Sermon 72
(On the Words of the Lord in the Gospel according to Matthew:
Or make the tree good, and its fruit good )
A bad man cannot have good works.
(1. Our Lord Jesus Christ has admonished us to be good trees and to be able to have good fruits. For he says: Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad. For by the fruit the tree is known. Where he says: Make the tree good, and its fruit good, this indeed is not an admonition, but a healthy precept, to which obedience is necessary. But when he says: Make the tree bad, and its fruit bad, it is not a precept to do so, but a warning to avoid it. For he spoke against those who thought that, when they were evil, they could speak good things or have good works. This the Lord Jesus says is not possible. For a man must first be changed, so that his works may be changed. For if a man remains in his evil state, he cannot have good works; if he remains in his good state, he cannot have evil works.)
We have all been found evil.
(2. But who has been found good by the Lord, since Christ died for the ungodly? Therefore, he found all bad trees. But he gave the power to become children of God to those who believe in his name. Therefore, whoever today is a good man, that is, a good tree, was found bad and made good. And if, when he found bad trees, he wanted to uproot rather than allow to remain what was not worthy of uprooting, what would be left? But he came to bestow mercy, so that later he might exercise judgment, to whom it is said: "I will sing of mercy and judgment to you, O Lord." Therefore, he gave the forgiveness of sins to believers; he did not want to have an account with them regarding past records. He gave the forgiveness of sins: he made good trees. He postponed the axe: he gave safety.)
Great is God's patience towards us.
(3. About this ax, John speaks, saying): Already (the ax is laid at the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. About this ax, the householder threatens in the Gospel, saying: Behold, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this tree and find none. Now I must vacate the place: therefore let it be cut down. And the vine-dresser intercedes: Lord, leave it alone this year also: I will dig around it.)
I will also apply manure to it; if it bears fruit, good; if not, you will come and cut it down. The Lord visited the human race as if through three years, which means through three certain periods. The first period is before the law; the second, in the law; the third is now, which is the time of grace. For if He did not visit the human race before the law, where did Abel come from? Where did Enoch come from? Where did Noah come from? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Whose God He wanted to be called, as if He were the God of three men: I am, He says, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But if He did not visit in the law, He would not have given the law. After the law, the householder Himself came: He suffered, died, and rose again, gave the Spirit, and made the Gospel to be preached throughout the whole world. Yet a certain fruitless tree still remained. There is still a part of the human race that does not correct itself. The husbandman intercedes: the Apostle prays for the people: I bend my knees, he says, for you to the Father, that being rooted and grounded in love, you may have the strength to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length, the height and depth, to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Bending the knees, he intercedes for us before the householder, so that we may not be uprooted. Thus, it is necessary that He comes; He finds us fruitful. The digging around the tree is the humility of the penitent: for every ditch is humble. And the manure basket is the filth of the penitent: for what is filthier than manure? And yet, if used well, what is more fruitful?
Two roots: charity and desire.
Let each one be a good tree. Do not think that you can have good fruits if you remain a bad tree. There will be no good fruit unless of a good tree. Change your heart, and the work will be changed. Uproot desire, plant charity. For just as the root of all evil is greed, so the root of all good is charity. Why then do people murmur or argue among themselves: "What is good?" Oh, if you knew what it is! The good that you want to have is not fully good. The good that you do not want to be, that is a great good! Do you want to have bodily health? Granted, it is good. Nevertheless, it is not a great good, because even a bad person can have it. Do you want to have gold and silver? Behold, I say this too: it is good if you make good use of it; however, you will not use it well if you are bad. Hence, gold and silver are bad for the wicked, good for the good: not because they make people good, but because they find them good, they are converted to good use. Do you want to have honor? It is good, but again, only if you use it well. For how many has honor been the occasion of destruction! For how many has honor been the instrument of good work!
A man wants all good things except himself.
Therefore, let us discern these goods, if we can, because we are speaking of good trees. And there is nothing that anyone should think about, except to strive to turn back from those things by which eyes are corrupted as much as he can, to turn his eyes onto himself, to descend within himself, to examine himself, to inspect himself, to seek himself and to find himself; and what displeases, he should kill, and what pleases, he should adopt, and what he adopts, he should plant. For when a man finds himself empty of better goods, why is he eager for external goods? Behold, what use is a chest full of goods to an empty conscience? You want to have goods, but you do not want to be good! Do you not see that you ought to be ashamed of your goods, if your house is full of goods and holds you as evil? For what is it that you wish to have as evil? Tell me. Nothing at all: not a wife, not a daughter, not a son, not a servant, not a villa, not a tunic, finally not a shoe; and yet you want to have an evil life! I ask you, prefer your life to your shoe. All the things that lie around your eyes, splendid and beautiful, are dear to you; and to yourself, you are vile and foul! If the goods with which your house is full, which you wished for, which you trembled to lose, could respond to you, would they not cry out to you: “Just as you wish to have us as goods, we also want to have you as a good master”? With a silent voice, they intercede against you to your master: “Behold, you gave so many goods to this one, and he himself is evil! What use is it to him to have what he has, when he does not have Him who gave everything?”
The true good is what.
Therefore, he asks, admonished by my words, and perhaps pricked in the heart, he asks what is good, what kind of good, whence comes the good. Well have you understood that this you ought to inquire. I will respond to the one asking, and I will say: This is the good which you cannot lose unwillingly. For you can lose gold, even unwillingly; you can lose a house, you can lose honors, you can lose the very health of the body. But the good by which you are good, you neither receive unwillingly, nor lose unwillingly.
(So, what kind of good is this? The Psalm indeed admonishes us about a great thing, perhaps what we are seeking. For it says: Sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart? How long that tree for three years? Sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart? What does it mean to be heavy of heart? Why do you love vanity and seek falsehood? And afterward it says what should be sought: Know that the Lord has made his holy one magnificent. Now also Christ has come, now he has been made magnificent, now he has risen and ascended into heaven, now his name is preached throughout the whole world: How long will you be heavy of heart? The past times suffice: now that holy one is made magnificent, how long will you be heavy of heart? After three years, what remains except the axe? How long will you be heavy of heart? Why do you love vanity and seek falsehood? Still in vain, still useless, still pompous, still fleeting, thus, although Christ the holy one is made magnificent, these things are still sought! Now truth cries out, and still vanity is sought! How long will you be heavy of heart?)
Why is the world scourged so harshly?
The world is justly scourged: for the world now knows the words of the Lord. "And the servant, not knowing his Lord's will and doing things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few." Why? So that he may seek the will of his Lord. Therefore, the servant not knowing the will: this was the world before the Lord magnified His holy one. The servant was not knowing the will of his Lord, and therefore was beaten with few stripes. But the servant now knowing his Lord's will: this is the case now, since the deity magnified His holy one, and not doing His will, shall be beaten with many stripes. So why is it surprising that the world receives many stripes? The servant knows the will of the Lord and does things worthy of stripes. Therefore, let him not refuse to be beaten with many, for if he does not want to hear the teacher unjustly, he will justly suffer the avenger; nor let him murmur against the chastiser, since he sees himself worthy of stripes, in order to merit mercy.
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