Mercurial > hg > Aquinas
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| author | ht |
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| date | Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:16:17 +0000 |
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| 4 <body style=text-align:justify><blockquote> | |
| 5 <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 60pt">10</span> | |
| 6 <p align=center><B>LECTURE I</B> | |
| 7 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the | |
| 8 sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a | |
| 9 robber; 2 but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him | |
| 10 the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by | |
| 11 name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before | |
| 12 them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will | |
| 13 not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of | |
| 14 strangers.</BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 15 | |
| 16 <p>1364 After our Lord showed that his teaching had power to | |
| 17 enlighten, he here shows that he has power to give life. First, he shows this | |
| 18 by word; secondly, by a miracle (chap 11). Concerning the first he does three | |
| 19 things. First, he shows that he has life-giving power; secondly, his manner of | |
| 20 giving life (v 11); thirdly, he explains his power to give life (v 19). The | |
| 21 first part is divided into three parts. First, our Lord relates a parable; | |
| 22 secondly, the Evangelist mentions the necessity for explaining it (v 6); | |
| 23 thirdly, our Lord explains the parable (v 7). | |
| 24 | |
| 25 <p>He relates the parable to them, | |
| 26 saying, <b>Truly, truly, I say to you</b>. It concerns two things, a thief and | |
| 27 the shepherd of the sheep. Thus he does three things. First, he mentions the | |
| 28 mark of a thief and robber; secondly, a characteristic of the shepherd (v 2); | |
| 29 thirdly, the effect each of these has (v 4). | |
| 30 | |
| 31 <p>1365 To understand this parable we must consider who the | |
| 32 sheep are, namely, that they are the faithful of Christ and those in the grace | |
| 33 of God: "We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand" (Ps | |
| 34 95:7); "You, the people, are the sheep of my pasture" [Ez 34:31]. And so the | |
| 35 sheepfold is the multitude of the faithful: "I will surely gather all of you, O | |
| 36 Jacob, I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep | |
| 37 in a fold" (Mic 2:12). The door of the sheepfold is explained in different ways | |
| 38 by Chrysostom and by Augustine. | |
| 39 | |
| 40 <p>1366 According to Chrysostom, Christ calls Sacred Scripture | |
| 41 the door, according to "Pray for us also that God may open to us a door for the | |
| 42 word" (Col 4:3). Sacred Scripture is called a door, as Chrysostom says, first | |
| 43 of all, because through it we have access to the knowledge of God: "which he | |
| 44 promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures" (Rom 1:2). | |
| 45 Secondly, for just as the door guards the sheep, so Sacred Scripture preserves | |
| 46 the life of the faithful: "You search the scriptures, because you think that in | |
| 47 them you have eternal life" (5:39). Thirdly, because the door keeps the wolf | |
| 48 from entering; so Sacred Scripture keeps heretics from harming the faithful: | |
| 49 "Every scripture inspired by God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, | |
| 50 for correction" (2 Tim 3:16). So, the one who does not enter by the door is the | |
| 51 one who does not enter by Sacred Scripture to teach the people. Our Lord says | |
| 52 of such: "In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of | |
| 53 men" (Matt 15:9); "You have made void the word of God" (Matt 15:6). This, then, | |
| 54 is the mark of the thief: he does not enter by the door, but in some other way. <a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> | |
| 55 | |
| 56 <p>He adds that the thief <b>climbs</b>, | |
| 57 and this is appropriate to this parable because thieves climb the walls, | |
| 58 instead of entering by the door, and drop into the sheepfold. It also corresponds | |
| 59 to the truth, because the reason why some teach what conflicts with Sacred | |
| 60 Scripture is due to pride: "If any one teaches otherwise and does not agree | |
| 61 with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching which accords | |
| 62 with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit, he knows nothing" (1 Tim 6:3). | |
| 63 Referring to this he says that such a person <b>climbs</b>, that is, through | |
| 64 pride. The one who <b>climbs in by another way, that man is a thief</b>, | |
| 65 because he snatches what is not his, <b>and a robber</b>, because he kills what | |
| 66 he snatches: "If thieves came to you, if plunderers by night - how you have | |
| 67 been destroyed" (Obad v 5). | |
| 68 | |
| 69 <p>According to this explanation, the | |
| 70 relation with what preceded is made in this way: Since our Lord had said, "If | |
| 71 you were blind, you would have no guilt," the Jews might have answered: "We do | |
| 72 not believe you, but this is not due to our blindness. It is because of your | |
| 73 own error that we have turned away from you." And so our Lord rejects this, and | |
| 74 wishes to show that he is not in error because he enters by the door, by Sacred | |
| 75 Scripture, that is, he teaches what is contained in Sacred Scripture. | |
| 76 | |
| 77 <p>1367 Against this interpretation is the fact that when our | |
| 78 Lord explains this further on, he says, <b>I am the door</b>. So it seems that | |
| 79 we should understand the door to be Christ. In answer to this, Chrysostom says | |
| 80 that in this parable our Lord refers to himself both as the door and the | |
| 81 shepherd; but this is from different points of view, because a door and a | |
| 82 shepherd are different.<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a> | |
| 83 Now aside from Christ nothing is more fittingly called a door than Sacred | |
| 84 Scripture, for the reasons given above. Therefore, Sacred Scripture is | |
| 85 fittingly called a door. | |
| 86 | |
| 87 <p>1368 According to Augustine, the door is Christ, because one | |
| 88 enters through him: "After this I looked, and lo, in heaven an open door!" (Rev | |
| 89 4:1). Therefore, any one who enters the sheepfold should enter by the door, | |
| 90 that is, by Christ, and not by another way.<a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" | |
| 91 >[3]</a> | |
| 92 | |
| 93 <p>Note that both the sheep and their | |
| 94 shepherd enter into the sheepfold: the sheep in order to be secure there, and | |
| 95 the shepherd in order to guard the sheep. And so, if you wish to enter as a | |
| 96 sheep to be kept safe there, or as a shepherd to keep the people safe, you must | |
| 97 enter the sheepfold through Christ. You must not enter by any other way, as did | |
| 98 the philosophers who treated the principle virtues, and the Pharisees who | |
| 99 established the ceremonial traditions. These are neither sheep nor shepherds | |
| 100 because, as our Lord says, <b>he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door</b>, | |
| 101 i.e., does not enter by Christ, <b>but climbs in by another way, that man is a | |
| 102 thief and a robber</b>, because he destroys both himself and others. For Christ | |
| 103 and no one else is the door into the sheepfold, that is, the multitude of the | |
| 104 faithful: "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:1); | |
| 105 "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" | |
| 106 (Acts 4:12). | |
| 107 | |
| 108 <p>According to this exposition, the | |
| 109 connection with what went before is made in this way: Because they said that | |
| 110 they could see without Christ - "now that you say, 'We see'" - our Lord shows | |
| 111 that this is not true, because they do not enter by the door. Thus he says, <b>Truly, | |
| 112 truly, I say to you…</b> | |
| 113 | |
| 114 <p>It should be noted that just as one | |
| 115 who does not enter by the door as a sheep cannot be kept safe, so one who | |
| 116 enters as a shepherd cannot guard the sheep unless he enters by the door, | |
| 117 namely, by Christ. This is the door through which the true shepherds have | |
| 118 entered: "And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by | |
| 119 God, just as Aaron was" (Heb 5:4). Evil shepherds do not enter by the door, but | |
| 120 by ambition and secular power and simony; and these are thieves and robbers: | |
| 121 "They set up princes, but without my knowledge," that is, without my approval | |
| 122 (Hos 8:5). Further, he says such a person <b>climbs in by another way</b>, | |
| 123 because the door, namely, Christ, since it is small through humility - "Learn | |
| 124 from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart" (Matt 11:29) - can be entered only | |
| 125 by those who imitate the humility of Christ. Therefore, those who do not enter | |
| 126 by the door but climb in by another way are the proud. They do not imitate him | |
| 127 who, although he was God, became man; and they do not recognize his lowering of | |
| 128 himself. | |
| 129 | |
| 130 <p>1369 Now he considers the shepherd. First, he mentions the | |
| 131 mark of the shepherd; secondly, he shows through signs that he is the shepherd | |
| 132 (v 3). | |
| 133 | |
| 134 <p>1370 The mark of the true shepherd is to enter by the door, | |
| 135 that is, by the testimony of Sacred Scripture. Thus Christ said: "Everything | |
| 136 written about me in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be | |
| 137 fulfilled" (Lk 24:44). He is called a shepherd: "I am not troubled when I | |
| 138 follow you as my shepherd" [Jer 17:16]; "He rebukes and trains and teaches | |
| 139 them, and turns them back, as a shepherd his flock" (Sir 18:13). | |
| 140 | |
| 141 <p>But if the door is Christ, as | |
| 142 Augustine explains it, then in entering by the door, he enters by himself.<a | |
| 143 href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a> | |
| 144 And this is special to Christ: for no one can enter the door, i.e., to | |
| 145 beatitude, except by the truth, because beatitude is nothing else than joy in | |
| 146 the truth. But Christ, as God, is the truth; therefore, as man, he enters by | |
| 147 himself, that is, by the truth, which he is as God. We, however, are not the | |
| 148 truth, but children of the light, by participating in the true and uncreated | |
| 149 light. Consequently, we have to enter by the truth which is Christ: "Sanctify | |
| 150 them in the truth" (17:17); "If any one enters by me, he will be saved" (10:9). | |
| 151 If one wishes to enter even as a shepherd, he must enter by the door, that is, | |
| 152 Christ, according to his truth, will and consent. Thus we read in Ezekiel | |
| 153 (24:23): "And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he | |
| 154 shall feed them." This is like saying: They must be given by me, and not by | |
| 155 others or themselves. | |
| 156 | |
| 157 <p>1371 Now he mentions the signs of a good shepherd; and there | |
| 158 are three. The first relates to the gatekeeper, and is that the good shepherd | |
| 159 is let in by him. As to this he says, <b>to him the gatekeeper opens</b>. This | |
| 160 gatekeeper, according to Chrysostom, is the one who opens the way to a | |
| 161 knowledge of Sacred Scripture.<a href="#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a> | |
| 162 The first one to do this was Moses, who first received and established Sacred | |
| 163 Scripture. And Moses opened to Christ, because as was said above: "If you | |
| 164 believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me" (5:46). | |
| 165 | |
| 166 <p>Or, according to Augustine, the | |
| 167 gatekeeper is Christ himself, because he brings us himself.<a href="#_ftn6" | |
| 168 name="_ftnref6">[6]</a> | |
| 169 He says, "He opens himself who reveals himself, and we enter only by his | |
| 170 grace." "For by grace you have been saved" (Eph 2:8). It does not matter if | |
| 171 Christ, who is the door, is also the gatekeeper; for certain things are | |
| 172 compatible in spiritual matters that cannot occur in physical reality. Now | |
| 173 there seems to be a greater difference between a shepherd and a door than | |
| 174 between a door and a gatekeeper. Therefore, since Christ can be called both a | |
| 175 shepherd and a door, as was said, much more so can he be called a door and a | |
| 176 gatekeeper. But if you prefer that someone other than Moses or Christ be the | |
| 177 gatekeeper, then consider the Holy Spirit the gatekeeper, as Augustine says.<a | |
| 178 href="#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a> | |
| 179 For it is the office of a gatekeeper to open the door, and it says below of the | |
| 180 Holy Spirit that "He will guide you into all the truth" (16:13). And Christ is | |
| 181 the door insofar as he is the Truth. | |
| 182 | |
| 183 <p>1372 The second sign relates to the sheep, and it is that | |
| 184 they obey the shepherd. This is what he says, <b>the sheep hear his voice</b>. | |
| 185 This is reasonable if the resemblance to a natural shepherd is considered: | |
| 186 because just as sheep recognize the voice of their shepherd due to familiar | |
| 187 experience, so righteous believers hear the voice of Christ: "O that today you | |
| 188 would harken to his voice" (Ps 95:7). | |
| 189 | |
| 190 <p>1373 But what of the fact that many who are Christ's sheep | |
| 191 did not hear his voice, as Paul; or that some who were not his sheep did here | |
| 192 it, as Judas? One might reply that Judas was Christ's sheep for that time as to | |
| 193 his present righteousness. And Paul, when he did not hear the voice of Christ, | |
| 194 was not a sheep but a wolf; but when the voice of Christ came it changed the | |
| 195 wolf into a sheep. This reply could be accepted if it were not contrary to a | |
| 196 statement in Ezekiel (34:4): "The crippled you have not bound up, the strayed | |
| 197 you have not brought back." It seems from this that even when they were | |
| 198 crippled and strayed they were sheep. Therefore, one must say that here our | |
| 199 Lord is speaking of his sheep not only according to their present righteousness | |
| 200 but even according to their eternal predestination. For there is a certain | |
| 201 voice of Christ that only the predestined can hear, i.e., "He who endures to | |
| 202 the end" (Matt 10:22). | |
| 203 | |
| 204 <p>Again, he says, <b>the sheep hear | |
| 205 his voice</b>, because they might offer as an excuse for their unbelief the | |
| 206 fact that not only they, but none of the leaders believed in him. So he says in | |
| 207 answer to this, <b>the sheep hear his voice</b>, as if saying: They do not | |
| 208 believe because they are not my sheep. | |
| 209 | |
| 210 <p>1374 The third sign is taken from the actions of the | |
| 211 shepherd. Here he mentions four actions of a good shepherd: the first being | |
| 212 that he knows his sheep. He says, <b>he calls his own sheep by name</b>, which | |
| 213 shows his knowledge of and familiarity with his sheep, for we call by name | |
| 214 those whom we know familiarly: "I know you by name" (Ex 33:17). This is part of | |
| 215 the office of a shepherd according to: "Be diligent to know the countenance of | |
| 216 your flock" [Prv 27:23]. This applies to Christ according to his present | |
| 217 knowledge, but even more so considering eternal predestination, by which he | |
| 218 knew them by name from eternity: "He determined the number of the stars, he | |
| 219 gives to all of them their names" (Ps 147:4); "The Lord knows those who are | |
| 220 his" (2 Tim 2:19). | |
| 221 | |
| 222 <p>The second action of a good | |
| 223 shepherd is that he <b>leads them out</b>, i.e., he separates them from the | |
| 224 society of those who are evil: "He brought them out of darkness and gloom" (Ps | |
| 225 107:14). | |
| 226 | |
| 227 <p>The third is that having separated | |
| 228 them from evil and having brought them into the sheepfold, <b>he has brought | |
| 229 out all his own</b>, from the sheepfold. He does this, first, for the salvation | |
