Homilies on Numbers, Homilia II
Manna, hearing, Cornelius and Simon§1
1From what is written — I have taken the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel in place of every firstborn who opens the womb — and the rest. Scripture says of the manna that whoever took it as God commanded was nourished by it; whoever took it against the divine measure did not enjoy it as living food, but worms swarmed out of it. So our manna is the word of God: the same sermon becomes salvation for some and punishment for others. How much better for some never to hear the word than to hear it with malice or hypocrisy — though truly better still is to hear with a good and simple heart, that it may bear fruit in good soil. We say this in preface for catechumens — and for some of the baptized. Not all who are of Israel are Israel; not all washed with water are at once washed with the Holy Spirit; and not every catechumen is a stranger to the Spirit. Cornelius received the Spirit before the water; Simon had baptism yet lost the gift by hypocrisy. Do not doubt that Corneliuses still stand among catechumens and Simons among the faithful. I say this to correct myself; I too am one of those who hear the word of God.
Latin · §1
Ex eo quod scriptum est: et ego assumpsi Levitas de medio filiorum Israel pro omni primogenito qui adaperit vulvam et reliqua. Scriptum est de manna quia si quis id sumpsisset ut praeceperat Deus, nutriretur ex eo; si quis vero contra praeceptum Dei sumere voluisset, non frueretur eo ut vitali cibo, sed vermes ebullirent ex eo. Igitur et nostrum manna verbum Dei est: sermo Dei aliis efficitur ad salutem, aliis cedit ad poenam. Quanto melius esset nonnullis omnino nec audire verbum Dei quam audire cum malitia vel hypocrisi; vere autem melius est ut qui audit audiat corde bono et simplici, ut in terra bona fructificet. Haec in praefatione diximus propter catechumenos — et nonnullos baptizatos. Non enim omnes qui ex Israel hi sunt Israelitae, neque omnes qui loti sunt aqua continuo etiam Spiritu sancto loti sunt; e contrario non omnes catechumeni alieni sunt Spiritus sancti. Cornelius catechumenus ante aquas Spiritum meruit; Simon baptismum acceperat sed hypocrisi donum repudiavit. Nolo dubites et nunc esse Cornelios in catechumenis et Simones in fidelibus. Haec ad correptionem mei ipsius loquor; unus enim et ego sum ex his qui audiunt verbum Dei.
Levites taken from the midst for the firstborns§2
2But let us hear what the divine word says to Moses: Behold, I have taken the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel in place of every firstborn who opens the womb; they shall be mine — for every firstborn is mine. Levi is Leah’s third-born, yet those who are not firstborn by nature are taken into the firstborns’ place. With God the firstborns are not those who lead by bodily birth, but those whose open heart-purpose receives the grace of the firstborn portion. What is “from the midst”? The Shunammite answers, I dwell in the midst of my people. And more magnificently John says of the Savior, There stands one in your midst whom you do not know. Christ is said to stand in the middle; his imitator is said to dwell in the middle — for no one is clean from filth. Levites “from the midst” are those who have not known their own right and left, but follow the law of God. Better to be taken than merely to be born first. Stand fixed in the middle; do not lean into sin — and you will be taken from the midst into the number of the firstborns. So much for the word: I will take the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel.
Latin · §2
Sed audiamus quid sermo divinus loquatur ad Moysen: Ecce ego assumpsi Levitas de medio filiorum Israel pro omni primogenito qui adaperit vulvam; redemptiones eorum erunt, et erunt mihi Levitae. Meum est enim omne primogenitum. Levi tertius nascitur ex Lia, et assumuntur in primogenitos qui natura non sunt. Apud Deum non illi primogeniti habentur qui corporea nativitate praecedunt, sed quos propositum cordis Deo patens primitivatus gratia suscepit. Quid est de medio? Sunamitis: in medio populi mei ego habito. Et Iohannes de Salvatore: medius vestrum stat quem vos nescitis. Christus stare in medio dicitur; imitator habitare in medio — nemo enim mundus a sorde. Levitae de medio: qui non cognoverunt dextram et sinistram sed legem Dei sequuntur. Melius est assumi quam primogenitum nasci. Sta medius fixus, non inclineris peccato, et assumeris de medio in primitivorum numerum. Haec pro eo quod scriptum est: et assumam Levitas de medio filiorum Israel.
