Judgement And Endurance

Et vos, inquit, oves meae, haec dicit Dominus Deus: Ecce ego iudico inter ovem et ovem, et arietes et hircos. Quid hic faciunt hirci in grege Dei? In eisdem pascuis, in eisdem fontibus, et hirci tamen sinistrae destinati dextris miscentur, et prius tolerantur qui separabuntur. Et hic exercetur ovium patientia ad similitudinem patientiae Dei. Separatio enim ab illo erit, aliorum ad sinistram aliorum ad dexteram. Nunc autem ipse tacet, tu vis loqui. Sed unde dico: Tu vis loqui? Unde ipse tacet. A vindicta iudicii, non a verbo correptionis. Ipse nondum separat, tu vis separare. Ipse mixta tolerat, qui seminavit. Si ante ventilationem frumentum vis esse purgatum, tuo vento, pessime ventilaberis. Licuerit servis dicere: Vis, imus, et colligimus ea? Stomachati enim sunt, videndo zizania, et doluerunt segeti bonae permixta zizania. Et dixerunt: Nonne bonum semen seminasti? Unde ergo apparuerunt zizania? Ille rationem reddidit unde apparuerunt; non tamen permisit ut ante tempus evellerentur. Quamvis et ipsi servi stomachati adversus zizania, consilium tamen et praeceptum a domino expetiverunt. Displicebant illa inter segetem, sed videbant servi, quia si vel in ipsis zizaniis evellendis aliquid sua sponte facerent, ipsi zizaniis numerarentur. A Domino expectaverunt praeceptum, iussionem regis sui quaesierunt: Vis, imus, et colligimus ea? Et ille: Non. Et reddidit inde causam: Ne forte, cum vultis colligere zizania, eradicetis simul et triticum. Sedavit ab indignatione, nec reliquit in dolore. Grave enim videbatur servis esse zizania inter frumentum, et vere grave erat. Sed alia est conditio agri, alia quies horrei. Tolera, ad hoc enim natus es. Tolera, quia forte toleratus es. Si semper bonus fuisti, habeto misericordiam; si aliquando malus fuisti, noli perdere memoriam. Et quis est semper bonus? Facilius, si te Deus diligenter discutiat, inveniet te etiam nunc malum, quam tu te semper bonum. Ergo toleranda sunt zizania haec inter frumentum, hirci inter arietes, hoedi inter oves. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, De Ovibus, Sermo XLVII, In Ezechiel cap XXXIV, ab illis verbis, Et vos oves meae... Source: Migne PL 38.298

'And you, my sheep,' thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, and rams and he-goats.' 1 What are he-goats doing here among the flock of God? Though destined for the left hand, in the same fields the he-goats are mixing with those of the right hand, and first they are tolerated who shall be separated. And this is to exercise the sheep in patience in the likeness of God's patience. The separation shall be performed by Him, some to the left and some to the right. But now He is silent, and you wish to speak. But what do I say you wish to speak about? What He is keeping quiet about. About the sentence of judgment, not about a word of correction. He is not yet separating, you wish to do so. He who sowed is tolerating the mixing. If before winnowing time you wish the grain purged, and with your own wind, you will suffer a worse winnowing. It was permitted that the servants say, 'Do you want us to go and gather them?' 2 They were troubled when they saw the weeds, and aggrieved at the weeds mixed with the good crop. And they said, 'Did you not sow good seed? Then from where did the weeds come?' He gave the reason why they appeared, but even so He did not permit the weeds to be pulled up before the time. And though those servants were vexed at the weeds, they sought the counsel and command of their lord. They were displeased by the weeds in the crop, but they saw that if they acted according to their own wish to pull up the weeds, they would be reckoned among the weeds. They waited for the commands of their Lord, they sought their king's decree, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?' And He said, 'No.' And he gave the reason: 'Lest perhaps when you wish to gather up the weeds, you also uproot the wheat at the same time.' He soothed  indignation, and did not leave them in their upset. It troubled the servants that there were weeds among wheat, and indeed it was troubling. But the state of the field is one thing, the quietness of the barn is another. Endure it, because for that you were born. Endure, because perhaps you have been endured. If you have always been good, be merciful. If you were once bad, don't forget it. And who is always good? It will be easier if God lovingly disciplines you when He finds you bad now, than for you to be good always. So we have to endure these weeds among the corn, the he-goats among the rams, the goats among the sheep. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 47, On The Sheep, On Ezekiel Chapter 34, on the words, 'And you my sheep...' 1 Ezek 34.17 2 Mt 13.28