So damnable it is to be author of a Schism, (3) that we must rather forgive be it never so often. (5) We must he fervent in faith, and humble withal, knowing that we are bound to God, and not he to us. (11) The nine Jews are ungrateful after that he hath cured their leprosy: but the one Samaritan (the one Catholic Church of the Gentiles) far otherwise. (20) The Pharisees asking, when cometh this Kingdom of God (of whose approaching they had now heard so much) he teacheth that God must reign within us: (22) and warneth us after his Passion never to go out of his Catholic Church, for any new secret coming of Christ that Heretics shall pretend, but only to expect his second coming in glory, (26) preparing ourselves unto it, because it shall come upon many unprovided, (31) specially through the persecution of Antichrist a little before it.
AND he said to his Disciples: It is [a] impossible that scandal should not come: but woe to him by whom they come. 2It is more profitable for him, if a mill-stone be put about his neck, and he be cast into the sea, than that he scandalise one of these little ones. 3Look well to yourselves, * If thy brother sin against thee, rebuke him: and if he do penance, forgive him. 4And if he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day be converted unto thee, saying, It repenteth me, forgive him.
5And the Apostles said to our Lord: Increase faith in us. 6And our Lord said: * If you had faith like to a mustard-seed, you might say to this mulberry tree, be thou rooted up, and be transplanted into the sea; and it would obey you. 7And which of you having a servant ploughing or keeping cattle, that will say to him returning out of the field, Pass quickly, sit down; 8and saith not to him, Make ready supper, and gird thyself, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9Doth he give that servant thanks, for doing the things which he commanded him? 10I trow not: So you also, when you shall have done all things that are commanded you, say, We are • unprofitable servants; we have done that which we ought to do.
11And it came to pass, as he went unto Jerusalem, he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12And when he entered into a certain town, there met him ten men that were lepers, who stood a far off; 13and they lifted up their voice, saying: Jesus Master, have mercy on us. 14Whom as he saw, he said: Go, * show yourselves • to the Priests. And it came to pass, • as they went, they were made clean. 15And one of them as he saw that he was made clean, went back with a loud voice magnifying God, 16and he fell on his face before his feet, giving thanks: and this was a Samaritan. 17And Jesus answering said: Were not ten made clean? and where are the nine? 18There was not found that returned, and gave glory to God, but this stranger. 19And he said to him: Arise, go thy ways; because [b] thy faith hath made thee safe.
20And being asked of the Pharisees: when cometh the Kingdom of God? he answered them and said: The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21neither shall they say, Lo here, or lo there. For lo [c] the Kingdom of God is within you.
22And he said to his Disciples: The days will come when you shall desire to see one day of the Son of man; and you shall not see. 23 * And they will say to you, Lo here and lo there. [d] Go not, neither do ye follow after. 24For even as the lightning that lighteneth from under Heaven, unto those parts that are under Heaven, shineth: so shall the Son of man be in his day. 25But first he must suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. 26And as it came to pass in the * days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27They did eat and drink, they did marry wives and were given to marriage even until the day that Noe entered into the ark: and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28Likewise as it came to pass in the * days of Lot: They did eat and drink, bought and sold, planted, and builded: 29and in the day that Lot went out from Sodome, it rained fire and brimstone from Heaven, and destroyed them all: 30according to these things it shall be in the day that the Son of man shall be revealed. 31In that hour he that shall be in the house-top, and his vessel in the house, let him not go down to take them up: and he that is in the field, in like manner let him not return back. 32Be mindful of * Lot’s wife. 33Whosoever seeketh to save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever doth lose the same, shall quicken it. 34I say to you, in that night there shall be two in one bed: the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left; 35two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left; two in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 36They answering say to him: Where Lord? 37Who said to them: Wheresoever the body shall be, thither will the eagles also be gathered together.
Footnotes
- ↑ Not of mere necessity, for then it were no fault: but presupposing the great wickedness of men, it is impossible but there shall be scandals, and therefore it followeth, woe to him by whom they come.
- ↑ And yet we see here it was not only by faith, but also his thankfulness and returning to give glory to God.
- ↑ While they talk and look for a temporal Kingdom in pomp and glory, lo their King and Messias was now among them: whose spiritual Kingdom is within all the faithful that have dominion over sin.
- ↑ No man must run out of the Church after Schismatics to hear them preach Christ in corners, Christ’s doctrine being open in all the world. See annot. Mat. 24, 23.
ANNOTATIONS. CHAP. XVII.
↑ 10. Unprofitable servants.) If our Saviour had said that the keeping of God’s commandments had been unprofitable and not available to ourselves, then might the Protestant have truly argued thereby that our works deserve not Heaven or any reward at God’s hand: but so he said not, but that our service is to God unprofitable, who calleth for it as duty, and not as a thing needful or profitable to himself. And though here our Master teach us so humbly to conceive of our own doings toward him, yet himself elsewhere calleth not his servants unprofitable when they have done their labour, but speaketh thus, Good and faithful servant, because thou were faithful in a little, I will place thee over much: enter into the joy of thy Lord. Yea of such as serve him in the grace of the new Testament, he affirmeth that he will not now name them servants but friends, yea and take them for his own children, and as his friends and sons he counteth of us and our works towards heaven, though we in humility and truth must confess always that we be to him unprofitable servants. Yea and St. Paul saith plainly, that by cleansing ourselves from sinful works we shall be profitable vessels to our lord. 2 Tim. 2, 21.
↑ 14. To the priests.) This leprosy signifieth sin, which though God may and can heal without any man’s means, yet he doth it not ordinarily but by the Priest’s ministry: therefore let no man despise God’s ordinance, nor say that it is enough to confess to God though he never come at the Priest. Lib. de visit. infirm. apud August.
↑ 14. As they went.) A man may sometimes be so contrite and penitent, that his sin is forgiven before he come to the Priest, but then also he must notwithstanding go to the Priest, as these lepers did: specially whereas we are never sure how contrite we are, and because there is no true contrition, but with desire also of the Sacrament in time and place.
Margin Notes
- 11. The fourth part of this Ghospel. The coming of Christ into Jewry, towards his Passion.
- 11–19. The Ghospel upon the 13th Sunday after Pentecost.
- annot. 10. How we are unprofitable and profitable servants.
- annot 14. Confession to the Priest.
Margin References
- 1. Mat. 18, 7. Mar. 9, 42.
- 3. Mat. 18, 21.
- 6. Mat. 17, 20.
- 14. Lev. 14, 2.
- 23. Mat. 24, 23. Mar. 13, 21.
- 26. Gen. 7, 5.
- 28. Gen. 19, 24.
- 32. Gen. 19, 26.
- annot. 10. Mat. 25, 21.
- annot. 10. Joh. 14, 15.
