ACC ~ Matthew 12 v43 - 50

OVERVIEW:

What happens when someone who has once believed now disbelieves? The demons may again take up their abode there with a vengeance (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). The seven good spirits are the spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and true godliness, and reverence toward God. Arrayed against these are the sevenfold evil spirits: the spirit of stupidity and error, the spirit of foolhardiness and cowardice, the spirit of ignorance and impiety and the spirit of pride contrary to the fear of God (AUGUSTINE).

To refute Christ’s words, the devil slyly introduced Christ’s relatives in the flesh. By focusing attention on them he sought to draw attention away from Christ’s divinity (ANONYMOUS). When Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of my Father is my brother,” he was not speaking in contempt of his family but in order to show that he valued more highly closeness of soul than of the body (THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA, GREGORY THE GREAT). It is greater for Mary to have been a believing disciple of Christ than the mother of Christ (AUGUSTINE).

12:43-44 | Seeking Rest but Not Finding It

THROUGH WATERLESS PLACES

HILARY: The law which was given later intervened, casting out the unclean spirit dwelling in the hearts of the elect people. It kept that spirit away as if it were surrounding the people with its protective power. Going out from there, the spirit wandered among the nations in the deserts and arid places, leaving behind its old home, so that it might rest in these places until the day of judgment and not in a troubled dwelling [as Israel provided].

But when God’s grace was imparted afresh to the nations, flowing as a living fountain through the cleansing water [of baptism], there was no place for the spirit to continue living among them, and indeed he had no rest with them. After reconsidering its present situation, the spirit believed the best thing to do was to return to the house from which it had come. That house, having been cleaned out through the law, decorated with the proclamation of the prophets and finally prepared by the coming of Christ, was found to be vacant. The custodian of the law had left—because the whole law [was valid] until John—and those living there did not receive Christ.

Also, there was no inhabitant in the dwelling, and it had been left unguarded. Because of the concern of those who were living there before, the place had been kept clean and adorned for the incoming dweller. Then seven spirits even more evil entered in—as many as there were the gifts of grace offered by Christ which God’s all-embracing wisdom had placed there with a sevenfold glory. [1] In this way the possession of wicked spirits was as great as the possession of grace would have been. Thus “the last state of that man becomes worse than the first,” because the unclean spirit left the house for fear of the law but now returns with a vengeance because of the grace that was rejected. ON MATTHEW 12:22-23. [2]

[1] The gifts of the spirit to come prophesied in Isaiah 11:2-3 LXX.

[2] SC 254:292.

12:45 | The Last State Worse Than the First

SEVEN OTHER SPIRITS

AUGUSTINE: When there is forgiveness of sins through the sacraments, the house is cleaned; but the Holy Spirit must be a necessary inhabitant. And the Holy Spirit inhabits only those who are humble of heart, for God says, “Upon whom will my Spirit rest?” And he answers the question: “Upon the one who is humble and quiet and who fears my word.” [1] Therefore, when he is the inhabitant, he fills up, rules, acts, deters from evil, inspires one to do good and tempers justice with sweetness, so that one may do good with the love of an upright heart and not with the fear of punishment.

But once that unclean spirit that made you evil has gone out of you, that is, from your mind, when your sins have been forgiven, it roams through dry places in search of a resting place. Finding none, the unclean spirit returns to his house, where he finds everything clean and in order. Then he takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself; and the last state of that person becomes worse than the first. He takes with him seven other spirits. What is meant by “seven other spirits”? Is the unclean spirit itself sevenfold? What does this mean? By seven the whole group is signified. [2] The whole spirit went away, the whole spirit came back; and would that only one spirit returned! What does it mean: “He takes with him seven other spirits”? Those spirits you did not have when you were evil, you will have unexpectedly when you are good. Listen carefully while I explain as best I can. By a sevenfold operation the Holy Spirit is committed to our care, so that we may have the “spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and fortitude, knowledge and true godliness, and fear of God.” [3] Arrayed on the opposite side of this sevenfold good is the sevenfold evil: the spirit of stupidity and error, the spirit of foolhardiness and cowardice, the spirit of ignorance and impiety, and the spirit of pride against the fear of God. These are seven evil spirits. What are the seven other spirits even more evil? The seven other spirits even more evil are found in hypocrisy. One evil spirit is the spirit of stupidity, the other worse evil is the pretense of wisdom. The evil spirit of error, the other worse evil, is the pretense of truth. The evil spirit of foolhardiness, the other worse evil, is the pretense of counsel. The evil spirit of cowardice, the other worse evil, is the pretense of fortitude. The evil spirit of ignorance, the other worse evil, is the pretense of knowledge. The evil spirit of impiety, the other worse evil, is the pretense of piety. The evil spirit of pride, the other worse evil, is the pretense of fear. Seven were intolerable. Who will tolerate fourteen? Necessarily, therefore, when the pretense of truth is added to malice, the last state of that person becomes worse than the first. SERMON 72A.2. [4]

[1] Is 66:1.

[2] This is the usual symbolic meaning of the number seven, insofar as God completed the creation of the world in seven days.

[3] Is 11:2-3.

[4] MA 1:156-57; WSA 3 3:282-83.

THE SOULS OF THE LAWLESS

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: This is said with good reason. For when someone who has once been freed from evils loses self-control, he suffers a much worse fall than previously. For this reason “he passes through waterless places seeking rest.” This indicates how thoroughly the demons’ stratagem has taken hold of such a person—completely and absolutely. There are many reasons why such a person should have kept himself under control before it is too late. He has already suffered. He has been redeemed. The threat of a worse future punishment should be constraining. But none of these reasons has prevailed to make them better.