Camp order and the church of the firstborns§3
3But if it seems good, let us return to the order of the history in Numbers and contemplate the mystery of the firstborns. The twelve tribes are set by threes toward the four quarters: Judah to the east with Issachar and Zebulun; Reuben to the west with Simeon and Gad; Ephraim to the south with Benjamin and Manasseh; Dan to the north with Naphtali and Asher. In the middle, nearest to God, the Levites are stationed around the tabernacle. The letter of the law sows sacramental seeds so that we may climb from earthly things to heavenly. Ascend, then, hearer, in mind above the heavens: seek there the tabernacle where Jesus our forerunner has entered and now appears before the face of God, interceding for us; seek there the camp-orders and the church of the firstborn enrolled in heaven. Not all approach the same things: some come to Mount Zion; better ones to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; others to the church of the firstborns.
Latin · §3
Verum, si videtur, recurramus ad ipsum ordinem historiae in Numeris et mysterium primitivorum contemplemur. Duodecim tribus per ternas in quattuor plagas distribuuntur: Iudas ab oriente cum Issachar et Zabulon; Ruben ab occidente cum Simeon et Gad; Ephraim a meridie cum Beniamin et Manasse; Dan ab aquilone cum Nephthalim et Aser. In medio circa tabernaculum Levitae constituuntur, Deo proximi. Lex haec semina sacramentorum praebet, ut a terrenis ad caelestia conscendamus. Ascende, auditor, mente supra caelum: ibi require tabernaculum ubi praecursor Iesus introivit et interpellat pro nobis; ibi ordines castrorum et ecclesiam primitivorum in caelis. Non omnes ad omnia accedunt: alii ad montem Sion, meliores ad civitatem Dei viventis Hierusalem caelestem, alii ad ecclesiam primitivorum.
Opening the womb and Christ the firstborn§4
4And what it says — for every firstborn who opens the womb — is not easy to unfold. Not everyone who opens a womb is at once worthy of the firstborn sanctification; the psalm says sinners are estranged from the womb; they went astray from the belly; they spoke lies — which cannot stand by the bare letter. We must seek that womb which every firstborn sanctified to God opens. God once opened Leah’s womb and Rachel’s. They shall be mine as Levites; every firstborn is mine from the day I struck the firstborn of Egypt. Who struck Egypt’s firstborns — the principalities and powers? My Lord Jesus Christ, the firstborn of all creation, who disarmed the rulers and authorities, triumphing over them on the cross. Unless he had struck them down, firstborn sanctification could never have reached us. He, firstborn from the dead, takes us who believe into the order of the firstborns — if we hold the grace firm to the end.
Latin · §4
Sed et quod ait: pro omni primitivo qui adaperit vulvam, non facile explanatur. Non quicumque adaperit vulvam continuo dignus sanctificatione primitivatus est; psalmus dicit: alienati sunt peccatores a vulva, erraverunt a ventre, locuti sunt falsa — quod secundum litteram stare non potest. Quaerenda est vulva quam adaperit omnis primitivus Deo sanctificatus. Deus adaperuit vulvam Liae et Rachel. Levitae erunt mihi; meum est omne primitivum ex die qua percussi primogenita Aegypti. Quis primogenitos Aegyptiorum — principatus et potestates — percussit? Dominus Iesus Christus, primogenitus omnis creaturae, qui adversas potestates triumphavit in cruce. Nisi ille percussisset, sanctificatio primitivatus ad nos venire non potuisset. Ipse primogenitus ex mortuis nos credentes adsumit in ordinem primitivorum, si gratiam usque ad finem firmam retinuerimus.