostles are called handmaids: &#8220;She,&#8221; divine wisdom, i.e., the Son of God, &#8220;sent out her
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817 handmaids,&#8221; the apostles, &#8220;to summon to the tower.&#8221;</p>
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818 <p>630 The fruit of her preaching is given when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">At that </span>they set <span style="font-weight: bold">out from the town, </span>to
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819 where she had returned, to meet him, Christ. We see by this that if we desire to come to Christ,
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820 we must set out from the town, i.e., leave behind our carnal desires: &#8220;Let us go out to him outside
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821 the camp, bearing the abuse he took,&#8221; as we read in Hebrews (13:13).</p>
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822 <p>631 Now the effect of this spiritual teaching is elaborated. First, by what Christ said to his
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823 disciples; secondly, by the effect of all this on the Samaritans (v 39). Concerning the first he does
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824 two things. First, we have the situation in which Christ speaks to his disciples; secondly, what
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825 he said (v 32).</p>
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826 <p>632 The situation is the insistence of the apostles that Christ eat. He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Meanwhile, </span>i.e.,
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827 between the time that Christ and the woman spoke and the Samaritans came, <span style="font-weight: bold">his disciples asked
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828 him, </span>that is, Christ, <span style="font-weight: bold">Rabbi, eat something: </span>for they thought that then was a good time to eat,
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829 before the crowds came from the town. For the disciples did not usually offer Christ food in the
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830 presence of strangers: so we read in Mark (6:3 1), that so many people came to him that he did
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831 not even have time to eat.</p>
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832 <p>633 After presenting the situation, he gives its fruit. First, it is given in figurative language.
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833 Secondly, we see the disciples are slow in understanding this. Thirdly, the Lord explains what
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834 he meant (v 34).</p>
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835 <p>634 The fruit of his spiritual teaching is proposed under the symbols of&#8217; food and nourishment,
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836 so the Lord says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I have food to eat. </span>We Should note that just as bodily nourishment is
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837 incomplete miless there is both food and drink, so also both Should be found in spirittial
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838 notirishment: &#8220;The Lord fed him with the bread of life and understanding,&#8221; this is the food, &#8220;and
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839 gave him a drink of the water of saving wisdom,&#8221; and this is the drink (Sir 15:3). So it was
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840 appropriate for Christ to speak of food after having given drink to the Samaritan woman. And
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841 just as water is a symbol for saving wisdom, so food is a symbol of good works.</p>
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842 <p>The food that Christ had to eat is the salvation of men; this was what he desired. When he says
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843 that he has food to eat, he shows how great a desire he has for our salvation. For just as we desire
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844 to eat when we are hungry, so he desires to save us: &#8220;My delight is to be with the children of
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845 men&#8221; (Prv 8:3 1). So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I have food to eat, </span>i.e., the conversion of the nations, <span style="font-weight: bold">of which you
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846 do not know; </span>for they had no way of knowing beforehand about this conversion of the nations.</p>
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847 <p>635 Origen explains this in a different way, as follows. Spiritual food is like bodily food. The
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848 same amount of bodily food is not enough for everyone; some need more, others less. Again,
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849 what is good for one is harmful to another. The same thing happens in spiritual nourishment: for
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850 the same kind and amount should not be given to everyone, but adjusted to what is appropriate
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851 to the disposition and capacity of each. &#8220;Like newborn babes, desire spiritual milk&#8221; (1 Pt 2:2).
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852 Solid food is for the perfect; thus Origen says that the man who understands the loftier doctrine,
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853 and who has charge of others in spiritual matters, can teach this doctrine to those who are weaker
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854 and have less understanding. Accordingly, the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians (3:2): &#8220;Being little
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855 ones in Christ, I gave you milk, not solid food.&#8221; And Jesus could say this with much more truth:
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856 <span style="font-weight: bold">I have food to eat</span>; and &#8220;I have many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now&#8221; (below
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857 16:12).</p>
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858 <p>636 The slowness of the disciples to understand these matters is implied by the fact that what our
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859 Lord said about spiritual food, they understood as referring to bodily food. For even they were
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860 still without understanding, as we see from Matthew (15:16). It is not surprising that this
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861 Samaritan woman did not understand about spiritual water, for even the Jewish disciples did not
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862 understand about spiritual food.</p>
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863 <p>In their saying to each other, <span style="font-weight: bold">Do you suppose that someone has brought him something to
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864 eat? </span>we should note that it was customary for Christ to accept food from others; but not because
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865 he needs our goods: &#8220;He does not need our goods&#8221; (Ps 15:2), nor our food, because it is he who
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866 gives food to every living thing.</p>
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867 <p>637 Then why did he desire and accept goods from others? For two reasons. First, so that those
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868 who give him these things might acquire merit. Secondly, in order to give us an example. that
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869 those engrossed in spiritual matters should not be ashamed of their poverty, nor regard it
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870 burdensome to be supported by others. For it is fitting that teachers have others provide their food
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871 so that, being free from such concerns, they may carefully pay attention to the ministry of the
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872 word, as Chrysostorn says, and as we find in the Gloss. &#8220;Let the elders who rule well be regarded
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873 as worthy of a double compensation; especially those concerned with preaching and teaching (1
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874 Tim 5:17).</p>
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875 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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876 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in">LECTURE 4</p>
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877 <BLOCKQUOTE><p style="text-align: justify">34 Jesus explained to them,</p>
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878 <p style="margin-left: 0.5in">&#8220;My food is to do the will of him
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879 <br>who sent me, to accomplish his work.
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880 <br>35 Do you not have a saying:
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881 <br>&#8216;There are still four months, and it will be harvest time&#8217;?
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882 <br>So I say to you: Lift up your eyes,
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883 <br>look at the fields, because they are
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884 <br>already white for the harvest!
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885 <br>36 He who reaps receives his wages
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886 <br>and gathers fruit for eternal life,
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887 <br>so that the sower can rejoice
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888 <br>at the same time as the reaper.
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889 <br>37 For here the saying is verified:
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890 <br>&#8216;One man sows, another reaps.&#8217;
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891 <br>38 I have sent you to reap
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892 <br>what you have not worked for.
