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