HOMILY 46
HOMILY 46
ON PSALM 133 (134)
((l OME) BLESS THE LORD, all you servants of the Lord.'
This is the last psalm in the songs of the steps.1 The first of these gradual psalms opened with the words:
'In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.'2
In the second, the psalmist had begun his ascent with: 'I lift up my eyes toward the mountains';3 on the third: 'I rejoiced at the things that were said to me';4 on the fourth: 'To you
I lift up my eyes, who are enthroned in heaven.'5 Notice how gradually he mounted step by step, always ascending to something more sublime. Even if it were our desire, it would take too long to quote the first verse of each of the psalms, the beginning of each of the steps. The prophet reached the thirteenth psalm, rather he arrived at the twelfth, and there, after all the other virtues, he placed humility. Vain, indeed, are our virtues if they are not crowned with the humility of the Lord, for what did the prophet declare? '0 Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty.'6 Then, because he has given evidence of his humility, he asks for the coming of Christ. What does he say? 'Remember, 0 Lord, for David and all his meekness';7 and a few verses further on: 'For the sake of David your servant, turn not away the face of your
I Cf. Against Jovinian 2.34, PL 23.346 (378).
2 Ps. Il9.!.
3 Ps. 120.1; cf. Letter 7.3, PL 22.340 (19).
4 Cf. Ps. 121.1.
5 Ps. 122.1.
6 Ps.130.1; cf. Letter 22.27, PL 22.413 (Ill).
7 Cf. Ps. I1n.!; cf. Letter 76.1, PL 22.689(456); 82.1, PL 22.736(513).
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Christ.'S After he had received Christ, after he had received the faith of Christ, he gathers the Church together, and what does he say? 'Behold, how good it is, and how pleasant, where brethren dwell at one!'9
Since now the brethren have come together as one, and the Church of the Lord has been assembled, what is the counsel of the last psalm? 'Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord'; because it is good and pleasant for brethren to dwell united, and together you have formed a community:
'Come, bless the Lord.' Praise Christ now after His coming, for in Him you have come together; now bless Him in the last psalm of ascent, for you have gathered together on the summit of the virtues. Before you reached the top, the fifteenth step, you were not able to bless the Lord, but I say to you now: 'Come, bless the Lord.'
When one says 'Come,' the invitation is just as definite as if one were pointing at you with his finger. Come, bless the Lord. Who are to bless the Lord? All the servants .of the Lord; you who are not the servants of sin, but the servants of the Lord. Do we deem it of little account to say, I am a servant of the Lord? To merit that title is the height of excellence. Just as one vindicates his honor, as it were, by saying, I am the servant of the Emperor-and no one dares to approach the servant of the Emperor-even so it is of infinite dignity to call oneself the servant of the Lord. The Apostle glories in the servitude of the Lord and writes at the beginning of his Letters: 'Paul servant of Christ.' Similarly of Moses, Scripture says: 'But it is not so with my servant Moses, for I speak to him face to facel'lo Think of what that means: I have spoken to others in visions and in allegories, but not so to My servant Moses; with him I have spoken face to face!
8 Cf. Ps. 131.10.
9 Ps. 132.1; cf. The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary 15, PL 23.208
(222).
10 Cf. Num. 12.7, 8; cf. Homily 40 on Ps. 115, p. 293.
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Let us pose an example. Let us say that there is a very wealthy lord; he owns an estate and he has servants who minister to him. But do the servants who work on the grounds have as great confidence in their lord as the servants who attend him daily? The servant who sees the face of his master and waits upon him enjoys a great privilege. Furthermore, when the other servants who never come into the presence of their lord want something from him, they entreat their fellow servant to intercede for them. Why have I expatiated on this? Our Lord Jesus Christ has a great household. He has those who minister to Him in His presence, and He has others who serve Him in the fields. Monks and virgins, I think, are they who attend their Lord personally; laymen are the members of the household who are at work in the fields. If the workers in the field are in need of anything, what do they do but ask the others to approach the Lord for them. The honor of those who see the face of their master every day is, however, equalled by their punishment if they neglect their duty to him. Wicked servants are ap't to be in greater fear of their master as long as they are on the farm or on the grounds because, naturally, they do not see him; if, however, they begin to see him every day, they make light of him, and familiarity breeds arrogance. We must be careful, therefore, not to permit ourselves from custom to esteem lightly the goodness of our Lord.
Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who are not the servants of sin but the servants of the Lord; all you servants of the Lord who have one Lord only, God; all you servants of the Lord who are not governed by anger, who are not swayed by passion, who are not ruled by other sins. They who are not under the dominance of vice are under the dominion of the Lord. 'All you servants of the Lord.'
Thus far there seems to be no problem, but note that the prophet stipulates a condition. It is not enough to be a servant of the Lord, unless the servants are themselves standing. There are some, for example, who stand, others who fall
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prostrate; some who sit, others who lie down.ll Those, of course, who are falling, who are sitting, who are prone, are not able to praise the Lord; you that are standing, praise
Him. Someone may object: There are others who stand; there are many churches, many congregations; who, then, are standing? Are the Arians standing? The Eunomians and the other heretics call Christ by name; are they, therefore, standing?
To avoid any misunderstanding about this liberty to praise the Lord, mark that the prophet says: 'Who stand in the house of the Lord,' 'in order that,' as the Apostle says, 'until
I come thou mayest know how to conduct thyself in the house of God, which is the Church.'12 The Church does not consist in walls, but in the truths of her teachings. The Church is there where there is true faith. As a matter of fact, fifteen and twenty years ago, all the church buildings belonged to heretics, for heretics twenty years ago were in possession of them; but the true Church was there where the true faith was. You bless the Lord, therefore, who are the servants of the Lord. 'Unseemly is praise on a sinner's lipS!,13 Praise the Lord, you that are servants of the Lord, you that are both serving and standing. 'Who stand': 'He set my feet upon a crag,'14 says David; and to Moses the Lord says: 'Then you stand here near me.'15 'God arises in the divine assembly';16 you stand, therefore, not anywhere, but in the house of God. 'In the courts of the house of our God.'17
In the Hebrew scrolls, these words are not found in this psalm but in the following one.18 What is their context there?
'Praise the name of the Lord; praise, you servants of the Lord who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house
11 Cf. Homily 1 on Ps. 1, p. 3; Homily 14 on Ps. 81, p. 102.
12 Cf. 1 Tim. 3.15.
13 Sirach (Ecclus.) 15.9.
14 Ps.39.3.
15 Cf. Deut. 5.31; cf. Letter 21.15, PL 22.386 (77).
16 Ps.81.1.
17 Cf. Ps. 134.2.
18 Cf. Commentarioli in ps. 133.1.
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of our God.'19 Now just because that psalm contains the verse: 'Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God: a certain scholar was of the opinion that, likewise, in this psalm to the versicle, 'who stand in the house of the Lord: should be added, 'in the courts of the house of our God.' The interpretation of the text: 'In the courts of the house of our God: as well as the distinction between house and courts, will be discussed at a later time when the next psalm is read.
'During the hours of night, lift up your hands toward the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.' 'The whole world is in the power of the evil one'20 and 'our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the world-rulers of this darkness.'21 It is in harmony with this thought that the Apostle says: 'The night is far advanced; the day is at hand.' This world is night; the future world is the true day; so th,.e Apostle says: 'The night is far advanced; the day is at hand. Let us walk becomingly as in the day.'2z Let us live our lives in the same way now as we are going to live in the day, that is, in the future world. 'During the hours of night, lift up your hands toward the sanctuary.' Whether we will it or not, we are in the night; as long as we are in this world, we are in the hours of the night. The night has darkness, the darkness of the sins of men. This is the sense in which you are to comprehend the meaning of: 'During the hours of night, lift up your hands toward the sanctuary.' While you are in this world, while you are in the nights, lift up your hands. Do not let them down, but lift them up, raise them up with Moses. If you lift up your hands, Amalec is conquered; if you lower them, Jesus is vanquished.
