Augustine of Hippo

I sympathize with you, because the Lord our God also sympathized with us, suffered with us. You see, he revealed himself in you, and you in himself, when he said, “My soul is sad to the point of death.” He suffered for us, let us suffer for him; he died for us, let us die for him, in order to live forever with him. But perhaps you are hesitant to die, O mortal creature, though you are bound to die sometime or other, precisely because you are mortal. Would you like not to fear death? Die for God. But perhaps the reason you are afraid to die is that death is such a sad business. Consider the harvest; the time for sowing is cold; but if the farmer declines to be made miserable by sowing in the cold in winter, he won’t rejoice in the summer. Take a look at yourself, and see whether the reason you are reluctant to sow is that there is the sadness and misery of the cold at seed time.Look at the psalm: “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Going, they were going and weeping, casting their seed;” That is what we were singing just now; let us do what we have sung. Let us sow our souls in this time, like corn in winter, so that we may reap them in eternal time, like corn in summer time. That is the way the holy martyrs, the way all the just, toiling away on earth, weeping cast their seed; this life, after all, is full of tears. And what follows? “But coming, they will come with exultation, carrying their lapfuls.” Your seed is the shedding of your blood; your lapful the reception of your crown.

For the next words are, "They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy" [Psalm 126:5]. In this life, which is full of tears, let us sow. What shall we sow? Good works. Works of mercy are our seeds: of which seeds the Apostle says, "Let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." [Galatians 6:9] Speaking therefore of almsgiving itself, what says he? "This I say; he that sows sparingly, shall reap also sparingly." [2 Corinthians 9:6] He therefore who sows plentifully, shall reap plentifully: he who sows sparingly, shall reap also sparingly: and he that sows nothing, shall reap nothing. Why do ye long for ample estates, where ye may sow plentifully? There is not a wider field on which you can sow than Christ, who has willed that we should sow in Himself. Your soil is the Church; sow as much as you can. But you have not enough to do this. Have you the will? As what you had would be nothing, if you had not a good will; so do not despond, because you have not, if you have a good will. For what do you sow? Mercy. And what will you reap? Peace. Said the Angels, Peace on earth unto rich men? No, but, "Peace on earth unto men of a good will." [Luke 2:14] Zacchæus had a strong will, Zacchæus had great charity. [Luke 19:8] ...Did then that widow who cast her two farthings into the treasury, sow little? Nay, as much as Zacchæus. For she had narrower means, but an equal will. She gave her two mites [Luke 21:1-4] with as good a will as Zacchæus gave the half of his patrimony. If you consider what they gave, you will find their gifts different; if you look to the source, you will find them equal; she gave whatever she had, and he gave what he had....But if they are beggars whose profession is asking alms, in trouble they also have what to bestow upon one another. God has not so forsaken them, but that they have wherein they may be tried by their bestowing of alms. This man cannot walk; he who can walk, lends his feet to the lame; he who sees, lends his eyes to the blind; and he who is young and sound, lends his strength to the old or the infirm, carries him: the one is poor, the other is rich.

So [Christ] transposed the weak members of his body [the church] into himself. And perhaps it was of them that it is said, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy,” that is to say, of the weaker ones. After all, that great herald of Christ was not sowing in tears when he said, “For I indeed am already being sacrificed, and the time of my casting off is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have completed the course, I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is being kept for me the crown of justice—a crown made of sheaves. There is being kept for me,” he says, “the crown of justice, which the Lord, the just judge, will render to me on that day.” As though to say, “He will render me the harvest, for whom I am spending myself in sowing.” These words, brothers, as I understand them, are the words of someone merrymaking, not of someone crying. You don’t suppose he was in tears, do you, when he said this? Wasn’t he exactly like the cheerful giver, whom God loves? So let us refer these words [Jesus’ words] to the weak, in order that not even those who have sown in tears need despair, because even if they have sown in tears, the pain and the sighing will pass away. Sadness passes at the end, and gladness comes without end.And yet for all that, dearly beloved, this finally is how it seems to me that these words refer to everyone, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Going they were going and weeping, casting their seed. But coming they shall come with merrymaking, carrying their sheaves.” Listen, if with the Lord’s assistance I am able to explain it, how “going they were going and weeping” belongs to everyone. From the moment we are born, we are going. Is there anyone, after all, who stands still? Is there anyone who, from the moment he enters life, is not forced to get moving? An infant is born; it gets moving by growing. Death is the end. We have still got to come to the end—but with merrymaking.

