Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 2-15

For what I prepared for the whole world, you have already resolved upon in your son. What I arranged in My Only-begotten, you have accomplished in your only one: whence all nations shall be blessed in you. Amen.

Sermon 8. On the servant of Abraham, who was sent to Rebecca.

1. The oath by the thigh of Abraham. A little while ago, when the divine reading was being read, we heard that blessed Abraham called his servant and said to him, Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the God of heaven and earth that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of this region (Gen. 24:2 ff.); and that he, obeying, put his hand under the thigh and swore to him. For all these things, brethren, which are recited in the Old Testament, if we choose to take them only according to the letter, we shall gain either little or no profit for the soul. For what does it profit us, who gather faithfully at the church to hear the word of God, if we are told that Abraham sent his servant to bring a wife for his son from a distant region, when we see this happen frequently in these regions too? But let us, brethren, following the blessed apostle Paul, believe that all things that are written happened to the Jews in figure, but have been fulfilled for us in truth (1 Cor. 10:11). So Abraham said to his servant, Put your hand under my thigh, and swear by the God of heaven and earth. What is this, brethren? Blessed Abraham spoke thus, Put your hand under my thigh: as if he were saying, Put your hand on the altar: or as if he were saying, Put your hand on the ark of the Covenant: or, Stretch out your hand to the temple of God: and swear to me. He touched the thigh, and swore by the God of heaven and earth. For blessed Abraham was not in error when he commanded this to be done: but because, filled with the spirit of prophecy, he knew that Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth, would be born of his seed. Therefore when his servant touched his thigh, he was taking the oath not by a member of the flesh, but by the living and true God. For Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, Jacob begot Judah: of whose seed Christ the Lord was born (Matt. 1:2–16).

2. Rebecca meets the servant of Abraham, and he, having obtained the consent of her parents and brother and of herself, receives her as wife for his master Isaac.—And he stood by the spring, and said in his heart: Lord God of my master, if Thou hast shown mercy to my master, behold, I stand at the well, and the girl who comes to draw water, if I say to her, Give me a drink, and she answers me, Drink, you too, and I will draw water for your camels; she is the one whom Thou hast prepared for my master Isaac. The servant had not yet finished the words in his heart, and behold, Rebecca appeared, carrying a water-jar on her shoulder. And the servant said to her: Give me a drink. And she quickly set down the water-jar, and said: Drink, you too, sir, and I will draw water for your camels. And when he had asked whose daughter she was, she answered him that she was the daughter of Bathuel and the sister of Laban. And the man bowed himself and worshipped God, because he had recognized that they were the kinsfolk of his master Abraham, and he brought out earrings to adorn her face, and put bracelets on her hands. And she went and told her parents, who came out and blessed God, and received Abraham's servant with joy and honour. And he spoke to them about Rebecca, that they should give her to his master Isaac. But they said: Let us call the girl, and ask her wish. And when she had been called, they said to her: Will you go with this man? And she answered and said: I will go.

3. Abraham and his servant: of whom they are figures. Rebecca, betrothed to Isaac, a figure of the Church. Now, dearest brethren, let us see briefly, as far as we can, what these things signify. Blessed Abraham, in that he was sending his servant to take a wife for his son, bore the type

of God the Father, just as also, when he offered him as a whole burnt offering, he prefigured the image of God the Father; while his servant signified the prophetic word. Abraham therefore sent his servant into a far country, that from there he might obtain a wife for his son: because God the Father had sent the prophetic word throughout the whole earth, that it might seek the Catholic Church as a bride for His Only-begotten. And just as through the servant of Abraham a bride is brought to blessed Isaac, so through the prophetic word the Church of the Gentiles is invited from far-off regions to the true Bridegroom, Christ. Where, however, is that bride found who was to be joined to Christ? Where, if not at the water? It is true, dearly beloved: had the Church not come to the water of Baptism, she would not have been joined to Christ. Rebecca, then, found Abraham's servant at the well, and the Church found Christ at the sacrament of Baptism. What, however, was done after these things? The servant brought out golden earrings and golden bracelets, and gave them to Rebecca. By those golden earrings the divine words were signified; by those golden armlets, holy works; for works are signified by the hands. Let us see how Christ gave these things to the Church. The servant, then, offered golden earrings to adorn Rebecca's face, and Christ gave to the Church divine words more precious than all pearls; and he put armlets on Rebecca's hands, and Christ gave holy works into the hands of the Church. Consider, dearest brothers, and rejoice, and give thanks to God, because what was prefigured in them has been fulfilled in us by the gift of Christ: and just as Rebecca could have neither earrings nor armlets on her hands unless Isaac had sent them by his servant, so too the Church could have had neither divine words in her ears nor holy works in her hands, had not Christ conferred these on her through His grace and through His Apostles. And that the girl, when asked by her parents whether she wished to go with the servant, answered, "I will go": this we openly see fulfilled in the Church. There the will of Rebecca is asked; here the will of the Church is sought. To Rebecca it is said, "Will you go with this man?" and she answers, "I will go." To the Church it is said, "Do you believe in Christ?" and she answers, "I believe." Rebecca would not have been led to Isaac unless she said, "I will"; nor would the Church be joined to Christ, unless she said, "I believe."

