Sermon

Heaven and earth will pass (Luke 21:33). In these words (P adds: the beautiful but deformed variety of; it seems that it is beautiful because the just and the unjust are where they deserve to be (as Thomas says in Part II), and yet it is deformed since God made all people to be just (cf. Rom 3:26).) the situation of the just and the unjust is described according to a spiritual knowledge. Our most providential and meek Savior commended these words (P adds: like a most merciful shepherd.)—out of care for his sheep’s salvation in faith (cf. John 10:13)—to his disciples and in them to all believers for serious attention to the Last Judgment, without mentioning the term, because it is clear. (1) By the noun heaven the marvelous loftiness of the heavenly man is mentioned, and (2) by the noun earth the deserved lowliness of the worldly person is mentioned, and (3) by the verb will pass he carefully refers to a distinctive quality of each. (In Thomas’s time as a teaching master there was a vehement controversy about the question of whether the world would be eternal due to the Averroist interpretation of Aristotle’s position on this, which was taken on by philosophers in Paris. Thomas, reasoning as a theologian, responded that creatures cannot be from eternity (only God is ab aeterno, according to Scripture) and yet that as soon as they are made they remain forever (in aeternum) in a way (secundum aliquid), namely, insofar as God has made them as such. Thomas cites Ecclesiastes 3:14 among others in this context (cf. ST I.46; I.65.1, ad 1; I.104.4).)

1. So, as he describes the marvelous loftiness and the worthy eminence of the heavenly man, he calls him heaven. Yet we must consider that the heavenly man is signified by the noun heaven for four reasons:

1.1. Heaven is of a great brightness, (P continues: thus the heavenly man is very bright by reason of Gospel wisdom radiating from God, as we read in Sirach 24:4: ‘I have made my home in heaven, so that perfect light may rise.’ ‘In heaven,’ that is, in holy men; in them the eternal Spirit of the Father kindled the spiritual ‘light’ of wisdom. Also, in what follows, P has left out any (explicit) reference to Aristotle.) as the Philosopher demonstrates in book 2 of On Heaven and Earth. (Aristotle, On Heaven and Earth 2, 289a19–21.) Thus it is shown that the just man ought to be full of light by heavenly wisdom, as we read in Sirach 24:4: I have made my home in heaven, so that perfect light may rise. (P reads the heavens (in caelis), plural, and adds: ‘in the heavens’; this means: the eternal Wisdom of the Father has kindled the spiritual light of wisdom in holy men (in sanctis viris).)

1.2. It has a splendid appearance, as the Philosopher demonstrates in book 2 of On Heaven and Earth. (Aristotle, On Heaven and Earth 2.4, 286b10.) Thus it is shown that the just man ought to be like a circle by a wide mercy, or like an orbit by a broad devotion and perfect love. (The vault of heaven is circular. The mercy and the devotion of the just must be like a circle: perfect and spreading as wide as possible. P speaks likewise, leaving out the reference to Aristotle, and, instead of “a wide mercy,” it reads, a wide compassion (compassio) and a devout mercy (misericordia). Wisdom (section 1) corresponds to love (caritas, ST II-II.45, intr.), and love is the first movement of the will toward what is good (ST I.20.1). Mercy is a virtue, closely connected with love and justice (ST II-II.30.3; cf. ST I.20–21).) I alone have gone round the canopy of heaven, (P ends instead with: –add: ‘I, the Wisdom of the Father,’ by dwelling with him through grace.) says eternal Wisdom in Sirach 24:5. (Section 1.2 echoes Psalm 19:7 (cf. Thomas’s commentary on Vulgate-Psalm 18, nn. 1–3), Psalm 45:5, and Daniel 12:3.)

1.3. It sets in motion, (P adds (ordinatissimum): and orders to the highest extent or: and puts all things in order, precisely. P continues: thus we always find the just man moved by carefulness and ordered by honesty.) as the Philosopher shows in book 8 of Physics. (Aristotle, Physics 8.6, 259b28–260a19.) Thus it is shown that the just man ought to be moved always by a spiritual carefulness. (The virtue of diligentia implies caring, being thoughtful, attentive, considerate, precise, and solicitous; cf. ST II-II.54.1, obj. 1.) Job 38:37 reads: who will narrate the heavens’ thoughts, and who will put to sleep what they contain? (P adds: and furthermore in the same place we read: ‘do you know the arrangement (ordo) of heaven?’ (Job 38:33).)

1.4. It is high (P reads: the highest.) in location, as the sight and the effect of it prove. By this it is pointed out that the just man ought to excel in holiness (Holiness in human beings is serving God in everything: ST II-II.81.8, which Christ did to the full. Therefore, he became the source of salvation (cf. ST III.72.4, obj. 2) and of holiness for the whole Church: ST III.83.3, ad 2. For God’s holiness see ST I.36.1, ad 1: in divinis, the word “holy” signifies the purity of the divine goodness.) by eminence. Because, as we read in Sirach 43:1: the firmament of highness—that is, the highness of the firmament—is his beauty, the sight of heaven in a vision of glory. (P quotes another verse instead, namely, Job 35:5 (not verse 25 as the Latin text reads): look up to heaven; it is higher than you.)