| 230 of others: "I will send survivors to the nations" (Is 66:19); "Behold, I send | |
| 231 you as sheep in the midst of wolves" (Matt 10:16), so that they can make sheep | |
| 232 out of the wolves. Secondly, they are to show the direction and way to eternal | |
| 233 life: "To guide our feet into the way of peace" (Lk 1:79). | |
| 234 | |
| 235 <p>Fourthly, the good shepherd goes | |
| 236 before his sleep by the example of a good life; so he says, <b>he goes before | |
| 237 them</b>, although this is not what the literal shepherd does, for he follows, | |
| 238 as in "I took him from following the ewes" [Ps 78:70]. But the good shepherd | |
| 239 goes before them by example, "not as domineering over those in your charge but | |
| 240 being examples to the flock" (1 Pet 5:3). And Christ does go before them: for | |
| 241 he was the first to die for the teaching of the truth - "If any man would come | |
| 242 after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matt | |
| 243 16:24); and he went before all into everlasting life - "He who opens the breach | |
| 244 will go up before them" (Mic 2:13). | |
| 245 | |
| 246 <p>1375 Now he considers the effect that both the thief and the | |
| 247 shepherd have upon the sheep. First, he mentions the effect of the good | |
| 248 shepherd; secondly, the effect of the wolf and the thief (v5). | |
| 249 | |
| 250 <p>1376 He says, first, that <b>the sheep follow him</b> who | |
| 251 goes before them. This is easy to see, because subjects follow in the steps of | |
| 252 their leaders, as is stated: "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an | |
| 253 example, that you should follow in his steps" (1 Pet 2:21); "My foot has held | |
| 254 fast to his steps" (Job 23:11). The sheep follow <b>for they know his voice</b>, | |
| 255 i.e., they know it and take delight in it: "Let me hear your voice, for your | |
| 256 voice is sweet" (Song 2:14). | |
| 257 | |
| 258 <p>1377 The effect that the thief has is that the sheep do not | |
| 259 follow him for very long, but only for a time; so he says, <b>a stranger they | |
| 260 will not follow</b>, i.e., they do not follow a false and heretical teacher: | |
| 261 "The children who are strangers have lied to me" [Ps 17:46]. Thus Paul did not | |
| 262 follow false teachers for long. But <b>they will flee from him</b>, because | |
| 263 "Bad company ruins good morals" (1 Cor 15:33). They flee <b>for they do not | |
| 264 know</b>, that is, do not approve of, <b>the voice of strangers</b>, meaning | |
| 265 their teaching, which spreads stealthily like a cancer. | |
| 266 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 267 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 2</B> | |
| 268 | |
| 269 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>6 This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not | |
| 270 understand what he was saying to them. 7 So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, | |
| 271 truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are | |
| 272 thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. 9 I am the door; if any | |
| 273 one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 | |
| 274 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have | |
| 275 life, and have it abundantly."<a href="#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8"><b>[8]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 276 | |
| 277 <p>1378 Here the Evangelist tells why it was necessary to | |
| 278 explain the above similitude; and this necessity was caused by the failure of | |
| 279 his listeners to understand. First, he mentions the reason why they failed to | |
| 280 understand; secondly, he says they failed to understand. | |
| 281 | |
| 282 <p>1379 The cause of their failure to understand was that | |
| 283 Christ was speaking in figures. The Evangelist says, <b>This figure </b>[<i>proverbium</i>] | |
| 284 <b>Jesus used with them. </b>A figure [<i>proverbium</i>], properly speaking, | |
| 285 is the use of one word in place of another, when it is intended that one word | |
| 286 be understood from its likeness to the other. This is also called a parable [<i>parabola</i>]. | |
| 287 Our Lord spoke in figures, first of all, because of the wicked, in order to | |
| 288 conceal from them the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: "To you it has been | |
| 289 given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in | |
| 290 parables" (Lk 8:10). Secondly, because of the good, so that his figures might | |
| 291 stir them up to make further inquiry. So, after our Lord spoke his figures or | |
| 292 parables to the crowds, his disciples questioned him in private, as mentioned | |
| 293 in Matthew (13:10) and Mark (4:10). This is the reason why Augustine says: "Our | |
| 294 Lord feeds" the believing crowds "with clear words, and stirs up" his disciples | |
| 295 "with things that are obscure."<a href="#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a> | |
| 296 | |
| 297 <p>1380 The Evangelist discloses their failure to understand | |
| 298 when he says, <b>but they did not understand what he was saying to them</b>. | |
| 299 The ignorance which resulted from Christ's figures was both useful and harmful. | |
| 300 For the good and the just [who tried to understand them] it was useful for | |
| 301 giving praise to God; for although they did not understand, they believed and | |
| 302 praised the Lord and his wisdom which was so far above them: "It is the glory | |
| 303 of God to conceal the word" [Prv 25:2]. But for the wicked, it was a source of | |
| 304 harm, because, failing to understand, they blasphemed: "But these men revile | |
| 305 whatever they do not understand" (Jude 10). As Augustine observes, when both | |
| 306 the good and the wicked hear the words of the Gospel, and neither of them | |
| 307 understands, the good person says that what was said was true and good, but | |
| 308 that he does not understand it. Such a person is knocking and deserves to have | |
| 309 the door opened, provided he perseveres. But the wicked person says that what | |
| 310 was said had no meaning or was evil.<a href="#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a> | |
| 311 | |
| 312 | |
| 313 <p>1381 Now our Lord explains the similitude. If the above similitude | |
| 314 is examined correctly, it contains two principal clauses, followed by others. | |
| 315 The first is: "He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door…is a thief and a | |
| 316 robber." The second is: "He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the | |
| 317 sheep." Accordingly, this section is divided into two parts. First, he explains | |
| 318 the first clause; then the second clause (v 11). Concerning the first he does | |
| 319 two things: first, he explains the first clause; secondly, he proves it (v 7). | |
| 320 The first clause mentions a door, a thief and a robber; so first he explains | |
| 321 the door, then the thief and then the robber (v 8). | |
| 322 | |
| 323 <p>1382 Concerning the first he says, <b>So Jesus again said to | |
| 324 them</b>, to gain their attention and have them understand the similitude: "The | |
| 325 man of understanding may acquire skill to understand a proverb and a figure" | |
| 326 (Prv 1:6). Jesus said, <b>Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door</b>. Now | |
| 327 the purpose of a door is to conduct one into the inner rooms of a house; and | |
| 328 this is fitting to Christ, for one must enter into the secrets of God through | |
| 329 him: "This is the gate of the Lord," that is, Christ, "the righteous shall | |
| 330 enter through it" (Ps 118:20). He says, <b>I am the door of the sheep</b>, | |
| 331 because through Christ not only the shepherds are brought into the present | |
| 332 Church or enter into everlasting happiness, but the sheep also. Thus he says | |
| 333 below: "My sheep hear my voice…and they follow me; and I give them eternal | |
| 334 life" (10:27). | |
| 335 | |
| 336 <p>1383 Then when he says, <b>All who came before me are | |
| 337 thieves and robbers</b>, he explains what he had said about thieves and | |
| 338 robbers. First, he shows who the thieves and robbers are; secondly, their sign. | |
| 339 | |
| 340 <p>1384 In regard to the first, we should avoid the error of | |
| 341 the Manicheans, who rejected the Old Testament on the ground that it says here <b>that | |
| 342 all who came before me are thieves</b>. They maintained that the fathers of the | |
| 343 Old Testament, who came before Christ, were evil and have been damned. | |
| 344 | |
| 345 <p>The falsity of this view is clear | |
| 346 from three things. First, from what this parable says. For the statement, <b>all | |
| 347 who came before me</b>, is intended as a description of the previous statement, | |
| 348 which mentioned those who do not enter by the door. Therefore, <b>all who came | |
| 349 before me</b>, but not through me, that is, not entering by the door, <b>are | |
| 350 thieves and robbers</b>. It is clear that all the patriarchs and prophets, whom | |
| 351 the Christ-to-come had sent forerunners, entered by the door, i.e., Christ. For | |
| 352 although he took flesh and became man in time, he was the Word of God from all | |
| 353 eternity: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever" (Heb | |
| 354 13:8). Indeed, the prophets were sent by the Word and Wisdom of God: "In every | |
| 355 generation she," the Wisdom of God, "passes into holy souls and makes them | |
| 356 friends of God, and prophets" (Wis 7:27). Accordingly, we expressly read in the | |
| 357 prophets that the word of God came to this or that prophet, who prophesied by | |
| 358 participating in the Word of God. | |
| 359 | |
| 360 <p>Secondly, the falsity of the | |
| 361 teaching of the Manicheans is seen when our Lord says, <b>all who came before | |
| 362 me</b>, implying that they were thrusting themselves forward on their own | |
| 363 authority and were not sent by God: "I did not send the prophets, yet they ran" | |
| 364 (Jer 23:21). Indeed, such prophets have not come from the Word of God: "Woe to | |
| 365 the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing" (Ez | |
| 366 13:3). But the fathers of the Old Testament were not of this type, as has been | |
| 367 said. | |
| 368 | |
| 369 <p>Thirdly, this falsity is seen from | |
| 370 the fact that he shows what effect their words had, for we read, <b>but the | |
| 371 sheep did not heed them</b>. Therefore, those whom the sheep did heed were not | |
| 372 thieves and robbers. Now the people of Israel did listen to the prophets, and | |
| 373 those who did not heed them were rebuked in Sacred Scripture: "Which of the | |
| 374 prophets did not your fathers persecute?" (Acts 7:52); "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, | |
| 375 killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you!" (Matt 23:37). | |
| 376 | |
| 377 <p>1385 Having excluded this error, it must be said that <b>all | |
| 378 who came before me</b>, that is, independently of me, without divine | |
| 379 inspiration and authority, and not with the intention of seeking the glory of | |
| 380 God but acquiring their own, <b>are thieves</b>, insofar as they take for | |
| 381 themselves what is not theirs, that is, the authority to teach - "Your princes | |
| 382 are rebels and companions of thieves" (Is 1:23) - <b>and robbers</b>, because | |
| 383 they kill with their corrupt doctrine - "You make it a den of robbers" (Matt | |
| 384 21:13); "As robbers lie in wait for a man…they murder on the way" (Hos 6:9). <b>But | |
| 385 the sheep</b>, that is, the predestined, <b>did not heed them</b>, the thieves | |
| 386 and robbers, otherwise they would not have been Christ's sheep, because, as was | |
| 387 said before, "A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him." | |
| 388 Furthermore, this is commanded in Deuteronomy: "You shall not listen to the | |
| 389 words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams" (13:3). | |
| 390 | |
| 391 <p><br> | |
| 392 1386 <b>I am the door</b>. Here he clarifies his explanation: first, of the | |
| 393 door; secondly, of the thief (v 10). Concerning the first, he does two things: | |
| 394 first, he repeats what he intends to explain; and secondly, he gives the | |
| 395 explanation (v 9). | |
| 396 | |
| 397 <p>1387 He repeats what he had already said, namely, <b>I am | |
| 398 the door</b>: "If she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar" | |
| 399 (Song 8:9), that is, let us grant her an incorruptible power. | |
| 400 | |
| 401 <p>1388 He explains this when he says, <b>if any one enters by | |
| 402 me, he will be saved</b>. First, he shows that the purpose of a door, which is | |
| 403 to keep the sheep safe, applies to himself; secondly, he mentions the manner in | |
| 404 which they are kept safe (v 9b). | |
| 405 | |
| 406 <p>1389 The door safeguards the sheep by keeping those within | |
| 407 from going out, and by protecting them from strangers who want to come in. And | |
| 408 this applies to Christ, for he is our safeguard and protection. And this is | |
| 409 what he says: <b>if any one</b>, not with insincerity, <b>enters</b>, into the | |
| 410 fellowship of the Church and of the faithful, <b>by me, the door, he will be | |
| 411 saved</b>, i.e., if he perseveres: "For there is no other name under heaven | |
| 412 given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12); "We shall be saved by | |
| 413 his life" (Rom 5:10). | |
| 414 | |
| 415 <p>1390 The way the sheep are safeguarded is set forth when he | |
| 416 says that <b>he will go in and out and find pasture</b>. This statement can be | |
| 417 explained in four ways. First of all, according to Chrysostom, it simply | |
| 418 affirms the security and freedom of those who cling to Christ.<a href="#_ftn11" | |
| 419 name="_ftnref11">[11]</a> | |
| 420 For one who enters some other way than by the door does not have free entry and | |
| 421 exit; but one who does enter by the door has free exit, because he can leave | |
| 422 freely. Therefore, when he says, <b>he will go in and out</b>, the meaning is | |
| 423 that the Apostles adhering to Christ enter with security by living with the | |
| 424 faithful, who are within the Church, and with unbelievers who are outside, when | |
| 425 they became masters of the whole world and no one wished to cast them out: "Let | |
| 426 the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh appoint a man over the | |
| 427 congregation, who shall go out before them and come in before them…that the | |
| 428 congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep which have no shepherd" (Num | |
| 429 27:16). <b>And find pasture</b>, find delight in converting others, and find | |
| 430 joy even when persecuted by unbelievers for the name of Christ: "Then they left | |
| 431 the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer | |
| 432 dishonor for the name," as we read in Acts (5:41). | |
| 433 | |
| 434 <p>1391 Secondly, this can be explained as Augustine does in | |
| 435 his <i>Commentary on John</i>.<a href="#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12">[12]</a> | |
| 436 Two things are incumbent upon anyone who acts well, namely to be well-ordered | |
| 437 to the things that are within him, and to those that are without. Within a | |
| 438 person is the spirit, and without is the body: "Though our outer nature is | |
| 439 wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day" (2 Cor 4:16). | |
| 440 Therefore, a person who clings to Christ <b>will go in</b> through<b> </b>contemplation, | |
| 441 to protect his conscience - "When I enter my house," i.e., my conscience, "I | |
| 442 shall find rest with her," i.e., with wisdom (Wis 8:16) - <b>and out</b>, | |
| 443 namely, by good actions, to tame the body - "Man goes forth to his work and to | |
| 444 his labor until the evening" (Ps 104:23) - <b>and find pasture</b>, in a clean | |
| 445 and sincere conscience - "I will appear before your sight: I will be satisfied | |
| 446 when your glory appears" [Ps 16:15]. Again, by his actions he will <b>find | |
| 447 pasture</b>, i.e., fruit - "He shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his | |
