John Seleden’s
FOR THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY
Sermon 191
Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, the true Sun of Justice,
so shone upon the earth as not to leave the heavens, remaining
there eternally, but coming hither for a time; there determining
the everlasting day, here enduring the day of humanity; there
living perpetually without the passage of time, here dying in
time without the inroads of sin; there remaining in life without
end, here freeing our life from the destruction of death. There
He enkindles the minds of angels with the fiery splendor of His
majesty; here He determines the lives and characters of men.
There light is received which no one extinguishes by sin; here
Man is born who clearly defines all sin. There God is with God;
here He is God and Man. There He is Light of Light; here, the
Light which enlightens every man. There by a word He spreads out
the heavens; here He shows a way of reaching the heavens. There
with His Father He confirmed the mystery of His nativity; here
He formed His human members in His Mother. There sitting at the
right hand of the Father, here lying in a manger; there feeding
the angels, here on earth a hungry Child; there unfailing Bread
with perfect powers, here, along with speechless children,
needing the nourishment of milk; there doing good, here
suffering evil; there never dying, here rising after death and
bestowing eternal life on mortals. God became man so that man
might become God. The Lord took the form of a servant so that
man might be turned to God. The Founder and Inhabitant of heaven
dwelt upon earth so that man might rise from earth to heaven.[1]
(1) The Word of the Father, by whom all time was created, was
made flesh and was born In time for us. He, without whose divine
permission no day completes its course, wished to have one day
[set aside] for His human birth. In the bosom of His Father, He
existed before all the cycles of ages; bora of an earthly
Mother, He entered upon the course of the years on this day. The
Maker of man became Man that He, Ruler of the stars, might be
nourished at the breast; that He, the Bread, might be hungry;
that He, the Fountain, might thirst; that He, the Light, might
sleep; that He, the Way, might be wearied by the journey; that
He, the Truth, might be accused by false witnesses; that He, the
Judge of the living and the dead, might be brought to trial by a
mortal judge; that He, Justice, might be condemned by the
unjust; that He, Discipline, might be scourged with whips; that
He, the Grape,[2]
might be crowned with thorns; that He, the Foundation, might be
suspended upon a cross; that Courage might be weakened; that
Security might be wounded; that Life might die. To endure these
and similar indignities for us, to free us, unworthy creatures,
He who 'existed as the Son of God before all ages, without a
beginning, deigned to become the Son of Man in these recent
years. He did this although He who submitted to such great evils
for our sake had done no evil and although we, who were the
recipients of so much good at His hands, had done nothing to
merit these benefits. Begotten by the Father, He was not made by
the Father; He was made Man in the Mother whom He Himself had
made, so that He might exist here for a while, sprung from her
who could never and nowhere have existed except through His
power.
Thus the prediction of the Psalmist was fulfilled: Truth is
sprung out of the earth.'[3]
Mary, a virgin before conception, remained a virgin after
childbirth. Far be it that in this earth, that is, in the flesh
out of which Truth has sprung, integrity should be marred.
Indeed, after His Resurrection, when He was thought to be merely
a spirit and not actually corporeal, He said: 'Feel me and see;
for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.'[4]
Nevertheless, the substance of His mature body passed through
closed doors to His disciples.[5]
Why, then, could He, who as a grown man was able to enter
through closed portals, not pass through incorrupt members as an
infant? To neither the one nor the other of these marvels do
unbelievers wish to give their assent. Therefore, faith believes
both, because infidelity believes neither. In truth, this is
that type of unbelief which sees no divinity in Christ.