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893 <br>Others have done the work,
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894 <BR>and you have entered into their labors.&#8221;</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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895 <p>638 Since the disciples were slow to understand the Lord&#8217;s figure of speech, the Lord now
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896 explains it. First, we have its explanatiot; secondly, its application (v 35).</p>
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897 <p>639 As to the first, we should note that just as Christ explained to the Samaritan woman what he
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898 had told her in figurative language about water, so he explains to his apostles what he told them
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899 in figurative language about food. But he does not do so in the same way in both cases. Since the
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900 apostles were able to understand these matters more easily, he explains to them at once and in
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901 few words; but to the Samaritan woman, since she Could not understand as well, our Lord leads
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902 her to the truth with a longer explanation.</p>
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903 <p>640 It is perfectly reasonable for Christ to say, <span style="font-weight: bold">My food is to do the will of him who sent me,
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904 to accomplish his work. </span>For as bodily food sustains a man and brings him to perfection, the
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905 spiritual food of the soul and of the rational creature is that by which he is sustained and
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906 perfected; and this consists in being joined to his end and following a higher rule. David,
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907 understanding this, said: &#8220;For me, to adhere to God is good&#8221; (Ps 72:28). Accordingly, Christ, as
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908 man, fittingly says that his food is to do the will of God, to accomplish his work.</p>
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909 <p>641 These two expressions can be understood as meaning the same thing, in the sense that the
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910 second is explaining the first. Or, they can be understood in different ways.</p>
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911 <p>If we understand them as meaning the same, the sense is this: My food is, i.e., in this is my
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912 strength and nourishment, <span style="font-weight: bold">to do the will of him who sent me; </span>according to, &#8220;My God, I desired
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913 to do your will, and your law is in my heart&#8221; (Ps 39:9), and, &#8220;I came down from heaven not to
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914 do my own will, but the will of him who sent me&#8221; (below 6:38). But because &#8220;to do the will&#8221;
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915 (<i>facere voluntatem</i>)<i> </i>of another can be understood in two ways&#8212;one, by making him will it, and
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916 second, by fulfilling what I know he wills&#8212;therefore, explaining what it means to do the will of
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917 him who sent him, the Lord says, <span style="font-weight: bold">to accomplish his work, </span>that is, that I might complete the
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918 work I know he wants: &#8220;I must do the works of him who sent me while it is day&#8221; (below 9:4).</p>
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919 <p>If these two expressions are understood as different, then we should point out that Christ did two
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920 things in this world. First, he taught the truth, in inviting and calling us to the faith; and by this
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921 he fulfilled the will of the Father: &#8220;This is the will of my Father, who sent me: that everyone who
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922 sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life&#8221; (below 6:40). Secondly, he
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923 accomplished the truth by opening in us, by his passion, the gate of life, and by giving us the
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924 power to arrive at complete truth: &#8220;I have accomplished the work which you gave me to do&#8221;
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925 (below 17:4). Thus he is saying: <span style="font-weight: bold">My food is to do the will of him who sent me, </span>by calling men
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926 to the faith, <span style="font-weight: bold">to accomplish his work, </span>by leading them to what is perfect.</p>
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927 <p>642 Another interpretation, given by Origen, is that every man who does good works should
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928 direct his intention to two things: the honor of God and the good of his neighbor: for as it is said:
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929 &#8220;The end of the commandment is love&#8221; (1 Tim 1:5), and this love embraces both God and our
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930 neighbor. And so, when we do something for God&#8217;s sake, the end of the commandment is God;
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931 but when it is for our neighbor&#8217;s good, the end of the commandment is our neighbor. With this
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932 in mind, Christ is saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">My food is to do the will of him who sent me, </span>God, i.e., to direct md
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933 regulate my intention to those matters that concern the honor of God, <span style="font-weight: bold">to accomplish his work,
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934 </span>i.e., to do things for the benefit and perfection of man.</p>
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935 <p>643 On the other hand, since the works of God are perfect, it does not seem proper to speak of
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936 accomplishing or completing them. I answer that among lower creatures, man is the special work
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937 of God, who made him to his own image and likeness (Gn 1:26). And in the beginning God made
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938 this a perfect work, because as we read in Ecclesiastes (7:30): &#8220;God made man upright.&#8221; But
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939 later, man lost this perfection by sin, and abandoned what was right. And so, this work of the
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940 Lord needed to be repaired in order to become right again; and this was accomplished by Christ,
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941 for &#8220;Just as by the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one
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942 man, many will be made just&#8221; (Rom 5:19). Thus Christ says, to <span style="font-weight: bold">accomplish his work, </span>i.e., to
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943 bring man back to what is perfect.</p>
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944 <p>644 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Do you not have a saying: There are still four months, and it will
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945 be harvest time? </span>he makes use of a simile. Note that when Christ asked the Samaritan woman
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946 for a drink, &#8220;Give me a drink,&#8221; he made use of a simile concerning water. But here, the the
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947 disciples are urging the Lord to eat, and now he makes use of a simile concerning spiritual food.</p>
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948 <p>There are some persons whom God asks for a drink, as this Samaritan woman; and there are
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949 some who offer a drink to God. But no one offers food to God unless God first asks him for it:
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950 for we offer spiritual food to God when we ask him for our salvation, that is, when we ask, &#8220;Your
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951 will be done on earth as it is in heaven&#8221; (Mt 6:10). We cannot obtain salvation of ourselves,
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952 unless we are pre-moved by &#8220;prevenient grace,&#8221; according to the statement in Lamentations
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953 (5:21): &#8220;Make us come back to you, O Lord, and we will come back&#8221; (Lam 5:21). The Lord
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954 himself, therefore, first asks for that which makes us ask through &#8220;prevenient grace.&#8221;</p>
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955 <p>In this simile, we have first, the harvest. Secondly, those who reap the harvest (v 36). He does
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956 two things concerning the first. First, he states the simile concerning the natural harvest;
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957 secondly, concerning the spiritual harvest (v 35b).</p>
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958 <p>645 <span style="font-weight: bold">Do you not have a saying: There are still four months, and it will be harvest time? </span>We
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959 can see from this that, as stated in Matthew (4:12), Christ left Judea and traveled through Samaria
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960 right after John was arrested, and that all this happened during the winter. So, because the
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961 harvests ripen there more according to the season, there were four months froin that time till the
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962 harvest. Thus he says, Do <span style="font-weight: bold">you not have a saying, </span>ahow the natural harvest, <span style="font-weight: bold">There are still four
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963 months </span>that must pass, <span style="font-weight: bold">and it will be harvest time? </span>i.e., the time for gathering up the harvest.
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964 So I say to you, speaking of the spiritual harvest, Lift up your eyes, <span style="font-weight: bold">look at the fields, because
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965 they are already white for the harvest.</span></p>
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966 <p>646 Here we should point out that harvest time is the time when the fruit is gathered; and so
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967 whenever fruit is gathered can be regarded as a harvest time. Now fruit is gathered at two times:
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968 for both in temporal and in spiritual matters there is nothing to prevent what is fruit in relation
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969 to an earlier state from being seed in relation to something later. For example, good works are
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970 the fruit of spiritual instruction, as is faith and other such things; but these in turn are seeds of
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971 eternal life, because eternal life is acquired through them. So Sirach (24:23) says: &#8220;My
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972 blossoms,&#8221; in relation to the fruit to follow, &#8220;bear the fruit of of honor and riches,&#8221; in relation to
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973 what preceded.</p>
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974 <p>With this in mind, there is a certain gathering of a spiritual harvest; and this concerns an eternal
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975 fruit, i.e., the gathering of the faithful into eternal life, of which we read: &#8220;The harvest is the end
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976 of the world&#8221; (Mt 13:39). We are not here concerned with this harvest. Another spiritual harvest
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977 is gathered in the present; and this is understood in two ways. In the first, the gathering of the
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978 fruit is the converting of the faithful to be assembled in the Church; in the second, the gathering
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979 is the very knowing of the truth, by which a person gathers the fruit of truth into his soul. And
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980 we are concerned with these two gatherings of the harvest, depending on the different
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981 expositions.</p>
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982 <p>647 Augustine and Chrysostom understand the gathering of the harvest in the first way, as
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983 follows. You say that it is not yet the time for the natural harvest; but this is not true of the
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984 spiritual harvest. Indeed, <span style="font-weight: bold">I say to you: Lift up your eyes</span>, i.e., the eyes of your mind, by thinking,
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985 or even your physical eyes, <span style="font-weight: bold">look at the fields, because they are already white for the harvest:
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986 </span>because the entire countryside was full of Samaritans coming to Christ.</p>
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987 <p>The statement that the fields are already white is metaphorical: for when sown fields are white,
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988 it is a sign that they are ready for harvest. And so he only means to say by this that the people
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989 were ready for salvation and to hear the word. He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">look at the fields, </span>because not only the
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990 Jews, but the Gentiles as well, were ready for the faith: &#8220;The harvest is great, but the workers are
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991 few&#8221; (Mt 9:37). And just as harvests are made white by the presence of the burning heat of the
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992 summer sun, so by the coming of the Sun of justice, i.e., Christ, and his preaching and power,
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993 men are made ready for salvation. Malachi (4:2) says: &#8220;The sun of justice will rise on you who
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994 fear my name.&#8221; Thus it is that the time of Christ&#8217;s coming is called the time of plenitude or
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995 fulness: &#8220;When the fulness of time had come, God sent his Son&#8221; (Gal 4:4).</p>
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996 <p>648 Origen deals with the second gathering of the harvest, i.e., the gathering of truth in the soul.