| 448 sheaves with him" (Ps 126:6). | |
| 449 | |
| 450 <p class=MsoHeader> | |
| 451 | |
| 452 <p>1392 The third explanation is also Augustine's as well as | |
| 453 that given by Gregory in his <i>Commentary on Ezekiel</i>.<a href="#_ftn13" | |
| 454 name="_ftnref13">[13]</a> | |
| 455 The meaning, then, is this. Such a one <b>will go in</b>, i.e., into the | |
| 456 Church, by believing - "I shall go over into the place of the wonderful | |
| 457 tabernacle" [Ps 41:5], and this is to enter the Church Militant; <b>and out</b>, | |
| 458 from the Church Militant into the Church Triumphant - "Go forth, O daughters of | |
| 459 Zion, and behold King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him | |
| 460 on the day of the wedding" (Song 3:11); <b>and find pasture</b>, that is, the | |
| 461 pastures of doctrine and grace in the Church Militant - "He makes me lie down | |
| 462 in green pastures"; and the pastures of glory in the Church Triumphant: "I will | |
| 463 feed them with good pasture" (Ez 34:14). | |
| 464 | |
| 465 <p>1393 Fourthly, there is an explanation found in the work, <i>On | |
| 466 the Spirit and the Soul</i>, which has been incorrectly attributed to | |
| 467 Augustine.<a href="#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14">[14]</a> | |
| 468 Here it is said that such a one <b>will go in</b>, that is, the saints will go | |
| 469 in to contemplate the divinity of Christ, <b>and out</b>, to consider his | |
| 470 humanity; and they will <b>find pasture</b> in both, because in both they will | |
| 471 taste the joys of contemplation: "Your eyes shall see the king in his beauty" | |
| 472 (Is 33:17). | |
| 473 | |
| 474 <p>1394 Now he considers the thief. First, he mentions the mark | |
| 475 of the thief; secondly, he says that he himself has the opposite | |
| 476 characteristic, <b>I came that they may have life</b>. | |
| 477 | |
| 478 <p>1395 He says that those who do not enter by the door, i.e., | |
| 479 those who have come independently of me, are thieves and robbers; and they are | |
| 480 evil. For in the first place, <b>the thief comes only to steal</b>, i.e., to | |
| 481 usurp what is not his; these are the agitators and heretics, who fasten on to | |
| 482 those who belong to Christ: "He lies in ambush to catch the ones who are poor" | |
| 483 [Ps 9:4]. Secondly, the thief comes to kill, and he kills by bringing in | |
| 484 perverse teachings and evil practices: "As robbers lie in wait for a man…they | |
| 485 murder on the way" (Hos 6:9). Thirdly, the thief comes to <b>destroy</b>, by casting | |
| 486 into everlasting destruction: "My people have been lost sheep" (Jer 50:6). But | |
| 487 these traits are not in me. | |
| 488 | |
| 489 <p>1396 <b>I came that they may have life. </b>This is like | |
| 490 saying: The above have not come in by me, otherwise they would do as I do. But | |
| 491 they do the contrary, because they steal, and kill and destroy. <b>I came that | |
| 492 they may have life</b>, that is, the life of righteousness, by entering into | |
| 493 the Church Militant through faith: "My righteous one shall live by faith" (Heb | |
| 494 10:38). We read of this life in 1 John (3:14) that "We know that we have passed | |
| 495 out of death into life, because we love the brethren." <b>And have it | |
| 496 abundantly</b>, that is, have eternal life, when they leave the body. We read | |
| 497 below of this life: "This is eternal life, that they know thee the only true | |
| 498 God" (17:3). | |
| 499 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 500 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 3</B> | |
| 501 | |
| 502 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down | |
| 503 his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own | |
| 504 the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the | |
| 505 wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hireling and | |
| 506 cares nothing for the sheep."<a href="#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15"><b>[15]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 507 | |
| 508 <p>1397 Here he explains the second clause of the parable, "he | |
| 509 who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep" (10:2). First, he gives | |
| 510 the explanation; secondly, he makes it clear (v 14). First, he explains that he | |
| 511 is the good shepherd; secondly, he states the office of a good shepherd (v | |
| 512 11b); thirdly, he shows that the opposite is found in an evil shepherd (v 12). | |
| 513 | |
| 514 <p>1398 He says, in regard to the first, <b>I am the good | |
| 515 shepherd</b>. That Christ is a shepherd is clear enough, for as a flock is led | |
| 516 and fed by the shepherd, so the faithful are nourished by Christ with spiritual | |
| 517 food, and even with his own body and blood: "For you were straying like sheep, | |
| 518 but now have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls" (1 Pet 2:25); | |
| 519 "He will feed his flock like a shepherd" (Is 40:11). To distinguish himself | |
| 520 from an evil shepherd and thief, he adds, <b>good</b>. Good, I say, because he | |
| 521 fulfills the office of a shepherd, just as a soldier is called good who | |
| 522 fulfills the office of a soldier. But since Christ had said above that the | |
| 523 shepherd enters by the door, and here he says that he is the shepherd, and | |
| 524 before he said he was the door (v 9), then he must enter through himself. And | |
| 525 he does enter through himself, because he manifests himself and through himself | |
| 526 knows the Father. We, however, enter through him, because it is by him that we | |
| 527 are led to happiness. | |
| 528 | |
| 529 <p>Note that only he is the door, | |
| 530 because no one else is the true light, but only shares in the light: "He," John | |
| 531 the Baptizer, "was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light" (1:8). | |
| 532 But we read of Christ that "He was the true light, which enlightens every man" | |
| 533 [1:9]. Therefore, no one else refers to himself as a door; Christ reserved this | |
| 534 for himself. But being a shepherd he did share with others, and conferred it on | |
| 535 his members: for Peter was a shepherd, and the other apostles were shepherds, | |
| 536 as well as all good bishops: "I will give you shepherds after my own heart" | |
| 537 (Jer 3:15). Now, although the Church's rulers, who are her children, are all | |
| 538 shepherds, as Augustine says, yet he expressly says, <b>I am the good shepherd</b>, | |
| 539 in order to emphasize the virtue of charity.<a href="#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" | |
| 540 >[16]</a> | |
| 541 For no one is a good shepherd unless he has become one with Christ by love, and | |
| 542 has become a member of the true shepherd. | |
| 543 | |
| 544 <p>1399 The office of a good shepherd is charity; thus he says, | |
| 545 <b>the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep</b>. It should be noted | |
| 546 that there is a difference between a good shepherd and an evil one: the good | |
| 547 shepherd is intent upon the welfare of the flock, but the evil one is intent | |
| 548 upon his own. This difference is touched upon by Ezekiel (34:2): "Ho, shepherds | |
| 549 of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?" | |
| 550 Therefore, one who uses the flock only to feed himself is not a good shepherd. | |
| 551 From this it follows that an evil shepherd, even over animals, is not willing | |
| 552 to sustain any loss for the flock, since he does not intend the welfare of the | |
| 553 flock, but his own. But a good shepherd, even over animals, endures many things | |
| 554 for the flock whose welfare he has at heart. Thus Jacob said in Genesis | |
| 555 (31:40): "By day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night." However, when | |
| 556 dealing with mere animals it is not necessary that a good shepherd expose | |
| 557 himself to death for the safety of the flock. But because the spiritual safety | |
| 558 of the human flock outweighs the bodily life of the shepherd, when danger | |
| 559 threatens the safety of the flock the spiritual shepherd ought to suffer the | |
| 560 loss of his bodily life for the safety of the flock. This is what our Lord | |
| 561 says, <b>the good shepherd lays down his life</b>, i.e., his bodily life, <b>for | |
| 562 the sheep</b>, the sheep who are his by authority and charity. Both are | |
| 563 required, for they must belong to him and he must love them; the first without | |
| 564 the second is not enough. Furthermore, Christ has given us an example of this | |
| 565 teaching: "He laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for | |
| 566 the brethren" (1 Jn 3:16). | |
| 567 | |
| 568 <p>1400 Now he considers the evil shepherd, showing that he | |
| 569 possesses characteristics contrary to those of the good shepherd. First, he | |
| 570 mentions the marks of an evil shepherd; secondly, he shows how these marks | |
| 571 follow one another (v 12). Concerning the first he does two things: first, he | |
| 572 gives the marks of an evil shepherd; secondly, he mentions the danger which | |
| 573 threatens the flock because of an evil shepherd: <b>the wolf snatches them and | |
| 574 scatters them.</b> | |
| 575 | |
| 576 <p>1401 Note that from what has been said about the good and | |
| 577 evil shepherd, there are three differences in their traits: first in their | |
| 578 intentions; secondly, in their solicitude; and thirdly in their affections. | |
| 579 | |
| 580 <p>1402 First, they differ in their intentions, and this is | |
| 581 implied by their very names. For the first is called a good shepherd, and this | |
| 582 implies that he intends to feed the flock: "Should not shepherds feed the | |
| 583 sheep?" (Ez 34:2). But the other one, the evil shepherd, is called a hireling, | |
| 584 as though he were intent on his wages. Thus they differ in this: the good | |
| 585 shepherd looks to the benefit of the flock, while the hireling seeks mainly his | |
| 586 own advantage. This is also the difference between a king and a tyrant, as the | |
| 587 Philosopher says, because when a king rules he intends to benefit his subjects, | |
| 588 while a tyrant seeks his own interest.<a href="#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17" | |
| 589 >[17]</a> | |
| 590 So a tyrant is like a hireling: "If it seems right to you, give me my wages" | |
| 591 (Zech 11:12). | |
| 592 | |
| 593 <p>1403 But may not even good shepherds seek a wage? It seems | |
| 594 so, for "Reward those who wait for thee" (Si 36:16); "The Lord God comes…his | |
| 595 reward is with him" (Is 40:10); "How many of my father's hired servants have | |
| 596 bread enough and to spare!" (Lk 15:17). | |
| 597 | |
| 598 <p>I answer that wages can be taken in | |
| 599 a general sense and in a proper sense. In a general sense, a wage is anything | |
| 600 conferred by reason of merits. And because everlasting life, which is God - | |
| 601 "This is true God and eternal life" (1 Jn 5:20) - is conferred by reason of | |
| 602 merits, everlasting life is said to be a wage. And this is a wage that every | |
| 603 good shepherd can and should seek. In the strict sense, however, a wage is different | |
| 604 from an inheritance, and a wage is not sought after by a true child, who is | |
| 605 entitled to the inheritance. A wage is sought after by servants and hirelings. | |
| 606 Thus, since everlasting life is our inheritance, any one who works with an eye | |
| 607 towards it is working as a child; but any one who aims at something different | |
| 608 (for example, one who longs for worldly gain, or takes delight in the honor of | |
| 609 being a prelate) is a hireling. | |
| 610 | |
| 611 <p>1404 Secondly, they differ in their solicitude. We read of | |
| 612 the good shepherd that the sheep are his own, not only as a trust, but also by | |
| 613 love and solicitude: "I hold you in my heart" (Phil 1:7). On the other hand, it | |
| 614 is said of the hireling, <b>whose own the sheep are not</b>, i.e., the hireling | |
| 615 has no care for them: "My shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the | |
| 616 shepherds have fed themselves" (Ez 34:8). | |
| 617 | |
| 618 <p>1405 Thirdly, they differ in their affections. For the good | |
| 619 shepherd, who loves his flock, <b>lays down his life </b>for it, i.e., he | |
| 620 exposes himself to dangers that affect his bodily life. But the evil shepherd, | |
| 621 because he has no love for the flock, flees when he sees the wolf. Thus he | |
| 622 says, <b>he sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees</b>. Here, the | |
| 623 wolf is understood in three ways. First, for the devil as tempting: "What | |
| 624 fellowship has a wolf with a lamb? No more has a sinner with a godly man" (Si | |
| 625 13:17). Secondly, it stands for the heretic who destroys: "beware of false | |
| 626 prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous | |
| 627 wolves" (Matt 7:15); "I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in | |
| 628 among you, not sparing the flock" (Acts 20:29). Thirdly, it stands for the | |
| 629 raging tyrant: "Her princes in the midst of her are like wolves" (Ez 22:27). | |
| 630 Therefore, the good shepherd must guard the flock against these three wolves, | |
| 631 so that when he sees the wolf, i.e., the devil tempting, the deceiving heretic | |
| 632 and the raging tyrant, he can oppose him. Against those who do not, we read, | |
| 633 "You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of | |
| 634 Israel" (Ez 13:5). | |
| 635 | |
| 636 <p>Accordingly, we read of the evil | |
| 637 shepherd that he <b>leaves the sheep and flees</b>: "Woe to my worthless | |
| 638 shepherd, who deserts the flock" (Zech 11:17). As if to say: You are not a | |
| 639 shepherd, but only appear to be one: "Even her hired soldiers in her midst are | |
| 640 like fatted calves; yea, they have turned and fled together, they do not stand" | |
| 641 (Jer 46:21). | |
| 642 | |
| 643 <p>1406 But in Matthew (10:23) we find the contrary: "When they | |
| 644 persecute you in one town, flee to the next." Therefore, it seems to be lawful | |
| 645 for a shepherd to flee. I reply that there are two answers to this. One is that | |
| 646 given by Augustine in his <i>Commentary on John</i>.<a href="#_ftn18" | |
| 647 name="_ftnref18">[18]</a> | |
| 648 There are two kinds of flight: that of the soul and that of the body. When we | |
| 649 read here, he <b>leaves the sheep and flees</b>, we can understand it to mean the | |
| 650 flight of the soul: for when an evil shepherd fears personal danger from a | |
| 651 wolf, he does not dare to resist his injustices but flees, not by running away, | |
| 652 but by withdrawing his encouragement, refusing to care for his flock. | |
| 653 | |
| 654 <p>This should be the explanation when | |
| 655 considering the first kind of wolf [the tempting devil], because it is not | |
| 656 necessary to physically flee from the devil. | |
| 657 | |
| 658 <p>But since sometimes a shepherd does | |
| 659 flee physically because of certain wolves, such as powerful heretics and | |
| 660 tyrants, another answer must be given, as found in Augustine's <i>Letter to | |
| 661 Honoratus</i>.<a href="#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19">[19]</a> | |
| 662 As he says, it seems lawful to flee, even physically, from the wolves, not only | |
| 663 because of the authority of our Lord, as cited above, but because of the | |
| 664 example of certain saints, as Athanasius and others, who fled from their | |
| 665 persecutors. For what is censured is not the flight itself, but the neglect of | |
| 666 the flock; so, if the shepherd could flee without abandoning his flock, it | |
| 667 would not be blameworthy. Sometimes it is the prelate himself who is the one | |
| 668 sought, and at other times, it is the entire flock. It is obvious that if the | |
| 669 prelate alone is sought, others can be assigned to guard the flock in his | |
| 670 territory, and console and govern the flock in his place. So if he flees under | |
| 671 these circumstances, he is not said to leave the sheep. In this way, it is | |
