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Chapter 2SermC.1.2

Sermo 2

Burning Longing and Present Lukewarmness

The preacher is pierced with compunction as he contrasts the burning longing of the ancient fathers for Christ with the shameful lukewarmness of the present age, desiring the kiss of his mouth.

I am pierced with compunction and ashamed within myself when I think, again and again, about the burning longing the fathers had for the presence of Christ withdrawn from the flesh, and now I can barely hold back my tears, so thoroughly does the lukewarmness and sluggishness of these wretched times shame me. For this outpouring of grace bestows as much joy on us of the present as its promise had once kindled desire in the saints of old. Look at how many will rejoice in this Nativity of hers, which is soon to be celebrated! But would that the rejoicing were about the Nativity, not about vanity! So that burning desire and the affection of a devout expectation breathe this voice to me: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.✦ Whoever could be spiritual at that time had surely perceived in the spirit how great the grace poured out on those lips would be. That is why, speaking out of a soul's longing, I would say: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth — desiring, assuredly, in every way not to be deprived of a share in such great sweetness.✦

Away with Prophets — Let Him Kiss Me

Rejecting the half-uttered words of Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, the soul insists that Christ himself speak and kiss her with the kiss of his mouth, that grace may flow as living water.

For the perfect one was saying to me: What good are these half-uttered mouths of the prophets? Let him himself — beautiful in form beyond the sons of men — let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.✦ I no longer listen to Moses, since he has become impeded in speech to me.1 Isaiah's lips are unclean; Jeremiah cannot speak, because he is a boy; and all the prophets are tongue-tied.✦✦2 Let him himself — the one they speak of — let him speak; let him himself kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. Let him no longer speak to me in them or through them, since dark water is in the clouds of the air; but let him himself kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, whose gracious presence and the wondrous streams of teaching may become in me a fountain of water leaping into eternal life.✦✦3 The one the Father anointed with the oil of gladness before his companions — wouldn't grace be poured out more richly to me from him?✦✦✦4 If only he would deign to kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.

What the Kiss Truly Is

The kiss of his mouth is not a joining of lips but an outpouring of joys, a revelation of secrets, and the intimate mingling of heavenly light with the illumined mind, uniting the soul to God as one spirit.

The living and effective word of him whose kiss is to me assuredly not a joining of lips, which sometimes falsely claims peace of souls, but clearly an outpouring of joys, a revelation of secrets, a wondrous and, in a certain way, intimate mingling of heavenly light and an illumined mind. For whoever clings to God is one spirit.✦ Rightly therefore I do not receive visions and dreams; I refuse figures and enigmas; I even disdain angelic sights themselves. For Jesus my Lord far surpasses even these in his own beauty and splendor. Not therefore do I seek another, whether angel or man, but him himself to be kissed by me with the kiss of his mouth. Nor indeed do I presume to be kissed by his mouth (for this belongs to the unique blessedness and singular prerogative of the humanity assumed); but more humbly I seek to be kissed by the kiss of his mouth, which is common indeed to many, who are able to say, And we have all received from his fullness.✦

The Mediator's Kiss and Our Humble Boldness

The kiss is the person of Christ Jesus, the mediator formed of the Word assuming flesh, in which God is united to humanity and peace is made between heaven and earth.

Pay attention. Let the mouth that kisses be the Word, assuming; the thing kissed, the flesh that is assumed: and the kiss itself — that which is made equally by the one kissing and the one kissed — is the very person formed from both, the mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus.✦ For this reason, none of the saints presumed to say, 'Let him kiss me with his own mouth,' but only, 'with the kiss of his mouth': they themselves, of course, safeguarding that prerogative to which the mouth of the Word was uniquely and once impressed — when the fullness of all divinity was granted to him bodily.✦ Blessed kiss, and wonderful in its astonishing condescension, in which not mouth is pressed to mouth, but God is united to humanity. There, indeed, the touching of lips signifies the embrace of souls; but here, the joining of natures unites human things with divine things — making peace between what is on earth and what is in the heavens. For he himself is our peace, who made both one.✦ For this kiss, then, every holy person of ancient times sighed — because they perceived that joy and exultation were stored up for him, and all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in him — and they themselves desired to receive from his fullness.✦✦

Prophetic Foreknowledge of Christ's Peace

Even before the Savior's coming, the saints knew God was thinking thoughts of peace, proclaiming that Christ would come in the flesh and that through his grace confidence would be restored.

