one of you on the Sabbath-day loose his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead them to water? And ought not this daughter of Abraham whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath-day? And when He said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed and all the people rejoiced for all the things that were gloriously done by Him.” 3. THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD-SEED AND THE LEAVEN "He said therefore: To what is the kingdom of God like, and whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like to a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took and cast into his garden, and it grew, and became a great tree: and the birds of the air lodged in the branches thereof. And again he said: Whereunto shall I esteem the kingdom of God to be like? It is like to leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." The kingdom of Christ-of grace and truth-will flourish far and wide; and like a stately tree, it will shelter the human family beneath its vivifying branches. And yet the number of those who will pass safely through this terrestrial kingdom of truth and grace, to the realms of eternal happiness, will be, as Christ had already affirmed, very small; small in proportion to the lavish expenditure of saving grace; small in proportion to the earnest and longing desire of the Good Shepherd, who wishes to gather all the lost sheep into one fold; small in proportion to the vast realms of everlasting joy to which all are called in Christ. Our souls shudder at the sight of this small number of the saved, and recall the admonition to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. But we are encouraged when we remember the consoling words of St. James: "Mercy exalteth itself above justice" (St. James ii. 13). 4. THE SMALL NUMBER OF THE SAVED. DAY OF JUDGMENT. HEROD, THE FOX. THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM "And He went through the cities and towns teaching, and making His journey to Jerusalem. And a certain man said to Him: Lord, are they few that are saved? But He said to them: Strive to enter by the narrow gate: for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able. But when the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut to the door, you shall begin to stand without, and knock at the door, saying: Lord, open to us: and He answering shall say to you: I know you not whence you are: Then you shall begin to say: We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets. And He shall say to you: I know you not whence you are: depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth: when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And there shall come from the east and the west and the north and the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And behold they are last that shall be first, and they are first that shall be last. The same day there came some of the Pharisees, saying to Him: Depart and get thee hence, for Herod hath a mind to kill Thee. And He said to them: Go, and tell that fox: Behold I cast out devils, and do cures to-day and to-morrow,' and the third day I am consummated. Nevertheless I must walk to-day and to-morrow and the day following: because it can not be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent to thee, how often would I have gathered thy children as the bird doth her brood under her wings, and thou wouldst not? Behold your house shall be left to you desolate. And I say to you, that you shall not see Me till the time come when you shall say: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." CHAPTER XLIII JESUS CURES THE DROPSICAL MAN ON THE SAB- Luke xiv.; xv.; xvi. 13 1. THE CASE OF DROPSY. THE PHARISEES' HYPOCRISY IN REGARD TO THE SABBATH. THE PRIDE OF THE PHARISEES. THEY SEEK HIGH PLACES "AND it came to pass when Jesus went into the house of 'That is to say, in a short time my hour to die upon the cross shall come. one of the chief of the Pharisees on the Sabbath-day to eat bread, that they watched Him. And behold there was a certain man before Him that had the dropsy. And Jesus answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying: Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath-day? But they held their peace. But He taking him, healed him, and sent him away. And answering them, He said: Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fall into a pit, and will not immediately draw him out on the Sabbath-day? And they could not answer Him to these things. And He spoke a parable also to them that were invited, marking how they chose the first seats at the table, saying to them: When thou art invited to a wedding, sit not down in the first place, lest perhaps one more honorable than thou be invited by him. And he that invited thee and him come and say to thee: Give this man place: and then thou begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when thou art invited, go, sit down in the lowest place: that when he who invited thee cometh, he may say to thee: Friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have glory before them that sit at table with thee: because every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted." : 2. SELF-SEEKING OF THE PHARISEES "And He said to him also that had invited Him: When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor thy neighbors who are rich: lest perhaps they also invite thee again, and a recompense be made to thee; but when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. And thou shalt be blessed, because they have not wherewith to make thee recompense: for recompense shall be made thee at the resurrection of the just. 3. THE PARABLE OF THE SUPPER. THE REJECTION OF THE PHARISEES The Pharisees, in their pride and vanity, considered themselves the just and righteous. Hence they understood the words of Christ regarding the resurrection of the just as concerning only themselves and perhaps the people of Israel in general. In their blindness they could not discover that they had been unworthy to receive the Messias, and, as a consequence, merited their exclusion from God's kingdom. Christ proceeds in a very significant parable to foreshadow the rejection of the Hebrew nation and the election of the Gentiles. "When one of them that sat at table with Him, had heard these things, he said to Him: Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. But He said to him: A certain man made a great supper, and invited many. And he sent his servant at the hour of supper to say to them that were invited, that they should come, for now all things are ready. And they began all at once to make excuse. The first said to him: I have bought a farm, and I must needs go out and see it: I pray thee, hold me excused. And another said: I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to try them: I pray thee, hold me excused. And another said: I have married a wife, and therefore I can not come. And the servant returning told these things to his lord. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant: Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city: and bring in hither the poor and the feeble and the blind and the lame. And the servant said: Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said to the servant: Go out into the highways and hedges: and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. But I say unto you that none of those men that were invited, shall taste of my supper.' 4. CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. PARABLES OF THE WAR AND TOWER BEGAN WITH INSUFFICIENT MEANS Jesus here contrasts the pretended sanctity of the Pharisees with true Christian perfection, addressing himself in the two following parables to those who believe themselves called to be preachers of the gospel, or as religious, to a high degree of perfection. How great the requirements of such a state! They must be ready to "hate" everything earthly, even their nearest friends and relations, that is, to prefer Christ before them, and to forsake them. In every age of the Church have existed noble souls in search of perfection. Remember the Christian missionaries, the Brothers and Sisters devoting the life and energy of their bodies, all the powers of their loving souls, to the prisoners, the orphans, the unlettered children, and yet receiving at the hands of men only contempt and persecution in return. Such souls are the bright and fragrant blossoms on the tree of Christianity. They are the salt of the earth. Those who believe that they are called to this state |