Held 1516.
Matth. 9, 1-8.
Then he got into the ship and crossed over again and came to his city. And, behold, they brought unto him a sick of the palsy, lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the sick of the palsy, "Be of good cheer, my son; your sins are forgiven you. And sifting, some of the scribes said within themselves: This one blasphemes God. But when Jesus saw their thoughts, he said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise and walk? But that ye might know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go home. And he arose and went home. When the people saw this, they marveled and praised God, who had given such power to man.
This gospel praises and mentions the faith of the king three times. First, as St. Gregory says, because he went to ask for his son; for if he had not believed, he would not have asked. Secondly, after he had obtained what he sought; for it is said, "The man believed the word," etc. since he had previously been reproached as an unbeliever of Christ, saying, "Where ye see not signs and wonders, ye believe not." Third, after he came home, when it was said, "He believed with all his house." In this are described to us the three degrees of faith, namely, beginning, increasing, and perfect.
2) The degree of beginning faith is that which arises from miracles and signs, or even from the great works of God, whether they be general or special; the like of which we see among the children of Israel in Egypt, and which is still seen every day when one believes the men of God who are famous before others in a known gift or work, if one, I say, believes them and God in them. This faith is always awakened by such signs, but one does not have to stop there. Thus, after hearing the miraculous deeds of Christ, the King has
*) Löscher I, 291; Erl. A. opx. var. arZ. I, 130 syq, D. Red.
He believed, but he stood there, and was reproached and accused by Christ for not believing; because if a man will not increase in faith, it is as much as if he did not believe at all; as those who believe no prelate, except they have been given a reason and a cause, or have been shown a sign, so that they may understand how it is possible, since faith ceases. Such were the Israelites in the wilderness: here the children of Israel are slain, but in the beginning the Egyptians were slain. Those who believed the works at first did not believe the words afterwards. They are therefore the fewest who increase in faith.
(3) Therefore, when a man believes the word alone, he believes without works. Just as here the royal, after hearing that signs and wonders were denied him, gave himself captive to the word of Christ and believed. Oh how many blows are necessary here, here, I say, before man comes to this faith! How often does he resist God? How often does he ask for signs? This faith is not attained and increased by speculation, but by life, which stands in practice and experience, namely: when God in many ways hinders man's counsel and breaks his mind, until he despairs of himself and his mind; then he learns to believe in God.
from the experience that he could not be governed by himself, and now surrenders himself voluntarily, is also willing to be led by God's word alone, because he has learned that he was not able to put his will into action either by his works or by his attempts. As Hos. 2:6, 7 says: "Therefore, behold, I will put thorns in thy way, and will put a wall before it; and they shall say: I will go back to my former way, when it was better for me than it is now." Through such obstacles man learns to despise his own mind and not to trust his own opinion; he learns to be ready and willing to believe another's mind, and thus to believe God and others gladly. He thus learns not to believe himself alone, to be suspicious of himself, and above all to beware of and fear himself. When this has happened, faith has been perfected.
4 For this is perfect faith, which not only seeks no works or words to satisfy and teach it, but is also ready to seek another guide, and is careful lest he be its own teacher.
(5) For when the first faith is established, the signs are presented in that men do not remember them nor seek them, but seek other and harmful things. In the other faith, however, the signs are withdrawn from those who seek them and want to have them, and on the other hand words are given, but likewise to those who neither seek nor want them. For by signs they are called back from the error of unbelief and from the errors of Egypt.
But through the words they are drawn away from the signs through the desert to the growth of faith. In the third faith, however, man does not ask for signs or words to be given to him, but offers himself without signs or words, even at the slightest movement of the will of him whom he has believed, to whom, if he knew him, he would be ready to serve in all things. He does what has happened to him: first he was sought and called, now he acts and calls himself. This faith has nothing more to believe in, because it is so perfect that it believes more than can be presented to it. For he offers himself completely, and excludes nothing at all; of this it is said in 1 Cor. 13:7: "Love believes everything," that is, it accepts everything that is there and everything that happens, so that it comes from God alone, and through his perfection he draws everything to God, and is ready to do everything that he wants to do in and with all things. Here his whole house believes, and the soul itself is transformed to some extent in faith, so that faith is, as it were, its whole life, understanding and reason etc. These three things are very properly described in this gospel: for since the king had increased in faith, believing the word and not heeding the sign, he is brought to perfect faith, in that when he went, his servants met him and proclaimed the Son's life; likewise, since he kept the hour of salvation against the words of Christ. What this means, we want to postpone now.