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annotate john/english/John6.html @ 89:ca573ccfc3e7
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8 </head> |
| 35 | 9 <body style="text-align:justify"> |
| 10 <blockquote> | |
| 11 <center> | |
| 12 <p><span style="font-size: 60pt">6</span></p> | |
| 13 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 1</span></p> | |
| 14 </center> | |
| 15 <blockquote> | |
| 16 <p>1 After this Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee, which is that | |
| 17 of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him because they saw | |
| 18 the miracles he worked on those who were sick. 3 Jesus therefore | |
| 19 went up a mountain, and there sat down with his disciples. 4 Now | |
| 20 the Passover was near, a festival day of the Jews. 5 Then, when | |
| 21 Jesus lifted his eyes and saw that a great multitude had come to | |
| 22 him, he said to Philip,</p> | |
| 23 <dl> | |
| 24 <dd>“Where shall we buy bread that these may | |
| 25 eat?”<br /> | |
| 26 6 He said this, however, to test him, for he knew what he would do. | |
| 27 7 Philip replied, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would | |
| 28 not suffice for each to have a little bit.” 8 One of his | |
| 29 disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9 | |
| 30 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two | |
| 31 fishes, but what are these for so many?” 10 Jesus then | |
| 32 said,</dd> | |
| 33 <dd>“Make the people recline.”<br /> | |
| 34 There was much grass in the place. Therefore the men reclined, in | |
| 35 number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the bread, and when | |
| 36 he had given thanks, he distributed it to those reclining; he did | |
| 37 likewise with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they had | |
| 38 their fill, he said to his disciples,</dd> | |
| 39 <dd>“Gather up the fragments that are left over,</dd> | |
| 40 <dd>lest they be wasted.”<br /> | |
| 41 13 They therefore gathered and filled twelve baskets with the | |
| 42 leftovers, from the five barley loaves and the two fishes, that | |
| 43 remained after all had eaten.</dd> | |
| 44 </dl> | |
| 45 </blockquote> | |
| 46 <p>838 The Evangelist has presented the teaching of Christ on the | |
| 47 spiritual life, by which he gives life to those who are born again. | |
| 48 He now tells us of the spiritual food by which Christ sustains | |
| 49 those to whom he has given life. First, he describes a visible | |
| 50 miracle, in which Christ furnished bodily food. Secondly, he | |
| 51 considers spiritual food (6:26). He does two things about the | |
| 52 first. First, he describes the visible miracle. Secondly, he shows | |
| 53 the effect this miracle had (6:14). He tells us two things about | |
| 54 this miracle. First, its circumstances, secondly, about its actual | |
| 55 accomplishment (v 5). As to the first he does three things. First | |
| 56 he describes the crowd that Jesus fed, secondly, the place; | |
| 57 thirdly, the time (v 4). As to the first he does three things. | |
| 58 First, he identifies the place where the crowd followed Jesus; | |
| 59 secondly, the people who followed him; and thirdly, he tells why | |
| 60 they followed him.</p> | |
| 61 <p>839 The Evangelist describes the place to which the crowd | |
| 62 followed our Lord when he says, <span style= | |
| 63 "font-weight: bold">After this Jesus went across the Sea of | |
| 64 Galilee,</span> i.e., after the mysterious words Jesus had spoken | |
| 65 concerning his power. This Sea of Galilee is mentioned frequently | |
| 66 in various places in Scripture. Luke calls it a lake (Lk 5:1) | |
| 67 because its water is not salty, but was formed from the waters | |
| 68 flowing in from the Jordan. Yet it is still called a | |
| 69 “Sea,” because in Hebrew all bodies of water are called | |
| 70 “seas”: “God called the waters | |
| 71 ‘seas’” (Gn 1:10). It is also called Gennesaret | |
| 72 because of the character of its location: for this water is tossed | |
| 73 about a great deal, being buffeted by the winds that come from the | |
| 74 vapors rising from its surface. Thus in Greek the word | |
| 75 “Gennesaret” means “wind forming.” It is | |
| 76 called the Sea of Galilee from the province of Galilee in which it | |
| 77 is located. Again, it is called the Sea of Tiberias from the city | |
| 78 of Tiberias: this city was situated on one side of the sea, facing | |
| 79 Capernaum on the opposite side. The city of Tiberias was formerly | |
| 80 called Chinnereth, but later, when it was rebuilt by Herod the | |
| 81 Tetrarch, it was renamed as Tiberias in honor of Tiberius | |
| 82 Caesar.</p> | |
| 83 <p>840 The literal reason why Jesus crossed the sea is given by | |
| 84 Chrysostom: to give ground to the anger and agitation which the | |
| 85 Jews felt against Christ because of the things he had said about | |
| 86 them. As Chrysostom says: just as darts strike a hard object with | |
| 87 great force if they meet it, but pass on and soon come to rest if | |
| 88 nothing is in their way, so also the anger of defiant men increases | |
| 89 when they are resisted, but if we yield a little, it is easy to | |
| 90 keep their fury within bounds. So Christ, by going to the other | |
| 91 side of the sea, was able to soften the anger of the Jews, caused | |
| 92 by what he had said. He thus gives us an example to act in the same | |
| 93 way: “Do not be provoked by one who speaks evil of you” | |
| 94 (Sir 8:14).</p> | |
| 95 <p>841 In the mystical sense, the sea signifies this present | |
| 96 troubled world: “This great sea, stretching wide” (Ps | |
| 97 103:25). Our Lord crossed over this sea when he assumed the sea of | |
| 98 punishment and death by being born, trod it under foot by dying, | |
| 99 and then crossing over it by his rising, arrived at the glory of | |
| 100 his resurrection. We read of this crossing: “Jesus knew that | |
| 101 his time had come to leave this world for the Father” (below | |
| 102 13:1). A great crowd, composed of both peoples, has followed him in | |
| 103 this crossing, by believing in him and imitating him: “Your | |
| 104 heart will be full of wonder and joy, when the riches of the sea | |
| 105 will be given to you” (Is 60:5); “Rise up, O Lord, you | |
| 106 who demand that justice be done; and the people will gather round | |
| 107 you” (Ps 7:7).</p> | |
| 108 <p>842 The crowd that followed him is described as large, | |
| 109 <span style="font-weight: bold">And a great multitude followed | |
| 110 him.</span></p> | |
| 111 <p>843 The reason why they followed him is because he was | |
| 112 performing miracles, hence he says, <span style= | |
| 113 "font-weight: bold">because they saw the miracles he worked on | |
| 114 those who were sick.</span> We should point out that some followed | |
| 115 Christ because of his teachings, that is, those who were better | |
| 116 disposed. But there were others, i.e., those who were less perfect | |
| 117 and less perceptive, who followed him because they were attracted | |
| 118 by visible miracles; “Signs were given to unbelievers, not to | |
| 119 believers” (1 Cor 14:22). Still others followed him out of | |
| 120 devotion and faith, those, namely, whom he had cured of some bodily | |
| 121 defect: for our Lord had so healed their body that they were also | |
| 122 completely healed in soul: “The works of God are | |
| 123 perfect” (Dt 32:4). This is clear, because he expressly said | |
| 124 to the paralytic, “Do not sin again” (above 5:14), and | |
| 125 in Matthew (9:2) he says, “Son, your sins are | |
| 126 forgiven”; and these remarks concern the health of the soul | |
| 127 rather than that of the body.</p> | |
| 128 <p>844 We might remark that although the Evangelist had mentioned | |
| 129 only three miracles (the one at the marriage reception, the son of | |
| 130 the official, and the paralytic), he says here in a general way, | |
| 131 <span style="font-weight: bold">the miracles he worked.</span> He | |
| 132 does this to indicate that Christ worked many other miracles that | |
| 133 are not mentioned in this book, as he will say below (21:25). For | |
| 134 his main object was to present the teaching of Christ.</p> | |
| 135 <p>845 Then he gives the location of the miracle, on a mountain; | |
| 136 hence he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus therefore went | |
| 137 up a mountain,</span> i.e., privately, <span style= | |
| 138 "font-weight: bold">and there sat down with his disciples.</span> | |
| 139 Now a mountain is a place well suited for refreshment, for | |
| 140 according to the Psalm a mountain signifies the perfection of | |
| 141 justice: “Your justice is like the mountains of God” | |
| 142 (Ps 35:7). And so, because we cannot be satisfied by earthly | |
| 143 things—indeed, “Whoever drinks this water will be | |
| 144 thirsty again” (above 4:13)—but spiritual things will | |
| 145 satisfy us, our Lord leads his disciples to a higher place to show | |
| 146 that full satisfaction and the perfection of justice are found in | |
| 147 spiritual realities. We read of this mountain: “The mountain | |
| 148 of God is a rich mountain” (Ps 67:16). Thus he also exercised | |
| 149 his office of teacher there, sitting with his disciples; for he is | |
| 150 the one who teaches every man.</p> | |
| 151 <p>846 The time is mentioned when he says, <span style= | |
| 152 "font-weight: bold">Now the Passover was near.</span> This time was | |
| 153 also well suited for their refreshment, for “Passover” | |
| 154 means “passage”: “It is the Passover of the Lord, | |
| 155 that is, his passage” (Ex 12:11). We understand from this | |
| 156 that anyone who desires to be refreshed by the bread of the divine | |
| 157 Word and by the body and blood of’ the Lord, must pass from | |
| 158 vices to virtues: “Our Passover, Christ, has been sacrificed, | |
| 159 and so let us feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and | |
| 160 truth” (1 Cor 5:7). And again, divine Wisdom says: | |
| 161 “Pass over to me, all who desire me” (Sir 24-26).</p> | |
| 162 <p>This is the second Passover the Evangelist has mentioned. | |
| 163 However, our Lord did not go to Jerusalem this time, as the law | |
| 164 commanded. The reason for this being that Christ was both God and | |
| 165 man: as man he was subject to the law, but as God he was above the | |
| 166 law. So, he observed the law on certain occasions to show that he | |
| 167 was a man, but he also disregarded the law at other times to show | |
| 168 that he was God. Further, by not going he indicated that the | |
| 169 ceremonies of the law would end gradually and in a short time.</p> | |
| 170 <p>847 Then he considers the miracle itself (v 5). First, why it | |
| 171 was needed. Secondly, its accomplishment. We can see the need for | |
| 172 this miracle from our Lord’s question to his disciple, and | |
| 173 the disciple’s answer. First, our Lord’s question is | |
| 174 given; and then the answer of his disciple (v 7). He does three | |
| 175 things about the first. First, the occasion for the question is | |
| 176 given; secondly, we have the-question itself (v 5b); thirdly, we | |
| 177 are told why Christ asked this question (v 6).</p> | |
| 178 <p>848 The occasion for Christ’s question was his sight of | |
| 179 the crowd coming to him. Hence he says, <span style= | |
| 180 "font-weight: bold">Then, when Jesus,</span> on the mountain with | |
| 181 his disciples, i.e., with those who were more perfect, <span style= | |
| 182 "font-weight: bold">lifted his eyes and saw that a great multitude | |
| 183 had come to him.</span> Here we should note two things about | |
| 184 Christ. First, his maturity: for he is not distracted by what does | |
| 185 not concern him, but is appropriately concerned with his disciples. | |
| 186 He is not like those spoken of in Proverbs (30:13): “A | |
| 187 generation whose eyes are proud.” And, “A man’s | |
| 188 dress, and laughter, and his walk, show what he is” (Sir | |
| 189 19:27). Secondly, we should note that Christ did not sit there with | |
| 190 his disciples out of laziness; he was looking right at them, | |
| 191 teaching them carefully and attracting their hearts to himself: | |
| 192 “Then he lifted his eyes to his disciples” (Lk 6:20). | |
| 193 Thus we read: <span style="font-weight: bold">Then, when Jesus | |
| 194 lifted his</span> eyes. In the mystical sense, our Lord’s | |
| 195 eyes are his spiritual gifts; and he lifts his eyes on the elect, | |
| 196 i.e., looks at them with compassion, when he mercifully grants | |
| 197 these gifts to them: This is what the Psalm asks for: “Look | |
| 198 upon me, O Lord, and have mercy on me” (Ps 85:16).</p> | |
| 199 <p>849 Our Lord’s question concerns the feeding of the crowd; | |
| 200 so he said to Philip: <span style="font-weight: bold">Where shall | |
| 201 we buy bread that these may eat?</span> He assumes one thing and | |
| 202 asks about another. He assumes their poverty, because they did not | |
| 203 have food to offer this great crowd; and he asks how they might | |
| 204 obtain it, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Where shall we | |
| 205 buy bread that these may eat?</span></p> | |
| 206 <p>Here we should note that every teacher is obliged to possess the | |
| 207 means of feeding spiritually the people who come to him. And since | |
| 208 no man possesses of himself the resources to feed them, he must | |
| 209 acquire them elsewhere by his labor, study, and persistent p rayer: | |
| 210 “Hurry, you who have no money, and acquire without cost wine | |
| 211 and milk” (Is 55:1). And there follows: “Why do you | |
| 212 spend your money,” i.e., your eloquence, “for what is | |
| 213 not bread,” i.e., not the true wisdom which | |
| 214 refreshes—“Wisdom will feed him with the bread of life | |
