Sermon

The boy Jesus.If we want to consider these words carefully, we will find in them four progresses of Christ, namely,

(1) the progress of age in regard to the body,

(2) the progress of wisdom in regard to the intellect,

(3) the progress of grace with God,

and (4) the progress also of grace in view of his living together with the people.

0. Truly, all these progresses are amazing, yes, even full of astonishment and amazement.

0.1. For we must be amazed that eternity advances in age, for the Son of God is eternity (Insofar as Christ is God, what is said in ST I.3 applies to him. Since God is perfectly one, he is what he has (ST I.3.4 and 6): God is good and goodness, eternal and eternity, et cetera.) and from eternity. Psalm 117 and Psalm 119: in eternity, Lord, your truth remains (Ps 119:90, 160; cf. 117:2).

0.2. Likewise we must be amazed that the truth advances in wisdom, because the progress of wisdom is knowledge of the truth, whereas Christ is himself the truth, as we read in John 14:6: I am the way, the truth, and the life. (Also John 18:37–38; cf. the quotation from Psalm 119 in section 0.1. By reason of the hypostatic union, the man Jesus Christ shared in God’s omniscience (ST III.10.2, 11.1).)

0.3. Likewise we must be amazed that the one from whom grace originates advances in grace; Christ is the one who renders grace. Thus we read in John 1:17: grace and truth came through Christ. (ST I.73.1, ad 1; III.2.11; III.27.5 (Christus autem est principium gratiae, secundum divinitatem quidem auctoritative, secundum humanitatem vero instrumentaliter, “Christ is the principle of grace, authoritatively as to His Godhead, instrumentally as to His humanity”); III.38.3.)

0.4. Likewise we must be amazed that the one who exceeds all people advances with the people. Even more, the people ought to advance in grace with him. Psalm 113:4 says: the highest is he above all the nations.

How, then, would Christ advance in these respects? I say that if we want to consider this properly, immediately the reason regarding his progress in age comes to our mind:

Ad 0.1. the eternal Son of God willed to become temporal, so that he could advance in age. Isaiah 9:6 says: a little child is born unto us. If he is born as a little child, why then would he not have grown as a little child does? (Thomas emphasizes that Christ had a real human body. And since he is living in this world as a true man (homo), he is aging as time goes by. Within the framework of the mystery of the Incarnation, this consequence is as such not that amazing; cf. ST III.5.1–2.)

Ad 0.2–4. The other progresses of Christ contain a greater difficulty. Christ took on the full human nature: according to the flesh he was born as a little child, but not according to the soul. For, from the beginning of his conception, his most blessed soul was full of every grace and truth, because it was connected with God. (Cf. ST III.7.10.) Thus we read in John 1:14: we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. He was full of every grace and truth because he was the only-begotten Son of God. Well, from the beginning of the conception he was the only-begotten Son. Hence from the very beginning he was full of grace and truth and perfect in virtue. (ST III.7.12.) Jeremiah 31:22: a woman will encompass a man; not in age, but as for the perfection of the mind. But in what is meant by advancing in wisdom and grace?

We must say that someone is said to advance in wisdom, not only when he acquires a greater wisdom, but also when the wisdom in him is more evident. It is true that Christ from the beginning of his conception was full of wisdom and grace, but he has not shown it from the beginning, but at an age when others usually show it. In that case we speak of advancing in wisdom, not in the absolute sense of the word, but in view of the effect through which he advanced amidst other people. (Concerning Jesus, we say “advancing in wisdom” not because he advances in wisdom as such (through the Incarnation he is already full of it from the very beginning), but because the wisdom that was already present in him is revealed to us in his works as time goes by more and more, which looks, from the outside, like a progression, growth; cf. ST III.7.12, obj. 3.)

If he had willed to show his wisdom when he was seven years of age, people could have doubted the truth of the assumed human nature. (If Jesus had shown the fullness of his wisdom from the beginning, he would have seemed super-human or not human at all, only divine (ST III.40.3); cf., for example, also the reactions of the Lycaonian crowds to the healing of a crippled man by the Apostle Paul, in Acts 14:10–13.) And because of this, Christ wanted to be similar to others. Thus the Apostle says in Philippians 2:7: he has emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of men. Christ has made himself little by taking on our littleness, in order to show that he truly was little: he was made in the likeness of men. Baruch 3:38 reads: he is seen on earth, and he has lived with the people. At the time when a sign of wisdom normally appears for the first time in a human being, Christ manifested his wisdom for the first time, namely, when he was twelve years of age: thus little by little. He did not will to show his [full] wisdom, so that the truth of the human nature in him would be acknowledged and in order to give us an example of advancing in wisdom. (Cf. ST III.24.3: insofar as Jesus Christ was God, he cannot be an example for human beings as for their growth in wisdom; Gregory Nazianzen, Oration 43, “In Praise of Basil the Great” (PG 36:548C); Theophylact, On Luke (PG 123:731D, 734B, 735A), On John (PG 123:1219D).)

