Lessons 1-3 from the Divine Office of Pentecost Tuesday ( Whit Tuesday) John 10:1-10; Treatise 45 on the Gospel of John by St. Augustine the Bishop.
Lessons 1-3 from the Divine Office of Pentecost Tuesday ( Whit Tuesday) John 10:1-10; Treatise 45 on the Gospel of John by St. Augustine the Bishop.
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At that time, Jesus said to the Pharisees, Amen, amen, I say to you, he who enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up another way, is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is shepherd of the sheep. To this man the gatekeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them forth. And when he has let out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. But a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers. This parable Jesus spike to them, but they did not understand what He was saying to them. Again, therefore, Jesus said to them, Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the Door of the sheep. All whoever have come are thieves and robbers; but the sheep have not heard them. I am the Door. If anyone enter by Me he shall be safe, and shall go in and out, and shall find pastures. The thief comes only to steal, and slay, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.
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In today's Lesson the Lord hath set forth a similitude of His own flock, and of the door whereby entry is made into its fold. Sometimes pagans boast that they live good lives. But if they enter not in by the door, of what profit is that whereof they boast? To this end alone is a good life profitable, to wit, if it lead unto life eternal. For of what profit is a good life to one unto whom life eternal is not given? Wherefore, they cannot be said to live good lives, who are either so blinded as not to know, or so proud as to despise, the goal of a good life. And no man can have a true and certain hope of life eternal, unless he know the true Life, Which is Christ, and enter by Him, Who is The Door, into the sheepfold.
Such men as these often try to draw others to some kind of a good life which is not a Christian life. These are they who would fain climb up some other way, for to steal and to destroy. They are not as the Good Shepherd, Who is come only to guard and to save. There have been philosophers who have treated many subtle questions of right and wrong, who have been the authors of many distinctions and definitions, who have reasoned out the keenest conclusions, who have filled many books, and have proclaimed their own wisdom with a loud mouth. These dared to say to men: Follow us; embrace our school of thought; and therein ye will find the secret of a happy life. But these men were not of such as enter in by The Door. They came not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
Concerning such teachers, what shall I say? Behold, the Pharisees themselves were wont to read the Scriptures, and in that reading they often uttered the Name of Christ. They looked for His coming, and when He came, they knew Him not: They boasted that they themselves were among the Seers, that is, among the wise ones, yet they denied Christ, and entered not in by The Door. Therefore they too, when they set themselves up as leaders, lead away the sheep but for to kill and to destroy, not to free them. So much for them: now let us look to those who glory in the Name of Christ, and see whether they be all and everyone such as enter in by The Door. Some there are, and their number cannot be reckoned, who not only boast that they be among the Seers, but who would even fain appear as though they were enlightened by Christ; and nonetheless, they are hereticks.