| 672 lawful to flee in certain cases. But if the whole flock is sought, then either | |
| 673 all the shepherds should be with the people, or some should remain while the | |
| 674 others leave. But if all desert the flock, then these words apply, <b>he sees | |
| 675 the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees</b>. | |
| 676 | |
| 677 <p>1407 Here he mentions the twofold danger that threatens. One | |
| 678 is the ravaging of the sheep; so he says, <b>and the wolf snatches them</b>, | |
| 679 i.e., takes for himself what belongs to another, for the faithful are Christ's | |
| 680 sheep. Therefore, leaders of sects and wolves snatch the sheep when they entice | |
| 681 Christ's faithful to their own teachings: "My sheep have become food for all | |
| 682 the wild beasts" (Ez 34:8). The other danger is that the sheep be scattered; so | |
| 683 he says, <b>and scatters them</b>, insofar as some are led astray and others | |
| 684 persevere: "My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none | |
| 685 to search or seek for them" (Ez 34:6). | |
| 686 | |
| 687 <p>1408 Now he shows how the above-mentioned marks are related, | |
| 688 for the third follows from the first two. Since the evil shepherd seeks his own | |
| 689 advantage and has no love or solicitude for the flock, it follows that he is | |
| 690 not willing to endure any inconvenience for them. Thus he says of the hireling, | |
| 691 <b>he flees</b>, for this reason, <b>because he is a hireling</b>, that is, he | |
| 692 seeks his own advantage, which is the first mark; <b>and cares nothing for the | |
| 693 sheep</b>, i.e., he does not love them, and is not solicitous for them, which | |
| 694 is the second mark. So we read in Job (39:16) about the evil shepherd: "She | |
| 695 deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers." The opposite is true | |
| 696 of the good shepherd, for he seeks the welfare of his flock, and not his own: | |
| 697 "Not that I seek the gift; but I seek the fruit which increases to your credit" | |
| 698 (Phil 4:17). Furthermore, he is concerned for his sheep, that is, he loves them | |
| 699 and is solicitous for them: "I hold you in my heart" (Phil 1:7). | |
| 700 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 701 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 4</B> | |
| 702 | |
| 703 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know | |
| 704 me, 15 as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for | |
| 705 the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring | |
| 706 them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one | |
| 707 shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, | |
| 708 that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my | |
| 709 own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; | |
| 710 this charge I have received from my Father."<a href="#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20" | |
| 711 ><b>[20]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 712 | |
| 713 <p>1409 Here our Lord proves his explanation. First, he | |
| 714 restates what he intends to prove; secondly, he gives the proof, <b>I know my | |
| 715 own</b>…(v 14b); and thirdly, he amplifies on it (v 17). | |
| 716 | |
| 717 <p>1410 He says, <b>I am the good shepherd</b>, which has been | |
| 718 explained above: "As a shepherd seeks out his flock…so will I seek out my | |
| 719 sheep" (Ez 34:12). | |
| 720 | |
| 721 <p>1411 Then he says, <b>I know my own</b>, he proves what he | |
| 722 says. Now he says two things about himself, that he is a shepherd, and that he | |
| 723 is good. First, he proves that he is a shepherd; secondly, that he is a good | |
| 724 shepherd. | |
| 725 | |
| 726 <p>1412 He proves he is a shepherd by the two signs of a | |
| 727 shepherd already mentioned. The first of these is that he calls his own sheep | |
| 728 by name. Concerning this he says, <b>I know my own</b>: "The Lord knows those | |
| 729 who are his" (2 Tim 2:19). <b>I know</b>, I say, not just with mere knowledge | |
| 730 only, but with a knowledge joined with approval and love: "To him who loves us | |
| 731 and has freed us from our sins" (Rev 1:5). The second sign is that the sheep | |
| 732 hear his voice and know him. And concerning this he says, <b>and my own know | |
| 733 me. My own</b>, I say, by predestination, by vocation and by grace. This is | |
| 734 like saying: They love me and obey me. Thus, we must understand that they have | |
| 735 a loving knowledge about which we read: "They shall all know me, from the least | |
| 736 of them to the greatest" (Jer 31:34). | |
| 737 | |
| 738 <p>1413 He shows that he is a good shepherd by mentioning that | |
| 739 he has the office of a good shepherd, which is to lay down his life for his | |
| 740 sheep. First, he shows the reason for this; secondly, he gives a sign of it; | |
| 741 and thirdly, he shows the fruit of his sign. | |
| 742 | |
| 743 <p>1414 The reason for this sign, that is, of his laying down | |
| 744 his life for his sheep, is the knowledge he has of the Father. Concerning this | |
| 745 he says, <b>as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my | |
| 746 life for the sheep</b>. This statement can be explained in two ways. In one | |
| 747 way, so that "as" indicates just a similarity in knowledge; and taken this way, | |
| 748 such knowledge can be given to a creature: "I shall know even as I am known" [1 | |
| 749 Cor 13:12], i.e., <i>as </i>I am known without obscurity, so I will know | |
| 750 without obscurity. In another way, the "as" implies an equality of knowledge. | |
| 751 And then to know the Father as he is known by him is proper to the Son alone, | |
| 752 because only the Son knows the Father comprehensively, just as the Father knows | |
| 753 the Son comprehensively: "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one | |
| 754 knows the Father except the Son" (Matt 11:27), that is, with a comprehensive | |
| 755 knowledge. Our Lord says this because in knowing the Father, he knows the will | |
| 756 of the Father that the Son should die for the salvation of the human race. He | |
| 757 is also saying here that he is the mediator between God and man. For as he is | |
| 758 related to the sheep as known by them and as knowing them, so also he is | |
| 759 related to the Father, because as the Father knows him, so he knows the Father. | |
| 760 | |
| 761 <p>1415 Then when he says, <b>and I lay down my life for the | |
| 762 sheep</b>, he gives the sign: "By this we know love, that he laid down his life | |
| 763 for us" (1 Jn 3:16). But since there are three substances in Christ, namely the | |
| 764 substance of the Word, of the soul, and of the body, one might ask who is | |
| 765 speaking when he says, <b>I lay down my life</b> ["my life" can also be | |
| 766 literally translated as "my soul"]. If you say that the Word is speaking here, | |
| 767 it is not true, because the Word never laid down his soul, since He was never | |
| 768 separated from his soul. If you say that the soul is speaking, this too seems | |
| 769 impossible, because nothing is separated from itself. And if you say that | |
| 770 Christ says this referring to his body, it does not seem to be so, because his | |
| 771 body does not have the power to take up its soul. Therefore, one must say that | |
| 772 when Christ died, his soul was separated from his flesh, otherwise Christ would | |
| 773 not have been truly dead. But in Christ, his divinity was never separated from | |
| 774 his soul or his flesh; but was united to his soul, as it descended to the lower | |
| 775 world, and to his body, as it lay in the tomb. And therefore, his body, by the | |
| 776 power of his divinity, laid down his soul [or life] by the power of his | |
| 777 divinity, and took it up again.<a href="#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21">[21]</a> | |
| 778 | |
| 779 <p>1416 Then when he says, <b>and I have other sheep</b>, he | |
| 780 sets down the fruit of Christ's death, which is the salvation not only of the | |
| 781 Jews but of the Gentiles as well. For since he had said, "I lay down my life | |
| 782 for the sheep," the Jews, who regarded themselves as God's sheep - "We thy | |
| 783 people, the flock of thy pasture" (Ps 79:13) - could have said that he laid | |
| 784 down his life for them alone. But our Lord adds that it is not only for them, | |
| 785 but for others too: "He prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and | |
| 786 not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are | |
| 787 scattered abroad" (11:51). | |
| 788 | |
| 789 <p>1417 In regard to this fruit our Lord does three things. | |
| 790 First, he mentions the predestination of the Gentiles; secondly, their vocation | |
| 791 through grace; and thirdly their justification. | |
| 792 | |
| 793 <p>As to the first he says, <b>and I | |
| 794 have other sheep</b>, that is, the Gentiles, <b>that are not of this fold, </b>i.e., | |
| 795 of the family of the flesh of Israel, which was in a way a flock: "I will | |
| 796 surely gather all of you, O Jacob" (Mic 2:12). For as sheep are enclosed in a | |
| 797 fold, so the Jews were kept enclosed within the precepts of the Law, as we read | |
| 798 in Galatians (c 3). These other sheep, I say, that is, the Gentiles, I have | |
| 799 from my Father through an eternal predestination: "Ask of me, and I will make | |
| 800 the nations your heritage" (Ps 2:8); "I will give you as a light to the | |
| 801 nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (Is 49:6). | |
| 802 | |
| 803 <p>1418 As to the second he says, <b>I must bring them also</b>, | |
| 804 i.e., according to the plans of divine predestination it is time to call them | |
| 805 to grace. | |
| 806 | |
| 807 <p>This seems to conflict with what | |
| 808 our Lord says in Matthew (15:24): "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the | |
| 809 house of Israel." I answer that Jesus was sent only to the sheep of the house | |
| 810 of Israel in the sense of preaching to them personally, as we read in Romans | |
| 811 (15:8): "Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, | |
| 812 in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs." It was through the | |
| 813 apostles that he brought in the Gentiles: "From them I will send survivors to | |
| 814 the nations" (Is 66:19). | |
| 815 | |
| 816 <p>1419 In regard to the third he says, <b>and they will heed | |
| 817 my voice</b>. Here he mentions three things necessary for righteousness in the | |
| 818 Christian religion. The first is obedience to the commandments of God. | |
| 819 Concerning this he says, <b>and they will heed my voice</b>, i.e., they will | |
| 820 observe my commandments: "Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded | |
| 821 you" (Matt 28:20); "People whom I had not known," i.e., whom I did not approve, | |
| 822 served me. As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me" (Ps 18:43). | |
| 823 | |
| 824 <p>The second is the unity of charity, | |
| 825 and concerning this he says, <b>so there shall be one flock</b>, i.e., one | |
| 826 Church of the faithful from the two peoples, the Jews and the Gentiles: "One | |
| 827 faith" (Eph 4:5); "For he is our peace, who has made us both one" (Eph 2:14). | |
| 828 | |
| 829 <p>The third is the unity of faith, | |
| 830 and in regard to this he says, <b>one shepherd</b>: "They shall all have one | |
| 831 shepherd," that is, the Jews and the Gentiles (Ez 37:24). | |
| 832 | |
| 833 <p>1420 Now our Lord explains his proof: first, he amplifies on | |
| 834 the reason for the sign [his death for his sheep]; secondly, he explains the | |
| 835 sign, or the effect (v 18); thirdly, he shows that the reason is appropriate (v | |
| 836 18b). | |
| 837 | |
| 838 <p>1421 Our Lord says that the reason for his death is the | |
| 839 knowledge he has of the Father, saying, "as the Father knows me and I know the | |
| 840 Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep." In explaining this he says, <b>for | |
| 841 this reason the Father loves me</b>. From this it is clear that the Father | |
| 842 knows him with a knowledge joined with approval, <b>for this reason</b>, I say, | |
| 843 <b>because I lay down my life, that I may take it again</b>. | |
| 844 | |
| 845 <p>1422 But is it true that his death is the cause of the | |
| 846 Father's love? It seems not, because something temporal is not the cause of | |
| 847 something eternal. But Christ's death is in the temporal order, while the love | |
| 848 of God for Christ is eternal. I answer that Christ is speaking here of the | |
| 849 Father's love for him as having a human nature. Accordingly, this passage can | |
| 850 be understood in three ways. In one way, so that <b>because </b>indicates a | |
| 851 cause, while in the other way it indicates the term or sign of love. | |
| 852 | |
| 853 <p>If it is taken casually, then the | |
| 854 meaning is: <b>because I lay down my life</b>, i.e., endure death, <b>for this | |
| 855 reason the Father loves me</b>, that is, he grants me the effect of his love, | |
| 856 which is the glory and exaltation of my body: "He humbled himself and became | |
| 857 obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted | |
| 858 him and bestowed on him a name which is above every name" (Phil 2:8). | |
| 859 | |
| 860 <p>But one might object to this that | |
| 861 good works cannot merit the divine love. For since our works are meritorious to | |
| 862 the extent that they are given life by charity - "If I give away all I have…but | |
| 863 have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Cor 13:3) - and since God is the first to | |
| 864 love - "In this is love, not that we love God but that he first loved us" [1 Jn | |
| 865 4:10] - it is clear that his love precedes all our merit. This can be answered | |
| 866 by saying that no one can merit God's love; nevertheless, we can merit by our | |
| 867 good works the effect of God's love, that is, an increase of grace and the | |
| 868 reception of the good of glory, both of which God bestows on us because of his | |
| 869 love. Thus we can say that for this reason God loves this or that person, that | |
| 870 is, bestows on him the effect of his love, because he obeys his commandments. | |
| 871 And so we can say about Christ as man, that for this reason the Father loves | |
| 872 him, that is, has exalted him and given him the brightness of glory, because he | |
| 873 laid down his life in death. | |
| 874 | |
| 875 <p>But if <b>because </b>indicates a | |
| 876 sign of love, then he meaning is this: <b>for this reason the Father loves me, | |
| 877 because I lay down my life</b>, as if to say: This is a sign that the Father | |
| 878 loves me, <b>because I lay down my life, that I may take it again</b>, that is, | |
| 879 I fulfill his commands and will and endure death. For an obvious sign of love | |
| 880 is that a person, out of charity, fulfills the commands of God.<a href="#_ftn22" | |
| 881 name="_ftnref22">[22]</a> | |
| 882 | |
| 883 <p>1423 Now he explains the effect of the sign. And since the | |
| 884 sign was "I lay down my life for the sheep," he explains how he lays it down. | |
| 885 First, he excludes violence; secondly, he speaks of his power. | |
| 886 | |
| 887 <p>1424 The violence he excludes is that which could be | |
| 888 employed in taking a life: such violence was not accomplished in Christ. | |
| 889 Concerning this he says, <b>no one takes it from me</b>, that is, my life, by | |
| 890 violence, <b>but I lay it down</b>, by my own power, that is, <b>of my own | |
| 891 accord</b>: "Can the prey be taken from the mighty?" (Is 49:24). | |
| 892 | |
| 893 <p>But did not the Jews use violence | |
| 894 against Christ? They did insofar as it was in them; but this violence was not | |
| 895 in Christ because he laid down his life voluntarily, when he willed. Thus we | |
| 896 read above (7:30) that the Jews wanted to arrest him but were unable "because | |
| 897 his hour had not yet come." It was voluntary "not as though he was forced to | |
| 898 die, but he condescended to be killed," <a | |
| 899 href="#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23">[23]</a> | |
| 900 as Augustine says. | |
| 901 | |
