indeed, but who saw only with the eyes of the flesh? For when Philip
said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us": he
understood, indeed, that if the Father were shown him, it might well
suffice him; when He that was equal to the Father had sufficed not? And
why did He not suffice? Because He was not seen. And why was He not
seen? Because the eye whereby He might be seen was not yet whole. For
this, namely, that the Lord was seen in the flesh with the outward eyes,
not only the disciples who honored Him saw, but also the Jews who
crucified Him. He, then, who wished to be seen in another way, sought
for other eyes. And, therefore, it was that to him who said, "Show us
the Father, and it sufficeth us," He answered, "Have I been so long time
with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He who hath seen Me
hath seen the Father also." And that He might in the meanwhile heal the
eyes of faith, He has first of all given him instructions regarding
faith, that so he might attain to sight. And lest Philip should think
that he was to conceive of God under the same form in which he then saw
the Lord Jesus Christ in the body, he immediately subjoined, "Believest
thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?" He had already
said, "He who hath seen me hath seen the Father also." But Philip's eye
was not yet sound enough to see the Father, nor, consequently, to see
the Son, who is Himself coequal with the Father. And so Jesus Christ
took in hand to cure, and with the medicine and salve of faith to
strengthen the eyes of his mind, which as yet were weak and unable to
behold so great a light, and He said, "Believest thou not that I am in
the Father, and the Father in Me?" Let not him, then, who can not yet
see what the Lord will one day show him, seek first to see what he is to
believe; but let him first believe that the eye by which he is to see
may be healed. For it was only the form of the servant which was
exhibited to the eyes of servants; because if "He who thought it not
robbery to be equal with God" could have been now seen as equal with God
by those whom He wished to be healed, He would not have needed to empty
Himself and to take the form of a servant. But because there was no way
whereby God could be seen, but whereby man could be seen there was;
therefore, He who was God was made man, that that which was seen might
heal that whereby He was not seen. For He saith Himself in another
place, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Philip
might, of course, have answered and said, Lord, do I see Thee? Is the
Father such as I see Thee to be? Forasmuch as Thou hast said, "He who
hath seen Me hath seen the Father also?" But before Philip answered
thus, or perhaps before he so much as thought it, when the Lord had
said, "He who hath seen Me hath seen the Father also," He immediately
added, "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in
me?" For with that eye he could not yet see either the Father, or the
Son who is equal with the Father; but that his eye might be healed for
seeing, he was anointed unto believing. So, then, before thou seest what
thou canst not now see, believe what as yet thou seest not. "Walk by
faith," that thou mayest attain to sight. Sight will not gladden him in
his home whom faith consoleth not by the way. For, so says the apostle,
"As long as we are in the body we are absent from the Lord." And he
subjoins immediately why we are still "absent or in pilgrimage," tho we
have now believed; "For we walk by faith," he says; "not by sight."
V. Our whole business, then, brethren, in this life is to heal this eye
of the heart whereby God may be seen. To this end are celebrated the
Holy Mysteries; to this end is preached the Word of God; to this end are
the moral exhortations of the Church, those, that is, that relate to the
corrections of manners, to the amendment of carnal lusts, to the
renouncing the world, not in word only, but in a change of life: to this
end is directed the whole aim of the Divine and Holy Scriptures, that
that inner man may be purged of that which hinders us from the sight of
God. For as the eye which is formed to see this temporal light, a light
tho heavenly yet corporeal, and manifest, not to men only, but even to
the meanest animals (for this the eye is formed to this light); if
anything be thrown or falls into it, whereby it is disordered, is shut
out from this light; and tho it encompasses the eye with its presence,
yet the eye turns itself away from, and is absent from it; and tho its
disordered condition is not only rendered absent from the light which is
present, but the light to see which it was formed is even painful to it,
so the eye of the heart too, when it is disordered and wounded, turns
away from the light of righteousness, and dares not and can not
contemplate it.
