Office Of Readings | Week 13, Tuesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Sermons Of Saint Augustine | Servant Of Jesus Christ

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Office Of Readings | Week 13, Tuesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Sermons Of Saint Augustine | Servant Of Jesus Christ

‘If I sought to serve men I should not be the servant of Jesus Christ.’

The Witness Of Conscience

Saint Augustine begins with what he calls ‘our glory’: the witness of our conscience. Here he draws on Pauline language (2 Corinthians 1:12) to highlight that true moral integrity does not depend on the shifting opinions of others, but on the sincere alignment of heart and action with God’s will. Conscience for Augustine is not a modern autonomous faculty but a God-given echo of divine law, written into the human heart (cf. Confessions X.1.1). It is not infallible — but it is the site of deepest accountability.

Augustine knows the pain of slander, suspicion, and misjudgement — not only as a bishop in North Africa contending with Donatists and others, but as a man bearing a dramatic and controversial past. Yet he insists that the only secure refuge is the interior life lived with integrity before God. ‘Against men of this sort, what defence is there save the witness of our own conscience?’ The remark could be addressed to any Christian who, misunderstood or falsely accused, must hold fast to Christ’s truth rather than the crowd’s acclaim.

To Please Or Not To Please

Augustine addresses the paradox of Saint Paul’s teaching: in Galatians 1:10, Paul says, ‘If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.’ Yet elsewhere in 1 Corinthians 10:33, Paul says, ‘I try to please everyone in everything I do.’ Is this a contradiction? Not at all, Augustine argues — and he uses this as an occasion to teach spiritual discernment.

To ‘please men’ in the first sense means to compromise one’s integrity for the sake of human favour. To ‘please’ in the second sense means to help others find joy in the good. A Christian should never act with self-interest or vainglory, but should act in ways that edify others — ‘so that if we walk as we should they will not go astray in following us’. This pastoral concern reflects Augustine’s deep sense of responsibility, both as a bishop and as a fellow member of Christ’s flock.

His point is subtle but vital: good example matters, but it must be motivated by charity, not vanity. The goal is not praise for its own sake, but that ‘they take pleasure in what is good — not because this exalts us, but because it benefits them’.

Good Deeds, Good Appearances

Augustine appeals to the Gospel: ‘Let your light so shine before men’ (Matthew 5:16), yet also ‘Do not perform your good deeds before men’ (Matthew 6:1). These apparently contradictory verses are both found in the Sermon on the Mount. Augustine’s point is not to resolve a textual inconsistency, but to encourage purity of intention. The heart must not be stirred by pride but guided by a desire to glorify God.

In pastoral terms, this means that Christian leaders — and all believers — should be mindful not only of their own conscience but of how their actions affect the weak. This echoes Paul’s teaching in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8–10: ‘Do not cause your brother to stumble.’ Here, Augustine uses a beautiful image from Scripture: ‘We may trample on God’s meadow, and weaker sheep will have to feed on trampled grass and drink from troubled waters.’ It is a plea for gentleness, transparency, and spiritual responsibility.

Historical And Ecclesial Resonance

Historically, Augustine was preaching to a deeply divided Church. The Donatist schism had created a context of moral suspicion — who was truly pure, truly orthodox, truly ‘inside’ the Church? Augustine, while vehement in opposing error, refuses to rest his confidence on polemic or popularity. His sole defence is the purity of intention and the fidelity of his conscience before God.

In today’s Church, this sermon remains poignant. In an age marked by scandal, suspicion, and hyper-visibility, Augustine offers a voice of balance and grace. He neither excuses sin nor obsesses over reputation. Instead, he points to the quiet centre of the Christian life: to be ‘in Christ’, walking humbly with integrity, trusting that God judges rightly.

A Reading From The Sermons Of Saint Augustine | Servant Of Jesus Christ

This is our glory: the witness of our conscience. There are men who rashly judge, who slander, whisper and murmur, who are eager to suspect what they do not see, and eager to spread abroad things they have not even a suspicion of. Against men of this sort, what defence is there save the witness of our own conscience?

