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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">21</span> | |
| 6 <p align=center><B>LECTURE I</B> | |
| 7 <BLOCKQUOTE><p><B>1 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the | |
| 8 disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon | |
| 9 Peter, Thomas called the Twin [Didymus], Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons | |
| 10 of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said | |
| 11 to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They | |
| 12 went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing. 4 Just as | |
| 13 day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that | |
| 14 it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They | |
| 15 answered him, "No." 6 He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the | |
| 16 boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to | |
| 17 haul it in, for the quantity of fish.<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</B></a></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 18 | |
| 19 <p>2569 The Evangelist has just told of two appearances of | |
| 20 Christ to his disciples. Now he mentions a third appearance. If we consider the | |
| 21 order and purpose of these appearances, it is evident that the first showed | |
| 22 Christ's divine authority by his breathing the Holy Spirit upon them; the | |
| 23 second showed that he was the same person as before, since he let them view his | |
| 24 wounds; and the third showed the reality of his risen human nature, for he ate | |
| 25 with them. | |
| 26 | |
| 27 <p>There are two parts in this. The Evangelist | |
| 28 first mentions Christ's dealing with a group of the disciples; secondly, with | |
| 29 two of them he especially loved (v 15). As to the first, the Evangelist | |
| 30 mentions the time and circumstance of his appearance, and then adds a short | |
| 31 epilogue, <b>This was now the third time....</b> | |
| 32 | |
| 33 <p>2570 The time is <b>After this</b>, after what the | |
| 34 Evangelist just narrated. It is significant that he says this for it shows that | |
| 35 Christ was not with them continuously, but appeared to them at intervals. The | |
| 36 reason for this was that he had not risen with the same life as before, but | |
| 37 with a glorious life, as the angels have and the blessed will have: "Except the | |
| 38 gods," that is, the angels, "whose dwelling is not with flesh" (Dan 2:11). | |
| 39 | |
| 40 <p>2571 The Evangelist seemed to be ending his gospel before, | |
| 41 when he wrote, <b>these are written that you may believe.... </b>Why, then, | |
| 42 does he add on this appearance? Augustine gives a mystical reason for this, | |
| 43 which is that this appearance signifies the glory of the future life, when | |
| 44 Christ will appear to us as he is.<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a> | |
| 45 And so the Evangelist put this appearance after what seemed to be the end of | |
| 46 his gospel so that this could be better understood. | |
| 47 | |
| 48 <p>2572 The circumstance of his appearance was that <b>Jesus | |
| 49 revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. </b>It is in | |
| 50 the nature and power of a glorified body that it can be seen or not seen, as | |
| 51 the person wishes, by non‑glorified bodies. That is why he says, <b>revealed</b>, | |
| 52 i.e., Christ made himself visible. In the same way he is said to appear, which | |
| 53 means the same thing as to reveal, "appearing to them during forty days" (Acts | |
| 54 1:3). As Ambrose says, that appears in whose power it is to be seen or not | |
| 55 seen.<a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a> | |
| 56 | |
| 57 <p>2573 The place is <b>by the Sea of Tiberias</b>, which is | |
| 58 the Sea of Galilee. It is called the Sea of Tiberias after the city of Tiberias, which was built in honor of Tiberius Caesar. The Evangelist mentions this, | |
| 59 first, to show that our Lord had kept the promise made to the disciples, "he is | |
| 60 going before you to Galilee" (Mt 28:7). Secondly, he wanted to show that our | |
| 61 Lord had banished the very great fear from the hearts of his disciples, so that | |
| 62 they no longer remained shut up in their house, but even traveled as far as Galilee. | |
| 63 | |
| 64 <p>2574 In describing this appearance, he first mentions the | |
| 65 persons to whom Christ appeared; what they were doing; and thirdly, the | |
| 66 circumstances of this appearance. | |
| 67 | |
| 68 <p>2575 Christ appeared to seven persons. The Evangelist says | |
| 69 that there were together <b>Simon Peter, </b>who had denied him, <b>Thomas | |
| 70 called the Twin, </b>who was not present at the first appearance, <b>Nathanael | |
| 71 of Cana in Galilee, </b>who is thought to be the brother of Philip, <b>the sons | |
| 72 of Zebedee</b>, that is, James and John, and <b>two others of his disciples </b>not | |
| 73 explicitly named. In the mystical sense, this number signifies the state and | |
| 74 appearance of future glory, which will be after the seventh age, that is, in | |
| 75 the eighth, which is the age of those who arise: "From new moon to new moon, | |
| 76 and from sabbath to sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me" (Is | |
| 77 66:23). | |
| 78 | |
| 79 <p>2576 They were fishing, and so we first see Peter asking | |
| 80 about this; the willingness of the others to go with him; and then their | |
| 81 efforts. | |
| 82 | |
| 83 <p>2577 Peter asks them to go fishing, saying, <b>I am going | |
| 84 fishing. </b>In the mystical interpretation, this signifies the work of | |
| 85 preaching: "I will make you fishers of men" (Mt 4:19). So when Peter said, <b>I | |
| 86 am going fishing, </b>the mystical sense is that he is taking the others to | |
| 87 share in his concerns and preaching: "So it will be easier for you, and they | |
| 88 will bear the burden with you" (Ex 18:22). | |
| 89 | |
| 90 <p>2578 Their actual fishing seems to go against Luke (9:62): | |
| 91 "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." And it is clear that Peter had given up his work as fisherman. Why then | |
| 92 did he return to it and look back? I answer, with Augustine, that if he had | |
| 93 returned to this work of fishing before Christ's resurrection and before seeing | |
| 94 Christ's wounds, we would think that he was acting out of despair. But now, | |
| 95 even after Christ returned from the grave, after they had seen his wounds, and | |
| 96 had received the Holy Spirit by Christ's breathing on them, they became what | |
| 97 they were before, fishers of fish [not of men]. <a href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" | |
| 98 title="">[4]</a> | |
| 99 We can learn from this that a preacher can use his abilities to earn the | |
| 100 necessaries of life and still preserve the integrity of his apostolate, if he | |
| 101 has no other means of sustenance. For if St. Paul learned an art he did not | |
| 102 previously have in order to obtain the food he needed, so as to avoid being a | |
| 103 burden to others, Peter could all the more do this by using his own skill. | |
| 104 | |
| 105 <p>2579 Augustine says that a preacher can do this when he | |
| 106 cannot gain a living in any other way. But in this case Peter did have another | |
| 107 way, for our Lord promised: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, | |
| 108 and all these things shall be yours as well," that is, what is necessary for | |
| 109 life (Mt 6:33). The answer is that it is true that these things will be added, | |
| 110 with our cooperation. So our Lord did keep his promise here, with the | |
| 111 cooperation of Peter. For who else but our Lord caused the fish that were | |
| 112 caught to be within the range of their net? | |
| 113 | |
| 114 <p>2580 Gregory remarks that there are two kinds of work.<a | |
| 115 href="#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a> | |
| 116 One absorbs the mind, and hinders our spiritual concerns, as tax collecting. No | |
| 117 one should return to such work, even to provide food. So we do not read that | |
| 118 Matthew returned to his tax collecting post. There is another kind of work | |
| 119 which can be done without sin and without absorbing the mind, such as fishing | |
| 120 and things like that. And it was not a sin for Peter to return to this kind of | |
| 121 work after his conversion. | |
| 122 | |
| 123 <p>2581 The others agree to this, <b>We will go with you</b>. | |
| 124 This sets an example for preachers and prelates to encourage each other in | |
| 125 their work of turning people to God: "A brother helped is like a strong city" | |
| 126 (Prv 18:19); "He was like a young cedar on Lebanon; and they surrounded him | |
| 127 like the trunks of palm trees" (Sir 50:12). | |
| 128 | |
| 129 <p>2582 Next, we see that they were working at this, <b>They | |
| 130 went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing. </b>Here he | |
| 131 touches on three things that preachers ought to do. First, they should leave | |
| 132 those places which are sunk in sin: "Come out from them," the Chaldaeans, "and | |
| 133 be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; and I will | |
| 134 welcome you" (2 Cor 6:17). And they should go out from their carnal affections: | |
| 135 "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house" (Gen 12:1). And | |
| 136 also leave the quiet of contemplation: "Let us go forth into the fields, and | |
| 137 lodge in the villages; let us go out early to the vineyards" (Song 7:11). | |
| 138 Secondly, preachers should get into the ship, that is, go forward in charity | |
| 139 within the unity of the Church, which is called a ship: "In the days of Noah, | |
| 140 during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were | |
| 141 saved through water" (1 Pet 3:20). They should also board the ship of the cross | |
| 142 by depriving the flesh: "But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of | |
| 143 our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to | |
| 144 the world" (Gal 6:14); "Blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes" (Wis | |
| 145 14:7). | |
| 146 | |
| 147 <p> Thirdly, preachers should have total confidence | |
| 148 in the help of Christ. All <b>that night they caught nothing, </b>because as | |
| 149 long as God's help and the interior Preacher are not there, the words of the | |
| 150 preacher have no effect. But when the light comes, enlightening hearts, the | |
| 151 preacher makes a catch: "Send out your light and your truth" (Ps 42:3). Here, | |
| 152 night indicates the lack of divine help: "Night comes, when no one can work" | |
| 153 (9:4). Or, one could say, <b>that night, </b>during the time of the Old | |
| 154 Testament, <b>they caught nothing, </b>because they could not bring the | |
| 155 Gentiles to the faith: "The night has passed" [Rom 13:12]. According to | |
| 156 Augustine, they were fishing at night because they were still afraid.<a | |
| 157 href="#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a> | |
| 158 | |
| 159 <p>2583 Now we see the way and stages in which Jesus appeared: | |
| 160 first, he allows himself to be seen; secondly he is recognized; and thirdly, he | |
| 161 eats with the disciples. | |
| 162 | |
| 163 <p>2584 The Evangelist says that the <b>day was breaking</b>, | |
| 164 it was morning. In the mystical interpretation, morning or the break of day | |
| 165 indicates the glory of the resurrection: "Weeping may tarry for the night, but | |
| 166 joy comes with the morning" (Ps 30:5); "In the morning I will stand before you, | |
| 167 and will see you" [Ps 5:5]. | |
| 168 | |
| 169 <p>2585 Before his passion, on the occasion of a similar | |
| 170 miracle, Jesus did not stand on the shore, but was in a boat. Why, after the | |
