Gregory the Great, on 1Sam 16:1

“And the Lord said to Samuel. How It long wilt thou mourn for Saul, whom I have rejected from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and come, that I may send thee to Isai the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.”

“22. Now indeed, according to our plan, the book ought to be brought to a close at its end; but it returns to memory that we referred the beginnings of the volume to the conversation of the Redeemer. And since through John our same Redeemer is declared to be the beginning and the end, the book is most fittingly closed if it is completed in the narration of our Redeemer (Rev. 1:8). David, therefore, meaning "strong of hand," represents the Redeemer of the human race Himself, who prevailed over the ancient enemy and carried away the elect from his power. He is called the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, because He willed to be born from that people whom He filled, as it were with bread, with the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. For Judea was the "house of bread," which possessed the solid food of the Scriptures in spiritual understanding, as if from bread. But what does Samuel signify, except, as we have already often said, the order of the new preachers? And what does David represent, except the Redeemer? Samuel is therefore sent to anoint him. For to anoint him is to preach his incomparable sanctification to those who are ignorant of it. For he is, as it were, anointed when the fragrance of his renown is opened to those who do not know him. For he was anointing Him who said: "Because in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily" (Col. 2:9). But why do we take only the new preachers as pertaining to his anointing, when we see that the old ones also anointed him so reverently? For what smells better and sweeter than what the prophet Isaiah poured out upon him, saying: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety; and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him" (Isa. 11:2)? Likewise, he who is held in our hands, David, speaking to him, says: "Beautiful in form above the sons of men, grace is poured forth upon your lips" (Ps. 44:3). And shortly after: "God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions." Moreover, Daniel anointed him and offered the whole sacrament of anointing to the Jews, saying: "When the Holy of Holies shall come, your anointing shall cease" (Dan. 9). The prophet is therefore sent to anoint him, because the fragrance of him is never grasped by the little ones unless it is spread abroad through the mouths of preachers. Whence also those three women prepare spices and anoint the Redeemer in the tomb (Mark 16). Jesus is indeed anointed in the tomb when the glory of his resurrection is preached. Whence also when they come, Jesus is not found; because when they rightly discuss the Lord's death, they show that the dead one is already rising, and as it were by coming they do not find him; because where they rightly understand the cause of his death, they find that life has been restored through that death. 23. But what does it mean that he is commanded to fill the horn with oil? For what was the severity of the law, if not the sharpness of a horn? For it struck as if with a horn, since it did not pardon sins through mercy, but punished them by inflicting penalty. The horn, therefore, is filled with oil, because such a King is anointed who mercifully forgives the sins of men, not punishing through the severity of the law. For they were holding forth the horn of Moses, who said to the Lord concerning the woman who had been caught in adultery: "Moses commands that such a woman be stoned; what do You say about her?" (John 8:5). But He who had been anointed with the full horn says: "Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone at her." That man had taken up the horn for striking, as it were, who said: "If this man were a prophet, He would know who and what sort of woman this is who touches Him, for she is a sinner" (Luke 7:39). But Jesus, who had been anointed from the fullness of the horn, forgave everything, saying: "Her many sins are forgiven, because she loved much." Hence to those murmuring about His reception of sinners He says: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matt. 9:13). The prophet is therefore sent with a full horn to anoint David, because teachers now preach Him who dissolved the harshness of the law, and restored through the warmth of His grace everything that it had set forth rigidly. Was he not anointing Him—he who was sent to anoint Him—of whom it is said: "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John: he came as a witness, to bear witness to the light" (John 1:6)? But we have heard how he was sent; let us hear how he anoints: "Behold," he says, "the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). 24. By the horn, namely of his kingdom, the sublimity of the holy Church can be designated, which is great, but is not harsh and proud. Concerning this horn it is said above through Hannah, the mother of Samuel: "He will exalt the horn of his Christ" (1 Sam. 2:10). For hence it is said through Zechariah: "He has raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of David his servant" (Luke 1:69). What indeed is the horn of salvation, if not the sublimity of ecclesiastical power? For what is nowhere said to the ancients is now said to the universal Church: "Whatever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven; and whatever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven" (Matt. 16:19). This horn is indeed said to be raised up and full of oil, because the holy Church, together with the sublimity of power, extends the bowels of compassion. And because through the vice of condemned humanity we can more easily be lifted up to the authority of power than bent to the tenderness of piety, rightly he is commanded not to prepare a horn, but oil. For he who says, "Fill your horn with oil," indicated that the horn existed without oil. What is this, except that we can grow angry and rebuke even without deliberation, but we cannot be bent to mercy except through great meditation? As if he were saying: Fill with oil the zeal which you naturally have; for if you do not have it of yourself, you can have it from virtue. This is certainly said to him who is sent to anoint the Redeemer, so that he who is placed in the office of preaching may always strive to be rich in mercy. 25. By this horn the affection of the mind can be shown. This horn is certainly commanded to be filled, because the anointing of our Redeemer, that is, His sanctification, ought to be perfectly known before it can be sufficiently preached. The horn is therefore filled when the holiness of the Redeemer is well recognized. And he is anointed with a full horn when He is preached most excellently. For John, because he had come to anoint by preaching, as it were filled the horn by knowing, so that he might be able to anoint Him by speaking well. But if we wish to understand the filling well, let us hear what is said in the Gospel: "The word came upon John the son of Zacharias in the desert" (Luke 3:2). He therefore anointed Him with a full horn, who was first perfectly taught by the Word before he could speak of the divinity of the Word and the assumed nature of man. But coming, he had a calf in his hand; because, in order to become a worthy herald of the Redeemer, he slaughtered his own flesh to God through abstinence. By the name of calf the Lord Himself can also be designated. What then does it mean that the prophet carried a calf in his hand, except that he who wishes to show forth Jesus by preaching ought to imitate the sufferings of Him whom he preaches through the mortification of the flesh? Indeed, to hold a calf in the hand is to show the likeness of Christ's passion in the power of one's works. For otherwise, he who comes to anoint the king is slain; because indeed the preacher of truth brings himself into danger of his own salvation, who tramples by wicked conduct the word that he preaches with his mouth. Samuel therefore, coming to anoint the king, carried a calf in his hand; because the forerunner of the Lord first showed himself admirable through the splendor of a heavenly way of life, and thus made known the good of so great a grace to those who did not know it. 26. But what does it mean that he is commanded to seek among the sons of Jesse, except that He was to be born from the ancient people and was to have no equal? He is therefore commanded to be sought, so that we might believe in Him with reason. And because He says of Himself: "No one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44), it is rightly said to Samuel by the Father: "You shall anoint the one whom I shall show you." For he had anointed, as it were, one who was shown to him—he who heard from the one whom he had anointed: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 16:17). He is sent therefore to Bethlehem, because when Christ is sought according to the flesh, He is found born from the people of the Jews.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.