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997 He says that one gathers as much of the fruit of truth in the harvest as the truths he knows. And
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998 he says that everything said here (v 35) was presented as a parable. In this interpretation, the Lord
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999 does two things. First, he mentions a false doctrine held by some. Secondly, he rejects it, I say
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1000 to you.</p>
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1001 <p>Some thought that man could not acquire any truth about anything. This opinion gave rise to the
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1002 heresy of the Academicians, who maintained that nothing can be known as certain in this life;
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1003 about which we read: &#8220;I tested all things by wisdom. I said: &#8216;I will acquire wisdom,&#8217; and it
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1004 became further from me&#8221; (Ecc 7:24). Our Lord mentions this opinion when he says, Do you not
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1005 have a saying: There are <span style="font-weight: bold">still four months and it will be harvest time? </span>i.e., this whole present
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1006 life, in which man serves under the four elements, must end, so that after it truth may be gathered
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1007 in another life.</p>
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1008 <p>Our Lord rejects this opinion when he says: This is not true, I say to you: Lift up your eyes.
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1009 Sacred Scripture usually uses this expression when something subtle and profound is being
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1010 presented; as, &#8220;Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things&#8221; (Is 40:26). For
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1011 when our eyes are not lifted away from earthly things or from the desires of the flesh, they are
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1012 not fit to know spiritual fruit. For sometimes they are prevented from considering divine things
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1013 because they have stooped to earthly things: &#8220;They have fixed their eyes on the earth&#8221; (Ps 16:11);
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1014 sometimes they are blinded by concupiscence: &#8220;They have averted their eyes so as not to look
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1015 at heaven or remember the judgments of God&#8221; (Dn 13:9).</p>
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1016 <p>649 So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Lift up your eyes, look at the fields, because they are already white for the
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1017 harvest, </span>i.e., they are such that the truth can be learned from them: for by the &#8220;fields&#8221; we
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1018 specifically understand all those things from which truth can be acquired, especially the
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1019 Scriptures: &#8220;Search the Scriptures ... they bear witness to me&#8221; (below 5:39). Indeed, these fields
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1020 existed in the Old Testament, but they were not white for the harvest because men were not able
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1021 to pick spiritual fruit from them until Christ came, who made them white by opening their
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1022 understanding: &#8220;He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures&#8221; (Lk 24.45).
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1023 Again, creatures are harvests from which the fruit of truth is gathered: &#8220;The invisible things of
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1024 God are clearly known by the things that have been made&#8221; (Rom 1:20). None the less, the
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1025 Gentiles who pursued a knowledge of these things gathered the fruits of error rather than of truth
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1026 from them, because as we read, &#8220;they served the creature rather than the Creator&#8221; (Rom 1:25).
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1027 So the harvests were not yet white; but they were made white for the harvest when Christ came.</p>
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1028 <p>650 Next (v 36), he deals with the reapers. First, he gives their reward. Secondly, he mentions
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1029 a proverb. And thirdly, he explains it, i.e., applies it (v 38).</p>
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1030 <p>651 Concerning the first, we should note that when the Lord was explaining earlier about
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1031 spiritual water, he mentioned the way in which spiritual water differs from natural water: a
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1032 person who drinks natural water will become thirsty again, but one who drinks spiritual water
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1033 will never be thirsty again. Here, too, in explaining about the harvest, he points out the difference
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1034 between a natural and a spiritual harvest. Three things are mentioned.</p>
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1035 <p>First, the way in which the two harvests are similar: namely, in that the person who reaps either
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1036 harvest receives a wage. But the one who reaps spiritually is the one who gathers the faithful into
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1037 the Church, or who gathers the fruit of truth into his soul. Each of these will receive a wage,
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1038 according to: &#8220;Each one will receive his own wage according to his work&#8221; (1 Cor 3:8).</p>
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1039 <p>The two other points he mentions concern the ways the two harvests are unlike each other. First,
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1040 the fruit gathered from a natural harvest concerns the life of the body; but the fruit gathered by
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1041 one who reaps a spiritual harvest concerns eternal life. So he says, he who reaps, i.e., he who
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1042 reaps spiritually, <span style="font-weight: bold">gathers fruit for eternal life, </span>that is, the faithful, who will obtain eternal life:
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1043 &#8220;Your fruit is sanctification, your end is eternal life&#8221; (Rom 6:22). Or, this fruit is the very
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1044 knowing and explaining of the truth by which man acquires eternal life: &#8220;Those who explain me
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1045 will have eternal life,&#8221; as we read in Sirach (24:3 1). Secondly, the two harvests are unlike
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1046 because in a natural harvest it is considered a misfortune that one should sow and another reap;
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1047 hence he who sows is saddened when another reaps. But it is not this way when the seed is
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1048 spiritual, for <span style="font-weight: bold">the sower can rejoice at the same time as the reaper.</span></p>
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1049 <p>According to Chrysostom and Augustine, the ones who sow spiritual seed are the fathers and
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1050 prophets of the Old Testament, for &#8220;The seed is the word of God&#8221; (Lk 8:11), which Moses and
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1051 the prophets sowed in the land of Judah. But the apostles were the reapers, because the former
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1052 were not able to accomplish what they wanted to do, i.e., to bring men to Christ; this was done
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1053 by the apostles. And so both the apostles and the prophets rejoice together, in one mansion of
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1054 glory, over the conversion of the faithful: &#8220;Joy and gladness will be found there, thanksgiving
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1055 and the voice of praise&#8221; (Is 51:3). This refutes the heresy of the Manicheans who condemn the
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1056 fathers of the Old Testament; for as the Lord says here, they will rejoice with the apostles.</p>
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1057 <p>According to Origen, however, the &#8220;sowers&#8221; in any faculty [of the soul] are those who confer the
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1058 very first principles of that faculty; but the reapers are those who proceed from these principles
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1059 to further truths. And this is all the more true of the science of all the sciences. The prophets are
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1060 sowers, because they handed down many things concerning divine matters; but the apostles are
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1061 the reapers, because in preaching and teaching they revealed many things which the prophets did
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1062 not make known: &#8220;which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has
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1063 now been revealed to his holy apostles&#8221; (Eph 3:5).</p>
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1064 <p>652 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">For here the saying is verified, </span>we are given a proverb. As if to say:
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1065 <span style="font-weight: bold">For here</span>, i.e., in this fact, <span style="font-weight: bold">the saying is verified, </span>i.e., the proverb in current use among the Jews
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1066 is fulfilled: <span style="font-weight: bold">One man sows, another reaps. </span>This proverb seems to have grown out of a statement
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1067 in Leviticus (26:16): &#8220;You will sow your seed in vain for it will be devoured by your enemies.&#8221;
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1068 As a result, the Jews used this proverb when one person labored on something, but another
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1069 received the pleasure from it. This then is what our Lord says: The proverb is verified here
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1070 because it was the prophets who sowed and labored, while you are the ones to reap and rejoice.</p>
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1071 <p>Another interpretation would be this. <span style="font-weight: bold">For here the saying is verified, </span>i.e. what I am saying to
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1072 you, <span style="font-weight: bold">One man sows, another reaps, </span>because you will reap the fruits of the labor of the prophets.
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1073 Now the prophets and the apostles are different, but not in faith, for they both had faith: &#8220;But now
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1074 the justice of God has been manifested outside the law; the law and the prophets bore witness to
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1075 it&#8221; (Rom 3:21). They are different in their manner of life, for the prophets lived under the
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1076 ceremonies of the law, from which the apostles and Christians have been freed: &#8220;When we were
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1077 children, we were slaves under the elements of this world. But when the fulness of time came,
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1078 God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem those who were under the
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1079 law, so that we could receive adoption as sons&#8221; (Gal 4:3). And although the apostles and prophets
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1080 labor at different times, nevertheless they will rejoice equally and receive wages <span style="font-weight: bold">for eternal life,
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1081 so that the sower can rejoice at the same time as the reaper. </span>This was prefigured in the
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1082 transfiguration of Christ, where all had their own glory, both the fathers of the Old Testament,
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1083 that is, Moses and Elijah, and the fathers of the New Testament, that is, Peter, John and James.