I understand you're pleased by what's said — but accept another meaning. It didn't escape the saints, even before the Savior's coming, that God was thinking thoughts of peace over the human race. For he would not have made his Word upon the earth without revealing it to his servants the prophets. Yet this Word was hidden from many. For in that time faith was rare in the world, and hope was very faint even among many of those who were awaiting the redemption of Israel. But those who foreknew it were themselves proclaiming that Christ would come in the flesh, and that peace would come with him. So some of them said: 'And there will be peace in our land when he comes.' Indeed, they proclaimed that through him, by the grace of God, people would recover confidence entirely, just as they had received it from God's own hand.

Grace and Truth Fulfilled

John the Forerunner bore witness that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ, and the whole Christian people now experiences this to be true.

Because John, the Lord's forerunner, also recognized in his own time that this had been fulfilled, and bore witness to it, saying, 'Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ' — and so all Christian people now experience it as true.✦

A People Impatient with Delay

While prophets announced peace and the Author of peace delayed, the people's faith wavered, they complained about false messengers, and they demanded a sign — let him kiss me and so give secure peace.

But while they were announcing peace, and the author of peace was delaying, the people's faith wavered, because there was no one to redeem them, nor anyone to save them.✦ And so people complained about the delays, because the prince of peace had been announced so many times and still hadn't come, just as he had spoken through the mouth of the saints who have been from eternity, his prophets. And because they were suspicious of the promises, they demanded a sign of the promised reconciliation, which is a kiss—as if anyone from the people might reply to the messengers of peace, "How long will you take away our souls?"✦5 "You've been preaching peace for a long time now, and it hasn't come; you promise good things, and there's still turmoil.✦ Look, this very thing the angels announced to the fathers in many ways and by many means, and our fathers announced to us, saying: 'Peace, peace,' and there is no peace."✦ If God wants me to be convinced that he is answering with such frequent embassies from the good pleasure of his will, and yet doesn't deliver—let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, and so make me secure in peace by a sign of peace.✦ For how am I to believe mere words now? Words need to be confirmed by action more than ever. Let God prove his truthful messengers (if indeed they are his messengers) and follow them himself, as they have often promised, because without him they can do nothing.✦

The Prophet Must Come Down

Despite embassies and signs, there is no voice or life unless the Prophet himself comes down and kisses me with the kiss of his mouth.

He sent the boy, he took the staff, and still there is no voice, nor any life. I don't rise up, I'm not raised, I'm not shaken from the dust, I don't breathe into hope, unless the Prophet himself comes down and kisses me with the kiss of his mouth.✦

Confidence in a Brother-Mediator

Acknowledging human worthlessness before God, the soul yet dares to ask for a covenant of peace through the kiss, pleading that the Son empty and humble himself to kiss her.

Beyond all this, the one among us who claims to be a mediator to God is the Son of God, and he is God. And what is man, that he should be known to him, or the son of man, that he should regard him? What confidence do I have, that I should dare to entrust myself to such great majesty? How, I ask, should I, dust and ashes, presume that God has any concern for me?✦ For these things he loves his own Father, but he has no need of me, and he has no need of my honors. How then can it be established for me, that my mediator is in no way partial? Nevertheless, if, as you say, God has truly decreed to show mercy, and is still thinking of how to be more well-pleased; let him establish a covenant of peace, and strike a perpetual treaty with me by a kiss of his mouth.✦ So that whatever proceeds from his lips, he may not make it void; let him empty himself, let him humble himself, let him bow himself down, and let him kiss me with a kiss of his mouth.✦✦

Receiving the Mediator without Fear

The Son of God became son of man so that the mediator might be equally balanced, giving the soul confident faith, for he is now her brother and her own flesh.