| 215 and understanding” (Si 15:5)—“and why do you work | |
| 216 for what does not satisfy you,” i.e., by learning things that | |
| 217 drain you instead of filling you?</p> | |
| 218 <p>850 Our Lord’s intention is given when he says, | |
| 219 <span style="font-weight: bold">He said this, however, to test | |
| 220 him.</span> Here the Evangelist raises one difficutly in answering | |
| 221 another. For we could wonder,why our Lord asked Philip what to do, | |
| 222 as though our Lord himself did not know. The Evangelist settles | |
| 223 this when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">for he knew what | |
| 224 he would do.</span> But it seems that the Evangelist raises another | |
| 225 difficulty when he says, to test him. For to test is to try out; | |
| 226 and this seems to imply ignorance.</p> | |
| 227 <p>I answer that one can test another in various ways in order to | |
| 228 try him out. One man tests another in order to learn; the devil | |
| 229 tests a man in order to ensnare him: “Your enemy, the devil, | |
| 230 as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he can devour” (1 | |
| 231 Pt 5:8). But Christ (and God) does not test us in order to learn, | |
| 232 because he sees into our hearts; nor in order to ensnare us, for as | |
| 233 we read in James (1:13): “God does not test [i.e., tempt] | |
| 234 anyone.” But he does test us that others might learn | |
| 235 something from the one tested. This is the way God tested Abraham: | |
| 236 “God tested Abraham” (Gn 22:1); and then it says (v | |
| 237 12): “Now I know that you fear God,” i.e., I have made | |
| 238 it known that you fear the Lord. He tests Philip in the same way: | |
| 239 so that those who hear his answer might be very certain about the | |
| 240 miracle to come.</p> | |
| 241 <p>851 Now we have the answer of the disciples. First, the answer | |
| 242 of Philip; then that of Andrew (v 8).</p> | |
| 243 <p>852 With respect to the first, note that Philip was slower in | |
| 244 learning than the others, and so he asks our Lord more questions: | |
| 245 “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for | |
| 246 us” (below 14:8). Here, according to the literal sense, | |
| 247 Andrew is better disposed than Philip, for Philip does not seem to | |
| 248 have any understanding or anticipation of the corning miracle. And | |
| 249 so he suggests that money is the way by which they could feed all | |
| 250 the people, saying: <span style="font-weight: bold">Two hundred | |
| 251 denarii worth of bread would not suffice for each to have a little | |
| 252 bit.</span> And since we do not have that much, we cannot feed | |
| 253 them. Here we see the poverty of Christ, for he did not even have | |
| 254 two hundred denarii.</p> | |
| 255 <p>853 Andrew, however, seems to sense that a miracle is going to | |
| 256 take place. Perhaps he recalled the miracle performed by Elisha | |
| 257 with the barley loaves, when he fed a hundred men with twenty | |
| 258 loaves (2 Kgs 4:42). And so he says, <span style= | |
| 259 "font-weight: bold">There is a boy here who has five barley | |
| 260 loaves.</span> Still, he did not suspect that Christ was going to | |
| 261 perform a greater miracle than Elisha: for he thought that fewer | |
| 262 loaves would be miraculously produced from fewer, and more from a | |
| 263 larger number. But in truth, he who does not need any material to | |
| 264 work with could feed a crowd as easily with few or many loaves. So | |
| 265 Andrew continues: <span style="font-weight: bold">but what are | |
| 266 these for so many?</span> As if to say: Even if you increased them | |
| 267 in the measure that Elisha did, it still would not be enough.</p> | |
| 268 <p>854 In the mystical sense, widsom is a symbol for spiritual | |
| 269 refreshment. One kind of wisdom was taught by Christ, the true | |
| 270 wisdom: “Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom of | |
| 271 God” (1 Cor 1:24). Before Christ came, there were two other | |
| 272 teachings or doctrines: one was the human teachings of the | |
| 273 philosophers; the other was the teachings found in the written law. | |
| 274 Philip mentions the first of these when he speaks of buying: | |
| 275 <span style="font-weight: bold">Two hundred denarii worth of bread | |
| 276 would not suffice,</span> for human wisdom must be acquired. Now | |
| 277 the number one hundred implies perfection. Thus two hundred | |
| 278 suggests the twofold perfection necessary for this wisdom: for | |
| 279 there Ire two ways one arrives at the perfection of human wisdom, | |
| 280 by experience and by contemplation. So he says, <span style= | |
| 281 "font-weight: bold">Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not | |
| 282 suffice,</span> because no matter what human reason can experience | |
| 283 and contemplate of the truth, it is not enough to completely | |
| 284 satisfy our desire for wisdom: “Let not the wise man glory in | |
| 285 his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the rich man in | |
| 286 his riches. But let him who glories glory in this: that he knows | |
| 287 and understands me” (Jer 9:23). For the wisdom of no | |
| 288 philosopher has been so great that it could keep men from error; | |
| 289 rather, the philosophers have led many into error.</p> | |
| 290 <p>It is Andrew who mentions the second kind of teaching [thai of | |
| 291 the law] . He does not want to buy other bread, but to feed the | |
| 292 crowd with the loaves of bread they had, that is, those contained | |
| 293 in the law. And so he was better disposed than Philip. So he says: | |
| 294 <span style="font-weight: bold">There is a boy here who has five | |
| 295 barley loaves.</span> This boy can symbolize Moses, because of the | |
| 296 imperfection found in the state of the law: “The law brought | |
| 297 nothing to perfection” (Heb 7:19); or the Jewish people, who | |
| 298 were serving under the elements of this world (Gal 4:3).</p> | |
| 299 <p>This boy had five loaves, that is, the teaching of the law: | |
| 300 either because this teaching was contained in the five books of | |
| 301 Moses, “The law was given through Moses” (above 1:17); | |
| 302 or because it was given to men absorbed in sensible things, which | |
| 303 are made known through the five senses. These loaves were of barley | |
| 304 because the law was given in such a way that what was life-giving | |
| 305 in it was concealed under physical signs: for the kernel in barley | |
| 306 is covered with a very firm husk. Or, the loaves were of barley | |
| 307 because the Jewish people had not yet been rubbed free of carnal | |
| 308 desire, but it still covered their hearts like a husk: for in the | |
| 309 Old Testament they outwardly experienced hardships because of their | |
| 310 ceremonial observances: “A yoke, which neither our fathers | |
| 311 nor we were able to bear” (Acts 15:10). Further, the Jews | |
| 312 were engrossed in material things and did not understand the | |
| 313 spiritual meaning of the law: “A veil is over their | |
| 314 hearts” (2 Cor 3:15).</p> | |
| 315 <p>The two fishes, which gave a pleasant flavor to the bread, | |
| 316 indicate the teachings of the Psalms and the prophets. Thus the old | |
| 317 law not only had five loaves, i.e., the five books of Moses, but | |
| 318 also two fishes, that is, the Psalms and the prophets. So the Old | |
| 319 Testament writings are divided into these three: “The things | |
| 320 written about me in the law of Moses, and in the prophets and in | |
| 321 the Psalms” (Lk 24:44). Or, according to Augustine, the two | |
| 322 fishes signify the priests and kings who ruled the Jews; and they | |
| 323 prefigured Christ, who was the true king and priest.</p> | |
| 324 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">But what are these for so | |
| 325 many?</span> for they could not bring man to a complete knowledge | |
| 326 of the truth: for although God was known in Judea, the Gentiles did | |
| 327 not know him.</p> | |
| 328 <p>855 Next (v 10), the miracle is presented. First, we see the | |
| 329 people arranged; secondly, the miracle itself; and thirdly, the | |
| 330 gathering of the leftovers. He does two things about the first. | |
| 331 First, he shows Christ directing the disciples to have the people | |
| 332 recline; secondly, why this was appropriate; and thirdly, he tells | |
| 333 us the number of people present.</p> | |
| 334 <p>856 Our Lord told his disciples to arrange the people so that | |
| 335 they could eat; thus Jesus says, <span style= | |
| 336 "font-weight: bold">Make the people recline,</span> i.e, to eat. | |
| 337 For as mentioned before, in former times people took their meals | |
| 338 lying on couches; consequently, it was the custom to say of those | |
| 339 who sat down to eat that they were reclining. In the mystical | |
| 340 sense, this indicates that rest which is necessary for the | |
| 341 perfection of wisdom. Again, the people are prepared by the | |
| 342 disciples because it is through the disciples that the knowledge of | |
| 343 the truth has come to us: “Let the mountains receive peace | |
| 344 for the people” (Ps 71:3).</p> | |
| 345 <p>857 The character of the place shows why it was convenient that | |
| 346 they recline, for <span style="font-weight: bold">There was much | |
| 347 grass in the place.</span> This is the literal meaning. In the | |
| 348 mystical sense, grass indicates the flesh: “All flesh is | |
| 349 grass” (Is 40:6). In this sense it can refer to two things. | |
| 350 First, to the teachings of the Old Testament, which were given to a | |
| 351 people resting in things of the flesh and wise according to the | |
| 352 flesh: “If you are willing, and listen to me, you will eat | |
| 353 the good things of the land” (Is 1:19); “The posterity | |
| 354 of Jacob dwells in a land of grain, wine and oil” (Dt 33:28). | |
| 355 Or, it can refer to one who perceives true wisdom, which cannot be | |
| 356 attained without first abandoning the things of the flesh: | |
| 357 “Do not imitate this world” (Rom 12:2).</p> | |
| 358 <p>858 There was a. great number of people; thus he says, | |
| 359 <span style="font-weight: bold">the men reclined, in number about | |
| 360 five thousand.</span> The Evangelist counted only the men, | |
| 361 according to the custom in the law, for as mentioned in Numbers | |
| 362 (1:3), Moses counted the people who were twenty years and older, | |
| 363 without including the women. The Evangelist does the same, because | |
| 364 only men can be completely instructed: “We speak wisdom to | |
| 365 those who are mature” (1 Cor 2:6); “Solid food is for | |
| 366 the mature” (Heb 5:14).</p> | |
| 367 <p>859 Then (v 11), the Evangelist presents the feeding of the | |
| 368 crowd. First, we see the attitude of Christ; secondly, the food | |
| 369 used; thirldy, that the people were satisfied. As to the attitude | |
| 370 of Jesus, both his humility and his giving of thanks are | |
| 371 mentioned.</p> | |
| 372 <p>860 We see his humility because he took the bread and gave it to | |
| 373 the people. Now although in this miracle Christ could have fed the | |
| 374 people with bread created from nothing, he chose to do so by | |
| 375 multiplying bread that already existed. He did this, first, to show | |
| 376 that sensible things do not come from the devil, as the Manichean | |
| 377 error maintains. For if this were so, our Lord would not have used | |
| 378 sensible things to praise God, especially since “The Son of | |
| 379 God appeared to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8). | |
| 380 He did it, secondly, to show that they are also wrong in claiming | |
| 381 that the teachings of the Old Testament are not from God but from | |
| 382 the devil. Thus, to show that the doctrine of the New Testament is | |
| 383 none other than that which was prefigured and contained in the | |
| 384 teachings of the Old Testament, he multiplied bread that already | |
| 385 existed, implying by this that he is the one who fulfills the law | |
| 386 and brings it to perfection: “I have not come to destroy the | |
| 387 law, but to fulfill it,” as we read in Matthew (5:17).</p> | |
| 388 <p>861 We see that he gave <span style="font-weight: bold">thanks, | |
| 389 when he had given thanks.</span> He did this to show that whatever | |
| 390 he had, he had from another, that is, from his Father. This is an | |
| 391 example for us to do the same. More particularly, he gave thanks to | |
| 392 teach us that we should thank God when we begin a meal: | |
| 393 “Nothing is to be rejected if it is received with | |
| 394 thanksgiving” (1 Tim 4:4); “The poor will eat and be | |
| 395 satisfied; and they will praise the Lord” (Ps 21:27). Again, | |
| 396 he gave thanks to teach us that he was not praying for himself, but | |
| 397 for the people who were there, for he had to convince them that he | |
| 398 had come from God. Accordingly, he prays before he works this | |
| 399 miracle before them, in order to show them that he is not acting | |
| 400 against God, but according to God’s will.</p> | |
| 401 <p>We read in Mark (6:41) that Christ had the apostles distribute | |
| 402 the bread to the people. It says here that he distributed it | |
| 403 because in a way he himself does what he does by means of others. | |
| 404 In the mystical sense, both statements are true: for Christ alone | |
| 405 refreshes from within, and others, as his ministers, refresh from | |
| 406 without.</p> | |
| 407 <p>862 Their food was bread and fish, about which enough has been | |
| 408 said above.</p> | |
| 409 <p>Finally, those who ate were completely satisfied, because they | |
| 410 took <span style="font-weight: bold">as much as they wanted.</span> | |
| 411 For Christ is the only one who feeds an empty soul and fills a | |