| 902 <p>1425 He adds something about his power when he says, <b>I | |
| 903 have power to lay it down</b>. Apropos of this it should be noted that since | |
| 904 the union of the soul and body is natural, their separation is natural. And | |
| 905 although the cause of this separation and death can be voluntary, yet among | |
| 906 human beings death is always natural. Now nature is not subject to the will of | |
| 907 any mere human, since nature, as well as the will, are from God. Therefore, the | |
| 908 death of any mere human person must be natural. But in Christ, his own nature | |
| 909 and every other nature are subject to his will, just like artifacts are subject | |
| 910 to the will of the artisan. Thus, according to the pleasure of his will, he | |
| 911 could lay down his life when he willed, and he could take it up again; no mere | |
| 912 human being can do this, although he could voluntarily use some instrument to | |
| 913 kill himself. This explains why the centurion, seeing that Christ did not die | |
| 914 by a natural necessity, but by his own [will] - since "Jesus cried again with a | |
| 915 loud voice and yielded up his spirit" (Matt 27:50) - recognized a divine power | |
| 916 in him, and said: "Truly, this was the Son of God" (Matt 27:54). Again, the | |
| 917 Apostle says in 1 Corinthians (1:18): "For the word of the cross is folly to | |
| 918 those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God," | |
| 919 that is, his great power was revealed in the very death of Christ.<a | |
| 920 href="#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24">[24]</a> | |
| 921 | |
| 922 <p>1426 Here he shows that the above-mentioned reason is | |
| 923 appropriate, for to fulfill a command shows love for the one commanding. Thus | |
| 924 he says, <b>this charge I have received from my Father</b>, that is, to lay | |
| 925 down my life and take it up again: "If a man loves me, he will keep my word, | |
| 926 and my Father will love him" (14:23). | |
| 927 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 928 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 5</B> | |
| 929 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>19 There was again a division among the Jews because of | |
| 930 these words. 20 Many of them said, "He has a demon, and he is mad; why listen | |
| 931 to him?" 21 Others said, "These are not the sayings of one who has a demon. Can | |
| 932 a demon open the eyes of the blind?" 22 It was the feast of the Dedication at | |
| 933 Jerusalem; 23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the | |
| 934 portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered round him and said to him, "How | |
| 935 long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." 25 | |
| 936 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do | |
| 937 in my Father's name, they bear witness to me; 26 but you do not believe, | |
| 938 because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know | |
| 939 them, and they follow me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and they shall never | |
| 940 perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has | |
| 941 given to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the | |
| 942 Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one."<a href="#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25" | |
| 943 ><b>[25]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 944 | |
| 945 <p>1427 After showing that he has power to give life and | |
| 946 showing his manner of doing so, our Lord here shows how this power to give life | |
| 947 belongs to him. First, the Evangelist mentions the dispute which arose among | |
| 948 the crowd on his point; secondly, he gives the discussion between the Jewish | |
| 949 leaders and Christ (v 22). Concerning the first he does three things. First, he | |
| 950 mentions the dispute within the crowd; secondly, he gives the opinion of one | |
| 951 side; and then states the reasonable position of the other side. | |
| 952 | |
| 953 <p>1428 The dispute arose within the crowd which was listening | |
| 954 to Christ because of what he said. The Evangelist says, <b>There was again a | |
| 955 division among the Jews because of these words</b>. Since some of them | |
| 956 understood his words correctly, and others did not, they argued among | |
| 957 themselves: "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword," that is, the sword | |
| 958 of gospel teaching, which some believed and others deny (Matt 10:34). "He pours | |
| 959 contempt upon princes" (Ps 107:40). | |
| 960 | |
| 961 <p>1429 The opinion of one party to the argument was false. | |
| 962 About this he says, <b>Many of them said</b>…He says, <b>Many</b>, because as | |
| 963 we read in Ecclesiastes [1:15]: "The number of fools is infinite." They said, <b>He | |
| 964 has a demon, and he is mad</b>, for it is the habit of the foolish to always | |
| 965 give an evil interpretation to matters about which they are in doubt; whereas | |
| 966 the opposite should be done. Thus they revile whatever they do not know, as we | |
| 967 read in the letter of Jude. And so because they were incapable of understanding | |
| 968 our Lord's words - for "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did | |
| 969 not comprehend it" [1:5] -they blasphemed, saying, <b>he has a demon, and he is | |
| 970 mad</b>. And they try to turn others away from him, saying <b>Why listen to | |
| 971 him?</b> | |
| 972 | |
| 973 <p>These blasphemers accuse Christ of | |
| 974 two things. First, that he has a demon. As if to say: He is not speaking due to | |
| 975 the Holy Spirit, but from a wicked spirit. Something similar is found in Acts | |
| 976 about Paul: "He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities [demons]" (17:18). | |
| 977 Now the fact is that a person who has his own and familiar demon is always | |
| 978 spiritually mad, but not always mad in a bodily way. But some can be possessed | |
| 979 by a demon, and these are always mad even in a bodily way. Thus it was said of | |
| 980 Christ "He has become mad" (Mk 3:21). Secondly, to show that Christ has a demon | |
| 981 in this way, they say, <b>and he is mad</b>. "Your great learning is turning | |
| 982 you mad" (Acts 26:24). Yet their blasphemy is not surprising, because they are | |
| 983 sensual and, as we read in 1 Corinthians [2:14]: "The sensual person does not | |
| 984 perceive those things that pertain to the Spirit of God." | |
| 985 | |
| 986 <p>1430 This opinion is refuted by the statements of the other | |
| 987 side, and this is in two ways. First, by the profundity of Christ's words. Thus | |
| 988 he says, <b>Others</b>, that is, those who rightly understood, <b>said, These | |
| 989 are not the sayings of one who has a demon</b>. This was like saying: It is | |
| 990 clear from what he is saying that he is not mad, because his words are orderly | |
| 991 and profound: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" | |
| 992 (6:69). And Paul says, "I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking | |
| 993 the sober truth" (Acts 26:25). Secondly, this opinion is refuted by the | |
| 994 greatness of the miracle worked by Christ. Thus they say,<b> Can a demon open | |
| 995 the eyes of the blind? </b>This means: Was not this one of the greatest of | |
| 996 miracles? They were correct in believing that it could be performed only by the | |
| 997 power of God: "If this man were not from God, he could do nothing" (9:33). | |
| 998 | |
| 999 <p>1431 It should be noted that there are certain "miracles" | |
| 1000 which can be performed by the power of demons and angels, and there are others | |
| 1001 which in no way can be accomplished by their power. Those things which are | |
| 1002 above the order of nature no creature whatever can perform by its own power, | |
| 1003 since the creature itself is subject to the laws of nature. God alone, who is | |
| 1004 above nature, can act above the order of nature. Therefore, whatever any | |
| 1005 creature performs must remain within the order of nature, an angel, either good | |
| 1006 or wicked, is able to do, when it is permitted. Thus, by using the seeds which | |
| 1007 in natural things are ordered to the generation of certain animals, they are | |
| 1008 able to effect the generation of these animals, as Pharaoh's magicians did (Ex | |
| 1009 7:11). Again, they can produce changes affecting the nature of a thing; thus, | |
| 1010 they can heal the sick who could be helped by the power of nature. | |
| 1011 | |
| 1012 <p>But things that absolutely | |
| 1013 transcend the order of nature can be performed by God alone, or by good angels | |
| 1014 and saintly men through God's power, which they obtain through prayer. Such | |
| 1015 would be the conferring of sight on the blind and the raising of the dead; for | |
| 1016 the power of nature cannot extend to the restoring of sight or to the raising | |
| 1017 of the dead. Consequently, a demon cannot open the eyes of a blind man or raise | |
| 1018 the dead, because this is done by God alone, and by the saints through the | |
| 1019 power of God. | |
| 1020 | |
| 1021 <p>1432 Here we see the dispute which the Jewish leaders | |
| 1022 initiated with Christ. First, the Evangelist gives the question asked by the | |
| 1023 Jews; secondly, Christ's answer (v 25); and thirdly, the effect of this answer | |
| 1024 (v 31). Concerning the first he does two things: first, he describes the | |
| 1025 circumstances of the questioning; secondly, he gives the question itself (v | |
| 1026 24). The circumstances of the questioning are described with respect to three | |
| 1027 things: the time, the place, and the persons who ask the question. | |
| 1028 | |
| 1029 <p>1433 He mentions the specific time first, saying, <b>it was </b>(<i>encaenia</i>) | |
| 1030 <b>the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem</b>. To understand this we have to | |
| 1031 know, as Augustine says, that an "encaenia" was the feast of the dedication of | |
| 1032 a church.<a href="#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26">[26]</a> | |
| 1033 The Greek word, <i>caenos</i>, is the same as the Latin word for "new." Thus an | |
| 1034 <i>encaenia</i> is the same as a renewal; and even in everyday speech, when | |
| 1035 something is dedicated to some use, it is said to be "encaeniated," which is | |
| 1036 the same thing as being renewed. Thus the <i>encaenia</i>, the feast of the | |
| 1037 Dedication, was the feast and commemoration of the dedication of the temple, | |
| 1038 for when we newly dedicate some church to the divine worship, we celebrate its | |
| 1039 being set aside for a sacred purpose; and in memory of this we celebrate it | |
| 1040 every year on the same day. Thus every year the Jews celebrated the <i>encaenia</i>, | |
| 1041 the remembrance of the dedication of the temple. | |
| 1042 | |
| 1043 <p>1434 To understand why there is a feast for the consecration | |
| 1044 of a church, we should note that all the feasts in the Church are celebrated in | |
| 1045 remembrance of God's blessings: "I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord" | |
| 1046 (Is 63:7). Again in Psalm 117 [v 1], after David called to mind God's many | |
| 1047 blessings, saying, "Give praise to the Lord, for he is good," he adds, | |
| 1048 "Solemnize this day, with shady boughs, even to the horn of the altar" [v 26]. | |
| 1049 | |
| 1050 <p>We recall God's benefits to us as | |
| 1051 being of three kinds. Sometimes, as they are found in our head, the Lord Jesus | |
| 1052 Christ. Thus we celebrate the feast of his birth, and of his resurrection, and | |
| 1053 so on. Sometimes we recall them as found in our fellow members, that is, in the | |
| 1054 saints, who are members of the Church. This is fitting, for as the Apostle | |
| 1055 says: "If one member is honored, all rejoice together" (1 Cor 12:26). Thus we | |
| 1056 celebrate the feasts of Saints Peter and Paul, and the other saints. But at | |
| 1057 times we recall God's benefits as found in the entire Church: for example, the | |
| 1058 benefits of the sacraments and other things granted to the Church in general. | |
| 1059 Now a material church building is like a sign of the gathering of the faithful | |
| 1060 of the Church, and in this building all the sacraments of grace are dispensed. | |
| 1061 So it is in memory of these benefits that we celebrate the feast of the | |
| 1062 dedication of a church. Indeed, such a feast is greater than the feast of any | |
| 1063 saint, just as the benefits conferred upon the whole Church, which benefits we | |
| 1064 celebrate, exceed the benefits conferred on some saint and recalled during his | |
| 1065 feast. | |
| 1066 | |
| 1067 <p>1435 Recall that the temple at Jerusalem had been | |
| 1068 consecrated three times: first by Solomon (1 Kgs c 8); secondly, during the | |
| 1069 time of Ezra by Zerubbabel and Jesus, the high priest (Ezra c 6); thirdly, by | |
| 1070 the Maccabees, for it says in 1 Maccabees (c 4) that they went up to Jerusalem | |
| 1071 to cleanse the holy places. Now this feast was not celebrated in memory of the | |
| 1072 dedication by Solomon, because that took place in the fall, i.e., in the | |
| 1073 seventh month; nor was it in memory of the dedication made at the time of Ezra, | |
| 1074 for this took place during the spring, i.e., the ninth day of March. But it was | |
| 1075 in memory of the dedication made by the Maccabees, which took place during the | |
| 1076 winter. And so to show this he mentions the specific time, saying, <b>it was | |
| 1077 winter.</b> | |
| 1078 | |
| 1079 <p>There is also a mystical reason for | |
| 1080 mentioning the time. As Gregory says (<i>Morals</i> 2), the Evangelist took | |
| 1081 care to mention the season as winter in order to indicate the chill of evil in | |
| 1082 the hearts of those listening, that is, the Jews: "As a well keeps its water | |
| 1083 cold, so she keeps cold her wickedness" [Jer 6:7]; and we read of this winter: | |
| 1084 "The winter is past, the rain is over and gone" (Song 2:11).<a href="#_ftn27" | |
| 1085 name="_ftnref27">[27]</a> | |
| 1086 | |
| 1087 <p>1436 Then he describes the place, <b>and Jesus was walking | |
| 1088 in the temple, in the portico of Solomon</b>. He describes it first in a | |
| 1089 general way, <b>in the temple</b>: "The Lord is in his holy temple" (Ps 11:4); | |
| 1090 secondly, in more detail, saying, <b>in the portico of Solomon</b>. We have to | |
| 1091 know that the temple included not just its main building, but the surrounding | |
| 1092 porticos as well; it was on these porticos that the people stood and prayed, | |
| 1093 for only the priests prayed in the temple. It was called the portico of Solomon | |
| 1094 because it was the place where Solomon stood and prayed when the temple was | |
| 1095 being dedicated: "Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the | |
| 1096 presence of all the assembly of Israel" (1 Kgs 8:22). | |
| 1097 | |
| 1098 <p>1437 One might object that the temple which Solomon built | |
| 1099 was destroyed, and so was his portico. I answer that the temple was rebuilt according | |
| 1100 to the specifications of the previous one; and so just as that portico was | |
| 1101 called the portico of Solomon in the first instance, it was called the same | |
| 1102 later out of respect for him. | |
| 1103 | |
| 1104 <p>1438 The persons who question Christ are described as to | |
| 1105 their malice; thus he says, <b>so the Jews gathered round him</b>, unwarmed by | |
| 1106 loving charity, but burning with the desire to harm him. They came to attack | |
| 1107 him, surrounding and pressing him in on all sides: "Many bulls encompass me" | |
| 1108 (Ps 22:12); "Ephraim has encompassed me" (Hos 11:12). | |
| 1109 | |
| 1110 <p>1439 Then when he says, <b>and said to him</b>…we see the | |
| 1111 Jews questioning him. First, he mentions the pretended reason for their | |
| 1112 questions when he says, <b>How long will you keep us in suspense?</b> Their | |
| 1113 manner is flattering because they want it to appear that they desire to know | |
| 1114 the truth about him. It is like they were saying: We are hanging in | |