So that the mediator might stand equally between both sides and be suspect to neither, the Son of God becomes a man, becomes a son of man, and in this kiss of his own mouth he gives me back a sure confidence. Without fear I receive the mediator, the Son of God — the one I recognize and claim as my own. He'll plainly never be suspect to me again: he is my brother and my own flesh. For I believe he will never despise me now — bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.

Ancient Longing and Murmuring

The ancient longing demanded the mystery of the Word made flesh while faith wore down and a faithless people murmured, yet prophetic voices cried for reward, raised up old prayers, and promised the Lord would come and not delay.

So the ancient longing was demanding this most holy kiss — the mystery of the Word becoming flesh — while faith, worn down by a long and painful wait, was giving out, and a faithless people, overcome by weariness, were murmuring against the promises of God. This is my own finding — unless you too recognize the same thing from the Scriptures. It was from there that those complaints arose, and those voices full of murmuring: 'Command, command again; wait, wait a little longer — just a little longer there.' And from there those anxious prayers, full of compassion: 'Give the reward, Lord, to those who wait for you, so that your prophets may be found faithful.' And again: 'Raise up, Lord, the prayers that your earlier prophets spoke in your name.' And from there those gentle promises, brimming with consolation: 'Look, the Lord will appear, and he will not prove false. If he delays, wait for him — because the one who is coming will come, and he will not be slow.'✦ And again: 'The time is near for him to come, and its day will not be far off.' And in the voice of the promise: 'Look, I am coming toward you like a river of peace, and like a flooding torrent of the nations' glory.'✦

Angels of Peace Weeping

The people grumbled, faith wavered, and the angels of peace wept bitterly, yet the saints longed for the assurance of Christ's bodily presence to keep the race from perishing in despair.

In these words there's plenty of evidence both for the urgency of the preachers and for the distrust of the people. And so the people grumbled and faith wavered, and, as Isaiah prophesied, the angels of peace wept bitterly.✦ So that the whole human race wouldn't perish in despair while Christ delayed — since weak mortality suspected it was being despised and distrusted the grace of reconciliation with God so often promised — the saints, who were certain in spirit, longed for the assurance of his bodily presence, and with all urgency they sought the sign of peace being restored for the sake of the fainthearted and the unbelieving.6

The Sign for the Peoples

The Root of Jesse stands as a sign for the peoples; kings and prophets longed to see it, Simeon received the kiss of peace, yet the sign of peace was opposed and became a stone of stumbling.

O root of Jesse, who stand as a sign for the peoples!✦ How many kings and prophets longed to see you, and did not see!✦ Yet blessed among them all is Simeon, whose old age was rich in mercy!✦ He rejoiced, then, to see the sign he had longed for: he saw, and was glad; and having received the kiss of peace, he was dismissed in peace — yet before that, openly proclaiming that Jesus was born as a sign destined to be opposed.✦ So it was, entirely. The sign of peace, once it arose, was opposed — but by those who hate peace. For peace is given to people of good will; to the wicked, however, it becomes a rock of stumbling and a stone of offense (ibid.✦✦ , 14). Herod, in the end, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him — for he came to his own, and his own did not receive him.✦✦

The Humble Shepherds and the Hidden Sign

The humble shepherds keeping night watch were counted worthy to see the sign, for Christ hid from the wise and revealed himself to little ones, granting the sign of peace only to those of good will.

Happy are those shepherds, spending the night on watch, who have been counted worthy to see this sign. Even then he was hiding from the wise and the prudent, and revealing himself to the little ones. And Herod wanted to see it; but because his will was not good, he did not merit it. For it was a sign of peace, given only to people of good will; to Herod and those like him will be given only the sign of the prophet Jonah. Then to the shepherds: 'And this,' the angel said, 'is a sign for you; for you who are humble, for you who are obedient, for you who are not wise in high things, for you who are watchful and meditate on God's law day and night: this,' he said, 'is a sign for you.' What? What the angels had promised, what the people had longed for, what the prophets had foretold, this the Lord has now done and shows you, in which the faithless may receive faith, the faint-hearted may receive hope, and the mature may receive confidence. This, then, is the sign for you. The sign of what?

