Homily 6

Pronounced before the people

in the basilica of Saints Marcellin and Peter

December 10 590 (a Sunday of Advent)

The testimony given to Jean by Jesus

The preacher explains why St. John the Baptist seemed to doubt that Jesus was "the one to come," after showing him to the Jews and baptizing him. This question continues to fascinate the exegetes of today. And while the position of the holy pope is unlikely to win their votes, it is none the less rich in theological sense.

After having solved this difficulty, the orator draws up the picture of Jean's qualities: he is neither like a reed waved by the wind, nor dressed in soft clothes. He is more than a prophet: an angel, in the etymological sense of this word. Each of us can also deserve to be called an angel, and Gregory says how. The finale will surprise those who imagine that it was not until the Second Vatican Council that the Church encouraged the apostolate of the laity. A pope of the sixth century did not fear to do so with very telling images.

Mt 11, 2-10

At that time, as John, in his prison, had heard of the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples to say to him, "Are you the one to come, or shall we expect another?" Jesus answered them: "Go and tell John what you have heard and seen: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise, the poor are evangelized; and happy is he who will not be scandalized about me! "As they were leaving, Jesus began to tell the crowds about John," What did you go to see in the desert? A reed waved by the wind? What did you go to see? A man dressed in comfy clothes? But those who wear cozy clothes are in the palaces of kings. What did you go to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. For it is from him that it is written: Behold, I send my angel to meet you, to prepare the way before you. "

One question, very dear brothers, arises to us: John was a prophet, and even more than a prophet, since he made known the Lord coming to be baptized in the Jordan, declaring: "Here is the Lamb of God, here is he who takes away the sin of the world "(Jn 1:29), and considering both his own baseness and the power of the Lord's deity, he said:" He who is earthly also has an earthly language but he who comes from heaven is above all "(Jn 3: 31); why then, once imprisoned, does he send his disciples to ask, "Are you the one to come, or should we expect another?" as if he did not know what he had shown, and as if he did not know that Christ was the one he had proclaimed by prophesying, baptizing, and showing him?

But this question quickly finds its answer if one examines the time and the order in which the facts took place. On the banks of the Jordan, John affirmed that Jesus was the Redeemer of the world; once imprisoned, however, he asks if he is the one who must come. It is not that he doubts that Jesus is the Redeemer of the world, but he seeks to know if he who came in person in the world, will also go down in person to the infernal prisons. For he whom John has already announced to the world as precursor, he still precedes him to hell by his death. He therefore asks, "Are you the one to come, or should we expect another?" It is as if he were saying clearly: "Just as you have deigned to be born for men, let us know if you will also deign to die for them, so that as a forerunner of your birth, I will also become your death, and announce to hell that you will come, as I have already told the world that you have come. "

That is why the Lord's answer to the question thus posed deals with the lowering of his death immediately after listing the miracles wrought by his power, when he says: "The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are purified, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor are evangelized; and happy is he who will not be scandalized about me! "At the sight of so many signs and such great prodigies, no one had reason to be scandalized, but rather to admire. There was, however, a serious scandal against him in the minds of the infidels when they saw him die, even after so many miracles. Hence Paul's words: "We preach a crucified Christ, a scandal for the Jews and a folly for the Gentiles" (1 Cor 1: 23). Yes, men regarded it as a folly that the Author of life died for them; and the man has found means to be scandalized about him for what should have excited his gratitude. For God must be honored with greater dignity by men than he has been subjected to unworthy treatment for them.

What, then, is the meaning of the words of the Lord, "Blessed is he who shall not be scandalized about me?" Does he not want to clearly designate the abjection and lowering of his death? It is as if he said openly: "It is true that I do admirable things, but I do not refuse to suffer from ignominious; since I am going to follow you [John the Baptist] in dying, that men are careful not to despise me in death, they who venerate miracles in me. "

2. Let us hear what our Redeemer told the crowds about John, after having sent away his disciples: "What have you gone to see in the wilderness? A reed waved by the wind? "He does not say that to affirm it, but to deny it. The reed flexes as soon as the breeze touches it. What does it mean, if not the carnal mind, which bows to one side or the other as soon as it is touched by flattery or criticism? Indeed, a human mouth comes to blow on him the breeze of flattery, and here it is that rejoices, prides itself and bends all over by complacency. But a breath of criticism springs from the very mouth from which the breeze of praise came, and he immediately bows to the other side in a fit of rage. John was not a wind-blown reed; neither favor made him caressing him, nor criticism, from whence it came, made him violent by angering him. Prosperity could not elevate it, nor adversity weaken it. No, Jean was not a reed waved by the wind: no change of circumstances made his righteousness bend.

Let us learn, dear brothers, not to be reeds agitated by the wind. Let us strengthen our soul exposed to the bursts of words; remain in our mind of unyielding stability. Let us never be angered by criticism, or inclined by flattery to exaggerated complacency and indulgence. Let us not rise in prosperity, do not trouble us in adversity, so that fixed in the solidity of faith, we do not let ourselves be shaken by the mobility of things that pass.