How, my brethren? When the farmer goes forth with the plough, carrying seed, is not the wind sometimes keen, and does not the shower sometimes deter him? He looks to the sky, sees it lowering, shivers with cold, nevertheless goes forth, and sows. For he fears lest while he is observing the foul weather, and awaiting sunshine, the time may pass away, and he may not find anything to reap. Put not off, my brethren; sow in wintry weather, sow good works, even while you weep; for, "They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy." They sow their seed, good will, and good works. "They went on their way and wept, casting their seed" [Psalm 126:6]. Why did they weep? Because they were among the miserable, and were themselves miserable. It is better, my brethren, that no man should be miserable, than that you should do alms....Nevertheless, as long as there are objects for its exercise, let us not fail amid those troubles to sow our seed. Although we sow in tears, yet shall we reap in joy. For in that resurrection of the dead, each man shall receive his own sheaves, that is, the produce of his seed, the crown of joys and of delight. Then will there be a joyous triumph, when we shall laugh at death, wherein we groaned before: then shall they say to death, "O death, where is your strife? O death, where is your sting?" [1 Corinthians 15:55] But why do they now rejoice? Because "they bring their sheaves with them."

This psalm [126], being sung to the Lord, seems to fit the holy martyrs; but if we are members of Christ, as we ought to be, we can take these words as referring to all of us: “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Going they shall go and weep, casting their seed. But coming they shall come with merrymaking, carrying their sheaves.” Where are they going, and where are they coming from? What are they sowing in tears? What is the seed, what are the sheaves? Going into death, coming from death; going by being born, coming by rising again. Sowing is whatever good we have done; our sheaves, what we shall receive at the end. So if the seed is good, the works are good, why “in tears,” seeing that God loves a cheerful giver?27The first thing to notice, dearly beloved, is how these words above all suit the blessed martyrs. Nobody, after all, has spent as much as those who have spent their very selves, as the apostle Paul says: “And I myself will be spent for your souls.” They spent themselves by confessing Christ and by carrying out with his help the saying “You have sat at a great table; know that you must prepare similar things yourself.” What is the meaning of “know that you must prepare similar things yourself,” if not what the blessed John explains: “Just as Christ laid down his life for us, so we too ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”? There you are, that is how much they spent.

But that which is the house of God is also a city. For the house of God is the people of God; for the house of God is the temple of God....This is Jerusalem: she has guards: as she has builders, labouring at her building up, so also has she guards. To this guardianship these words of the Apostle relate: "I fear, lest by any means your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ." [2 Corinthians 11:3] He was guarding the Church. He kept watch, to the utmost of his power, over those over whom he was set. The Bishops also do this. For a higher place was for this reason given the Bishops, that they might be themselves the superintendents and as it were the guardians of the people. For the Greek word Episcopus, and the vernacular Superintendent, are the same; for the Bishop superintends, in that he looks over. As a higher place is assigned to the vinedresser in the charge of the vineyard, so also to the Bishops a more exalted station is alloted. And a perilous account is rendered of this high station, except we stand here with a heart that causes us to stand beneath your feet in humility, and pray for you, that He who knows your minds may be Himself your keeper. Since we can see you both coming in and going out; but we are so unable to see what are the thoughts of your hearts, that we cannot even see what ye do in your houses. How then can we guard you? As men: as far as we are able, as far as we have received power. And because we guard you like men, and cannot guard you perfectly, shall you therefore remain without a keeper? Far be it! For where is He of whom it is said, "Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wakes but in vain?" [Psalm 127:1]. We are watchful on our guard, but vain in our watchfulness, except He who sees your thoughts guard you. He keeps guard while you are awake, He keeps guard also while you are asleep. For He has once slept on the Cross, and has risen again; He no longer sleeps. Be Israel: for "the Keeper of Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers." Yea, brethren, if we wish to be kept beneath the shadow of God's wings, let us be Israel. For we guard you in our office of stewards; but we wish to be guarded together with you. We are as it were shepherds unto you; but beneath that Shepherd we are fellow-sheep with you. We are as it were your teachers from this station; but beneath Him, the One Master, we are schoolfellows with you in this school.

