ported in the light; and what ye have whispered in the closet, 4 shall be proclaimed from the house-top. But I charge you, my friends, fear not them who kill the body, and after that can do 5 no more: but I will show you whom ye ought to fear; fear him 6 who, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. I repeat it to you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two 7 pence?* Yet not one of them is forgotten of God: yea, the very hairs of your head are all numbered: Fear not, therefore; 8 ye are much more valuable than sparrows. Moreover, I say unto you, whoever shall acknowledge me before men, him the 2 Tim. 2. 12. 9 Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denieth me before men, shall be disowned before the 10 angels of God. And whoso shall inveigh against the Son of Mar. 8. 38. Matt. 12. 32. Mar. 3. 28. 1 Jo. 5. 16. Matt. 10. 19. Mar. 13. 11. 19. Man, may obtain remission; but to him who detracteth from the 11 Holy Spirit, there is no remission. And when ye are brought before synagogues and magistrates, and rulers, be not solicitous 12 how or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that moment what ought to be said. 13 Then one said to him out of the crowd: Rabbi, order my 14 brother to divide the inheritance with me. He answered: Man, 15 who constituted me your judge or arbiter? And he said to 16 them Be upon your guard against covetousness; for in whatever affluence a man be, his life dependeth not on his possesions. He also used this example: A certain rich man had lands 17 which brought forth plentifully. And he reasoned thus with himself, What shall I do; for I have not where to store up my Ecclus. 11. 18 crop?--I will do this, added he, I will pull down my barns, and build larger, and there I will store up all my product and my 19 goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast plenty of goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, en20 joy thyself.' But God said to him, Thou fool, this very night thy soul is required of thee: Whose, then, shall those things be 21 which thou hast provided?' So it fareth with him who amas-ses treasure for himself, but is not rich towards God. Matt. 6. 25. 22 Then he said to his disciples: For this reason I charge you, be not anxious about your life, what ye shall eat; nor about 23 your body, what ye shall wear. Life is a greater gift than food, 24 and the body than raiment. Consider the ravens; they neith er sow nor reap; have neither cellar nor barn; but God feed25 eth them. How much more valuable are ye than the fowls? Besides, which of you can, by his anxiety, prolong his life one 26 hour? If, therefore, ye cannot thus effect even the smallest * Value three cents, of our money. 27 thing, why are ye anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies : How do they grow? They toil not; they spin not; yet I affirm that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not equally adorned with 28 one of these. If then, God so array the herbage, which to-day is in the field, and to-morrow is cast into the oven; how much 29 more will he array you, O ye distrustful? Ask not ye, there fore, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; live not in anx30 ious suspense. For all these things the Pagans seek; whereas 31 your Father knoweth that ye need them. But seek ye the and 19. 21. kingdom of God, and all these things shall be superadded to 32 you. Fear not, my little flock, for it hath pleased your Fath33 er to give you the kingdom. Sell your goods, and give alms; Matt. 6. 20. provide yourselves purses which wear not out; inexhaustible in heaven, where no thieves approach, where nothing is spoiled 34 by worms. For where your treasure is your heart will likewise be. 35 Let your loins be girt, and your lamps burning; and your- 1 Pet. 1. 13. 36 selves like those who wait their master's return from the wed ding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may imme37 diately let him in. Happy those servants whom their master, at his return, shall find watching. Verily I say unto you, that he will gird himself, and having placed them at table, will at38 tend and serve them. And whether he come in the second watch, or in the third, if he find things thus, happy are 39 those servants. Ye are certain, that if the master of the house Matt. 24. 43. knew at what hour the thief would come, he would watch, and Rev. 3. 3. 40 not allow him to break into his house. Be ye then always prepared; because the Son of Man will come at an hour when ye are not expecting him. 41 Then Peter said to him: Master, is this comparison direct42 ed to us alone, or to all present? The Lord said: Who now is the discreet and faithful steward whom the master will set over his household, to dispense regularly the allowance of corn! 43 Happy that servant, if his master, at his arrival, shall find him 44 so employed. I tell you truly, he will entrust him with the 45 management of all his estate. But as to the servant who shall say within himself, My master delayeth his return,' and shall beat the men-servants and the maids, and shall feast and ca46 rouse, and be drunken; the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not expecting him, and at an hour he is not apprised of; and having discarded him, will assign him his 47 portion with the faithless. And that servant who knew his master's will, yet did not make himself ready, nor execute his orders, shall receive many stripes; whereas he who knew it 45 not, but did things deserving chastisement, shall receive few: for much will be required of every one to whom much is given; VOL. II. 36 1 Thess. 5.2. and 16. 15. Ja. 4. 17. and the more a man is entrusted with, the more will be exacted from him. 49 I came to throw fire upon the earth; and what would I, but 50 that it were kindled? I have an immersion to undergo; and 51 how am I pained till it be accomplished? Do ye imagine that I am come to give peace to the earth? I tell you, No, but Matt. 10. 34. 52 division. For hereafter five in one family will be divided; three 53 against two, and two against three; father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughterin-law against mother-in-law; Matt. 16.2. 54 He said also to the people: When ye see a cloud rising in the west, ye say, 'It will rain immediately,' and so it happen55 eth; and when the south wind bloweth, ye say, 'It will be hot,' 56 and it happeneth accordingly. Hypocrites, ye can judge of what appeareth in the sky, and on the earth; how is it that ye 57 cannot judge of the present time? and why do ye not even of yourselves discern what is just? Matt. 5. 25. 