| 171 passion, does he stand on the shore? The reason is that the sea signifies the | |
| 172 troubles and tribulations of this present life, but all these end at the shore | |
| 173 [of eternal life]. So, before his passion, Christ stood on the sea, because he | |
| 174 had a body subject to death; but after the resurrection, he had surmounted the | |
| 175 corruption of the flesh and stood upon the shore. | |
| 176 | |
| 177 <p>2586 <b>The disciples did not know that it was Jesus </b>because | |
| 178 of their own ignorance. We can see from this that on this turbulent sea of the | |
| 179 present, we cannot know the hidden things of Christ: "The eye has not seen, O | |
| 180 God, besides you, what things you have prepared for those who wait for you" [Is | |
| 181 64:4]. | |
| 182 | |
| 183 <p>2587 Next, Jesus brings them to recognize him. First, the | |
| 184 Evangelist shows how they came to recognize him; and who was the first to do | |
| 185 so. | |
| 186 | |
| 187 <p>2588 The Evangelist does three things regarding the first. | |
| 188 First, he shows our Lord asking for food, <b>Children, have you any fish? </b>The | |
| 189 disciples did not think it was Christ asking, but someone who wanted to buy | |
| 190 fish, for he spoke like a customer. In the mystical interpretation, Christ asks | |
| 191 us for food to refresh himself. And we do this for him by obeying the | |
| 192 commandments "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish | |
| 193 his work" (4:34). <b>They answered him, No</b>, that is, not of themselves: "I | |
| 194 can will what is right, but I cannot do it" (Rom 7: 18). | |
| 195 | |
| 196 <p>2589 Secondly, the Evangelist mentions Christ's order, <b>Cast | |
| 197 the net on the right side of the boat. </b>In Luke (5:4) there is a similar | |
| 198 incident, but there Christ did not tell them to cast their nets to the right | |
| 199 side, as he does here. The reason for this is that the fishing mentioned by | |
| 200 John signifies that fishing by which the predestined are taken to eternal life, | |
| 201 and it is only those children on the right who are brought there: "The Lord | |
| 202 knows the ways that are on the right; those on the left are perverse" [Prv | |
| 203 4:27]; "The right hand of the Lord does valiantly!" (Ps 118:16). The fishing | |
| 204 mentioned in Luke signified the call into the Church, and so the net is cast to | |
| 205 all sides because people are caught and brought to Christ from all over: "Go | |
| 206 out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and | |
| 207 maimed and blind and lame" (Lk 14:21). | |
| 208 | |
| 209 <p>2590 The obedience of the disciples is shown when the | |
| 210 Evangelist says, <b>So they cast it</b>, the net; and the effect of this | |
| 211 obedience, <b>and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of | |
| 212 fish, </b>that is, for the great number of those who would be saved: "By your | |
| 213 descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you | |
| 214 have obeyed my voice" (Gen 22:18); "Behold, a great multitude which no man | |
| 215 could number" (Rev 7:9). This fishing differs from that mentioned by Luke because | |
| 216 there (Lk 5:6) the nets broke; and in a like way the Church is rent by | |
| 217 disagreements and heresies. But in the fishing mentioned by John the net does | |
| 218 not break because there will be no lack of unity in the future life. Again, in | |
| 219 the incident mentioned by Luke, the fish were taken into the boat. But here in | |
| 220 John's incident, the fish are brought to the shore, because the saints destined | |
| 221 for glory are hidden from us: "In the covert of your presence you hide them | |
| 222 from the plots of men" (Ps 31:20). [Augustine remarks that when on the sea of | |
| 223 this life the elect are not known to us, they are hidden from us; they become | |
| 224 known to us only when we arrive at the shore, at eternal life.]<a href="#_ftn7" | |
| 225 name="_ftnref7">[7]</a> | |
| 226 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 227 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 2</B> | |
| 228 | |
| 229 <BLOCKQUOTE><p><b>7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is | |
| 230 the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his clothes, | |
| 231 for he was stripped for work, and sprang into the sea. 8 But the other | |
| 232 disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not | |
| 233 far from the land, but about a hundred yards [two hundred cubits] off. 9 When | |
| 234 they got out on land, they saw [hot coals] a charcoal fire there, with fish | |
| 235 lying on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you | |
| 236 have just caught." 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, | |
| 237 full of large fish, a hundred and fifty‑three of them; and although there | |
| 238 were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them. "Come and [dine] | |
| 239 have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They | |
| 240 knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and | |
| 241 so with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the | |
| 242 disciples after he was raised from the dead.<a href="#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" | |
| 243 title="">[8]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 244 | |
| 245 <p>2591 The Evangelist, having shown how the taking of the great | |
| 246 number of fish lead the disciples to recognize Christ, now mentions the order | |
| 247 in those recognizing him. First, he mentions John; then Peter; and then actions | |
| 248 of the other disciples. | |
| 249 | |
| 250 <p>2592 John, being quick in understanding, recognized Christ | |
| 251 at once. So he said to Peter, whom he loved more than the others, and also | |
| 252 because Peter was above the others in rank, <b>It is the Lord! </b>John was | |
| 253 convinced of this by the catch of the fish: "Thou dost rule the raging of the | |
| 254 sea" (Ps 88:8); "Whatever the Lord pleases he does, in heaven and on earth in | |
| 255 the seas and all deeps" (Ps 134:6). He said, <b>It is the Lord! </b>because | |
| 256 they usually called him this: "You call me teacher and Lord" (13:13). | |
| 257 | |
| 258 <p>2593 Peter is seen as passionately devoted to Christ. His | |
| 259 devotion is clear, first of all, by his quickness to act: <b>When Simon Peter | |
| 260 heard that it was the Lord, he put on his clothes, for he was stripped for | |
| 261 work, and sprang into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat. </b>As | |
| 262 soon as he heard it was the Lord, Peter went without delay. | |
| 263 | |
| 264 <p>Secondly, we see his devotion for | |
| 265 Christ, for out of modesty he did not want to appear naked, but put on his | |
| 266 clothes, for he was stripped for work, because it was hot and it made working | |
| 267 easier. We can learn from this that those coming to Christ ought to put off the | |
| 268 old man and put on the new, which has been created for God in faith: "He who | |
| 269 conquers shall be clad thus in white garments, and I will not blot his name out | |
| 270 of the book of life" (Rev 3:5). | |
| 271 | |
| 272 <p>Thirdly, his devotion is shown by | |
| 273 his lack of fear: for because of his great love he was unwilling to stay in the | |
| 274 boat, which was moving too slowly, and so he <b>sprang into the sea</b>, to | |
| 275 reach Christ more quickly. | |
| 276 | |
| 277 <p>2594 In the mystical interpretation, the sea signifies the | |
| 278 troubles of this present world. Those who desire to come to Christ cast | |
| 279 themselves into the sea, and do not refuse the tribulations of this world: | |
| 280 "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22); "My | |
| 281 son, if you come forward to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials" (Sir | |
| 282 2:1). Now Peter did cast himself into the sea and he reached Christ unharmed | |
| 283 because the servant of Christ is kept safe and unharmed in the midst of | |
| 284 tribulations: "You have given a path in the sea, and a safe way through the | |
| 285 waves" [Wis 14:3]. As Chrysostom says, this incident very well brings out the | |
| 286 difference between John and Peter: for John is seen to be greater in | |
| 287 understanding, while Peter is more ardent in his affections.<a href="#_ftn9" | |
| 288 name="_ftnref9">[9]</a> | |
| 289 | |
| 290 <p>2595 The other disciples remained on the boat. First, the | |
| 291 Evangelist mentions what they did, <b>the other disciples came in the boat, </b>because | |
| 292 they were not as ardent as Peter. The boat signifies the Church: "The hope of | |
| 293 the world took refuge on a raft, and guided by your hand left to the world the | |
| 294 seed of a new generation" (Wis 14:6). This text refers to the Church as we see | |
| 295 from 1 Peter (3:20). | |
| 296 | |
| 297 <p><b>The other disciples came in the | |
| 298 boat, </b>that is, protected by the society of the Church, which is as | |
| 299 formidable as an army prepared for battle: "In the covert of your presence you | |
| 300 hide them from the plots of men" (Ps 31:20). | |
| 301 | |
| 302 <p>2596 Secondly, the Evangelist gives the reason why they did | |
| 303 this, <b>for they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits off. | |
| 304 </b>This could be the reason why Peter sprang into the sea, because the land | |
| 305 was near; and it could explain why the others arrived so quickly. Indeed, they | |
| 306 were not far away, because the Church is not far from the land of the living, | |
| 307 for the Church is "none other than the house of God, and ... the gate of | |
| 308 heaven" (Gen 28:17); and the saints think about this land every day: "We look | |
| 309 not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen" (2 Cor | |
| 310 4:18); "Our commonwealth is in heaven" (Phil 3:20). | |
| 311 | |
| 312 <p>He says, <b>two hundred cubits, </b>which | |
| 313 signifies the same thing as the two boats mentioned by Luke (5:2), that is, the | |
| 314 two peoples from which the elect are drawn to eternal life: "That he might | |
| 315 create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might | |
| 316 reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross" (Eph 2:15). The net by | |
| 317 which the fish are taken is the teaching of the faith, by which God draws us by | |
| 318 inspiring us from within: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me | |
| 319 draws him" (6:44). The apostles also draw us by their exhortations. | |
| 320 | |
| 321 <p>2597 Next, the Evangelist tells how Christ affectionately | |
| 322 prepared a meal for his disciples. He mentions its preparation; Christ's | |
| 323 invitation; and the meal itself. In the preparation of the meal we see what was | |
| 324 contributed by Christ, and what was brought by the disciples. | |
| 325 | |
| 326 <p>2598 Christ prepared three things. The Evangelist continues, | |
| 327 <b>When they got out on land, they saw hot coals there, with fish lying on it, | |
| 328 and bread, </b>which Christ by his power had created from nothing, or had | |
| 329 formed from some nearby matter. In a previous miracle (6:11), Jesus fed the | |
| 330 people with bread he had multiplied from previously existing bread. Now, after | |
| 331 his passion, he creates or newly forms things, because it is no longer the time | |
| 332 to show weakness but his power. For what he did before his passion in the | |
| 333 multiplication of the bread was done in condescension, because if he wanted, he | |
| 334 could have created it from nothing or newly formed it. | |
| 335 | |
| 336 <p>2599 We can understand from this that Christ prepares a | |
| 337 spiritual meal or banquet. If we take this present meal symbolically for the | |
| 338 Church's meal, Christ also prepares these three things. First the hot coals of | |