The Manger Sign and Cosmic Peace

The sign is an infant in a manger, yet in him God reconciles the world; the sign once offered to Ahaz joins lowest and highest in peace, as the Lord descended and ascended to share the holy kiss with all.

Of pardon, of grace, of peace — and of peace that will have no end. This, then, is the sign: you will find an infant wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.✦ Yet in him God was reconciling the world to himself.✦ He will die for your sins and rise again for your justification, so that, justified through faith, you may have peace with God.✦✦ The prophet once offered this sign of peace to King Ahaz, to be sought from the Lord his God — whether on high above, or in the depths below.✦ But the godless king refused, wretched in his unbelief, because in this sign the lowest and the highest were to be joined together in peace: so that those below might also receive the sign of peace in the holy kiss as the Lord descended for their salvation, and the spirits above might likewise share in it when he returned to heaven, partaking of eternal sweetness.✦✦

Summary: The Kiss Given for Faith and Longing

The holy kiss was granted to build up the weak and satisfy the perfect, and it is nothing other than the mediator of God and humanity, Christ Jesus, who lives and reigns through all ages.

The sermon must draw to a close, but let me briefly gather into a summary what has been argued in it: it's clear that this holy kiss was granted to the world necessarily for two reasons — both to build up faith in the weak and to satisfy the longing of the perfect. Furthermore, the kiss itself is nothing other than the mediator of God and humanity, the man Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God through all the ages of ages, Amen.✦✦

Read the original Latin

Ardorem desiderii Patrum suspirantium Christi a carne praesentiam frequentissime cogitans, compungor et confundor in memetipso; et nunc vix contineo lacrymas, ita pudet teporis torporisque miserabilium temporum horum. Cui namque nostrum tantum ingerat gaudium gratiae huius exhibitio, quantum sanctis veteribus accenderat desiderium promissio? Ecce enim quam multi in hac eius, quae proxime celebranda est, Nativitate gaudebunt! sed utinam de nativitate, non de vanitate! Illorum ergo desiderium flagrans et piae exspectationis affectum spirat mihi vox ista: Osculetur me osculo oris sui. Senserat nimirum in spiritu, quisquis tunc spiritualis esse poterat, quanta foret gratia diffusa in labiis illis. Propterea loquens in desiderio animae aiebat, Osculetur me osculo oris sui; nimirum omnimodis cupiens tantae suavitatis participio non fraudari.

Dicebat enim perfectus quisque: Quo mihi ora haec seminiverbia prophetarum? Ipse potius speciosus forma prae filiis hominum, ipse me osculetur osculo oris sui. Non audio iam Moysen: impeditioris siquidem linguae factus est mihi. Isaiae labia immunda sunt : Ieremias nescit loqui, quia puer est : et Prophetae omnes elingues sunt. Ipse, ipse quem loquuntur, ipse loquatur: ipse me osculetur osculo oris sui. Non in eis iam, aut per eos loquatur mihi, quoniam tenebrosa aqua in nubibus aeris: sed ipse me osculetur osculo oris sui, cuius gratiosa praesentia, et admirandae fluenta doctrinae fiant in me fons aquae salientis in vitam aeternam. Quem unxit Pater oleo laetitiae prae consortibus suis, nunquid non ex ipso mihi uberior infunditur gratia? si tamen dignetur me osculari osculo oris sui.

