In the meantime, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, so much that they tread one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all,
Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
All Commentaries on Luke 12:1 Go To Luke 12
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
ses35 , 36.—Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord when he will return from the wedding. The Syriac says, "Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning." So the Arabic, Egyptian, Æthiopic and Persian. Christ had said that it pleased the Father to give them the kingdom. Sell therefore what you possess, and give alms, that you may, by this means, purchase this kingdom. He now urges them diligently to prepare for it as being at hand, and girding their loins, and casting aside every care, to enter upon and take possession of it. That Isaiah , Be you prepared and furnished with all graces, and good works, and merits, especially almsgiving and contempt of riches, that when Christ our Lord from heaven, and His heavenly marriage and joys, returns to you in death to judge your souls, you may meet Him and be found worthy by Him of heaven, and be brought thither by Him. He alludes to the Eastern custom as among the Hebrews and Syrians, of wearing long robes, which they used to tuck up when travelling or at work, that they might not be in their way. ( 1 Kings 18:46; Tobit 5:5.)
Mystically. We gird our loins when we restrain the luxury of the flesh by abstinence (continentiam), says S, Gregory (Hom. xiii.), and S. Augustine (Serm. xxxix. de Verb. Dom.), S. Basil on Isa xv, Bede, and others. Chrysologus (serm. xxiv.) says, "He commands us to gird our loins by the belt of purity, and to bind our whole body in the zone of virtue, that we may go forth quickly and expeditiously to meet our Lord at His coming."
We may either unite the two verses35,36 into one, with Maldonatus, making them contain one and the same parable, or we may disjoin them like Jansenius so as to make them contain two—one, the lamps burning; the other, the servants expecting their lord from the wedding.
Hence this sentence is differently explained by different persons, for those who gird themselves are divers—workmen, ministers, travellers, messengers, soldiers, porters, eremites, and their girdles are divers. Workmen are girt with the girdle of labour—ministers, of their ministry—travellers and messengers, of the road—soldiers, of warfare, whose is the girdle of hardness—porters, of constancy and patience—eremites, of abstinence, mortification, and penance.
Firstly, Of labourers girding their loins to their work, Theophylact speaks thus: "Be your loins girded;" that Isaiah , be ye ready in all ways for the work of your Lord, "and your lamps burning in your hands;"—that Isaiah , labour not in the dark and without judgment, but take the light of the word, which will show you what is and what is not to be done—for this world is night." So Euthymius and Titus , meaning, "Be you ready to every good work."
Secondly, Of those who minister to Christ and those who are poor through almsgiving (to which the words immediately preceding apply) some explain it as follows—Gird up your loins, that you may be swift and nimble to minister to Christ and His poor. On this subject there is related a notable vision in the life of John the almsgiver, who was always very ready to give to any one who asked aims of him (chap. xxix.), when a certain noble was slower than usual in giving a loan, he was taught by a vision of a hundred-fold remuneration to be quicker.
Thirdly, Of travellers girding up their loins for a journey. Some explain it thus: Gird up your loins, that you may be expeditious on your journey to heaven, from which the Word has gone before, for a grand way to it remains for you. S. Peter, Epist1 , chap. I, 13-15 , alludes to the exodus (hence called Pasch) of the Israelites. from Egypt into the promised land, which was a figure of the saints passing from earth into heaven. For God thus commanded and directed the Hebrews in the eating of the paschal lamb which was to be sacrificed for their happy journey. "Thus shall ye eat it, with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand" (as if girded to begin a journey), "and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord"s passover." The same has to be done by Christians in mystery. See what I have said thereon.
Fourthly, Messengers and legates gird their loins that they may be the swifter in performing their office. The angels who are the messengers of God, are therefore painted with their loins girded to show that they are swift and nimble to perform the commandments of God; according to the words, "Who maketh His angels winds, and His ministers a flame of fire." Hebrews 1:7. Christ therefore says, "0 ye apostles and disciples, gird ye your loins, that you may be my messengers throughout the whole world—proclaiming the faith of the Gospel to Greeks, Romans , Italians, Gauls, Spaniards, Indians, Brazilians, Japanese, Chinese, &c. Behold I send you: Go ye therefore, eagerly, swiftly, and ardently like angels," as Isaiah , "Go ye swift messengers to a nation scattered and peeled " Isaiah 18:2, and Isaiah 52:7, which S. Paul cites to the Romans 10:15, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace."
Fifthly, Soldiers and athletes gird their loins that they may fight with more strength and courage. So do you also, 0 Christians, gird your loins with the girdle of strength and fortitude, that as ministers of Christ you may fight boldly against the devil, the flesh, and the world, and conquer and triumph, as S. Paul to the Ephesians , "Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness." On which I have commented at length. David also: "Thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle," Ps. xviii39 and Job , "Gird up now thy loins like a man" xxxviii3; and Ex. xii. II, "Your loins girded," for they went armed as to take possession of the promised land. Hence Origen (Hom. ix. in lib. Judic.) thinks that allusion is here made to the army of Gideon who went up girded against the Midianites (Judg. vii.).