| 339 charity: "You will heap coals of fire on his head" (Prv 25:22); "Fill your | |
| 340 hands with burning coals" (Ez 10:2). Christ carried these burning coals from | |
| 341 heaven to earth: "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another" | |
| 342 (13:34); "I came to cast fire upon the earth" (Lk 12:49). Also, Christ prepares | |
| 343 the fish laid over the coals, which is Christ himself: for the cooking fish | |
| 344 outspread over the hot coals is the suffering Christ who is spread over the hot | |
| 345 coals when because of the fire of his love for us he is immolated on the cross: | |
| 346 "Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice | |
| 347 to God" (Eph 5:2); "Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, | |
| 348 as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and | |
| 349 sacrifice to God" (Eph 5:1). | |
| 350 | |
| 351 <p>He also prepares the bread which | |
| 352 nourishes us, and this bread is himself. Christ is called a fish insofar as his | |
| 353 divinity is hidden, for it is characteristic of fish to remain hidden in the | |
| 354 water: "Truly, you are a God who hides yourself" (Is 45:15). While insofar as | |
| 355 Christ nourishes us by his teaching, and even gives us his body for food, he is | |
| 356 truly bread: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven" (6:51); "The | |
| 357 bread will be rich and abundant" [Is 30:23]. The ministers of the Church should | |
| 358 also bring something to this meal; but whatever it is, it has come from God. | |
| 359 | |
| 360 <p>2600 The Evangelist now mentions what was brought by the | |
| 361 disciples: first, we see the Lord's command; and then one of the disciples acts | |
| 362 on it. | |
| 363 | |
| 364 <p>2601 Our Lord tells them to bring some of the fish they have | |
| 365 caught. It was like saying: I have given you the gift of charity, I have | |
| 366 roasted my body upon the cross and given you the bread of my teaching, which | |
| 367 perfects and strengthens the Church. Now it is your task to catch others. These | |
| 368 are the ones who will be converted by the preaching of the apostles: "Bring to | |
| 369 the Lord, O children of God" [Ps 29:1]; "And they shall bring all your brethren | |
| 370 from all the nations as an offering to the Lord" (Is 66:20). | |
| 371 | |
| 372 <p>2602 If this meal is understood to be a moral meal, then | |
| 373 Christ first prepares as food for the soul the burning coals of charity: "God's | |
| 374 love has been poured into our hearts" (Rom 5:5); "I came to cast fire upon the | |
| 375 earth" (Lk 12:49). Then he prepares the fish, that is, a hidden faith, since it | |
| 376 is concerned with things that are not evident (Heb 10:1); and also the bread, | |
| 377 that is, solid teaching: "Solid food is for the mature" (Heb 5:14). Our | |
| 378 contribution to this meal is to make good use of the grace given to us: "But by | |
| 379 the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain" (1 | |
| 380 Cor 15:10). Thus our Lord asks us to <b>bring the fish, </b>bring your good | |
| 381 works, which have been granted to you to accomplish: "Let your light so shine | |
| 382 before men, that they may see your good works" (Mt 5:16). | |
| 383 | |
| 384 <p>2603 The Evangelist mentions that this was done by one of | |
| 385 the disciples, Peter, who was more ardent than the others, <b>So Simon Peter | |
| 386 went aboard</b>;<b> </b>he also went up to the helm of the Church: "I will | |
| 387 climb the state of perfection" [Song 7:8]; "In his heart he is set to ascend" | |
| 388 [Ps 64:6]. <b>And hauled the net ashore, </b>because the holy Church has been | |
| 389 entrusted to him, and it was said to him in particular, "Feed my lambs" | |
| 390 (21:15). Peter now foreshadows this by his action in drawing the fish to the | |
| 391 solid land, because he will show the solidity of the eternal homeland to the | |
| 392 faithful. | |
| 393 | |
| 394 <p>2604 He said, <b>full of large fish, </b>because "those whom | |
| 395 he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified" (Rom | |
| 396 8:30); "Men renowned for their power, giving counsel by their understanding, | |
| 397 and proclaiming prophecies; leaders of the people in their deliberations" (Si | |
| 398 44:3). At the other catch of fish (Lk 5:4) the number of fish taken was not | |
| 399 mentioned, but it is here; here there were <b>a hundred and fifty‑three. </b>The | |
| 400 reason for this is that those called to the Church of the present time include | |
| 401 both those who are good and bad: "The number of fools is infinite" [Eccl 1:15]. | |
| 402 Thus in Genesis (22:17), when Abraham is told of his calling, we read, "I will | |
| 403 multiply your descendants as the sand which is on the seashore," which refers | |
| 404 to the bad. While referring to the good, God says, "Look toward heaven, and | |
| 405 number the stars, if you are able to number them .... So shall your descendants | |
| 406 be" (Gen 15:5); for God especially counts the good, "He tells the number of the | |
| 407 stars" [Ps 147:4]. | |
| 408 | |
| 409 <p>2605 Does this mean that no more than a hundred and fifty‑three | |
| 410 will be saved? No indeed! There will be more, but this number indicates a | |
| 411 mystery. For no one can reach the homeland without observing the commandments | |
| 412 of the decalogue; and the commandments can only be kept with the help of the | |
| 413 sevenfold gift of the Holy Spirit: "The spirit of wisdom and of understanding, | |
| 414 the spirit of counsel and of fortitude; the spirit of knowledge and of | |
| 415 godliness, and you will be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord" [Is | |
| 416 11:2]. Further, the first recorded instance of sanctification occurred on the | |
| 417 seventh day: "God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it" (Gen 2:3). Adding | |
| 418 ten and seven gives seventeen. Now if we add the cardinal numbers successively ‑ | |
| 419 one plus two gives three, plus three gives six, plus four gives ten, plus five | |
| 420 gives fifteen, plus six gives twenty‑one, and so on in this way till we | |
| 421 have reached the number seventeen ‑ we arrive at the number one hundred | |
| 422 and fifty‑three. | |
| 423 | |
| 424 <p>Or, in another way: Christ now was | |
| 425 appearing to seven disciples. If we multiply this seven by seven (the gifts of | |
| 426 the Holy Spirit) we get forty‑nine. Now if we add one to indicate that | |
| 427 perfection of unity which is characteristic of the children of God who act by | |
| 428 the Spirit of God, we get fifty. If we triple this, and also add three, to | |
| 429 indicate our faith in the Trinity (which we profess with our heart, our words | |
| 430 and our actions), we get a hundred and fifty‑three. Thus, those who are | |
| 431 perfected by the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and united by their faith in | |
| 432 the Trinity, come to the Father. | |
| 433 | |
| 434 <p>2606 The Evangelist continues, <b>and although there were so | |
| 435 many, the net was not torn. </b>In the incident related by Luke (Lk 5:6) the | |
| 436 net broke because in the present Church [in this world], which the net | |
| 437 signifies, there are many rips of schisms, heresies and seditions. But the | |
| 438 Church is not entirely torn apart because "I am with you always, to the close | |
| 439 of the age" (Mt 28:20). But in the future, in our homeland, heaven, which is | |
| 440 signified by the net which was not torn, that is, in that peace which will be | |
| 441 in the saints, there will be no schisms: "He makes peace in your borders" (Ps | |
| 442 147:14). | |
| 443 | |
| 444 <p>2607 When the Evangelist says, <b>Jesus said to them, Come | |
| 445 and dine, </b>we see his invitation to the meal he had prepared. First, we see | |
| 446 Christ's invitation; then the attitude of the disciples. | |
| 447 | |
| 448 <p>2608 Christ invites us to dine with him by inspiring us | |
| 449 himself from within, saying, <b>Come and dine</b>:<b> </b>"Come to me, all who | |
| 450 labor and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you" [Mt 11:28]; "Eat, O friends, | |
| 451 and drink; drink deeply, O lovers!" (Song 5:1). He also invites us to dine by | |
| 452 encouraging and teaching us from without through others: "A man once gave a | |
| 453 great banquet ... he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, | |
| 454 Come" (Lk 14:16). | |
| 455 | |
| 456 <p>2609 The Evangelist gives their attitude when he says, <b>Now | |
| 457 none of the disciples dared ask him, Who are you? </b>According to Augustine, | |
| 458 this indicates the disciples' certainty about Christ's resurrection; they were | |
| 459 so certain that it was Christ that none of them presumed to doubt that it was | |
| 460 he.<a href="#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a> | |
| 461 And because a question indicates a doubt, no one presumed to ask, <b>Who are | |
| 462 you? </b>"In that day you will ask nothing of me" (16:23). For Chrysostom, it | |
| 463 indicates a reverence of the disciples for Christ which was greater than usual.<a | |
| 464 href="#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a> | |
| 465 They would have liked to have questioned him; but Christ appeared to them in | |
| 466 such grandeur and glory that they did not dare to question him because of their | |
| 467 amazement and respect. It was this that particularly stopped them from | |
| 468 questioning him, for <b>they knew it was the Lord.</b> | |
| 469 | |
| 470 <p>2610 Next, Jesus came and took bread and gave it to them, | |
| 471 and we see the meal they had, with Jesus eating with them: "You open your hand, | |
| 472 you satisfy the desire of every living thing" (Ps 145:16). For he is the one | |
| 473 who gives nourishment at the appropriate times. | |
| 474 | |
| 475 <p>2611 But did Christ really eat with them? We should say that | |
| 476 he did, although it does not say this here. Luke (24:43) explicitly says that | |
| 477 he ate with them, and in Acts [1:4] we read that "while eating with them, he | |
| 478 charged them not to leave Jerusalem." | |
| 479 | |
| 480 <p>2612 But did he truly eat? We should say to this that a | |
| 481 thing is said to be true in two ways: true with the truth of signification, and | |
| 482 true with the truth of its species. A thing is true in the first way when it | |
| 483 corresponds to what is signified. For example, if I want to signify something | |
| 484 by speech, and what I signify by it is true and agrees with the thing | |
| 485 signified, my speech is true with the truth of signification, although not | |
| 486 [necessarily] true with the truth of the species. When Christ said "I am the | |
| 487 true vine" (15:1), that was true, although he is not a true vine in the sense | |
| 488 that he has the species or nature of a vine, but he is a vine considering what | |
| 489 vine signifies. On the other hand, something is said to be true with the truth | |
| 490 of its species or kind, when it has what belongs to the truth of its species. | |
| 491 These things are the principles of the species, not their subsequent effects. | |
| 492 Thus the utterance, "Man is an animal" is true in the first way, with the truth | |
| 493 of signification, because it signifies what is true. But is not true with the | |
| 494 truth of species unless it is spoken by the mouth of a [human] animal using its | |
| 495 normal organs of speech. Its truth does not depend on the effects of the | |
| 496 speaking, for example, that it be heard by someone. So, applied to the act of | |
| 497 eating: some cases are true only with the truth of signification, as the eating | |
| 498 ascribed to an angel, because an angel does not have the organs for eating. But | |
| 499 what is signified by their eating is true, that is, the desire they have for | |