Cuius utique sermo vivus et efficax osculum mihi est, non quidem coniunctio labiorum, quae interdum pacem mentitur animorum; sed plane infusio gaudiorum, revelatio secretorum, mira quaedam et quodam modo indiscreta commixtio superni luminis et illuminatae mentis. Adhaerens quippe Deo, unus spiritus est. Merito proinde visiones et somnia non recipio, figuras et aenigmata nolo; ipsas quoque angelicas fastidio species. Quippe et ipsos longe superat Iesus meus specie sua et pulchritudine sua. Non ergo alium sive angelum, sive hominem, sed ipsum peto osculari me osculo oris sui. Nec sane praesumo me osculatum iri ab ore ipsius (est enim hoc assumpti hominis unicae felicitatis et praerogativae singularis); sed humilius ab osculo oris sui peto me osculari, quod commune utique est multorum, qui dicere possunt, Et nos omnes de plenitudine eius accepimus.

Intendite. Sit os osculans, Verbum assumens; osculatum, caro quae assumitur: osculum vero, quod pariter ab osculante et osculato conficitur, persona ipsa scilicet ex utroque compacta, mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus Iesus. Hac ergo ratione sanctorum nemo dicere praesumebat, Osculetur me ore suo; sed tantum, Osculo oris sui: ipsi sane servantes praerogativam istam, cui singulariter semelque os Verbi impressum tunc est, cum ei se corporaliter plenitudo omnis divinitatis indulsit. Felix osculum, ac stupenda dignatione mirabile, in quo non os ori imprimitur, sed Deus homini unitur. Et ibi quidem contactus labiorum complexum significat animorum: hic autem confoederatio naturarum divinis humana componit, quae in terra sunt, et quae in coelis pacificans. Ipse est enim pax nostra, qui fecit utraque unum. Ad hoc igitur osculum sanctus quisque antiqui temporis suspirabat; eo quod iucunditatem et exsultationem thesaurizari super eum, et thesauros omnes sapientiae et scientiae in ipso absconditos praesentirent, cuperentque et ipsi de plenitudine eius accipere.

Sentio, placet vobis quod dicitur: sed accipite et alium sensum. Non latuit sanctos et ante adventum salvatoris, Deum super mortalium genus cogitare cogitationes pacis. Nec enim faceret verbum super terram, quod non revelaret servis suis prophetis. Erat tamen verbum hoc absconditum a multis. Fuit namque in tempore illo rara fides in terris, et tenuis admodum spes in pluribus quoque illorum qui exspectabant redemptionem Israel. Qui vero praesciebant, ipsi et praedicebant Christum in carne venturum, et cum ipso pacem. Unde quidam eorum: Et pax erit, inquit, in terra nostra, cum venerit. Imo per ipsum Dei gratiam homines recuperaturos cum omni fiducia, sicut divinitus acceperant, praedicabant.

Quod et praecursor Domini Ioannes suo tempore impletum agnovit, et perhibuit: Gratia, inquiens, et veritas per Iesum Christum facta est : et ita verum esse omnis nunc Christianus populus experitur.

Caeterum illis praenuntiantibus pacem, moram autem faciente auctore pacis, nutabat populi fides, dum non erat qui redimeret, neque qui salvum faceret. Itaque causabantur homines moras, quod ille toties nuntiatus necdum veniret princeps pacis, sicut locutus fuerat per os sanctorum, qui a saeculo sunt, prophetarum eius: et suspectas habentes promissiones, signum promissae reconciliationis, quod est osculum, flagitabant; ac si nuntiis pacis unus quilibet de populo responderet, Quousque tollitis animas nostras? Iam olim praedicitis pacem, et non venit; promittitis bona, et adhuc turbatio. Ecce hoc ipsum multifarie, multisque modis et angeli patribus, et patres nostri annuntiarunt nobis dicentes: Pax, pax; et non est pax. Si mihi vult esse persuasum Deus, quod de suae beneplacito voluntatis tam crebra iam legatione respondet, nec exhibet; osculetur me osculo oris sui, sicque in signo pacis faciat de pace securum. Nam verbis iam quomodo credam? Opus magis est opere verba firmari. Probet veridicos nuntios suos Deus (si tamen nuntii eius sunt), et sequatur eos ipse, ut saepius promiserunt, quia sine ipso possunt facere nihil.

Misit puerum, tulit baculum, et necdum est vox neque vita. Non surgo, non suscitor, non excutior de pulvere, non respiro in spem, si non propheta ipse descendat, et osculetur me osculo oris sui.