| 1115 anticipation. How long will you keep us unsatisfied? "Hope deferred makes the | |
| 1116 heart sick" (Prv 13:12). | |
| 1117 | |
| 1118 <p>Secondly, they state their | |
| 1119 question, <b>If you are the Christ, tell us plainly</b>. Note their perversity; | |
| 1120 for since they resent Christ's calling himself the Son of God (5:18), they do | |
| 1121 not ask him if he is the Son of God, but <b>If you are the Christ, tell us | |
| 1122 plainly</b>. They hoped by this to obtain grounds for accusing him before | |
| 1123 Pilate for inciting sedition and making himself king - which was in opposition | |
| 1124 to Caesar and offensive to the Romans. Thus it was that when the Jews accused | |
| 1125 Christ of making himself the Son of God, Pilate was not very impressed; but | |
| 1126 when they said: "Every one who makes himself a king sets himself against | |
| 1127 Caesar" (19:12), he was swayed against Christ. This is why they say, <b>If you | |
| 1128 are the Christ</b>, or a king, or anointed, <b>tell us plainly.</b> | |
| 1129 | |
| 1130 <p>Secondly, notice their wickedness, | |
| 1131 because they say, <b>plainly</b>. It was like saying: Up to now you have not | |
| 1132 taught in public, but more or less in secret; but in reality, Christ said | |
| 1133 everything openly and was present for the festival days, and said nothing in | |
| 1134 secret: "I have spoken openly to the world…I have said nothing secretly" | |
| 1135 (18:20). | |
| 1136 | |
| 1137 <p>1440 Now we have the answer of Christ, where he shows their | |
| 1138 unbelief, proving they were deceitful in saying they wished to know the truth | |
| 1139 when they said, "How long will you keep us in suspense?" He shows this in two | |
| 1140 ways. First, because they did not believe his words; and about this he says, <b>I | |
| 1141 told you, and you do not believe</b>. As if to say: You say to me, "If you are | |
| 1142 the Christ," the king, "tell us." But <b>I told you</b>, that is, I told you | |
| 1143 the truth, <b>and you do not believe</b>. "If I tell you, you will not believe" | |
| 1144 (Lk 22:67). | |
| 1145 | |
| 1146 <p>He shows this in a second way | |
| 1147 because they do not believe his works. And about this he says: <b>the works | |
| 1148 that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness to me</b>. He first shows | |
| 1149 their unbelief in his works; secondly, the reason for their unbelief (v 26). | |
| 1150 | |
| 1151 <p>1441 As to the first he says, <b>the works that I do</b>…. | |
| 1152 This was like saying: You cannot be persuaded and satisfied by my words, nor | |
| 1153 even by those great works which I do <b>in my Father's name</b>, i.e., for his | |
| 1154 glory. <b>They bear witness to me</b>, because they can be performed by God | |
| 1155 alone. Thus they clearly show that I have come from God: "The tree is known by | |
| 1156 its fruit" (Matt 12:33); "These very works which I am doing, bear witness" | |
| 1157 (5:36). <b>But you do not believe</b>: "Though he had done so many signs before | |
| 1158 them, yet they did not believe in him" (12:37). For this reason they are | |
| 1159 inexcusable: "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, | |
| 1160 they would not have sin; but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father | |
| 1161 (15:24). | |
| 1162 | |
| 1163 <p>1442 The reason for their unbelief is that they are | |
| 1164 separated from Christ's sheep. So he says, <b>but you do not believe, because | |
| 1165 you do not belong to my sheep</b>. He does three things concerning this. First, | |
| 1166 he says that they are excluded from membership in the sheep of Christ; | |
| 1167 secondly, he shows the dignity of his sheep (v 27); thirdly, he proves that no | |
| 1168 one will snatch his sheep out of his hands (v 29). | |
| 1169 | |
| 1170 <p>1443 He mentions that they are not among his sheep when he | |
| 1171 says, <b>you do not belong to my sheep</b>, i.e., you are not predestined to | |
| 1172 believe, but foreknown to eternal destruction. For the very fact that we | |
| 1173 believe is due to God: "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of | |
| 1174 Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake" (Phil | |
| 1175 1:29); "For by grace you have been saved thorough faith; and this is not your | |
| 1176 own doing, it is the gift of God" (Eph 2:8). And this is given only to those | |
| 1177 for whom it was prepared from eternity; thus, only those believe in him who | |
| 1178 have been ordained to this by God through an eternal predestination: "As many | |
| 1179 as were ordained to eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48); "We believe that we | |
| 1180 shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 15:11). | |
| 1181 | |
| 1182 <p>1444 But should anyone be told that he is not predestined? | |
| 1183 It seems that he should not be told: for since no one can be saved unless he is | |
| 1184 predestined, if one is told that he is not predestined, he would be driven to | |
| 1185 despair. And so our Lord was driving the Jews to despair when he said to them, <b>you | |
| 1186 do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep</b>. My answer to this is | |
| 1187 that in this group there was something common to all, that is, they were not | |
| 1188 preordained by God to believe at that time; and there was also something | |
| 1189 special, that is, some of them were preordained to believe later. Thus, some of | |
| 1190 them did believe later, for we read in Acts (c 2) that three thousand of them | |
| 1191 believed in one day. But some were not preordained to do this. Therefore, it | |
| 1192 did not militate against hope to say to a group, some of whom were preordained | |
| 1193 to believe later, that they did not belong to his sheep, because no one of them | |
| 1194 could apply this definitely to himself. But it would militate against hope if | |
| 1195 Christ had said this to some definite person.<a href="#_ftn28" name="_ftnref28" | |
| 1196 >[28]</a> | |
| 1197 | |
| 1198 <p>1445 Now he reveals the dignity of his sheep when he says, <b>my | |
| 1199 sheep hear my voice</b>. He here mentions four things: two of them are what we | |
| 1200 do in reference to Christ; the other two, which correspond to the first two are | |
| 1201 what Christ does in us. | |
| 1202 | |
| 1203 <p>1446 The first thing we do is to obey Christ. Concerning | |
| 1204 this he says, <b>my sheep</b>, through predestination, <b>hear my voice</b>, by | |
| 1205 believing and obeying my precepts: "O that today you would harken to his voice! | |
| 1206 Harden not your hearts" (Ps 95:7). | |
| 1207 | |
| 1208 <p>1447 The second thing, corresponding to this, is what Christ | |
| 1209 does, which is to give his love and approval. Concerning this he says, <b>and I | |
| 1210 know them</b>, that is, I love and approve of them: "The Lord knows those who | |
| 1211 are his" (2 Tim 2:19). This is like saying: The very fact that they hear me is | |
| 1212 due to the fact that <b>I know them</b> by an eternal election. | |
| 1213 | |
| 1214 <p>But if a person cannot believe | |
| 1215 unless God gives this to him, it seems that unbelief should not be imputed to | |
| 1216 anyone. I answer that it is imputed to them because they are the cause why it | |
| 1217 is not given to them. Thus, I cannot see the light unless I am enlightened by | |
| 1218 the sun. Yet if I were to close my eyes, I would not see the light; but this is | |
| 1219 not due to the sun but to me, because by closing my eyes I am the cause of my | |
| 1220 not being enlightened. Now sin, for example, original sin, and in some persons | |
| 1221 actual sin, is the cause why we are not enlightened by God through faith. This | |
| 1222 cause is in everyone. Thus, all who are left by God are left by reason of the | |
| 1223 just judgment of God, and those who are chosen are lifted up by God's mercy. | |
| 1224 | |
| 1225 <p>1448 The third thing, which is what we do, concerns our | |
| 1226 imitation of Christ. So he says, <b>and they follow me</b>: "My foot has held | |
| 1227 fast his steps" (Job 23:11); "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an | |
| 1228 example, that you should follow in his steps" (1 Pet 2:21). | |
| 1229 | |
| 1230 <p>1449 The corresponding fourth part, which is what Christ | |
| 1231 does, is the bestowing of a reward. Concerning this he says, <b>and I give them | |
| 1232 eternal life</b>. This is like saying: They follow me by walking the path of | |
| 1233 gentleness and innocence in this life, and I will see that afterwards they will | |
| 1234 follow me by entering into the joys of eternal life. | |
| 1235 | |
| 1236 <p>Our Lord shows in three ways that | |
| 1237 this reward will never end. Something can end in three ways. First of all, by | |
| 1238 its very nature, for example, if it is corruptible. But this reward is incorruptible | |
| 1239 of its very nature. Thus He says, <b>I give them eternal life</b>, which is | |
| 1240 incorruptible and ever-living enjoyment of God: "This is eternal life, that | |
| 1241 they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent" (17:3). | |
| 1242 As Augustine says, this is the pasture which he spoke before (v 9).<a | |
| 1243 href="#_ftn29" name="_ftnref29">[29]</a> | |
| 1244 Indeed, eternal life is called a good pasture because it is entirely verdant | |
| 1245 and nothing withers away. Secondly, a thing can end because the one receiving | |
| 1246 it ends, or does not guard it well. But this will not happen to that reward; so | |
| 1247 he says, <b>and they shall never perish</b>, that is, the sheep will never | |
| 1248 perish. This conflicts with Origen, for he said that the saints in glory are | |
| 1249 able to sin.<a href="#_ftn30" name="_ftnref30">[30]</a> | |
| 1250 Yet our Lord says, <b>they shall never perish</b>, because they will be preserved | |
| 1251 forever: "He who conquers I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; | |
| 1252 never shall he go out of it" (Rev 3:12). Thirdly, a thing can end by being | |
| 1253 snatched by force: for perhaps Adam would not have been cast out if the | |
| 1254 Deceiver had not been there. But this will not happen in eternal life, and so | |
| 1255 he says, <b>and no one shall snatch them</b>, that is, the sheep, <b>out of my | |
| 1256 hand</b>, that is, from my protection and loyalty: "The souls of the righteous | |
| 1257 are in the hand of God" (Wis 3:1). As Augustine says: "There the wolf does not | |
| 1258 snatch, nor the thief steal, nor the robber kill."<a href="#_ftn31" | |
| 1259 name="_ftnref31">[31]</a> | |
| 1260 | |
| 1261 <p>1450 He now proves what he had said above about the dignity | |
| 1262 of his sheep, namely, that no one can snatch them from his hand. His reason is | |
| 1263 this: No one can snatch what is in the hand of my Father; but the Father's hand | |
| 1264 and mine are the same; therefore, no one can snatch what is in my hand. | |
| 1265 Concerning this he does three things: first, he gives the minor premise by | |
| 1266 showing that the Father had communicated divinity to him, saying, <b>what my | |
| 1267 Father has given to me</b>, through an eternal generation, <b>is greater than | |
| 1268 all</b>. "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also | |
| 1269 to have life in himself" (5:26). It is <b>greater</b> than any power: "He has | |
| 1270 given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man" (5:27); | |
| 1271 it is <b>greater</b> than any reverence and honor: "God had bestowed on him the | |
| 1272 name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should | |
| 1273 bow" (Phil 2:9). Therefore, <b>what my Father has given to me</b>, that is, | |
| 1274 that I am his Word, his only begotten, and the splendor of his light, <b>is | |
| 1275 greater than all</b>. | |
| 1276 | |
| 1277 <p>Secondly, he mentions the greatness | |
| 1278 of the Father's power, which concerns the major premise, when he says, <b>and | |
| 1279 no one is able to snatch</b>, take by violence or secretly pilfer, <b>out of my | |
| 1280 Father's hand</b>, from the power of my Father, or from me, who am the might of | |
| 1281 the Father - although as Augustine says, it is better to say "from the power of | |
| 1282 the Father" than "from me." <a href="#_ftn32" | |
| 1283 name="_ftnref32">[32]</a> | |
| 1284 Now <b>no one is able to snatch out of my Father's hand</b>, because he is the | |
| 1285 almighty One who is not subject to violence, and he is all-wise from whom | |
| 1286 nothing is hidden: "He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength" (Job 9:4). | |
| 1287 | |
| 1288 <p>Thirdly, he affirms his unity with | |
| 1289 the Father, and from this the conclusion follows. Thus he says, <b>I and the | |
| 1290 Father are one</b>. As if to say: <b>no one shall snatch them out of my hand</b>, | |
| 1291 because <b>I and the Father are one</b>, by a unity of essence, for the Father | |
| 1292 and the Son are the same in nature. | |
| 1293 | |
| 1294 <p>1451 This statement rejects two errors: that of Arius, who | |
| 1295 distinguished the essence [of the Father from that of the Son], and that of | |
| 1296 Sabellius, who did not distinguish the person [of the Father from the person of | |
| 1297 the Son]. We escape both Charybdis and Scylla, for by the fact that Christ | |
| 1298 says, <b>one</b>, he saves us from Arius, because if one, then they are not | |
| 1299 different [in nature]. And by the fact that he says, <b>we are</b>, he saves us | |
| 1300 from Sabellius, for if we are, then the Father and the Son are not the same | |
| 1301 [person]. | |
| 1302 | |
| 1303 <p>Yet the Arians, deceived by their | |
| 1304 wickedness, try to deny this, and say that a creature can in some sense be one | |
| 1305 with God, and in this sense the Son can be one with the Father. The falsity of | |
| 1306 this can be shown in three ways. First, from our very manner of speaking. For | |
| 1307 it is clear that "one" is asserted as "being"; thus, just as something is not | |
| 1308 said to be a being absolutely except according to its substance, so it is not | |
| 1309 said to be one except according to its substance or nature. Now something is | |
| 1310 asserted absolutely when it is asserted with no added qualification. Therefore, | |
| 1311 because <b>I and the Father are one</b>, is asserted absolutely, without any | |
| 1312 qualifications added, it is plain that they are one according to substance and | |
| 1313 nature. But we never find that God and a creature are one without some added qualification, | |
| 1314 as in 1 Corinthians (6:17): "He who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit | |
| 1315 with him." Therefore, it is clear that the Son of God is not one with the | |
| 1316 Father as a creature can be.<a href="#_ftn33" name="_ftnref33">[33]</a> | |
| 1317 | |
| 1318 <p>Secondly, we can see this from his | |
| 1319 previous statement, <b>what my Father has given me is greater than all</b>. He | |
| 1320 draws the conclusion from this: <b>I and the Father are one</b>. This is like | |
| 1321 saying: We are one to the extent that the Father has given me that which is | |
| 1322 greater than all. | |
| 1323 | |
| 1324 <p>Thirdly, it is clear from his | |
| 1325 intention. For our Lord proves that no one will snatch the sheep from his hand | |
| 1326 precisely because no one can snatch from the hand of his Father. But this would | |
| 1327 not follow if his power were less than the power of the Father. Therefore, the | |
| 1328 Father and Son are one in nature, honor and power. | |
| 1329 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 1330 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 6</B> | |
| 1331 | |
| 1332 <p>31 The Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus | |
| 1333 answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of | |
| 1334 these do you stone me?" 33 The Jews answered him, "We stone you for no good | |
| 1335 work but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God." 34 Jesus | |
| 1336 answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods'? 35 If he | |
| 1337 called them gods to whom the word of God came (and scripture cannot be broken), | |
| 1338 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated [sanctified] and sent into the | |
