Charity Was Paul's Crowning Virtue
Sermon III
CHARITY WAS PAUL'S CROWNING VIRTUE
Gentle toward all, his ambition was to lead every man to God—Concerned for temporal as well as spiritual welfare of all—We should imitate Paul's charity, the secret of his great sanctity.
Paul's Crowning Virtue 41 The blessed Paul, manifesting the power of human zeal to enable us to fly to Heaven without the help of angels, archangels, and the other heavenly powers, at one time bids us imitate
Christ through his example saying: Be imitators of me as I am of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1), and at an other time omits mention of himself and leads us directly to God Himself saying: Be you, therefore, imitators of God as very dear children (Eph. 5:1).
Then, to show that nothing is so conducive to this imitation as to think of others and of the common good, he adds: Walk in charity (Eph. 5:2). In the first quotation also, (Be ye imitators of me), he goes on immediately to talk of charity, showing that this virtue especially makes man God-like.
Notice how many other virtues there are in ferior to this, which are man-centered—the fight with concupiscence, the war on gluttony, the campaign against avarice, the battle against an ger. Charity, on the other hand, is something man shares with God. That is why Christ said: Pray for those who calumniate you, so that you may he like your Father in heaven (Mt. 5:44, 45).
Paul knew that charity was the crowning vir tue and wished to cultivate it with the greatest care. No one ever so loved his enemies, no one ever did such good to those hostile to him, no one ever suffered so much for those that afflicted him.
42 Sermon III He did not look to the sufferings they inflicted on him, but only remembered the human nature that they had in common, and the more savage they became the more he pitied their madness. A fa ther whose son is crazy, pities him and weeps for him all the more as his madness and violence in crease. Likewise with Paul. He diagnosed the mor bidity that inspired those vehement attacks against himself and increased his concern for them accord ingly. Hear, then, with what gentleness and sym pathy he speaks to us about those who had scourged him1 five times, stoned him, bound him, thirsted for his blood, and desired daily to tear him asunder: For I bear them witness that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge (Rom. 10:2). And again, restraining those who were hostile to them, he said: Be not high-minded, but fear. For if God has not spared the natural branches, perhaps he may not spare thee either (Rom. 11:20, 21). And when he saw the divine judgment coming upon them, he did the one thing that lay within his power—he wept and grieved for them continuously.
He often wept and grieved for them. He op posed those who wished to oppress them and strove to find even a shadow of an excuse for them. And when he failed to persuade them by his words because of their unbending stubborn-
Paul's Crowning Virtue 43 ness, he turned to continual prayers saying:
Brethren, my hearts desire and my prayer for you to God is in their behalf unto their salvation (Rom.
10:1). He extended hope of better things to them, saying: God does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His blessings or sends
His call (Rom. 11:29), so that they might not give up hope and die. All of which was proof of one who looked to their welfare and was exceedingly concerned about them, as when he said that:
There will come out of Sion the deliverer who will turn away impiety from Jacob (Isa. 59:20, quoted in Rom. 11:26).
The sight of their destructiveness was a source of great remorse and pain to him, so he has constant recourse to palliatives for his sorrow, saying at one time: There will come out of Sion a deliverer and he will turn away impiety from Jacob (Rom. 11:26), and a,t another: So they too have been disobedient that they too may experi ence the same mercy as you (Rom. 11:31). Jeremias does the same thing, forcing himself to find extenuating circumstances for sinners, saying at one time: Though our sins bear witness against us, act for Thy name's sake (Jer. 14:7); and again:
Mans way is not his own: it is not in his power to control his steps (Jer. 10:23), and again: Remem ber that we are but dust (Ps. 102:14).
44 Sermon III It is customary for those pleading for sin ners, if they have nothing good to say in their favor, to think up some shadow of an excuse for them which, even if it is not literally or theologi cally true, is calculated to console those who are grieving for their waywardness. Do not, then, examine the words too literally, but bear in mind that they are the words of a soul in distress, trying to make a case for sinners and judge them ac cordingly.
Do you think that was his attitude merely to his enemies and that he was not similarly disposed to outsiders? He was the gentlest of men both toward his own household and toward outsiders.
Listen to his words to Timothy: But the servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle towards all, ready to teach, patient, gently ad monishing those who resist, in case God should give them repentance to know the truth, and they recover themselves from the snare of the devil, at whose pleasure they are held captive (2 Tim.
2:24-26). Would you like to see how gentle he is to sinners? Listen to what he said to the Corin thians: For I fear lest perhaps when I come I may not find you as I should wish (2 Cor. 12:20), and a little later: Lest when 1 come again God should humiliate me before you, and I should mourn over many who sinned before and have not re-
Paul's Crowning Virtue 45 pented of the immorality and licentiousness that they practised (2 Cor. 12:21). And writing to the Galatians he said: My dear children, with whom
I am in labor again until Christ is formed in you (Gal. 4:19). Like a man weeping for his own sins he wept for the man who had committed fornica tion and reassured him saying: Assure him of your love for him (2 Cor. 2:8). Even when he excommunicated him he did it in sorrow and tears: For I write to you in much affliction and anguish of heart, not that you might be grieved but that you might know the great love I have for you (2 Cor. 2:4). And again: And I have become to the Jews a Jew, to those under the Law as one under the Law; to the weak I have become weak;
I became all things to all men that I might save all (1 Cor. 9:20-22). And again in another place:
That I may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus (Col. 1:28).