4. Isaac coming into the field, a figure of Christ who was to come into the world. The servant, then, received Rebecca and presented her to Isaac. Let us see, however, where she found him. She found him at the Well of the Oath. See, brothers: Isaac's servant found Rebecca at a well, and again Rebecca found Isaac himself at a well. It is true: neither did Christ find the Church, nor the Church Christ, except at the sacrament of Baptism. Blessed Isaac, then, as Scripture says, had gone out towards evening into the field to meditate. That field bore the figure of the world. Isaac had gone out into the field, because Christ was to come into the world: Isaac towards the evening of the day, Christ at the end of the world. Isaac, then, went out into the field to meditate: because Christ came into the world to fight against the devil, that He might overcome him justly while He was being killed by him unjustly; that by dying He might destroy death, and by rising again bestow life on believers. And just as Rebecca was joined bodily to Isaac, so the Church would be joined spiritually to Christ, receiving in the present the precious pledge, the blood of her Bridegroom, and to receive hereafter the dowry of His kingdom. This the blessed apostle Peter plainly declares, saying: For, he says, you were not redeemed with gold and silver, but with the precious blood as of a lamb without blemish (1 Pet. 1:18–19).

5. The Synagogue foreshadowed by Sarah, the Church by Rebecca. — Isaac, then, took Rebecca, and brought her into his mother's tent: Christ took the Church, and established her in the place of the Synagogue. For through unbelief the Synagogue was separated from God and died, and through faith the Church was joined to Christ and given life. Isaac, then, took Rebecca, and loved her so much that he assuaged the grief which had befallen him from his mother's death. For the death of Sarah signifies the unbelief of the Synagogue. Sarah, then, dies, and in her place Rebecca

is led: the Synagogue is repudiated, so that the Church may be brought in. Isaac therefore took Rebecca, and loved her so much that he tempered the sorrow which had befallen him from his mother's death: Christ took the Church, and loved her so much that by love of the Church He assuaged the grief which had befallen Him from the perdition of the mother, the Synagogue. For just as the unbelief of the Synagogue caused Christ sorrow, so the faith of the Church begot joy for Him: and as through the malice of the Synagogue He lost one nation, that of the Jews, and yet not even the whole of it, so through the faith of the Church Christ the Lord acquired the whole world. And since, dearest brethren, Christ the Lord prepared for Himself a spiritual bride from among us, whom also, as I said, He redeemed with His precious blood, so, with His help, let each one not only guard the benefits conferred on him by divine gift, but also strive to increase them, so that nothing may appear in him either soiled through lust, or swollen through pride, or burnt through anger, or darkened through avarice, or struck with viper's venom through envy. For it is right that that Bridegroom, beautiful in form above the sons of men, should find in us nothing of the aforesaid sins which would offend the eyes of His majesty: to Whom is honour and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit unto ages of ages. Amen.

Sermon IX. On Saint Rebecca.

