Concerning therefore the example by which they are guided by hand to faith, three things are suggested which contribute to the perfection of faith, namely the origin of faith, its progress, and its power. The origin of faith consists in the reception of the divine gift; progress in the cooperation of free will; and power in the execution of a wondrous command.
13. (Verse 5). First, therefore, with regard to the rise of faith consisting in the reception of the divine gift, he sets forth: And the Apostles said to the Lord: Increase our faith. For the Apostles, seeing that they were not sufficient for those sublime works of piety, which consist in avoiding scandals and forgiving injuries, without greatness of faith, ask that faith be increased in them through the divine gift, from which faith has its origin, for it does not belong to man from himself, but from the gift and bounty of God. Whence 1 Corinthians 12: "To one indeed is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith in the same Spirit." Moreover, they ask that faith be bestowed upon them by the Lord as a primary gift: Hebrews 11: "Faith is the foundation of things hoped for, the evidence of things not appearing," etc.; and afterwards: "Without faith it is impossible to please God: therefore he who approaches must believe," etc. They ask likewise as a gift commanding other gifts: James 1: "Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering"; Matthew 21: "All things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer believing, you shall receive"; and Matthew 15: "O woman, great is your faith: be it done to you as you have asked," etc. They ask also as a gift safeguarding others: Ephesians 3: "For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," "that He may grant you according to the riches of His glory the power to be strengthened through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts." And therefore the Lord said to Peter below in chapter twenty-two: "I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail: and you, once converted, confirm your brethren." For this reason also it was said to Peter himself in Matthew 16: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church."
14. (Verse 6). Second, as to the progress of faith consisting in the cooperation of free will, it is added: And the Lord said: If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed. By the grain of mustard seed, which in itself is small in quantity, fervent in sharpness, and great in growth, we understand the cooperation of free will with respect to the captivation of the intellect, the enkindling of the affections, and the multitude of good effects. Whence the Interlinear Gloss specifies what kind of faith they ought to seek, namely a humble and fervent faith, for which what it has done well is never sufficient. For in the grain of mustard seed, on account of its smallness, is understood faith, in which there is the purification of the intellect: Matthew 13: "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which is the least of all seeds." For no virtue so captivates the human intellect as faith; 2 Corinthians 10: "Bringing into captivity every intellect to the obedience of Christ," etc. — On account of the sharpness, however, is understood the enkindling of the affections: whence the Gloss: "He compares perfect faith to a grain of mustard seed, which on the surface is humble and appearing to have no strength, but when crushed by pressures, it will show how much it burns within." Whence concerning Apollos it is said in Acts 18: "He was instructed in the way of the Lord, and fervent in spirit, spoke the things that are of Jesus."
On account of the growth, is understood through this the manifold good effect, according to Matthew 13: "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed; which when it has grown, is greater than all herbs and becomes a tree." In this is understood the multitude and heaped-up accumulation of good works; James 2: "Do you wish to know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Abraham, our father, was he not justified by works, offering Isaac his son upon the altar? You see that faith cooperated with his works, and by works faith was made perfect," etc.
15. Third, as regards the virtue of faith in the execution of a wondrous command, he adds: You shall say to this mulberry tree: Be uprooted and transplanted into the sea: and it will obey you. In this is given to understand the wondrous power of faith with regard to those things which are governed according to the course of nature and according to the onslaught of sin and according to the merit of justice. For all these things are subject to the governance of divine providence and in a certain way to the command of perfect faith, according to that passage in Mark nine: "If you can believe, all things are possible to the one who believes." According to the literal sense, indeed, through the command of faith over the mulberry tree that is to be transplanted, there is understood a command with respect to corporeal elements. Whence the Gloss: "A species is placed for the genus, because consummate faith can command even the elements"; whence also Matthew twenty-one: "If you shall have faith and do not hesitate, and you say to this mountain: Take yourself up and cast yourself into the sea: so shall it be done." Whence in Hebrews eleven the Apostle gives examples concerning the Saints, saying that "through faith they conquered kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, and were made valiant in battle."