You have seen a man, then, traversing the entire earth. For it was his ambition to lead every man to God and as far as lay within his power he realized his ambition. As if the entire population of the world were his children he was always in a hurry, always on the go, always anxious to lead all men to the Kingdom of Heaven, tending, ex horting, promising, praying, supplicating, fright ening away the demons, driving out those bent on
46 Sermon III destruction, using personal appearances, epistles, words, deeds, disciples, raising up the fallen by his own efforts, giving a prop to those struggling on their feet, helping up those lying on the ground, ministering to the repentant, soothing the recalcitrant, threatening the hostile, and eyeing sternly the antagonistic. Like a general or a good doctor he joined in the fray and gave a helping hand, fending, defending, ministering, becoming all things to those engaged in the conflict.
He displayed great concern for their tem poral as well as their spiritual affairs. Hear how he pleaded with the whole people on behalf of just one woman: But I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is in the ministry at Cenchrae, that you may receive her, in the Lord as becomes saints and that you may assist her in whatever business she may have need of you (Rom. 16:1).
And again: You know that the household of Ste phanas are subject so that you also may be subject
(1 Cor. 16:15, 16). And again: To such as these give recognition (1 Cor. 16:18).
It is characteristic of the charity of the saints to give help even in temporal matters. Thus Eliseus gave temporal a,s well as spiritual assistance to the woman 2 that gave him hospitality. This prompted him to say: Would you be commended
Paul's Crowning Virtue 47 to the King or the commander of the army?
(2 Kings 4:13).
And why do you wonder if Paul, when he calls some to himself, does not think it beneath his consideration to be concerned for their tem poral welfare and makes reference to this in an epistle? Writing to Titus he says: Help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way, taking care that nothing be wanting to them (Tit. 3:13). If he dis played such concern in his epistles he redoubled his efforts whenever he saw people in danger.
Notice his regard for Onesimus when he was writing to Philemon, a.nd with what insistence and concern he writes. Consider how much Paul would do for others if he would not hesitate to compose an entire epistle for a slave, a fugitive who had stolen much of his master's belongings.
Only one thing he considered shameful: to overlook anything that contributed to salvation.
Therefore he left no stone unmoved, he shrunk from no expenditure for those to be saved—words, deeds, his very life. He who submitted himself to countless deaths would not hesitate to spend any money if he had it. Why do I say "if he had it,' when I can prove that he was unsparing of money even when he did not have it? Don't think that I am speaking in a paradox, but listen again to his own words: 1 will most gladly spend and be spent
48 Sermon III myself for your souls (2 Cor. 12:15). And ad dressing the Ephesians he said: You yourselves know that these hands of mine have provided for my needs and those of my companions (Acts
20:34).
In his greatness he was more ardent than any flame of fire in the crown of all virtues, namely, charity. Just as iron thrust into fire becomes all fiery, so Paul was consumed with charity and be came charity incarnate. As if he were the common father of the whole world, he emulated the love of earthly fathers, or rather, he surpassed them in physical and spiritual love and concern and ex pended his money, his words, his body and soul, his all, for those he loved.
Therefore he calls charity the fulfillment of the law, 4 the bond of perfection, 5 the mother of all blessings,6 and the beginning and end of vir tue; 7 Now the purpose of this charge is charity from a pure heart and a good conscience (1 Tim.
1:5). And again: For 'Thou shalt not commit adultery; Thou shalt not kill"; and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this say ing, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"
(Rom. 13:9). Since, then, charity is the beginning and the end, and the sum of blessings, let us imi tate Paul in this respect. For charity was the secret of his sanctity.
Paul's Crowning Virtue 49 Do not count up the dead whom he resur rected, or the lepers whom he cleansed; God does not require such deeds from you. Just acquire
Paul's charity and you will acquire the crown of perfection. Who said so? The cultivator of charity himself, the one who proposed it with signs and wonders, and other countless blessings. Because he so perfectly fulfilled the role of charity he knew its power to the full. It made him what he was; nothing so contributed to his goodness as this powerful virtue. Accordingly he said: Strive after the greater gifts. And I point out to you a yet more excellent way (1 Cor. 12:31), meaning charity, the finest and easiest road. Let us keep to that road, so that we may see Paul, or rather the Mas ter of Paul, and gain incorruptible crowns, by the grace and loving kindness ofjour Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory and power now and always, for ever and ever. Amen.
4. Praise of St. Paul