40. Let us hasten, brothers, to this life, sorrowful in the world because we are strangers to the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6); for whoever is a stranger to the body is a stranger to the Lord. But it is much better to be released from the body and to be joined to God; so that we may be one with the almighty God, and may see the only-begotten Son of God, assumed into the glory of the resurrection and into the brightness of nature, and united by an everlasting pact of unbreakable harmony of souls, imitating the unity of lasting peace; so that what the Son of God promised about us may be fulfilled through praying to the Father: That they may be one, just as we are one (John 17:23).
Therefore, the burial of a father is not prohibited, but the piety of divine religion takes precedence over the obligation of kinship: the former is left to the relatives, the latter is entrusted to the chosen. Either because the open grave is the gaping mouth of the impious (Psalm 5:11), their memory is to be erased, whose merit dies with their body; nor is the son released from the duty of a father, but the faithful is separated from the communion of the treacherous.
For there is a special burial for the just, such as that one of which it is said: For she has poured this ointment on my body, to bury me (Matthew 26:12); and therefore he who sincerely buries Christ in himself, in order to rise with him, should not bury the perfidy of the devil in himself.
43. And also that prophetic passage, as we set forth above, must be understood as referring to the tombs of our forefathers (Tb 4:18); you, who reads this, should not be an unbeliever. It is not because food and drink are commanded, but because the sacred communion of offering is revealed. Therefore, it is not forbidden to give gifts, but the mystery of religion is revealed, that there will be no communion between us and the dead nations. For since the sacraments belong to the living, the dead, who have eternal life, are not seen.
(Chap. X. — Vers. 3.)
(Chapter X, Verse 3) Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.
44. To the seventy disciples He says, those whom He designated and sent two by two before His face. And in what manner did He send them two by two? Because two animals were sent into the ark, that is, the female with the male: unclean according to number, but cleansed by the sacrament of the Church. This was accomplished by the prophecy which Saint Peter received, when the Holy Spirit said to him: What God has cleansed, do not call common (Acts 10:15). And it is understood that this was said about the Gentiles, who followed more the succession of bodily generation than of spiritual grace. He redeemed them and made them heirs of his passion.
45. Therefore, Jesus sent his disciples into their own harvest, which, though planted with the word of God, still required the laborious work and diligent task of the worker; so that the birds of the sky would not scatter the seeds that were scattered, thus: Behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves (Isaiah 65:25).
46. These animals are contrary to each other, so that some devour others. But a good shepherd does not fear wolves for his flock: and therefore these disciples are directed not to prey, but to grace; for the solicitude of a good shepherd makes it so that wolves cannot dare anything against the lambs. Therefore, he sends lambs among wolves, so that that may be fulfilled: Then the wolves and the lambs will feed together.
47. And since recently a not unpleasant discussion about a fox has occurred with us, if I have experienced your trustworthy judgment in the form of a small creature (In Luke 9), I presume that I can reveal the profound mysteries that are veiled in the guise of wolves by the support of your studies. We have already explained that heretics are signified in the guise of foxes, who promise by name to follow Christ, but renounce it through deceit. The Lord does not take these, but rather He keeps them away and forbids them from His nest. We must pay attention to what the wolves seem to signify.
Indeed, the beasts are those that lie in wait for sheep, they move around the shepherd's huts, they do not dare to enter the dwellings of houses, they examine the sleep of dogs, the absence or laziness of the shepherd, they attack the throats of sheep, in order to strangle them quickly: they are wild, greedy, and by nature more rigid in body; that they cannot easily be bent, they are carried forward by a certain impetuosity, and therefore they are often played with. Moreover, if they see any man before them, they are compelled, by a certain power of nature, to snatch away his voice: but if a man sees them first, they are said to be chased away. And so I must be careful lest, if in today's treatise on spiritual mysteries, the grace may not be able to shine forth, I may be believed to have seen wolves beforehand and forced a vote of approval.