16. According to the tropological sense, however, there is understood in this a command with respect to the devil and his temptations. Whence Ambrose: "The fruit of the mulberry tree whitens in flower, when formed it glows red, when mature it darkens: so the devil, glowing with the flower of angelic nature and power, by transgressing became dreadful with the foul stench of sin, who is cast out through faith." Whence First Peter, the last chapter: "Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in faith"; and Ephesians six: "In all things taking up the shield of faith, with which you may extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one."
17. According to the allegorical sense, however, there is understood a command with respect to the preaching of the cross and the evangelical Sacraments. Whence the Gloss: " Through the mulberry tree, whose fruit and shoots flourish with a blood-red color, the Gospel of the cross is expressed, which through the faith of the Apostles was uprooted by the preaching of the word from the nation of the Jews, in which it was held as if in the stock of its lineage, and transplanted into the sea of the Gentiles." Its blood inflames us to the conflict against the monsters of vices: whence First Maccabees six: "They showed the elephants the blood of grape and mulberry," etc. This, transplanted through the faith of the Apostles both teaching and working miracles, was established in the Church gathered from the Gentiles. Whence John fourteen: "He who believes in me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater things than these shall he do." As a figure of this, it is said in Hebrews eleven: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the unbelievers." In this is understood the transplanting of the mulberry tree into the sea through the reprobation of the Jews and the election of Gentile sinners.
18. (Vers. 7.). Which of you, having a servant. After the example leading to fervent faith, there is here subjoined an example leading to reverent humility . In the description of this example, he proceeds in this order. For he sets forth the obsequiousness of servitude, takes up the necessity of serving, and concludes with the humility of spiritual servitude.
First, therefore, as regards the obsequiousness of servitude, which by inquiry he sets forth, it is said: Which of you, having a servant plowing or tending cattle, through the labor of the active life, which consists in working manfully: and this is intimated in the act of plowing, according to that passage in Hosea 10: "Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his furrows"; and above in chapter nine: "No one putting his hand to the plow" etc. It also consists in presiding solicitously: and this is intimated in the act of feeding, according to that which was said to Peter in the last chapter of John: "Feed my sheep." Whence the Gloss: "The servant plowing or feeding is a doctor of the Church, of whom it is said: No one putting his hand to the plow etc.; and the Lord said to Peter: Feed my sheep ." — Who, when he has returned from the field, will say to him : At once, pass over, recline, through the sweetness of the contemplative life, in which there is a return to the heart: Ezekiel 1: "The living creatures went and returned in the likeness of a flash of lightning"; there is also a passing over to the banquet of delight, according to that passage in Sirach 24: "Come over to me, all you who desire me, and be filled from my fruits: for my spirit is sweet above honey." But this refreshment is not immediately given to a person coming from the exercise of action; whence Song of Songs 3: "In my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves: I sought him, and found him not"; because the Lord does not immediately offer himself, so that he may be sought more humbly and more vigilantly.
19. (Vers. 8.). Whence he adds: And will he not say: Make ready what I may sup on, and gird yourself, and serve me until I eat and drink, namely through the groaning of interior compunction, in which each one prepares the banquet: Sirach 18: "Before prayer prepare your soul, and be not as a man who tempts God." He girds himself, by restraining the wanderings of the mind: 1 Peter 1: "Having the loins of your mind girt up" etc. In this also he serves, by casting himself down, and feeds and gives drink to God,
while he does what is most acceptable: Revelation 3: "If anyone shall have opened the door to me, I will enter to him and will dine with him." Whence the Gloss: " He ministers to the Creator who, considering His mercy and fearing His judgments, humbles himself regarding his own virtues." And because after this compunction there follows devotion, therefore he adds: And after these things you shall eat and drink, through the taste of eternal sweetness. Gloss: "After I shall have been refreshed by your preaching and compunction, then at last you will be refreshed by the eternal feasts of my wisdom"; Psalm: "My soul refused to be comforted; I remembered God and was delighted," etc.; and again: "My tears were my bread day and night"; and after: "In the voice of exultation and confession, the sound of one feasting"; and again: "You have turned my mourning into joy for me," etc. But the Lord does all this for the preservation of humility, which is the root, preservation, and safeguard of the other virtues. Therefore even Paul, already perfect, said in Second Corinthians 12: "Lest the greatness of the revelations exalt me, there was given to me a thorn of my flesh, an angel of Satan"; and Sirach 3: "The greater you are, humble yourself in all things, and you will find grace before God"; for Sirach 18: "When a man has finished, then he shall begin."