So, fourfold, as was said, is Christ’s progress, namely,

(1) of age,

(2) wisdom,

(3) grace,

and (4) the human life.

1. Let us first take a look at the progress of Christ’s age, which is physical. It is set as an example for us so that we may advance in the age of body and mind as he did, because the progress of age in the body is empty if there is no progress in the soul as well. Therefore, we discuss the progress of Christ’s age and of his wisdom and of his grace in one and the same sermon. Because if someone does not advance through a progress of the mind together with the progress of the body, four improper things would follow:

(1.1) it would be monstrous,

(1.2) damaging,

(1.3) burdensome or troublesome,

and (1.4) dangerous.

1.1. First, I say, advancing in age of the body and not of the mind is monstrous. (The Latin term is monstruosus. That it is not good is not a moral judgment here (as in ST I-II.21.1, obj. 1), but a biological qualification.) A human being is composed of a soul and a body, just as the body is composed of various members. But imagine that a body would grow in one member and would be little in the other members. This is monstrous. Likewise, when someone is a man according to the body and not according to the mind. Because of this the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 13:11: when I was a little child, I understood as a little child, I spoke as a little child; but now that I have become a man, I have left the things that belong to a little child. Little children think of playing and the like. (Thomas implies that students in his audience must not behave like little children, but apply themselves to their studies. He comes back to this explicitly in 1.3 and 1.4.)

It is true that the Lord ordered that we be like little children, saying, in Matthew 18:3: unless you will be converted and become like little children, you will not enter into the Kingdom of the heavens. There is something in little children that we ought to preserve, because little children are not wicked and they are humble. (Cf. Chrysostom, Homilies on Matthew, homily 58 [59], para. 3 (PG 58:569).) But there is another thing in little children that we should get rid of: the lack of wisdom. (Also, for example, intemperance or excess; cf. ST II-II.142.2, obj. 1.) Because of this the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 14:20: do not become little children with your mind, but be little children in respect of wickedness.

We ought to think with the mind of the perfect man (Col 1:28, Eph 4:13), (That is, the human being led by wisdom and love (caritas): ST II-II.184.1; III.39.3 (cit. Col 1:28; cf. Eph 4:13).) so that insofar as we advance in the age of the body we advance in the age of the mind. If only one of the feet of a man is growing and not the other one, he focuses all his attention on a doctor, so that the other foot may grow in the same way. Likewise should you, whose body grows in age, focus all your attention in such a way that also your mind grows in age. (As the body grows without extra effort, we must focus our attention on Christus medicus, who makes us healthy in body and especially in the soul. People, however, tend to focus their attention on the less important parts of the body; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:23 in ST II-II.145.2. Elsewhere Thomas underlines that the well-being of the soul is connected with the well-being of the body (ST I.75.3, 76), and that, therefore, we should also take good care of our body; see esp. ST II-II.25.5.)

1.2. Furthermore, growing in age of the body and not of the mind is damaging. Someone who had the time to acquire a great thing and wasted it, doing nothing (cf. Luke 19:16), would consider this a great damage. It is with a market vendor in the time of trading, who believes that then much profit can be gained, as with a student who believes that listening to a lecture is useful: if he lets that time pass by, he believes that he has damaged himself a lot.

Time is given to you, that you may not gain those cheap things, but God and heavenly goods, which no one can grasp. Hence the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 2:9: eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, neither did it come up in the heart of a man, what you, God, have prepared for those who love you. (Cf. Isaiah 64:4; ST I-II.5.5, and II-II.28.3.) And because of this, Sirach 14:14 says: let even a small piece of the good gift not escape you, that is: a part of the good time.

And Solomon says in Proverbs 5:9–10: that you may not give your honor to others and your years to the cruel one; that foreigners may not take their fill of your strength, and that your labors may not be in a strange house.

(a) That you may not give your honor to others. Honor is given to a man in war, when it is given to him because he triumphs over his enemies. Such honor is given to you, namely, if you triumph over the world (1 John 5:4), the flesh (2 Cor 10:3–5), and the devil (Jas 4:7; cf. 2 Tim 4:7–8). But when you give your natural strength for service to the devil, although it is given that you may triumph over him, then you give your honor to a stranger.