Furthermore, if faith believes that God was born in the flesh,
it does not doubt that the two miracles are possible to God,
namely, that though the doors of the house were closed, He
manifested His mature body to those within the house, and that
as an infant He came forth, a spouse from His bride-chamber,
that is, from the virginal womb, leaving His Mother's integrity
inviolate.[6]
(2) The only-begotten Son of God deigned to take upon Himself a
human nature drawn from a virgin so that He might thus link a
spotless Church to Himself, its spotless Founder. In doing so He
not only thought of virgins undefiled in body, but He also
desired that, in that Church which the Apostle Paul calls a
virgin, the minds of all should be undefiled. Tor I betrothed
you to one spouse, that I might present you a chaste virgin to
Christ.'[7]
The Church, therefore, imitating the Mother of her Lord in mind,
though not in body, is both mother and virgin. Since the
virginity of His Mother was in no way violated in the birth of
Christ, He likewise made His Church a virgin by ransoming her
from the fornication of demons. You holy virgins, born of her
undefiled virginity, who, scorning earthly nuptials, have chosen
to be virgins in the flesh, rejoice now and celebrate with all
solemnity the fecundity of the Virgin on this day. The Lord was,
indeed, born of a woman, but He was conceived in her without
man's co-operation. He who has offered to you this blessing of
virginity to cherish did not deprive His Mother of that gift.
Far be it that He who repairs in you the harm wrought by Eve
should even in the slightest degree mar in His Mother Mary that
virginity which you have prized.
(3) She in whose footsteps you are following had no human
intercourse when she conceived; she remained a virgin when she
brought forth her child. Imitate her as far as you can, not in
her fecundity, because this is not in your power, but in the
preservation of your virginity. She alone enjoyed both
prerogatives; you have chosen one of them and you lose this one
if you desire to possess both. She alone could be both virgin
and mother because she brought forth the omnipotent Lord by
whose power she thus miraculously conceived. It was fitting that
the only-begotten Son of God alone should become the Son of Man
in this way. Nevertheless, the fact that Christ is the Son of
only one virgin does not preclude any relation between you and
Him. Indeed, you have gained as the spouse of your heart Him
whom you could not bring forth as your child in the flesh. He is
a spouse whom your joy so cherishes as a redeemer that your
virginity does not shrink from Him in fear of violation. For He
who did not deprive His Mother of virginity by actual
child-bearing preserves that virginity in you to a much greater
degree in His spiritual embrace. Do not consider yourselves
sterile because you remain virgins, for that holy integrity of
the flesh conduces to fertility of the soul. Do as the Apostle
directs. Since you do not ponder over the things of the world,
wondering how you may please husbands, think about the things of
the Lord and consider how you can please Him in all respects,[8]
so that you may have offspring, not of the flesh, but of the
soul, that is, of virtues. Finally, I address all here present;
I speak to all; I include in my exhortations the whole Church,
that chaste virgin whom the Apostle speaks of as espoused to
Christ.[9]
9 Do, in the inner chambers of your soul, what you view with
amazement in the flesh of Mary. He who believes in his heart
unto justice conceives Christ; he who with his mouth makes
profession of faith unto salvation brings forth Christ.[10]
10 Thus, in your souls, let fertility abound and virginity be
preserved.
[1]
This extended exordium is prefixed to this sermon in
several manu-
scripts. Although its rather monotonous succession of
balanced phrases
seems to indicate the work of an assiduous disciple of
St. Augustine,
the content, vocabulary, and style resemble the other
sermons so
closely that it has been included here on the
supposition that it may
have been an unfinished preliminary sketch by St.
Augustine.
[2]
This metaphor by which Christ is represented under the
imagery of the grape is developed at greater length in a
previous sermon (137.13) , wherein St. Augustine says
that the grapes referred to in 'Numquid colligunt de
spinis uvas' (Matt, 7.16.) are the words of truth
issuing from the Pharisees in spite of the obstacles
arising from their perverse deeds. In the present
passage St. Augustine applies the same figure to the
Word of God who was thwarted and opposed by the
Pharisees.
[3]
Ps. 84.12.
[4]
Luke 24.39.
[5]
Cf. John 20.19.
[6]
Cf. Ps. 18.6.
[7]
2 Cor. 11.2.
[8]
Cf. 1 Cor, 7.32-35.
[9]
Cf. 2 Cor. 11.2.
[10]
Cf. Rom. 10.10.
______________________________
Adoration of the Shepherds
All rights reserved.