| 412 hungry soul with good things: “I will be satisfied when your | |
| 413 glory appears” (Ps 16:15). Others perform miracles through | |
| 414 having grace in a partial manner; Christ, on the other hand, does | |
| 415 so with unlimited power, since he does all things superabundantly. | |
| 416 Hence it says that the people <span style="font-weight: bold">had | |
| 417 their fill.</span></p> | |
| 418 <p>863 Now we see the leftovers collected (v 12). First, Christ | |
| 419 gives the order; secondly, his disciples obey.</p> | |
| 420 <p>864 The Evangelist says that after the people had eaten their | |
| 421 fill, Christ said to his disciples: <span style= | |
| 422 "font-weight: bold">Gather up the fragments that are left | |
| 423 over.</span> This was not pretentious display on our Lord’s | |
| 424 part; he did it to show that the miracle he accomplished was not | |
| 425 imaginary, since the collected leftovers kept for some time and | |
| 426 provided food for others. Again, he wanted to impress this miracle | |
| 427 more firmly on the hearts of his disciples, whom he had carry the | |
| 428 leftovers: for most of all he wanted to teach his disciples, who | |
| 429 were destined to be the teachers of the entire world.</p> | |
| 430 <p>865 His disciples obeyed him faithfully; hence he says, | |
| 431 <span style="font-weight: bold">They therefore gathered and filled | |
| 432 twelve baskets with the leftovers.</span> Here we should note that | |
| 433 the amount of food that remained was not left to chance, but was | |
| 434 according to plan: for as much as Christ willed was left over, no | |
| 435 more and no less. This is shown by the fact that the basket of each | |
| 436 apostle was filled. Now a basket is reserved for the work of | |
| 437 peasants. Therefore, the twelve baskets signify the twelve apostles | |
| 438 and those who imitate them, who, although they are looked down upon | |
| 439 in this present life, are nevertheless filled with the riches of | |
| 440 spiritual sacraments. There are twelve because they were to preach | |
| 441 the faith of the Holy Trinity to the four parts of the world.</p> | |
| 442 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 443 </p> | |
| 444 <p style="text-align: center"><span style= | |
| 445 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE 2</span></p> | |
| 446 <blockquote> | |
| 447 <p>14 Now when these people saw that Jesus had worked a miracle, | |
| 448 they said: “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the | |
| 449 world.” 15 So Jesus, knowing that they would come to seize | |
| 450 him and make him king, fled again into the mountains, alone. 16 | |
| 451 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea. 17 After | |
| 452 they got into the boat, they set out across the sea to Capernaum. | |
| 453 It was already dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea | |
| 454 became rough, agitated by a great wind. 19 After they had rowed | |
| 455 twenty-five or thirty stadia [three or four miles] , they saw Jesus | |
| 456 walking on the water, coming toward the boat, and they were afraid. | |
| 457 20 But he said to them:</p> | |
| 458 <dl> | |
| 459 <dd>“It is I. Do not be afraid.”<br /> | |
| 460 21 They then wanted to take him into the boat; and suddenly the | |
| 461 boat was on the land toward which they were going.</dd> | |
| 462 </dl> | |
| 463 </blockquote> | |
| 464 <p>866 Above, the Evangelist told us of the miracle of the loaves | |
| 465 and fishes. Now he shows the threefold effect this miracle had on | |
| 466 the people. First, its effect on their faith; secondly, on their | |
| 467 plans to honor Jesus; thirdly, how it led them (and the disciples) | |
| 468 to search for Jesus.</p> | |
| 469 <p>867 With respect to the first, we should note that the Jews said | |
| 470 in the Psalm: “We have not seen our signs; there is now no | |
| 471 prophet” (Ps 73:9). For it was customary in earlier days for | |
| 472 the prophets to work omany signs; so, when these signs were absent, | |
| 473 prophecy se emed to have ended. But when the Jews.see such signs, | |
| 474 they believe that prophecy is returning. Accordingly, the people | |
| 475 were so impressed by this miracle they just saw that they called | |
| 476 our Lord a prophet. Thus we read, <span style= | |
| 477 "font-weight: bold">Now when these people,</span> who had been | |
| 478 filled with the five <span style="font-weight: bold">loaves, saw | |
| 479 that Jesus had worked a miracle, they said: This is truly the | |
| 480 Prophet.</span> However, they did not yet have perfect faith, for | |
| 481 they believed that Jesus was only a prophet, while he was also the | |
| 482 Lord of the prophets. Yet, they were not entirely wrong, because | |
| 483 our Lord called himself a prophet.</p> | |
| 484 <p>868 Here we should remark that a prophet is called a seer: | |
| 485 “He who is now called a prophet was formerly called a | |
| 486 seer” (I Sm 9:9). Further, seeing pertains to the cognitive | |
| 487 power. Now in Christ there were three kinds of knowledge. First of | |
| 488 all, there was sense knowledge. And in this respect he had some | |
| 489 similarity to the prophets, insofar as sensible species could be | |
| 490 formed in the imagination of Christ to present future or hidden | |
| 491 events. This was especially due to his passibility, which was | |
| 492 appropriate to his state as a “wayfarer.” Secondly, | |
| 493 Christ had intellectual knowledge; and in this he was not like the | |
| 494 prophets, but was even superior to all the angels: for he was a | |
| 495 “comprehensor” in a more excellent way than any | |
| 496 creature. Again, Christ had divine knowledge, and in this way he | |
| 497 was the one who inspired the prophets and the angels, since all | |
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498 knowledge is caused by a participation in the divine Word.</p> |
| 35 | 499 <p>Still, these people seemed to realize that Christ was a superior |
| 500 prophet, for they said: <span style="font-weight: bold">This is | |
| 501 truly the Prophet.</span> For although there had been many prophets | |
| 502 among the Jews, they were waiting for a particular one, according | |
| 503 to: “The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you” | |
| 504 (Dt 18:15). This is the one they are speaking of here; thus it | |
| 505 continues: <span style="font-weight: bold">who is to come into the | |
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506 world.</span></p> |
| 35 | 507 <p>869 Next, we see the second effect of Christ’s miracle: |
| 508 the honor the people planned for Christ, which he refused. First, | |
| 509 we have the attempt by the people; secondly, Christ’s flight | |
| 510 from them.</p> | |
| 511 <p>870 The attempt of the people is mentioned when he says, | |
| 512 <span style="font-weight: bold">they would come to seize him and | |
| 513 make him king.</span> A person or thing is seized if it is taken in | |
| 514 a way that one does not will or is not opportune. Now it is true | |
| 515 that God’s plan from all eternity had been to establish the | |
| 516 kingdom of Christ; but the time for this was not then opportune. | |
| 517 Christ had come then, but not to reign in the way we ask for his | |
| 518 reign when we say, “Your kingdom come” (Mt 6:10); at | |
| 519 that time he will reign even as man. Another time was reserved for | |
| 520 this: after the judgment of Christ, when the saints will appear in | |
| 521 glory. It was about this kingdom the disciples asked when they | |
| 522 said: “Lord, will you restore the kingdom to Israel at this | |
| 523 time?” (Acts 1:6).</p> | |
| 524 <p>So the people, thinking he had come to reign, wanted to make | |
| 525 hirn their king. The reason for this is that men often want as | |
| 526 their ruler someone who will provide them with temporal things. | |
| 527 Thus, because our Lord had fed them, they were willing to make him | |
| 528 their king: “You have a mantle, be our ruler” (Is 3:6). | |
| 529 Chrysostom says: “See the power of gluttony. They are no | |
| 530 longer concerned about his breaking the Sabbath; they are no longer | |
| 531 zealous for God. All these things are set in the background now | |
| 532 that their bellies are full. Now he is regarded as a prophet among | |
| 533 them, and they want to set him on the royal throne as their | |
| 534 king.”</p> | |
| 535 <p>87 1 We see Christ’s flight when he says that he | |
| 536 <span style="font-weight: bold">fled again into the mountains, | |
| 537 alone.</span> We can see frorn this that when our Lord had first | |
| 538 seen the crowd of people he came down from the mountain and fed | |
| 539 them in the valley, for we would not read that he went again into | |
| 540 the mountains if he had not come down from them.</p> | |
| 541 <p>Why did Christ flee from the people, since he really is a king? | |
| 542 There are three reasons for this. First, because it would have | |
| 543 detracted from his dignity to have accepted a kingdom from men: for | |
| 544 he is so great a king that all other kings are kings by | |
| 545 participating in his kingship: “It is by me that kings | |
| 546 rule” (Prv 8:15). Another reason is that it would have been | |
| 547 hanuful to his teaching if he had accepted this dignity and support | |
| 548 from men; for he had worked and taught in such a way that | |
| 549 everything was attributed to divine power and not to the influence | |
| 550 of men: “Praise from men I do not need” (above 5:41). | |
| 551 The third reason was to teach us to despise the dignities of this | |
| 552 world: “I have given you an example that as I have done to | |
| 553 you, so you should do also” (below 13:15); “Do not seek | |
| 554 dignity from men” (Sir 7:4). And so, he refused the glory of | |
| 555 this world, but still endured its punishment of his own will: | |
| 556 “Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, for the joy | |
| 557 set before him” (Heb 12:2).</p> | |
| 558 <p>872 Matthew seems to conflict with this, for he says that | |
| 559 “Jesus went up the mountain alone, to pray” (Mt 14:23). | |
| 560 However, in the opinion of Augustine, there is no conflict here, | |
| 561 because he had reason both to flee and to pray. For our Lord is | |
| 562 teaching us that when a reason for flight draws near, there is | |
| 563 great reason to pray.</p> | |
| 564 <p>In the mystical sense, Christ went up into the mountain when the | |
| 565 people he had fed were ready to subject themselves to him, because | |
| 566 he went up into heaven when the people were ready to subject | |
| 567 themselves to the truth of the faith, according to: “A | |
| 568 congregation of people will surround you. Return above for their | |
| 569 sakes,” i.e., return on high so a congregatation of people | |
| 570 may surround you (Ps 7:8).</p> | |
| 571 <p>He says that Christ <span style="font-weight: bold">fled</span>, | |
| 572 to indicate that the people could not understand his grandeur: for | |
| 573 if we do not understand something, we say that it flees or eludes | |
| 574 us.</p> | |
| 575 <p>873 Now he considers the third effect of Christ’s miracle, | |
| 576 the search for Christ. First, by his disciples; secondly, by the | |
| 577 people. As to the first, he does two things. First, he tells of the | |
| 578 eagerness of the disciples; and secondly, enlarges upon this (v | |
| 579 l7b). He does two things about the first. First, he tells that they | |
| 580 went down to the shore. Secondly, he tells of their journey across | |
| 581 the sea (v 17).</p> | |
| 582 <p>874 Note, about the first, that Christ went up into the mountain | |
| 583 without the knowledge of his disciples. So, they waited there until | |
| 584 evening came, for they expected that he would come back to them. | |
| 585 But their love was so great that when evening came they just had to | |
| 586 go looking for him. Thus he says, <span style= | |
| 587 "font-weight: bold">When evening came, his disciples went down to | |
| 588 the sea,</span> looking for Jesus.</p> | |
| 589 <p>In the mystical sense, “evening” signifies our | |
| 590 Lord’s passion or his ascension. For as long as the disciples | |
| 591 enjoyed Christ’s physical presence, no trouble disturbed them | |
| 592 and no bitterness vexed them: “Can the friends of the groom | |
| 593 mourn as long as the groom is with them?” (Mt 9:15). But when | |
| 594 Christ was away, then they “went down to the sea,” to | |
| 595 the troubles of this world: “This great sea, stretching | |
| 596 wide” (Ps 103:25).</p> | |
| 597 <p>875 He adds that they crossed, saying, <span style= | |
| 598 "font-weight: bold">After they got into the boat, they set out | |
| 599 across the sea to Capernaum,</span> for the love that burned within | |
| 600 them could not endure our Lord’s absence for very long.</p> | |
| 601 <p>876 Now (17b), he enlarges upon what he had already said in | |
| 602 summary fashion. First, on their going down to the sea; secondly, | |
| 603 on their crossing (v 18).</p> | |
| 604 <p>877 As to the first, he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">It | |
| 605 was already dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.</span> The | |
| 606 Evangelist does not tell us this without a reason, for it shows the | |
| 607 intensity of their love, since not even night or evening could stop | |
| 608 them.</p> | |
| 609 <p>In the mystical sense, the “dark” signifies the | |
| 610 absence of love; for light is love, according to: “He who | |
| 611 loves his brother dwells in the light” (1 Jn 2:10). | |
| 612 Accordingly, there is darkness in us when Jesus, “the true | |
| 613 light” (above 1:9) does not come to us, because his presence | |
| 614 repells all darkness.</p> | |
| 615 <p>Jesus left his disciples alone for this length of time so that | |