Now remember how the evil spirit inhabited the people when they were in Egypt, how they lived according to Egyptian customs and laws and became filled with all kinds of uncleanness. When they had been delivered by Moses and had received the law as a guide calling them to the light of true divine knowledge, the wicked and unclean spirit left them. But what happens when someone who has believed now disbelieves? The demons again take up their abode there with a vengeance. For just as the Holy Spirit, when he sees a person’s heart desisting from all uncleanness, abides and dwells and rests in that one, so also the unclean spirit likes to take lodging in the souls of the lawless. FRAGMENT 163. [1]

[1] MKGK 205-6.

12:46-48 | Who Is My Family?

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

APOLLINARIS: That “his brothers” did not yet believe in him we learn from John, [1] while from Mark [2] we have also heard something else: for his own family tried to lay hands on him, as though he were beside himself. [3] On account of their frame of mind, the Lord does not often mention them as his own family. He points instead to those who are obedient. To believers he applies all the terms of family relationship, those, namely, who had been joined to him in the kindred fellowship of obedience. Even if temporarily he had a quarrel with Mary, as Simeon had foretold when he had said “a sword shall pierce through your own soul,” she overcame these things, as was fitting, and the Lord graciously made mention of her at his passion and entrusted her to the beloved disciple. [4] FRAGMENT 75. [5]

[1] Jn 7:5.

[2] p. 238 n.2. Here too the recourse to parallel passages in the other Gospels (Mk 3:31; Jn 7:5) allows sharper clarification of the passage in question, in this case the hostility expressed toward Jesus by his relatives.

[3] Mk 3:21.

[4] Jn 19:27.

[5] MKGK 22-23.

12:49 | The Disciples Are Jesus’ Brothers

WHO IS MY MOTHER?

AUGUSTINE: Is it not true that the Virgin Mary did the Father’s will, she who believed in faith, conceived in faith and was chosen so that, through her, salvation could be born for us among humans and was begotten by Christ before Christ was begotten in her? Holy Mary carried out, plainly and clearly, the Father’s will. Therefore it is greater for Mary to have been a disciple of Christ than the mother of Christ. Indeed, it is greater and better to have been the disciple of Christ than the mother of Christ. Mary was therefore blessed because, even before she gave birth, she bore the Master in her womb. … Mary is holy and Mary is blessed, but the church is greater than the Virgin Mary. And why? Because Mary is a part of the church, a holy limb, an extraordinary limb, an outstanding limb, but she is only a limb of the whole body. If she is but a part of the whole body, greater indeed is the body than a limb. Christ is the head, and Christ is the entire head and body. What shall I say? We have a divine head. We have God as our head. SERMON 72A.7. [1]

[1] MA 1:162-63; WSA 3 3:287-88.

MY MOTHER AND MY BROTHERS

ANONYMOUS: The devil observed that Christ was persuading the people that he was the Son of God. He was saying, “Behold, something greater than Jonah is here,” [1] and “Behold, something greater than Solomon is here.” [2] The devil feared that if he who was considered only a man was acknowledged to be the Son of God, the devil would be abandoned by all. To refute Christ’s words, the devil slyly introduced Christ’s own relatives in the flesh. By focusing attention on them, he hoped to obscure the nature of Christ’s divinity. Thus someone came forward, the devil’s advocate as it were, who with human speech spoke diabolical words, saying, “Behold, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak to you.” He seemed to be saying, “Why are you boasting, Jesus, about how you came down from heaven, you who have roots on earth? “Behold, your mother and your brothers are standing outside.” He thus implied that he who has been brought forth by humans cannot be the Son of God. You cannot conceal the one who has been exposed by nature. Then Jesus looked at him who appeared to be a man but who was really the devil speaking. “And who is my mother and who are my brothers?” I have no relatives in this world, I who created the world before its very foundation. I do not know a beginning in the flesh (as Photinus believed), [3] I who was with God already at the beginning. What you see in me as merely a man is only my garment, not my [theandric] nature.

“And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers.’” Without denigrating the process of birth or being ashamed of embodiment as a human, Jesus gave that answer. He wanted to show that the spiritual [God-human] relationship must take precedence over the merely carnal relationship. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 30. [4]

[1] Mt 12:41.

[2] Mt 12:42.

[3] Photinus of Sirmium, a heretic of the fourth century, denied the personal existence of Christ as Logos, the Son of God prior to the incarnation.

[4] PG 56:791.

12:50 | The Will of My Father in Heaven

WHOEVER DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: He said these things, not in contempt of his mother and his brothers, but in order to show that he values more highly closeness of soul than any blood relation of body. For it was necessary to say this, both for those who thought that it was more important for him to interact with his own family, as well as for the instruction of those who were present. For just as he himself says to the disciples, “he who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,” [1] in the same way, I think, Jesus sets a higher value on his disciples than on his “mother and brothers.” FRAGMENT 71. [2]

[1] Mt 10:37.

[2] MKGK 119-20.

MY MOTHER THROUGH FAITH

GREGORY THE GREAT: If someone can become the brother of the Lord by coming to faith, we must ask how one can become also his mother. We must realize that the one who is Christ’s brother and sister by believing becomes his mother by preaching. It is as though one brings forth the Lord and infuses him in the hearts of one’s listeners. And that person becomes his mother if through one’s voice the love of the Lord is generated in the mind of his neighbor. FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 3.2. [1]

[1] PL 76:1086; CS 123:5-6 (Homily 1).