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1084 We see from this that the just of the New and of the Old Testaments will rejoice together in the
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1085 glory to come.</p>
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1086 <p>653 Then (v 38), he applies the proverb. First, he calls the apostles reapers. Secondly, he says
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1087 they are laborers (v 38b).</p>
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1088 <p>654 he says concerning the first: I say that it is one who reaps, because you are reapers, and
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1089 another who sows, for <span style="font-weight: bold">I have sent you to reap what you have not worked for. </span>He does not say,
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1090 &#8220;I will send you,&#8221; but I have sent you. He says this because he sent them twice. One time was
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1091 before his passion, when he sent them to the Jews, saying: &#8220;Do not go on the roads of the
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1092 Gentiles ... but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel&#8221; (Mt 10:5). In this case, they were
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1093 sent to reap that on which they did not work, that is, to convert the Jews, among whom the
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1094 prophets worked. After the resurrection, Christ sent them to the Gentiles, saying: &#8220;Go to the
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1095 whole world, and preach the good news to every creature,&#8221; as we find in Mark (16:15). This time
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1096 they were sent to sow for the first time; for as the Apostle says: &#8220;I have preached the good news,
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1097 but not where Christ was already known, so as not to build on another&#8217;s foundation. But as it is
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1098 written: &#8216;They to whom he was not proclaimed will see, and they who have not heard will
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1099 understand.&#8217;&#8221; (Rom 15:20). And so Christ says, I have sent you, referring to the first time they
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1100 were sent. This is the way, then, the apostles are reapers, and others, the prophets, are the sowers.</p>
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1101 <p>655 Accordingly, he says, Others have done the work, by sowing the beginnings of the doctrine
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1102 of Christ, <span style="font-weight: bold">and you have entered into their labors, </span>to collect the fruit: &#8220;The fruit of good labors
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1103 is glorious&#8221; (Wis 3:15). The prophets labored, I say, to bring men to Christ: &#8220;If you believed
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1104 Moses, you would perhaps believe me, for he wrote of me&#8221; (below 5:46). If you do not believe
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1105 his written words, how will you believe my spoken words? But the prophets did not reap the
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1106 fruit; so Isaiah said with this in mind: &#8220;I have labored for nothing and without reason; in vain I
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1107 have exhausted my strength&#8221; (Is 49:4).</p>
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1108 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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1109 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 5</span></p>
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1110 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>39 Many Samaritans of that town believed in him on the testimony of the woman who said, &#8220;He
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1111 told me everything I ever did.&#8221; 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they begged him to stay
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1112 with them awhile. So he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed in him because of
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1113 his own words. 42 And they said to the woman, &#8220;Now we believe not just because of your story,
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1114 but because we have heard him ourselves, and we know that.here is truly the Savior of the
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1115 world.&#8221;</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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1116 <p>656 Above, the Lord foretold to the apostles the fruit to be produced among the Samaritans by
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1117 the woman&#8217;s witness. Now the Evangelist deals with this fruit. First, the fruit of the woman&#8217;s
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1118 witness is given. Secondly, the growth of this fruit produced by Christ (v 41). The fruit of the
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1119 woman&#8217;s witness is shown in three ways.</p>
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1120 <p>657 First, by the faith of the Samaritans, for they believed in Christ. Thus he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Many
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1121 Samaritans of that town, </span>to which the woman had returned, believed in him, and this, <span style="font-weight: bold">on the
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1122 testimony of the woman, </span>from whom Christ asked for a drink of water, who said, <span style="font-weight: bold">He told me
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1123 everything I ever did: </span>for this testimony was sufficient inducement to believe Christ. For since
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1124 Christ had disclosed her failures, she would not have mentioned them if she had not been brought
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1125 to believe. And so the Samaritans believed as soon as they heard her. This indicates that faith
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1126 comes by hearing.</p>
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1127 <p>658 Secondly, the fruit of her witness is shown in their coming to Christ: for faith gives rise to
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1128 a desire for the thing believed. Accordingly, after they believed, they came to Christ, to be
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1129 perfected by him. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">So when the Samaritans came to him. </span>&#8220;Come to him, and be
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1130 enlightened&#8221; (Ps 33:6); &#8220;Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you&#8221;
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1131 (Mt 11:28).</p>
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1132 <p>659 Thirdly, the fruit of her witness is shown in their desire: for a believer must not only come
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1133 to Christ, but desire that Christ remain with him. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">they begged him to stay with them
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1134 awhile. So he stayed there two days.</span></p>
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1135 <p>The Lord remains with us through charity: &#8220;If anyone loves me, he will keep my word&#8221; (below
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1136 14:23), and further on he adds, &#8220;and we will make our abode with him.&#8221; The Lord remains for
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1137 two days because there are two precepts of charity: the love of God and the love of our neighbor,
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1138 &#8220;On these two commandments all the law and the prophets depend&#8221; (Mt 22:40). But the third day
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1139 is the day of glory: &#8220;He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up&#8221; (Hos
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1140 6:3). Christ did not remain there for that day because the Samaritans were not yet capable of
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1141 glory.</p>
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1142 <p>660 Then (v 41), the Evangelist says that the fruit resulting from the witness of the woman was
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1143 increased by the presence of Christ; and this in three ways. First, in the number of those who
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1144 believed. Secondly, in their reason for believing. Thirdly, in the truth they believed.</p>
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1145 <p>661 The fruit was increased as to the number of those who believed because while many believed
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1146 in Christ on account of the woman, <span style="font-weight: bold">many more believed in him because of his own words, </span>i.e.,
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1147 Christ&#8217;s own words. This signifies that although many believed becatise of the prophets, many
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1148 more were converted to the faith after Christ came, according to the Psalm (7:7): &#8220;Rise up, O
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1149 Lord, in the command you have given, and a congregation of people will surround you.&#8221;</p>
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1150 <p>662 Secondly, this fruit was increased because of the way in which they believed: for they say
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1151 to the woman: <span style="font-weight: bold">Now we believe not just because of your story.</span></p>
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1152 <p>Here we should note that three things are necessary for the perfection of faith; and they are given
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1153 here in order. First, faith should be right; secondly, it should be prompt; and thirdly, it should be
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1154 certain.</p>
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1155 <p>Now faith is right when it obeys the truth not for some alien reason, but for the truth itself; and
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1156 as to this he says that they said to the woman, Now we believe, the truth, <span style="font-weight: bold">not just because of
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1157 your story, </span>but because of the truth itself. Three things lead us to believe in Christ. First of all,
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1158 natural reason: &#8220;Since the creation of the world the invisible things of God are clearly known by
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1159 the things that have been made&#8221; (Rom 1:20). Secondly, the testimony of the law and the
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1160 prophets: &#8220;But now justification from God has been manifested outside the law; the law and the
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1161 prophets bore witness to it&#8221; (Rom 3:21). Thirdly, the preaching of the apostles and others: &#8220;How
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1162 will they believe without someone to preach to them?&#8221; as Romans (10:14) says. Yet when a
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1163 person, having been thus instructed, believes, he can then say that it is not for any of these
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1164 reasons that he believes: i.e., neither on account of natural reason, nor the testimony of the law,
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1165 nor the preaching of others, but solely on account of the truth itself: &#8220;Abram believed God, who
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1166 regarded this as his justification&#8221; (Gn 15:6).</p>
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1167 <p>Faith is prompt if it believes quickly; and this was verified in these Samaritans because they were
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1168 converted to God by merely hearing him; so they say: <span style="font-weight: bold">we have heard him ourselves, </span>and believe
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1169 in him, <span style="font-weight: bold">and we know that here is truly the Savior of the world, </span>without seeing miracles, as
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1170 the Jews saw. And although to believe men quickly is an indication of thoughtlessness, according
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1171 to Sirach (19:4): &#8220;He who believes easily is frivolous,&#8221; yet to believe God quickly is more
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1172 praisworthy: &#8220;When they heard me, they obeyed me&#8221; (Ps 17:45).</p>
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1173 <p>Faith should be certain, because one who doubts in the faith is an unbeliever: &#8220;Ask with faith,
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1174 without any doubting&#8221; (Jas 1:6). And so their faith was certain; thus they say, <span style="font-weight: bold">and we know.