| 616 they might experience his absence; and they did indeed experience | |
| 617 it during the storm at sea: “Know and realize, that it is | |
| 618 evil and bitter for you to have left the Lord” (Jer 2:19). He | |
| 619 left them, in the second place, so that they might look for him | |
| 620 more earnestly: “Where has your beloved gone, most beautiful | |
| 621 of women? We will search for him with you” (Sg 5:17).</p> | |
| 622 <p>878 As for their crossing, first we see the storm at sea; then | |
| 623 Christ coming to them, and the time; and thirdly, the effect this | |
| 624 had.</p> | |
| 625 <p>879 The storm was caused by a rising wind; thus he says: | |
| 626 <span style="font-weight: bold">The sea became rough, agitated by a | |
| 627 great wind.</span> This wind is a symbol for the trials and | |
| 628 persecutions which would afflict the Church due to a lack of love. | |
| 629 For as Augustine says, when love grows cold, the waves of the sea | |
| 630 begin to swell and danger threatens the boat. Still, these winds | |
| 631 and the storm, with its waves and darkness, did not stop (lie | |
| 632 progress of’ the boat or so batter it that it broke apart: | |
| 633 “He who perseveres to the end will be saved” (Mt | |
| 634 24:13); and again: “And the rains fell. and the floods came, | |
| 635 and the house did not collapse,” as we read in Mattliew | |
| 636 (7:25).</p> | |
| 637 <p>880 Christ did not appear to them when the storm first began, | |
| 638 but only some time later; thus he says, <span style= | |
| 639 "font-weight: bold">After they had rowed twentyfive or thirty | |
| 640 stadia, they saw Jesus.</span> We see from this that our Lord | |
| 641 allows us to be troubled for a while so our virtue may be tested; | |
| 642 but he does not desert us in the end, but comes very close to us: | |
| 643 “God is faithful, and will not allow you to be tested beyond | |
| 644 your strength” (1 Cor 10:13).</p> | |
| 645 <p>According to Augustine, the twenty-five stadia they rowed are | |
| 646 the five books of Moses. For twenty-five is the square of five, | |
| 647 since five times five is twenty-five. But a number that is | |
| 648 multiplied in this way keeps the meaning of its root. Thus, just as | |
| 649 five signifies the old law, so twenty-five signifies the perfection | |
| 650 of the New Testament. Thirty, however, signifies that perfection of | |
| 651 the New Testament which was lacking in the law: for thirty is the | |
| 652 result of multiplying five by six, which is a perfect number. So, | |
| 653 Jesus comes to those who row twenty-five or thirty stadia, i.e., to | |
| 654 those who fulfill the law or the perfection taught by the Gospel; | |
| 655 and he comes treading under foot all the waves of pride and the | |
| 656 dignities of this present world: “You rule the might of the | |
| 657 sea and calm its waves” (Ps 88:10). And then we will see | |
| 658 Christ near our boat, because divine help is close: “The Lord | |
| 659 is near to all who fear him” (Ps 144:18). Thus it is clear | |
| 660 that Christ is near to all those who seek him rightly. Now the | |
| 661 Apostles loved Christ very keenly: this is obvious because they | |
| 662 tried to go to him despite the darkness, the stormy sea, and the | |
| 663 distance to shore. Consequently, Christ was with them.</p> | |
| 664 <p>881 Now we see the effect of Christ’s appearance. First, | |
| 665 the interior effect; secondly, the exterior effect (v 2 1 b).</p> | |
| 666 <p>882 The interior effect of Christ’s appearance was fear; | |
| 667 and he mentions the fear of the disciples at the sudden appearance | |
| 668 of Christ when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and they | |
| 669 were afraid.</span> This was a good fear, because it was the effect | |
| 670 of humility: “Do not be proud; rather fear” (Rom | |
| 671 11:20); or it was an evil fear, because “they thought it was | |
| 672 a ghost” (Mk 6:49); “They trembled with fear” (Ps | |
| 673 13:5): for fear is especially appropriate to the carnal, because | |
| 674 they are afraid of spiritual things.</p> | |
| 675 <p>Secondly, we see Christ encouraging them against two dangers. | |
| 676 First, they are encouraged against the danger to the faith in their | |
| 677 intellect when he says, It is 1, to eliminate their doubts: | |
| 678 “Look at my hands and my feet! It is really me” (Lk | |
| 679 24:39). Secondly, Christ encourages them against the danger of fear | |
| 680 in their emotions, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Do not | |
| 681 be afraid:</span> “Do not be afraid when they are | |
| 682 present” (Jer 1:8); “The Lord is my light and my | |
| 683 salvation, whom sliall I fear” (Ps 26:1 ).</p> | |
| 684 <p>Thirdly, we see the reaction of the disciples, for <span style= | |
| 685 "font-weight: bold">They then wanted to take him into the | |
| 686 boat.</span> This signifies that we receive Christ by love and | |
| 687 contemplation after servile fear has been taken out of our hearts: | |
| 688 “I stand at the door and knock. If any one opens it for me, I | |
| 689 will enter” (Rv 3:20).</p> | |
| 690 <p>883 There were two exterior effects: the storm abated, and their | |
| 691 boat suddenly landed, although it had just been at a distance from | |
| 692 the shore, for our Lord gave them a calm journey, without danger. | |
| 693 He himself did not enter the boat because he wished to accomplish a | |
| 694 greater miracle. So here we have three miracles: the walking on the | |
| 695 sea, the quick calming of the storm, and the sudden arrival of the | |
| 696 boat on the land although it had been far away. We learn from this | |
| 697 that the faithful, in whom Christ is present, put down the swelling | |
| 698 pride of this world, tread under their feet its waves of | |
| 699 tribulation, and cross quickly to the land of the living: | |
| 700 “Your good spirit will lead me to land” (Ps | |
| 701 142:10).</p> | |
| 702 <p>884 There are a number of difficulties here. The first concerns | |
| 703 the literal sense: Matthew (14:22) seems to conflict with our | |
| 704 present account for he says that the disciples were told by Christ | |
| 705 to go the shore, while here it says the disciples went there to | |
| 706 search for him. Another difficulty is that Matthew (14:34) says | |
| 707 that the disciples crossed over to Gennesaret, while we read here | |
| 708 that they came to Capernaum. The third difficulty is that Matthew | |
| 709 (14:32) says that Christ got into the boat, but here he did | |
| 710 not.</p> | |
| 711 <p>Chrysostom settles these difficulties quite briefly by saying | |
| 712 that the two accounts do not deal with the same miracle. For, as he | |
| 713 says, Christ frequently miraculously walked upon the sea in front | |
| 714 of his disciples, but not for the people, lest they think he did | |
| 715 not have a real body. But, according to Augustine, and this is the | |
| 716 better opinion, John and Matthew are describing the same miracle. | |
| 717 Augustine answers the first difficulty by saying it makes no | |
| 718 difference that Matthew says the disciples went down to the shore | |
| 719 because our Lord told them to. For it is possible that our Lord did | |
| 720 so, and they went believing that he would sail with them. And that | |
| 721 is why they waited until night, and when Christ did not come, they | |
| 722 crossed by themselves.</p> | |
| 723 <p>There are two answers to the second difficulty. One is that | |
| 724 Capernaum and Gennesaret are neighboring towns on the same shore. | |
| 725 And perhaps the disciples landed at a place near both, so that | |
| 726 Matthew mentions one and John the other. Or, it might be said that | |
| 727 Matthew does not say that they came to Gennesaret immediately, they | |
| 728 could have come first to Capernaurn and then to Gennesaret. [The | |
| 729 answer to the third difficulty is not given.]</p> | |
| 730 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 731 </p> | |
| 732 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style= | |
| 733 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE 3</span></p> | |
| 734 <blockquote> | |
| 735 <p>22 On the next day, the crowd that stood on the other side of | |
| 736 the sea saw that there was no second boat there, but only one, and | |
| 737 that Jesus had not gone into the boat, but only his disciples had | |
| 738 gone. 23 But other boats arrived from Tiberias, near the place | |
| 739 where they had eaten the bread, after having given thanks to God. | |
| 740 24 When therefore the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor his | |
| 741 disciples, they got into the boats and set off for Capernaum, | |
| 742 looking for Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the | |
| 743 sea, they said: “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 | |
| 744 Jesus replied and said:</p> | |
| 745 <dl> | |
| 746 <dd>“Amen, amen, I say to you:</dd> | |
| 747 <dd>you seek me not because you have seen miracles,</dd> | |
| 748 <dd>but because you have eaten of the bread</dd> | |
| 749 <dd>and have been filled.</dd> | |
| 750 <dd>27 Do not work for the food that perishes,</dd> | |
| 751 <dd>but for that which endures to eternal life,</dd> | |
| 752 <dd>which the Son of Man will give you,</dd> | |
| 753 <dd>for on him has God the Father set his seal.”<br /> | |
| 754 28 Then they said to him: “What must we do that we may | |
| 755 perform the works of God?” 29 Jesus replied and said to | |
| 756 them:</dd> | |
| 757 <dd>“This is the work of God,</dd> | |
| 758 <dd>that you believe in him whom he sent.”<br /> | |
| 759 30 They then said to him: “What sign then are you going to | |
| 760 give that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 | |
| 761 Our fathers ate ffianna in the desert, as it is written: ‘He | |
| 762 gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”</dd> | |
| 763 </dl> | |
| 764 </blockquote> | |
| 765 <p>885 After having described how the disciples searched for | |
| 766 Christ, the Evangelist now shows the people looking for him. First, | |
| 767 he states their motive; secondly, the occasion; and thirdly, the | |
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768 search itself (v 24).</p> |
| 35 | 769 <p>886 The crowd of people was looking for Christ because of the |
| 770 miracle mentioned above, that is, because he had crossed the sea | |
| 771 without using any boat. They realized this because the other | |
| 772 evening he had not been on the shore near where he had performed | |
| 773 the miracle of the bread, and where there had been only one boat | |
| 774 which had left for the opposite shore with the disciples, but | |
| 775 without Christ. So that morning, when they could not find Christ on | |
| 776 this side, since he was already on the other side although there | |
| 777 was no other boat he could have used, they suspected that he had | |
| 778 crossed by walking upon the sea. And this is what he says: | |
| 779 <span style="font-weight: bold">On the next day,</span> following | |
| 780 the one on which he had worked the miracle of the bread, | |
| 781 <span style="font-weight: bold">the crowd that stood on the other | |
| 782 side of the sea</span>, where he had performed this miracle, | |
| 783 <span style="font-weight: bold">saw that there was no second boat | |
| 784 there, but only one,</span> because the day before that was the | |
| 785 only one there, and they had seen <span style= | |
| 786 "font-weight: bold">that Jesus had not gone into the boat, but only | |
| 787 his disciples had gone.</span> This one ship signifies the Church, | |
| 788 which is one by its unity of faith and sacraments: “One | |
| 789 faith, one baptism” (Eph 4:5). Again, our Lord’s | |
| 790 absence from his disciples signifies his physical absence from them | |
| 791 at the ascension: “After the Lord Jesus spoke to them, he was | |
| 792 taken up into heaven” (Mk 16:19).</p> | |
| 793 <p>887 It was the arrival of other boats from the opposite side of | |
| 794 the sea that gave the people the opportunity to look for Christ; | |
| 795 they could cross on these and search for him. He says: <span style= | |
| 796 "font-weight: bold">But other boats arrived,</span> from the other | |
| 797 side, that is, <span style="font-weight: bold">from Tiberias, near | |
| 798 the place where they had eaten the bread, after having given thanks | |
| 799 to God.</span></p> | |
| 800 <p>These other boats signify the various sects of heretics and of | |
| 801 those who seek their own profit, and not the good of Jesus Christ: | |
| 802 “You seek me ... because you have eaten of the bread and have | |
| 803 been filled” (v 26). These groups are either separated in | |
| 804 faith, as are the heretics, or in the love of charity, as are the | |
| 805 carnal, who are not properly in the Church, but next to it, insofar | |
| 806 as they have a feigned faith and the appearance of holiness: | |
| 807 “They have the appearance of devotion, but deny its | |
| 808 power” (2 Tim 3:5); “Do not be surprised if the | |
| 809 ministers of Satan disguise themselves” (2 Cor 11:14).</p> | |
| 810 <p>888 The people were eager to find Christ. First, he shows how | |
| 811 they looked for him; secondly, how they questioned him after they | |
| 812 found him (v 25).</p> | |
| 813 <p>889 He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">When the people saw | |
| 814 that Jesus was not there,</span> nor <span style= | |
| 815 "font-weight: bold">his disciples, they got into the boats,</span> | |
| 816 which had come from Tiberias, <span style= | |
| 817 "font-weight: bold">looking for Jesus;</span> and this is | |
| 818 praiseworthy: “Search for the Lord while he can be | |
| 819 found” (Is 55:6); “Seek the Lord, and your soul will | |
| 820 have life” (Ps 68:33).</p> | |