| 1339 world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? 37 If I am | |
| 1340 not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, | |
| 1341 even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and | |
| 1342 understand [believe] that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." 39 Again | |
| 1343 they tried to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. 40 He went away | |
| 1344 again across the Jordan to the place where John at first baptized, and there he | |
| 1345 remained. 41 And many came to him; and they said, "John did no sign, but | |
| 1346 everything that John said about this man was true." 42 And many believed in him | |
| 1347 there.<a href="#_ftn34" name="_ftnref34"><b>[34]</b></a> | |
| 1348 | |
| 1349 <p>1452 We have seen the teaching of Christ; and now we see the | |
| 1350 effect this teaching has on the Jews. First, Jesus reproves their fierceness; | |
| 1351 secondly, he defends himself against the charge of blasphemy; and thirdly, he | |
| 1352 escapes from their violence (v 39). | |
| 1353 | |
| 1354 <p>1453 Concerning the first, two things are done. First, we | |
| 1355 see the violence of the Jews inciting them to stone Christ. The Evangelist | |
| 1356 says, <b>The Jews took up stones again to stone him</b>. They were hard of | |
| 1357 heart and unable to understand his profound message; and so, being like stones, | |
| 1358 they resort to stones: "When I spoke to them they fought against me without | |
| 1359 cause" [Ps 119:7]. | |
| 1360 | |
| 1361 <p>1454 Secondly, we see our Lord reprove their violence, | |
| 1362 saying, <b>I have shown you many good works</b>. First, he reminds them of the | |
| 1363 benefits given to them; secondly, he reproves their violence. He recalls the | |
| 1364 benefits he granted in healing the sick, in teaching them and performing his | |
| 1365 miracles. So he answered them saying, <b>I have shown you many good works</b>, | |
| 1366 by healing, teaching and working miracles - "He has done all things well" (Mk | |
| 1367 7:37) - <b>from the Father</b>, whose glory I have sought in all these things - | |
| 1368 "Yet I do not seek my own glory" (8:50). And he reproves their violence when he | |
| 1369 says, <b>for which of these do you stone me?</b> This was like saying: You | |
| 1370 should honor one who does good to you, not stone him: "Is evil a recompense for | |
| 1371 good?" (Jer 18:20). | |
| 1372 | |
| 1373 <p>1455 Now our Lord defends himself from the charge of | |
| 1374 blasphemy. First, we see him accused of blasphemy by the Jews; and secondly, | |
| 1375 Christ proves his innocence (v 34). | |
| 1376 | |
| 1377 <p>1456 With respect to the first, the Evangelist says, <b>The | |
| 1378 Jews answered him, We stone you for no good work but for blasphemy</b>. There | |
| 1379 are five things to be considered here. First, what seems to be the motive for | |
| 1380 their stoning him, namely, his blasphemy. For Leviticus commands that | |
| 1381 blasphemers be stoned: "Bring out of the camp him who has blasphemed; and let | |
| 1382 all who heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let the congregation stone | |
| 1383 him" [24:14]. Mentioning this motive, they say, <b>We stone you for no good | |
| 1384 work but for blasphemy</b>. | |
| 1385 | |
| 1386 <p>Secondly, they specify his | |
| 1387 blasphemy. It is blasphemy not only to attribute to God what is not appropriate | |
| 1388 to him, but also to attribute to another what belongs to God alone. So, it is | |
| 1389 blasphemy not only to say that God is a body, but also to say that a creature | |
| 1390 can create: "It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Mk 2:7). | |
| 1391 Thus the Jews were saying that our Lord was a blasphemer not in the first way, | |
| 1392 but for usurping for himself what is proper to God: <b>because you, being a | |
| 1393 man, make yourself God.</b> | |
| 1394 | |
| 1395 <p>The third thing to be considered is | |
| 1396 that the Jews understood the words of Christ, <b>I and the Father are one</b>, | |
| 1397 better than the Arians did. Thus they were incensed because they understood | |
| 1398 that <b>I and the Father are one</b> could only be said if the Father and Son | |
| 1399 are equal. This is what they say, <b>you make yourself God</b>, claiming by | |
| 1400 your words that you are God, which is not true, you, <b>being a man</b>. | |
| 1401 | |
| 1402 <p>The fourth point to consider is | |
| 1403 that the distance between God and man is so great that it was unbelievable to | |
| 1404 them that someone with a human nature could be God. So they significantly say, <b>because | |
| 1405 you, being a man, make yourself God</b>. Yet this unbelief could have been | |
| 1406 dispelled by what is read in the Psalm, "What is man that you are mindful of | |
| 1407 him? Or the son of man that you visit him?" [Ps 8:5]; and in Habakkuk (1:5): | |
| 1408 "For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told," this | |
| 1409 is, the work of the incarnation, which surpasses every mind. | |
| 1410 | |
| 1411 <p>The fifth thing to consider is that | |
| 1412 they do not agree with themselves: for on the one hand, they say that Christ | |
| 1413 does good works, saying, <b>we stone you for no good work</b>; and on the other | |
| 1414 hand, they accuse him of blasphemy, usurping for himself the honor of God. Now | |
| 1415 these conflict with each other, for he could not accomplish miracles from God | |
| 1416 if he blasphemed God, because "A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a | |
| 1417 bad tree bear good fruit" (Mt 7:18). And this applied especially to Christ. | |
| 1418 | |
| 1419 <p>1457 Here our Lord defends himself against the charge of | |
| 1420 blasphemy. First, he gives his defense; secondly, he shows them the truth (v | |
| 1421 37). He defends himself by divine authority, and so first, he mentions the | |
| 1422 authority of Scripture; secondly, he explains its meaning; and thirdly, he | |
| 1423 draws his conclusion. | |
| 1424 | |
| 1425 <p>1458 The Evangelist says, <b>Jesus answered them: Is it not | |
| 1426 written in your law</b> (in Psalm 82:6): <b>I said, you are gods?</b> Here we | |
| 1427 should note that "law" is understood in three ways in Scripture. Some times it | |
| 1428 is taken in a general sense for the entire Old Testament, containing the five | |
| 1429 books of Moses, the prophets and the hagiographies. This is the way <b>in your | |
| 1430 law </b>is understood here, meaning in the Old Testament. For this quotation is | |
| 1431 from the psalms which are referred to as the law because the entire Old | |
| 1432 Testament is considered to have the authority of law. Sometimes "law" is | |
| 1433 understood as distinct from the prophets, psalms, and the hagiographies; this | |
| 1434 is the way Luke uses it in "Everything written about me in the law of Moses and | |
| 1435 the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled" (Lk 24:44). Again, at other | |
| 1436 times it is distinguished from the prophets. In this sense the psalms and the | |
| 1437 other books of the Old Testament, other than the Pentateuch, are included | |
| 1438 within the prophets, on the ground that the Old Testament was produced by a | |
| 1439 prophetic spirit. This is the way it is understood in Matthew: "On these two | |
| 1440 commandments depend all the law and the prophets" (Mt 23:40). | |
| 1441 | |
| 1442 <p>1459 The word "God" is also used in three senses. Sometimes | |
| 1443 it signifies the divine nature itself, and then it is used only in the | |
| 1444 singular: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut 6:4). At other | |
| 1445 times it is taken in a denominative sense: in this way idols are called gods: | |
| 1446 "All the gods of the peoples are idols" (Ps 96:5). And sometimes someone is | |
| 1447 called a god because of a certain participation in divinity, or in some sublime | |
| 1448 power divinely infused. In this way, even judges are called gods in Scripture: | |
| 1449 "If the thief is not known, the owner of the house shall be brought to the | |
| 1450 gods," that is, to the judges [Ex 22:8]; "You shall not speak ill of the gods," | |
| 1451 that is, of the rulers [Ex 22:28]. This is the way the word "god" is taken | |
| 1452 here, when he says, <b>I said, you are gods</b>, i.e., you share in some divine | |
| 1453 power superior to the human. | |
| 1454 | |
| 1455 <p>1460 Then when he says, <b>If he called them gods to whom | |
| 1456 the word of God came</b>, he shows the meaning of the authority he cited. This | |
| 1457 was like saying: He called them gods because they participated in something | |
| 1458 divine insofar as they participated in God's word, which was spoken to them. | |
| 1459 For due to God's word a person obtains some participation in the divine power | |
| 1460 and purity: "You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you" | |
| 1461 (15:3); and in Exodus (c 34) we read that the face of Moses shone when he heard | |
| 1462 the words of the Lord. | |
| 1463 | |
| 1464 <p>From what has been said above, one | |
| 1465 might argue in this way: It is clear that a person by participating in the word | |
| 1466 of God becomes god by participation. But a thing does not become this or that | |
| 1467 by participation unless it participates in what is this or that by its essence: | |
| 1468 for example, a thing does not become fire by participation unless it | |
| 1469 participates in what is fire by its essence. Therefore, one does not become god | |
| 1470 by participation unless he participates in what is God by essence. Therefore, | |
| 1471 the Word of God, that is the Son, by participation in whom we become gods, is | |
| 1472 God by essence. But our Lord, rather than argue so profoundly against the Jews, | |
| 1473 preferred to argue in a more human way. He says, <b>and scripture cannot be | |
| 1474 broken</b>, in order to show the irrefutable truth of Scripture: "O Lord, your | |
| 1475 word endures forever" [Ps 118:89].<a href="#_ftn35" name="_ftnref35">[35]</a> | |
| 1476 | |
| 1477 <p>1461 Then when he says, <b>do you say of him whom the Father | |
| 1478 sanctified and sent into the world, You are blaspheming</b>, he draws his | |
| 1479 conclusion. If, with Hilary, we refer this to Christ insofar as he has a human | |
| 1480 nature, the meaning is this: Some people are called gods only because they | |
| 1481 participate in God's word. How then can you say, <b>you are blaspheming</b>, | |
| 1482 that is, how can you consider it blasphemy, if that man who is united in person | |
| 1483 to the Word of God is called God? <a | |
| 1484 href="#_ftn36" name="_ftnref36">[36]</a> | |
| 1485 This is why he says, <b>whom the Father sanctified</b>. For although God | |
| 1486 sanctifies all who are sanctified - "Sanctify them in truth" (17:17) - he | |
| 1487 sanctified Christ in a special way. He sanctifies others to be adopted children | |
| 1488 - "You have received the spirit of adoption" (Rom 8:15) - but he sanctified | |
| 1489 Christ to be the Son of God by nature, united in person to the Word of God. | |
| 1490 These words, <b>whom the Father sanctified</b>, show this in two ways. For if | |
| 1491 God sanctifies as Father, it is clear that he sanctifies Christ as his Son: "He | |
| 1492 was predestined to be the Son of God by the Spirit of sanctification" [Rom | |
| 1493 1:4]. We can also see this by his saying, <b>and sent into the world</b>. For | |
| 1494 it is not fitting for a thing to be sent some place unless it existed before it | |
| 1495 was sent there. Therefore, he whom the Father sent into the world in a visible | |
| 1496 way, is the Son of God, who existed before he was visible: for as we saw above, | |
| 1497 "He was in the world, and the world was made through him" (1:10); and "God sent | |
| 1498 the Son into the world" (3:17). <b>Do you say of him whom the Father sent into | |
| 1499 the world, you are blaspheming, because I said, I am the Son of God? </b>This | |
| 1500 was like saying: I, who am united in person to the Word, have much more reason | |
| 1501 to say this than those <b>to whom the word of God came</b>. | |
| 1502 | |
| 1503 <p>1462 But how did the Jews realize that he was claiming to be | |
| 1504 the Son of God? Our Lord did not say this expressly. I answer that although our | |
| 1505 Lord did not say this expressly, yet from what he did say - <b>I and the Father | |
| 1506 are one and what my Father has given to me is greater than all </b>- they | |
| 1507 understood that he received his nature from the Father and was one in nature | |
| 1508 with him. But to receive the same nature from another, and to be it, is to be a | |
| 1509 son. | |
| 1510 | |
| 1511 <p>1463 But if, with Augustine, we refer <b>him whom the Father | |
| 1512 sanctified</b> to Christ as God, then the meaning is this: <b>him whom the | |
| 1513 Father sanctified </b>is he whom he has begotten holy, or sanctified, from | |
| 1514 eternity.<a href="#_ftn37" name="_ftnref37">[37]</a> | |
| 1515 The other things which follow should be explained in the same way as Hilary | |
| 1516 does. Yet the better explanation is to refer everything to Christ as man. | |
| 1517 | |
| 1518 <p>1464 Then when he says, <b>If I am not doing the works of my | |
| 1519 Father, then do not believe me</b>, he proves the truth of the foregoing. This | |
| 1520 is like saying: Although in your opinion I am only human, yet I am not | |
| 1521 blaspheming when I say that I am truly God, because I truly am. He does two | |
| 1522 things concerning this: first, he presents the argument of his works; secondly, | |
| 1523 he draws his conclusion (v 38b). | |
| 1524 | |
| 1525 <p>1465 He does two things concerning the first. In the first | |
| 1526 place he says that in the absence of his works they would have an excuse. He | |
| 1527 says, <b>If I am not doing the works of my Father</b>, i.e., the same ones that | |
| 1528 he does, and with the same might and power, <b>then do not believe me</b>. | |
| 1529 "Whatever he [the Father] does, that the Son does likewise" (5:19). | |
| 1530 | |
| 1531 <p>Secondly, he says that they are | |
| 1532 convicted by his very works: <b>but if I do them</b>, the same works the Father | |
| 1533 does, then <b>even though you do not believe me</b>, who appears as a son of | |
| 1534 man, <b>believe the works</b>, i.e., these works show that I am the Son of God: | |
| 1535 "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not | |
| 1536 have sin" (15:24). | |
| 1537 | |
| 1538 <p>1466 Now he draws his conclusion, saying, <b>that you may | |
| 1539 know and believe that the Father is in me and I am in the Father</b>. For the | |
| 1540 clearest indication of the nature of a thing is taken from its works. | |
| 1541 Therefore, from the fact that he does the works of God it can be clearly known | |
| 1542 and believed that Christ is God. Accordingly he says: I will argue from my | |
| 1543 works themselves, <b>that you may know and believe</b> what you cannot see with | |
| 1544 your own eyes, that is, <b>that the Father is in me and I am in the Father</b>: | |
| 1545 "I am in the Father and the Father in me," by a unity of essence (14:10). <b>The | |
| 1546 Father is in me and I am in the Father </b>and "I and the Father are one," have | |
| 1547 the same meaning. | |
| 1548 | |
| 1549 <p>Hilary explains this well by saying | |
| 1550 that there is this difference between God and man: man being a composite, is | |
| 1551 not his own nature; but God, being entirely simple, is his own existence and | |
| 1552 his own nature. Therefore, in whomever the nature of God is, there is God.<a | |
| 1553 href="#_ftn38" name="_ftnref38">[38]</a> | |
| 1554 And so, since the Father is God and the Son is God, where the nature of the | |
| 1555 Father is, there is the Father, and where the nature of the Son is, there is | |
| 1556 the Son. Therefore, since the nature of the Father is in the Son, and | |
| 1557 conversely, the Father is in the Son, and conversely. But as Augustine remarks, | |
| 1558 although God is in man and man is in God - "He who abides in love abides in | |
| 1559 God, and God abides in him" (1 Jn 4:16) - this does not mean that they are one | |