1. Those who seldom come to church or neglect to hear the word of God are rebuked. Isaac, says Scripture, grew and was strengthened (Gen. 21:8): that is, joy grew for Abraham, who looked not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are not seen. For Abraham did not rejoice in present things, nor in the riches of the world and the doings of the age. But do you wish to hear whence Abraham rejoiced? Hear the Lord saying to the Jews: Abraham your father, He says, desired to see My day; and he saw it, and rejoiced (John 8:56). In this, then, Isaac grew, in that that vision of Abraham's, by which he saw the day of Christ, and the hope which was in him, heaped up his joys. And would that you too might become Isaac, and be the joy of your mother the Church. But I fear that the Church still bears her sons in sorrow and groaning. Is it not sorrow and groaning to her when you do not assemble to hear the word of God, and scarcely come to church on feast days; and this not so much from desire for the word of God as from eagerness for the solemnity, and on the pretext of a kind of public holiday? What then am I to do, to whom the dispensing of the word has been entrusted? I who, although I am an unprofitable servant, have nevertheless received from God a measure of wheat to be distributed to the Lord's household? But see what He adds: To be distributed, He says, the measure of wheat in due time. What then am I to do? Where or when am I to find your time? The greater part of it, indeed almost all of it, you wear away in worldly occupations: you spend some in the forum, some in trade; one is busy with his fields, another with his lawsuits: for hearing the word of God no one, or very few indeed, have leisure. But why do I blame you for your occupations? Why do I complain of those who are absent? Even those of you who are present and placed in the church are not attentive; but you wear away the time in common and habitual chatter, and turn your backs on the word of God and on the divine readings. I fear lest that also be said to you by the Lord which was said through the prophet: They have turned their backs to Me, and not their faces (Jer. 32:33). What then am I to do, to whom the ministry

of the word has been entrusted? The things that are read are mystical; they must be expounded in allegorical sacraments. Can I thrust the pearls of the word of God upon deaf and averted ears? The Apostle did not act thus; for see what he says: You who have read the Law, he says, have you not heard the Law? For Abraham had two sons, etc., to which he adds, Which things are allegorical (Gal. 4:21–24). Did he open the sacraments of the Law to those who neither read nor understand? No, it was to those who read the Law that he said, Have you not heard the Law? How then shall I be able to open and disclose the mysteries of the Law, and the allegories which I have been taught by the Apostle, to those to whom both the hearing and the reading of the Law are unknown?

2. Exhortation to pray. Perhaps I seem rather harsh to you; but I cannot plaster over a slipping wall. For I fear what is written: My people, those who call you blessed lead you astray, and throw the paths of your feet into confusion (Isa. 3:12). I admonish you as my dearest sons. I wonder whether the way of Christ has not yet become known to you, whether you have not even heard this, that it is not a broad and spacious way, but a narrow and strait way, that leads to life (Matt. 7:14). You too, therefore, enter by the narrow gate; leave the broadness to those who are perishing. The night is far gone, but the day has drawn near (Rom. 13:12), says the Apostle: Walk as sons of light (Eph. 5:8): The time is short; it remains that both those who have should be as not having; and those who use this world, as not using it (1 Cor. 7:29, 31). The Apostle commands that one must pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). You who do not come together for prayers, how do you fulfil without ceasing what you always omit? And Christ too commanded, Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation (Matt. 26:41). But if those who watched and prayed, and always clung to the Word of God, nevertheless by no means escaped temptation, what are these people doing who come to church only on feast days? If the just man is scarcely saved, where will the sinner and the ungodly appear (1 Pet. 4:18)?

3. The spiritual betrothal. It irks me to say anything from the things that have been read. For the Apostle too says of discourses of this kind that they are interpretable in the speaking; since you, he says, have become weak for hearing (Heb. 5:11). Let us nevertheless look at this which has been recited to us. Rebecca, says Scripture, came with the daughters of the city to draw water from the well (Gen. 24:15–16). Rebecca came to the wells daily, daily she drew water: and because she daily gave her time to the wells, therefore she could be found by Abraham's servant, and be joined in marriage to Isaac. Do you think these are tales, and that the Holy Spirit relates stories in the Scriptures? This is the instruction of souls, and spiritual teaching, which teaches you to come daily to the wells of the Scriptures, to the waters of the Holy Spirit, and always to draw, and to carry a full vessel back home: just as holy Rebecca also did, who could not have been joined to so great a patriarch as Isaac, who was born of the promise, except by drawing water: and by drawing so much that she could give drink not only to those who were at home, but also to Abraham's servant: and not only to the servant, but she so abounded in the waters which she drew from the wells that she could water the camels too, Until they ceased drinking, it says (ibid., 19). All the things that are written are mysteries. Christ wishes to betroth you too to Himself: for He speaks to you through the prophet, saying, I will betroth you to Me for ever, and I will betroth you to Me in faith and mercy, that you may acknowledge the Lord (Hos. 2:19–20). Since therefore He wishes to betroth you to Himself, He sends this servant ahead to you. This servant is the prophetic word, and unless you first receive it, you will not be able to marry Christ. Know, however, that no one untrained and unskilled receives the prophetic word; but he who knows how to draw water from the depth of the well: and who knows how to draw so much that it suffices even for those who seem irrational and perverse, whose

