[Sermon] 1. He who humbles himself shall be exalted.
PENTECOST AND THE SUNDAYS AFTER
SERMON 37: TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
[Sermon] 1. He who humbles himself shall be exalted.
Luke 18:14. Within this verse, which is the infallible rule of divine justice, is contained a summa for the entire salvation of humanity that consists in the humility of merit and the sublimity of the reward. First, in it humility or the opportunity for merit is put forward in the manner of the antecedent. Second, the sublimity of the reward is added in the manner of the consequence. The first is in regard to what is known in the earthly life; and the second is in regard to what is attractive about the heavenly homeland. The first puts forth the humility of merit in the manner of the antecedent, when it says: He who humbles himself, that is, during the earthly life. Second, the sublimity of the reward is added in the manner of the consequence, when it adds: will be exalted, that is, in the heavenly homeland.
2. It says therefore: He who humbles himself where it notes the humility of merit. But in order to conform ourselves to the word of the Gospel, we can say that this person is truly penitent and has meritorious humility, who, in accord with the example of this Publican,®" has humility in works, in speech, and in the heart. Whence this one, by reason of his perfect humility returned home justified, that is, in conscience; first, he had the humility of subjection and reverence in works, due to a consideration of the highest majesty, and therefore it says: The 657 See Luke 18:10-14.
THE SUNDAY SERMONS OF ST. BONAVENTURE
Publican, standing at a distance, did not want to raise his eyes to heaven. Gloss: "at a distance: as a humble person he did not dare to draw near; he did not look, so that he be looked upon." Second, he had the humility of contrition and penance in the heart, due to the remembrance of iniquity; whence: he beat his breast. The Gloss observes:
"He oppresses the conscience, but he raises hope; he beats the breast, and drives the penalties out of himself."®*
Third, he had the humility of acknowledging fault with the mouth, due to the fear of eternal calamity or severity; whence he was saying: God, be merciful to me, a sinner, to whom the eternal penalty was due by reason of guilt.
Whereby the Gloss states: "He confesses that God may forgive; God pardons what that one admits."®* Thus the summit of divine majesty was moving him to humility, which must be venerated; the reproach of the iniquity committed, which must be embarrassing; the judgment of supreme severity, which must be feared; and so he had the perfect motivation for humility, namely that which was above him, God who was presiding over all; that which was below him, the disgrace that was displeasing; and that which was against him, the judgment that was imminent.
3. But so we may proceed in the right order, we can say that this Publican conducts himself as a model of a true penitent, for first he had the humility of contrition and penitence in the heart, due to the remembrance of iniquity. Whence what is said in Proverbs 12:25 fits him:
Grief in the heart of a man will humble him. Grief is the pain of past sins, which is an optimum motive for humili658 See the Glossa Ordinaria on Luke 18:13 in PL 114:323A.
659 See the Glossa Ordinaria on Luke 18:13 in PL 114:323A: "He confesses that God may forgive; God pardons because he acknowledges: God, be merciful."
PENTECOST AND THE SuNDAYS AFTER
ty of heart, because the penitent is pained by the sins and freely subjects the self to God whom the person offended, and salutarily asks for pardon, according to what is said in Psalm 50:19: A humble and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Whence it is said to the penitent in Sirach 2:4: In your sorrow endure, and in your humiliation keep patience: for gold and silver are tried in fire, but acceptable people in the furnace of humiliation.
4. Second, this Publican, conducting himself as a model of a true penitent, had the humility of recognizing his sin with the mouth, due to the fear of eternal calamity.
Whence Sirach 7:19 says: Humble your flesh vigorously, for the vengeance of the flesh of the impious is fire and worms. The sinner, who considers that the vengeance and punishment of one's flesh will be the fire of Gehenna, which will not be extinguished, and the worms of conscience, which will not die, must vigorously humble one's spirit through fear before the vicar of God, and prostrate at his feet, confess one's sins with pain and tears, so as to kill the worms with the pain and bitterness of compunction and extinguish the fire with a flood of tears. Whence
Sirach 4:7 speaks of this humiliation, saying:
Humble your soul before the presbyter, which is done, when a sinner, reflecting on how the presbyter stands in the place of God, does not wish to sit proudly at his side, to the contrary, the person throws himself at his feet until the time one confesses, because then what 1 Kings 21:29 says is fulfilled in that one: Because he has humbled himself for my sake, I will not bring evil in his days.
5. Third, this Publican had the humility of subjection and reverence in works, due to a consideration of the highest majesty. Whence he did not approach imprudently, but 660 See Sermon 30 n. 7 above.