If we wish to be guarded by Him who was humbled for our sakes, and who was exalted to keep us, let us be humble. Let no one assume anything unto himself. No man has any good, except he has received it from Him who alone is good. But he who chooses to arrogate wisdom unto himself, is a fool. Let him be humble, that wisdom may come, and may enlighten him. But if, before wisdom comes unto him, he imagine that he is wise; he rises before light, and walks in darkness. What does he hear in this Psalm? "It is but lost labour that you haste to rise up before dawn" [Psalm 127:2]. What means this? If you arise before light arises, you must needs lose your labour, because ye will be in the dark. Our light, Christ, has arisen; it is good for you to rise after Christ, not to rise before Christ. Who rise before Christ? They who choose to prefer themselves to Christ. And who are they who wish to prefer themselves to Christ? They who wish to be exalted here, where He was humble. Let them, therefore, be humble here, if they wish to be exalted there, where Christ is exalted....The Lord recalled the sons of Zebedee to humility, and said unto them, "Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of?" [Matthew 20:21-22] I came to be humble: and are you wishing to be exalted before Me? The way I go, do ye follow, He says. For if you choose to go this way where I do not go, your labour is lost, in rising before dawn. Peter too had risen before the light, when he wished to give the Lord advice, deterring Him from suffering for us....But what did our Lord do? He caused him to rise after the Light: "Get behind Me, Satan." [Matthew 16:23] He was Satan, because he wished to rise before Light. "Get behind Me:" that I may precede, you may follow: where I go, there you may go; and may not wish to lead Me, where you would go....

"Like as the arrows in the hand of the mighty one, even so are the children of those that are shot out" [Psalm 127:4]. Whence has sprung this heritage, brethren? Whence has sprung so numerous a heritage? Some have been shot out from the Lord's hand, as arrows, and have gone far, and have filled the whole earth, whence the Saints spring. For this is the heritage whereof it is said, "Desire of Me, and I shall give you the heathen for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession." And how does this possession extend and increase unto the world's uttermost parts? Because, "like as the arrows in the hand of the mighty one," etc. Arrows are shot forth from the bow, and the stronger the arm which has sent it forth, the farther flies the arrow. But what is stronger than the darting of the Lord? From His bow He sends forth His Apostles: there could not be a spot left where an arrow shot by so strong an arm would not reach; it has reached unto the uttermost parts of the earth. The reason it went no farther was, that there were no more of the human race beyond. For He has such strength, that even if there were a spot beyond, whither the arrow could fly, He would dart the arrow there. Such are the children of those who are shot forth as they that are shot forth.. ..

"Blessed is the man who has filled his desire from them" [Psalm 127:5]. Well, my brethren, who fills his desire from them? Who loves not the world. He who is filled with the desire of the world, has no room for that to enter which they have preached. Pour forth what you carry, and become fit for that which you have not. That is, you desire riches: you can not fill your desire from them: you desire honours upon earth, you desire those things which God has given even unto beasts of burden, that is, temporal pleasure, bodily health, and the like; you will not fulfil your desire from them...."He shall not be ashamed, when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." Brethren, let us speak in the gate, that is, let all know what we speak. For he who chooses not to speak in the gate, wishes what he speaks to be hidden, and perhaps wishes it to be hidden for this reason, that it is evil. If he be confident, let him speak in the gate; as it is said of Wisdom, "She cries at the gates, at the entry of the city." [Proverbs 8:3] As long as they hold unto righteousness in innocency, they shall not be ashamed: this is to preach at the gate. And who is he who preaches at the gate? He who preaches in Christ; because Christ is the gate whereby we enter into that city. [John 10:9] ...They, therefore, who speak against Christ, are without the gate; because they seek their own honours, not those of Christ. But he who preaches in the gate, seeks Christ's honour, not his own: and, therefore, he who preaches in the gate, says, Trust not in me; for you will not enter through me, but through the gate. While they who wish men to trust in themselves, wish them not to enter through the gate: it is no marvel if the gate be closed against them, and if they vainly knock for it to be opened.

