Exiit qui seminat
A Sower Went Out
Sermo in Sexagesima
Sermon on the last-but-one Sunday before Lent, Sexagesima
Sermo fratris Thomae in Sexagesima.
Sermon of friar Thomas on Sexagesima.
Luce VIII.
Luke 8:5
Exiit qui seminat seminare semen suum.
A sower went out to sow his seed.
Prothema
Prologue
Quia de spirituali seminatione sermo nobis est, invocemus seminationis actorem Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, cuius est facere idoneos ministros huius seminationis, ut det mihi aliquid dicere etc.
Because our sermon is about a spiritual sowing, let us call upon the one who sows, our Lord Jesus Christ, who makes trustworthy people servants of this sowing; let us call upon him, so that he may give me something to say, et cetera.
Sermo
Sermon
Exiit qui seminat etc. Sancta mater Ecclesia vinea est et ager. Fructus enim spirituales Ecclesiae, qui sunt iustitiae opera, et vinum sunt et panis. Vinum quia laetificant: vinum enim laetificat, in Psalmo; et in Proverbiis: lux iustorum laetificat. Panis sunt quia confirmant, psalmista: et panis cor hominis confirmet; et in Proverbiis: radix iustorum non commovebitur.
A sower went out, et cetera. Holy Mother the Church is a vineyard and a field, for the spiritual fruits of the Church, which are the works of justice, are wine as well as bread. Wine, because these fruits make joyful: for wine makes joyful, as Psalm 104:15 reads and in Proverbs 13:9 it says: the light of the just ones makes joyful. They are bread, because they make us strong; Psalm 104:15: and bread strengthens a man’s heart. And in Proverbs 12:12 we read: the root of the just ones will not be shaken.
Istius vineae et agri unus est agricola, scilicet Christus: ego, inquit, sum vitis vera, in quantum homo, et Pater meus agricola est; et ego in quantum Deus cum eo sum agricola, sicut dicit Augustinus. Iste agricola tota Trinitas est quae plantat hanc vineam et hunc agrum, unde Ieremias: ego plantavi te vineam electam, omne semen.
There is one winegrower, one farmer of this vineyard and field, namely, Christ. I am the true vine, he says insofar as he is a man, and my Father is the winegrower (John 15:1); and insofar as I am God, I am the winegrower with him; that is to say, as Augustine says: this winegrower is the whole of the Trinity who plants this vineyard and this field. Thus it says in Jeremiah 2:21: I have planted you as a chosen vineyard, every seed.
Bernardus dicit: seminemus exemplum hominibus per bona opera et aperta; unde: sic luceat lux vestra coram hominibus ut videant opera vestra bona etc., Matthaei V. Seminemus angelis gaudium magnum per occulta suspiria et huiusmodi quae solis eis sunt nota. Gaudium enim est angelis Dei super uno peccatore paenitentiam agente etc., Luce XII. Hinc dicebat Apostolus, <ad> Romanos XII: providentes bona non tantum coram Deo sed etiam coram hominibus. "Coram Deo" dixit, id est coram eis qui vultui Dei assistunt; ipsis enim maxime placet cum vos vident occulte orantes aut aliquem psalmum ruminantes aut aliquod tale facientes. Seminate et vos quia multi ante vos seminaverunt; fructificate quia seminaverunt. O genus Adam quam multi seminaverunt in te et quam praetiosum semen; quam male peribis et quam merito si perierit in te tantum semen simul et seminantium labor. Cui perditioni traderis ab agricola si in te perierint universa. Seminaverunt in terra nostra tota Trinitas, seminaverunt angeli pariter et apostoli, seminaverunt martires et confessores, virgines. Seminavit Pater pacem de caelo, Filius veritatem, Spiritus Sanctus caritatem. Angeli quoque seminaverunt quia cadentibus aliis ipsi steterunt. Manifestum est martires seminasse fortitudinem, confessores iustitiam quam in tota vita sua secuti sunt; virgines temperantiam quia libidinem calcaverunt.
