SERMO 164
ON THE WORDS OF THE APOSTLE (GAL 6:2-5):
"Carry each other's burdens";
AND ABOUT THESE:
"Each one will carry his own burden."
AGAINST THE DONATISTS,
Shortly after the conference held in Carthage, he was pronounced
The law of Christ is fulfilled by those bearing each other's burdens.
The truth, through the Apostle, admonishes us all to bear one another's burdens; and in admonishing us to bear one another's burdens, it shows with what benefit we do this, adding and saying: And so you will fulfill the law of Christ; which will not be fulfilled unless we bear one another's burdens. What these burdens are, and how they ought to be borne, since we all ought to strive to the best of our abilities to fulfill the law of Christ, with the Lord's help I will try to show. Remember that you insist on me demonstrating this, and when I have done so, do not demand it again. I propose to demonstrate this, with the help of the Lord and your prayers for me, what burdens the Apostle commands us to bear with one another, and how they ought to be borne. If we do this, that benefit which was placed will naturally follow, so that we may fulfill the law of Christ.
Burdens must be distinguished.
Someone says: For the Apostle spoke obscurely, so do you attempt to explain what these burdens are, or how they should be borne by each other? There is a question there that forces us to distinguish burdens. And indeed, in that very section of the reading, you have it stated there: Each one will bear his own burden. Therefore, it immediately comes to your understanding: If each one will bear his own burden, how does he say: Bear each other's burdens? Unless because burdens must be distinguished, lest the Apostle be thought to speak contradictorily. For not far, not in another Epistle, not far above or below in this very same chapter; but in that very place, so that the same words are contiguous with one another, he placed both, both that each one will bear his own burden, and that he admonished and exhorted, that we should bear each other's burdens.
Two kinds of burden.
Therefore, there are certain burdens in which each one carries their own, neither carrying with another nor casting onto another; and there are certain burdens in which you rightly say to a brother: I carry it with you, or: I carry it for you. If therefore there is need of distinction, understanding is not easy. Hence, to those who thought a man could be contaminated by the sins of others, the Apostle responds: Each one will bear his own burden. Likewise, against those who might allow negligence to creep in, as if made secure by the fact that they would not be contaminated by the sins of others, they would care to correct no one: Bear one another's burdens. Briefly stated, briefly distinguished; and as far as I think, the manifestation of truth has not been hindered. For you have both heard briefly and understood quickly. I have not seen your hearts; but I have heard the voices of the heart as witnesses. Now therefore, as if secure in what has been understood, let us sometimes discuss more broadly; not to introduce understanding, but to commend what has been understood.
Each one his own burdens, sins.
The burdens which each one carries are sins. To those men who carry the loads of these detestable burdens and who sweat in vain under them, the Lord says: Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. How does He give rest to those burdened with sins, except by granting the forgiveness of sins? The preacher of the world cries out from a certain watchtower of exalted authority: Hear, human race; hear, sons of Adam; hear, the laborious and unfruitful race: I see your labor, see my gift. I know you labor and are heavy laden; and what is more miserable, you bind destructive burdens to your shoulders; furthermore, what is worse, you ask for burdens to be added to you, not to be taken away.
The burden of greed. The burden of laziness.
Which of us in a short time can discuss the complexity and variety of these burdens? Yet let us mention a few from there and conjecture about the rest. Look at a man burdened with the load of greed, see him sweating, panting, thirsty under this load, and adding to the load by laboring. What are you expecting, O greedy one, embracing your burden and binding the evil load with chains of desire under your shoulders? What are you expecting? Why do you labor? Why do you gasp? Why do you desire? Surely to satisfy greed. O vain wishes and most wicked deeds! Are you expecting, then, to satisfy greed? It can press upon you, but you cannot satisfy it. Or perhaps it is not burdensome? Have you so far lost even sense under this load? Is greed not burdensome? Why then does it wake you from sleep, which sometimes even does not allow you to sleep? And perhaps you have with it another burden of sloth, and these two most wicked burdens pressing upon and tearing you apart. They do not command in equal terms, nor do they order alike. Sloth says: Sleep; greed says: Rise. Sloth says: Do not endure cold days; greed says: Bear storms even at sea. One says: Rest; the other does not allow rest. It commands not only: Go forth; but also: Sail across the sea, seek lands that you do not know. Wares must be carried to India; you do not know the language of the Indians, but the language of greed seems understandable. You will go unknown to the unknown; you give, you receive, you buy, you carry; you arrive risking dangers, you return with dangers, you cry out in the sea agitated by a storm: God, deliver me. Do you not hear the response: Why? Did I send you? Greed commanded you to acquire what you did not have; I commanded you to give to the poor without toil what you had at your door. It sent you to the Indians to bring back gold; I placed Christ at your door, from whom you would buy the kingdom of heaven. You labor under the command of greed, you do not labor under my command. We both commanded; you did not hear me: let him to whom you listened deliver you.