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1175 </span>Sometimes, one who believes is said to know (<i>scire</i>),<i> </i>as here, because <i>scientia </i>[science,
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1176 knowledge in a more perfect state] and faith agree in that both are certain. For just as <i>scientia </i>is<i>
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1177 </i>certain, so is faith; indeed, the latter is much more so, because the certainty of scientia rests on
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1178 human reason, which can be decieved, while the certainty of faith rests on divine reason, which
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1179 cannot be contradicted. However they differ in mode: because faith possesses its certainty due
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1180 to a divinely infused light, while <i>scientia </i>possesses its certainty due to a natural light. For as the
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1181 certitude of <i>scientia </i>rests on first principles naturally known, so the principles of faith are known
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1182 from a light divinely infused: &#8220;You are saved by grace, through faith; and this is not due to
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1183 yourselves, for it is the gift of God&#8221; (Eph 2:8).</p>
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1184 <p>663 Thirdly, the fruit was increased in the truth believed; so they say, <span style="font-weight: bold">here is truly the Savior
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1185 of the world. </span>Here they are affirming that Christ is the unique, true and universal Savior.</p>
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1186 <p>He is the unique Savior for they assert that he is different from others when they say, here is, i.e.,
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1187 here he alone is who has come to save: &#8220;Truly, you are a hidden God, the God of Israel, the
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1188 Savior&#8221; (Is 45:15); &#8220;There is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we are saved&#8221;
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1189 (Acts 4:12).</p>
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1190 <p>They affirm that Christ is the true Savior when they say, <span style="font-weight: bold">truly. </span>For since salvation, as Dionysius
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1191 says, is deliverance from evil and preservation in good, there are two kinds of salvation: one is
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1192 true, and the other is not true. Salvation is true when we are freed from true evils and preserved
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1193 in true goods. In the Old Testament, however, although certain saviors had been sent, they did
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1194 not truly bring salvation, for they set men free from temporal evils, which are not truly evils, nor
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1195 true goods, because they do not last. But Christ is truly the Savior, because he frees men from
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1196 true evils, that is, sins: &#8220;He will save his people from their sins&#8221; (Mt 1:21), and he preserves them
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1197 in true goods, that is, spiritual goods.</p>
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1198 <p>They affirm that he is the universal Savior because he is not just for some, i.e., for the Jews
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1199 alone, but is the Savior <span style="font-weight: bold">of the world. </span>&#8220;God did not send his Son into the world to judge the
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1200 world, but that the world might be saved through him&#8221; (above 3:17).</p>
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1201 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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1202 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 6</span></p>
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1203 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>43 After two days he left that place and went to Galilee. 44 Jesus himself had testified that a
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1204 prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 When however he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans
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1205 welcomed him, because they had seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem on the festive day,
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1206 where they too had gone. 46a He therefore went to Cana in Galilee once more, where he had
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1207 made the water wine.</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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1208 <p>664 Having described the conversion of the Gentiles due to teaching, their conversion due to
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1209 miracles is now given. The Evangelist mentions a miracle performed by Christ: first, giving the
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1210 place; secondly, describing the miracle; and thirdly, its effect (v 53). He does two things about
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1211 the first. First, he gives the general location of the miracle, that is, Christ&#8217;s own homeland.
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1212 Secondly, the specific place (v 46). With respect to the first he does two things. First, he
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1213 mentions the general place. Secondly, he tells how Christ was received there (v 45). Concerning
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1214 the first he does two things. First, he indicates the general place. Secondly, he gives a certain
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1215 reason, at (v 44).</p>
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1216 <p>665 He says first of all: I say that Jesus remained with these Samaritans for two days, and <span style="font-weight: bold">after
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1217 two days he left that place, </span>i.e., <span style="font-weight: bold">Samaria, and went to Galilee, </span>where he had been raised. This
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1218 signifies that at the end of the world, when the Gentiles have been confirmed in the faith and in
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1219 the truth, a return will be made to convert the Jews, according to: &#8220;until the full number of the
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1220 Gentiles enters, and so all Israel will be saved&#8221; (Rom 11:2 5).</p>
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1221 <p>666 Then he gives a certain reason, saying: <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no
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1222 honor in his own country. </span>There are two questions here: one is about the literal meaning; and
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1223 the other about the continuity of this passage with the first.</p>
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1224 <p>The problem about the literal meaning is that it does not seem to be true, as stated here, that a
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1225 prophet has no honor in his own country: for we read that other prophets were honored in their
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1226 own land. Chrysostom answers this by saying that the Lord is speaking here about the majority
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1227 of cases. So, although there might be an exception in some individual cases, what is said here
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1228 should not be considered false: for in matters concerning nature and morals, that rule is true
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1229 which is verified in most cases; and if a few cases are otherwise, the rule is not considered to be
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1230 false.</p>
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1231 <p>Now what the Lord says was true with respect to most of the prophets, because in the Old
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1232 Testament it is hard to find any prophet who did not suffer persecution, as stated in Acts (7:52):
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1233 &#8220;Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?&#8221;; and in Matthew (23:37): &#8220;Jerusalem,
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1234 Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you.&#8221; Further, this statement of
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1235 our Lord holds true not only in the case of the prophets among the Jews, but also, as Origen says,
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1236 with many among the Gentiles, because they were held in contempt by their fellow citizens and
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1237 put to death: for living with men in the usual way, and too much familiarity, lessen respect and
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1238 breed contempt. So it is that those with whom we are more familiar we come to reverence less,
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1239 and those with whom we cannot become acquainted we regard more highly.</p>
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1240 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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1241 <p>However, the opposite happens with God: lor the more intimate we become with God through
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1242 love and contemplation, realizing how superior he is, the more we respect him and the less do
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1243 we esteem ourselves. &#8220;I have heard you, but now I see you, and so I reprove myself, and do
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1244 penance in dust and ashes&#8221; (Jb 42:5). The reason for this is that man&#8217;s nature is weak and fragile;
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1245 and when one lives with another for a long time, he notices certain weaknesses in him, and this
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1246 results in a loss of respect for him. But since God is infinitely perfect, the more a person knows
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1247 him the more he admires his superior perfection, and as a result the more he respects him.</p>
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1248 <p>667 But was Christ a prophet? At first glance it seems not, because prophecy involves an obscure
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1249 knowledge: &#8220;If there is a prophet of the Lord among you, I will appear to him in a vision&#8221; (Nm
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1250 12:6). Christ&#8217;s knowledge, however, was not obscure. Yet he was a prophet, as is clear from,
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1251 &#8220;The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you, from your nation and your brothers; he will
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1252 be like me. You will listen to him&#8221; (Dt 18:15). This text is referred to Christ.</p>
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1253 <p>I answer that a prophet has a twofold function. First, that of seeing: &#8220;He who is now called a
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1254 prophet was formerly called a seer&#8221; (I Sm 9:9). Secondly, he makes known, announces; Christ
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1255 was a prophet in this sense for he made known the truth about God: &#8220;For this was I born, and for
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1256 this I came into the world: to testify to the truth&#8221; (below 18:37). As for the seeing function of a
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1257 prophet, we should note that Christ was at once both a &#8220;wayfarer&#8221; and a &#8220;comprehensor,&#8221; or
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1258 blessed. He was a wayfarer in the sufferings of his human nature and in all the things that relate