58 When thou goest with thy creditor to the magistrate, endeavor on the road to satisfy him, lest he drag thee before the judge, and the judge consign thee to the serjeant, and the serjeant commit thee to prison: I assure thee, thou wilt not be released, until thou hast paid the last mite. SECTION IX. THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM. XIII. THERE were then present some who informed Jesus of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of 2 their sacrifices. Jesus answering, said unto them: think ye that these Galileans were the greatest sinners in all Galilee, be3 cause they suffered such usage? I tell you, 'No; but unless 4 ye reform, ye shall all likewise perish:' Or those eighteen whom the tower of Siloam fell upon, and slew; think ye that 5 they were the greatest profligates in all Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but unless ye reform, ye also shall all perish.' 6 He also spake this parable. A man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard, and came seeking fruit on it, but found none. 7 Then said he to the vine-dresser, This is the third year that I have come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, without finding any. 8 Cut it down; why should it cumber the ground?' He answered, 'Sir, let it alone one year longer, until I dig about it and dung it; perhaps it will bear fruit: if not, thou mayest afterwards cut it down.' 10 ONE Sabbath, as he was teaching in a synagoge, a woman 11 was present who had for eighteen years had a spirit of infir mity, whereby she was so bowed down that she could not so 12 much as look up. Jesus, perceiving her, called her to him, and laying his hands on her, said: Woman, thou art delivered from thine infirmity. Immediately she stood upright, and glo14 rified God. But the director of the synagogue, moved with indignation because Jesus had performed a cure on the Sabbath, said to the people: there are six days for working; come, therefore, on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath15 day. To which the Lord replied: Hypocrites, who is there amongst you that doth not on the Sabbath loose his ox or his 16 ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And must not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath kept bound, lo, these eighteen years, be released from this bond on 17 the Sabbath-day? On his saying this, all his opposers were ashamed; but the whole multitude was delighted with all the glorious actions performed by him. 18 He said, moreover: What doth the kingdom of God resem- Matt. 13.31. 19 ble? Whereunto shall I compare it? It resembleth a grain of Mar. 4. 31. mustard seed, which a man threw into his garden; and it grew 20 and became a great tree, and the birds of the air took shelter in its branches. Again he said: Whereunto shall I compare the kingdom of Matt. 13. 33. 21 God? It resembleth leaven which a woman mingled in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened. 22 AND he took a journey to Jerusalem, teaching as he pass- Matt. 9. 35. 23 ed through cities and villages; and one asked him, Master: and 25, 41. 24 Are there but few who shall be saved? He answered: Force Matt. 7. 13. your entrance through the strait gate; for many, I assure you, will 25 request to be admitted, who shall not prevail. If once the Matt. 25. 10. master of the house shall have risen and locked the door, and ye, standing without and knocking, say, 'Master, master, open 26 unto us,' he will answer, I know not whence ye are.' Then ye will say, 'We have eaten and drunk with thee, and thou 27 hast taught in our streets.' But he will answer, I tell you, I Matt. 7. 23. know not whence ye are remove hence, all ye workers of un28 righteousness.' Then will ensue weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, received into the kingdom of God, and yourselves ex29 cluded: nay, people will come from the east, from the west, from the north, and from the south, and will place themselves 30 at table in the kingdom of God. And behold they are last who shall be first, and they are first who shall be last. 31 The same day certain Pharisees came to him, and said: Get 32 away; depart hence, for Herod intendeth to kill thee. He answered: Go tell that fox, To-day and to-morrow I expel demons and perform cures, and the third day my course will be 33 completed. Nevertheless I must walk about to-day and tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet Matt. 33. 37. 34 should be cut off any-where but at Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them whom God sendeth to thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her brood under her 35 wings, but ye would not. Quickly shall your habitation be transformed into a desert; for verily I say unto you, ye shall not again see me, until the time when ye shall say, 'Blessed be he who cometh in the name of the Lord." Prov. 25. 7. ch. 18. 14. Matt. 23. 12. Matt. 22. 2. XIV. It happened on a Sabbath, when he was gone to eat at the house of one of the rulers who was a Pharisee, that while the 2 Pharisees were observing him, a man who had a dropsy stood 3 before him. Then Jesus, addressing himself to the lawyers 4 and Pharisees, said: Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath? They being silent, he took hold of the man, healed and dismissed 5 him. Then resuming his discourse, he said to them: Who amongst you, if his ass or his ox fall into a pit on the Sabbath6 day, will not immediately pull him out? And to this they were not able to make him a reply. 7 Observing how eager the guests were to possess the higher 8 places at table, he gave them this injunction: When thou art invited to a wedding, do not occupy the highest place at table, 9 lest one more considerable than thou be bidden, and he who invited ye both, come and say to thee, Give place to this man, and thou shouldst then rise with confusion to take the lowest 10 place. But, when thou art invited, go to the lowest place, that when he who bade thee cometh, he may say to thee, 'Friend, go up higher:' for that will do thee honor before the 11 company. For whoever exalteth himself, shall be humbled; and whoever humbleth himself, shall be exalted. 12 He said also to him who had invited him: When thou givest a dinner or a supper, do not invite thy rich friends, brothers, cousins, or neighbors, lest they also invite thee in their turn, 13 and thou be recompensed. But when thou givest an enter tainment, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; 14 and thou shalt be happy for as they have not wherewith to requite thee, thou shalt be requited at the resurrection of the righteous. 15 One of the guests hearing this said to him: Happy he who 16 shall feast in the reign of God. Jesus said to him: A certain 17 man made a great supper and invited many. And at supper time he sent his servants to tell those who had been bidden to 18 come presently; for that all was ready. But they all, without exception, made excuses. One said, I have purchased a *Jehovah. |