4. We have begun to be some great thing; let no man despise himself: we were once nothing; but we are something. We have said unto the Lord, "Remember that we are dust;" [3902] but out of the dust He made man, and to dust He gave life, and in Christ our Lord hath He already brought this same dust to the Kingdom of Heaven. For from this dust took He flesh, from this took earth, and hath raised earth to heaven, He who made heaven and earth. If then these two new things, not yet done, were set before us, and it were asked of us, "Which is the most wonderful, that He who is God should be made Man, or he who is man should be made a man of God? which is the more wonderful? which the more difficult?" What hath Christ promised us? That which as yet we see not; that is, that we should be His men, and reign with Him, and never die? This is so to say with difficulty believed, that a man once born should arrive at that life, where he shall never die. This is what we believe with a heart well cleansed, [3903] cleansed, I mean, of the world's dust; that this dust close not up our eye of faith. This it is that we are bid believe, that after we have been dead, we shall be even with our dead bodies in life, where we shall never die. Wonderful it is; but more wonderful is that which Christ hath done. For which is the more incredible, that man should live for ever, or that God should ever die? That men should receive life from God is the more credible; that God should receive death from men I suppose is the more incredible. Yet this hath been brought to pass already: let us then believe that which is to be. If that which is the more incredible hath been brought to pass, shall He not give us that which is the more credible? For God hath power to make of men Angels, who hath made of earthy and filthy spawn, [3904] men. What shall we be? Angels. What have we been? I am ashamed to call it to mind; I am forced to consider it, yet I blush to tell it. What have we been? Whence did God make men? What were we before we were at all? We were nothing. When we were in our mother's wombs, what were we? It is enough that ye remember. Withdraw your minds from the whence ye were made, and think of what ye are. Ye live; but so do herbs and trees live. Ye have sensation, and so have cattle sensation. Ye are men, ye have got beyond the cattle, ye are superior to the cattle; for that ye understand how great things He hath done for you. Ye have life, ye have sensation, ye have understanding, ye are men. Now to this benefit what can be compared? Ye are Christians. For if we had not received this, what would it profit us, that we were men! So then we are Christians, we belong to Christ. For all the world's rage, it doth not break us; because we belong to Christ. For all the world's caresses, it doth not seduce us; we belong to Christ.
5. A great Patron have we found, Brethren. Ye know that men depend [3905] much upon their patrons. A dependent of a man in power will make answer to any one who threatens him. "Thou canst do nothing to me, as long as my lord's head is safe." How much more boldly and surely may we say, "Thou canst do nothing to us, whilst our Head is safe." Forasmuch as our Patron is our Head. Whosoever depend upon any man as patron, are his dependents; we are the members of our Patron. Let Him bear us in Himself, and let no man tear us away from Him. Since what labours soever we shall have endured in this world, all that passeth away, is nothing. The good things shall come which shall not pass away; by labours we arrive at them. But when we have arrived, no one teareth us away from them. The gates of Jerusalem are shut; they receive the bolts too, that to that city it may be said, "Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, praise thy God, O Sion. For He hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates; He hath blessed thy children within thee. Who hath made thy borders peace." [3906] When the gates are shut, and the bolts drawn, no friend goeth out, no enemy entereth in. There shall we have true and assured security, if here we shall not have abandoned the truth.
[3890] Vilitas.
[3891] John v. 46.
[3892] John vi. 41.
[3893] Qui sumi potest, consumi non potest.
[3894] Ps. lxxvii. 24, 25, Sept. (lxxviii. English version).
[3895] Instrumentum.
[3896] Meruit.
[3897] Matt. xii. 29.
[3898] Ps. xxxiii. 8, Vulgate (xxxiv. 8, English version).
[3899] Homine. Vid. Serm. xvii. (lxvii. Ben.) 7 (iv.), note.
[3900] Gen. xii. 3.
[3901] Gal. iii. 29.
[3902] Ps. cii. 14, Sept. (ciii. English version).
[3903] Excusso.
[3904] Semina.
[3905] Tendunt se.
[3906] Ps. cxlvii. 12-14.
Sermon LXXXI.
[CXXXI. Ben.]
On the words of the Gospel, John vi. 53, "Except ye eat the flesh," etc., and on the words of the apostles. And the Psalms. Against the Pelagians.
Delivered at the Table of the Martyr St. Cyprian, the 9th
of the Calends of October,--23 Sept., on the Lord's day.