| 821 <p>890 Once they found him, they questioned him. <span style= | |
| 822 "font-weight: bold">When they,</span> the people, <span style= | |
| 823 "font-weight: bold">found him,</span> Christ, <span style= | |
| 824 "font-weight: bold">on the other side of the sea,</span> they asked | |
| 825 him: <span style="font-weight: bold">Rabbi, when did you come | |
| 826 here?</span> This can be understood in two ways. In the first way, | |
| 827 they were asking about the time only. And then, Chrysostom says, | |
| 828 they should be rebuked for their rudeness, because, after such a | |
| 829 miracle, they did not ask how he crossed without a boat, but only | |
| 830 when he did so. Or, it can be said that by asking <span style= | |
| 831 "font-weight: bold">when,</span> they wanted to know not just the | |
| 832 time, but the other circumstances connected with this miraculous | |
| 833 crossing.</p> | |
| 834 <p>891 Note that now, after they have found Christ, they do not | |
| 835 wish do make him their king, while before, after he had fed them, | |
| 836 they did. They wanted to make him their king then because they were | |
| 837 emotionally excited with the joy of their meal; but such emotions | |
| 838 quickly pass. So it is that things that we plan according to our | |
| 839 emotions do not last; but matters that we arrange by our reason | |
| 840 last longer: “A wise man continues on in his wisdom like the | |
| 841 sun; a fool changes like the moon” (Sir 27:12); “The | |
| 842 work of the wicked will not last” (Prv 11:18)</p> | |
| 843 <p>892 Then (v 26), our Lord begins to mention a food that is | |
| 844 spiritual. First, he states a truth about this spiritual food. In | |
| 845 the second place, he clears up a misunderstanding (6:41). As to the | |
| 846 first he does three things. First, he presents a truth about this | |
| 847 spiritual food; secondly, he mentions its origin; and thirdly, he | |
| 848 tells 4hem how this spiritual food is to be acquired (6:34). He | |
| 849 does two things about the first. First, he explains this spiritual | |
| 850 food and its power; in the second place, he tells what this food is | |
| 851 (v 28). As to the first, he does two things. First, he rebukes them | |
| 852 for their disordered desires; in the second place, he urges them to | |
| 853 accept the truth (v 27).</p> | |
| 854 <p>893 He says, Amen, amen, I say to you, that although you seem to | |
| 855 be devout, <span style="font-weight: bold">you seek me not because | |
| 856 you have seen miracles, but because you have eaten of the bread and | |
| 857 have been filled.</span> As if to say: You seek me, not for the | |
| 858 sake of the spirit, but for the sake of the flesh, because you hope | |
| 859 for more food. As Augustine says, these people represent those who | |
| 860 seek Jesus not for himself, but in order to gain certain worldly | |
| 861 advantages: as those engaged in some business call on clerics and | |
| 862 prelates, not for the sake of Christ, but so that through their | |
| 863 intervention they might be advanced into the ranks of those who are | |
| 864 important; and like those who hurry to the churches, not for | |
| 865 Christ, but because they have been urged to do so by those who are | |
| 866 more powerful; and like those who approach our Lord for sacred | |
| 867 orders not because they desire the merits of the virtues, but | |
| 868 because they are looking for the satisfactions of this present | |
| 869 life, as wealth and praise, as Gregory says in his <i>Moralia</i>. | |
| 870 This is obvious: for to perform miracles is a work of divine power, | |
| 871 but to eat loaves of bread which have been multiplied is temporal. | |
| 872 Accordingly, those who do not come to Christ because of the power | |
| 873 they see in him, but because they eat his bread, are not serving | |
| 874 Christ but their own stomachs, as we see from Philippians (3:19); | |
| 875 and again, “He will praise you when you are good to | |
| 876 him,” as we read in the Psalm (48:19).</p> | |
| 877 <p>894 He leads them back to the truth by calling their attention | |
| 878 to spiritual food, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Do not | |
| 879 work for the food that perishes, but for that which endures to | |
| 880 eternal life.</span> First, he mentions its power; secondly, that | |
| 881 it comes from him, <span style="font-weight: bold">which the Son of | |
| 882 Man will give you.</span></p> | |
| 883 <p>895 The power of this food is seen in the fact that it does not | |
| 884 perish. In this respect we should point out that material things | |
| 885 are likenesses of spiritual things, since they are caused and | |
| 886 produced by them; and consequently they resemble spiritual things | |
| 887 in some way. Now just as the body is sustained by food, so that | |
| 888 which sustains the spirit is called its food, whatever it might be. | |
| 889 The food that sustains the body is perishable, since it is | |
| 890 converted into the nature of the body; but the food that sustains | |
| 891 the spirit is not perishable, because it is not converted into the | |
| 892 spirit; rather, the spirit is converted into its food. Hence | |
| 893 Augustine says in his <i>Confessions</i>: “I am the food of | |
| 894 the great; grow and you will eat me. But you will not change me | |
| 895 into yourself, as you do bodily food, but you will be changed into | |
| 896 me.”</p> | |
| 897 <p>So our Lord says: work, i.e., seek by your work, or merit by | |
| 898 your works, <span style="font-weight: bold">not for the food that | |
| 899 perishes,</span> i.e., bodily food: “Food is for the stomach, | |
| 900 and the stomach for food, but God will destroy both” (1 Cor | |
| 901 6:13), because we will not always need food; but <span style= | |
| 902 "font-weight: bold">work for that which,</span> that is, the | |
| 903 spiritual food, <span style="font-weight: bold">endures to eternal | |
| 904 life.</span> This food is God himself, insofar as he is the Truth | |
| 905 which is to be contemplated and the Goodness which is to be loved, | |
| 906 which nourish the spirit: “Eat my bread” (Prv 9:5); | |
| 907 “Wisdom will feed him with the bread of life and | |
| 908 understanding” (Sir 15:5). Again, this food is the obedience | |
| 909 to the divine commands: “My food is to do the will of him who | |
| 910 sent me” (above 4:34). Also, it is Christ himself: “I | |
| 911 am the bread of life” (6:35); “My flesh truly is food | |
| 912 and my blood truly is drink” (6:56): and this is so insofar | |
| 913 as the flesh of Christ is joined to the Word of God, which is the | |
| 914 food by which the angels live. The difference between bodily and | |
| 915 spiritual food which he gives here, is like the one he gave before | |
| 916 between bodily and spiritual drink: “Whoever drinks this | |
| 917 water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I | |
| 918 give, will never be thirsty again” (4:13). The reason for | |
| 919 this is that bodily things are perishable, while spiritual things, | |
| 920 and especially God, are eternal.</p> | |
| 921 <p>896 We should note that according to Augustine, in his work, | |
| 922 <i>On the Labor of Monks,</i> that certain monks misunderstood our | |
| 923 Lord’s saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Do not work | |
| 924 for the food that perishes,</span> and claimed that spiritual men | |
| 925 should not perform physical work. But this interpretation is false | |
| 926 because Paul, who was most spiritual, worked with his hands: as we | |
| 927 read in Ephesians, there he says (4:28): “Let him who stole, | |
| 928 steal no longer, rather let him work with his hands.” The | |
| 929 correct interpretation, therefore, is that we should direct our | |
| 930 work, i.e., our main interest and intention, to seeking the food | |
| 931 that leads to eternal life, that is, spiritual goods. In regard to | |
| 932 temporal goods, they should not be our principal aim but a | |
| 933 subordinate one, that is, they are to be acquired only because of | |
| 934 our mortal body, which has to be nourished as long as we are living | |
| 935 this present life. So the Apostle speaks against this opinion, | |
| 936 saying: “If any one will not work, neither let him eat” | |
| 937 (2 Thes 3:10); as if to say: those who maintain that physical work | |
| 938 is not to be done should not eat, since eating is physical.</p> | |
| 939 <p>897 Next (v 27), he mentions the one who gives this spiritual | |
| 940 food. First, we see the author of this food; secondly, the source | |
| 941 of his authority to give us this food. Christ is the author of this | |
| 942 spiritual food, and the one who gives it to us. Thus he says, | |
| 943 <span style="font-weight: bold">which,</span> that is, the food | |
| 944 that does not perish, <span style="font-weight: bold">the Son of | |
| 945 Man will give you.</span> If he had said, “the Son of | |
| 946 God,” it would not have been unexpected; but he captures | |
| 947 their attention by saying that <span style="font-weight: bold">the | |
| 948 Son of Man</span> gives this food. Yet the Son of Man gives this | |
| 949 food in a spiritual way, because human nature, weakened by sin, | |
| 950 found spiritual food distasteful, and was not able to take it in | |
| 951 its spirituality. Thus it was necessary for the Son of Man to | |
| 952 assume flesh and nourish us with it: “You have prepared a | |
| 953 table before me” (Ps 22:5).</p> | |
| 954 <p>898 He adds the source of his authority to give us this food | |
| 955 when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">for on him has God | |
| 956 the Father set his seal.</span> As if to say: the Son of Man will | |
| 957 give us this food because he surpasses all the sons of men by his | |
| 958 unique and preeminent fulness of grace. Thus he says, on him, i.e., | |
| 959 on the Son of Man, <span style="font-weight: bold">has God the | |
| 960 Father set his seal,</span> i.e., he has significantly | |
| 961 distinguished him from others: “God, your God, has anointed | |
| 962 you with the oil of gladness above your fellows” (Ps | |
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963 44:8).</p> |
| 35 | 964 <p>Hilary explains it this way. <span style="font-weight: bold">God |
| 965 set his seal,</span> i.e., impressed with a seal. For when a seal | |
| 966 is impressed on wax, the wax retains the entire figure of the seal, | |
| 967 just as the Son has received the entire figure of the Father. Now | |
| 968 the Son receives from the Father in two ways. One of these ways is | |
| 969 eternal, and <span style="font-weight: bold">set his seal</span> | |
| 970 does not refey to this way, because when something is sealed the | |
| 971 nature receiving the seal is not the same as the nature impressing | |
| 972 the seal. Rather, these words should be understood as referring to | |
| 973 the mystery of the incarnation, because God the Father has | |
| 974 impressed his Word on human nature; this Word who is “the | |
| 975 brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance” | |
| 976 (Heb 1:3).</p> | |
| 977 <p>Chrysostom explains it this way. God the Father has <span style= | |
| 978 "font-weight: bold">set his seal,</span> i.e., God the Father | |
| 979 specifically chose Christ to give eternal life to the world: | |
| 980 “I came that they may have life” (below 10:10). For | |
| 981 when someone is chosen to perform some great task, he is said to be | |
| 982 sealed for that task: “After this, the Lord appointed | |
| 983 (<i>designo,</i> appoint; <i>signo,</i> seal, mark) seventy other | |
| 984 disciples” (Lk 10:1).</p> | |
| 985 <p>Or, it could be said that God the Father <span style= | |
| 986 "font-weight: bold">set his seal,</span> i.e., Christ was made | |
| 987 known by the Father, by his voice at Christ’s baptism, and by | |
| 988 his works, as we saw in the fifth chapter.</p> | |
| 989 <p>899 Next (v 28), we see the nature of spiritual food. First, the | |
| 990 Jews pose their question; in the second place, we have the answer | |
| 991 of Jesus Christ (v 29).</p> | |
| 992 <p>900 Concerning the first, we should note that the Jews, since | |
| 993 they had been taught by the law, believed that only God was | |
| 994 eternal. So when Christ said that his food would endure to eternal | |
| 995 life, they understood that it would be a divine food. Thus when | |
| 996 they question Christ, they do not mention this food, but rather the | |
| 997 work of God, saying: <span style="font-weight: bold">What must we | |
| 998 do that we may perform the works of God?</span> Indeed, they were | |
| 999 not far from the truth, since spiritual food is nothing else than | |
| 1000 performing and accomplishing the works of God: “What shall I | |
| 1001 do to gain eternal life?” (Lk 18:18).</p> | |
| 1002 <p>901 The Lord’s answer is given when he says: <span style= | |
| 1003 "font-weight: bold">This is the work of God, that you believe in | |
| 1004 him whom he sent.</span> Here we should reflect that in Romans | |
| 1005 (4:2), the Apostle distinguished faith from works, saying that | |
| 1006 Abraham was justified by his faith, not by his works. If this is | |
| 1007 so, why does our Lord say here that to have faith, i.e., to | |
| 1008 believe, is a work of God? There are two answers to this. One is | |
| 1009 that the Apostle is not distinguishing faith from absolutely all | |
| 1010 works, but only from external works. External works, being | |
| 1011 performed by our body, are more noticeable, and so the word | |
| 1012 “works” ordinarily refers to them. But there are other | |
| 1013 works, interior works, performed within the soul, and these are | |
| 1014 known only to the wise and those converted in heart.</p> | |
| 1015 <p>From another point of view, we can say that to believe can be | |