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1259 to this. He was a blessed in his union with the divinity, by which he enjoyed God in the most
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1260 perfect way. There are two things in the vision or seeing of a prophet. First, the intellectual light
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1261 of his mind; and as regards this Christ was not a prophet, because his light was not at all
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1262 deficient; his light was that of the blessed. Secondly, an imaginary vision is also involved; and
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1263 with respect to this Christ did have a likeness to the prophets insofar as he was a wayfarer and
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1264 was able to form various images with his imagination.</p>
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1265 <p>668 Secondly, there is the problem about continuity. For the Evangelist does not seem to be right
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1266 in connecting the fact that <span style="font-weight: bold">After two days he left that place and went to Galilee, </span>with the
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1267 statement of Jesus that <span style="font-weight: bold">a prophet has no honor in his own country. </span>It would seem that the
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1268 Evangelist should have said that Christ did not go into Galilee, for if he was not honored there,
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1269 that would be a reason for not going there.</p>
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1270 <p>Augustine answers this by suggesting that the Evangelist said this to answer a question that could
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1271 have been raised, namely: Why did Christ return to Galilee since he had lived there for a long
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1272 time, and the Galileans were still not converted to him; while the Samaritans were converted in
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1273 two days? It is the same as saying: Even though the Galileans had not been converted, still Jesus
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1274 went there, for <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.</span></p>
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1275 <p>Chrysostom explains this in a different way: After two days he left, not for Capernaum, which
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1276 was his homeland because of his continuous residence there, nor for Bethlehem, where he was
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1277 born, nor for Nazareth, where he was educated. Thus he did not go to Capernaum; hence in
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1278 Matthew (11:23) he upbraids them, saying: &#8220;And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to
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1279 heaven? You will descend even to hell.&#8221; He went rather to Cana in Galilee. And he gives the
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1280 reason here [for not going to Capernaum] : because they were ill-disposed toward him. This is
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1281 what he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.</span></p>
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1282 <p>669 Was Christ seeking glory from men? It seems not, for he says: &#8220;I do not seek my own glory&#8221;
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1283 (below 8:50). 1 answer that it is only God who seeks his own glory without sin. A man should
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1284 not seek his own glory from men, but rather the glory of God. Christ, however, as God, fittingly
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1285 sought his own glory, and as man, he sought the glory of God in himself.</p>
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1286 <p>670 Then he shows that Christ was received by the Galileans more respectfully than before,
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1287 saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">When however he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, </span>respectfully. The
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1288 reason behind this was <span style="font-weight: bold">because they had seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem on the
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1289 festive day, where they too had gone, </span>as the law commanded.</p>
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1290 <p>This seems to conflict with the fact that we did not read above of any miracles being performed
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1291 by Christ at Jerusalem. I answer, with the opinion of Origen, that the Jews thought it a great
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1292 miracle that Christ drove the traders from the temple with such authority (above 2:14). Or, we
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1293 could say that Christ performed many miracles which were not written down, according to,
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1294 &#8220;Jesus did many other signs ... which are not written down in this book&#8221; (below 20:30).</p>
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1295 <p>671 In its mystical sense, this gives us an example that if we wish to receive Jesus Christ within
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1296 ourselves, we should go up to Jerusalem on a festive day, that is, we should seek tranquility of
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1297 mind, and examine everything which Jesus does there: &#8220;Look upon Zion, the city of our festive
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1298 days&#8221; (Is 33:20); &#8220;1 have meditated on all Your works&#8221; (Ps 142:5).</p>
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1299 <p>672 Note that as men were lesser in dignity, they were better with respect to God. The Judeans
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1300 were superior in dignity to the Galileans: &#8220;Look at the Scriptures and see that the Prophet will
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1301 not come from Galilee&#8221; (below 7:52); and the Galileans were superior in dignity to the
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1302 Samaritans: &#8220;The Jews had nothing to do with the Samaritans&#8221; (above 4:9). On the other hand,
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1303 the Samaritans were better than the Galileans because more of them believed in Christ in two
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1304 days without any miracles than the Galileans did in a long period of time and even with the
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1305 miracle of the wine: for none of them believed in him except his disciples. Finally, the Judeans
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1306 were worse than the Galileans, because none of them believed in Jesus, except perhaps
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1307 Nicodemus.</p>
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1308 <p>673 Then he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">He therefore went to Cana in Galilee</span>. According to Chrysostom, this is
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1309 given as a conclusion from what went before; it is as though he were saying: Christ did not go
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1310 to Capemaurn because he was not held in honor there. But he was under an obligation to go to
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1311 Cana in Galilee: for on the first occasion he had been invited to the wedding, and now he goes
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1312 again without being invited. The two trips to Cana are mentioned by the Evangelist to show their
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1313 hardness of heart: for at the first miracle of the wine, only his disciples believed in Christ; and
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1314 at the second miracle, only the official and his household believed. On the other hand, the
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1315 Samaritans believed on Christ&#8217;s words alone.</p>
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1316 <p>674 In the mystical sense, the two visits to Cana signify the effect of God&#8217;s words on our minds.
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1317 First of all they cause delight, because they who hear the word &#8220;receive the word with joy&#8221; (Mt
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1318 13:20). This is signified in the miracle of the wine, which as the Psalm (103:15) says, &#8220;gladdens
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1319 the heart of man.&#8221; Secondly, the word of God heals: &#8220;It was neither a herb nor a poultice that
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1320 healed them, but your word, O Lord, which heals all things&#8221; (Wis 16:12). And this is signified
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1321 by the curing of the sick son.</p>
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1322 <p>Further, these two visits to Cana indicate the two comings of the Son of God. The first coming
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1323 was in all gentleness to bring joy: &#8220;Rejoice and give praise, people of Zion, for he is great who
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1324 is in your midst, the Holy One of Israel&#8221; (Is 12:6). So the angel said to the shepherds: &#8220;I bring you
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1325 good news of great joy ... this day a Savior has been born to you&#8221; (Lk 2:10). This is signified by
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1326 the wine. His second coming into the world will be in majesty, when he will come to take away
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1327 our weaknesses and our punishments, and to make us like his radiant body. And this is signified
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1328 in the cure of the sick son.</p>
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1329 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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1330 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 7</span></p>
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1331 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>46b There happened to be a certain official, whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard
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1332 that Jesus had come to Galilee from Judea, he went to him, and begged him to come down and
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1333 heal his son, who was at the point of death. 48 But Jesus said to him, &#8220;Unless you see signs and
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1334 wonders, you do not believe.&#8221; 49 The official said to him, &#8220;Lord, come down before my child
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1335 dies.&#8221; 50 Jesus told him, &#8220;Go, your son lives.&#8221; The man took Jesus at his word, and started for
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1336 home. 51 While he was on his way down, his servants ran up to meet him with word&#8217; that his son
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1337 was going to live. 52 He asked them at what time his boy got better. And they told him that
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1338 yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 The father then realized that it was at that very
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1339 hour when Jesus told him, &#8220;Your son lives.&#8221; He and his whole household became believers. 54
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1340 This was the second sign Jesus had performed on returning from Judea to Galilee.</p>
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1341 <p>675 Having told us the place of this miracle, the Evangelist now describes the miracle itself:
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1342 telling us of the person who was ill; the one who interceded for him; and the one who healed him.