VI. And what is it that disorders the eye of the heart? Evil desire,
covetousness, injustice, worldly concupiscence; these disorder, close,
blind the eye of the heart. And yet, when the eye of the body is out of
order, how is the physician sought out, what an absence of all delay to
open and cleanse it, that they may be healed whereby this outward light
is seen! There is running to and fro, no one is still, no one loiters,
if even the smallest straw fall into the eye. And God, it must be
allowed, made the sun which we desire to see with sound eyes. Much
brighter, assuredly, is He who made it; nor is the light with which the
eye of the mind is concerned of this kind at all. That light is eternal
wisdom. God made thee, O man, after His own image. Would He give thee
wherewithal to see the sun which He made, and not give thee wherewithal
to see Him who made thee, when He made thee after His own image? He hath
given thee this also; both hath He given thee. But much thou dost love
these outward eyes, and despisest much that interior eye; it thou dost
carry about bruised and wounded. Yea, it would be a punishment to, if
thy Maker should wish to manifest Himself unto thee, it would be a
punishment to thine eye, before that it is cured and healed. For so Adam
in Paradise sinned, and hid himself from the face of God. As long, then,
as he had the sound heart of a pure conscience, he rejoiced at the
presence of God; when that eye was wounded by sin, he began to dread the
divine light, he fled back into the darkness, and the thick covert of
trees, flying from the truth, and anxious for the shade.
VII. Therefore, my brethren, since we too are born of him, and as the
apostle says, "In Adam all die"; for we were all at first two persons;
if we were loath to obey the physician, that we might not be sick; let
us obey Him now, that we may be delivered from sickness. The Physician
gave us precepts, when we were whole; He gave us precepts that we might
not need a physician. "They that are whole," He saith, "need not a
physician, but they that are sick." When whole, we despised these
precepts, and by experience have felt how to our own destruction we
despised His precepts. Now we are sick, we are in distress, we are on
the bed of weakness; yet let us not despair. For because we could not
come to the Physician, He hath vouchsafed to come Himself to us. Tho
despised by man when he was whole, He did not despise him when he was
stricken. He did not leave off to give other precepts to the weak, who
would not keep the first precepts, that he might not be weak; as tho He
would say, "Assuredly thou hast by experience felt that I spoke the
truth when I said, Touch not this. Be healed then now, at length, and
recover the life thou hast lost. Lo, I am bearing thine infirmity; drink
then the bitter cup. For thou hast of thine own self made those my so
sweet precepts, which were given to thee when whole, so toilsome. They
were despised, and so thy distress began; cured thou canst not be,
except thou drink the bitter cup, the cup of temptations, wherein this
life abounds, the cup of tribulation, anguish, and suffering. Drink
then," He says, "drink, that thou mayest live." And that the sick man
may not make answer, "I can not, I can not bear it, I will not drink";
the Physician, all whole tho He be, drinketh first, that the sick man
may not hesitate to drink. For what bitterness is there in this cup
which He hath not drunk? If it be contumely, He heard it first when He
drove out the devils. "He hath a devil, and by Beelzebub He casteth out
devils." Whereupon, in order to comfort the sick, He saith, "If they
have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they
call them of His household?" If pains are this bitter cup, He was bound,
and scourged, and crucified. If death be this bitter cup, He died also.
If infirmity shrink with horror from any particular kind of death, none
was at that time more ignominious than the death of the cross. For it
was not in vain, that the apostle, when setting forth His obedience,
added, "He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
VIII. But because He designed to honor His faithful ones at the end of
the world, He hath first honored the cross in this world; in such wise
that the princes of the earth who believe in Him have prohibited any
criminal from being crucified; and that cross which the Jewish
persecutors with great mockery prepared for the Lord, even kings, His
servants, at this day, bear with great confidence on their foreheads.
Only the shameful nature of the death which our Lord vouchsafed to
undergo for us is not now so apparent, Who, as the apostle says, "Was
made a curse for us." And when, as He hung, the blindness of the Jews
mocked Him, surely He could have come down from the cross, who, if He
had not so willed, had not been on the cross; but it was a greater thing
to rise from the grave than to come down from the cross. Our Lord, then,
in doing these divine and in suffering these human things, instructs us
by His bodily miracles and bodily patience, that we may believe and be
made whole to behold those things invisible which the eye of the body
hath no knowledge of. With this intent, then, He cured those blind men
of whom the account has just now been read in the Gospel. And consider
what instruction He has by this cure conveyed to the man who is sick
within.
IX. Consider the issue of the thing, and the order of the circumstances.
Those two blind men sitting by the wayside cried out, as the Lord passed
by, that He would have mercy upon them. But they were restrained from
crying out by the multitude which was with the Lord. Now do not suppose
that this circumstance is left without a mysterious meaning. But they
overcame the crowd who kept them back by the great perseverance of their
cry, that their voice might reach the Lord's ears; as tho he had not
already anticipated their thoughts. So then the two blind men cried out
that they might be heard by the Lord, and could not be restrained by the
multitude. The Lord "was passing by," and they cried out. The Lord
"stood still," and they were healed. "For the Lord Jesus stood still,
and called them, and said, What wilt ye that I shall do unto you? They
say unto Him, That our eyes may be opened." The Lord did according to
their faith, He recovered their eyes. If we have now understood by the
sick, the deaf, the dead, the sick, and deaf, and dead within; let us
look out in this place also for the blind within. The eyes of the heart
are closed; Jesus passeth by that we may cry out. What is meant by
"Jesus passeth by?" Jesus is doing things which last but for a time.
