78. And he took care (Ibid.); lest the sick man should not observe those things which he had received. But the Samaritan had no leisure to stay on earth for long: he had to return to where he had come down from. Therefore:
(Vers. 35.)
(The Verse 35.) On the second day.
Who is this other day, unless perhaps that of the Lord's resurrection, of which it is said: This is the day which the Lord has made (Psalm CXVII, 24)?
(Ibid.) He brought out two denarii and gave them to the stable keeper, and said: Take care of him.
Who are these two denarii, if not perhaps two Testaments, which have the image of the eternal king expressed in them, by whose price our wounds are healed? For we are redeemed by precious blood; so that we may avoid the wounds of death.
81. Therefore, the stableman receives these two denarii (it is not unreasonable to understand the four forms of these books as well). Who? Perhaps he who says: I consider them as dung, that I may gain Christ (Phil. III, 8); in which he cares for the wounded man. Therefore, that stableman is the one who said: Christ sent me to proclaim the good news (I Cor. I, 17). Those stablemen are those to whom it is said: Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature; and whoever believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark XVI, 15 and 16), saved from death, saved from the wound inflicted by the robbers. Blessed is the stable boy, who can heal the wounds of others. Blessed is he to whom Jesus says:
(Vers. 35.)
(Verse 35.) Whatever you have supererogated, I will return to you when you come back.
82. Paul, a good steward, who even goes beyond what is required. Paul, the good steward, whose words and letters overflow as if he had received the same teaching as himself. By carrying out the moderate command of the Lord with almost excessive mental and physical labor, he has relieved many people from the burden of serious spiritual conversation. Therefore, he is a good stable master of the stable in which his Lord's donkey recognized the manger, and in which the flock of lambs is enclosed, so that there may be easy access to the sheepfold for the raging wolves.
83. Therefore, he promises that he will repay the reward. When will you return, Lord, if not on the day of judgment? For although you are always everywhere, and standing in our midst, you are not seen by us, yet there will be a time when all flesh sees you returning. Therefore, you will repay what you owe. Blessed are those to whom you are a debtor! May we be worthy debtors! May we be able to repay what we have received; may neither the office of priesthood nor ministry lift us up! Lord Jesus, how will you repay? You have indeed promised in heaven a plentiful reward for the good (Matthew 5:12). Yet you will also repay when you say: 'Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord' (Matthew 25:21).
Therefore, since no one is closer than the one who has cared for our wounds, let us love him as a master, let us love him as a neighbor, for nothing is as close as the head is to the members: let us also love him who is an imitator of Christ, let us love him who sympathizes with the poverty of another's body through the unity of our own. For it is not blood relation that makes one close, but mercy: for mercy is according to nature; for nothing is so according to nature as to help a fellow being of the same nature.
85. (Verse 38, 42.) Therefore, it has been said about mercy, but there is not only one form of virtue. The example of Martha and Mary is added: the active devotion of one through her works, the religious intention of the other towards the word of God, which, if it is in harmony with faith, is even preferred to the works themselves, according to what is written: Mary has chosen the best part for herself, which will not be taken away from her. Let us therefore strive to have something that no one can take away from us, not for the sake of being superficial, but for diligent hearing; for even the seeds of the heavenly word itself are known to be taken away if they are sown in a different way (Luke 8:12). Love wisdom as you love Mary, for this is a greater and more perfect work: let not the care of your ministry turn you away from the knowledge of heavenly doctrine, nor condemn those whom you see studying wisdom as idle judges; for Solomon, that peaceful man, admitted wisdom to dwell with him.
Martha, however, is not reproached for her good ministry, but Mary, because she has chosen the better part, is preferred; for Jesus abounds in many things and bestows many blessings, and therefore he is considered wiser; because he chooses what is essential. Finally, the apostles did not consider it best to abandon the word of God and serve tables (Acts 6:2). But both are tasks of wisdom; for even Stephen, a minister full of wisdom, was chosen (Ibid., 5). And therefore let the one who serves the teacher defer to him; and let the one serving the doctor invite and challenge him; for there is one body of the Church, although there are different members: one member needs the other. The eye cannot say to the hand: I do not need your works; nor again can the head say to the feet, nor the ear deny that it is part of the body; for although some parts are more important, others are still necessary. Wisdom is in the head, action is in the hands: For the eyes of the wise are in their head (Ecclesiasticus 2:14); for he truly understands, whose mind is in Christ, and whose inner eye is raised to heavenly things. And therefore: The eyes of the wise are in their head; but the fool walks in darkness.
(Chap. XI. — Vers. 5.)
(Chapter 11, Verse 5.) Which of you, having a friend, will go to him in the middle of the night and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread.'
87. Another precept is that prayer should be offered at every moment, not just during the day but also at night. For you see that this person who set out in the middle of the night, asking for three loaves from his friend and persisting in his request, will not be denied his prayers. Who are these three loaves, if not the nourishment of heavenly mysteries? If you love the Lord your God, you will not only be able to acquire it for yourself, but also for others. But who is more friendly to us than the one who handed over his body for us? From this middle of the night, David asked for bread and received it; for he asked when he said: In the middle of the night, I rise to confess to you (Psalm 118:62); therefore he deserved these loaves of bread that he set before us to eat. He asked when he said: I will wash my bed every night (Psalm 6:7); for he did not fear to awaken the One who sleeps, whom he knows is always awake.
