Primum quidem sermonem feci: et reliqua.
Luke the Evangelist has informed us in this epistolary reading, thus
saying, "Jesus, the Redeemer of the world, showed himself living to his
disciples, after his passion and his resurrection, by many reproofs, for
forty days, and spake to them concerning the kingdom of God, eating and
drinking together with them: and commanded them that they should not depart
from the city of Jerusalem, but that they should await there the promise of
his Father which (he said) ye have heard from my mouth. For John the
Baptist baptized with water, and ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost
now after a few days. The assembly of his disciples therefore said
unanimously, Beloved Lord, wilt thou now put an end to this world? He
answered them, It is not for you to know the time or the moment which my
Father hath appointed through his might: but ye shall receive the might of
the Holy Ghost, and ye shall be my witnesses in Judea, and in all the
world, unto the uttermost land. And he led them then out of the city up to
a hill which is called the mount of Olives, and blessed them with uplifted
hands. Then after {297} that blessing he went to heaven, they looking on;
and a heavenly cloud descended towards him, and took him from their sight."
"While they stood gazing up to heaven, they saw there two angels in white
garments, thus saying, Ye Galilean men, why stand ye thus gazing towards
heaven? Jesus, who is now taken from your sight to heaven, shall so come
again as ye have seen that he ascended to heaven. They then returned to the
city of Jerusalem with great joy, and went up on an upper flooring, and
there stayed till Pentecost in prayers and in praises of God, until the
Holy Ghost came to them, as the noble King had before promised them."
"In this fellowship were Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and
Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, the other James and Simon, the other Judas
and Mary the mother of Jesus, and several others, both men and women. The
whole multitude was an hundred and twenty persons, unanimously continuing
in prayers."
Jesus taught the holy lore to his disciples before his passion, and after
his resurrection he was continuing among them these forty days, from the
holy Easter-tide until this present day, and in many ways reproved and
tried his disciples, and repeated that which he had before taught, for the
perfection of doctrine and right faith. He ate and drank after his
resurrection, not because he then had need of earthly food, but because he
would manifest his true body. He ate through power, not for need. As fire
consumes drops of water, so did the divine power of Christ consume the
received meat. Verily after the universal resurrection our bodies will
require no strengthening of earthly meats, for Jesus will supply all our
needs with heavenly things, and we shall be enriched with glory, and mighty
to execute whatsoever is pleasing to us, and we shall be full swift to go
through all the immensities of the kingdom of God.
{299} He promised to his disciples then and frequently that he would send
to them the Holy Ghost, and thus said, "When he comes he will stimulate and
direct you to all the things which I have said unto you." Then came the
Holy Ghost in semblance of fire to the holy company on the eleventh day
after Christ's ascension, and inflamed them all with innoxious fire, and
they were filled with heavenly lore, and knew all worldly tongues, and
fearlessly preached faith and baptism to the powerful and cruel.
The holy company asked Christ, whether he would at that time put an end to
this world. He said to them in answer, "It is not for you to know the time
which my Father hath through his power appointed." He said also in another
place, "No man knoweth the day or the time of the ending of this world, nor
the angels, nor any saint, save God only." Yet by the tokens which Christ
mentioned, we see that the ending is very near at hand, though it be
unknown to us.
The apostles were witnesses of Christ's works, for they preached his
passion, and his resurrection, and ascension, first to the Jewish people,
and afterwards their voice came to every land, and their words to the
boundaries of the whole globe; for they recorded the miracles of Christ,
and the books exist among christian people, both where the apostles bodily
preached, and where they did not come.
All creatures serve their Creator. When Christ was born, heaven sent forth
a new star, which announced the birth of God. Again, when he ascended to
heaven, the heavenly cloud bowed down towards him, and received him: not
that the cloud bare him, for he holds the throne of heaven, but he passed
with the cloud from the sight of men. There were seen two angels in white
garments. In like manner at his birth angels were seen; but the holy gospel
has not explained how they were adorned; for God came to us very humble. At
his ascension were seen angels adorned with white garments. Joy is
betokened by white garments, for {301} Christ departed hence with great joy
and with great majesty. At his birth it seemed as though the Godhead were
humbled, and at his ascension humanity was exalted and magnified. With his
ascension is annulled the writ of our condemnation, and the sentence of our
destruction is abrogated.