What is meant by "Jesus passeth by?" Jesus doth things which pass by.
Mark and see how many things of His have passed by. He was born of the
Virgin Mary; is He being born always? As an infant He was suckled; is He
suckled always? He ran through the successive ages of life until man's
full estate; doth He grow in body always? Boyhood succeeded to infancy,
to boyhood youth, to youth man's full stature in several passing
successions. Even the very miracles which He did are passed by; they are
read and believed. For because these miracles are written that so they
might be read, they passed by when they were being done. In a word, not
to dwell long on this, He was crucified; is He hanging on the cross
always? He was buried, He rose again, He ascended into heaven, now He
dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over Him. And His divinity
abideth ever, yea, the immortality of His body now shall never fail. But
nevertheless all those things which were wrought by Him in time have
passed by; and they are written to be read, and they are preached to be
believed. In all these things, then, Jesus passeth by.
X. And what are the two blind men by the wayside but the two people to
cure whom Jesus came? Let us show these two people in the Holy
Scriptures. It is written in the Gospel, "Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold; them also must I bring, that there may be one fold and
one Shepherd." Who then are the two people? One the people of the Jews,
and the other of the Gentiles. "I am not sent," He saith, "but unto the
lost sheep of the house of Israel." To whom did He say this? To the
disciples; when that woman of Canaan, who confest herself to be a dog,
cried out that she might be found worthy of the crumbs from the Master's
table. And because she was found worthy, now were the two people to whom
He had come made manifest, the Jewish people, to wit, of whom He said,
"I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel"; and the
people of the Gentiles, whose type this woman exhibited, whom He had
first rejected, saying, "It is not meet to cast the children's bread to
the dogs"; and to whom, when she said, "Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of
the crumbs which fall from their master's table," He answered, "O woman,
great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt." For of this
people also was that centurion of whom the same Lord saith, "Verily I
say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel,"
because he had said, "I am not worthy that Thou shouldst come under my
roof, but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." So then
the Lord even before His passion and glorification pointed out two
people, the one to whom He had come because of the promises to the
Fathers, and the other whom for His mercy's sake He did not reject; that
it might be fulfilled which had been promised to Abraham, "In thy seed
shall all the nations be blessed."
XI. Attend, now, dearly beloved. The Lord was passing by, and the blind
men cried out. What is this "passing by?" As we have already said, He
was doing works which passed by. Now upon these passing works is our
faith built up. For we believe on the Son of God, not only in that He is
the Word of God, by whom all things were made; for if He had always
continued in the form of God, equal with God, and had not emptied
Himself in taking the form of a servant, the blind men would not even
have perceived Him, that they might be able to cry out. But when he
wrought passing works, that is, when He humbled Himself, having become
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, the two blind men
cried out, Have mercy on us, thou Son of David. For this very thing that
He, David's Lord and Creator, willed also to be David's son, He wrought
in time, He wrought passing by.
XII. Now what is it, brethren, to cry out unto Christ, but to correspond
to the grace of Christ by good works? This I say, brethren, lest haply
we cry aloud with our voices, and in our lives be dumb. Who is he that
crieth out to Christ, that his inward blindness may be driven away by
Christ as He is passing by, that is, as He is dispensing to us those
temporal sacraments, whereby we are instructed to receive the things
which are eternal? Who is he that crieth out unto Christ? Whoso
despiseth the world, crieth out unto Christ. Whoso despiseth the
pleasures of the world, crieth out unto Christ. Whoso saith, not with
his tongue but with his life, the world is crucified unto me, and I unto
the world, crieth out unto Christ. Whoso disperseth abroad and giveth to
the poor, that his righteousness may endure forever, crieth out unto
Christ. For let him that hears, and is not deaf to the sound, sell that
ye have, and give to the poor; provide yourselves bags which wax not
old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not; let him as he hears the
sound as it were of Christ's footsteps passing by cry out in response to
this in his blindness; that is, let him do these things. Let his voice
be in his actions. Let him begin to despise the world, to distribute to
the poor his goods, to esteem as nothing worth what other men love, let
him disregard injuries, not seek to be avenged, let him give his cheek
to the smiter, let him pray for his enemies; if any one who have taken
away his goods, let him not ask for them again; if he have taken
anything from any man, let him restore fourfold.