| 1016 regarded as included in our external works, not in the sense that | |
| 1017 it is an external work, but because it is the source of these | |
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1018 works.</p> |
| 35 | 1019 <p>Thus he significantly says: <span style="font-weight: bold">that |
| 1020 you believe in him</span> (<i>in illum</i>)<i>.</i> Now it is one | |
| 1021 thing to say: “I believe in God,” (<i>credere | |
| 1022 Deum</i>), for this indicates the object. It is another thing to | |
| 1023 say: “I believe God,” (<i>credere Deo</i>), for this | |
| 1024 indicates the one who testifies. And it is still another thing to | |
| 1025 say: “I believe in God,” (<i>in Deum</i>), for this | |
| 1026 indicates the end. Thus God can be regarded as the object of faith, | |
| 1027 as the one who testifies, and as the end, but in different ways. | |
| 1028 For the object of faith can be a creature, as when I believe in the | |
| 1029 creation of the heavens. Again, a creature can he one who | |
| 1030 testifies, for I believe Paul (<i>credo Paulo</i>) or any of the | |
| 1031 saints. But only God can be the end of faith, for our mind is | |
| 1032 directed to God alone as its end. Now the end, since it has the | |
| 1033 character of a good, is the object of love. Thus, to believe in God | |
| 1034 (<i>in Deum</i>) as in an end is proper to faith living through the | |
| 1035 love of charity. Faith, living in this way, is the principle of all | |
| 1036 our good works; and in this sense to believe is said to be a work | |
| 1037 of God.</p> | |
| 1038 <p>902 But if faith is a work of God, how do men do the works of | |
| 1039 God? Isaiah (26:12) gives us the answer when he says: “You | |
| 1040 have accomplished all our works for us.” For the fact that we | |
| 1041 believe, and any good we do, is from God: “It is God who is | |
| 1042 working in us, both to will and to accomplish” (Phil 2:13). | |
| 1043 Thus he explicitly says that to believe is a work of God in order | |
| 1044 to show us that faith is a gift of God, as Ephesians (2:8) | |
| 1045 maintains.</p> | |
| 1046 <p>903 Next, we see the origin of this food. First, we have the | |
| 1047 question asked by the Jews; secondly, the answer of Christ (v 32). | |
| 1048 Three things are done about the first: first, the Jews look for a | |
| 1049 sign; secondly, they decide what it should be; and thirdly, they | |
| 1050 bring in what is narrated in Scripture.</p> | |
| 1051 <p>904 They look for a sign by asking Christ: <span style= | |
| 1052 "font-weight: bold">What sign then are you going to give that we | |
| 1053 may see and believe you?</span> This question is explained | |
| 1054 differently by Augustine and by Chrysostom. Chrysostom says that | |
| 1055 our Lord was leading them to the faith. But the evidence that leads | |
| 1056 one to the faith are miracles: “Signs were given to | |
| 1057 unbelievers” (1 Cor 14:22). And so the Jews were looking for | |
| 1058 a sign in order to believe, Afor it is their custom to seek such | |
| 1059 signs: “For Jews demand signs” (1 Cor 14:22). So they | |
| 1060 say: <span style="font-weight: bold">What sign then are you going | |
| 1061 to</span> give?</p> | |
| 1062 <p>But it seems foolish to ask for a miracle for this reason, for | |
| 1063 Christ had just performed some in their presence which could lead | |
| 1064 them to believe, as multiplying the bread and walking on the water. | |
| 1065 What they were asking was that our Lord always provide them with | |
| 1066 food. This is clear because the only sign they mention is the one | |
| 1067 given by Moses to their ancestors for forty years, and they ask in | |
| 1068 this way that Christ always provide food for them. Thus they say: | |
| 1069 <span style="font-weight: bold">Our fathers ate manna in the | |
| 1070 desert.</span> They did not say that God provided their ancestors | |
| 1071 with the manna, so that they would not seem to be making Christ | |
| 1072 equal to God. Again, they did not say that Moses fed their | |
| 1073 ancestors, so they would not seem to be preferring Moses to Christ, | |
| 1074 trying in this way to influence our Lord. We read of this food: | |
| 1075 “Man ate the bread of angels” (Ps 77:25).</p> | |
| 1076 <p>905 According to Augustine, however, our Lord had said that he | |
| 1077 would give thein food that would endure to eternal life. Thus, he | |
| 1078 seemed to put himself above Moses. The Jews, on the other hand, | |
| 1079 considered Moses greater than Christ; so they said: “We know | |
| 1080 that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is | |
| 1081 from” (below 9:29). Accordingly, they required Christ to | |
| 1082 accomplish greater things than Moses; and so they recall what Moses | |
| 1083 did, saying: <span style="font-weight: bold">Our Fathers ate manna | |
| 1084 in the desert.</span> As if to say: What you say about yourself is | |
| 1085 greater than what Moses did, for you are promising a food that does | |
| 1086 not perish, while the manna that Moses gave became wormy if saved | |
| 1087 for the next day. Therefore, if we are to believe you, do something | |
| 1088 greater than Moses did. Although you have fed five thousand men | |
| 1089 once with five barley loaves, this is not greater than what Moses | |
| 1090 did, for he fed all the people with manna from heaven for forty | |
| 1091 years, and in the desert too: “He gave them the bread of | |
| 1092 heaven” (Ps 77:24).</p> | |
| 1093 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 1094 </p> | |
| 1095 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style= | |
| 1096 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE 4</span></p> | |
| 1097 <blockquote> | |
| 1098 <p>32 Jesus therefore said to them:</p> | |
| 1099 <dl> | |
| 1100 <dd>“Amen, amen, I say to you:</dd> | |
| 1101 <dd>Moses did not give you bread from heaven,</dd> | |
| 1102 <dd>but my Father gives you true bread from heaven.</dd> | |
| 1103 <dd>33 For the true bread is that which descends</dd> | |
| 1104 <dd>from heaven, and gives life to the world.”<br /> | |
| 1105 34 They then said to him: “Lord, give us this bread | |
| 1106 always.” 35 But Jesus said to them:</dd> | |
| 1107 <dd>“I am the bread of life.</dd> | |
| 1108 <dd>Whoever comes to me shall not hunger;</dd> | |
| 1109 <dd>and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.</dd> | |
| 1110 <dd>36 But I have told you that you have both seen me</dd> | |
| 1111 <dd>and do not believe.</dd> | |
| 1112 <dd>37 All that the Father gives me shall come to me;</dd> | |
| 1113 <dd>and the one who comes to me I will not cast out,</dd> | |
| 1114 <dd>38 because I have come down from heaven,</dd> | |
| 1115 <dd>not to do my own will,</dd> | |
| 1116 <dd>but the will of him who sent me.</dd> | |
| 1117 <dd>39 Now it is the will of him who sent me, the Father,</dd> | |
| 1118 <dd>that of all that he has given me I should lose nothing,</dd> | |
| 1119 <dd>but raise it up on the last day.</dd> | |
| 1120 <dd>40 For this is the will of my Father, who sent me,</dd> | |
| 1121 <dd>that every one who sees the Son and believes in him,</dd> | |
| 1122 <dd>should have eternal life.</dd> | |
| 1123 <dd>And I will raise him up on the last day.”</dd> | |
| 1124 </dl> | |
| 1125 </blockquote> | |
| 1126 <p>906 Having told us the question the Jews had asked Christ, the | |
| 1127 Evangelist now gives his answer. First, Christ tells us of the | |
| 1128 origin of this spiritual food; secondly, he proves what he has just | |
| 1129 said (v 33).</p> | |
| 1130 <p>907 Concerning the first, we should note that the Jews had | |
| 1131 mentioned two things to Christ concerning the bodily food which had | |
| 1132 been given to their ancestors: the one who gave this food, Moses, | |
| 1133 and the place, that is, from heaven. Accordingly, when our Lord | |
| 1134 tells them about the origin of spiritual food, he does not mention | |
| 1135 these two, for he says that there is another who gives this food | |
| 1136 and another place. He says: <span style="font-weight: bold">Amen, | |
| 1137 amen, I say to you: Moses did not give you bread from | |
| 1138 heaven.</span> There is another who gives to you, that is, | |
| 1139 <span style="font-weight: bold">my Father;</span> and he gives, | |
| 1140 not, just bodily bread, but <span style="font-weight: bold">the | |
| 1141 true bread from heaven.</span></p> | |
| 1142 <p>908 But was it not true bread that their ancestors had in the | |
| 1143 desert? I answer that if you understand “true” as | |
| 1144 contrasted with “false,” then they had true bread, for | |
| 1145 the miracle of the manna was a true miracle. But if | |
| 1146 “true” is contrasted with “symbolic,” then | |
| 1147 that bread was not true, but was a symbol of spiritual bread, that | |
| 1148 is, of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom that manna signified, as the | |
| 1149 Apostle says: “All ate the same spiritual food” (1 Cor | |
| 1150 10:3).</p> | |
| 1151 <p>909 When the Psalm (77:24) says, “He gave them the bread | |
| 1152 of heaven,” this seems to conflict with, <span style= | |
| 1153 "font-weight: bold">Moses did not give you bread from | |
| 1154 heaven.</span> I answer that the word “heaven” can be | |
| 1155 understood in three ways. Sometimes it can mean the air, as in | |
| 1156 “The birds of heaven ate them” (Mt 13:4); and also in, | |
| 1157 “The Lord thundered from heaven” (Ps 14:14). Sometimes | |
| 1158 “heaven” means the starry sky; as in, “The | |
| 1159 highest heaven is the Lord’s” (Ps 113:16), and in, | |
| 1160 “The stars will fall from heaven” (Mt 24:19). Thirdly, | |
| 1161 it can signify goods of a spiritual nature, as in “Rejoice | |
| 1162 and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven” (Mt | |
| 1163 5:12). So the manna was from heaven, not the heaven of the stars or | |
| 1164 of spiritual food, but from the air. Or, the manna was said to be | |
| 1165 from heaven insofar as it was a symbol of the true bread from | |
| 1166 heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ.</p> | |
| 1167 <p>910 When he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">For the true | |
| 1168 bread is that which descends from heaven, and gives life to the | |
| 1169 world,</span> he proves that it is from heaven by its effect. For | |
| 1170 the true heaven is spiritual in nature, and has life by its own | |
| 1171 essence; therefore, of itself, it gives life: “It is the | |
| 1172 spirit that gives life” (below 6:64). Now God himself is the | |
| 1173 author of life. Therefore, we know that this spiritual bread is | |
| 1174 from heaven when it produces its proper effect, if it gives life. | |
| 1175 That bodily bread used by the Jews did not give life, since all who | |
| 1176 ate the nianna died. But this [spiritual] bread does give life, so | |
| 1177 he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">the true bread,</span> not | |
| 1178 that symbolic bread, <span style="font-weight: bold">is that which | |
| 1179 descends from heaven.</span> This is clear, because it <span style= | |
| 1180 "font-weight: bold">gives life to the world:</span> for Christ, who | |
| 1181 is the true bread, gives life to whom he wills: “I came that | |
| 1182 they may have life” (below 10:10). He also descended from | |
| 1183 heaven: “No one has gone up to heaven except the One who came | |
| 1184 down from heaven” (above 3:13). Thus Christ, the true bread, | |
| 1185 gives life to the world by reason of his divinity; and he descends | |
| 1186 from heaven by reason of his human nature, for as we said on the | |
| 1187 prior text, he came down from heaven by assuming human nature: | |
| 1188 “He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” | |
| 1189 (Phil 2:7).</p> | |
| 1190 <p>911 Now he considers the acquisition of this spiritual food. | |
| 1191 First, we see the Jews asking for it; secondly, he shows the way it | |
| 1192 is acquired (v 3 5).</p> | |
| 1193 <p>912 We should note with respect to the first, that the Jews | |
| 1194 understood what Christ said in a material way; and so, because they | |
| 1195 desired material things, they were looking for material bread from | |
| 1196 Christ. Hence they said to him, <span style= | |
| 1197 "font-weight: bold">Lord, give us this bread always,</span> which | |
| 1198 physically nourishes us. The Samaritan woman also understood what | |
| 1199 our Lord said about spiritual water in a material way, and wishing | |
| 1200 to slake her thirst, said, “Give me this water” (above | |
| 1201 4:15). And although these people understood what our Lord said | |
| 1202 about food in a material way, and asked for it this way, we are | |
| 1203 expected to ask for it as understood in a spiritual way: | |
| 1204 “Give us this day our daily bread” (Mt 6:11), because | |
| 1205 we cannot live without this bread.</p> | |
| 1206 <p>913 Then, he shows how this bread is acquired. First, he shows | |
| 1207 what this bread is; secondly, how to obtain it (v 37). Concerning | |
| 1208 the first, he does three things. First, he explains what this bread | |
| 1209 is, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am the bread of life;</span> | |
| 1210 secondly, he gives the reason for this, <span style= | |
| 1211 "font-weight: bold">Whoever comes to me shall not hunger;</span> | |
| 1212 thirdly, he shows why this had to be explained (v 36).</p> | |
| 1213 <p>914 Jesus said to them: <span style="font-weight: bold">I am the | |
| 1214 bread of life,</span> for as we saw above, the word of wisdom is | |
| 1215 the proper food of the mind, because the mind is sustained by it: | |
| 1216 “He fed him with the bread of life and understanding” | |
| 1217 (Sir 15:3). Now the bread of wisdom is called the bread of life to | |
| 1218 distinguish it from material bread, which is the bread of death, | |
| 1219 and which serves only to restore what has been lost by a mortal | |