Huc accedit, quod is qui nostrum profitetur se mediatorem ad Deum, Dei Filius est, et Deus est. Et quid est homo ut innotescat ei, aut filius hominis ut reputet eum? Quae mihi fiducia, ut tantae me audeam credere maiestati? Unde, inquam, terra et cinis praesumo Deum curam habere mei? Ad haec diligit Patrem suum, me vero opus non habet, honorum meorum non eget. Unde ergo constabit mihi, quod mediator meus in parte nequaquam sit? Tamen si vere, ut dicitis, decrevit misereri Deus, cogitatque ut complacitior sit adhuc; statuat testamentum pacis, et foedus perpetuum feriat mihi in osculo oris sui. Ut quae procedunt de labiis suis, non faciat irrita; exinaniat se, humiliet se, inclinet se, et osculetur me osculo oris sui.

Ut ex aequo partibus congruens mediator neutri suspectus sit, Deus Filius Dei fiat homo, fiat filius hominis, et certum me reddat in hoc osculo oris sui. Securus suscipio mediatorem Dei Filium, quem agnosco et meum. Minime plane iam mihi suspectus erit: frater enim et caro mea est. Puto enim, spernere me iam non poterit, os de ossibus meis, et caro de carne mea.

Ita ergo vetus querela sacrosanctum osculum, id est incarnandi Verbi mysterium, exigebat, dum longa et molesta exspectatione fatigata fides deficeret, et infidelis populus adversus promissa Dei victus taedio murmuraret. Adinventio mea est, si non hoc idem et vos recognoscitis de Scripturis. Inde profecto erant querulae illae et plenae murmure voces: Manda, remanda; Exspecta, reexspecta, Modicum ibi, modicum ibi. Inde anxiae illae et plenae pietate preces: Da mercedem, Domine, sustinentibus te, ut prophetae tui fideles inveniantur. Item: Suscita, Domine, precationes; quas locuti sunt in nomine tuo prophetae priores. Inde blandae illae et plene consolatione promissiones: Ecce apparebit Dominus, et non mentietur: si moram fecerit, exspecta eum; quia veniens veniet, et non tardabit. Item: Prope est ut veniat tempus eius, et dies eius non elongabuntur. Et ex persona promissi: Ecce ego, inquit, declino in vos ut flumen pacis, et ut torrens inundans gloriae gentium.

In quibus verbis satis apparet et praedicatorum instantia, et diffidentia populorum. Sic itaque et plebs murmurabat, et fides nutabat; et, iuxta Isaiae vaticinium: Angeli pacis amare flebant. Ne ergo universum genus humanum, moram faciente Christo, desperatione periret, dum se contemni suspicaretur infirma mortalitas, suaeque reconciliationis cum Deo de gratia toties repromissa diffideret; sancti qui de spiritu certi erant, certitudinem de carnis praesentia exoptabant, ac signum reformandae pacis propter pusillanimes et incredulos omni instantia requirebant.

O radix Iesse, qui stas in signum populorum! Quam multi reges et prophetae voluerunt te videre, et non viderunt! Felix tamen ex omnibus Simeon, cuius senectus in misericordia uberi! Is nempe exultavit ut videret desiderii signum: et vidit, et gavisus est; acceptoque osculo pacis in pace dimittitur, ante tamen aperte pronuntians, Iesum esse natum in signum, cui contradicendum erat. Omnino ita fuit. Contradictum est exorto signo pacis, sed ab his qui oderunt pacem: nam pax hominibus bonae voluntatis, malevolis autem petra scandali, et lapis offensionis (ibid. , 14). Herodes denique turbatus est, et omnis Ierosolyma eum illo : siquidem in propria venit, et sui eum non receperunt.