| 500 our salvation. But Christ's act of eating after the resurrection was true both | |
| 501 with the truth of signification, because he did it to show that he had a human | |
| 502 nature, which he did in truth have, and his eating was true according to its | |
| 503 species, because he had the organs used for eating. However, the effects | |
| 504 consequent on eating were not present, since the food was not transformed into | |
| 505 his substance, since he had a glorified and incorruptible body. It was | |
| 506 dissolved into pre‑existing matter by the divine power. However, this | |
| 507 effect does not alter the truth of the species, as was said.<a href="#_ftn12" | |
| 508 name="_ftnref12">[12]</a> | |
| 509 | |
| 510 <p>2613 The Evangelist summarizes the appearances by saying, <b>This | |
| 511 was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples. </b>According | |
| 512 to Augustine, if this <b>third time </b>refers to the number of times, it is | |
| 513 not true.<a href="#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13">[13]</a> | |
| 514 For as was said, on the first day Christ appeared five times, again on the | |
| 515 eighth day when Thomas was present, again by the Sea as recorded here, again on | |
| 516 the mountain in Galilee (Mt 28:16), again when they were at table (Mk 16:14), | |
| 517 and again on the day of his ascension, when "as they were looking on, he was | |
| 518 lifted up" (Acts 1:9). Further, he appeared to them many other times during the | |
| 519 forty days, but these are not recorded (Acts 1:3). | |
| 520 | |
| 521 <p>Thus the <b>third time </b>must | |
| 522 refer to the days on which Christ appeared. The first day he appeared was the | |
| 523 day of the resurrection; the second day was eight days after the resurrection, <b>eight | |
| 524 days later </b>(20:26); and the third day was the appearance by the lake | |
| 525 mentioned here. Or, one could say, this statement can be true even if it is | |
| 526 refereed to the number of times: for the only times we read that he appeared to | |
| 527 a <i>number </i>of the disciples gathered together was on the first day in the | |
| 528 evening, when the doors were shut; secondly, eight days later, when the | |
| 529 disciples were gathered together; and thirdly, here at the Sea. Thus, he | |
| 530 explicitly says, <b>this was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the | |
| 531 disciples. </b> | |
| 532 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 533 <p align=center><b>LECTURE 3 | |
| 534 | |
| 535 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon | |
| 536 Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, | |
| 537 "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." 16 A | |
| 538 second time he said to him, "Simon, Son of John, do you love me?" He said to | |
| 539 him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep" | |
| 540 [Feed my lambs]. 17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you | |
| 541 love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love | |
| 542 me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." | |
| 543 Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep."<a href="#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14">[14]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 544 | |
| 545 <p>2614 The Evangelist just showed what the Lord did for the | |
| 546 disciples in general; here he shows him dealing with his two especially loved | |
| 547 disciples: first, what he did for Peter; and how he dealt with John (v 20). He | |
| 548 does two things with the first: first, he lays on Peter the pastoral office; | |
| 549 secondly, he predicts that he will be martyred (v18). | |
| 550 | |
| 551 <p>He imposes the pastoral office on Peter only | |
| 552 after an examination. Thus, those who are to be raised to this office are first | |
| 553 examined, "Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands" (1 Tim 5:22). Christ | |
| 554 examined him three times, and so this part is divided into three parts. In the | |
| 555 first part we see our Lord's question (v 15); Peter's answer; and the | |
| 556 imposition of the office (v 15). Looking at the first, we can consider three | |
| 557 things: the time of the examination; the tenor of the conversation; and on what | |
| 558 Peter was examined. | |
| 559 | |
| 560 <p>2615 The order of this event is given as <b>When they had | |
| 561 finished </b>the meal. This signifies the spiritual meal by which the soul is | |
| 562 refreshed with spiritual gifts, even when it is united to the body: "I will | |
| 563 come in to him and eat with him" (Rev 3:20). Therefore it is appropriate that | |
| 564 one who is raised to this office be already refreshed with this joyous meal. | |
| 565 Otherwise, how could he refresh the hungry ones that come to him: "I will feast | |
| 566 the soul of the priests with abundance" (Jer 31:14), with that abundance | |
| 567 mentioned in Psalm 63 (v 5): "My soul is feasted as with marrow and fat." | |
| 568 | |
| 569 <p>2616 The tenor of the conversation is seen when he says, <b>Jesus | |
| 570 said to Simon Peter. </b>Three things are given here which are necessary for a | |
| 571 prelate. First, obedience, when he says, <b>Simon, </b>which means obedient. A | |
| 572 prelate needs to be obedient because one who does not know how to obey | |
| 573 superiors does not know how to govern inferiors: "An obedient man will speak of | |
| 574 victory" [Prv 21:28]. Secondly, a prelate needs knowledge, indicated by <b>Peter</b>,<b> | |
| 575 </b>which means understanding. A prelate needs understanding for he is the | |
| 576 appointed watchman, and one who is blind is a poor watchman: "His watchmen are | |
| 577 blind" (Is 56:10); "Because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from | |
| 578 being a priest to me" (Hos 4:6). Thirdly, a prelate needs grace, for he says <b>son | |
| 579 of John. </b>Prelates need grace because if they do not have grace they do not | |
| 580 have anything: "By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor 15:10); "And when | |
| 581 they perceived the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who | |
| 582 were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship" | |
| 583 (Gal 2:9). | |
| 584 | |
| 585 <p>2617 The questions are about love; and Jesus asks, <b>Do you | |
| 586 love me more than these? </b>This was a suitable question, for Peter had | |
| 587 previously fallen, as we saw before, and it was not appropriate that he be | |
| 588 preferred to the others until his sin was forgiven ‑ which is only | |
| 589 brought about by charity: "Love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Pet 4:8); "Love | |
| 590 covers all offenses" (Prv 10:12). So it was fitting that his charity be made | |
| 591 known by this questioning, not indeed to him who looks into the depths of our | |
| 592 hearts, but to others. So Christ said, but not as one who did not already know, | |
| 593 <b>Do you love me more than these? </b>Now we read that "perfect love casts out | |
| 594 fear" (1 Jn 4:18). Thus it was that when our Lord was about to die, Peter was | |
| 595 afraid and denied him; but the risen Lord restored love and banished his fear. | |
| 596 So Peter, who before had denied Christ because he was afraid to die, now, after | |
| 597 our Lord has arisen, feared nothing. Why should he be afraid, since he now | |
| 598 realized that death had died? | |
| 599 | |
| 600 <p>2618 This questioning was also appropriate for the office, | |
| 601 since many who assume a pastoral office use it as self‑lovers: "In the | |
| 602 last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self" (1 | |
| 603 Tim 3:1). One who does not love the Lord is not a fit prelate. A fit prelate is | |
| 604 one who does not seek his own advantage, but that of Christ's; and he does this | |
| 605 through love: "The love of Christ controls us" (2 Cor 5:14). Love also becomes | |
| 606 this office because it benefits others: for it is due to the abundance of love | |
| 607 that those who love Jesus will at times give up the quiet of their own | |
| 608 contemplation to help their neighbor. Although the: Apostle said, "I am sure | |
| 609 that neither death nor life ... will be able to separate us from the love of | |
| 610 God" (Rom 8:39), he added, "For I could wish that I myself were accursed and | |
| 611 cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren" (Rom 9:3). Thus a prelate | |
| 612 should be questioned about his love. | |
| 613 | |
| 614 <p>2619 He adds, <b>more than these, </b>for even as the | |
| 615 Philosopher says in his <i>Politics</i>, it is the natural order of things that | |
| 616 the one who cares for and governs others should be better.<a href="#_ftn15" | |
| 617 name="_ftnref15">[15]</a> | |
| 618 Thus he says that just as the soul is to the body that it rules, and reason is | |
| 619 to our lower powers, so man is related to the irrational animals. And there | |
| 620 ought to be a similar relation between prelates and their subjects. Thus, | |
| 621 according to Gregory, the life of a pastor should be such that he is related to | |
| 622 his subjects as a shepherd to his sheep.<a href="#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" | |
| 623 title="">[16]</a> | |
| 624 So Christ says, <b>more than these, </b>because the more Peter loves the better | |
| 625 he is: "Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among | |
| 626 all the people" (1 Sam 10:24). | |
| 627 | |
| 628 <p>2620 But in selecting someone [to rule] is it always | |
| 629 necessary to choose the one who is unconditionally better, even if the laws say | |
| 630 that it is enough to choose one who is merely good? To answer this two | |
| 631 distinctions must be made. Some things are sufficient according to human | |
| 632 judgment which are still not sufficient according to the divine judgment. | |
| 633 According to human judgment, if a person cannot be reproached for something, | |
| 634 this is sufficient for his election to stand. For it is obvious that it would | |
| 635 be difficult to have elections if they could be nullified because someone was | |
| 636 found who was better than the one actually chosen. So, according to our human | |
| 637 judgment, it is sufficient if an election is honest and a suitable person is | |
| 638 chosen. | |
| 639 | |
| 640 <p> But, so far as concerns the divine judgment, and | |
| 641 our own conscience, it is necessary to choose that person who is better. Now a | |
| 642 person can be unconditionally better; and this is the way a holier person is | |
| 643 said to be better, for holiness makes one good. Yet such a person might not be | |
| 644 better for the Church. For this purpose, that person would be better who is | |
| 645 better educated, more competent, more discerning, and chosen more unanimously. | |
| 646 But if other things are equal, such as the benefit and welfare of the Church, | |
| 647 one would sin if he were to choose a person who was less unconditionally good | |
| 648 than another. There has to be a reason for such a choice. This is either the honor | |
| 649 of God and the benefit of the Church, or some private motive. If the motive is | |
| 650 the honor of God and the benefit to the Church, these goods will be regarded as | |
| 651 linked to the one chosen, and will make him the better person, in these | |
| 652 respects. If there is some private motive for the choice, such as some carnal | |
| 653 love, the expectation of ecclesiastical advancement, or temporal advantage, the | |
| 654 election is a fraud and there has been partiality. | |
| 655 | |
| 656 <p>2621 Now we see Peter's answer, <b>Yes, Lord; you know that | |
| 657 I love you. </b>This is a clear sign that he had retracted his previous denial. | |
| 658 And it shows that if the predestined fall, they are always better after they | |