20. (Vers. 9. 10.). Second, as to the necessity of serving, which he takes up, he adds: Does he have gratitude toward that servant because he did what he commanded him? I think not, that is, I think that he does not. Gloss: "What wonder, if a servant does what he owes, whose lot it is to labor and serve continually?" Sirach 33: "Continual labors bow down a servant."
And note that the Lord seems to say that the master does not owe thanks to the servant — not that he does not accept his works, since it is said in Sirach thirty-three: "If you have a faithful servant, let him be to you as your own soul; treat him as a brother, for you have acquired him with the blood of your soul"; but this is said because what the servant does is more a debt than a gift, more the justice of obligation than the grace of supererogation. And this is especially true with respect to God, whence Job thirty-five: "Moreover, if you act justly, what will you give him, or what will he receive from your hand?" Whence the Gloss says: "If a man demands from his servant not a single form of service but manifold service, and does not consider it a favor, how much more should you, who without me can do nothing, not exercise the practice of one single work or labor, but always increase former things with new efforts?" For if this is true of a man who is the servant of another man — that his services are more owed than gratuitous — this is far more true of a man who is the servant of God, because all things are from him: Isaiah twenty-six, "All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord"; and First Chronicles twenty-nine: "All things are yours, O Lord, and what we have received from your hand we have given to you." "For it is God who works in you both to will and to accomplish according to his good will," Philippians two. Then because all things are under him: Isaiah forty: "Who has weighed the mass of the earth with three fingers and balanced the mountains in weight and the hills in a scale?" "Behold, the nations are as a drop from a bucket and are accounted as the turning of a balance." "All nations are as though they are not, so are they before him, and they are accounted by him as nothing and emptiness." Likewise, because all things are for him: Proverbs sixteen: "The Lord has made all things for himself." And therefore the Apostle says, First Corinthians ten: "Whether you eat or drink or whatever else you do, do all things for the glory of God."
21. Third, as regards the humility of spiritual servitude, which he concludes, he adds: So you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, through the completion of obedience: for this is true obedience, in which all commandments are fulfilled. For James 2: "Whoever keeps the whole law but offends in one point has become guilty of all"; and Deuteronomy 27: "Cursed is he who does not abide in the words of this Law and fulfill them in deed." And therefore the Lord says to Jeremiah the prophet, Jeremiah 1: "To all things to which I shall send you, you shall go, and all things whatsoever I shall command you, you shall speak to them"; and the Prophet in the Psalm: "Therefore I was directed toward all your commandments," etc. — He who is thus obedient in deed ought to be humble in self-regard, and therefore he adds: Say: We are unprofitable servants; what we ought to have done, we have done, through the recognition of one's own weakness: servants, I say, because bought, beyond what you are worth: 1 Corinthians 6: "You have been bought at a great price: glorify and bear," etc.; and 1 Peter 1: "You were not redeemed with corruptible gold or silver from your vain manner of life, but with the precious blood as of an immaculate Lamb," etc. Unprofitable, not because our good works have no reward or fruit, because they are useful to us, but because we confer nothing thereby upon the divine goodness; Psalm: "I said to the Lord: You are my God, for you have no need of my goods." — What we do is nothing in comparison with what we have received and owe to God; whence the Gloss: " He who came to minister and not to be ministered unto made us debtors to himself, so that, not trusting in our own works but dreading his examination, even when all things that are commanded have been fulfilled, we may recognize that we are imperfect." Therefore the Prophet said: "What shall I render to the Lord for all the things he has rendered to me?"