When Adam had sinned, the Almighty Ruler said to him, "Thou art earth, and
thou shalt to earth return. Thou art dust, and thou shalt return to dust."
Now to-day that same nature went incorruptible into the kingdom of heaven.
The two angels said that Christ would come as he ascended, because at the
great doom he will be seen in human form, that his slayers may recognize
him whom they formerly put to death, and also that those who despised his
precepts may then justly receive eternal punishment with the devil. Holy
writ says, "Tollatur impius ne videat gloriam Dei:" "Be the sight of God's
glory taken away from the impious." The impious will not see the glory of
Christ, whom they had before despised in life, but they will then see him
awful whom humble they had contemned.
Recumbentibus undecim discipulis: et reliqua. We have now read the
narrative of Luke concerning Christ's ascension; we will now turn our
consideration to the other evangelist Mark, who said in the present day's
gospel, that Jesus appeared to his apostles, and chid them, because they
would not at first believe his resurrection from death, when it was
announced to them. Then said the Lord to his disciples, "Go over all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature: he who believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; he who believeth not shall be damned. These signs
shall follow those men who believe," etc. This gospel is here now simply
said, but we will now unfold its mysteries to you, according to the
exposition of Gregory.
The apostles' doubt as to the resurrection of Christ was not so much their
lack of faith, but was our confirmation. Less {303} have benefited us those
who quickly believed than those who were doubting; for they beheld and
touched the scars of Christ's wounds, and so drove out all doubts from our
hearts. Jesus then reproved his disciples for their doubt, when he would
bodily leave them, that they might be mindful of the words which he said to
them on his way. He said, "Go over all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature." The gospel is for us to hear and exceedingly loving, that
we may avoid hell-torment and cruel tortures through the incarnation of
Jesus, and come to the host of angels through his humility. He said,
"Preach to every creature:" but by that name is man alone betokened. Stones
are creatures, but they have no life, nor have they sense. Grass and trees
live without feeling; they live not by a soul, but by their greenness.
Beasts live and have feeling without reason; they have no reason, because
they are soulless. Angels live, and have sense, and use reason. Now man has
something of all creatures. He has in common with the stones, that he is
existing; he has in common with the trees, that he lives; with the beasts,
that he has sense; with angels, that he understands. Man is therefore
called 'every creature,' because he has something in common with every
creature. The gospel is preached to every creature, when it is preached to
man alone; for all earthly things are created for man alone, and they all
have some likeness to man, as we before said.
"He who believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; and he who believeth
not shall be damned." That faith is true which gainsays not by wicked
practices that which it believes; of which spake John the apostle; "He who
saith that he knoweth God, and holdeth not his commandments, is a liar."
Again, the apostle James says, "The faith which is without good works is
dead." Again, he said, "What profiteth it thee that thou have faith, if
thou hast not good works? Faith {305} cannot save thee without works. The
devils believe, but they tremble." The devils saw Christ in this life, in
his human state, but they fell at his feet, and cried, and said, "Thou art
the Son of God, therefore thou art come that thou mightest fordo us." The
man who will not believe in God, nor has any awe of God, is worse than a
devil. He who believes, and has awe, and, nevertheless, will not do good,
is like unto a devil.
In quodam tractu, qui aestimatur Sancti Hilarii fuisse, sic invenimus
scriptum, sicut Anglice hic interpretavimus, et ad testimonium ipsam
Latinitatem posuimus: "Daemones credunt et contremescunt; qui autem non
credit, et non contremescit daemonibus deterior est: qui autem credit, et
contremescit, et veritatem operibus non agit, daemonibus similis est." He
who rightly believes, and rightly lives his life, and with awe of God
practises good works to the end of his life, shall be saved, and shall have
everlasting life with God, and with all his saints. The Lord said, these
signs shall follow those who believe in him, "In my name they shall cast
out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall drive away
serpents; and though they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;
they shall set their hands over sick men, and it shall be well with them."
These wonders were needful at the beginning of christianity, for by these
signs was the heathen folk inclined to faith. The man who plants trees or
herbs, waters them so long until they have taken root; when they are
growing he ceases from watering: so also the Almighty God so long showed
his miracles to the heathen folk, until they were believing: when faith had
sprung up over all the world, then miracles ceased. But, nevertheless,
God's church still works daily the same miracles spiritually which the
apostles then wrought bodily. When the priest christens the child, then
casts he out the devil from that child; for every heathen man is the
devil's, but through the holy baptism he is God's, {307} if he observe it.
