(Chap. XXII. — Vers. 10.)
Behold, as you enter the city, a man will meet you carrying a jar of water.
It is good to consider where the Lord makes the Passover. According to Matthew, you have: Go into the city to a certain (Matt. XXVI, 18). First, consider the majesty of divinity. He is speaking to the disciples, and already knows what will happen elsewhere. Then consider his condescension; for he does not choose the person of a rich or powerful man, but seeks out the poor, and prefers a cramped lodging of a poor man to the spacious mansions of the noble. Go, he says, to a certain (man). You knew, O Lord, his name, whose ministry you knew, you knew the ministry of him whose encounter you knew: but he is designated without a name, so that he may be considered ignoble. Nothing here is contrived, where the person is not expressed, but the cause. According to Mark, however, he carries a jar of water (Mark 14:13). Therefore, here he is commanded to be followed by the apostles.
47. (Verses 11, 12.) And how is the head of the household? In order for you to recognize that the definition of holiness is not wealth. And how does he have a large bed in the upper room? So that you may notice his great merit, in which the Lord would rest with delight in the company of his disciples, enjoying his sublime virtues. Oh, if only I could have the opportunity to carry a jar of water, to carry a pitcher of water, like the head of the household who has a large bed in the upper room. For what is an amphora, if not a more perfect measure? Those who have a measure are not ordinary. Finally, the Lord says: They will give you a good measure, shaken together, overflowing.
48. But what shall I say about water? Over the water, before the very birth of the world, the Holy Spirit, as it is written, was borne (Gen. I, 2). O water, which, sprinkled with human blood, to prefigure the present baptisms, washed the world! O water, which deserved to be the sacrament of Christ, which washes all things, and is not washed! You begin first, you complete perfect mysteries. From you comes the beginning, in you is the end; or rather, you make us ignorant of the end. Through you, the foul odor of decaying flesh is removed, and the decaying organs, besmirched with filth, are preserved for a long time through the sprinkling of salt. Through you, a sweet beverage is poured into parched and hot bodies, bringing delight, health, and pleasure. You have given your name to prophets and apostles, you have given your name to the Savior: they are the clouds of heaven (Isaiah 60:8), they are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13), this is the wellspring of life (John 7:38). You, who are not confined by mountains or shattered by cliffs or depleted when poured into the earth: but gushing forth from within, you either breathe in vital breath, or provide nourishing sap when infused, or supply beneficial moisture when poured over. Do not let the vital energies dry up or deny the customary productivity of the earth. The substance of all elements, the sky, air, sea, and earth, attest to you. Struck by a prophetic touch, you made the hearts of the thirsty people cold; the rock gushed forth water (Exodus 17:6). When you burst forth from the Savior's side, the witnesses saw and believed (John 19:34). And this is why you are one of the three witnesses of our regeneration; for there are three witnesses, water, blood, and spirit (1 John 5:8). Water for washing, blood for redemption, and spirit for resurrection.
(Vers. 29.)
(Verse 29) And indeed, I appoint to you, just as my Father appointed to me, a kingdom.
The kingdom of God is not of this world. Therefore, the equality of man to God is not possible, but rather an emulation of similarity. For only Christ is the perfect image of God, because of the unity of the expressed glory of the Father in Him. But a just man is in the image of God, if, for the purpose of imitating the likeness of divine conduct, he despises this world through knowledge of God and looks down upon earthly pleasures through the perception of the word of God, by which we are nourished unto life. And so we partake of the body of Christ, that we may be partakers of eternal life. For it is not food and drink that are promised to us as rewards and honors, but the sharing of heavenly grace and life. And the twelve thrones, as described (Ver. 30), are not physical receptacles for sitting, but because just as Christ, according to his divine likeness, judges by the knowledge of hearts and not by questioning deeds, rewarding virtue and condemning impiety, so too the apostles are formed in spiritual judgment by the reward of faith and the condemnation of perfidy, refuting error with their power and pursuing sacrilege with hatred.
Therefore, let us be converted and let us beware lest any contention can arise among us regarding preeminence; for if the apostles contended, it is not an excuse, but a caution. If Peter, who followed the Lord's first voice (Matt. IV, 20), is ever converted, who can say that he was converted quickly? Therefore, beware of boasting, beware of the world; for he is commanded to strengthen his brothers, who said: 'We have left everything and have followed you' (Luke XVIII, 28).
51. Then it should be considered that not all honor is defined by the pursuit of humility; for you can defer to someone for the sake of worldly favor, the fear of power, and the view of usefulness. Your growth is sought, not someone else's honor: and therefore the same form of thought is given to everyone, so that there is no boasting about preeminence, but rather contention about humility; and thus the Lord presents himself as an example to be imitated. We needed everyone, he needed no one; and yet he presented himself as the author of humility when he served his disciples. He was certainly not doing it for the sake of utility, but for the exercise of virtue.