Likewise, what we endure is nothing in comparison to what we await: Romans 8: "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, which shall be revealed in us." Whence the Gloss on this passage: We are unprofitable servants, "because God has no need of our good works: or because the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, which shall be revealed in us." He therefore who humbles himself in this way is the one who disposes himself for perfect and eternal glory. Whence this humility, which attributes all to God and nothing to itself, will exist perfectly in the fatherland, according to Apocalypse 4: "The twenty-four elders fell down before him who sat on the throne and adored him who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power," etc. And in the state of the way, this is found in perfect men, according to Daniel 9: "To us belongs confusion of face, to our kings and our princes and our fathers, who have sinned: but to you, the Lord our God, mercy and forgiveness," etc. Therefore we ought to say each day that word of 1 Timothy 1: "Now to the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."
Confirmation through a miraculous deed.
22. And it came to pass, as Jesus was going, etc. After he instructed his disciples in spiritual works of piety by a reasonable teaching and led them by hand through a perceptible example, here now in the third place he confirms them by a miraculous deed, in which the disciples themselves, from the miraculous work they witnessed, are confirmed unto believing, and from understanding it are enkindled unto imitating. And therefore this miracle must be treated simultaneously in both its literal and spiritual sense.
In the description of this miracle, there is first set forth the healing of an incurable infirmity. Second, there is added the commendation of praiseworthy gratitude, at the passage: But one of them, when he saw.
Concerning the healing of the incurable infirmity, three things are introduced for the expression and commendation of the miracle and for the mystery of its signification, namely: the fittingness of the place, the calamity of the disease, and the ease of the manner of healing.
23. (Verse 11.) First, therefore, with respect to the fittingness of the place, he says: And it came to pass, as Jesus was going to Jerusalem: by which is signified a state of rest, for it is interpreted as vision of peace: the Psalm: "Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, praise," etc.; and afterwards: "Who has placed peace as your borders."
He was passing through the midst of Samaria and Galilee: by which is designated the course of the present journey. For Samaria is interpreted as custody, which ought to be present in action with respect to deed, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes four: "Guard your foot when you enter the house of God"; likewise, with respect to affection: Deuteronomy four: "Guard yourself and your soul carefully"; likewise, with respect to word: the Psalm: "I said: I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue." Galilee, however, is interpreted as transmigration, which ought to be present in contemplation, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes two: "I passed over to contemplate wisdom," etc.; and in the Psalm: "For I shall pass over into the place of the wondrous tabernacle, even unto the house of God." — And note that he is said to pass through the midst of Samaria, and afterwards Galilee is mentioned: because one must first pass through the active life, and afterwards through the contemplative life: whence Jacob would not have had Rachel unless he had first had Leah. And he is said to pass through the midst: for in action the mean ought to be maintained, by avoiding the excessive and the deficient; in prelacy likewise, by avoiding respect of persons: Exodus thirty-two: "Go and return from gate to gate through the midst of the camp," etc.; in contemplation likewise the mean is maintained: as a figure of which it is said of the Seraphim in Isaiah six that "with two wings they veiled the face, and with two they veiled the feet, and with the two middle ones they flew."
24. (Verse 12.). Second, with respect to the calamity of disease, he adds: And when he entered a certain village, there met him ten men who were lepers. In the literal sense, leprosy is a disease of wretched calamity, because it takes away the remedy of medicine, deprives of the solace of companionship, and afflicts with the burden of infirmity.
And such desolate ones ought to have recourse to the Father of mercies; therefore he adds: Who stood afar off, recognizing their uncleanness.
25. (Verse 13.). And they lifted up their voice, expressing their misery: saying: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us, imploring divine mercy, according to that which the Prophet says in the Psalm: "I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly; I roared from the groaning of my heart."
26. Spiritually, however, by the ten lepers is understood the universality of sinners sinning against the Decalogue; whence the Gloss: "Those who sin against the Decalogue, neither loving God, about whom they think wrongly, nor their neighbor, from whom they are divided, cry out to God under the number ten." Now the universality of sinners arises from four causes, namely from love that wrongly humiliates: and thus it is designated by the leprosy of Miriam in Numbers twelve, where it is said that after she murmured against Moses, "there appeared a leprosy shining white as snow."