Bernard says: let us sow an example for the people through good works, out in the open, as we read (in Matt 5:16): ‘thus may your light shine before the people, that they may see your good works (and praise your Father in heaven).’ For, on account of the hidden sighs and the like which are only known to them, the joy of God’s angels is great over one sinner who repents, as Luke 15:10 says.
Because of this the Apostle said in Romans 12:17 (Vg): ‘caring for doing good things not only before God but also before the people.’ He said, ‘before God,’ meaning: before the ones who serve in the sight of God. For it pleases them to the highest extent when they see us pray in secret or go over a certain psalm again and again or do something like that. You too, sow! Because many before you have sown. O descendants of Adam, how many have sowed in you and how precious the seed; how disastrously will you perish, and how justly, if so great a seed perishes in you together with the effort of the sowing. You will be handed over to this destruction by the farmer (cf. Matt 3:10, John 15:2), if these seeds perish in you altogether (cf. Luke 8:5b–7). The whole Trinity has sown on our earth, the angels have sown in like manner, and the apostles, the martyrs and the confessors, and the virgins have sown.
The Father has sown peace from heaven; the Son, truth; and the Holy Spirit, love. The angels have also sown, because they have stood by others who were falling (cf. 1 Kgs 19:5, 7–8). It is obvious that the martyrs have sown strength; the confessors, the justice which they have followed during their whole life; and the virgins, temperance, because they have scorned lust.
Et sunt hic tria consideranda.
Now there are three things that must be considered here:
Primo, quod est semen istud;
first, this seed;
secundo quis est seminator;
second, who the sower is;
tertio de seminatione quae et qualis sit.
and third, the sowing, what and of what nature it is.
1. Primo igitur notandum est quod est istud semen; sed non possumus dicere quod sit aliud istud semen quam quod Dominus dicit: semen est verbum Dei. Notate quod signanter dicit: semen suum, id est Filii Dei. Hoc est bonum semen; quod non est semen suum est malum semen, de quo Isaias: germen aliorum seminabunt; et inimicus homo superseminavit zizania, sicut dicitur in Evangelio.
1. So first we must pay attention to the question what that seed is. Well, we cannot say that this seed is anything else than what the Lord says: the seed is the word of God (Luke 8:11). Note that [Jesus] distinctly says: his seed, that is, the seed of the Son of God. This is good seed. The seed that is not his, is bad seed, of which Isaiah 17:10 speaks: tares, as it is called in the Gospel (Matt 13:25–30).
Diligenter considerandum quod est illud semen quod conservat a peccato, unde in Canonica Iohannis: omnis qui natus est ex Deo non peccat quoniam semen Dei est in illo.
We must carefully consider what that seed is because it saves us from sin. Thus we read in 1 John 3:9: everyone who is born from God does not sin, because the seed of God is in him.
Sed quomodo possumus scire si sit semen <Dei>? Dico: eo modo quo scimus si semen aliquod est semen huius herbae. Hoc autem scimus tripliciter.
But how can we know whether it is [God’s] seed? I say in the same way as we know that a certain seed is a seed of a particular herb. Well, we know this in three ways:
Primo quia semen illud est ab herba illa;
(1.1) first, because that seed is coming from that herb;
secundo quia portatur in ea;
(1.2) second, because the seed is borne in it;
tertio quia talem herbam generat.
(1.3) third, because it brings forth such an herb.
Ergo semen Christi est a Christo, quod etiam in Christo apparuit, et quod Christo similem facit sive quod est ad Christum. Unde semen Christi est quod est ab eo et quod est in eo et quod est ad eum.
Hence the seed of Christ is from Christ, which has also appeared in Christ and makes someone similar to Christ, or which leads to Christ. Therefore, the seed of Christ is the seed that is from him as well as in him as well as leading towards him.
1.1. Videamus de primo. Dico quod semen alicuius herbae est quod est ab ea, unde Genesis: germinet terra herbam viventem et facientem semen iuxta genus suum. Sed quod semen est a Domino Iesu Christo? Dico quod verbum sapientiae est ab eo, unde in Ecclesiastico, I capitulo: fons sapientiae verbum Dei in excelsis. Ergo quidquid pertinet ad sapientiam caelestem quae est in excelsis est verbum sapientiae sive semen Dei.