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1343 The one who was ill was the son of the official; his father interceded for him; and it was Christ
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1344 who was to heal him.</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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1345 <p>676 About the person who was ill, he first tells us of his status, a <span style="font-weight: bold">son</span> of an official; secondly,
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1346 where he was, at <span style="font-weight: bold">Capernaum; </span>thirdly, his illness, a <span style="font-weight: bold">fever</span>.</p>
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1347 <p>He says about the first, <span style="font-weight: bold">There happened to be a certain official, whose son lay sick. </span>Now one
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1348 can be called an official for a variety of reasons. For example, if one is in charge of a small
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1349 territory. This is not its meaning here for at this time there was no king in Judea: &#8220;We have no
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1350 king but Caesar&#8221; (below 19:15). One is also called an official, as Chrysostom says, because he
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1351 is from a royal family; and this is also not its meaning here. In a third way, an official is some
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1352 officer of a king or ruler; and this is its meaning here.</p>
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1353 <p>Some think, as Chrysostom reports, that this official is the same as the centurion mentioned by
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1354 Matthew (8:5). This is not so, for they differ in four ways. First, because the illness was not the
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1355 same in each. The centurion was concerned with a paralytic, &#8220;My servant is lying paralyzed at
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1356 home&#8221; (Mt 8:6); while this official&#8217;s son is suffering from a fever, <span style="font-weight: bold">yesterday at the seventh
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1357 hour the fever left him. </span>Secondly, those who are sick are not the same. In the first case, it was
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1358 a servant, &#8220;my servant&#8221;; but now we have a son, as it says, <span style="font-weight: bold">whose son. </span>Thirdly, what is requested
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1359 is different. For when Christ wanted to go to the home of the centurion, the centurion
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1360 discouraged him, and said: &#8220;Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say
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1361 the word and my servant will be healed&#8221; (Mt 8:8). But this official asked Christ to come to his
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1362 house, <span style="font-weight: bold">Lord, come down before my child dies. </span>Fourthly, the places are different. For the first
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1363 healing took place at Capernaum, while this one is at Cana in Galilee. So this official is not the
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1364 same as the centurion, but was from the household of Herod the Tetrarch, or some kind of a
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1365 herald, or an official of the Emperor.</p>
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1366 <p>677 In its allegorical sense, this official is Abraham or one of the fathers of the Old Testament,
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1367 in so far as he adheres by faith to the king, that is, to Christ, about which we read, &#8220;I was made
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1368 king by him over Zion&#8221; (Ps 2:6). Abraham adhered to him, for as is said below (8:56): &#8220;Abraham,
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1369 your father, rejoiced that he might see my day.&#8221; The son of this official is the Jewish people: &#8220;We
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1370 are the descendants of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to any one&#8221; (below 8:33). But
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1371 they are sick from evil pleasures and incorrect doctrines. They are sick at Capernaum, i.e., in the
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1372 abundance of goods which caused them to leave their God, according to, &#8220;The beloved grew fat
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1373 and rebellious ... he deserted the God who made him, and left God his Savior&#8221; (Dt 32:15).</p>
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1374 <p>678 In the moral sense, in the kingdom of the soul, the king is reason itself: &#8220;The king, who sits
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1375 on his throne of judgment&#8221; (Prv 20:8). But why is reason called the king? Because man&#8217;s entire
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1376 body is ruled by it: his affections are directed and informed by it, and the other powers of the soul
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1377 follow it. But sometimes it is called an official [not the king], that is, when its knowledge is
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1378 obscured, with the result that it follows inordinate passions and does not resist them: &#8220;They live
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1379 with their foolish ideas, their understanding obscured by darkness&#8221; (Eph 4:17). Consequently,
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1380 the son of this official, i.e., the affections, are sick, that is, they deviate from good and decline
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1381 to what is evil. If reason were the king, that is, strong, its son would not be sick; but being only
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1382 an official, its son is sick. This happens at Capernaum because a great many temporal goods are
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1383 the cause of spiritual sickness: &#8220;This was the crime of your sister Sodom: richness, satiety in
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1384 food, and idleness&#8221; (Ez 16:49).</p>
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1385 <p>679 Now we see the person making his request (v 47). First, we have the incentive for making
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1386 his request. Secondly, the request itself. Thirdly, the need for the request.</p>
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1387 <p>680 The incentive for making the request was the arrival of Christ. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">When he, </span>the
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1388 official, <span style="font-weight: bold">heard that Jesus had come to Galilee from Judea, he went to him. </span>For as long as the
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1389 coming of Christ was delayed, men&#8217;s hope of being healed from their sins was that much fainter;
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1390 but when it is reported that his coming is near, our hope of being healed rises, and then we go to
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1391 him. For he came into this world to save sinners: &#8220;The Son of Man came to seek and to save what
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1392 was lost&#8221; (Lk 19:22). Further, as Sirach says (18:23), we should prepare our soul by prayer, and
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1393 we do this by going to God through our desires. And this is what the official did, as we read, he
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1394 went to him. Amos (4:12) says, &#8220;Be prepared to meet your God, O Israel.&#8221;</p>
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1395 <p>681 The request of the official was that Christ heal his son. So the Evangelist says that he begged
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1396 him to come down, out of compassion: &#8220;O that you would rend the heavens, and come down&#8221;
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1397 (Is 64:1), <span style="font-weight: bold">and heal his son. </span>We, too, ought to ask to be healed from our sins: &#8220;Heal my soul, for
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1398 I have sinned against you&#8221; (Ps 40:5). For no one of himself can return to the state of justice;
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1399 rather, he has to be healed by God: &#8220;I cannot help myself&#8221; (Jb 6:13). The fathers of the Old
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1400 Testament interceded for the people of Israel in the same way; for as we read of one: &#8220;He loves
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1401 his brothers, because he prays much for the holy city and for the people of Israel, Jeremiah, the
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1402 prophet of God&#8221; (2 Me 15:14).</p>
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1403 <p>682 The need for this request was urgent, for the son <span style="font-weight: bold">was at the point of death. </span>When a person
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1404 is tempted, he is beginning to become sick; and as the temptation grows stronger and takes the
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1405 upper hand, inclining him to consent, he is near death. But when he has consented, he is at the
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1406 point of death and beginning to die. Finally, when he completes his sin, he dies; for as we read:
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1407 &#8220;Sin, when it is completed, brings forth death&#8221; (Jas 1:15). The Psalm (33:22) says about this:
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1408 &#8220;The death of sinners is the worst,&#8221; because it begins here and continues into the future without
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1409 end.</p>
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1410 <p>683 Now he deals with the request for Christ to heal the son of the official. First, our Lord&#8217;s
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1411 criticism is given. Secondly, the official&#8217;s request. Thirdly, the granting of the request.</p>
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1412 <p>684 Our Lord criticizes him for his lack of faith, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Unless you see signs and wonders, you
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1413 do not believe. </span>This raises a question, for it does not seem right to say this to this official, for
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1414 unless he had believed that Christ was the Savior, he would not have asked him to heal his son.</p>
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1415 <p>The answer to this is that this official did not yet believe perfectly; indeed, there were two defects
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1416 in his faith. The first was that although he believed that Christ was a true man, he did not believe
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1417 that he had divine power; otherwise he would have believed that Christ could heal one even
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1418 while absent, since God is everywhere, as Jeremiah (23:24) says: &#8220;I fill heaven and earth.&#8221; And
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1419 so he would not have asked Christ to come down to his house, but simply give his command. The
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1420 second defect in his faith, according to Chrysostom, was that he was not sure that Christ could
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1421 heal his son: for had he been sure, he would not have waited for Christ to return to his homeland,
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1422 but would have gone to Judea himself. But now, despairing of his son&#8217;s health, and not wishing
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1423 to overlook any possibility, he went to Christ like those parents who in their despair for the health
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1424 of their children consult even unskilled doctors.</p>
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1425 <p>685 In the second place, it does not seem that he should have been criticized for looking for
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1426 signs, for faith is proved by signs. The answer to this is that unbelievers are drawn to Christ in
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1427 one way, and believers in another way. For unbelievers cannot be drawn to Christ or convinced
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1428 by the authority of Sacred Scripture, because they do not believe it; neither can they be drawn by
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1429 natural reason, because faith is above reason. Consequently, they must be led by miracles: &#8220;Signs
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1430 are given to unbelievers, not to believers&#8221; (1 Cor 14:22). Believers, on the other hand, should be
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1431 led and directed to faith by the authority of Scripture, to which they are bound to assent. This is
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1432 why the official is criticized: although he had been brought up among the Jews and instructed in
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1433 the law, he wanted to believe through signs, and not by the authority of the Scripture. So the Lord
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1434 reproaches him, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Unless you see signs and wonders, </span>i.e., miracles, which sometimes are