| 659 are corrected. Before his denial, Peter thought that he was better than the | |
| 660 other apostles, saying, "Though they all fall away because of you, I will never | |
| 661 fall away" (Mt 26:33). And when Jesus said to him, "You will deny me three | |
| 662 times," Peter went against this and even boasted that "Even if I must die with | |
| 663 you, I will not deny you" (Mt 26:35). But now, Peter, having been conquered by | |
| 664 his own weakness, does not presume to state his love unless it is attested to | |
| 665 and confirmed by the Lord. He humbles himself before Christ, saying, <b>You | |
| 666 know that I love you</b>:<b> </b>"My witness is in heaven, and he that vouches | |
| 667 for me is on high" (Job 16:19). He also humbles himself in respect to the | |
| 668 apostles, for he does not say that he loves Jesus more than they do, but | |
| 669 simply, <b>I love you. </b>This teaches us not to rank ourselves before others, | |
| 670 but others before ourselves: "In humility count others better than yourselves" | |
| 671 (Phil 2:3). | |
| 672 | |
| 673 <p>2622 We can also notice, as Augustine points out, that when | |
| 674 our Lord asks, <b>Do you love </b>(<i>diligis</i>) <b>me</b>, Peter does not | |
| 675 answer with the same word, but says <b>I love </b><i>(amo)</i><b> you</b>, as | |
| 676 if they were the same.<a href="#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17">[17]</a> | |
| 677 And they are the same in reality, but there is some difference in meaning: Love | |
| 678 <i>(amor) is </i>a movement of our appetitive power, and if this is regulated | |
| 679 by our reason it is the will's act of love, which is called "direction" (<i>dilectio</i>) | |
| 680 ‑ because it presupposes an act of election, choice (<i>electio</i>). | |
| 681 This is why the brute animals are not said to love (<i>diligere</i>). For if | |
| 682 the appetitive movement is not regulated by reason, it is called <i>amor.</i> | |
| 683 | |
| 684 <p>2623 After this examination, Christ assigns Peter his | |
| 685 office, saying, <b>Feed my lambs, </b>that is, my faithful, which I, the Lamb, | |
| 686 call lambs: "Behold, the Lamb of God" (1:29). Thus, one should not be called a | |
| 687 Christian who says he is not under the care of that shepherd, that is, Peter: | |
| 688 "They shall all have one shepherd" (Ez 37:24); "They shall appoint for | |
| 689 themselves one head" (Hos 1:11). It was appropriate that this office be | |
| 690 assigned to Peter, the others being passed over, because, according to | |
| 691 Chrysostom, he was the extraordinary apostle, the voice of the disciples, and | |
| 692 the head of the group.<a href="#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18">[18]</a> | |
| 693 | |
| 694 <p>2624 Now we have the second examination. In order to avoid a | |
| 695 lot of repetition, note that Christ says three times, <b>Feed my lambs, </b>because | |
| 696 Peter ought to feed them three ways. First, they are to be fed by being taught: | |
| 697 "And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with | |
| 698 knowledge and understanding" (Jer 3:15). Secondly, they are to be fed by | |
| 699 example: "Set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in | |
| 700 faith, in purity" (1 Tim 4:12); "Upon the mountain heights of Israel," that is, | |
| 701 in the excellence of great men, "shall be their pasture" (Ez 34:14). Thirdly, | |
| 702 they are to be fed by being offered temporal help: "Woe, shepherds of Israel | |
| 703 who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?" (Ez | |
| 704 34:2). | |
| 705 | |
| 706 <p>2625 The third time Christ says to him, <b>Feed my sheep. </b>This | |
| 707 is because there are three types of people in the Church: beginners, those who | |
| 708 have made some progress, and the perfect. The first two types are the lambs, | |
| 709 since they are still imperfect. The others, since they are perfect, are called | |
| 710 sheep: "The mountains," that is, the perfect, "skipped like rams," and "the | |
| 711 hills," the others, "like lambs" (Ps 114:4). And so all prelates ought to guard | |
| 712 their charges as Christ's sheep and not their own. But alas! As Augustine says | |
| 713 in his <i>Easter Sermon</i>: "We witness the appearance of certain unfaithful | |
| 714 servants who have abandoned Christ's flock and by their thefts have made gold | |
| 715 their flock. You hear them say, 'These are my sheep. What do you want with my | |
| 716 sheep? I will not let you come to my sheep.' But if we say "my sheep," and | |
| 717 others talk about their sheep, then Christ has lost his own sheep."<a | |
| 718 href="#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19">[19]</a> | |
| 719 | |
| 720 <p>2626 Note also that just as Peter was assigned his office | |
| 721 three times, so he was examined three times. This was because he had denied Christ | |
| 722 three times. As Augustine says: "A threefold profession was required so that | |
| 723 Peter's tongue might show as much love as it had shown of fear, and that life | |
| 724 gained would wrest more words than the threat of death."<a href="#_ftn20" | |
| 725 name="_ftnref20">[20]</a> | |
| 726 Another reason for this was because Peter was obligated to love Christ for | |
| 727 three things. First, because his sin was forgiven, for the one who is forgiven | |
| 728 more loves the more (cf. Lk 7:43). Secondly, because he was promised a great | |
| 729 honor: "On this rock I will build my Church" (Mt 16:18). Thirdly, because of | |
| 730 the office entrusted to him, as right here, when Christ entrusts the care of | |
| 731 the Church to him, <b>Feed</b>. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your | |
| 732 heart," so that you will direct your entire intention to God, "and with all | |
| 733 your soul," so that your entire will might rest in God through love, "and with | |
| 734 all your might," so that the performance of all your actions will serve God. | |
| 735 | |
| 736 <p>2627 Peter became sad because asked three times. As was | |
| 737 seen, he was rebuked by our Lord before the passion when he so quickly asserted | |
| 738 that he loved him. Now, seeing that he is questioned so many times about his | |
| 739 love, he is afraid he will be rebuked again and becomes sad. Thus he says, <b>Lord, | |
| 740 you know everything; you know that I love you. </b>He is saying in effect: I do | |
| 741 love you; at least I think I do. But you know all things, and perhaps you know | |
| 742 of something else that will happen. And so the final commitment of the Church | |
| 743 is given to the humbled Peter. According to one of the Greek doctors, this is | |
| 744 also the reason why catechumens are questioned three times during their | |
| 745 baptism.<a href="#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21">[21]</a> | |
| 746 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 747 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 4 | |
| 748 | |
| 749 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>18 "Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you | |
| 750 girded yourself and walked where you would, but when you are old, you will | |
| 751 stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do | |
| 752 not wish to go." 19a (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify | |
| 753 God.)</B></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 754 | |
| 755 <p>2628 Above, our Lord entrusted the office of shepherd to | |
| 756 Peter. Now he foretells his martyrdom. This was pertinent because a good | |
| 757 shepherd should lay down his life for his sheep (10:11). It was not granted to | |
| 758 the young Peter to lay down his life for Christ; but rather to the old Peter to | |
| 759 lay down his life for his sheep. This is what Christ foretold to him. Christ | |
| 760 first tells of Peter's past life; then he predicts the end of his future life | |
| 761 (v 18). Thirdly, the Evangelist explains our Lord's words (v 19). | |
| 762 | |
| 763 <p>2629 Peter's past life showed certain shortcomings, for as a | |
| 764 young man he was too presumptuous and self‑willed. But this is | |
| 765 characteristic of the young, as the Philosopher says in his <i>Rhetoric.</i><a | |
| 766 href="#_ftn22" name="_ftnref22">[22]</a><i> | |
| 767 </i>Thus we read in Ecclesiastes (11:9) a kind of reproach: "Rejoice, O young | |
| 768 man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; | |
| 769 walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes." Our Lord refers to | |
| 770 this trait of Peter and says, <b>When you were young, you girded yourself and | |
| 771 walked where you would. </b>He says, <b>you girded yourself</b>, that is, you | |
| 772 restrained yourself from certain unlawful and superfluous things, <b>but walked | |
| 773 where you would, </b>not allowing yourself to be kept in check by anyone. That | |
| 774 is why you always wanted to be in danger for my sake. But it was not granted to | |
| 775 you that you suffer for me when young,<b> but when you are old </b>I will | |
| 776 fulfill your desire because <b>you will stretch out your hands, and another | |
| 777 will gird you. </b>What a wondrous prediction! It gives both the time and the | |
| 778 suffering. From the time these words were spoken until Peter's death, about | |
| 779 thirty‑seven years went by. We can see from this that Peter was quite | |
| 780 old. | |
| 781 | |
| 782 <p>2630 According to Chrysostom, he says, <b>when you are old</b>, | |
| 783 because human affairs are different than divine affairs: in human affairs the | |
| 784 young are useful, and the old are not of much use; but in divine matters virtue | |
| 785 is not taken away by old age, rather it sometimes becomes even stronger: "My | |
| 786 old age is exalted in abundant mercy" [Ps 92:10]; "As the days of your youth, | |
| 787 so shall your old age be" [Deut 33:25].<a href="#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23" | |
| 788 title="">[23]</a> | |
| 789 But this is to be understood only of those who have practiced virtue in their | |
| 790 youth, as Cicero says.<a href="#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24">[24]</a> | |
| 791 For those who have passed their youth in idleness will become of little or no | |
| 792 value when old. This also teaches us that we rarely find rulers and teachers | |
| 793 who are useful to the Church dying young, as Origen remarks in his explanation | |
| 794 of Matthew (25:19): "Now after a long time the master of those servants came."<a | |
| 795 href="#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25">[25]</a> | |
| 796 He gives Paul as an example. In Acts (7:58) Paul is seen as "a young man," but | |
| 797 in Philemon (1:9) he is "an old man." The reason for this is that people of | |
| 798 this caliber are so rare, that when they are found, the Lord preserves them to | |
| 799 a ripe old age. | |
| 800 | |
| 801 <p>2631 He mentions the way he will suffer when he says, <b>you | |
| 802 will stretch out your hands, </b>for Peter was crucified. Yet he was crucified | |
| 803 using ropes, not nails, so he would not die so quickly. This is the girding spoken | |
| 804 of by Christ. | |
| 805 | |
| 806 <p>Three things can be considered in | |
| 807 the sufferings of the saints. First, there is a natural affection: there is | |
| 808 such a natural love between the soul and the body that the soul never desires | |
| 809 to be separated from the body, nor the body from the soul: "For while we are | |
| 810 still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed, but | |
| 811 that we would be further clothed" (2 Cor 5:4); "My soul is very sorrowful, even | |
| 812 to death" (Mt 26:38). This is why Christ says, <b>where you do not wish to go, </b>that | |
| 813 is, by the impulse of nature, which is so rooted in nature that even old age | |
| 814 could not destroy it in Peter. Yet, the desire due to grace weakens this: "My | |