figure the camels hold; so that he too may be able to say that I am a debtor to the wise and to the unwise (Rom. 1:14). Finally, this servant had spoken thus in his heart: Of these virgins, he says, who have come to the water, whichever shall say to me, Drink, you, and I will water your camels, she shall be the bride of my master (Gen. 24:14). So then Rebecca, whose name is interpreted Patience, when she saw the servant and looked upon the prophetic word, puts down the pitcher from her shoulder: for she puts down the lofty arrogance of Greek eloquence, and, bending herself to the humble and simple prophetic speech, she said, Drink, you, and I will water the camels.

4. The word of God both feeds and is fed. But perhaps you say: If the servant bears the figure of the prophetic word, how is he given drink by Rebecca, whom he ought rather to give drink to himself? Consider then whether perhaps, just as the Lord Jesus, though He is Himself the bread of life (John 6:35) and Himself feeds hungry souls, nevertheless confesses that He Himself hungers, when He says, I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat (Matt. 25:35); and again, though He is Himself living water and gives drink to all who thirst, nevertheless He Himself says to the Samaritan woman, Give Me to drink (John 4:7): so also the prophetic word, though it gives drink to the thirsty, may nonetheless be said to be given drink by them, when it receives the exercises and the watchfulness of the studious. Such a soul, therefore, which does all things patiently, which is so ready and supported by such learning, which is accustomed to draw the streams of knowledge from the depths, is the one that can be joined in the nuptials of Christ. Unless, then, you come daily to the wells, unless you daily draw waters, not only will you be unable to give drink to others, but you yourself also will suffer thirst for the word of God. Hear also the Lord saying in the Gospel: Let him who thirsts come and drink (John 7:37). But you, as I see, do not hunger, nor do you thirst for righteousness. And how will you be able to say, As the hart longs for the springs of waters, so my soul longs for Thee, O God. My soul has thirsted for the living God; when shall I come and appear before His face (Ps. 41:2–3)?

5. For Christians every day is the Lord's day. I beseech you who always attend the hearing of the word, listen patiently, while for a little we admonish the negligent and slothful. Have patience: for our sermon to you is about Rebecca, that is, about patience; and it is necessary for us, through patience, to chastise a little those who neglect the assembly and decline to hear the word of God: who do not desire the bread of life, nor the living water, who do not go out of the camp, nor come forth from their houses of clay, to gather manna for themselves, who do not come to the rock, to drink from the spiritual rock: For the rock is Christ (1 Cor. 10:4), as the Apostle says. Have, I say, a little patience; for our sermon is to the negligent and to those who are unwell: for the healthy do not need a physician, but those who are unwell. Tell me, you who come together to church only on feast days, are the other days not feasts, or are they not days of the Lord? It belongs to the Jews to observe certain rare days as solemn: and therefore the Lord says to them, Your new moons and sabbaths and the great day I do not endure; your fast and holidays and feast days My soul hates (Isa. 1:13–14). God therefore hates those who think that the Lord's feast day is on one day. Christians eat the flesh of the Lamb every day, that is, they daily take the flesh of the Word of God; for Christ our Passover has been sacrificed (1 Cor. 5:7). And since the law of the Passover is such that it is eaten in the evening, therefore the Lord suffered in the evening of the world, so that you may always eat of the flesh of the Word of God, you who are always in the evening, until the morning comes. And if in this evening you have been watchful, and have led your life in weeping and fasting, or in every labour of righteousness, you too will be able to say, In the evening weeping shall linger, and in the morning gladness (Ps. 29:6). For you will rejoice in the morning, that is, in the age to come, if in this age you have gathered the fruit of righteousness in weeping and labour. Come then, while there is time; let us drink from the well of vision, where Isaac walks, and where he goes out to exercise.