XIII. When he shall begin to do all this, all his kinsmen, relations,
and friends will be in commotion. They who love the world will oppose
him. What madness this! You are too extreme! What! Are not other men
Christians? This is folly, this is madness. And other such like things
do the multitude; cry out to prevent the blind from crying out. The
multitude rebuked them as they cried out; but did not overcome their
cries. Let them who wish to be healed understand what they have to do.
Jesus is now also passing by; let them who are by the wayside cry out.
These are they, who know God with their lips, but their heart is far
from Him. These are by the wayside, to whom, as blinded in heart, Jesus
gave His precepts. For when those passing things which Jesus did are
recounted, Jesus is always represented to us as passing by. For even
unto the end of the world there will not be wanting blind men sitting by
the wayside. Need then there is that they who sit by the wayside should
cry out. The multitude that was with the Lord would repress the crying
of those who were seeking for recovery. Brethren, do you see my meaning?
For I know not how to speak, but still less do I know how to be silent.
I will speak then, and speak plainly. For I fear Jesus passing by and
Jesus standing still; and therefore I can not keep silence. Evil and
unknown Christians hinder good Christians who are truly earnest and wish
to do the commandments of God, which are written in the Gospel. This
multitude which is with the Lord hinders those who are crying out,
hinders those, that is, who are doing well, that they may not by
perseverance be healed. But let them cry out, and not faint; let them
not be led away as if by the authority of numbers; let them not imitate
those who become Christians before them, who live evil lives themselves,
and are jealous of the good deeds of others. Let them not say, "Let us
live as these so many live." Why not rather as the Gospel ordains? Why
dost thou wish to live according to the remonstrances of the multitude
who would hinder them, and not after the steps of the Lord who passeth
by? They will mock, and abuse, and call thee back; do thou cry out till
thou reach the ears of Jesus. For they who shall persevere in doing such
things as Christ hath enjoined, and regard not the multitude that hinder
them, nor think much of their appearing to follow Christ, that is of
their being called Christians; but who love the light which Christ is
about to restore to them more than they fear the uproar of those who are
hindering them; they shall on no account be separated from Him, and
Jesus will stand still, and make them whole.
XIV. For how are our eyes made whole? That as by faith we perceive
Christ passing by in the temporal economy, so we may attain to the
knowledge of Him as standing still in His unchangeable eternity. For
there is the eye made whole when the knowledge of Christ's divinity is
attained. Let your love apprehend this; attend ye to the great mystery
which I am to speak of. All the things which were done by our Lord Jesus
Christ, in time, graft faith in us. We believe on the Son of God, not
on the word only, by whom all things were made; but on this very word,
"made flesh that He might dwell among us"; who was born of the Virgin
Mary; and the rest which the Faith contains, and which are represented
to us that Christ might pass by, and that the blind, hearing His
footsteps as He passeth by, might by their works cry out, by their life
exemplifying the profession of their faith. But now in order that they
who cry out may be made whole, Jesus standeth still. For he saw Jesus
now standing still, who says, "Though we have known Christ after the
flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more." For he saw Christ's
divinity as far as in this life is possible. There is then in Christ the
divinity, and the humanity. The divinity standeth still, the humanity
passeth by. What means "the divinity standeth still?" It changeth not,
is not shaken, doth not depart away. For He did not so come to us as to
depart from the Father; nor did He so ascend as to change His place.
When He assumed flesh, it changed place; but God assuming flesh, seeing
He is not in place, doth not change His place. Let us then be touched by
Christ standing still, and so our eyes be made whole. But whose eyes?
The eyes of those who cry out when He is passing by; that is, who do
good works through that faith which hath been dispersed in time, to
instruct in our infancy.