| 815 desire is to depart and be with Christ" (Phil 1:23); "We are of good courage, | |
| 816 and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord" (2 Cor | |
| 817 5:8). Secondly, the intentions of the persecutors and the saints are different, | |
| 818 <b>and carry you where you do not wish to go. </b>Thirdly, we see that we | |
| 819 should be prepared to suffer, but not to kill ourselves. Thus Christ says, <b>you | |
| 820 will stretch out your hands. </b>This clearly was the case with Peter: for when | |
| 821 the people wanted to rebel against Nero and deliver Peter, he forbade it: | |
| 822 "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example" (1 Pet 2:21). | |
| 823 | |
| 824 <p>2632 The words <b>another will gird you </b>rightly come | |
| 825 before <b>and carry you</b>, the thought being that <b>another will gird you </b>because | |
| 826 he will <b>carry you where you do not wish to go</b>. Lest one think this | |
| 827 statement was lightly written, it was written after the death of Peter. Peter | |
| 828 was killed during Nero's lifetime; and John wrote this Gospel after he returned | |
| 829 from the exile to which he had been banished during the reign of Domitian, | |
| 830 there being several other emperors between Nero and Domitian. | |
| 831 | |
| 832 <p>2633 John mentions this as something in the future, saying, <b>This | |
| 833 he said to show by what death he was to glorify God, </b>for the death of the | |
| 834 saints gives glory to Christ: "Christ will be honored in my body, whether by | |
| 835 life or by death" (Phil 1:20); "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a | |
| 836 thief ... yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under | |
| 837 that name let him glorify God" (1 Pet 4:15). Indeed, the greatness of the Lord | |
| 838 is shown by the fact that the saints brave death for his truth and faith. | |
| 839 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 840 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 5 | |
| 841 | |
| 842 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>19b And after this he said to him, "Follow me." 20 Peter | |
| 843 turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close | |
| 844 to his breast at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to | |
| 845 betray you?" 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this | |
| 846 man?" 22 Jesus said to him, "If [So] it is my will that he remain until I come, | |
| 847 what is that to you? Follow me!" 23 The saying spread abroad among the brethren | |
| 848 that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not | |
| 849 to die, but, "If [So] it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that | |
| 850 to you?"<a href="#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26">[26]</a></B></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 851 | |
| 852 <p>2634 After the Evangelist showed what our Lord had in mind | |
| 853 for Peter, he now tells about John. First, we see the commendation of the | |
| 854 disciple, John; secondly, his gospel is commended (v 25). In regard to the | |
| 855 first, we see the occasion for John's commendation; and then the commendation | |
| 856 itself, <b>the disciple whom Jesus loved.</b> | |
| 857 | |
| 858 <p>2635 The occasion for John's commendation was Christ's | |
| 859 invitation to Peter to follow him. <b>And after he said this to him, </b>that | |
| 860 is, after Christ told Peter about his office and martyrdom, he <b>said to him, </b>Jesus | |
| 861 said to Peter, <b>Follow me. </b>For Augustine, this means follow me in | |
| 862 martyrdom, by suffering for me; for it is not enough just to suffer in some | |
| 863 way, but this must be done by following Christ, that is, by suffering for his | |
| 864 sake: "Blessed are you when men hate you ... on account of the Son of man" (Lk | |
| 865 6:22); "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow | |
| 866 in his steps" (1 Pet 2:21).<a href="#_ftn27" name="_ftnref27">[27]</a> | |
| 867 | |
| 868 <p>2636 Many others who were present would also suffer for | |
| 869 Christ, especially James, who was the first to be killed: "He killed James the | |
| 870 brother of John with the sword" (Acts 12:2). Why then does Christ say to Peter | |
| 871 in particular, <b>Follow me</b>?<b> </b>The reason, according to Augustine, was | |
| 872 that Peter not only suffered death for Christ, but also followed Christ even in | |
| 873 the kind of death, that is, death by the cross: "If any man would come after | |
| 874 me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mt 16:24).<a | |
| 875 href="#_ftn28" name="_ftnref28">[28]</a> | |
| 876 Or, according to Chrysostom, in saying <b>Follow me, </b>Christ means in your | |
| 877 office as prelate, leader.<a href="#_ftn29" name="_ftnref29">[29]</a> | |
| 878 He was saying in effect: As I have the care of the Church, received from my | |
| 879 Father ‑ "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage" (Ps 2:8) ‑ | |
| 880 so will you be, in my place, over the whole Church. | |
| 881 | |
| 882 <p>2637 But after Christ's ascension, why did James hold first | |
| 883 place in Jerusalem? We can say that James had a special jurisdiction over that | |
| 884 place, but Peter had the universal authority over the whole Church of | |
| 885 believers. | |
| 886 | |
| 887 <p>2638 Now we see that John is commended: first, as to his | |
| 888 past; then with respect to his future (v 21). John is commended on three points | |
| 889 in his past. | |
| 890 | |
| 891 <p>2639 First, John had the privilege of having Christ's special | |
| 892 love. The Evangelist says, <b>Peter turned, </b>for he had begun to follow | |
| 893 Jesus even bodily, <b>and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved. </b>Here | |
| 894 we see that Peter, already made a shepherd, was intent on the care of others: | |
| 895 "And when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren" (Lk 22:32). Now | |
| 896 Jesus loved John without excluding the others, for above he said, "As the | |
| 897 Father has loved me, so have I loved you" (15:9). But he loved John above the | |
| 898 others with a special love. There were three reasons for this. First, because | |
| 899 of his penetrating understanding: for teachers especially love their | |
| 900 intelligent students: "A servant who deals wisely has the king's favor" (Prv | |
| 901 14:35). Secondly, because of his purity, for he was a virgin: "He who loves | |
| 902 purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his | |
| 903 friend" (Prv 22:11). Thirdly, because of his youth, for we have tender feelings | |
| 904 for the young and the weak, and act with friendship towards them. And this is | |
| 905 the way Christ acted with the youthful John: "When Israel was a child, I loved | |
| 906 him" (Hos 11:1). We can see from this that God especially loves those who serve | |
| 907 him from their youth: "My soul desires the first ripe figs" [Mic 7:1]. | |
| 908 | |
| 909 <p>2640 But this seems to go against Proverbs (8:17): "I love | |
| 910 those who love me." Peter loved Christ more than the others: "Do you love me | |
| 911 more than these?" (21:15). Therefore, Christ should have loved Peter more than | |
| 912 John. I answer: it could be said that John, because he was more loved, was | |
| 913 happier; while | |
| 914 | |
| 915 <p>Peter, because he loved more, was better. But this would be | |
| 916 a violation of justice. Consequently, this refers to a mystery: that is, Peter | |
| 917 and John stand for two kinds of life, the active and the contemplative, and the | |
| 918 end and object of each is Christ. The active life, which Peter signifies, loves | |
| 919 God more than the contemplative life (which is signified by John) because it | |
| 920 feels more keenly the difficulties of this present life, and more intensely | |
| 921 desires to be freed from them and to go to God. But God loves the contemplative | |
| 922 life more, because he preserves it longer: it does not come to an end with | |
| 923 death, as does the active life: "The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all | |
| 924 the dwelling places of Jacob" (Ps 87:2). | |
| 925 | |
| 926 <p>2641 Some try to solve this problem using the literal sense. | |
| 927 They distinguish two kinds of love in Christ, according to his two wills, his | |
| 928 human and divine will. They say that Christ loved Peter more with his divine | |
| 929 love, but he loved John more with his human love. The objection to this is that | |
| 930 Christ's human will was entirely conformed to his divine will; and so the more | |
| 931 he loved one with his divine will, so also he loved that one more with his | |
| 932 human will. Therefore, we should say that he loves that one the more to whom he | |
| 933 wills more good. He loved Peter more in the sense that he made Peter love him | |
| 934 [Christ] more; Christ loved John more in another sense, that is, by giving him | |
| 935 a keener understanding. "The Lord will fill him with the spirit of wisdom and | |
| 936 understanding" [Sir 15:3]. Accordingly, Peter is better because charity is | |
| 937 better than knowledge (cf. 1 Cor 13:8); but John is better in keenness of | |
| 938 understanding. However, only God can weigh their merits: "The Lord weighs the | |
| 939 spirit" (Prv 16:2). | |
| 940 | |
| 941 <p>And so others say, and this is | |
| 942 better, that Peter loved Christ more in his members; and in this way he was | |
| 943 also more loved by Christ. For this reason the Church was entrusted to him. But | |
| 944 John loved Christ more in Himself, and in this way was more loved by Christ, | |
| 945 who entrusted his mother to John's care. Or, one could say that Peter loved | |
| 946 Christ more readily and fervently. While John was more loved by being given | |
| 947 tokens of intimate friendship, which Christ gave him on account of his youth | |
| 948 and purity. | |
| 949 | |
| 950 <p>2642 John adds, <b>who had lain close to his breast at the | |
| 951 supper, </b>which commends him to us on the second point, his special intimacy | |
| 952 with Christ. This was just explained. | |
| 953 | |
| 954 <p>2643 Thirdly, John is commended on account of the special | |
| 955 confidence he had in Christ, so that he could question Christ with more | |
| 956 assurance than all the others. Thus he adds that this disciple <b>had said, | |
| 957 Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?</b> This was also explained before | |
| 958 (13:25). | |
| 959 | |
| 960 <p>John is recalling his own | |
| 961 privileges in order to exalt Peter. One might suppose that because Peter had | |
| 962 denied Christ he would not be allowed back to his former intimacy. To reject | |
| 963 this, John shows that he was admitted to a greater intimacy. The one who did | |
| 964 not dare to question Christ at the supper, but asked John to do it, was made | |
| 965 head over his brethren after the passion, and is now questioning Christ not | |
| 966 only for himself, but also for John. We can understand from this that those who | |
| 967 fall into sin sometimes rise in greater grace: "For just as you purposed to go | |
| 968 astray from God, return with tenfold zeal to seek him" (Bar 4:28). | |
| 969 | |
| 970 <p>2644 And so the Evangelist immediately shows Peter asking a | |
| 971 question, <b>When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, Lord, what about this man? </b>This | |
| 972 concerns the future of John. First, we have Peter's question; Christ's answer; | |
| 973 and then the interpretation of the answer (v 23). | |
| 974 | |
| 975 <p>2645 Regarding the first point, note that when our Lord said | |
| 976 to Peter, "Follow me" (v 19), Peter did begin to follow him with bodily steps, | |
| 977 and so did John. When Peter noticed John following he asked Christ about him, | |