TuE SuNDAY SERMONS OF ST. BONAVENTURE
reverently standing at a distance, did not want to raise the eyebrows as to sustain pride, but to lower them to the depths of dejection, so that through this he would be able to honor God, in accord with what Sirach 3:21 says:
For great is the power of God alone, and he is honored by the humble. How marvelous, that the most high God approves the humility of subjection in the Publican and reproves the loftiness of pride in the Pharisee, because he was not praying to God, but instead praising himself for his merits and insulting the other.®! For the Publican returned justified as opposed to the Pharisee to the house of his own conscience; and this is because, according to the rule of divine justice: The one who exalts the self will be humbled, and the one who humbles the self will be exalted. Certainly this Pharisee would never have insulted the Publican, if he had paid attention to Augustine's Gloss on the verse, Considering each other superior:* "We do not have to consider or appreciate this, as if we are pretending to appreciate it, but let us truly appreciate that it is possible that something may be hidden in another, by which that person is superior to us, even if our good, by that which we judge ourselves superior, is not hidden."®*
But perhaps someone may say: I fear to be humiliated more than the truth supports; indeed, I may perhaps fall to a false pretence for the sake of humility. To which Bernard responds in Homily 37 on The Song of Songs: "It is certainly more just and secure according to the counsel of this Truth, to choose the last place from which we can be later led higher with honor, than to presume a higher place, from whence we would have to soon leave in 861 See Augustine, Sermon 115, c. 2 n. 2 in PL 38:656.
662 See Phil 2:4.
68 The critical edition states that this is from the Glossa Ordinaria. See Book I, q. 70 n. 5 of Augustine's De diversis quaestionibus
XXIII in PL 40:82. The Glossa's citation of Augustine is almost veratim.
PENTECOST AND THE SuNDAYS AFTER
embarrassment. It is not dangerous to think of yourself however humble, however more worthless, than you are.
It is, however, a great evil and horrendous danger, if you extol yourself a little more, if you prefer yourself in your opinion to another, whom truth may judge to be equal or superior to you. In the same way if you pass through a door where the lintel may be lower, it does not hurt at all if you bend over, but it does if you rise up."
6. Second, in the proposed verse the sublimity of the reward in regard to what is attractive, is noted, when it adds: will be exalted. The true penitent is raised up in a triple exultation that responds to a triple humiliation.
Now first, because the person had the humility of contrition and penance in the heart, due to the remembrance of iniquity committed, this one will be exalted with the elegance of celestial grace that deletes the mark of sins.
Second, because the person had the humility of subjection and reverence in works, due to the consideration of the highest majesty, this one will be exalted with the virtue of abundant justice that accumulates meritorious goods.
Third, because the person had the humility of recognizing his sin with the mouth, due to fear of future calamity, this one will be exalted with the honor of deiform glory that raises one up to the joy of the everlasting, that is, of the angels. Two of these exaltations are in the earthly life and they prepare for the third, which is in the heavenly homeland.
7. First, given the humility of contrition and penance in the heart due to the remembrance of iniquities committed, this person will be exalted with the elegance of celestial grace that deletes the mark of sins. Whence Sir664 Bonaventure has adapted and abbreviated Sermon 37 n. 6-7.
See SBOp 2.12-13.
THE SUNDAY SERMONS OF ST. BONAVENTURE
ach 34:20 says: The Lord exalts the soul and illumines the eyes, granting health, life, and blessing. The Lord exalts the soul, when it strips the person's affections of shame from longstanding faults and clothes them anew in elegant grace; and illumines the eyes, of the intellect that is, from the darkness of blindness and ignorance with the splendor of truth and understanding, granting health, to the person's flesh through the repression of carnal concupiscence, and a life, of eternal immortality, and the blessing, of a heavenly inheritance, so this one is able to say
Psalm 9:15: You who lift me up from the gates of death, so I may announce all your praises at the gates of the daughter of Zion.
8. Second, given the humility of subjection and reverence in works due to the consideration of the highest majesty, this person will be exalted with the virtue of abundant justice that accumulates meritorious goods. Whence
Psalm 36:34 says: Keep his way and he will exalt you, so you may inherit the land. Keep his way, by carrying out his commands; and he will exalt you with an accumulation of merit; so you may inherit the land, through the recompense of rewards. And because of this Sirach 20:30 says: The one who works justice will be exalted. The one who works justice, by multiplying merit, will be exalted, with great rewards. And since this has to be done through the mediating fear of the Lord, Sirach 40:26 therefore says: Riches and strength exalt the heart, but above these, the fear of the Lord.
9. Third, given the humility of recognizing one's sin with the mouth, due to fear of future calamity, this person will be exalted with the honor of deiform glory that raises one up to the joy of the rewards. Whence 1 Peter
5:6 states: Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God so he will exalt you on the day of visitation. Consid-
PENTECOST AND THE SUNDAYS AFTER
ering the power of the divine majesty and the excess of our worthlessness, we must humble ourselves under the hand of divine power. We are unable in any other way to be exalted on high in the homeland, unless we are totally humiliated under the powerful hand of God in this earthly life. If we strive to ascend in another way, there will be no hope of exultation in celestial glory, but there will be a casting out of infernal ignominy. Whence Ezekiel
17:24 says: I have humbled the high tree and exalted the low tree. The cause of this justice and equity is that the more a person magnifies and raises up the self, so much the less does that one honor God, and thus distance the self from higher concerns and subject the self to lower concerns; and for this the person is instead struck down.
But to the contrary, the more a person humbles the self, the more that person honors God and thus draws closer to higher concerns and takes charge over lower concerns; and because of this just judgment of God, the person is exalted all the more. Let us ask, etc.