2. The worldly man is absolutely not comparable to him; he is compared to the earth, (P leaves out the first sentence. It reads: after the wondrous loftiness of the heavenly man thus described briefly by the word ‘heaven,’ the little value of worldly man follows by the word ‘earth.’ Now, we must know that the unjust man is compared to the earth.) [as follows:]

2.1. On the ground of his capacity of understanding, as we read in Genesis 1:2: darkness was over the face of the abyss. The earth was void and empty. (Cf. also ST II-II.4.2, s.c. and 4.4, obj. 1 and 171.4, ad 2, with reference to 1 Corinthians 13:10–12: we will understand as the perfect comes.)

2.2. On the ground of the weakness of avarice, (Avaritia, one of the seven capital sins: ST I-II.84.3–4; II-II.118.) as we read in Colossians 3:2: taste the things that are above, not those upon the earth and Psalm 44:25 says: our stomach is stuck to the ground. (P omits Psalm 44:25.)

2.3. On the ground of the aridity of wickedness (cf. John 4:10–15), (P adds: for such people are barren and arid. Malice is one of the causes of sin (ST I-II.78) as well as a consequence of sin (ST I-II.85.3: one of the four wounds, as Bede says) and leading to more sinning. On malice as such: ST I-II.18–21.) as we read in Genesis 1:10: and God called the arid land ‘earth.’

2.4. On the ground of the immutability of the soul, or of the life, (The soul is the life-giving principle in the human body (cf. ST I.70.3, obj. 2; I.76.1 and 8).) or opinion, as we find it in Ecclesiastes 1:4: the earth truly stands forever. And this is preceded by: the generation of the good ones passes, and the generation of the just ones arrives (ibid.). (Without Thomas’s interpretative additions, the Scripture text says: generations go and come.) Why? Because an evil person is not led in the right direction, nor is he changed. (P gives a shorter version here: fourth, by reason of the immutability of his resolution. For such people are not moved towards penance, as we read in Ecclesiastes 1:4: ‘the earth stands forever.’ On stubbornness (pertinacia), the opposite of the virtue of steadfastness/perseverance: ST II-II.132.5 and 138.2.)

3. Well, now that the most deserved disdain toward the worldly man and the marvelous loftiness of the just have been described, the quality of the way of life of each of them must be distinguished, in view of the verb to pass. Indeed, we must note that passing is said (3.1) of the just in a different way than (3.2) of the unjust.

3.1. For the just passes on,

3.1.1. first, from sin to justice, (On the cardinal virtue of justice: ST II-II.57–122. God’s justice: ST I.21.1–2.) as it says in Isaiah 45:14: lofty men and proud sinners will pass over to you, and they will be yours.

3.1.2. He passes, second, by advancing from virtue to virtue, (ST I-II.63.2–4.) as it says in Sirach 29:26: pass, stranger; prepare the table, meaning, “prepare your conscience for the heavenly spouse” (cf. Prov 9:1–6). (The image of a laid or clean table as a reflection of a person’s readiness to receive someone is also found in 2 Chronicles 13:11 and Ezekiel 23:41.)

3.1.3. He passes, third, from labor in the present to the eternal refreshment, as it says in Psalm 66:12: we have come through fire and water, and you have led us out into refreshment. (Latin: refrigerium; cf. Wisdom 4:7, Isaiah 28:12, Jeremiah 6:16, Acts 3:19.)

3.2. Yet the unjust passes,

3.2.1. first of all, from innocence to guilt, (A consequence of voluntarily turning away from God; cf. ST I.48.5; I-II.21.2; II-II.34.2.) as Sirach 28 reads: he passes from justice to sin (Sir 26:19 or 26:28).

3.2.2. He passes, second, from guilt into guilt, (ST I-II.75.4 and 84.1–2; cf. also note above (section 2.3), concerning malice.) as Proverbs 14:16 has it: a wise man fears and turns away from evil; a foolish man passes on and is self-confident. (Thomas cites this verse twice in the ST: when he discusses the question whether an accused person may defend himself with cunning and guile (I-II.69.2) and when he distinguishes between the vice of fearlessness and the virtue of strength (II-II.126: the quotation is in 126.1, obj. 2).)

3.2.3. He passes, third, from guilt into eternal punishment, as Job 36:12 reads: if they will not listen, they will pass through the sword, namely, through eternal punishment. (Since the ST is not finished, there is not a section on the last things. For the distinctions of punishments see SCG III.141–45.)

So in view of the short description of the marvelous loftiness of the heavenly man in the noun heaven, also in view of the very well deserved disdain toward the worldly man in the noun earth, and in view of the difference of the life of these two in respect of the verb to pass, let us apply ourselves to renouncing earthly things and to loving heavenly things (cf. Col 3:1), in such a way that we disdain the worldly life and embrace the heavenly life, that we may pass over from labor to rest (cf. Heb 4:10), from the world to glory, which may he grant us, et cetera.