49. Surely these wolves must be compared to heretics who lie in wait for the sheep of Christ, raging around the sheepfolds more at nighttime than during the day? For always to the treacherous ones night is preferable, those who attempt to cover the light of Christ with the cruel mists of interpretation, and to the extent possible, darken it. They turn around the sheepfolds; however, they dare not enter the stable of Christ. And for this reason they are not healed, because Christ does not want to lead them into His stable, in which He cured the man who, descending from Jerusalem, fell among robbers, whom the Good Samaritan, having bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on him, put on his own beast and brought to an inn, leaving him to be healed by the innkeeper (Luke X, 30 et seq.). They do not accept medicine, who do not seek a doctor; for if they did seek, they would not detract.
50. Exploring the absence of the shepherd, the shepherds of the Church strive either to kill or to exile them, because they cannot attack the sheep of Christ in the presence of the shepherds. Therefore, the robbers attempt to plunder the flock of the Lord, with a certain stubborn and rigid intention of their mind, never deviating from their error. And thus the Apostle says: Avoid a heretical man after the first . . . . correction (Titus 3:10), knowing that he is perverted, such as he is. Thus, Christ mocks these Scriptural interpreters, so that their empty attacks are poured out in vain, and they cannot harm.
51. If they anticipate anyone by the skillful circumscription of their argumentation, they cause him to become mute; for he is mute who does not confess the Word of God in the same manner as his glory. Therefore beware lest the heretic take away your voice, if you do not yourself first detect him; for his treachery creeps while it lies hidden: but if you recognize the discussions of his impiety, you will not be able to fear the loss of your pious voice. Therefore beware of the poisons of subtle disputation: they attack the soul, invade the throat, inflict a wound on the vital parts. Graves sunt morsus haereticorum, qui ipsis graviores et rapaciores bestiis, nullum avaritiae finem impietatisque noverunt.
Let it not bother you that they seem to present a human form: and if a man is seen on the outside, inside he rages like a beast. And therefore it is not to be doubted that they are wolves, according to the divine sentence of the Lord Jesus, who says: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside they are ravening wolves; by their fruits you shall know them (Matthew VII, 15 and 16). Therefore, if anyone is moved by appearance, let him inquire about the fruit. You hear that a priest is being called, you recognize his robbery. He has the appearance of a sheep, the actions of a predator. Outside he is a sheep, inside he is a wolf: one who has no limit to his robberies, who, like a body hardened by Scythian frost in the night, with a bloodied face, flies around seeking whom he might devour. Doesn't he seem to you to be a wolf, who desires to satisfy his insatiable cruelty in the death of faithful people?
53. That person howls, does not reason, who denies the author of the voice, and with blasphemous speech, makes a bestial murmur, who does not confess the Lord Jesus, the eternal ruler of life. We heard his howls, when the sword was sent into the world. He showed his sharp teeth, his swollen mouth, and thought that he had taken away the voice from everyone, which he alone had lost. And therefore, in order to escape from these wolves, the Lord teaches us what we should follow, saying:
(Vers. 4.)
(Verse 4.) Do not carry a bag, nor a money pouch, nor sandals.
54. What it means for a bag not to be carried somewhere else is clearly expressed; for Matthew wrote that the Lord said to his disciples: Do not possess gold, nor silver (Matthew 10:9). If we are prohibited from possessing gold, what are we to take away, what are we to steal? If you command to give what you have, how are you accumulating what you did not have? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who curse idols, do you commit sacrilege? Do you who boast in the law, dishonor God by breaking the law? For, as it is written, 'The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.' (Romans 2:21-24)
55. Not so did the apostle Peter, who was the first executor of the Lord's command, show that the commandments of the Lord were not given in vain; when asked by a poor man to give him some money, he said: I have no silver or gold (Acts 3:6). He boasts that he does not have silver or gold: is it shameful to you to have less than you desire? Therefore, poverty is both glorious and blessed, as it is written: Blessed are the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3). Nevertheless, Peter does not boast so much about this, that he has no silver and gold, as that he keeps the commandment of the Lord, who commanded: Do not possess gold; that is to say: You see that I am a disciple of Christ, and you ask for gold from me? He has given us something much more precious than gold, so that we may work in his name. Therefore, I have not what he has not given, but what he has given I have: In the name of the Lord Jesus, rise up and walk (Acts 3:6).
56. Just as, therefore, one who wants to build barns for storing grain is criticized by the authority of the Lord's words (Luke XII, 26): so one who wants to acquire a bag by preserving gold incurs the blemish of reprobation.
57. I will not err, nor will I put on sandals. Both are usually made from the skin of a dead animal; however, our Lord Jesus wants nothing in us to be mortal. Finally, to Moses He says: 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground' (Exod. III, 5). Therefore, He commands Moses to remove his mortal and earthly sandals when he was sent to free the people; for the one who serves in this ministry should fear nothing, and should not be delayed by the danger of death from fulfilling his duty. For when he received voluntary defense of his brothers, that is, of the Jews, he was recalled from his beginning by the terror of false accusations, and fled from Egypt. And therefore when the Lord tested his disposition, and saw his condition feeble, He deemed it necessary to free his soul and mind from mortal bonds.
58. And if someone is moved by the fact that in Egypt they were commanded to eat the Passover lamb wearing shoes (Exodus 12:11), he should consider that even though he is in Egypt, he still needs to beware of the bites of serpents. For there are many poisons in Egypt, and he who celebrates the Passover in a symbolic way can be susceptible to injury. But the minister of truth dulls the poisons and does not tremble. Indeed, the viper bit Paul on the island of Malta, and when the inhabitants of that place saw the viper hanging from his hand, they thought he would die. But when they saw him unharmed, they said he was a god, to whom venom could not do harm (Acts 28:3ff). And so that you know this to be true, the Lord himself said: Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you (Luke 10:19).
59. The apostles were not commanded to carry staffs in their hands; for thus Matthew thought it should be written (Matth. X, 10). But what is a staff, if not a symbol of authority and an instrument of inflicting pain? Therefore, the humble disciples of the humble Lord (for in his humility his judgment was exalted [Esai. LIII, 8]), I say, the humble disciples carry out the commandment of their Lord through the duties of humility; for they were sent to sow the faith, not to compel but to teach; not to exercise power, but to elevate the doctrine of humility. In this place, he thought that even patience should be joined to humility; because he himself also, according to the testimony of Peter, did not revile when he was reviled: when he was struck, he did not strike back (1 Peter 2:23). Therefore, this is to say: Be imitators of me, set aside the desire for vengeance, endure the insolence of those who strike you not with a sense of injury, but with the magnanimity of patience. No one should imitate in another what he himself condemns: gentleness returns severer wounds to the contumacious. The Lord struck back by saying: Whoever strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other also (Matt. V, 39). For it happens that by his own judgement he condemns himself, and he is pricked by a certain sting of his own conscience, which prompts him to recognize the kindness that was shown to him in contrast to the injury he committed.
However, he had those whom he sent as apostles with a rod, as Paul testifies, saying: What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness? (I Cor. IV, 21). The Apostle Timothy also received this rod, saying: Reprove, exhort, rebuke (II Tim. IV, 2). Or perhaps before the passion of the Lord, which strengthened the wavering hearts of the people, gentleness alone was necessary; after the passion, correction. Certainly the Lord rebukes, Paul incites. Let him who can persuade also soften hardened hearts, let him who cannot persuade all things rebuke. Therefore Paul had taken up the rod from the teaching of the Law. For he had read: 'He who spares the rod hates his son' (Prov. XIII, 24). He had also read that those who eat the lamb were ordered by the prophetic command to have a rod in their hands (Exod. XII, 11). And thus the Lord says in the old Testament: 'I will visit their iniquities with the rod' (Psal. LXXXVIII, 33). But in the new one, he offered himself for forgiveness to all, saying: If you seek me, let these go away (John XVIII, 8). And in another place you have that when the apostles wanted to ask for fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans, who did not want to receive Jesus the Lord into their city: He turned and rebuked them, and said: You do not know what spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy lives, but to save them (Luke IX, 55 and 56).