On His Birthday, Third Sermon

As often as God’s mercy is pleased to bring round the day of his gifts to us, dearly beloved, there is just and reasonable cause for rejoicing, provided only that our appointment to the office is credited to the praise of him who gave it. This acknowledgment of God may well be found in all his priests, but I take it to be binding on me in a special way. For when I consider my own utter insignificance and the greatness of the office I have taken up, I too ought to cry out with the prophet, “Lord, I heard your speech and was afraid; I considered your works and was dismayed.” For what is so unaccustomed and so dismaying as labor for the frail, exaltation for the humble, dignity for the undeserving? And yet we do not despair or lose heart, because we put our trust not in ourselves but in him who works in us. That is also why, dearly beloved, we have sung the psalm of David with harmonious voice, not in our own praise but to the glory of Christ the Lord. For he is the one of whom it is written in prophecy, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” That is, not after the order of Aaron, whose priesthood came down along his own line of descendants, was a temporary ministry, and ended with the law of the Old Testament; but after the order of Melchizedek, in whom the eternal High Priest was foreshadowed. And no mention is made of Melchizedek’s parentage, because in him, we understand, was portrayed the one whose generation cannot be declared. And finally, now that the mystery of this divine priesthood has come down to human agency, it does not run by the line of birth, nor is the one chosen whom flesh and blood produced. Without regard to the privilege of fatherhood and succession by inheritance, the church receives as its rulers those whom the Holy Spirit prepares. So among the people of God’s adoption, the whole body of which is priestly and royal, it is not the privilege of earthly descent that obtains the anointing, but the kindness of divine grace that creates the bishop. [a]

We may be found both weak and sluggish, dearly beloved, in fulfilling the duties of our office, because whatever devoted and vigorous work we wish to do, we are held back by the frailty of our very condition. Yet we have the unceasing propitiation of the almighty and everlasting Priest, who, being like us and yet equal with the Father, brought his Godhead down even to what is human and raised his manhood up even to what is divine. So we rightly and devoutly rejoice over his ordering of things: though he has handed over the care of his sheep to many shepherds, he has not himself given up the guarding of his beloved flock. And from his overruling and eternal protection we have also received the support of the apostles’ help, which certainly does not cease from its work. And the strength of the foundation on which the whole structure of the church is built does not grow weak under the weight of the temple that rests on it. For the firmness of that faith which was praised in the chief of the apostles lasts forever. And as what Peter believed in Christ remains, so what Christ established in Peter remains. For, as was read in today’s Gospel, when the Lord had asked the disciples who they believed him to be, amid the various opinions that were held, blessed Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And the Lord says, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed also in heaven.” [e]

So what the Truth arranged remains, and blessed Peter, holding on in the strength of the rock he received, has not let go of the helm of the church that he took up. For he was ordained before the rest in such a way that, from his being called the Rock, from his being declared the Foundation, from his being made the Doorkeeper of the kingdom of heaven, from his being set as the arbiter to bind and to loose, whose judgments will keep their force in heaven, from all these mystical titles we might know the nature of his association with Christ. And still today he carries out what was entrusted to him more fully and effectively, and performs every part of his duty and charge in him and with him through whom he has been glorified. So if anything is rightly done and rightly decreed by us, if anything is won from the mercy of God by our daily prayers, it is of his work and merits, whose power lives on and whose authority prevails in his see. For this, dearly beloved, was gained by that confession which, inspired in the apostle’s heart by God the Father, rose above all the uncertainty of human opinions and was given the firmness of a rock that no attacks could shake. For throughout the church Peter says every day, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and every tongue that confesses the Lord accepts the teaching his voice conveys. This faith conquers the devil and breaks the chains of his prisoners. It uproots us from this earth and plants us in heaven, and the gates of Hades cannot prevail against it. For God has given it such firmness that the corruption of heretics cannot spoil it, nor the unbelief of the pagans overcome it.

And so, dearly beloved, we celebrate today’s festival with reasonable obedience, in such a way that in my humble person he may be recognized and honored in whom the care of all the shepherds abides, together with the charge of the sheep entrusted to him, and whose dignity is not lessened even in so unworthy an heir. That is why the presence of my venerable brothers and fellow priests, which I so much desired and value, will be all the more sacred and precious if they will pass on the chief honor of this service, in which they have been pleased to take part, to him whom they know to be not only the patron of this see but also the primate of all bishops. So when we speak our exhortations in your ears, holy brothers and sisters, believe that he is speaking whose representative we are. For it is his warning that we give, and nothing but his teaching that we preach, when we beg you to “gird up the loins of your mind,” to lead a chaste and sober life in the fear of God, and not to let your mind forget his supremacy and consent to the lusts of the flesh. Short and fleeting are the joys of this world’s pleasures, which try to turn aside from the path of life those who are called to eternity. So the faithful and devout spirit must desire the things of heaven, and, eager for the divine promises, lift itself up to the love of the incorruptible Good and the hope of the true Light. But be sure, dearly beloved, that your labor in resisting vices and fighting against fleshly desires is pleasing and precious in God’s sight, and in God’s mercy it will profit not only you but me as well, because the zealous shepherd boasts of the progress of the Lord’s flock. “For you are my crown and joy,” as the apostle says, if your faith, which from the beginning of the gospel has been proclaimed in all the world, has continued in love and holiness. For although the whole church throughout all the world ought to abound in all virtues, it is fitting for you, above all peoples, to excel in deeds of devotion. For you are founded on the very citadel of the apostolic Rock; and not only has our Lord Jesus Christ redeemed you along with all people, but the blessed apostle Peter has instructed you far beyond all people. Through the same Christ our Lord. [f]