(b) Solomon continues: that you may not give the years of your youth to the cruel one, that is, the devil; he is cruel, because he will not give you rest (Thomas alludes to Matthew 11:28–30 (learn from me and I will give you rest) and James 4:1 and Romans 6:19–20, et cetera: following your own desires results in wanting always more; cf. John 8:34.) no matter how well you serve him. Thus we read in Jeremiah 16:13: you will serve strange gods, who will not give you rest.

(c) And that your labors may not be in a stranger’s house. Maybe you do good works, in which you have labored. If you are converted to the Lord, those labors will be in your house. Yet if you are not converted to the Lord, your labors, that is, your good works, will be in a stranger’s house, because the saints in the heavenly homeland will rejoice in your good works, but not you. (The saints in heaven rejoice in every good work, but the one addressed will not rejoice in his own good works, because he will not benefit from them; they are not done in the right context, that is, for the right master. What Thomas calls “your house” is God’s house in view of Ephesians 2:19.) Hence it says in Revelation 3:11: hold on to what you have, that someone else may not take your crown. (See Thomas’s explanation of this text in ST I.23.6, ad 1, where he distinguishes between divine predestination and merit; cf. ST III.89.5, resp.)

1.3. Furthermore, growing in age of the body and not in mind is troublesome. (Throughout the Sermon, but especially in this part, we hear the echo of Sirach 51:13–31: relentlessly seeking wisdom, from the very beginning of the (life) journey, and the benefits of it, the Temple, joy, praise to the teacher/Teacher, and so on.) But you may say: “I am a young man; I want to play in my youth; when I am an old man, I will convert myself to the Lord.” Surely, thus you commit yourself to great labor. Doing something is easy for someone if he is accustomed to it from his youth. (“What’s learnt in the cradle lasts till the tomb”; in Latin: in teneris consuescere multum est.) And this is clear, because it is easy for a farmer to work on the land, because he accustomed himself to it, whereas it is difficult for you.

If you accustom yourself to doing your will and live in sins, either you despair about eternal life (Despairing about eternal life is something we should never do in view of our faith in the Almighty and Merciful: ST II-II.14.3, ad 1; cf. I-II.62.3, ad 2 (where Thomas refers to the Crucified through 1 Cor 1:25).) or you preserve yourself with great labor. Therefore, Solomon says: the adolescent will walk on his path, and when he gets older, he will not turn away from it (Prov 22:6). (In the Summa, Thomas cites this verse in the consideration of baptism of infants: ST III.68.9.) And Jeremiah says: it is good for a man when he carries the yoke of the Lord from his adolescence (Lam 3:27), (Cited in ST II-II.189.5, on the question whether boys should be admitted to religious life.) because such a man can raise himself above himself from what is easy. And therefore Christ has given us the example of working well from a young age, because when he was twelve years of age, he grew in wisdom (Luke 2:42).

1.4. Moreover, it is dangerous when someone grows in age of body if he does not grow in age of mind. The Lord demands from all people an account. Thus we read in the Gospel, in Matthew 18:23: the kingdom of the heavens is like a man who demanded an account from his household.

God has given you time, that you may serve him. But it is said in Job 24:23: he has given him time, and he abuses it in pride. The Lord will require an account from you regarding how you spent your time. In Isaiah 49:4 we read: and I said: ‘without a reason and in vain I have consumed my strength.’ He consumes his strength in vain and without a reason who passes his time doing useless things. And therefore Isaiah 49:4 continues: hence my judgment is with the Lord. And Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 11:9: rejoice, young man, because of your adolescence. Know that for these things the Lord will lead you to judgment. But is that judgment not light? No! Because Isaiah 65:20 says: a boy of a hundred years of age, that is, a sinner, will be cursed. Hence we read in Baruch 3:11: you have grown old in a strange land; you are counted among these who go down into hell. But, although you deserve it [hell], do not despair about God’s mercy. (See previous note on despair above (section 1.3). See also Thomas’s interpretation of Hebrews 4:16 in ST III.59.2.)

So the first point of attention is this: that we may grow in mind as we grow in age. But how does a human being grow in mind? Certainly when he grows in wisdom and grace. And although in the verse that is the point of departure for this homily, wisdom is mentioned before grace, we will nevertheless speak about grace first, since the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, (Cf. ST II-II.19.7. And fear of the Lord is a gracious gift of the Lord: ST II-II.19.9, referring to Isaiah 11:2.) according to Sirach 1:14.