XV. Now what thing more precious can we have than the eye made whole?
They rejoice who see this created light which shines from heaven, or
even that which is given out from a lamp. And how wretched do they seem
who can not see this light? But wherefore do I speak, and talk of all
these things, but to exhort you all to cry out, when Jesus passeth by. I
hold up this light which perhaps ye do not see as an object of love to
you, holy brethren. Believe, while as yet ye see it not; and cry out
that ye may see. How great is thought to be the unhappiness of men who
do not see this bodily light? Does any one become blind; immediately it
is said: "God is angry with him, he has committed some wicked deed." So
said Tobias's wife to her husband. He cried out because of the kid, lest
it had come of theft; he did not like to hear the sound of any stolen
thing in his house; and she, maintaining what she had done, reproached
her husband; and when he said, "Restore it if it be stolen"; she
answered insultingly, "Where are thy righteous deeds?" How great was her
blindness who maintaineth the theft; and how clear a light he saw, who
commanded the stolen thing to be restored! She rejoiced outwardly in the
light of the sun; he inwardly in the light of righteousness. Which of
them was in the better light?
XVI. It is to the love of this light that I would exhort you, beloved;
that ye would cry out by your works, when the Lord passeth by; let the
voice of faith sound out, that Jesus was standing still, that is, the
unchangeable, abiding wisdom of God, and the majesty of the Word of God,
by which all things were made, may open your eyes. The same Tobias, in
giving advice to his son, instructed him to this, to cry out; that is,
he instructed him to good works. He told him to give to the poor,
charged him to give alms to the needy, and taught him, saying, "My son,
alms suffereth not to come into darkness." The blind gave counsel for
receiving and gaining sight. "Alms," saith he, "suffereth not to come
into darkness." Had his son in astonishment answered him, "What then,
father, hast thou not given alms, that thou speakest to me in blindness;
art not thou in darkness, and yet thou dost say to me, Alms suffereth
not to come into darkness?" But no, he knew well what the light was
concerning which he gave his son instruction, he knew well what he saw
in the inner man. The son held out his hand to his father, to enable him
to dwell in heaven.
XVII. To be brief; that I may conclude this sermon, brethren, with a
matter which touches me very nearly, and gives me much pain, see what
crowds there are which rebuke the blind as they cry out. But let them
not deter you. Whosoever among this crowd desire to be healed; for
there are many Christians in name, and in works ungodly; let them not
deter you from good works. Cry out amid the crowds that are restraining
you, and calling you back, and insulting you, whose lives are evil. For
not only by their voices, but by evil works, do wicked Christians
repress the good. A good Christian has no wish to attend the public
shows. In this very thing, that he bridles his desire of going to the
theater, he cries out after Christ, cries out to be healed. Others run
together thither, but perhaps they are heathens or Jews? Ah! indeed, if
Christians went not to the theaters, there would be so few people there
that they would go away for very shame. So then Christians run thither
also, bearing the Holy Name only to their condemnation. Cry out then by
abstaining from going, by repressing in thy heart this worldly
concupiscence; hold on with a strong and persevering cry unto the ears
of the Savior, that Jesus may stand still and heal thee. Cry out amid
the very crowds, despair not of reaching the ears of the Lord. For the
blind man in the Gospel did not cry out in that quarter where no crowd
was, that so they might be heard in that direction, where there was no
impediment from persons hindering them. Amid the very crowds they cried
out; and yet the Lord heard them. And so also do ye even amid sinners,
and sensual men, amid the lovers of the vanities of the world, there
cry out that the Lord may heal you. Go not to another quarter to cry out
unto the Lord, go not to heretics and cry out unto Him there. Consider,
brethren, how in that crowd which was hindering them from crying out,
even there they who cried out were made whole.
WYCLIF
CHRIST'S REAL BODY NOT IN THE EUCHARIST
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
John Wyclif, eminent as scholar, preacher, and translator, was born in
1324 in Spresswel, near Richmond, Yorkshire, England. Known as the
"Morning Star of the Reformation" he was a vigorous and argumentative
speaker, exemplifying his own definition of preaching as something which
should be "apt, apparent, full of true feeling, fearless in rebuking
sins, and so addrest to the heart as to enlighten the spirit and subdue
the will." On these lines he organized a band of Bible preachers who
worked largely among the common people.
Much of Wyclif's popularity was due to his clear and simple style. While
not a great orator, he introduced a popular method of preaching that was
widely copied. He died at Lutterworth in 1384. The Church considered him
a heretic, for he taught the right of the individual to form his own
opinions after personal study of the Scriptures. He was the first
Englishman to translate the Bible systematically into his native
Anglo-Saxon. In 1428, by order of Pope Martin V, his bones were exhumed
and burned, and the ashes thrown into the river Swale.
WYCLIF
1324-1384
CHRIST'S REAL BODY NOT IN THE EUCHARIST
_This is my body_.--Matt. xxvi., 26.