Oh, pitiable slavery! Very often when men are afflicted with wicked masters, they request to have themselves put up for sale, not seeking to not have a master, but simply to change. But the slave of sin, what can he do? To whom can he appeal? Before whom can he appeal? Before whom can he request to have himself put up for sale? Then too, the slave of a man sometimes, when exhausted by his master’s harsh orders, finds rest in flight. Where does the slave of sin flee? He drags himself with himself wherever he flees.… Let us all flee to Christ. Against sin let us appeal to God, the giver of freedom. Let us request to have ourselves put up for sale that we may be redeemed by his blood. For the Lord says, “You were sold for nothing, and without money you shall be redeemed.” Without payment, without your payment, because by mine. The Lord says this; for He gave the payment himself, not silver, but His own blood. For we had remained both slaves and in need.
The Lord alone, then, sets free from this slavery; He, who did not have it, Himself sets free from it. Indeed, He alone came in this flesh without sin. For little children whom you see being carried in their mothers’ hands do not yet walk and they have already been shackled; for they have contracted from Adam what is to be broken by Christ. This grace which the Lord promises also pertains to them when they are baptized; for He alone can set free from sin, who came without sin and became a sacrifice for sin.
Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on the Gospel of John 4–5
No comments:
Post a Comment