1.1. Let us look at the first. I say that the seed of a certain herb is the seed that comes from it. Thus we read in Genesis 1:11: let the earth put forth the green plant which produces its seed according to its own kind. But what seed is coming from the Lord Jesus Christ? I say that the word of wisdom is coming from him. Hence it says in Sirach 1:5 (Vg): the fountain of wisdom is God’s Word in the highest. Hence whatever pertains to the heavenly wisdom that is in the highest, is a word of wisdom or a seed of God.
Sed beatus Iacobus dicit quod est una sapientia quae non est desursum, et ista est terrena, animalis, diabolica.
But St. James says in 3:15 that there is a wisdom that is not from above; it is earthly, beastly, diabolic.
Sapientia terrena est quae totum studium suum ponit ad congregandum terrena; si igitur proponitur tibi verbum excitans ad congregandum terrena, non est semen Dei.
Earthly wisdom is the wisdom that is totally occupied with acquiring earthly things. So if you are confronted with a word that stimulates you to acquire earthly things, it is not a seed of God.
Item sapientia animalis est illa quae totum studium suum adhibet in sequendo corporis voluptatem; si igitur proponitur talis doctrina, non est semen Dei nec debes ei credere. Dicitur in Malachia: quid quaerit unus nisi est semen Dei?
Furthermore, beastly wisdom is totally focused on pursuing the pleasure of the body. So, if you are confronted with such a doctrine, you know that it is not a seed of God and that you should not believe it. It is said in Malachi 2:15: what does one look for, but where the seed of God is?
Sed quae est sapientia diabolica? Dicit Iob quod ipse est rex super omnes filios superbiae. Sapientia igitur cuius totum studium est ad superbiendum est diabolica. Si quis igitur tibi talem doctrinam apponat, non est semen Christi; unde dicit Apostolus: sermo meus et praedicatio mea non <in persuasibilibus humanae sapientiae verbis et exhortatio nostra non> est de errore neque de immunditia.
And which is the diabolic knowledge? Job 41:34 reads, it is king over all the children of pride. So the wisdom that is totally focused on being proud is diabolic. So if someone confronts you with such a doctrine, it is not a seed of Christ. Hence the Apostle says: my words and my preaching do not come from error or uncleanness (2 Thess 2:3).
Qualis ergo sapientia quae est in excelsis, cuius sapientiae fons est Verbum Dei in excelsis?
Of what kind, then, is the wisdom that is in the highest, whose fountain of wisdom is the Word of God in the highest?
Dicit beatus Iacobus: quae desursum est sapientia primum quidem pudica est, deinde pacifica, non movet dissensiones. Quidquid ergo dissensiones movet et est contra pacem et sapientiam supernam, non est semen Dei. Certumque quandocumque doctrina est inducens ad rectitudinem virtutum est doctrina Christi; quando vero est ad corruptionem boni non est doctrina Christi. Unde in Proverbiis: recti sunt sermones mei et non est in eis pravum aliquid neque perversum.
St. James says in 3:17: the wisdom that is from above is first of all modest. Next, it is peaceful; it does not bring about disagreements. Hence whatever brings about disagreements and is against peace and wisdom from above, is not a seed of God. And it is certain that whenever a teaching leads to rectitude of the virtues, it is a teaching of Christ, whereas if it leads towards the corruption of the good, it is not a teaching of Christ. Therefore, it says in Proverbs 8:8: all my words are just, and nothing in them is crooked or perverted.
Primo igitur est semen alicuius quod est ab eo.
So, first, a seed of something is what comes from it.