Felices illi in sua pernoctatione pastores, qui signi huius visione digni habiti sunt. Iam tunc se abscondebat a sapientibus et prudentibus, et revelabat parvulis. Et Herodes videre voluit; sed quia non bona voluntate, non meruit, pacis siquidem signum erat, datum tantum hominibus bonae voluntatis; Herodi vero et similibus eius non dabitur nisi signum Ionae prophetae. Porro ad pastores: Et hoc, ait angelus vobis signum; vobis humilibus, vobis obedientibus, vobis non alta sapientibus, vobis vigilantibus, et in lege Dei meditantibus die ac nocte: Hoc, inquit, vobis signum. Quod? Quod angeli promittebant, quod populi requirebant, quod prophetae praedixerant, hoc fecit Dominus nunc, et ostendit vobis, in quo recipiant increduli fidem, pusillanimes spem, perfecti securitatem. Hoc ergo vobis signum. Cuius rei signum?

Indulgentiae, gratiae, pacis, et pacis cuius non erit finis. Hoc est ergo signum: Invenietis infantem pannis quidem involutum, et positum in praesepio. Deus est tamen in ipso mundum reconcilians sibi. Morietur propter peccata vestra, et resurget propter iustificationem vestram, ut iustificati per fidem, pacem habeatis ad Deum. Hoc signum pacis propheta quondam regi Achaz proponebat petendum a Domino Deo suo, sive in excelso supra, sive in inferno deorsum. Sed impius rex recusavit, non credens miser quod in signo hoc ima summis in pace socianda essent: quatenus et inferi Domino descendente saluti, in osculo sancto signum pacis et ipsi recipiant; et superni spiritus idipsum nihilominus, cum ad coelos redierit, aeterna suavitate participent.