| 978 saying, <b>Lord, what about this man? </b>This was like saying: I am following | |
| 979 you in your suffering. But this man, will he die also? John would have asked | |
| 980 the same question had he dared. | |
| 981 | |
| 982 <p>But according to Chrysostom, Peter | |
| 983 was questioning about the leadership [of the Church], not about John's | |
| 984 martyrdom.<a href="#_ftn30" name="_ftnref30">[30]</a> | |
| 985 For Peter loved John more than all the other disciples, and they are always | |
| 986 found together in the Gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles. So Peter wanted | |
| 987 to have John as his companion in the work of preaching. Peter says, <b>Lord, | |
| 988 what about this man? </b>as if to say, "Let him come with me." | |
| 989 | |
| 990 <p>2646 Christ's answer is given, <b>So it is my will that he | |
| 991 remain until I come, what is that to you? </b>Notice that the Greek text does | |
| 992 not have "So" but <b>If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that | |
| 993 to you? </b>Yet the difference is not too important, for whatever the | |
| 994 expression, the meaning understood by the apostles from the beginning was that | |
| 995 John was not going to die. So <b>it is my will that he remain until I come, </b>was | |
| 996 [for them] the same as saying, John will not die until I come. | |
| 997 | |
| 998 <p>But this interpretation is rejected | |
| 999 by what follows: <b>yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, | |
| 1000 So it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?</b> | |
| 1001 | |
| 1002 <p>2647 Those who defend the first interpretation, claim that | |
| 1003 John added this not to exclude the first interpretation but to show that our | |
| 1004 Lord did not convey that meaning by these words, but only by the words, <b>So | |
| 1005 it is my will that he remain. </b>This is the reason they say that John has not | |
| 1006 yet died. | |
| 1007 | |
| 1008 <p>There are various opinions about | |
| 1009 John's burial. All say that it is true that he was buried in a tomb which still | |
| 1010 exists. But some say he entered his tomb while still alive, and then left it by | |
| 1011 divine power, transported to the region of Enoch and Elias, and he is being | |
| 1012 kept there until the end of the world. According to this, the meaning is: <b>So | |
| 1013 it is my will that he remain </b>alive until the end of the world; and then, | |
| 1014 under the Antichrist, he will be martyred along with those other two. For it is | |
| 1015 not right that he should not die, for whatever is born dies: "It is appointed | |
| 1016 for men to die once" (Heb 9:27). | |
| 1017 | |
| 1018 <p>Others say he entered his tomb at | |
| 1019 Ephesus alive, and he remains there still alive, but sleeping, until the Lord | |
| 1020 comes. They base their theory on the fact that the soil there moves up and down | |
| 1021 in rhythm with John's breathing. Augustine rejects this by saying that it is | |
| 1022 not as good to be alive and sleeping as to be alive and blessed.<a | |
| 1023 href="#_ftn31" name="_ftnref31">[31]</a> | |
| 1024 Why then would Christ reward the disciple he loved above the others with a long | |
| 1025 sleep and deprive him of that great good for the sake of which the apostle | |
| 1026 wanted to be dissolved and to be with Christ (Phil 1:23). Thus, we should not | |
| 1027 believe this. Rather, we should say that he died and arose with his body | |
| 1028 indicated by the fact that his body cannot be found ‑ and remains happy | |
| 1029 with Christ, as Christ invited him: "He who testifies to these things says, | |
| 1030 Surely I am coming soon" (Rev 22:20). | |
| 1031 | |
| 1032 <p>2648 Augustine explains this passage mystically.<a | |
| 1033 href="#_ftn32" name="_ftnref32">[32]</a> | |
| 1034 Then the word remain means "continue on," or "persist," as in "Remain in the | |
| 1035 city, until you are clothed with power from on high" [Lk 24:49]. Consequently, | |
| 1036 our Lord is saying about John, that is, about the contemplative life, <b>So it | |
| 1037 is my will that he remain, </b>that is, continue on, <b>until I come, </b>either | |
| 1038 at the end of the world, or at the death of any contemplative; for the | |
| 1039 contemplative life although begun here is not completed here. It remains | |
| 1040 incomplete and continues on till Christ comes to complete it: "Then they were | |
| 1041 ... told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and | |
| 1042 their brethren should be complete" (Rev 6:11); "Mary has chosen the good | |
| 1043 portion, which shall not be taken away from her" (Lk 10:42); "Long life is in | |
| 1044 her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor" (Prv 3:16). Meanwhile, | |
| 1045 the active life, completed and vivified by the example of Christ's passion, | |
| 1046 follows him by suffering for him. | |
| 1047 | |
| 1048 <p>2649 Chrysostom understands it this way: <b>So it is my will | |
| 1049 that he remain, </b>that is, to remain in Judea, and to preach on this earth; and | |
| 1050 I want you [Peter] to follow me by having a concern for the entire world, and | |
| 1051 by suffering for me; and John is to remain <b>until I come, </b>to destroy the | |
| 1052 Jewish nation.<a href="#_ftn33" name="_ftnref33">[33]</a> | |
| 1053 <b>What is that to you? </b>means "These things are for me to decide." For we | |
| 1054 do see from history that John did not leave Judea until Vespasian came to Judea | |
| 1055 and took Jerusalem; then John set out for Asia. | |
| 1056 | |
| 1057 <p>2650 Then there is the interpretation of Jerome: <b>Follow | |
| 1058 me! </b>Peter, by your martyrdom; and so, now speaking about John, <b>it is my | |
| 1059 will that he remain, </b>without the sufferings of martyrdom and death, <b>until | |
| 1060 I come, </b>to call him to myself ‑ "I will come again and take you to | |
| 1061 myself" (14:3) ‑ <b>what is that</b>, this privilege, <b>to you?</b> And | |
| 1062 so in the stories about blessed John it is said that when he was ninety years | |
| 1063 old our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him and invited him to his banquet. | |
| 1064 | |
| 1065 <p>2651 Then the Evangelist shows how the disciples understood | |
| 1066 these words of our Lord. They thought that John would not die. <b>The saying | |
| 1067 spread abroad among the brethren, </b>the disciples ‑ "Behold, how good | |
| 1068 and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!" (Ps 133:1) ‑ <b>that | |
| 1069 this disciple, </b>John, <b>was not to die. </b>But he corrects this error, | |
| 1070 saying, <b>Yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die</b>:<b> </b>"Are | |
| 1071 you also still without understanding?" (Mt 15:16). The rest has been explained. | |
| 1072 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 1073 <p align=center><b>LECTURE 6 | |
| 1074 | |
| 1075 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these | |
| 1076 things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is | |
| 1077 true. 25 But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one | |
| 1078 of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the | |
| 1079 books that would be written.<a href="#_ftn34" name="_ftnref34">[34]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 1080 | |
| 1081 <p>2652 Now we have the last part of this Gospel, which is a | |
| 1082 kind of epilogue. First, the Gospel is commended; and then the vastness of the | |
| 1083 subject treated (v 25). The Gospel is commended because of two things: its | |
| 1084 author, and its truth. Three things are mentioned about the author. | |
| 1085 | |
| 1086 <p>2653 First, there is the authority of the author, because <b>This | |
| 1087 is the disciple</b> ‑ understanding what was mentioned before who was | |
| 1088 loved above the others, intimate with Christ, able to question him with | |
| 1089 confidence, and to whom it was granted to remain until Christ came. All these | |
| 1090 things refer to the authority of the author. | |
| 1091 | |
| 1092 <p>John is said to have been loved | |
| 1093 more than the others because of his unique charity: "By this all men will know | |
| 1094 that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (13:35). None of | |
| 1095 the other apostles speak so much of love for others as does John in his | |
| 1096 letters. We also read that as an old man he was carried to the church by his | |
| 1097 followers to teach the faithful. He taught only one thing: "Little children, | |
| 1098 love one another." This is the perfection of the Christian life. | |
| 1099 | |
| 1100 <p>2654 Secondly, John's office is mentioned, which was to give | |
| 1101 testimony, for he says, <b>who is bearing witness to these things</b>. This is | |
| 1102 the special office of apostles: "You shall be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8); "You | |
| 1103 are my witnesses!" (Is 44:8). | |
| 1104 | |
| 1105 <p>2655 Thirdly, he refers to his zeal when he says, <b>and who | |
| 1106 has written these things</b>. As an apostle he testified to the actions of | |
| 1107 Christ to those who were present; and in his zeal he recorded these actions in | |
| 1108 writing for those who were not with him and were to come after him: "Take a | |
| 1109 large tablet and write upon it in common characters" (Is 8:1); "The wisdom of | |
| 1110 the scribe depends on the opportunity of leisure; and he who has little | |
| 1111 business may become wise" (Sir 38:24). For it was granted to John to live until | |
| 1112 the time when the Church was at peace; and this is the time when he wrote all these | |
| 1113 things. John mentions such things so that we will not think that his gospel has | |
| 1114 less authority than the other three, seeing that he wrote after the death of | |
| 1115 all the other apostles, and the other gospels, especially that of Matthew, had | |
| 1116 been approved by them. | |
| 1117 | |
| 1118 <p>2656 Now John states that his Gospel is true, and he speaks | |
| 1119 in the person of the entire Church which received it: "My mouth will utter | |
| 1120 truth" (Prv 8:7). We should note that although many have written about Catholic | |
| 1121 truth, there is a difference among them: those who wrote the canonical | |
| 1122 scriptures, such as the evangelists and apostles and the like, so constantly | |
| 1123 and firmly affirm this truth that it cannot be doubted. Thus John says, <b>we | |
| 1124 know that his testimony is true</b>:<b> </b>"If any one is preaching to you a | |
| 1125 gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed" (Gal 1:9). The | |
| 1126 reason for this is that only the canonical scriptures are the standard of | |
| 1127 faith. The others have set forth this truth but in such a way that they do not | |
| 1128 want to be believed except in those things in which they say what is true. | |
| 1129 | |
| 1130 <p>2657 Now John states the incompleteness of his Gospel as | |
| 1131 compared with the reality, because Christ not only did these things <b>but | |
| 1132 there are also many other things which Jesus did.</b> | |
| 1133 | |
| 1134 <p>2658 His statement, <b>were every one of them to be written, | |
| 1135 I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be | |
| 1136 written, </b>can be understood in two ways. First, the word <b>contain </b>can | |
| 1137 refer to the capacity of our minds to understand. So the meaning is: So much could | |
| 1138 be said about Christ that the world could not understand all that could be | |
| 1139 written: "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now," | |
| 1140 that is, understand them (16:12). We could also regard this statement as a | |
| 1141 deliberate exaggeration; and it then indicates the abundance of Christ's works. | |
| 1142 | |
| 1143 <p>2659 How reconcile this? He had just said, <b>we know that | |