"You shall eat the labours of your fruits" [Psalm 128:2]. And ye, O thou, you many who are One, "You shall eat of the labours of your fruits." He seems to speak perversely to those who understand not: for he should have said, you shall eat the fruit of your labours. For many eat the fruit of their labours. They labour in the vineyard; they eat not the toil itself; but what arises from their labour they eat. They labour about trees that bear fruit: who would eat labours? But the fruit of these labours, the produce of these trees; it is this that delights the husbandman. What means, "You shall eat the labours of your fruits"? At present we have toils: the fruits will come afterwards. But since their labours themselves are not without joy, on account of the hope whereof we have a little before spoken, "Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation;" [Romans 12:12] at present those very labours delight us, and make us joyful in hope. If therefore our toil has been what could be eaten, and could also delight us; what will be the fruit of our labour when eaten? "They who went weeping on their way, scattering their seed," did eat their labours; with how much greater pleasure will they eat the fruits of their labours, who "shall come again with joy, bearing their sheaves with them"?..."Blessed are you, and well shall it be with you." "Blessed are you," is of the present: "well shall it be with you," is of the future. When you eat the labours of your fruits, "blessed are you;" when you have reached the fruit of your labours, "well shall it be with you." What has he said? For if it be well with you, you will be happy: and if you will be happy, you will also have all well with you. But there is a difference between hope and attainment. If hope be so sweet, how much sweeter will reality be?

"The Lord from out of Sion bless you: and may thou see you good things that are of Jerusalem" [Psalm 128:5]. Even to the birds was it said, "Be fruitful and multiply." [Genesis 1:22] Do you wish to hold as a great blessing what was given unto birds? Who can be ignorant, that it was given indeed by the voice of God? But use these goods, if you receive them; and rather think how you may nourish those who have been born, than that others may be born. For it is not happiness to have children, but to have good ones. Labour in the task of nourishing them, if they be born; but if they be not born, give thanks unto God....Your children are infants: thou dost caress the infants: the infants caress you: do they abide thus? But you wish they may grow, you wish that their age may increase. But consider that when one age comes, another dies. When boyhood comes, infancy dies; when youth comes, boyhood dies: when manhood comes, youth dies; when old age comes, manhood dies: when death comes, all age dies. As many successions of ages as you wish for, so many deaths of ages do you wish for. These things therefore "are" not. Finally, are children born unto you to share life with you on earth, or rather to shut you out and to succeed you? Rejoicest thou in those born to exclude you? Boys when born speak somewhat like this to their parents: "Now then, begin to think of removing hence, let us too play our parts on the stage." For the whole life of temptation in the human race is a stage play; for it is said, "Every man living is altogether vanity." Nevertheless, if we rejoice in children who will succeed us; how much must we rejoice in children with whom we shall remain, and in that Father for whom we are born, who will not die, but that we may evermore live with Him? These are the good things of Jerusalem: for they "are." And how long shall I see the good things of Jerusalem? "All your life long." If your life be for ever, you will see the good things of Jerusalem for evermore....

For, "if in this life only," says the Apostle, "we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." [1 Corinthians 15:19] For what reason were the Martyrs condemned to beasts? What is that good? Can it be declared? By what means, or what tongue can tell it? Or what ears can hear it? That indeed, "Neither ear has heard, nor has it entered into man's heart:" [1 Corinthians 2:9] only let us love, only let us grow in grace: ye see, then, that battles are not wanting, and that we fight with our lusts. We fight outwardly with unbelieving and disobedient men; we fight inwardly with carnal suggestions and perturbations: we everywhere as yet fight....What sort of peace then is this? One from Jerusalem, for Jerusalem is interpreted, A vision of Peace. Thus then "may thou see the good things that are of Jerusalem," and that, "all your life long— and may thou see," not only your children, but, "your children's children." What means, Your children? Your works which thou here dost. Who are your children's children? The fruits of your works. You give alms: these are your children: for the sake of your alms you receive everlasting life, these are your children's children. "May you see your children's children;" and there shall be "peace upon Israel" [Psalm 128:6], the last words of the Psalm....