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62 SERMON 05 ECCE REX TUUS Sermon on the First Sunday of Advent1 Matthew 21.5: Behold, your king comes unto you, mild. Part 1: Prothema EHOLD, YOUR king comes unto you, mild” [Mt 21.5]. Many are the wonders of the divine works. Ps 139.14 says: “Wonderful are your works.” But no work of God is as wonderful as the coming of Christ in the flesh, and the reason is that in God’s other works God has pressed his image upon a creature [Col 1.16],2 but in the work of the Incarnation God has pressed his very self upon a creature [cf. Jn 12.45], and he has united himself with the human nature in unity of person ,3 or he has united our nature to himself.4 And therefore, although the other works of God cannot be thoroughly fathomed either, that work, that is, the work of the Incarnation, is totally beyond reason. Thus we read in Jb 5.9: “You who make great “ 1. This sermon was very probably delivered on the 29th of November 1271, since in the Collatio in sero at the Vespers Thomas refers to Saint Andrew, whose feast day is the 30th of November. 2. In ST I 47,1 Thomas speaks of the representation of God’s goodness in the multitude and diversity of the creatures; cf. Rom 1.20. And this is in particular true for the human being: Gn 1.26, Wis 2.23; cf. ST I 93,6 (esp. 93,6,1 and 4). 3. Here Thomas uses the term persona in the theological sense; later on he does not: see note 24. 4. A typical approach of a mystery of faith: since we do not fathom it, we do not have the exact words to formulate it; approaching it from different angles, we need many words; cf. ST III 2–4. SERMON 05 63 and wonderful things and countless things that cannot be fathomed .” This is one work that I cannot see: “If he comes to me, I will not see him” [Jb 9.11].5 And in Mal 2.3 we read: “Behold, the Lord of hosts comes, and who could imagine the day of his coming?” As if he says that this exceeds human thinking. But the Apostle teaches us who could imagine the day of his coming , when he says: “We are not able to think of something by ourselves as if it came from ourselves, but every ability of ours comes from God” [2 Cor 3.5]. Thus we will ask the Lord at the beginning that he may give me something to say, et cetera.6 Part 2: Sermo “Behold, your king” [Mt 21.5], et cetera. These words are taken from the Gospel that is read among us today. They are taken from Zec 9.9, although they are read in a slightly different wording there. Anyway, in these words the coming of Christ is clearly announced to us. In order to avoid talking about something uncertain, you should know that we speak of the coming of Christ in a fourfold way: (0.1) The first is the way in which he comes in the flesh. (0.2) His second coming is the way in which he enters the mind. (0.3) The third coming of Christ is the way in which he comes in the death of the just ones. (0.4) But the fourth coming of Christ is the way in which he comes to judge. E (0.1) First I say that the coming of Christ is into the flesh. And we must not understand this as if he came into the flesh by changing place, because he says in Jer 23.24: “I make heaven and earth full.” So how did he come into the flesh? I say that he has come into the flesh descending from heaven, not by leaving heaven, but by assuming our nature. Thus it says in Jn 1.11: “He 5. ST I 12,1–11. Seeing and knowing are almost synonymous, as in English: “I see” means “I know/understand”; in Greek οἶδα means “I have seen” and therefore “I know.” Cf. ST I 84–89. 6. Thomas is aware that we need God’s help if we want to speak meaningfully of the mysteries of God which we do not fully understand and yet believe and are called to proclaim: ST I 12,12–13. [3.15.156...

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