2. Grace is something hidden, because it is in the soul. Hidden causes are not known except through manifest effects. Well, among all the effects none is as manifest as peace. (Cf. Thomas on peace in ST II-II.29.) Hence the Apostle always connects peace with grace: the fruits of the Spirit are joy, love, peace (Gal 5:22). And when someone has peace, it is a sign that he has grace, because there is no peace for unbelievers, says the Lord in Isaiah 48:22. And this is what God has signified in the progress of grace [in Christ]: when he was twelve years of age, he went to the city of peace, Jerusalem, which is interpreted as the idea of peace (cf. Ps 122:7, Sir 24:11). (Cf. Luke 2:42; Jerome, Book of Interpretations of Hebrew Names, Isaiah (CCSL 72:121; PL 23); Matthew (CCSL 72:136); Romans (CCSL 72:152); 1 Corinthians (CCSL 72:154).) Hence, when we have the age of discretion, we ought to attempt to attain peace.

But many are deceived, because, while they believe they have peace, they do not have it. Thus the false prophets have said: ‘peace, peace,’ but there was no peace, as we read in Jeremiah 6:14. In order to know true peace, we must see that peace must have four characteristics:

(2.1) it should be high,

(2.2) customary,

(2.3) persevering and constant,

and (2.4) cautious.

2.1. First, the peace that comes from grace should be high. A human being is constituted between two, and in accordance with this there can be a twofold peace. In one respect he is constituted between flesh and spirit. These are at war with one another, because the flesh desires against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh (Gal 5:17). The spirit is high, (Thomas speaks of the higher part and the lower part of the soul; the higher part is directed towards what is (from) God, the Most High; the lower part, towards earthly things: ST III.9.4, obj. 2.) and the flesh is low.

According to this a human being can make peace in two ways: if he makes peace in such a way that the spirit consents with the flesh, this is neither a high peace, nor is it true peace; rather, it is low and false. Hence we read in Wisdom 14:22: those who live in a great war of ignorance regard so many and great evils which they undergo as peace. Such people are in a great war, because they fight against ignorance (Ignorance is a lack of knowledge in our intellect—especially about God, as Wisdom 14:22 says. Our knowledge directs the human actions, and the more perfect it is, the more it makes us avoid sin. Cf. ST I-II.76, 85.3.) and are tormented by their conscience. (No matter how sinful someone is, deep down he “knows” what is right and wrong (ST I.79.13). The peace between the spirit and the flesh is during our earthly life never true peace; at the most it is concordia, that is, two different wills brought together in one. Since the spirit and the flesh do not always will the same, due to ignorance, the one must be surrendered to the other in order to have a oneness. Thus during our life on earth there will always be a tension between the two, for the spirit naturally longs for what is good in the right order. Peace means, above concordia, a union even in the will of the two. So for peace the full knowledge is required that the aim of our life and our happiness are found in God. The fight that Thomas depicts here takes place in the context of our quest for happiness and peace, for which all people strive (ST I.2.1, ad 1; II-II.29.1–2).)

The other peace is when the flesh consents with the spirit. And how does this peace come to pass? Surely, when the flesh is subjected to the spirit by means of wearing out the flesh.

Someone will say: “I want to make peace in such a way that the spirit consents somehow to the flesh and thus there will be peace; and then later on the flesh will be subjugated under the spirit.” This cannot come to pass, since the flesh has a servile nature, and the more one indulges a slave, the more brazen he becomes.

Thus we read in Proverbs 29:21: the one who gives his slave something delicate to eat will find him stubborn. And the Philosopher says: the appetite for what is delightful cannot be satisfied, and from all sides the operation of concupiscence increases the urge for the unwise. (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 3.12, 1119b8–9.) If you satisfy the delight of the flesh, it is not calmed down because of this; the urge rather increases, because someone who drinks from this water will be thirsty again (John 4:13). (Cf. ST I-II.2.1, obj. 3; I-II.30.4 and 33.2.)

This true peace, how must it be brought about? Certainly, by wearing out the flesh. (Thomas reckons it with the virtue of temperance, the fourth cardinal virtue. Abstinence, fasting, sobriety, chastity, and virginity are virtues that wear out the flesh (ST II-II.146–147, 149, 151–152). In ST I-II.64.1 Thomas endorses that in this we should not fall into extremes, as the Cathari and all kinds of penitential groups did.) Therefore, it says in Isaiah 27:5: in the fight I walk over it, and this will bring about peace for me. Because of this we read that the Lord went to Jerusalem, not that he descended to it. Thus it is said: as they went up into Jerusalem, (Ascendentibus: Jerusalem is built on Mount Zion; the city, the place of peace, is high.) he went with them, Luke 2:42.