For the burdens of desire, take up the burdens of love.
How many carry these burdens? How many positioned beneath them cry out against those very burdens as I speak against them? They entered with burdens, they exit with burdens; they entered greedy, they leave greedy. I have labored by speaking against these burdens. If you cry out, set down what you are carrying. Finally, do not listen to me; listen to your Emperor shouting: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened. For you will not come unless you cease to labor. You want to run to me, but you cannot with heavy burdens. Come, he says, to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. I grant forgiveness for past sins, I will remove what weighed down your eyes, I will heal what harmed your shoulders. I will indeed take away the burdens, but I will not leave you empty of burdens: I will take away bad burdens and lay on good ones. For when he said: And I will refresh you; he added: Take my yoke upon you. Lust subjected you badly, but love will subject you beneficially.
Christ the teacher, what he wishes to be learned from him. The burden of Christ is light.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. If any human teaching has become vile to you, learn from me. Christ cries out as teacher, the only Son of God, the only truthful one, the truth itself cries out: Learn from me. What? Because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word, and all things were made through him. Could we learn from him to make the world, to fill the sky with lights, to order the changes of day and night, to command times and ages to go forth, to give power to seeds, to fill the earth with animals? The heavenly teacher commands us to learn none of these things: he does these as God.
But because this God deigned to be both God and man, listen to what he says to be refreshed in what concerns his divinity; listen to what he says to imitate in what concerns his humanity. He says, "Learn from me"; not to fabricate the world and create natures, nor even those other things which, as hidden God and manifest man, he accomplished; nor does he say: "Learn from me to drive out fevers from the sick, to cast out demons, to raise the dead, to command the winds and waves, to walk on the waters"; nor does he say this: "Learn from me". For he gave these powers to some of his disciples, to some he did not give them: but this, "Learn from me", he says to all; from this precept let no one excuse himself: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart". Why do you hesitate to bear this burden? Is this burden heavy, humility and piety? Is this burden heavy, faith, hope, charity? For these make one humble, these make one meek. And see that you will not be weighed down if you listen to him. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. What does it mean: it is light? What if it has weight, but less? Does avarice have more weight, and justice less? I do not want you to understand it this way. This burden is not the weight of one overburdened, but wings for one about to fly. For birds also have the burdens of their feathers. And what do we say? They carry them, and they are carried by them. They carry them on earth, they are carried by them in heaven. If you wish to show mercy to a bird, especially in summer, and you say: "These feathers burden this poor little bird," and you remove this burden; it will remain on the ground, the one you wanted to help. Therefore carry the wings of peace, receive the wings of charity. This is the burden, thus the law of Christ will be fulfilled.
Each one bears the burden of his own desire or love.
The burdens are distinct. See now, I don't know, someone greedy comes in; you know that greedy person, he stands with you, and you are not greedy; but you are even merciful, you give to the poor what you have, you do not covet what you do not have; you hear the Apostle saying: "Command the rich of this world not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who provides us with everything richly for enjoyment; let them do good, be rich in good deeds, be generous and willing to share, laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." You have listened, recognized, learned, held on, acted. Do what you are doing, do not become slothful, do not cease. He who perseveres to the end will be saved. You did well to man, the man is ungrateful; do not regret having done well, lest by regretting you destroy what you accomplished through mercy; say in your heart: He does not see for whom I did it, but He sees for whom I did it; because if he saw, if he were not ungrateful, it would benefit him more than it would benefit me. Hold fast to God, who is not hidden from what I do; not only what I do, but even what I do from the heart; I hope for the reward from Him, who does not seek a witness of my deed. Such you are, and perhaps in the people of God stands next to you a greedy robber, coveting others' possessions. Whom you know to be such, and he is faithful, or rather called faithful, you cannot expel him from the Church, you have no access to correct and rebuke him, he will approach the altar with you; do not fear: Each one will bear his own load. Remember the Apostle, that you may come with peace of mind: Each one will bear his own load. Only let him not say to you: Carry with me. For if you wish to share greed with him, the load will not be lessened, but two will be burdened. Therefore let each bear his own burden, and you yours: because when the Lord threw off such a burden from your shoulders, He placed another; He threw off the burden of covetousness, placing the burden of charity. Therefore according to their desires each one bears his own load, the bad a bad one, the good a good one.
Burdens that must be shared.