1.2. Secundo est semen alicuius quod est in eo, unde in Genesi: germinet terra herbam virentem facientem semen et lignum pomiferum faciens fructum suum, cuius semen sit in semet ipso. Quaecumque igitur doctrina est in Christo est semen Dei, psalmista: in splendoribus sanctorum ex utero ante luciferum genui te. Splendores sanctorum sunt claritates virtutum. Omnes autem claritates virtutum derivantur a Filio Dei sicut exemplatum ab exemplari. In ipso enim sunt omnes thesauri sapientiae et scientiae absconditi etc.
1.2. Second, a seed of something is what is in it. Hence it says in Genesis 1:11: let the earth put forth the green plant which produces its fruit whose seed is in itself. So any teaching that is in Christ is the seed of God. Psalm 109:3 (Vg): in the splendor of the saints I brought you forth from the womb before daybreak. The splendors of the saints are the radiance of the virtues. Well, every radiance of the virtues is derived from the Son of God, just as an example is from the exemplar, for in him all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden (Col 2:3).
Sed posses dicere: "non valet mihi. Non enim possum videre Verbum in sua aeternitate." Ideo sufficienter nobis est provisum quia Verbum illud factum est homo et hoc ostendit nobis exemplum omnis doctrinae suae, unde Iohannis I: Verbum caro factum est etc. Augustinus: ipsa sapientia Dei in homine quem assumpsit facta est exemplum hominibus redeundi, quae sursum est angelis remanendi. Si ergo veniat aliquis et proponat tibi doctrinam cuius exemplar non est in Christo, non est semen Dei.
But you could say: “this does not apply to me, for I cannot see the Word in its eternity.” Therefore, it is sufficiently provided for us: that Word has become man, and this [Word that has become man] shows us the example of each teaching of his, whence we read in John 1:14: the Word has become flesh and dwelt among us. Augustine comments on this: God’s wisdom itself is made an example in a man whom it has taken on: an example for the people of returning up above and abiding with the angels. So if someone came and confronted you with a doctrine whose exemplar is not in Christ, it is not a seed of God.
Iovinianus venit Romam et praedicavit matrimonium esse aequandum virginitati; Christus vero matrem virginem habere voluit et eam elegit, discipulum virginem etiam maxime dilexit. Vigilantius haereticus in Gallia praedicavit statum divitum elemosinas dantium eaquandum paupertati. Ista doctrina non est in Christo qui propter nos factus est egenus. Augustinus libro De agone christiano dicit: qua perversitate non caret qui dicta et facta intuetur, diligit et scrutatur illius hominis in quo ad exemplum vitae se praebuit Filius Dei? Itaque omnes, mares et feminae, omnis aetas et dignitas, ad spem vitae aeternae commota est. Alii neglectis temporalibus convolant ad divina; alii virtutibus eorum cedunt qui haec faciunt et laudant quod adimplere non possunt; pauci tamen murmurant et nimio livore torquentur, aut <qui sua> quaerunt in Ecclesia catholica aut gloriam quaerentes haeretici. Et beatus Gregorius dicit: sunt nonnulli in Ecclesia qui bona non solum non faciunt sed in aliis bona persecuntur et quae ipsi facere negligunt in aliis detestantur. Horum non ex infirmitate aut ignorantia sed ex certo studio peccatum est; ut dicunt magistri, peccatum in Spiritu Sancto.
Jovinian came to Rome and preached that being married must be regarded as equal to virginity, although Christ wanted to have a virginal mother and chose her, and although he loved the virginal disciple to the highest extent. The heretic Vigilantius preached in France that the state of the rich who give alms is equal to poverty. This teaching is [also] not in Christ, who became very poor for our sake (cf. 2 Cor 8:9).
Augustine says in the book The Christian Struggle: someone who contemplates the things Christ said and did does not miss this perversion; he loves and thoroughly examines the things said and done by that man, in whom the Son of God offers himself as the example for our life. Thus all men and women, every age and dignity have run to the hope of eternal life: some have run to the divine things, as they do not care about temporal things. Others proceed by their virtues: they practice them and praise what they cannot fulfill. A few, however, murmur and are tormented by too much envy: either they seek after things for themselves in the Church, although they seem to be Catholics, or they are heretics who seek honor in the very name of Christ.