Mary and Martha were two sisters of great faith in God: they said to Christ, "Lord, if thou hadst been present, our brother would not have died." This officer said to Christ, "Say thy word, and my servant shall be whole. I am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me; and I say to this, Go thou, and he goeth; to another, Come thou, and he cometh; to my servant, Do this, and he doeth. How much more canst thou, who art Almighty God, through thy behest, execute whatsoever thou wilt!" The Lord said, "I say to you in sooth, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall rest with the patriarch Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." These words are pleasant to hear, and they greatly gladden our minds, that many shall come from the east part of the world, and from the west part, to the kingdom of heaven, and rule with the patriarchs in everlasting joy. By the two parts, the east and the west, are betokened the four corners of the whole world, from which God's chosen shall be gathered from every people to the dwelling of the patriarchs and of all the saints. By the east part may be betokened those who in youth incline to God; because in the east part is the day's beginning. By the west part are betokened those who in age turn to God's service; because in the west part the day ends. The following sentence is very awful, "The rich children shall be cast into utter darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." The rich children are the Jewish, over whom God ruled, by the old law; but they rejected Christ, and despised his doctrine; and he casts them into utter darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Many rich men, however, thrive to God, if they are righteous and merciful. The patriarch Abraham was a rich man, and David the great king, and Zaccheus, who gave half his riches to the {133} poor, and with the half part compensated fourfold for what he had before wrongfully gained. These rich and their like come by good conversion to the everlasting kingdom, which will never fail them.