While you are reflecting upon this thought, meditate upon the mystery that is hidden within it. If we lift up our hands,
Jesus triumphs; if we lift up our hands in good works, 19 Ps.134.1,2.
20 1 John 5.19.
21 Cf. Eph. 6.12.
22 Cf. Rom. 13.12, 13.
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through our good works, Christ overcomes the devil. Hands, moreover, connote works, whereupon it is written: 'The word of the Lord came by the hand of Aggai';23 'the word that came by the hand of Jeremia the prophet.' To be sure, the word of the Lord does not come by the hand but by the mouth, but grasp the mysticism of Scripture. God does not come because of words, but because of good works.24 The homicide, for all that, acknowledges Christ, but the Lord does not come to him; his hands are not worthy of His coming.
Accordingly, it is written in another place: 'Death and life are in the hand of the tongue.'25 Does the tongue, then, have hands? Tell me, why does it say: Death and life are in the hand of the tongue? Consider what that means. God does not hear the tongue, nor does He hear words, but He heeds works, that words may be translated into works. That is why the last of the gradual psalms exhorts us: 'During the hours of night, lift up your hands toward the sanctuary.' Lift up your hands, the prophet says, because Jesus also lifted them up on the cross.
'During the hours of night, lift up your hands toward the sanctuary.' Why did he deliberately add, 'toward the sanctuary'? You see heretics lifting up their hands, and heathens and the Jews likewise. They even give alms. If they see a poor man, they reach out their hand to him. When the Jew gives alms, does it not seem to you that he is lifting up his hand?
He certainly raises his hand, but not toward the sanctuary, for he does not acknowledge Christ. You, however, who are in the house of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, who are the servants of the Lord, to whom I had said: 'Behold, how good it is, and how pleasant, where brethren dwell at one':26 be sure that when you lift up your hands you raise them toward the 23 Cf. Ag. 1.1.
24 Cf. Commentary on Aggai 1.1, PL 25.1389 (738); on Ecclesiastes 4.5, PL 23.l099A (420).
25 Cf. Provo 18.21.
26 Ps. 132.1.
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sanctuary, that you acknowledge Christ, and whatever you do, you do for Christ.
Virtues differ in accordance with the motive and nature of the person performing the act. A Christian, for example, gives alms, a pagan also and a Jew and another Christian, a holy man. You will find some Christians giving alms in order to be honored by men. When a poor beggar comes up to them, such Christians first look all around and, unless they catch sight of a witness, they do not give their money.
If that kind of person is alone, his hand is cramped even more than ever;27 he does not give willingly. 0 you Christian, a pauper begs you for money, why do you refuse him in secret28 but give to him in public? If you seek God as your witness, why do you look around for human eyes? Your almsgiving in the presence of the unsophisticated looks like real almsgiving, but in the presence of God it is a wrong; you are doing an injury to your brother, for you wish to show him up as a beggar in the presence of others. When we have the opportunity of giving, therefore, let us give not as from our own substance, but as from Christ's; we ought not give as to a beggar, but as to a brother. We give him material things; he gives us spiritual; the pauper gives more than he receives. We give him bread that will be consumed that same day; in return for the bread, he gives us the kingdom of heaven.
That is why I exhort that whatever we do, we do it in a sanctuary; that whatever we do, we do for the sake of Christ.