Sermo finiendus est: sed ut quod in eo disputatum est, brevi recolligam summa, patet hoc sanctum osculum duabus ex causis necessarie indultum mundo, ut et infirmis faceret fidem, et desiderio satisfaceret perfectorum: porro ipsum osculum esse non aliud quam mediatorem Dei et hominum, hominem Iesum Christum, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum, Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Song.1.1 — The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's.
  2. ↩Song.1.1 — The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's.
  3. ↩Song.1.2 — Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.
  4. ↩Isa.6.5 — And I said, 'Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.'
  5. ↩Jer.1.6 — Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth."
  6. ↩John.4.10-John.4.14 — Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." John.4.11 — The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where then do you get that living water?" John.4.12 — Surely you are not greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his livestock? John.4.13 — Jesus answered her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again." John.4.14 — but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst forever; rather, the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life
  7. ↩John.7.38 — The one who believes in me, just as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him.
  8. ↩Ps.44.8 — For you saved us from our enemies, and those who hated us you put to shame.
  9. ↩Heb.1.9 — You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.
  10. ↩Acts.10.38 — Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.
  11. ↩1Cor.6.17 — But the one who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
  12. ↩John.1.16 — For from his fullness we all received, grace upon grace.
  13. ↩1Tim.2.5 — For there is one God and one mediator between God and humankind, the man Christ Jesus,
  14. ↩Col.2.9 — For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
  15. ↩Eph.2.14 — For he himself is our peace, who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of hostility
  16. ↩Col.2.3 — in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
  17. ↩John.1.16 — For from his fullness we all received, grace upon grace.
  18. ↩John.1.17 — For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
  19. ↩Isa.59.16 — He saw that there was no man, and he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm brought him salvation, and his own righteousness sustained him.
  20. ↩Isa.57.16 — For I will not contend forever, nor will I be angry always; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life I myself have made.
  21. ↩Ezek.13.10;Jer.6.14 — Because, indeed because they have led my people astray, saying, 'Peace,' when there is no peace, and when one builds a flimsy wall, they plaster it with whitewash. Jer.6.14 — They have treated the brokenness of my people superficially, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace.
  22. ↩Jer.6.14;Jer.8.11 — They have treated the brokenness of my people superficially, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. Jer.8.11 — They have healed the wound of my people carelessly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace.
  23. ↩Song.1.1 — The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's.
  24. ↩John.15.5 — I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in me, and I in him, this one bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing.
  25. ↩Song.1.1 — The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's.
  26. ↩Gen.18.27 — Then Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have now ventured to speak to the Lord, though I am but dust and ashes."
  27. ↩Song.1.2 — Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.
  28. ↩Phil.2.6-Phil.2.8 — who, existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to exploit, Phil.2.7 — but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and appearing as a human being. Phil.2.8 — And he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
  29. ↩Song.1.2 — Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.
  30. ↩Hab.2.3;Isa.30.18;Heb.10.37 — For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it hastens toward the end and will not prove false. Though it tarries, wait for it — it will surely come; it will not delay. Isa.30.18 — Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you; therefore he rises to show you mercy, for the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him. Heb.10.37 — For yet a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay.
  31. ↩Isa.66.12 — For thus says the LORD: Behold, I am extending peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried on her side, and you shall be bounced on her knees.
  32. ↩Isa.33.7 — Behold, their brave ones cry out in the streets; the messengers of peace weep bitterly.
  33. ↩Isa.11.10 — And in that day the Root of Jesse, who stands as a banner for the peoples — the nations will seek him, and his resting place will be glory.
  34. ↩Matt.13.17 — Truly, for I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and they did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and they did not hear it.
  35. ↩Luke.2.25-Luke.2.35 — And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. Luke.2.26 — And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Luke.2.27 — And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, Luke.2.28 — and he received him into his arms and blessed God and said, Luke.2.29 — Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace. Luke.2.30 — that my eyes have seen your salvation Luke.2.31 — which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples Luke.2.32 — a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel. Luke.2.33 — And his father and his mother were marveling at the things being spoken concerning him. Luke.2.34 — And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed.' Luke.2.35 — and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
  36. ↩Luke.2.34 — And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed.'
  37. ↩Isa.8.14 — And he will become a sanctuary, but also a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both houses of Israel, a snare and a trap to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
  38. ↩Luke.2.34 — And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed.'
  39. ↩Matt.2.3 — But when King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
  40. ↩John.1.11 — He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
  41. ↩Luke.2.12 — And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
  42. ↩2Cor.5.19 — that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation.
  43. ↩Rom.5.1 — Therefore, having been justified by faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
  44. ↩Rom.4.25 — who was handed over because of our trespasses and was raised because of our justification.
  45. ↩Isa.7.10-Isa.7.14 — Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying, Isa.7.11 — Ask a sign from the LORD your God — ask it deep in the depths or high in the heights above. Isa.7.12 — But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not test the LORD." Isa.7.13 — And he said, "Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough that you weary men, that you also weary my God?" Isa.7.14 — Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Look, the young woman will conceive and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel.
  46. ↩Rom.16.16;1Pet.5.14 — Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. 1Pet.5.14 — Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
  47. ↩Eph.4.8-Eph.4.10 — Therefore it says, 'When he ascended on high he led captivity captive, and he gave gifts to men.' Eph.4.9 — Now "he ascended"—what does it mean except that he also descended into the lower regions, the earth? Eph.4.10 — The one who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.
  48. ↩Song.1.2 — Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.
  49. ↩1Tim.2.5 — For there is one God and one mediator between God and humankind, the man Christ Jesus,

Notes

  1. 1 ↩impeditioris linguae: comparative genitive; sense is that Moses' speech is halting or insufficient compared with Christ's living word.
  2. 2 ↩elingues: rare form meaning 'speechless' or 'tongue-tied'; the prophets are presented as unable to express the mystery of Christ.
  3. 3 ↩tenebrosa aqua in nubibus aeris: image of obscure, insufficient prophetic teaching compared with the clear living water of Christ.
  4. 4 ↩Rhetorical question expecting an affirmative answer; uberior gratia = more abundant grace flowing from Christ the Anointed.
  5. 5 ↩The phrase "Quousque tollitis animas nostras?" likely echoes Isaiah 57:16 or similar prophetic laments regarding the taking away of life/spirit.
  6. 6 ↩The causal cum ('since') links weak mortality's suspicion and distrust to the fear of universal despair; the logic is compressed and could also be read temporally ('while').

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