| 1144 his testimony is true</b>, and then immediately resorts to hyperbole, exceeding | |
| 1145 the truth. According to Augustine, Scripture does use figures of speech, such | |
| 1146 as "I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne" [Is 6:1], and such | |
| 1147 statements are not false.<a href="#_ftn35" name="_ftnref35">[35]</a> | |
| 1148 This is so when hyperbole is used. The desire of the speaker is not that we | |
| 1149 accept the literal meaning of the words, but what they were intended to mean, | |
| 1150 that is, the great number of Christ's works. Hyperbole is not used to explain | |
| 1151 what is obscure or doubtful, but to exaggerate or minimize what is obvious. For | |
| 1152 example, to emphasize how plentiful something is, one can say that there is | |
| 1153 enough for a hundred or a thousand people. And to minimize something, one could | |
| 1154 say that there is hardly enough for three. This is not speaking falsely, | |
| 1155 because it is so obvious that the words contort the reality that they show that | |
| 1156 one does not intend to lie, but to indicate that something is great or small. | |
| 1157 | |
| 1158 <p>2660 Or, this statement could be understood to refer to the | |
| 1159 power of Christ, who performed these signs; and the emphasis is on <b>every one | |
| 1160 of them. </b>For to write about each and every word and deed of Christ is to reveal | |
| 1161 the power of every word and deed. Now the words and deeds of Christ are also | |
| 1162 those of God. Thus, if one tried to write and tell of the nature of every one, | |
| 1163 he could not do so; indeed, the entire world could not do this. This is because | |
| 1164 even an infinite number of human words cannot equal one word of God. From the | |
| 1165 beginning of the Church Christ has been written about; but this is still not | |
| 1166 equal to the subject. Indeed, even if the world lasted a hundred thousand | |
| 1167 years, and books written about Christ, his words and deeds could not be | |
| 1168 completely revealed: "Of making many books there is no end" (Eccl 12:12); The | |
| 1169 works of God "are multiplied above number" [Ps 50:5]. | |
| 1170 | |
| 1171 </div> | |
| 1172 | |
| 1173 <div><br clear=all> | |
| 1174 | |
| 1175 <hr align=left size=1 width="33%"> | |
| 1176 | |
| 1177 <div id=ftn1> | |
| 1178 | |
| 1179 <p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> | |
| 1180 St. Thomas refers to Jn 21:6 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1181 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 44, a. 4, ad 1. | |
| 1182 | |
| 1183 </div> | |
| 1184 | |
| 1185 <div id=ftn2> | |
| 1186 | |
| 1187 <p><a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1188 in Io</i>., 122, ch. 1, col. 1959; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1189 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>20:1-11. | |
| 1190 | |
| 1191 </div> | |
| 1192 | |
| 1193 <div id=ftn3> | |
| 1194 | |
| 1195 <p><a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> Ambrose. | |
| 1196 | |
| 1197 </div> | |
| 1198 | |
| 1199 <div id=ftn4> | |
| 1200 | |
| 1201 <p><a href="#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1202 in Io</i>., 122, ch. 2, col. 1959-60; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1203 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>21:1-11. | |
| 1204 | |
| 1205 </div> | |
| 1206 | |
| 1207 <div id=ftn5> | |
| 1208 | |
| 1209 <p><a href="#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a> <i>XL | |
| 1210 homiliae in Evangelista</i>; PL 76; cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i> 21:1-11. | |
| 1211 | |
| 1212 </div> | |
| 1213 | |
| 1214 <div id=ftn6> | |
| 1215 | |
| 1216 <p><a href="#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6">[6]</a> | |
| 1217 Augustine. | |
| 1218 | |
| 1219 </div> | |
| 1220 | |
| 1221 <div id=ftn7> | |
| 1222 | |
| 1223 <p><a href="#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7">[7]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1224 in Io</i>., 122, ch. 7, col. 1962; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1225 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>21:1-11. | |
| 1226 | |
| 1227 </div> | |
| 1228 | |
| 1229 <div id=ftn8> | |
| 1230 | |
| 1231 <p><a href="#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8">[8]</a> | |
| 1232 St. Thomas refers to Jn 21:12 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1233 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 53, a. 2, obj. 3. | |
| 1234 | |
| 1235 </div> | |
| 1236 | |
| 1237 <div id=ftn9> | |
| 1238 | |
| 1239 <p><a href="#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9">[9]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 87, ch. 2; PG 59, col. 475; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 21:1-11. | |
| 1240 | |
| 1241 </div> | |
| 1242 | |
| 1243 <div id=ftn10> | |
| 1244 | |
| 1245 <p><a href="#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10">[10]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1246 in Io</i>., 123, ch. 1, col. 1965; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1247 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>21:1-11. | |
| 1248 | |
| 1249 </div> | |
| 1250 | |
| 1251 <div id=ftn11> | |
| 1252 | |
| 1253 <p><a href="#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11">[11]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 87, ch. | |
| 1254 2; PG 59, col. 475; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 21:1-11. | |
| 1255 | |
| 1256 </div> | |
| 1257 | |
| 1258 <div id=ftn12> | |
| 1259 | |
| 1260 <p><a href="#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12">[12]</a> summa | |
| 1261 | |
| 1262 </div> | |
| 1263 | |
| 1264 <div id=ftn13> | |
| 1265 | |
| 1266 <p><a href="#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13">[13]</a> <i>Tract. in Io</i>., 123, ch. 3, | |
| 1267 col. 1966; also <i>De consensus evangelistarum</i>, 3, ch. 26; PL 34; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, | |
| 1268 | |
| 1269 </div> | |
| 1270 | |
| 1271 <div id=ftn14> | |
| 1272 | |
| 1273 <p><a href="#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14">[14]</a> | |
| 1274 St. Thomas refers to Jn 21:17 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1275 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 7, a. 3, s. c. | |
| 1276 | |
| 1277 </div> | |
| 1278 | |
| 1279 <div id=ftn15> | |
| 1280 | |
| 1281 <p><a href="#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15">[15]</a> | |
| 1282 Aristotle, <i>Politics</i>. | |
| 1283 | |
| 1284 </div> | |
| 1285 | |
| 1286 <div id=ftn16> | |
| 1287 | |
| 1288 <p><a href="#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16">[16]</a> | |
| 1289 Gregory. | |
| 1290 | |
| 1291 </div> | |
| 1292 | |
| 1293 <div id=ftn17> | |
| 1294 | |
| 1295 <p><a href="#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17">[17]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1296 in Io</i>., 123, ch. 5, col. 1968; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1297 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>21:15-17. | |
| 1298 | |
| 1299 </div> | |
| 1300 | |
| 1301 <div id=ftn18> | |
| 1302 | |
| 1303 <p><a href="#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18">[18]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 88, ch. | |
| 1304 1; PG 59, col. 478; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 21:15-17. | |
| 1305 | |
| 1306 </div> | |
| 1307 | |
| 1308 <div id=ftn19> | |
| 1309 | |
| 1310 <p><a href="#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19">[19]</a><i>Serm. | |
| 1311 Pasch.</i>; cf. | |
| 1312 <i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>21:15-17. | |
| 1313 | |
| 1314 </div> | |
| 1315 | |
| 1316 <div id=ftn20> | |
| 1317 | |
| 1318 <p><a href="#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20">[20]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1319 in Io</i>., 123, ch. 5, col. 1967; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1320 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>21:15-17. | |
| 1321 | |
| 1322 </div> | |
| 1323 | |
| 1324 <div id=ftn21> | |
| 1325 | |
| 1326 <p><a href="#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21">[21]</a> Greek | |
| 1327 Doctor. | |
| 1328 | |
| 1329 </div> | |
| 1330 | |
| 1331 <div id=ftn22> | |
| 1332 | |
| 1333 <p><a href="#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22">[22]</a> | |
| 1334 Aristotle, <i>Rhetoric</i>. | |
| 1335 | |
| 1336 </div> | |
| 1337 | |
| 1338 <div id=ftn23> | |
| 1339 | |
| 1340 <p><a href="#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23">[23]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 88; PG 59, col. 479; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 21:18-19. | |
| 1341 | |
| 1342 </div> | |
| 1343 | |
| 1344 <div id=ftn24> | |
| 1345 | |
| 1346 <p><a href="#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24">[24]</a> Cicero. | |
| 1347 | |
| 1348 </div> | |
| 1349 | |
| 1350 <div id=ftn25> | |
| 1351 | |
| 1352 <p><a href="#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25">[25]</a> Origen<i>, | |
| 1353 Explanation of Matthew</i>. | |
| 1354 | |
| 1355 </div> | |
| 1356 | |
| 1357 <div id=ftn26> | |
| 1358 | |
| 1359 <p><a href="#_ftnref26" name="_ftn26">[26]</a> | |
| 1360 St. Thomas refers to Jn 21:21 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1361 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 83, a. 4, ad 2. | |
| 1362 | |
| 1363 </div> | |
| 1364 | |
| 1365 <div id=ftn27> | |
| 1366 | |
| 1367 <p><a href="#_ftnref27" name="_ftn27">[27]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1368 in Io</i>., 124, ch. 1, col. 1969; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1369 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>21:19-23. | |
| 1370 | |
| 1371 </div> | |
| 1372 | |
| 1373 <div id=ftn28> | |
| 1374 | |
| 1375 <p><a href="#_ftnref28" name="_ftn28">[28]</a> Ibid., | |
| 1376 col. 1970; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>21:19-23. | |
| 1377 | |
| 1378 </div> | |
| 1379 | |
| 1380 <div id=ftn29> | |
| 1381 | |
| 1382 <p><a href="#_ftnref29" name="_ftn29">[29]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 88, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 480. | |
| 1383 | |
| 1384 </div> | |
| 1385 | |
| 1386 <div id=ftn30> | |
| 1387 | |
| 1388 <p><a href="#_ftnref30" name="_ftn30">[30]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 88, ch. 2; PG 59, col. 480; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 21:19-23. | |
| 1389 | |
| 1390 </div> | |
| 1391 | |
| 1392 <div id=ftn31> | |
| 1393 | |
| 1394 <p><a href="#_ftnref31" name="_ftn31">[31]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1395 in Io</i>., 124, ch. 2, col. 1970; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1396 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>21:19-23. | |
| 1397 | |
| 1398 </div> | |
| 1399 | |
| 1400 <div id=ftn32> | |
| 1401 | |
| 1402 <p><a href="#_ftnref32" name="_ftn32">[32]</a> Ibid.; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>21:19-23. | |
| 1403 | |
| 1404 </div> | |
| 1405 | |
| 1406 <div id=ftn33> | |
| 1407 | |
| 1408 <p><a href="#_ftnref33" name="_ftn33">[33]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 88, ch. 2; PG 59, col. 480. | |
| 1409 | |
| 1410 </div> | |
| 1411 | |
| 1412 <div id=ftn34> | |
| 1413 | |
| 1414 <p><a href="#_ftnref34" name="_ftn34">[34]</a> | |
| 1415 St. Thomas refers to Jn 21:25 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1416 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 42, a. 4; q. 83, a. 4, ad 2. | |
| 1417 | |
| 1418 </div> | |
| 1419 | |
| 1420 <div id=ftn35> | |
| 1421 | |
| 1422 <p><a href="#_ftnref35" name="_ftn35">[35]</a> | |
| 1423 <i>Tract. in Io</i>., | |
| 1424 124, ch. 8, col. 1976; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> | |
| 1425 </i>21:24-25. | |
| 1426 </body></html> |