| 1560 in essence. Rather, man is in God, that is, under the divine care and protection, | |
| 1561 and God is in man, by the likeness of his grace.<a href="#_ftn39" | |
| 1562 name="_ftnref39">[39]</a> | |
| 1563 However, the only Son is in the Father and the Father is in him as equals. | |
| 1564 | |
| 1565 <p>1467 Now our Lord turns away from the obstinacy of the Jews. | |
| 1566 First, the Evangelist shows they were obstinate; secondly, we see that Christ | |
| 1567 turns away from this; thirdly, we see what effect this had. | |
| 1568 | |
| 1569 <p>1468 The Evangelist shows their inflexibility by the fact | |
| 1570 that after so many confirmations of the truth, after the evidence of so many | |
| 1571 miracles and wonders, they still persist in their evil. So <b>again they tried | |
| 1572 to arrest him</b>, to apprehend him, not in order to believe and understand, | |
| 1573 but in their rage to do him harm; they were even the more enraged because he | |
| 1574 had more clearly expressed his equality with the Father: "They hold fast to deceit, | |
| 1575 they refuse to return" (Jer 8:5). | |
| 1576 | |
| 1577 <p>1469 But our Lord turns away from their rage, and so the | |
| 1578 Evangelist says, <b>but he escaped from their hands</b>. Here we see, first, | |
| 1579 that he left them by escaping from their hands. He did this for two reasons. To | |
| 1580 show that he could not be restrained unless he willed: "Passing through the | |
| 1581 midst of them he went away" (Lk 4:30); "No one takes it from me, but I lay it | |
| 1582 down of my own accord" (10:18). Secondly, to give us the example of turning | |
| 1583 away from persecution when this can be done without endangering the faith: "Do | |
| 1584 not make your stand against one who can injure you" [Sir 8:14]. | |
| 1585 | |
| 1586 <p>We see, secondly, where he went | |
| 1587 when the Evangelist says, <b>he went away again across the Jordan to the place | |
| 1588 where John at first baptized</b>. The mystical reason for this is that at some | |
| 1589 time, through the apostles, Jesus would go to convert the Gentiles. The literal | |
| 1590 reason is twofold. First, this place was near Jerusalem, and since his passion | |
| 1591 was near, he did not wish to be too far away. Secondly, he wanted to recall the | |
| 1592 witness which John had given there, when he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who | |
| 1593 takes away the sin of the world" (1:29), as well as the Father's testimony to | |
| 1594 his Son, Christ, at the time of his baptism. | |
| 1595 | |
| 1596 <p>1470 The effect of this turning away was that many were | |
| 1597 converted to the faith. Three points are made about this conversion. First, | |
| 1598 many imitated his works; so he says, <b>and many came to him</b>, namely, by | |
| 1599 imitating his works: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will | |
| 1600 give you rest" (Matt 11:28). Secondly, many professed him in word, <b>and they | |
| 1601 said, John did no sign</b>. By this they profess Christ's superiority to John. | |
| 1602 The reason for this was that John was sent as a witness to Christ; thus he | |
| 1603 should show that he was worthy to be believed and his testimony would be shown | |
| 1604 to be true. Now this is fittingly done by holiness of life. On the other hand, | |
| 1605 Christ came as God; consequently, it was fitting that he show the signs of | |
| 1606 divine power. And so John stood out by the sanctity of his life; Christ, | |
| 1607 however, in addition to this, performed works which manifested his divine | |
| 1608 power. This was in accord with the practice of the rulers of antiquity that | |
| 1609 when in the presence of a higher power a lesser power did not display the | |
| 1610 insignia of its power. Thus, in the presence of the Dictator, the Consuls took | |
| 1611 down their insignia. So it was not fitting that John, who possessed less power, | |
| 1612 because he was a precursor and witness, should employ the insignia of divine | |
| 1613 power; only Christ should have done this. They profess the truth of John's | |
| 1614 witness to Christ, saying, <b>but everything that John said about this man</b>, | |
| 1615 Christ, <b>was true</b>. They were saying: Although John did no sign, he | |
| 1616 nevertheless said all things truthfully about Christ. Thirdly, he reveals the faith | |
| 1617 in their hearts, saying, <b>and many believed in him there</b>. As Augustine | |
| 1618 remarks, they grasped Christ remaining, whom the Jews wanted to seize waning, | |
| 1619 because through the lamp they had come to the day. For John was that lamp and | |
| 1620 gave testimony to the day.<a href="#_ftn40" name="_ftnref40">[40]</a> | |
| 1621 | |
| 1622 </div> | |
| 1623 | |
| 1624 <div><br clear=all> | |
| 1625 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 1626 <hr align=left size=1 width="33%"> | |
| 1627 | |
| 1628 <div id=ftn1> | |
| 1629 | |
| 1630 <p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> <i>In | |
| 1631 Ioannem hom</i>., 59, ch. 2; PG 59, col. 324; cf. | |
| 1632 <i>Catena Aurea, </i>10:1-5. | |
| 1633 | |
| 1634 </div> | |
| 1635 | |
| 1636 <div id=ftn2> | |
| 1637 | |
| 1638 <p><a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> Ibid.; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>10:1-5. | |
| 1639 | |
| 1640 </div> | |
| 1641 | |
| 1642 <div id=ftn3> | |
| 1643 | |
| 1644 <p><a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1645 in Io</i>., 45, ch. 2, col. 1720; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1646 Aurea, </i>10:1-5. | |
| 1647 | |
| 1648 </div> | |
| 1649 | |
| 1650 <div id=ftn4> | |
| 1651 | |
| 1652 <p><a href="#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> loc. | |
| 1653 cit; also <i>Tract. in Io</i>., 47, ch. 1, col. 1733; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>10:11-13. | |
| 1654 | |
| 1655 </div> | |
| 1656 | |
| 1657 <div id=ftn5> | |
| 1658 | |
| 1659 <p><a href="#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a> <i>In | |
| 1660 Ioannem hom</i>., 59, ch. 2; PG 59, col. 324; cf. | |
| 1661 <i>Catena Aurea, </i>10:1-5. | |
| 1662 | |
| 1663 </div> | |
| 1664 | |
| 1665 <div id=ftn6> | |
| 1666 | |
| 1667 <p><a href="#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6">[6]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1668 in Io</i>., 46, ch. 2, col. 1728; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1669 Aurea, </i>10:1-5. | |
| 1670 | |
| 1671 </div> | |
| 1672 | |
| 1673 <div id=ftn7> | |
| 1674 | |
| 1675 <p><a href="#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7">[7]</a> Ibid.; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>10:1-5. | |
| 1676 | |
| 1677 </div> | |
| 1678 | |
| 1679 <div id=ftn8> | |
| 1680 | |
| 1681 <p><a href="#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8">[8]</a> | |
| 1682 St. Thomas refers to Jn 10:10 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1683 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 50, a. 1, obj. 3; q. 55, a. 5, obj. 3. | |
| 1684 | |
| 1685 </div> | |
| 1686 | |
| 1687 <div id=ftn9> | |
| 1688 | |
| 1689 <p><a href="#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9">[9]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1690 in Io</i>., 45, ch. 6, col. 1721; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1691 Aurea, </i>10:6. | |
| 1692 | |
| 1693 </div> | |
| 1694 | |
| 1695 <div id=ftn10> | |
| 1696 | |
| 1697 <p><a href="#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10">[10]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1698 in Io</i>., 45, ch. 7, col. 1722. | |
| 1699 | |
| 1700 </div> | |
| 1701 | |
| 1702 <div id=ftn11> | |
| 1703 | |
| 1704 <p><a href="#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11">[11]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., | |
| 1705 59, ch. 3; PG 59, col. 325; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 10:7-10. | |
| 1706 | |
| 1707 </div> | |
| 1708 | |
| 1709 <div id=ftn12> | |
| 1710 | |
| 1711 <p><a href="#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12">[12]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1712 in Io</i>., 45, ch. 15, col. 1726-27; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1713 Aurea, </i>10:7-10. | |
| 1714 | |
| 1715 </div> | |
| 1716 | |
| 1717 <div id=ftn13> | |
| 1718 | |
| 1719 <p><a href="#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13">[13]</a> Gregory, <i>Super | |
| 1720 Ezek. Hom, </i>13; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 10:7-10. | |
| 1721 | |
| 1722 </div> | |
| 1723 | |
| 1724 <div id=ftn14> | |
| 1725 | |
| 1726 <p><a href="#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14">[14]</a> <i>De Spiritu et Anima</i>, | |
| 1727 ch. IX; PL 40, col. 785. | |
| 1728 | |
| 1729 </div> | |
| 1730 | |
| 1731 <div id=ftn15> | |
| 1732 | |
| 1733 <p><a href="#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15">[15]</a> | |
| 1734 St. Thomas refers to Jn 10:11 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1735 Theologiae</i>: II-II, q. 184, a. 5; q. 185, a. 4; Jn 12: <i>ST</i> II-II, q. | |
| 1736 185, a. 5, obj. 1. | |
| 1737 | |
| 1738 </div> | |
| 1739 | |
| 1740 <div id=ftn16> | |
| 1741 | |
| 1742 <p><a href="#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16">[16]</a><i> | |
| 1743 Tract. in Io</i>., 46, ch. 1, col. 1727-28; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>10:11-13. | |
| 1744 | |
| 1745 </div> | |
| 1746 | |
| 1747 <div id=ftn17> | |
| 1748 | |
| 1749 <p><a href="#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17">[17]</a> | |
| 1750 Aristotle. | |
| 1751 | |
| 1752 </div> | |
| 1753 | |
| 1754 <div id=ftn18> | |
| 1755 | |
| 1756 <p><a href="#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18">[18]</a> | |
| 1757 Augustine, <i>Tract. in Io., </i>46, ch. 8, col. 1732; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>10:11-13. | |
| 1758 | |
| 1759 </div> | |
| 1760 | |
| 1761 <div id=ftn19> | |
| 1762 | |
| 1763 <p><a href="#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19">[19]</a> | |
| 1764 Augustine, <i>Epistola CCXXVII, </i> ch. 2; PL 33, col. | |
| 1765 1014. cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>10:11-13. | |
| 1766 | |
| 1767 </div> | |
| 1768 | |
| 1769 <div id=ftn20> | |
| 1770 | |
| 1771 <p><a href="#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20">[20]</a> | |
| 1772 St. Thomas refers to Jn 10:16 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1773 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 35, a. 8, ad 1; Jn 10:17: <i>ST </i>III, q. 5, a. 4, s. | |
| 1774 c.; Jn 10:18: <i>ST </i>III, q. 5, a. 3; q. 47, a. 1, obj. 1; q. 47, a. 2, ad | |
| 1775 1; q. 50, a. 3, obj. 1; q. 53, a. 4, s. c. | |
| 1776 | |
| 1777 </div> | |
| 1778 | |
| 1779 <div id=ftn21> | |
| 1780 | |
| 1781 <p><a href="#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21">[21]</a> | |
| 1782 summa-three substances in Christ; his body and soul were separated at death but | |
| 1783 his divinity remained united to both. | |
| 1784 | |
| 1785 </div> | |
| 1786 | |
| 1787 <div id=ftn22> | |
| 1788 | |
| 1789 <p><a href="#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22">[22]</a> Summa-- | |
| 1790 God's love is the cause of human love, but works done in charity merit the | |
| 1791 increase of the effects of God's love. | |
| 1792 | |
| 1793 </div> | |
| 1794 | |
| 1795 <div id=ftn23> | |
| 1796 | |
| 1797 <p><a href="#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23">[23]</a> <i>Tract., | |
| 1798 in Io.</i>, 31, ch. 5, col. 1638. | |
| 1799 | |
| 1800 </div> | |
| 1801 | |
| 1802 <div id=ftn24> | |
| 1803 | |
| 1804 <p><a href="#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24">[24]</a> summa-Christ's | |
| 1805 entire nature was subject to His will. | |
| 1806 | |
| 1807 </div> | |
| 1808 | |
| 1809 <div id=ftn25> | |
| 1810 | |
| 1811 <p><a href="#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25">[25]</a> | |
| 1812 St. Thomas refers to Jn 10:27in the <i>Summa | |
| 1813 Theologiae</i>: I-II, q. 108, a. 4, ad 3; Jn 30: <i>ST </i>III, q. 17, a. 1, | |
| 1814 obj. 5. | |
| 1815 | |
| 1816 </div> | |
| 1817 | |
| 1818 <div id=ftn26> | |
| 1819 | |
| 1820 <p><a href="#_ftnref26" name="_ftn26">[26]</a><i> | |
| 1821 Tract. in Io</i>., 48, ch. 2, col. 1741; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>10:22-30.<i> </i> | |
| 1822 | |
| 1823 </div> | |
| 1824 | |
| 1825 <div id=ftn27> | |
| 1826 | |
| 1827 <p><a href="#_ftnref27" name="_ftn27">[27]</a> <i>Moralia</i>, II, ch. 2, no. 2; PL 75, col. 555C; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>10:22-30.<i> </i> | |
| 1828 | |
| 1829 </div> | |
| 1830 | |
| 1831 <div id=ftn28> | |
| 1832 | |
| 1833 <p><a href="#_ftnref28" name="_ftn28">[28]</a> 1443, | |
| 1834 1444, Summa-predestination and preordination. He begins to mention | |
| 1835 predestination in 1373, but says more about it here, also 1447, why it is the | |
| 1836 fault of some why it is not given to them to believe. | |
| 1837 | |
| 1838 </div> | |
| 1839 | |
| 1840 <div id=ftn29> | |
| 1841 | |
| 1842 <p><a href="#_ftnref29" name="_ftn29">[29]</a><i> | |
| 1843 Tract. in Io</i>., 48, ch. 5, col. 1742; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>10:22-30. | |
| 1844 | |
| 1845 </div> | |
| 1846 | |
| 1847 <div id=ftn30> | |
| 1848 | |
| 1849 <p><a href="#_ftnref30" name="_ftn30">[30]</a> Origen | |
| 1850 | |
| 1851 </div> | |
| 1852 | |
| 1853 <div id=ftn31> | |
| 1854 | |
| 1855 <p><a href="#_ftnref31" name="_ftn31">[31]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1856 in Io</i>., 48, ch. 6, col. 1743; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1857 Aurea, </i>10:22-30. | |
| 1858 | |
| 1859 </div> | |
| 1860 | |
| 1861 <div id=ftn32> | |
| 1862 | |
| 1863 <p><a href="#_ftnref32" name="_ftn32">[32]</a> <i>Ibid</i>, | |
| 1864 48, ch. 6, col. 1743; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>10:22-30. | |
| 1865 | |
| 1866 </div> | |
| 1867 | |
| 1868 <div id=ftn33> | |
| 1869 | |
| 1870 <p><a href="#_ftnref33" name="_ftn33">[33]</a> Summa, | |
| 1871 Christ is one with the Father absolutely, creatures can only become one with | |
| 1872 God in a qualified sense. | |
| 1873 | |
| 1874 </div> | |
| 1875 | |
| 1876 <div id=ftn34> | |
| 1877 | |
| 1878 <p><a href="#_ftnref34" name="_ftn34">[34]</a> | |
| 1879 St. Thomas refers to Jn 10:36 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1880 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 34, a. 1, s. c.; Jn 10:38: <i>ST</i> III, q. 43, a. 1; | |
| 1881 Jn 10:41: <i>ST</i> III, q. 27, a. 5, ad 3; q. 38, a. 2, obj. 2. | |
| 1882 | |
| 1883 </div> | |
| 1884 | |
| 1885 <div id=ftn35> | |
| 1886 | |
| 1887 <p><a href="#_ftnref35" name="_ftn35">[35]</a> | |
| 1888 Summa-because we become gods by participating in the Word of God, the Word must | |
| 1889 be divine. | |
| 1890 | |
| 1891 </div> | |
| 1892 | |
| 1893 <div id=ftn36> | |
| 1894 | |
| 1895 <p><a href="#_ftnref36" name="_ftn36">[36]</a> <i>De | |
| 1896 Trin</i>., 7, ch. 24; PL 10; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1897 Aurea, </i>10:31-38. | |
| 1898 | |
| 1899 </div> | |
| 1900 | |
| 1901 <div id=ftn37> | |
| 1902 | |
| 1903 <p><a href="#_ftnref37" name="_ftn37">[37]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1904 in Io</i>., 48, ch. 10, col. 1745; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1905 Aurea, </i>10:31-38. | |
| 1906 | |
| 1907 </div> | |
| 1908 | |
| 1909 <div id=ftn38> | |
| 1910 | |
| 1911 <p><a href="#_ftnref38" name="_ftn38">[38]</a> Hilary, | |
| 1912 <i>De Trin</i>., 9, ch. 61; PL 10, col. 330B. | |
| 1913 | |
| 1914 </div> | |
| 1915 | |
| 1916 <div id=ftn39> | |
| 1917 | |
| 1918 <p><a href="#_ftnref39" name="_ftn39">[39]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1919 in Io</i>., 48, ch. 10, col. 1745; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1920 Aurea, </i>10:31-38. | |
| 1921 | |
| 1922 </div> | |
| 1923 | |
| 1924 <div id=ftn40> | |
| 1925 | |
| 1926 <p><a href="#_ftnref40" name="_ftn40">[40]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1927 in Io</i>., 48, ch. 12, col. 1746; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1928 Aurea, </i>10:39-42. | |
| 1929 </body></html> |