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1435 signs insofar as they bear witness to divine truth. Or <span style="font-weight: bold">wonders </span>(prodigia), either because they
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1436 indicate with utmost certitude, so that a prodigy is taken to be a &#8220;portent&#8221; or some &#8220;sure
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1437 indication&#8221;; or because they portend something in the future, as if something were called a
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1438 <span style="font-weight: bold">wonder </span>as if showing at a great distance some future effect.</p>
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1439 <p>686 Now we see the official&#8217;s persistence, for he does not give up after the Lord&#8217;s criticism, but
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1440 insists, saying. <span style="font-weight: bold">Lord, come down before my child dies: </span>&#8220;We should pray always, and not lose
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1441 heart&#8221; (Lk 18:1). This shows an improvement in his faith in one respect, that is, in that he calls
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1442 him &#8220;Lord.&#8221; But there is not a total improvement, for he still thought that Christ had to be
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1443 physically present to heal his son; so he asked Christ to come.</p>
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1444 <p>687 His request is granted by the Lord, for persevering prayer is answered. Jesus said to him: <span style="font-weight: bold">Go,
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1445 your son lives. </span>Here we have first, the statement by Christ, who cured the boy, that the boy was
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1446 cured. Secondly, we ire told of the persons who witnessed the cure (v 51 ). Two things are
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1447 mentioned concerning the first: the command of the Lord and the obedience of the official (v
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1448 50b).</p>
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1449 <p>688 As to the first, the Lord does two things. First, he orders; secondly, he affirms. He orders the
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1450 official to go: hence he says, Go, i.e., prepare to receive grace by a movement of your free will
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1451 toward God: &#8220;Turn to me, and you will be saved&#8221; (Is 45:22); and by a movement of your free will
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1452 against sin. For four things are required for the justification of an adult sinner: the infusion of
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1453 grace, the remission of guilt, a movement of the free will toward God, which is faith, and a
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1454 movement of the free will against sin, which is contrition.</p>
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1455 <p>Then the Lord says that his son is healed, which was the request of the official: <span style="font-weight: bold">Your son lives</span>.</p>
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1456 <p>689 One may ask why Christ refused to go down to the home of this official as asked, while he
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1457 promised to go see the servant of the centurion. There are two reasons for this. One, according
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1458 to Gregory, is to blunt our pride; the pride of us who offer our services to great men, but refuse
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1459 to help the insignificant: since the Lord of all offered to go to the servant of the centurion, but
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1460 refused to go to the son of an official: &#8220;Be well-disposed to the poor&#8221; (Sir 4:7). The other reason,
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1461 as Chrysostom says, was that the centurion was already confirmed in the faith of Christ, and
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1462 believed that he could heal even while not present; and so our Lord promised to go to show
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1463 approval of his faith and devotion. But this official was still imperfect, and did not yet clearly
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1464 know that Christ could heal even while absent. And so our Lord does not go, in order that he may
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1465 realize his imperfection.</p>
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1466 <p>690 The obedience of this official is pointed out in two ways. First, because he believed what
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1467 Christ said; so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The man took Jesus at his word, </span>that is, <span style="font-weight: bold">Your son lives. </span>Secondly,
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1468 because he did obey the order of Christ; so he says, he <span style="font-weight: bold">started for home, </span>progressing in faith,
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1469 although not yet fully or soundly, as Origen says. This signifies that we must be justified by faith:
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1470 &#8220;Justified by faith, let us have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ&#8221; (Rom 5:1). We
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1471 also must go and start out by making progress: because he who stands still runs the risk of being
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1472 unable to preserve the life of grace. For, along the road to God, if we do not go forward we fall
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1473 back.</p>
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1474 <p>691 Next we see the servants bringing news of the healing. First, the news of the healing is given.
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1475 Secondly, there is an inquiry about the time of the healing (v 52).</p>
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1476 <p>692 He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">While he was on his way down, </span>from Cana of Galilee to his own home, <span style="font-weight: bold">his
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1477 servants ran up to meet him</span>&#8212;which shows that this official was wealthy and had many
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1478 servants&#8212;<span style="font-weight: bold">with word that his son was going to live: </span>and they did this because they thought that
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1479 Christ was coming, and his presence was no longer necessary as the boy was already cured.</p>
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1480 <p>693 In the mystical sense, the servants of the official, i.e., of reason, are a man&#8217;s works, because
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1481 man is master of his own acts and of the affections of his sense powers, for they obey the
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1482 command and direction of reason. Now these servants announce that the son of the official, that
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1483 is, of reason, lives, when a man&#8217;s good works shine out, and his lower powers obey reason,
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1484 according to: &#8220;A man&#8217;s dress, and laughter, and his walk, show what he is&#8221; (Sir 19:27).</p>
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1485 <p>694 Because this official did not yet believe either fully or soundly, he still wanted to know
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1486 whether his son had been cured by chance or by the command of Christ. Accordingly, he asks
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1487 about the time of the cure. <span style="font-weight: bold">He asked them</span>, the servants, <span style="font-weight: bold">at what time his boy got better. </span>And
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1488 he found that his son was cured at exactly the same hour that our Lord said, <span style="font-weight: bold">Go, your son lives</span>.
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1489 And no wonder, because Christ is the Word, through whom heaven and earth were made: &#8220;He
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1490 spoke and they were made; he commanded and they were. created&#8221; (Ps. 148:5).</p>
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1491 <p>695 <span style="font-weight: bold">And they</span>, his servants, <span style="font-weight: bold">told him that yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.
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1492 </span>In the mystical sense, the seventh hour, when the boy is cured of his fever, signifies the seven
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1493 gifts of the Holy Spirit, through whom sins are forgiven, according to: &#8220;Receive the Holy Spirit;
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1494 whose sins you forgive, are forgiven&#8221; (below 20:22), and through whom spiritual life is produced
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1495 in the soul: &#8220;It is the Spirit that gives life&#8221; (below 6:64). Again, the seventh hour signifies the
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1496 appropriate time for.rest, for the Lord rested from all his work on the seventh day. This indicates
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1497 that the spiritual life of man consists in spiritual rest or quiet, according to: &#8220;If you remain at rest,
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1498 you will be saved&#8221; (Is 30:15). But of the evil we read: &#8220;The heart of the wicked is like the raging
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1499 sea, which cannot rest&#8221; (Is 57:20).</p>
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1500 <p>696 Next, we are given the effect of this miracle (v 53). First, its fruit is mentioned. Secondly,
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1501 this miracle is linked with another one (v 54).</p>
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1502 <p>697 He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The father then realized, </span>by comparing the hour mentioned by the servants with
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1503 the hour of Christ&#8217;s affirmation, <span style="font-weight: bold">that it was at that very hour when Jesus told him, Your son
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1504 lives. </span>Because of this he was converted to Christ, realizing that it was by his power that the
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1505 miracle was accomplished. <span style="font-weight: bold">He and his whole household became believers, </span>that is, his servants
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1506 and his aides, because the attitude of servants depends on the condition, whether good or wicked,
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1507 of their masters: &#8220;As the judge of the people is himself, so also are his ministers&#8221; (Sir 10:2); and
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1508 in Genesis (18:19) we read: &#8220;I know that he will direct his sons.&#8221;</p>
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1509 <p>This also shows that the faith of the official was constantly growing: for at the beginning, when
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1510 he pleaded for his sick son, it was weak; then it began to grow more firm, when he called Jesus
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1511 &#8220;Lord&#8221; then when he believed what the Lord said and started for home, it was more perfect, but
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1512 not completely so, because he still doubted. But here, clearly realizing God&#8217;s power in Christ,
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1513 his faith is made perfect, for as Proverbs (4:18) says: &#8220;The way of the just goes forward like a
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1514 shining light, increasing to the full light of day.&#8221;</p>
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1515 <p>698 Finally, this miracle is linked with the previous one, <span style="font-weight: bold">This was the second sign Jesus had
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1516 performed on returning from Judea to Galilee. </span>We can understand this in two ways. In one
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1517 way, that our Lord performed two miracles during this one trip from Judea to Galilee; but the first
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1518 of these was not recorded, only the second. In the other way, we could say that Jesus worked two
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1519 signs in Galilee at different times: the one of the wine, and this second one about the son of this
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1520 official after he returned again to Galilee from Judea.</p>
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1521 <p>We also see from this that the Galileans were worse than the Samaritans. For the Samaritans
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1522 expected no sign from the Lord, and many believed in his word alone; but as a result of this
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1523 miracle, only this official and his whole household believed: for the Jews were converted to the
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1524 faith little by little on account of their hardness, according to: &#8220;I have become as one who
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1525 harvests in the summer time, like a gleaner at the vintage: not one cluster to eat, not one of the
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1526 early figs I desire&#8221; (Mi 7:1).</p>
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1527 </body>
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1528
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1529 </html>