There are many heathens who give alms; if they see anyone with a hand cut and torn, or someone with a cancerous and decaying foot, immediately their whole soul is in pain, the human soul is overwhelmed by a natural sense of pity. What does such a one say? If I were in his place, what would I do in such misery? I could be very easily in his condition, and who would help me out? Surely, I ought to give him alms
27 Cf. Against the Pelagians 2.11. PL 23.572 (754).
28 Cf. Matt. 6.2-4; d. Letter 22.32. PL 22.418 (117).
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so that someone may give to me if ever I am in a similar state. Yes, this pagan gives bread to the pauper; but in the poor man he does not pity the pauper, he pities himself. This mercy is not the compassionate kindness of Christ, but his own feeling of self-pity. Whatever we do, therefore, let us do it for the sake of Christ; let us do it in holiness. 'Whether we eat or drink, let us do all in the name of Christ:29
We read the Scriptures; we commit the psalms to memory; we master the Gospels; we expound the prophets; but we must not do this so as to win praise and glory in the presence of our brothers, but to please Christ, that His word may resound from our lips. Men and monks, and even women, often vie with one another in committing Holy Writ to memory, and the more they learn by heart the better they think they are.
He who truly has learned more is the one who does more; besides, what you are committing to memory, I am putting into practice. My works preserve the sacred writings more truly than your discourse that rings hollow. 'During the hours of night, lift up your hands toward the sanctuary.'
Lift up your hands, raise aloft the standard of the cross.
During the hours of night, lift up your hands toward the sanctuary; and when you have lifted them to the holy places, and performed holy deeds, let Christ be as the adornment of your good works.
'And bless the Lord: Along with this, the Apostle, likewise, says: 'Lift up pure hands everywhere;30 and bless the Lord. Whatever you do, present it to the Lord. Let hands be raised in prayer; let lips resound with Christ. During the night, lift up your hands; give alms to the poor; and praise the Lord; give thanks to the Lord, who gave to you that you may share with your brother. When you give, thank Christ in greater measure than your brother thanks you. The poor render us great service. Almsgiving atones for sins that we have not been able to wash away otherwise. What does
29 I Cor. 10.31.
30 Cf. I Tim. 2.8.
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Scripture say in this regard? 'Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins.'31 The effects of almsgiving are similar to those of baptism; just as baptism remits sin, even so almsgiving atones for sins. Just as water extinguishes a fire, so does almsgiving extinguish sin; the fires of hell have been kindled for sins; almsgiving quenches them.
'May the Lord bless you from Sian, the maker of heaven and earth.' You bless the Lord, and the Lord blesses you,
'from Sian,' from the watchtower, from the Church, from true Christian doctrine, from devout faith. May the Lord bless you from Sian. The Holy Spirit speaks these versicles, or rather the prophet utters them in the Spirit. What does he say? 0 you who have mounted fifteen steps to the top, who have done this and this, you who bless the Lord, who during the hours of night lift up your hands toward the sanctuary and bless the Lord, receive your reward. May the Lord bless you from Sian. What you have given, receive back. You have given alms, you have performed virtuous deeds; from God you shall obtain a reward and a blessing. 'May the Lord bless you from Sian,' from Sian: from the heavenly Jerusalem; in the mother of the first born,32 where the joys of the future are; where the archangels are; where the rest of the heavenly powers are; where the apostles, the prophets, the saints, the martyrs are; where throngs of angels and saints follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
John, too, beheld the holy city coming down out of heaven, built upon foundations of precious stones and having twelve gates.33 The city itself was pure gold; it had golden walls, and it had streets made of all kinds of precious stones. In this city, Christ reigns; in this city, the inhabitants themselves are both dwellers and gates, both houses and dwellers. Would you know how they are houses? Christ dwells in them; Christ moves about in them. 'I will dwell,' He says, 'and move
31 Sirach (Ecdus.) 3.29.
32 Cf. Reb. 12.23.
33 Cf. Apoc. 21.10·21.
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among them.'34 Think of the saintly soul, how ineffable it is; it holds Christ whom heaven is not large enough to con· tain! See what He says? 'I will dwell,' He says. It is possible, moreover, for Him to dwell within a narrow space: 'I will dwell, and move among them.' Wherever He moves about, certainly it is a spacious house in which He walks. 'You are the temple of God,' He says, 'and the Holy Spirit dwells in yoU.'35 Let us make ready our temple, that Christ may come and take up His abode in us, that our soul may be Sion, that it may be a watchtower, that it may be set up upon the heights, that it may be ever up, never down. We read in Zacharia the prophet: 'the angel who spoke in me, said to me.'86 If the angel spoke in the prophet, does not He who dwells in us possess us much more intimately as dwelling places and as companions with whom to hold deep converse?