1. We have heard the True Master, the Divine Redeemer, the human Saviour, commending to us our Ransom, His Blood. For He spake to us of His Body and Blood; He called His Body Meat, His Blood Drink. The faithful recognise the Sacrament of the faithful. But the hearers what else do they but hear? When therefore commending such Meat and such Drink He said, "Except ye shall eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, ye shall have no life in you;" [3907] (and this that He said concerning life, who else said it but the Life Itself? But that man shall have death, not life, who shall think that the Life is false), His disciples were offended, not all of them indeed, but very many, saying within themselves, "This is an hard saying, who can hear it?" [3908] But when the Lord knew this in Himself, and heard the murmurings of their thought, He answered them, thinking though uttering nothing, that they might understand that they were heard, and might cease to entertain such thoughts. What then did He answer? "Doth this offend you?" "What then if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before?" [3909] What meaneth this? "Doth this offend you?" "Do ye imagine that I am about to make divisions of this My Body which ye see; and to cut up My Members, and give them to you? What then if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before?'" Assuredly, He who could ascend Whole could not be consumed. So then He both gave us of His Body and Blood a healthful refreshment, and briefly solved so great a question as to His Own Entireness. Let them then who eat, eat on, and them that drink, drink; let them hunger and thirst; eat Life, drink Life. That eating, is to be refreshed; but thou art in such wise refreshed, as that that whereby thou art refreshed, faileth not. That drinking, what is it but to live? Eat Life, drink Life; thou shalt have life, and the Life is Entire. But then this shall be, that is, the Body and the Blood of Christ shall be each man's Life; if what is taken in the Sacrament visibly is in the truth itself eaten spiritually, drunk spiritually. For we have heard the Lord Himself saying, "It is the Spirit That quickeneth, but the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I have spoken unto you, are Spirit and Life. But there are some of you," saith He, "that believe not." [3910] Such were they who said, "This is a hard saying, who can hear it?" It is hard, but only to the hard; that is, it is incredible, but only to the incredulous.
2. But in order to teach us that this very believing is matter of gift, not of desert, He saith, "As I have said unto you, no man cometh unto Me, except it were given him of My Father." [3911] Now as to where the Lord said this, if we call to mind the foregoing words of the Gospel, we shall find that He had said, "No man cometh unto Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him." [3912] He did not lead, but draw. This violence is done to the heart, not the body. Why then dost thou marvel? Believe, and thou comest; love, and thou art drawn. Do not suppose here any rough and uneasy violence; it is gentle, it is sweet; it is the very sweetness that draweth thee. Is not a sheep drawn, when fresh grass is shown to it in its hunger? Yet I imagine that it is not bodily driven on, but fast bound by desire. In such wise do thou come too to Christ; do not conceive of long journeyings; where thou believest, there thou comest. For unto Him, who is everywhere we come by love, not by sailing. But forasmuch as even in this kind of voyage, waves and tempests of divers temptations abound; believe on the Crucified; that thy faith may be able to ascend the Wood. Thou shalt not sink, but shalt be borne upon the Wood. Thus, even thus, amid the waves of this world did he sail, who said, "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." [3913]
3. But wonderful it is, that when Christ Crucified is preached, two hear, one despiseth, the other ascendeth. Let him that despiseth, impute it to himself; let not him that ascendeth, arrogate it to himself. For he hath heard from the True Master; "No man cometh unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father." Let him joy, that it hath been given; let him render thanks to Him who giveth it, with a humble, not an arrogant heart; lest what he hath attained [3914] through humility, he lose through pride. For even they who are already walking in this way of righteousness, if they attribute it to themselves, and to their own strength, perish out of it. And therefore Holy Scripture teaching us humility saith by the Apostle, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." [3915] And lest hereupon they should attribute ought to themselves, because he said, "Work," he subjoined immediately, "For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." [3916] "It is God who worketh in you;" therefore "with fear and trembling," make a valley, receive the rain. Low grounds are filled, high grounds are dried up. Grace is rain. Why dost thou marvel then, if "God resist the proud, and giveth grace unto the lowly"? [3917] Therefore, "with fear and trembling;" that is, with humility. "Be not high-minded, but fear." [3918] Fear that thou mayest be filled; be not high-minded, lest thou be dried up.
4. But you will say, "I am walking in this way already; once there was need for me to learn, there was need for me to know by the teaching of the law what I had to do: now I have the free choice of the will; who shall withdraw me from this way?" If thou read carefully, thou wilt find that a certain man began to uplift himself, on a certain abundance of his, which he had nevertheless received; but that the Lord in mercy, to teach him humility, took away what He had given; and he was on a sudden reduced to poverty, and confessing the mercy of God in his recollection, he said, "In my abundance I said, I shall never be moved." [3919] "In my abundance I said." But I said it, I who am a man said it; "All men are liars, I said." [3920] Therefore, "in my abundance I said;" so great was the abundance, that I dared to say, "I shall never be moved." What next? "O Lord, in Thy favour Thou gavest strength to my beauty." But "Thou turnedst away Thy Face from me, and I was troubled." [3921] "Thou hast shown me," saith he, "that that wherein I did abound, was of Thee. Thou hast shown me Whence I should seek, to Whom attribute what I had received, to Whom I ought to render thanks, to Whom I should run in my thirst, Whereby be filled, and with Whom keep that whereby I should be filled. For my strength will I keep to Thee;' [3922] whereby I am by Thy bounty filled, through Thy safe keeping I will not lose. My strength will I keep to Thee.' That Thou mightest show me this, Thou turnedst away Thy Face from me, and I was troubled.' Troubled,' because dried up; dried up, because exalted. Say then thou dry and parched one, that thou mayest be filled again; My soul is as earth without water unto Thee.' [3923] Say, My soul is as earth without water unto Thee.' For Thou hast said, not the Lord, I shall never be moved.' Thou hast said it, presuming on thine own strength; but it was not of thyself, and thou didst think as if it were."