3. The rest of the text tells us again of these words of the Lord: "What have you gone to see in the desert? A man dressed in comfy clothes? But those who wear comfy clothes are in the palaces of kings. "It is said, indeed, that John was clothed in camel hair. And why say: "But those who wear soft clothes are in the palaces of kings", if not to indicate in a clear formula that it is not the King of Heaven, but the kings of the earth that serve those who do not want not to suffer harshness for God, but who give themselves entirely to external things, and seek in the present life that which is cozy and delectable? So let us not think that the superfluous and the search in the garment are innocent of all sin. If it were not a fault, the Lord would in no way have praised John for the harshness of his garment. If it was not a fault, never would the Apostle Peter, in his epistle, have turned women away from wanting precious clothes, with these words: "No precious garments." (1 Pet 3: 3). Measure what fault there may be for men to look for what the pastor of the Church has taken care to forbid even to women.

4. Let it be said that Jean was not dressed in cozy clothes can also be understood in another sense: he was not dressed in cozy clothes, because he did not encourage sinners in their way of life by caresses, but rebuked them with force by harsh invectives, saying, "Race of vipers, who taught you to flee the coming wrath?" (Mt 3, 7). Solomon also declares on this subject: "The words of the wise are like goads and like nails planted at the top."

(Qo 12, 11). The words of the wise are compared to nails and spines, because they do not seek to flatter the faults of the guilty, but to sting them.

5. "What have you gone to see in the desert? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. "The function of the prophet is only to announce things to come, not to show them fulfilled. John is therefore more than a prophet, for he whom he prophesied by preceding him, he also showed him by pointing to him. But since our Redeemer denied that John was a wind-blown reed, since he said he was not dressed in sumptuous clothes, since he testified that the prophet's name was insufficient for him, let's listen now what title worthy of him can be bestowed upon him. "It is from him," continues the Lord, "that it is written, Behold, I send my angel to meet you, to prepare the way before you." At the Greek word "angel" corresponds in Latin nuncius who announce]. It is therefore appropriate to call "angel" the one who is sent to announce the supreme judge, to mark by his very name the high office he fulfills by his works. The name is high, but the life [of the wearer] is not inferior to it.

6. Please God, dear brothers, that we do not say it for our condemnation, but all those who bear the name of priest are called angels, as the prophet says: "The lips of the priest have the custody of science, and it is at his mouth that the law is demanded, because he is the angel of the Lord of armies. "(Ml 2, 7)

However, each one of you can deserve, if he wants it, this high title. All, to the extent of your possibilities, as long as you have received the divine inspirations of grace, if you turn away your neighbor from his wickedness, if you take care to exhort him to behave well, if you warn him who sins from the eternity of the Kingdom and the eternity of the torment, then your words to announce the holy truths make you angels, to be sure. And let no one say, "I am not able to give warnings, and I have no ability to exhort others." Do what you can, lest you be called out in torments the gift you have so badly kept. He had received no more than a single talent, the one who applied to hide it rather than give alms.

We know that for the tabernacle of God we did not only cups, but also cups, as the Lord commanded (Ex 37, 16). The cups represent an overabundant doctrine, and the cups are limited and limited knowledge. One, full of the doctrine of truth, watering the spirits of those who listen to him: it is a cup which he tends to others by what he tells him. Another one does not know how to express what he thinks, but when he announces it somehow, it is as if he were giving a sample of it in a cup. Established in the Tabernacle of God, that is to say, in the Holy Church, if you can not serve your neighbor with the cups of wise doctrine, give him the cups of a good word, so long as the kindness of God makes you capable of it.

To the extent that you feel you have made progress, train others after you. On the way to God, desire to have fellow travelers. If one of you, my brothers, goes to the forum, or perhaps to the bath, he invites you to come with him whom he finds unoccupied. So let yourself be instructed by your natural way of acting: if you go to God, try not to come alone to him. For it is written, "Whosoever heareth say, Come," (Rev 22:17); thus, he who has already received in his heart the call of heavenly love must pass on this call abroad by exhorting his relatives.

Is he lacking bread to give alms to him who has nothing? He can give him a more excellent gift, since he has a tongue. It is greater, indeed, to restore by the nourishment of the word a soul destined to live in eternity than to satiate from a terrestrial bread a belly belonging to a flesh that is to die. Do not refuse, dear brothers, the alms of the word to your relatives.

You and I, let us keep idle words, avoid talking unnecessarily. As far as we can resist our language, do not let her speak in the air, while the Judge declares: "In the day of judgment, men will give an account of every idle word they have spoken" ( Mt 12:36). Now is idle the word which has no real utility, or which lacks real necessity. Let your conversations cease to be idle, and apply to building others. Consider how quickly the days of this life flee, see what will be the rigor of the Judge who must come. This Judge, keep it before the eyes of your heart. This Judge, preach it to the souls of your loved ones. Thus, your zeal to announce it to the measure of your strength will earn you with John the honor of being called by him angels. May he deign to grant it to you himself, who, being God, lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.