Sixthly, The porters, that they may be strong to carry heavy burthens, gird their loins. Song of Solomon , 0 ye faithful, do ye gird your loins with the girdle of patience that you may bear all adverse accidents with nobleness. So Cyril, in the Catena, "Be ye prompt to bear misfortunes."
Seventhly, The continent, that they may overcome the flesh and resist with success all the wicked incitements of lust, gird themselves with the girdle of continence, that is of self-abnegation and mortification, by which they reject all the wicked desires that are continually arising from concupiscence—and refuse them, and mortify them, and cut them off. So Simeon the Stylite. He tortured himself to such a degree by a knotted cord that the head (præfectus) of his monastery undid it, and dismissed him from the monastery, lest the weaker brethren should endeavour to follow his example, and from their failure become a disgrace. We have this from his disciple S. Antony, and from Theodoret, in their lives of him.
And your lamps burning. Christ, commanded us to be ready, with loins girt, for good works, and for our passage to heaven. He now fitly requires our lamps to be burning, for these are needed by night whether for work or for taking a journey. For this, our life is a mystical night, and is full of ignorance, errors, and the darkness of concupiscence; so that we have need of light and lighted lamps, that we travel on in that night and perform our work. He alludes especially to the marriage feast, which was celebrated at night with torches. That Isaiah , as in the night-time the servants await their lord on his return from his marriage with lighted torches, and go before him, so do ye watch and await me as I return to you from heaven by death, and go before me with spiritual torches, for you know not the day and hour of your death and the coming of Christ to judgment. If you know this you will be prepared and expect Him every hour, for so the virgins with their lamps lighted await the bridegroom. Matthew 25:1 This parable of Luke is mostly the same as that of Matthew.
If it be asked what the lighted lamps signify, Theophylact answers, "Firstly, they signify that we ought to have the light of reason and discretion to distinguish what we ought to do and how we ought to do it; and secondly, we should have faith, burning with love and fervour of spirit, for this will show us what to do and what to avoid, will urge us to lofty acts of virtue and incite us to teach others the way of faith and salvation, and inspire them with the love of God, and not suffer any to live in the darkness of ignorance and sin." So S. Augustine (serm. xxxix.) on the words of the Lord; and so S. Jerome, or whoever is the author, on Jeremiah i, who says, "that to hold a lamp in the hand is the same as to preach the Gospel."
Mystically. "These things" says CÅ“lestine, "have their own mysteries. For in the girding of the loins is shown purity: in the staff, pastoral rule; in the lighted lamps, the brightness of good works" (Epist. ii ad Episc. Gall.) S. Gregory also, in his13th homily, understands by the shining lamps, good examples. We hold lighted lamps in our hands, he says, when by our good works we show examples of light to our neighbours. Two things are commanded us, to have our loins girded and our lamps lighted, as are innocence and purity of body, and the light of truth in our actions, for purity is of little value without a good life, or a good act without chastity.
S. Augustine again (Lib. ii. Qust. Evan.): "Girt loins means abstinence from secular affairs, lighted lamps, the doing of the same thing with a true object and right intention." "The lighted lamps," says S. Maximus, "are prayer, contemplation, and spiritual love." Lastly, Origen (Hom9 on Judges) thinks that allusion is here made to the torches of the army of Gideon, and that as their sudden discovery terrified the Midianites, so the apostles and martyrs, when their bodies had been shattered and broken by martyrdom, began to shine forth by their miracles, by which the persecutors were put to flight, and thus their doctrine and holiness shone throughout the world. As is clearly explained by Bede in his questions on the book of Judges , and Gregory at length, 30 Moral. chap. xxxii, and following; see Judges vii.
In your hands. These words are not found in the Greek, Syriac, and Arabic; nor in the Greek Fathers, Origen, Clement, Cyril, Chrysostom, S. Basil, Titus; nor in the Latins, S. Ambrose, Cyprian, Hilary, and Augustine (Serm. xxxix.) But S. Gregory has them in his13th Homily, Irenus (lib. iv. cap72), and S. Jerome, on Eph. xvi. and Jer. i, as also the codices of the Holy Scriptures, corrected at Rome. "In your hands," therefore, means in your possession, that they may shed light on your works. Again, it means, that with their lamps in their hands they should go as His servants to meet Christ their Lord. From these words of Christ has arisen the custom of placing in the hands of the faithful, when in their last agony, lighted and blessed candles of wax, to show that they are going to meet Christ with faith and burning love and to excite them to it. So Amalarius, Rabanus and others who have written on Ecclesiastical Offices.
S. Cyril adds, in his fourth book on Worshipping in Spirit and in Truth, "Having your feet shod;" but no other has it, and therefore S. Cyril seems to have inadvertently copied it from S. Paul, Ephesians 6:15.