52. (Vers. 31.) Peter, though ready in spirit, was still weak in the body and was being prepared emotionally to deny the Lord; for he could not match the steadfastness of divine intention. The passion of the Lord has imitators, but not equals. Thus, I do not criticize him for his denial, but praise him for his tears. It is one thing to share in a common human condition, and another to possess a special virtue. And therefore, he is instructed to be cautious, not forced to deny.
(Vers. 36.)
(Verse 36) He said, “Whoever has a money bag should take it, and also a sack; and whoever has no sword should sell his cloak and buy one.
53. O Lord, why do you command me to buy a sword, which you forbid me to strike with? Why do you tell me to have what you forbid me to draw? Unless perhaps it is for the purpose of defense, not necessary vengeance; and I may seem able to be avenged, but unwilling. However, the law does not forbid retaliation, and therefore perhaps you offer two swords to Peter: 'It is enough' (Luke 22:38), you say, as if it were allowed until the Gospel; so that there may be instruction in the law of equity, and perfection in the Gospel of goodness.
54. (Verse 37.) Many consider this unfair: but the Lord is not unfair, who, when He could avenge Himself, preferred to be sacrificed. For it is a spiritual sword, to sell your property, to buy the word by which the naked innermost thoughts are clothed. There is also the sword of passion, to divest the body, and with the stripped-off garments of the slaughtered flesh, a sacred crown of martyrdom is bought for you: which you can gather from the blessings of the Lord, who preached the highest crown of all, if anyone suffers persecution for righteousness. Finally, to let you know that he was talking about his passion, so as not to disturb the minds of the disciples, he gave an example of himself, saying: Because this that is written must be fulfilled in me, that is, he was reckoned among the transgressors.
However, it still moves me that the disciples have brought two swords; lest perhaps one is new, the other of the old Testament, with which we arm ourselves against the snares of the devil? Finally, the Lord says: It is enough, as if nothing is lacking to him whom the teaching of both Testaments has fortified.
(Vers. 42, 43.)
(Verse 42, 43.) Father, if it is possible, take this cup away from me.
56. Most people cling to this argument in this place, who are inclined to sadness at the evidence of unfamiliar salvation rather than at the time of their own weakness, and desire to twist the natural meaning of the statement. However, I not only do not think that he should be excused, but I also admire his piety and majesty nowhere more so; for he did not confer less on me, unless he had undertaken my feeling. Therefore, he grieved for me, who had nothing to grieve about for himself; and removed from the delight of eternal divinity, he is afflicted by the weariness of my weakness. For He took on my sadness, so that He could give me His joy: and He descended to the suffering of death in our footsteps, so that He could call us back to life in His footsteps. Therefore, I confidently name sadness, because I proclaim the cross; for He did not assume the appearance of the Incarnation, but the truth. Therefore, He had to also take on sorrow, so that He could overcome sadness, not exclude it. For those who endure the astonishment of wounds more than the pain do not have the praise of strength: for indeed, the Man on the wound, and knowing, says, 'Surely He has borne our infirmities' (Isaiah 53:3).
57. He wants to teach us, so that because in Joseph we learn not to be afraid of prison, we may learn to conquer death in Christ: and what is more, how to conquer the sorrow of future death. For how could we imitate you, Lord Jesus, unless we followed you as a human, unless we believed you were dead, unless we saw your wounds? How could the disciples believe that you were going to die, unless they had experienced the sadness of those who were about to die? But they still sleep, and do not know how to grieve for those for whom Christ was grieving; for so we read: Because he carries our sins, and he grieves for us (Ibid. 4). Therefore, Lord, the wounds are not yours, but mine; the death is not yours, but our weakness. And we thought that you were in pain, when you were not suffering for yourself, but for me; for you were weakened, but because of our sins. It was not because that weakness was assumed by you from the Father, but it was taken on for me; because it was beneficial for me that the instruction of our peace be in you, and that you heal our wounds with your passion.
58. But what is surprising if he grieved for all, who wept for one? And what is surprising if he, who was about to die for all, grew weary of them, since he wept for Lazarus whom he was going to raise from the dead (John 11:35)? And there he is moved by the tears of his pious sister, because his human mind was touched; and here he works with deep affection, so that just as he was destroying our sins in his flesh, he might also abolish the sorrow of our soul, his own soul's sorrow. And perhaps for this reason he is sad, because after the fall of Adam it was necessary for us to depart from this world by such a passing, that it would be necessary to die: for God did not make death, nor does he delight in the destruction of the living (Wisdom 1:13); and therefore, he despises what he himself did not make.
59. Finally he says: Take away from me that cup, as if a man refusing death, as if God preserving his own judgment; for it is necessary for us to die to the world, so that we may rise to God; so that according to the divine judgment the law of curse, being dissolved into the earthly slime of the end of nature, may be loosened (Gen. III, 19). But what he says:
(Vers. 42.)
(Verse 42.) Not my will, but yours be done.
60. He brought it back to his ad hominem argument: the will of the Father to divinity; for the will of man is temporal, the will of divinity eternal. The will of the Father is not different from the will of the Son; for there is one will where there is one divinity. However, learn to be subject to God, so that you do not choose what you yourself desire, but what you know to be pleasing to God.