88. And therefore, mindful of the writings, we who devote ourselves to prayer day and night, should seek forgiveness for our sins. For if that holy one, who was occupied with the necessities of the kingdom, praised the Lord seven times a day in his prayers, always attentive to the morning and evening sacrifices (Psalm CXVIII, 164): what should we do, who should ask even more frequently, as we more frequently fall through the weakness of flesh and mind; so that for those worn out by the journey and greatly exhausted by the course of this age and the twists and turns of this life, the bread of refreshment may not be lacking, which strengthens the hearts of men?
89. Not only in the middle of the night does the Lord teach us to be watchful, but at all moments near to it; for he comes in the evening, and in the second, and in the third watch, and is accustomed to knock: Blessed, therefore, are those servants whom the Lord, when he comes, shall find watching (Luke 12:37). So if you desire that the power of God gird itself and minister to you, it is necessary to be always watchful: for there are many snares for the good, and a heavy sleep of the body; for if the mind begins to sleep, it loses the strength of its virtue. Therefore, awaken your sleep so that you may knock on the door of Christ; which Paul also requests to be opened to him, not only for himself, but also by the prayers of the people, imploring to be aided, so that the door may be opened to him to speak the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4:3). And perhaps that is the door that John saw opened; for he saw and said: After this I saw, and behold, a door open in heaven; and the first voice which I heard, as it were of a trumpet speaking with me, saying: Come up hither, and I will show thee the things that must be done (Revelation 4:1). The door was opened to John, the door was opened to Paul; so that they could receive the breads that we were eating. He persevered knocking on the door opportune, importune; so that he could refresh the peoples, who were troubled by the labor of the worldly path, with the abundance of heavenly sustenance.
Therefore, the prescriptive place of prayer, the hope of obtaining, the rationale of persuading, is first placed in the precept and then in the example. For whoever promises something, ought to offer the hope of the promise; so that obedience may be given to the admonitions, faith to the promises, which, by the human contemplation of piety, acquires a greater hope of eternal piety; if, however, they are demanded justly, lest prayer be turned into sin. Nor was he ashamed to ask for something frequently, lest he be seen to either lack confidence in the mercy of the Lord, or to arrogantly grieve because he obtained something through his first prayer. Therefore, he said, I asked the Lord three times (II Cor. XII, 8): and he showed that God often does not grant what is prayed for because he judges it to be useless, which we believe will benefit us.
(Vers. 17.)
(Verse 17.) Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a house falls upon a house.
The reason for this saying is that it was said that in Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he cast out demons; in order to show that his kingdom is indivisible and eternal. And he even responded to Pilate: My kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). And therefore, those who do not have hope in Christ but think that they cast out demons by the prince of demons, he denies them an eternal kingdom. This applies to the people of the Jews, who, in order to cast out demons in such passions, call upon the assistance of demons. For just as, when faith is divided, the kingdom cannot remain undivided, so too, since the people of the Jews are in the Law, and Christ was also generated according to the flesh from the Law, how can the kingdom of the Jews be everlasting, since it is from the Law, when the people themselves divide the Law, when Christ, who is owed to the people of the Law, is denied? Thus, from one side the faith of the Jewish people attacks itself, and by attacking it is divided, and by dividing it is dissolved. And therefore the kingdom of the Church will remain forever; because individual faith is one body: One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all (Ephesians 4:5-6).
92. How great a sacrilegious madness is here; that when the Son of God undertook to crush unclean spirits and take away the spoils of the worldly prince by assuming flesh, and gave power for the destruction of evil spirits to men as well, dividing the spoils of his triumph, which is the emblem of victory, some should seek for themselves assistance and support from the power of the devil, while they exclude demons from the finger of God, or certainly according to Matthew, by the Spirit of God (Matt. 12:28)! It is understood that there is a certain individual, like a body of divinity and a kingdom; since Christ is at the right hand of God. And the Spirit, it seems, expresses the appearance of a finger, like one in the divine series of the body. Does it not seem that the individual is a kingdom, since it is like an undivided body? For, as you have read, the fullness of divinity dwells bodily in Christ (Colossians 2:9). Surely you cannot deny this of the Father, and you should not deny it of the Spirit. And so, may it not seem necessary for you to make a certain portion of virtue by comparison of our members; for there cannot be a division of an indivisible thing: and therefore, the naming of fingers must be referred to the form of unity, not to the distinction of power; as even the right hand of God says: I and the Father are one (John 10:30). But although the indivisible divinity is distinct persons.
93. However, when the word 'Spirit' is mentioned, it signifies the power of the operator, because just as the Father and the Son are operators of divine works, so too is the Holy Spirit. For David says: 'For I will behold the heavens, the works of your fingers' (Psalm 8:4). And in the thirty-second psalm: 'By the breath of his mouth, all their power' (Psalm 32:6). And Paul says: 'But all these things one and the same Spirit works, dividing to each according as he wills' (1 Corinthians 12:11). Et id cum dicit: