Third Sermon for Advent: On the Three Advents of the Lord, and the Seven Pillars Which We Ought to Erect Within Us

“Wisdom hath built herself a house, she hath hewn hey out seven pillars.” —Prov. ix. I.

In this advent of Christ, my brethren, which we are now celebrating, I cannot think of the Person Who has come, without feeling overpowered in mind by the excellence of His Majesty ; and when I consider who they are to whom He has come, I tremble with awe at the greatness of His condescension. The angels certainly must contemplate with astonishment so unheard of a wonder, beholding now beneath them Him Whom they have always worshipped and shall ever worship as their Overlord, thus manifestly “ ascending and descending to the Son of man.” Again, when I reflect on the object of His coming, I embrace as well as I can the immeasurable extent of His charity. And if, finally, I meditate on the manner in which He has come, I realise and acknowledge the dignity to which our human nature has been raised. For He Who has come is the Creator and Lord of the universe, He has come to men, He has come for the sake of men, He has come a man. But some one may here object and say: “ How can He be said to have come Who has always been everywhere ? ” I answer in the words of the Evangelist, “ He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.”

Therefore, when I speak of His coming, I do not mean that He began to be present where previously He was absent, but only that He made Himself manifest where before He had been concealed. Hence, in order to become, visible to us, He even assumed our human nature, He Who in His Divinity “ dwelleth in light inaccessible.” Neither, assuredly, was it anything unbecoming the Creator’s Majesty to appear in the form of that likeness of Himself which He had fashioned in the beginning, nor was it unworthy of God to be represented in an image to such as could not see Him in His own Divine Essence, so that He Who of old made man to His own image and likeness, might, at least as aman, become known to men.

Therefore, my brethren, once a year the universal Church makes a solemn commemoration of the advent of such Majesty, of such condescension, of such charity, yea, of such a glorification of the human race. Once a year—would to God it were once and for ever ! That would be far better. For surely men must be strangely infatuated when they have the desire or the daring to occupy themselves with any other interest after the advent of so great a King, instead of for- ` getting everything else in His presence and devoting themselves exclusively to His service and worship. But not of all can be understood the words of the Psalmist, “ They shall eructate the memory of the abundance of Thy sweetness,” for even to taste of this sweetness is not granted to all. And surely no one eructates what he has not tasted or what he has merely tasted. Eructation proceeds only from fulness and satiety. Therefore, men of worldly mind and worldly conduct, even though they celebrate the memory of this manifestation of divine sweetness, do not eructate that memory, but observe these holy days simply from custom, without fervour, without devotion, or any feeling of tenderness. And what is still worse, they even make this commemoration of God’s infinite condescension an occasion for indulging the desires of the natural man. Hence you may see them during this time sparing no pains to procure splendid garments and costly viands, as if, forsooth, Christ looks for these and such-like things on the day of His nativity, and is there more worthily received where these are more scrupulously offered. But attend to what He has said Himself, ‘‘ With him that had a proud eye and an insatiable heart, I would not eat.” “ Why,” He seems to ask, “ art thou so solicitous to provide thyself with . a rich dress against My birthday? So far from being pleased with such pride, I hold it in abhorrence. Wherefore all this anxiety to lay up such abundant supplies of food for Christmas-tide? The pleasures of the palate are not acceptable to Me, but rather offensive. Verily, thou must be of an ‘ insatiable heart,’ making such elaborate preparations and for so long a time. The body surely does not require so many things, and would be contented with that which is plain and easily procured. Therefore, in thus celebrating My advent, thou honourest me with thy lips, but thy heart is far from Me. I am not the object of thy worship, for thy god is thy stomach and thy glory is in thy shame. Oh, how unhappy art thou in thus paying homage to bodily pleasure and the vanity of worldly glory ! ‘ But happy is that people whose God is the Lord.’ ”

My brethren, “ Be not emulous of evildoers, nor envy them that work iniquity.” Consider rather their last end, pity them from your hearts, and pray for all who “are overtaken in sin.” It is only from ignorance of God that these miserable men have adopted such a manner of celebrating Christmas. For did they know the truth, they certainly would never provoke against them by their incredible folly the anger of the Lord of glory. But as for ourselves, my dearly beloved, we have not the excuse of ignorance. To every one who is here present I say, thou surely dost know Him. And if thou wert to answer that thou knowest Him not, thou shouldst be like to worldlings, a liar. For if thou hast no knowledge of Him, who then hath brought thee to this place, or how hast thou come hither ? Didst thou not know Him, when wouldst thou have been persuaded to break so freely the bonds of natural love and friendship, to renounce the delights of the flesh and the vanities of the world, “ to cast thy care upon the Lord,” and to transfer all thy solicitude to Him, from Whom, as thine own conscience bears witness, thou hadst merited no favour but rather severe chastisement ? What, I ask, could have induced thee to behave thus, if thou wert ignorant that “the Lord is good to them that hope in Him, to the soul that seeketh Him,” unless thou also hadst known that “the Lord is sweet and mild and plenteous in mercy”? But how couldst thou have known this, if not because He not only came to thee, but even came into thee ?

There are three distinct comings of the Lord of which I know, His coming fo men, His coming into men, and His coming against men. He comes to all men indifferently, but comes not into all or against all. His coming to men and His coming against men are too well known to need elucidation. But concerning the second advent, which is spiritual and invisible, listen to what He says Himself, “ If any man love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and will make Our abode with him.” Blessed is the man with whom Thou, Lord Jesus, makest Thy abode! Blessed he in whom “ Wisdom hath built herself a house, and hath hewn out her seven pillars” ! Blessed is the soul which has become the seat of Wisdom! Shall I tell you whose this soul is ? She is the soul of the just man. This is manifest from the words of David, “ Justice and judgment are the preparation of Thy throne.” Is there any one amongst you, brethren, who desires to prepare a seat for Christ in his soul? Behold here the kind of silk and embroidery with which He requires that the cushion shall be covered. Justice is a virtue which inclines us to give everyone his due. Now there are three classes of persons in relation to whom this virtue must be exercised, thy superiors, thy inferiors, and thy equals. Render therefore to those above thee, to those beneath thee, and to those on a level with thee, that which thou owest to each, and so shalt thou worthily celebrate the advent of Christ, adorning His seat for Him with justice. Render, I say, to thy superiors obedience and reverence, of which the first relates to thy exterior, whilst the second belongs to the heart. For it is not enough to show ourselves externally obedient to those in authority, unless we also entertain feelings of respect and veneration for them in the interior of our souls. And even should the life of any superior be so notoriously wicked as to admit of no excuse or dissimulation, nevertheless, for God’s sake, Who is the Source of all power, we are bound to honour such a one, not on account of his personal merits, which are non-existent, but because of the divine ordination and the dignity of his office.

In like manner, the laws of fraternity and of human society give our brethren, amongst whom we live, a claim upon us for counsel and assistance. For we, on our side, desire that they should render us the same seryices, counsel to instruct our ignorance, assistance to support our weakness. But perchance there is some one here who is saying to himself in the silence of his heart, “ What counsel can I give my brother, since I am not allowed to speak even one word to him without permission ? And how shail I assist him, who am not permitted to do anything whatever except under obedience ?”’ To this I answer, thou shalt never be in want of something to do so long as thou art not wanting in fraternal charity. In my judgment, there can be no better counsel than that which thou givest, when, by thy example thou dost strive to teach thy brother what is expedient for him to do and what to omit, urging him on to better things, and exhorting him “ not in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” And what better or more efficacious assistance can be given him than to pray for him with fervour, to reprove him frankly for his faults,* to place no obstacle in his path, but on the contrary, like an angel of peace, to be solicitous to “ gather out of the kingdom of God all scandals,” as far as is possible, and to remove from his way every occasion of stumbling ? When thou showest thyself such a counsellor and such just remarked, no private religious was permitted to speak to another.—(Translator.)

a helper to thy brother, then, in truth, thou art rendering unto him that which thou owest, and he has no cause to complain of thee. But if, further, thou art invested with authority over anyone, to him beyond question thou owest a debt of greater solicitude. He claims from thee watchfulness and correction : watchfulness, which shall enable him to avoid sin, correction which shall allow no transgressions to remain unpunished. And even though none of thy brethren has been committed to thy charge, there is nevertheless, one that is subject to thee and that requires at thy hands the same watchfulness and zeal. I allude to thine own body, which undoubtedly has been given thee in order to be ruled by thy spirit. Thou art therefore obliged to watch over it so that “ sin may not reign in it,” and that its members may not become “instruments of iniquity.” It has also a right to thy zealous correction, so that, chastised and reduced to servitude, it may “bring forth fruits worthy of penance.” Yet far heavier and far more perilous is the responsibility which weighs upon him who has to render an account for many souls. ‘‘ Unhappy man that I am,” what shall I do or whither shall I flee, if I am found to have negligently guarded this immense treasure, this priceless deposit, which Christ has judged more precious than His own most precious Blood? Had I collected the Blood of the Lord as It dripped and trickled from His Body on the cross, and had I retained It in my possession, sealed up in a vessel of glass, which I should be under the necessity of carrying about with me constantly, oh, how terrible would be my anxiety amidst so many dangers! And yet, my brethren, I have been made custodian of something for which no imprudent Merchant, yea, He Who is Wisdom Itself, did not hesitate to barter all that Blood. What is more, I am keeping “this treasure in earthen vessels,” which seem to be exposed to perils greater and more numerous than vessels of glass. And further, to crown my solicitude and lest anything should be wanting to my fear, whilst I am obliged to watch over my own conscience and the consciences of my brethren, not one of theseis sufficiently known to me. Each is to me an unfathomable abyss, a night of impenetrable darkness, and nevertheless I am charged with the custody of each, and the voice of the Lord is ever ringing in my ears, ‘‘ Watchman, what of the night? watchman, what of the night? ” It is not lawful for me to reply with Cain, “ Am I my brother’s keeper?” No, I can only humble myself and confess with the Prophet that “ unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain who keepeth it.” I shall, however, beheld excused if, as I have said, I am faithful in the discharge of my twofold function of vigilance and correction.* And if I am found to have satisfied the other four obligations also, by showing obedience and reverence to my superiors, and by giving counsel and help to my equals then, as regards justice at any rate, Wisdom shall not find her seat in my soul altogether unprepared.

And perhaps we have here six of the seven pillars which Wisdom “hath hewn her out” in the house which she hath “ built herself.” We must therefore endeavour to find the seventh also, if haply she herself will condescend to make it known to us. But as the six which we have discovered belong to justice, why should we not suppose the seventh to appertain to judgment? For not justice alone, but “ justice and judgment are the preparation of Thy throne,” O Lord. Besides, if we render what we owe to our superiors, to our equals, and to our inferiors, shall there be nothing for God? It is doubtless true that we can never discharge our debt to Him, because He has so abundantly multiplied His mercies upon us, because we have so often sinned against Him, because we are so weak and worthless, and because He is so rich in Himself and self-sufficing, “‘ needing none of our goods.” Nevertheless hear what is said by holy David, to whom He hath made manifest “the uncertain and hidden things of His wisdom ” : “‘ The honour of the King,” sings the Royal Prophet, “ loveth judgment.” So far as concerns Himself, there is nothing which He more strictly requires from us. Only let us confess our iniquities, and for the glory of His grace, He will justify us freely. For He loves the soul which is constantly examining herself in His sight and judging herself with sincerity. And it is only for our own sakes He exacts this judgment from us, because if we judge ourselves we shall not be judged. The wise man, consequently, will be watchful and suspicious of all his works, he will examine, scrutinise, and pass judgment on everything ; and he who thus endeavours truly to know and who humbly confesses the value set by truth on himself and his works, shows that he honours truth. But I shall give you a more evident proof that judgment is required of us after justice : “ When you have done all things that are commanded you,” so speaks the Saviour, “ say: we are unprofitable servants.” As regards ourselves, therefore, we may rest assured that we are worthily preparing a seat within us for the Lord of Majesty, when we are striving to observe all the commandments of His justice, and are at the same time judging ourselves to be unprofitable servants.