He who invites is, then, Jesus Christ in his abasement, it is he
who spoke these words of invitation. It is not from his glory
that they are spoken. If that were the case, then Christianity
were heathendom and the name of Christ taken in vain, and for
this reason it cannot be so. But if it were the case that he who
is enthroned in glory had said these words: Come hither--as though
it were so altogether easy a matter to be clasped in the arms of
glory--well, what wonder, then, if crowds of men ran to him! But
they who thus throng to him merely go on a wild goose chase,
imagining they know who Christ is. But that no one knows; and
in order to believe in him one has to begin with his abasement.
He who invites and speaks these words, that is, he whose words
they are--whereas the same words if spoken by some one else are,
as we have seen, an historic falsification--he is the same lowly
Jesus Christ, the humble man, born of a despised maiden, whose
father is a carpenter, related to other simple folk of the very
lowest class, the lowly man who at the same time (which, to be
sure, is like oil poured on the fire) affirms himself to be God.
It is the lowly Jesus Christ who spoke these words. And no word
of Christ, not a single one, have you permission to appropriate
to yourself, you have not the least share in him, are not in any
way of his company, if you have not become his contemporary in
lowliness in such fashion that you have become aware, precisely
like his contemporaries, of his warning: "Blessed is he whosoever
shall not be offended in me.[10]" You have no right to accept
Christ's words, and then lie him away; you have no right to accept
Christ's words, and then in a fantastic manner, and with the aid
of history, utterly change the nature of Christ; for the chatter
of history about him is literally not worth a fig.
It is Jesus Christ in his lowliness who is the speaker. It
is historically true that h e said these words; but so soon as
one makes a change in his historic status, it is false to say
that these words were spoken by him.
This poor and lowly man, then, with twelve poor fellows as his
disciples, all from the lowest class of society, for some time
an object of curiosity, but later on in company only with sinners,
publicans, lepers, and madmen; for one risked honor, life, and
property, or at any rate (and that we know for sure) exclusion
from the synagogue, by even letting one's self be helped by
him--come hither now, all ye that labor and are heavy laden!
Ah, my friend, even if you were deaf and blind and lame and
leprous, if you, which has never been seen or heard before,
united all human miseries in your misery--and if he wished to
help you by a miracle: it is possible that (as is human) you
would fear more than all your sufferings the punishment which
was set on accepting aid from him, the punishment of being cast
out from the society of other men, of being ridiculed and mocked,
day after day, and perhaps of losing your life. It is human
(and it is characteristic of being human) were you to think
as follows: "no, thank you, in that case I prefer to remain deaf
and blind and lame and leprous, rather than accept aid under
such conditions."
"Come hither, come hither, all, ye that labor and are heavy
laden, ah, come hither," lo! he invites you and opens his arms.
Ah, when a gentlemanly man clad in a silken gown says this in
a pleasant, harmonious voice so that the words pleasantly resound
in the handsome vaulted church, a man in silk who radiates honor
and respect on all who listen to him; ah, when a king in purple
and velvet says this, with the Christmas tree in the background
on which are hanging all the splendid gifts he intends to distribute,
why, then of course there is some meaning in these words! But
whatever meaning you may attach to them, so much is sure that
it is not Christianity, but the exact opposite, something as
diametrically opposed to Christianity as may well be; for remember
who it is that invites!
And now judge for yourself--for that you have a right to do;
whereas men really do not have a right to do what is so often
done, viz. to deceive themselves. That a man of such appearance,
a man whose company every one shuns who has the least bit of sense
in his head, or the least bit to lose in the world, that he--well,
this is the absurdest and maddest thing of all, one hardly knows
whether to laugh or to weep about it--that he--indeed, that is
the very last word one would expect to issue from his mouth; for
if he had said: "Come hither and help me," or: "Leave me alone,"
or: "Spare me," or proudly: "I despise you all," we could understand
that perfectly--but that such a man says: "Come hither to me!" why,
I declare, that looks inviting indeed! And still further: "All
ye that labor and are heavy laden"--as though such folk were
not burdened enough with troubles, as though they now, to cap
all, should be exposed to the consequences of associating with
him. And then, finally: "I shall give you rest." What's that?--he
help them? Ah, I am sure even the most good-natured joker who
was contemporary with him would have to say: "Surely, that was
the thing he should have undertaken last of all--to wish to
help others, being in that condition himself! Why, it is about
the same as if a beggar were to inform the police that he had
been robbed. For it is a contradiction that one who has nothing,
and has had nothing, informs us that he has been robbed; and
likewise, to wish to help others when one's self needs help
most." Indeed it is, humanly speaking, the most harebrained
contradiction, that he who literally "hath not where to lay
his head," that he about whom it was spoken truly, in a human
sense, "Behold the man!"--that he should say: "Come hither unto
me all ye that suffer--I shall help!"
Now examine yourself--for that you have a right to do. You have
a right to examine yourself, but you really do not have a right
to let yourself without self-examination be deluded by "the
others" into the belief, or to delude yourself into the belief,
that you are a Christian--therefore examine yourself: supposing
you were contemporary with him! True enough he--alas! he affirmed
himself to be God! But many another madman has made that claim--and
his times gave it as their opinion that he uttered blasphemy.
Why, was not that precisely the reason why a punishment was
threatened for allowing one's self to be aided by him? It was
the godly care for their souls entertained by the existing order
and by public opinion, lest any one should be led astray: it was
this godly care that led them to persecute him in this fashion.
Therefore, before any one resolves to be helped by him, let him
consider that he must not only expect the antagonism of men,
but--consider it well!--even if you could bear the consequences
of that step--but consider well, that the punishment meted out
by men is supposed to be God's punishment of him, "the blasphemer"--of
him who invites!
Come hither now all ye that labor and are heavy laden!
How now? Surely this is nothing to run after--some little pause
is given, which is most fittingly used to go around about by way
of another street. And even if you should not thus sneak out in
some way--always providing you feel yourself to be contemporary
with him--or sneak into being some kind of Christian by belonging
to Christendom: yet there will be a tremendous pause given, the
pause which is the very condition that faith may arise: you are
given pause by the possibility of being offended in him.
But in order to make it entirely clear, and bring it home to our
minds, that the pause is given by him who invites, that it is he
who gives us pause and renders it by no means an easy, but a
peculiarly difficult, matter to follow his invitation, because
one has no right to accept it without accepting also him who
invites--in order to make this entirely clear I shall briefly
review his life under two aspects which, to be sure, show some
difference though both essentially pertain to his abasement.
For it is always an abasement for God to become man, even if
he were to be an emperor of emperors; and therefore he is not
essentially more abased because he is a poor, lowly man, mocked,
and as Scripture adds,[11] spat upon.