He who forsakes opprobrious speeches and calumnies, and injurious
scoffings, and busies his mouth with the praises of God and with prayers,
speaks then in new tongues. He who corrects thoughtlessness or impatience,
and stills the bitterness of his heart, drives away serpents, for he
extinguishes the evilnesses of his mind. He who is allured to fornication,
but yet is not induced to its accomplishment, drinks a deadly drink, but it
shall not hurt him, if with prayers he flees to God. If any-one be weakened
in his purpose, and slothful for good living, then if any-one, with
exhortation and examples of good works, strengthen and raise him up, it
will be as though he set his hand over the sick and heal him.
The spiritual miracles are greater than the bodily ones were, for these
miracles heal a man's soul, which is eternal, but the former signs healed
the mortal body. The former miracles were wrought both by good men and by
evil. Judas, who betrayed Christ, was evil, though he had previously
wrought miracles in the name of God. Of such men Christ in another place
said, "I say unto you, many will say to me on that great day, Lord, Lord,
lo! have we not prophesied in thy name, and have driven devils out of mad
men, and have performed great miracles in thy name? Then will I profess to
them, I know you not: depart from me, ye unrighteous doers." My brothers,
love not those miracles which may be common to the good and to the evil,
but love those signs which are exclusively good men's, which are the signs
of true love and of piety. The evil has not true love, nor is the good
devoid of it. These signs are mysterious and not perilous, and they have so
much the greater reward with God as their glory is less with men. The
Omnipotent Lord, after these words, was taken to heaven, and sits on the
right hand of his Father.
We read in the old law, that two men of God, Enoch and {309} Elijah, were
lifted up to heaven without death: but they await death, and will by no
means escape from it. They are taken to the aerial heaven, not to the
ethereal, and continue in some secret dwelling-place with great strength of
body and soul, until they shall return again, at the end of this world,
against Antichrist, and shall receive death. Our Almighty Redeemer waited
not for death, but he overcame it with his resurrection, and manifested his
glory by his ascension to the highest throne.
We read of the prophet Elijah, that angels conveyed him in a heavenly
chariot, because the infirmity of his nature required some supporter. Our
Redeemer Christ was not conveyed in a chariot nor by angels' help; for he
who wrought all things was borne by his own might over all creatures. The
first-mentioned man, Enoch, was conveyed to the aerial heaven, and Elijah
was borne up in a chariot; but the Almighty Saviour was not conveyed nor
borne, but he passed through the ethereal heaven by his own might.
We have to consider how chastity was cherished by the ministers who were
thus conveyed, and by the ascending Jesus. Enoch was conveyed, who was
begotten by coition, and who begot by coition. Elijah was conveyed in a
chariot, who was begotten by coition, but he begot not by coition, for he
continued during his life without a wife. Jesus ascended to heaven, who was
not begotten by coition, nor did he himself beget; for he is the origin and
beginning of all chastities, and to him chastity is a very amiable virtue,
which he manifested when he chose him a maiden for mother. And all the holy
company which followed him was living in chastity, as he says in one of his
gospels, "He who comes to me, may not be my disciple, unless he hate his
wife."
The evangelist Mark wrote in this gospel, that our Lord, after his
ascension, sat on the right hand of his Father; and the first martyr,
Stephen, said that he saw the heavens open, {311} and Jesus standing on his
Father's right. Now says the expounder, "That is rightly said, that he sat
after his ascension, because a seat is befitting a judge." Christ is the
true Judge, who will judge and decide all things, now, and also on the last
day. The martyr saw him standing, for he was his supporter in the suffering
of his martyrdom, and through his grace he was rendered bold against the
fierce persecutors, who cruelly stoned him.
The end of this gospel is, that Christ's apostles "went and preached
everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs
following." The apostles, that is, God's preachers, went over all the
world. Peter preached in Judea, Paul among the heathen folk, Andrew in
Scythia, John in Asia, Bartholomew in India, Matthew in Ethiopia, and so
each of them in his part, and the might of God was with them, for the
efficacy of their preaching and of numberless signs; for Christ said, "Ye
can do nothing without me." Again he said, "I will be with you on all days,
until the ending of this world," who liveth and reigneth with the Almighty
Father and the Holy Ghost ever to eternity. Amen.
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