My brothers, we do not seek, nor should we seek, our own glory even among those whose approval we desire. What we should seek is their salvation, so that if we walk as we should they will not go astray in following us. They should imitate us if we are imitators of Christ; and if we are not, they should still imitate him. He cares for his flock, and he alone is to be found with those who care for their flocks, because they are all in him.

And so we seek no advantage for ourselves when we aim to please men. We want to take our joy in men – and we rejoice when they take pleasure in what is good, not because this exalts us, but because it benefits them.

It is clear who is intended by the apostle Paul: If I wanted to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. And similarly when he says: Be pleasing to all men in all things, even as I in all things please all men. Yet his words are as clear as water, limpid, undisturbed, unclouded. And so you should, as sheep, feed on and drink of his message; do not trample on it or stir it up.

You have listened to our Lord Jesus Christ as he taught his apostles: Let your actions shine before men so that they may see your good deeds, and give glory to your Father who is in heaven, for it is the Father who made you thus. We are the people of his pasture, the sheep of his hands. If then you are good, praise is due to him who made you so; it is no credit to you, for if you were left to yourself, you could only be wicked. Why then do you try to pervert the truth, in wishing to be praised when you do good, and blaming God when you do evil? For though he said: Let your works shine before men, in the same Sermon on the Mount he also said: Do not parade your good deeds before men. So if you think there are contradictions in Saint Paul, you will find the same in the Gospels; but if you refrain from troubling the waters of your heart, you will recognise here the peace of the Scriptures and with it you will have peace.

And so, my brothers, our concern should be not only to live as we ought, but also to do so in the sight of men; not only to have a good conscience but also, so far as we can in our weakness, so far as we can govern our frailty, to do nothing which might lead our weak brother into thinking evil of us. Otherwise, as we feed on the good pasture and drink the pure water, we may trample on God’s meadow, and weaker sheep will have to feed on trampled grass and drink from troubled waters.

Prayer With Jesus Christ | Prayer For Integrity Of Life And Witness

O God of truth and mercy,
You see into the depths of our hearts,
and judge not by outward appearance but by the light of conscience.
Keep us faithful to Christ, your Son,
that our words and deeds may reflect the grace we receive from you.

When we are misunderstood or misjudged,
grant us peace through the witness of a clear conscience.
When we are tempted to seek approval rather than holiness,
renew our love for your glory alone.

Teach us to walk humbly in the sight of others,
not for praise, but to build up the weak;
not for vanity, but for the salvation of souls.

May we always live as your sheep,
listening for the voice of the true Shepherd,
and finding in his gaze our sure reward.

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Glossary Of Christian Terms

Conscience – The inner faculty by which we discern moral right and wrong. For Augustine, conscience is a sacred space where the soul stands before God, not simply a personal opinion.

Servant of Christ – A phrase used by St Paul (e.g., Galatians 1:10) to indicate total loyalty to Jesus, even when it involves suffering or unpopularity.

Donatists – A North African schismatic group in Augustine’s time, who emphasised the purity of the Church and rejected the sacraments administered by clergy who had lapsed in persecution.

Scandal – In theological terms, an action that leads another into sin or undermines their faith. Augustine is warning against scandalising the ‘weaker sheep.’

Witness of our conscience – Refers to the confidence we can have when we act rightly, even if others criticise or misunderstand us.

Good pasture / trampled grass – Biblical imagery (cf. Ezekiel 34) used to contrast the nourishing truth of God’s Word with the spiritual damage caused by careless or hypocritical Christian witness.

Let your light shine before men / Do not parade your good deeds – Verses from Matthew’s Gospel, which Augustine reconciles by distinguishing between intention (for God’s glory) and vain display (for human praise).

Flock of Christ / sheep of his hands – Scriptural metaphors (e.g., Psalm 95:7, John 10) describing the people of God as sheep under the care of Christ the Good Shepherd.