'May the Lord bless you from Sion, the maker of heaven and earth': if you are a saint, 'the maker of heaven'; if a sin· ner, 'the maker of earth.' He made both heaven and earth.
For the present, let us stay with the literal sense. The prophet uttered this verse to discriminate between idols and the true
God. Let the gods who did not make heaven and earth, he said, perish from the earth, 'but the Lord made the heavens.'31
So much for the literal interpretation; now for the spiritual.
Just as it is said to the sinner: 'Dust you are, and unto dust you shall return,'3S so, likewise, to the saint: heaven you are, and unto heaven you shall return. Why have I stressed all this? To prove that saints are heaven. 'The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handi· work.'39 'You waters above the heavens, let them praise the name of the Lord.'4() 'Heaven is the heaven of the Lord.'41
34 2 Cor. 6.16.
35 Cf. 1 Cor. 3.16; cf. Against ]IY/Jinian 2.19, PL 23.328 (356).
36 Cf. Zach. 1.9.
37 Ps.95.5.
38 Gen. 3.19.
39 Ps. 18.2.
40 Ps. 148.4, 5.
41 Ps. 113B.16.
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'The maker of heaven and earth: Granted we are earthly, granted we move about on earth, nevertheless, our residence is in heaven;42 there we have our citizenship. 'The maker of heaven and earth: Even though you are a sinner, do not be discouraged; the Lord is all powerful. Many of earth have become heaven, and many of heaven have become earth.
Unhappy Judas was heaven, and he became earth. Paul the Apostle was earth when he was persecuting the Church; he confessed and became heaven. It behooves one who is of heaven not to feel secure, nor ought he who is of earth lose hope of life.
When Jacob was in flight from his brother, in Mesopotamia he came to Luza, and there to rest, Scripture says, he placed a stone under his head.43 The stone under his head was
Christ. Never before had he put a stone under his head, only at the time when he was escaping from his persecutor. When he was in his father's house, and as long as he was in his father's house and enjoyed the comforts of the flesh, he had no stone at his head. He departed from his home, poor and alone; he left with only a staff, and immediately that very night he found a stone and placed it at his head. Because he had a pillow of that kind upon which to rest his head, think of the vision he saw. 'He dreamed that a ladder was set up on the ground with its top reaching to heaven; angels were ascending and descending on it.'44 He saw angels descend from heaven to earth and others ascend from earth to heaven.
Would you know that the stone at Jacob's head was Christ, the cornerstone? 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.'45 That is the stone that is called Abenezer in the Book of Kings. That stone is Christ. The name Abe· nezer, moreover, means 'the Stone of Help:46 'Jacob woke
42 Cf. Phil. 3.20; d. Letter 14.3, PL 22.348 (30); 16, PL 22.359 (43)' 60.3
PL 22.591 (333).
, 43 Cf. Gen. 28.11; d. Letter 123.15, PL 22.1056 (912).
44 Cf. Gen. 28.12; d. Letter 1I8.7, PL 22.966 (798).
45 Ps. 1I7.22.
46 1 Kings 4.1; 7.12; d. Letter 78.11, PL 22.706 (477).
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from his sleep,'47 Scripture says, and what did he say? 'This is the house of God.' What did he do? 'He poured oil over the stone.' Unless we penetrate the spiritual mystery of Holy
Writ, what reason is there that he should anoint the stone?
47 Cf. Gen. 28.16-22.