Caput IV
God's Mercy in the Midst of Punishment
God tempers every punishment of the righteous with mercy, as shown in the prophetic ministries of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, and in the preservation of a few who comfort the afflicted.
Our Judge is gentle and upright — mercy and justice mark every one of his ways — and so even in the very punishment he brings upon the righteous for their sins, he blends the soothing sweetness of mercy. This was shown even among the nations already mentioned. For when Judah was being held captive by the Israelites, a prophet was sent who rebuked the prince and secured the release of all the captives. And when that same Judah was being led into Babylon, God arranged for Ezekiel to go with him, to comfort the afflicted people. But Jeremiah, along with those who had remained in Jerusalem, chose to stay behind. And when those same people went down into Egypt — against his own prohibition — Jeremiah accompanied them. But even now, amid the daily pressures by which we are hemmed in — whether by the wicked or by evil Christians — it is certain that a few are preserved by God's will, through whom (whether by their example, their words, or even their prayers) the afflicted are comforted and their oppressors restrained. This happens by a truly wondrous dispensation: so that sins are punished through the affliction inflicted, and sinners are brought back to hope through the consolation granted them.
The Unfathomable Tenderness of God
God both pursues sin and protects sinners, warning them of deserved destruction even in anger, just as a mother disciplines yet rescues her child; therefore the apostolic task is to rebuke, comfort, and be patient with all.
O the unfathomable depths of God's tender mercy! God pursues our faults, and yet he protects sinners. So when the sons of Israel, after their offense against him, wanted to go up against their enemies, God forbade it through Moses, saying: Do not go up, do not fall — for I am not with you (Exod.✦ XIX, 12). He shows himself angry, and yet he warns them to beware of the destruction they deserved. So it usually goes: a mother is angry with her little one who has done wrong, she scolds him, and angry she strikes him — as though she didn't love him. But if she sees him heading for a precipice, she stretches out her hand, and so by loving him holds him back — as though in her anger she had never struck him at all. Wherefore, venerable Father, it remains for you — whom we believe God has reserved for this moment in time — to strive after that apostolic task: namely, to rebuke the restless, to comfort the faint-hearted, to support the weak, and so to be patient toward all.✦
Standing Firm in Solitude
Following Gregory, one must tolerate some wrongs with equanimity but resist others out of zeal for charity, remembering that Ezekiel and Jeremiah stood alone yet did not cease to speak.
You should tolerate certain plunderers with equanimity, following the blessed Gregory; but against certain others you should stand firm, out of zeal for preserving love.1 But don't complain about the scarcity of good brothers, because you should remember that Ezekiel stood alone, and Jeremiah stood alone, and yet they did not stop speaking.2
Read the original Latin
Judex noster dulcis et rectus est, universae viae ejus misericordia et judicium, et idcirco in ipsa animadversione sua, quam justis pro peccatis infert, blandimentum misericordiae dulcis intermiscet. Quod etiam in praefatis gentibus demonstratum est. Quando enim ab Israeliticis Juda captivabatur, missus est propheta, qui principem arguit, et omnes captivos relaxari fecit. Et cum idem Juda in Babyloniam duceretur, Ezechielem Deus cum eis proficisci fecit, qui afflictum populum consolaretur. Jeremiam autem cum reliquis qui in Hierusalem remanserant, stare voluit. Quos etiam in Aegyptum, licet super ejus interdictum descendentes, isdem Jeremias comitatus est. Sed et nunc inter quotidianas pressuras, quibus a paganis vel a malis Christianis cingimur, nonnullos quamvis paucos constat divinitus reservari, quorum aut exemplis, aut verbis, aut etiam precibus et afflicti consolentur, et afflictores reprimantur. Quod omnino mira dispensatione fit, ut peccata per illatam afflictionem puniantur, et peccatores per indultam consolationem ad spem referantur.
O ineffabilia divinae pietatis viscera! Deus culpas insequitur, et tamen peccatores protegit. Sic filios Israel, cum vellent post ejus offensionem contra hostes ascendere, per Moysen prohibuit, dicens: Ne ascendatis, ne cadatis: non enim sum vobiscum (Exod. XIX, 12). Iratum se indicat, et tamen ab interitu, quem merebantur, eos cavere monet. Sic plerumque parvulo suo delinquenti mater irascitur, increpat eum, et irata verberat, ac si non diligat. Sed si hunc in praeceps ire conspexerit, manum tendit, et sic diligendo retinet, ac si irata non verberasset. Quapropter, venerabilis Pater, superest, ut vos, quem articulo temporis hujus a Deo credimus reservatum, ad illud apostolicum studeatis, corripere videlicet inquietos, consolari pusillanimes, suscipere infirmos, et ita patientem esse ad omnes.
Beati Gregorii quosdam raptores aequanimiter toleretis: quibusdam vero sub studio servatae charitatis obvietis. Sed ne de raritate bonorum fratrum causemini, mementote quia solus erat Ezechiel, solus et Jeremias, et tamen non cessabant loqui.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Exod.19.12 — And you shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, 'Take heed not to go up on the mountain or touch its edge; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.'
- ↩1Thess.5.14 — And we urge you, brothers: admonish the disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient toward all.
Notes
- 1 ↩servatae charitatis: the genitive is ambiguous — it can mean 'for the sake of love preserved' (i.e., love already held) or 'for the sake of preserving love.' The translation opts for the active sense of guarding love as a motive for opposition.
- 2 ↩The argument draws on the prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah as examples of solitary faithfulness — the point being that even when good people are rare, one must not fall silent.
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