2.2. Some practice abstinence when they want to bring about peace of the spirit with the flesh, but they do not comply with what is customary. They want to distinguish themselves from others, contrary to the command of the Lord in the Gospel: when you fast, he says, do not become sad as the hypocrites; they neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting (Matt 6:16). A man ought to do good works in secret (cf. Matt 6:1–4, 18) and in public he ought to be like others. Hence we read in Sirach 32:1: amidst them he must be like one of them. When Augustine came to Milan, the people there did not fast, whereas the Romans and the Carthaginians fasted. His mother was very troubled: should she fast or not? So Augustine, then a catechumen, asked Ambrose whether she ought to fast or not. And Ambrose said: to whatever church you go, comply with its manners if you do not want to be scandalized or scandalize others. (See Augustine, Letter 54, ch. 2, para. 3 (CSEL 34.2:160–161; PL 33:200–201); Letter 36, ch. 14, para. 32 (CSEL 34.2:62; PL 33:151).) Hence Jesus went up according to the custom (Luke 2:42). Do not distinguish yourself, because God really seems to abhor attracting attention to yourself.

But note what is said: for the feast day (Luke 2:42). If companions want something contrary to virtue, as for that you ought not to be as they are. (Thomas maps out a very delicate distinction: we should not distinguish ourselves in order to draw attention to ourselves, but we must dissociate ourselves from sinful actions and customs.) Therefore, it says in Exodus 23:2: do not follow the crowd doing evil. And Jeremiah 6:16: inquire about the ancient paths, and see which is the good way and walk in it. That pertains to peace. Psalm 122:3: Jerusalem, which is built as a city whose union through fellowship is in itself. In itself meaning: “according to the concord of rules and other manners.”

2.3. Furthermore, that peace ought to be constant, because it is not enough to have it for a time; it is necessary that a man be persevering in it. (Thomas speaks of a habitus: ST I-II.49.) Thus we read in Job 27:6: until I depart, I will not recede from my innocence; the justification which I began to have I will not abandon. He says two things. First he says: until I depart, meaning: “to my death,” and: from my innocence I will not recede.

A human being recedes from his innocence by sinning. Hence we read in Sirach 26:28: who passes over from justice to iniquity, God has prepared him for the rhomphaia, that is, for the sharpened sword. (A reference to the Last Judgment (Rev 2:12) and/or to a consequence in daily life, a judgment in time (e.g., Sir 21:3, 40:9); cf. ST I-II.85.3–5; Isidore, The Etymologies, bk. 18, ch. 6, para. 3 (PL 82:644C–45A).)

It is not enough that someone would not sin. But if you have accustomed yourself to doing good, you ought not to abandon the good works. (Doing good is not a matter of unconnected acts, but should become a habit: the habit of doing good all the time becomes a disposition; it makes someone do good spontaneously (ST I-II.49.1).) Thus it says: that I may not abandon the justification which I began to have. (Job 27:6.) And therefore we read in Revelation 2:4: I hold against you that you have left behind your first love. (Even after receiving the Sacrament of Penance, someone can sin again: ST III.88; SCG IV.70.) This is also signified in the Gospel today, in Luke 2:43: when the feast days were over, Jesus remained in the Temple. Some may well abstain from sin during a feast, but after the feast they return to sin. Truly, man ought to remain in justice and in his innocence, which is designated in 1 Kings 2:36–37, where Solomon says to Shimei, who is regarded as obedient: build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and live there; and do not leave it hither or thither; if one day you would leave, know that you must die. (Jerome, Book of Interpretations of Hebrew Names, Exodus (CCSL 72:77; PL 23:790); Acts (CCSL 72:148; PL 23:849).) This means that this peace should be constant.

2.4. Fourth, it ought to be cautious. You want to make peace with the spirit against the flesh? If you want to make peace with someone else and subject him to you, watch out for his friends. You want to make peace with the spirit against the flesh? You ought to watch out for the friends of the flesh. (Characteristic of friendship is willing and not willing the same thing, according to Thomas in ST I-II.28.2 and II-II.29.3.) Hence Jeremiah 9:4 says: let everyone watch out for his neighbor, that is, the carnal neighbor, and let him not put his trust in any of his brothers, that is, the flesh. For it says in Micah 7:6: the enemies of man are the ones who live in his house. (ST II-II.26.7, ad 1; 189.10, ad 2.) And this is signified in today’s Gospel, when the Lord wanted to remain in Jerusalem: his parents did not know (Luke 2:43). Those who apply themselves to the perfection of the peace of the spirit ought to watch out for the friends of the flesh and for familiarity with the flesh. Psalm 45:11 reads: forget your people and the house of your father, and the king will desire your beauty, namely, in the present by carrying you, and in the future by leading you, to glory.

May he deem it worthy to bestow this upon us, who lives and reigns, et cetera.