| 1220 organism; hence material bread is necessary only during this mortal | |
| 1221 life. But the bread of divine wisdom is life-giving of itself, and | |
| 1222 no death can affect it. Again, material bread does not give life, | |
| 1223 but only sustains for a time a life that already exists. But | |
| 1224 spiritual bread actually gives life: for the soul begins to live | |
| 1225 because it adheres to the word of God: “For with you is the | |
| 1226 fountain of life,” as we see in the Psalm (35:10). Therefore, | |
| 1227 since every word of wisdom is derived from the Only Begotten Word | |
| 1228 of God—The fountain of wisdom is the Only Begotten of | |
| 1229 God” (Sir 1:5)—this Word of God is especially called | |
| 1230 the bread of life. Thus Christ says, <span style= | |
| 1231 "font-weight: bold">I am the bread of life.</span> And because the | |
| 1232 flesh of Christ is united to the Word of God, it also is | |
| 1233 life-giving. Thus, too, his body, sacramentally received, is | |
| 1234 life-giving: for Christ gives life to the world through the | |
| 1235 mysteries which he accomplished in his flesh. Consequently, the | |
| 1236 flesh of Christ, because of the Word of the Lord, is not the bread | |
| 1237 of ordinary life, but of that life which does not die. And so the | |
| 1238 flesh of Christ is called bread: “The bread of Asher is | |
| 1239 rich” (Gn 49:20).</p> | |
| 1240 <p>His flesh was also signified by the manna. “Manna” | |
| 1241 means “What is this?” because when the Jews saw it they | |
| 1242 wondered, and asked each other what it was. But nothing is more a | |
| 1243 source of wonder than the Son of God made man, so that everyone can | |
| 1244 fittingly ask, “What is this?” That is, how can the Son | |
| 1245 of God be the Son of Man? How can Christ be one person with two | |
| 1246 natures? “His name will be called Wonderful” (Is 9:6). | |
| 1247 It is also a cause for wonder how Christ can be present in the | |
| 1248 sacrament.</p> | |
| 1249 <p>915 Next (v 35), he gives the reason for this from the effect of | |
| 1250 this [spiritual] bread. When material bread is eaten, it does not | |
| 1251 permanently take away our hunger, since it must be destroyed in | |
| 1252 order to build us up; and this is necessary if we are to be | |
| 1253 nourished. But spiritual bread, which gives life of itself, is | |
| 1254 never destroyed; consequently, a person who eats it once never | |
| 1255 hungers again. Thus he says: <span style= | |
| 1256 "font-weight: bold">Whoever comes to me shall not hunger; and | |
| 1257 whoever believes in me shall never thirst.</span></p> | |
| 1258 <p>According to Augustine, it is the same thing to say, | |
| 1259 <span style="font-weight: bold">whoever comes</span>, as to say, | |
| 1260 <span style="font-weight: bold">whoever believes</span>: since it | |
| 1261 is the same to come to Christ and to believe in him , for we do not | |
| 1262 come to God with bodily steps, but with those of the mind, the | |
| 1263 first of which is faith. To eat and to drink are also the same: for | |
| 1264 each signifies that eternal fulness where there is no want: | |
| 1265 “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for what is right, | |
| 1266 for they will be filled” (Mt 5:6); so that food which | |
| 1267 sustains and that drink which refreshes are one and the same.</p> | |
| 1268 <p>One reason why temporal things do not take away our thirst | |
| 1269 permanently is that they are not consumed altogether, but only bit | |
| 1270 by bit, and with motion, so that there is always still more to be | |
| 1271 consumed. For this reason, just as there is enjoyment and | |
| 1272 satisfaction from what has been consumed, so there is a desire for | |
| 1273 what is still to come. Another reason is that they are destroyed; | |
| 1274 hence the recollection of them remains and generates a repeated | |
| 1275 longing for those things. Spiritual things, on the other hand, are | |
| 1276 taken all at once, and they are not destroyed, nor do they run out; | |
| 1277 and consequently the fulness they produce remains forever: | |
| 1278 “They will neither hunger nor thirst” (Rv 7:16); | |
| 1279 “Your face will fill me with joy; the delights in your right | |
| 1280 hand (i.e., in spiritual goods) will last forever,” as the | |
| 1281 Psalm (16:11) says.</p> | |
| 1282 <p>916 Then (v 36), we see why Christ had to explain these things. | |
| 1283 For someone could say: We asked for bread; but you did not answer, | |
| 1284 “I will give it to you,” or “I will not.” | |
| 1285 Rather, you say, I am the bread of life; and so your answer does | |
| 1286 not seem to be appropriate. But our Lord shows that it is a good | |
| 1287 answer, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">I have told you | |
| 1288 that you have both seen me and do not believe.</span> This is the | |
| 1289 same as a person having bread right in front of him without his | |
| 1290 knowing it, and then being told: Look! The bread is right before | |
| 1291 you. And so Christ says: <span style="font-weight: bold">I have | |
| 1292 told you (I am the bread of life) that you have both seen me and do | |
| 1293 not believe,</span> i.e., you want bread, and it is right before | |
| 1294 you; and yet you do not take it because you do not believe. In | |
| 1295 saying this he is censuring them for their unbelief: “They | |
| 1296 have seen and hated both me and my Father” (below 15:24).</p> | |
| 1297 <p>917 Then (v 37), he shows how this bread is acquired. First, he | |
| 1298 mentions the way to acquire it; secondly, the end attained by those | |
| 1299 who come to him (v 37b); thirdly, he enlarges on this (v 38).</p> | |
| 1300 <p>918 Concerning the first, we should note that the very fact that | |
| 1301 we believe is a gift of God to us: “You are saved by grace, | |
| 1302 through faith; and this is not due to yourself, for it is the gift | |
| 1303 of God” (Eph 2:8); “It has been granted to you not only | |
| 1304 to believe in him, but also to suffer for him” (Phil 1:29). | |
| 1305 Sometimes, God the Father is said to give those who believe to the | |
| 1306 Son, as here: <span style="font-weight: bold">All that the Father | |
| 1307 gives me shall come to me.</span> At other times, the Son is said | |
| 1308 to give them to the Father, as in 1 Corinthians (15~24): “He | |
| 1309 will hand over the kingdom to God and the Father.” We can see | |
| 1310 from this that just as the Father does not deprive himself of the | |
| 1311 kingdom in giving to the Son, neither does the Son in giving to the | |
| 1312 Father. The Father gives to the Son insofar as the Father makes a | |
| 1313 person adhere to his Word: “Through whom (that is, the | |
| 1314 Father) you have been called into the fellowship of his Son” | |
| 1315 (1 Cor 1:9). The Son, on the other hand, gives to the Father | |
| 1316 insofar as the Word makes the Father known: “I have made | |
| 1317 known your name to those you have given ine” (below 17:6). | |
| 1318 Thus Christ says: <span style="font-weight: bold">All that the | |
| 1319 Father gives me shall come to me,</span> i.e., those who believe in | |
| 1320 me, whom the Father makes adhere to me by his gift.</p> | |
| 1321 <p>9 19 Perhaps some might say that it is not necessary for one to | |
| 1322 use God’s gift: for many receive God’s gift and do not | |
| 1323 use it. So how can he say: <span style="font-weight: bold">All that | |
| 1324 the Father gives me shall come to me?</span> We must say to this | |
| 1325 that in this giving we have to include not only the habit, which is | |
| 1326 faith, but also the interior impulse to believe. So, everything | |
| 1327 which contributes to salvation is a gift of God.</p> | |
| 1328 <p>920 There is another question. If everything which the Father | |
| 1329 gives to Christ comes to him, as he says, then only those come to | |
| 1330 God whom the Father gives him. Thus, those who do not come are not | |
| 1331 responsible, since they are not given to him. I answer that they | |
| 1332 are not responsible if they cannot come to the faith without the | |
| 1333 help of God. But those who do not come are responsible, because | |
| 1334 they create an obstacle to their own coming by turning away from | |
| 1335 salvation, the way to which is of itself open to all.</p> | |
| 1336 <p>921 Then (v 37b), the end attained by those who come is | |
| 1337 mentioned. For some might say, “We will come to you, but you | |
| 1338 will not receive us.” To exclude this he says, <span style= | |
| 1339 "font-weight: bold">the one who comes to me,</span> by steps of | |
| 1340 faith and by good works, <span style="font-weight: bold">I will not | |
| 1341 cast out.</span> By this he lets us understand that he is already | |
| 1342 within, for one must be within before one can be sent out. Let us | |
| 1343 consider, therefore, what is interior, and how one is cast out from | |
| 1344 it.</p> | |
| 1345 <p>We should point out that since all visible things are said to be | |
| 1346 exterior with respect to spiritual things, then the more spiritual | |
| 1347 something is the more interior it is. What is interior is twofold. | |
| 1348 The first is the most profound, and is the joy of eternal life. | |
| 1349 According to Augustine, this is a sweet and most interior retreat, | |
| 1350 without any weariness, without the bitterness of evil thoughts, and | |
| 1351 uninterrupted by temptations and sorrows. We read of this: | |
| 1352 “Share the joy of your Lord” (Mt 25:21); and, | |
| 1353 “You will hide them in the secret of your face,” that | |
| 1354 is, in the full vision of your essence (Ps 30:2 1). From this | |
| 1355 interior no one is cast out: “He who conquers, I will make | |
| 1356 him a pillar in the temple of the living God; and he will no longer | |
| 1357 leave it” (Rv 3:12), because “the just will go to | |
| 1358 everlasting life,” as we see from Matthew (25:46). The other | |
| 1359 interior is that of an upright conscience; and this is a spiritual | |
| 1360 joy. We read of this: “When I enter into my house I will | |
| 1361 enjoy repose” (Wis 8:16); and “The king has brought me | |
| 1362 into his storerooms” (Sg 1:3). It is from this interior, that | |
| 1363 some are cast out.</p> | |
| 1364 <p>So, when our Lord says, <span style="font-weight: bold">the one | |
| 1365 who comes to me I will not cast out,</span> we can understand this | |
| 1366 in two ways. In one way, those who come to him are those who have | |
| 1367 been given to him by the Father through eternal predestination. Of | |
| 1368 these he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">the one who comes to | |
| 1369 me,</span> predestined by the Father, <span style= | |
| 1370 "font-weight: bold">I will not cast out:</span> “God has not | |
| 1371 rejected his people, the people he chose” (Rom 11:2). In a | |
| 1372 second way, those who do go out are not cast out by Christ, rather, | |
| 1373 they cast themselves out, because through their unbelief and sins | |
| 1374 they abandon the sanctuary of an upright conscience. Thus we read: | |
| 1375 <span style="font-weight: bold">I will not cast out</span> such; | |
| 1376 but they do cast themselves out: “You are the burden, and I | |
| 1377 will cast you aside, says the Lord” (Jer 23:33). It was in | |
| 1378 this way that the man who came to the wedding feast without wedding | |
| 1379 clothes was cast out (Mt 22:13).</p> | |
| 1380 <p>922 Next (v 3 8), he gives the reason for what he just said. | |
| 1381 First, he mentions his intention to accomplish the will of the | |
| 1382 Father; secondly, he states what the will of the Father is (v 39); | |
| 1383 and thirdly, he shows the final accomplishment of this will (v | |
| 1384 40b).</p> | |
| 1385 <p>923 Concerning the first, we should note that this passage can | |
| 1386 be read in two ways: either as Augustine does, or following the | |
| 1387 interpretation of Chrysostom. Augustine understands it this way: | |
| 1388 <span style="font-weight: bold">the one who comes to me I will not | |
| 1389 cast out;</span> and this is because the one who comes to me | |
| 1390 imitates my humility. In Matthew (11:29), after our Lord said, | |
| 1391 “Come to me, all you who labor,” he added, “Learn | |
| 1392 from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.” Now the true | |
| 1393 gentleness of the Son of God consists in the fact that he submitted | |
| 1394 his will to the will of the Father. Thus he says, <span style= | |
| 1395 "font-weight: bold">the one who comes to me I will not cast out, | |
| 1396 because I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but | |
| 1397 the will of him who sent me.</span> Since a soul abandons God | |
| 1398 because of its pride, it must return in humility, coming to Christ | |
| 1399 by imitating his humility; and this humility of Christ was in not | |
| 1400 doing his own will, but the will of God the Father.</p> | |
| 1401 <p>Here we should note that there were two wills in Christ. One | |
| 1402 pertains to his human nature, and this will is proper to him, both | |
| 1403 by nature and by the will of the Father. His other will pertains to | |
| 1404 his divine nature, and this will is the same as the will of the | |
| 1405 Father. Christ subordinated his own will, that is, his human will, | |
| 1406 to the divine will, because, wishing to accomplish the will of the | |
| 1407 Father, he was obedient to the Father’s will: “My God, | |
| 1408 I desired to do your will” (Ps 39:9). We ask that this will | |
| 1409 be accomplished in our regard when we say, “Your will be | |
| 1410 done” (Mt 6:10). Thus, those who do the will of God, not | |
| 1411 their own will, are not cast out. The devil, who wanted to do his | |
| 1412 own will out of pride, was cast from heaven; and so too the first | |
| 1413 man was expelled from paradise.</p> | |
| 1414 <p>Chrysostom explains the passage this way. The reason I do not | |
| 1415 cast out one who comes to me is because I have come to accomplish | |
| 1416 the will of the Father concerning the salvation of men. So, if I | |
| 1417 have become incarnate for the salvation of men, how can I cast them | |
| 1418 out? And this is what he says: I will not cast out one who comes, | |
| 1419 <span style="font-weight: bold">because I have come down from | |
| 1420 heaven, not to do my own will, my</span> human will, so as to | |
| 1421 obtain my own benefit, <span style="font-weight: bold">but the will | |
| 1422 of him who sent me</span>, that is, the Father, “He desires | |
| 1423 the salvation of all men” (1 Tim 2:4). And therefore, so far | |
| 1424 as I am concerned, I do not cast out any person: “For if, | |
| 1425 when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his | |
| 1426 Son, now much more, having been reconciled, we will be saved by his | |
| 1427 life” (Rom 5:10).</p> | |
| 1428 <p>924 Then (v 39), he shows what the Father wills; and next, why | |
| 1429 he wills it (v 40).</p> | |
| 1430 <p>925 He says: I will not cast out those who come to me, because I | |
| 1431 have taken flesh in order to do the will of the Father: | |
| 1432 <span style="font-weight: bold">Now it is the will of him who sent | |
| 1433 me, the Father,</span> that those who come to me <span style= | |
| 1434 "font-weight: bold">I will not cast out;</span> and so I will not | |
| 1435 cast them out. “This is the will of God, your | |
| 1436 sanctification” (1 Thes 4:3). Therefore he says that it is | |
| 1437 the will of the Father <span style="font-weight: bold">that of all | |
| 1438 that he,</span> the Father, <span style="font-weight: bold">has | |
| 1439 given me I should lose nothing,</span> i.e., that I should lose | |
| 1440 nothing until the time of the resurrection. At this time some will | |
| 1441 be lost, the wicked; but none of those given to Christ through | |
| 1442 eternal predestination will be among them: “The way of the | |
| 1443 wicked will perish” (Ps 1:7). Those, on the other hand, who | |
| 1444 are preserved until then, will not be lost.</p> | |
| 1445 <p>Now when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">lose</span>, | |
| 1446 we should not understand this as implying that he needs such people | |
| 1447 or that he is damaged if they perish. Rather, he says this because | |
| 1448 he desires their salvation and what is good for them, which he | |
| 1449 regards as his own good.</p> | |
| 1450 <p>926 What John later reports Christ as saying seems to conflict | |
| 1451 with this: “None of them,” that is, of those you have | |
| 1452 given me, “have been lost except the son of perdition” | |
| 1453 (below 17:12). Thus, some of those given to Christ through eternal | |
| 1454 predestination are lost. Accordingly, what he says here, | |
| 1455 <span style="font-weight: bold">that of all that he has given me I | |
| 1456 should lose nothing,</span> is not true. We must say to this that | |
| 1457 some are lost from among those given to Christ through a present | |
| 1458 justification; but none are lost from among those given to him | |
| 1459 through eternal predestination.</p> | |
| 1460 <p>927 Now he gives the reason for the divine will (v 40). The | |
| 1461 reason why the Father wills that I lose nothing of all that he has | |
| 1462 given me is that the Father wills to bring men to life spiritually, | |
| 1463 because he is the fountain of life. And since the Father is | |
| 1464 eternal, he wills, absolutely speaking, that every one who comes to | |
| 1465 me should have eternal life. And this is what he says: <span style= | |
| 1466 "font-weight: bold">For this is the will of my Father, who sent me, | |
| 1467 that every one who sees the Son and believes in him, should have | |
| 1468 eternal life.</span> Note that he said above: “Whoever hears | |
| 1469 my voice and believes in him who sent me, possesses eternal | |
| 1470 life” (above 5:24), while here he says: <span style= | |
| 1471 "font-weight: bold">every one who sees the Son and believes in | |
| 1472 him.</span> We can understand from this that the Father and the Son | |
| 1473 have the same divine nature; and it is the vision of this, through | |
| 1474 its essence, that is our ultimate end and the object of our faith. | |
| 1475 When he says here, <span style="font-weight: bold">sees the | |
| 1476 Son,</span> he is referring to the physical sight of Christ which | |
| 1477 leads to faith, and not to this vision through essence which faith | |
| 1478 precedes. Thus he expressly says, <span style= | |
| 1479 "font-weight: bold">every one who sees the Son and believes in | |
| 1480 him:</span> “Whoever believes in him ... will not encounter | |
| 1481 judgment, but has passed from death to life” (above 5:24); | |
| 1482 “These things are written that you may believe that Jesus | |
| 1483 Christ is the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in | |
| 1484 his name” (below 20:3 1).</p> | |
| 1485 <p>928 This will of the Father will also be accomplished. So he | |
| 1486 adds: <span style="font-weight: bold">And I will raise him up on | |
| 1487 the last day,</span> for he wills that we have eternal life not | |
| 1488 just in our soul alone, but also in our body, as Christ did at his | |
| 1489 resurrection: “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the | |
| 1490 earth will awake: some to an everlasting life, and others to | |
| 1491 everlasting shame” (Dn 12:2); “Christ, having risen | |
| 1492 from the dead, will not die again” (Rom 6:9).</p> | |
| 1493 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 1494 </p> | |
| 1495 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style= | |
| 1496 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE5</span></p> | |
| 1497 <blockquote> | |
| 1498 <p>41 The Jews therefore grumbled about him because he had said, | |
| 1499 “I amthe living bread that has come down from heaven.” | |
| 1500 42 And they said: “Is he not the son of Joseph? Do we not | |
| 1501 know his father and mother? How then can he say that he has come | |
| 1502 down from heaven?” 43 Jesus responded and said to them:</p> | |
| 1503 <dl> | |
| 1504 <dd>“Stop grumbling among yourselves.</dd> | |
| 1505 <dd>44 No one can come to me</dd> | |
| 1506 <dd>unless the Father, who sent me, draws him.</dd> | |
| 1507 <dd>And I will raise him up on the last day.</dd> | |
| 1508 <dd>45 It is written in the prophets;</dd> | |
| 1509 <dd>‘They shall all be taught by God.’</dd> | |
| 1510 <dd>Every one who has heard the Father and has learned,</dd> | |
| 1511 <dd>comes to me.</dd> | |
| 1512 <dd>46 Not that any one has seen the Father,</dd> | |
| 1513 <dd>except the one who is from God—</dd> | |
| 1514 <dd>he has seen the Father.”</dd> | |
| 1515 </dl> | |
| 1516 </blockquote> | |
| 1517 <p>929 Those opinions that conflict with the above teaching of | |
| 1518 Christ are now rejected. First, those of’ the people, who | |
| 1519 were discontented; secondly, those of the disciples, who were in a | |
| 1520 state of doubt (v 61). He does two things about the first. First, | |
| 1521 we see the people grumble about the origin of this spiritual food; | |
| 1522 secondly, we see Christ check the dispute which arose over the | |
| 1523 eating of this spiritual food (v 53). As to the first he does two | |
| 1524 things. First, he mentions the grumbling of the people; secondly, | |
| 1525 how it was checked (v 43). As to the first he does two things. | |
| 1526 First, he shows the occasion for this complaining; secondly, what | |
| 1527 those complaining said (v 42).</p> | |
| 1528 <p>930 He continues that some of the people were grumbling over | |
| 1529 what Christ had said, that is, because Christ had said, | |
| 1530 <span style="font-weight: bold">I am the living bread that has come | |
| 1531 down from heaven,</span> a spiritual bread they did not understand | |
| 1532 or desire. And so they grumbled because their minds were not fixed | |
| 1533 on spiritual things. They were following in this case the custom of | |
| 1534 their ancestors: “They grumbled in their tents” (Ps | |
| 1535 105:25); “Do not grumble, as some of them did” (1 Cor | |
| 1536 10:10). As Chrysostom says, they had not complained till now | |
| 1537 because they still hoped to obtain material food; but as soon as | |
| 1538 they lost that hope, they began to grumble, although they pretended | |
| 1539 that it was for a different reason. Yet they did not contradict him | |
| 1540 openly due to the respect they had for him arising from his | |
| 1541 previous miracle.</p> | |
| 1542 <p>931 He says those who complained said: <span style= | |
| 1543 "font-weight: bold">Is he not the son of Joseph?</span> For since | |
| 1544 they were earthly minded, they only considered Christ’s | |
| 1545 physical generation, which hindered them from recognizing his | |
| 1546 spiritual and eternal generation. And so we see them speaking only | |
| 1547 of earthly things, “He who is of earth is earthly and speaks | |
| 1548 of earthly things” (above 3:3 1), and not understanding what | |
| 1549 is spiritual. Thus they said: <span style="font-weight: bold">How | |
| 1550 then can he say that he has come down from heaven?</span> They | |
| 1551 called him the son of Joseph as this was the general opinion, for | |
| 1552 Joseph was his foster father: “the son of Joseph (as was | |
| 1553 supposed)” (Lk 3:23).</p> | |
| 1554 <p>932 Next (v 43), the grumbling of the people is checked. First, | |
| 1555 Christ stops this complaining; secondly, he clears up their | |
| 1556 difficulty (v 47). As to the first he does two things. First, he | |
| 1557 checks their complaining, secondly, he tells why they were doing it | |
| 1558 (v 44).</p> | |
| 1559 <p>933 Jesus noticed that they were grumbling and checked them, | |
| 1560 saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">Stop grumbling among | |
| 1561 yourselves.</span> This was good advice, for those who complain | |
| 1562 show that their minds are not firmly fixed on God; and so we read | |
| 1563 in Wisdom (1:11): “Keep yourselves from grumbling, for it | |
| 1564 does no good.”</p> | |
| 1565 <p>934 The reason for their grumbling was their unbelief, and he | |
| 1566 shows this when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">No one can | |
| 1567 come to me</span> .... First, he shows that if one is to come to | |
| 1568 Christ, he has to be drawn by the Father. Secondly, he shows the | |
| 1569 way one is drawn (v 45). As to the first he does three things. | |
| 1570 First, he mentions that coming to Christ surpasses human ability; | |
| 1571 secondly, the divine help we receive for this; and thirdly, the end | |
| 1572 or fruit of this help.</p> | |
| 1573 <p>That we should come to Christ through faith surpasses our human | |
| 1574 ability; thus he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">No one can | |
| 1575 come to me.</span> Secondly, divine help is effective in helping us | |
| 1576 to this; thus he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">unless the | |
| 1577 Father, who sent me, draws him.</span> The end or fruit of this | |
| 1578 help is the very best, so he adds, <span style= | |
| 1579 "font-weight: bold">And I will raise him up on the last | |
| 1580 day.</span></p> | |
| 1581 <p>935 He says first: It is not unexpected that you are grumbling, | |
| 1582 because my Father had not yet drawn you to me, for <span style= | |
| 1583 "font-weight: bold">No one can come to me,</span> by believing in | |
| 1584 me, <span style="font-weight: bold">unless the Father, who sent me, | |
| 1585 draws him.</span></p> | |
| 1586 <p>There are three questions here. The first is about his saying: | |
| 1587 <span style="font-weight: bold">unless the Father draws him.</span> | |
| 1588 For since we come to Christ by believing, then, as we said above, | |
| 1589 to come to Christ is to believe in him. But no one can believe | |
| 1590 unless he wills to. Therefore, since to be drawn implies some kind | |
| 1591 of compulsion, one who comes to Christ by being drawn is | |
| 1592 compelled.</p> | |
| 1593 <p>I answer that what we read here about the Father drawing us does | |
| 1594 not imply coercion, because there are some ways of being drawn that | |
| 1595 do not involve compulsion. Consequently, the Father draws men to | |
| 1596 the Son in many ways, using the different ways in which we can be | |
| 1597 drawn without compulsion. One person may draw another by persuading | |
| 1598 him with a reason. The Father draws us to his Son in this way by | |
| 1599 showing us that he is his Son. He does this in two ways. First, by | |
| 1600 an interior revelation, as in: “Blessed are you, Simon | |
| 1601 Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you (that | |
| 1602 is, that Christ is the Son of the living God), but it was done so | |
| 1603 by my Father” (Mt 16:17). Secondly, it can be done through | |
| 1604 miracles, which the Son has the power to do from the Father: | |
| 1605 “The very works which my Father has given me to perform ... | |
| 1606 they bear witness to me” (above 5:36).</p> | |
| 1607 <p>Again, one person draws another by attracting or captivating | |
| 1608 him: “She captivated him with her flattery” (Prv 7:21). | |
| 1609 This is the way the Father draws those who are devoted to Jesus on | |
| 1610 account of the authority of the paternal greatness. For the Father, | |
| 1611 i.e., the paternal greatness, draws those who believe in Christ | |
| 1612 because they believe that he is the Son of God. Arius—who did | |
| 1613 not believe that Christ was the true Son of God, nor begotten of | |
| 1614 the substance of the Father—was not drawn in this way. | |
| 1615 Neither was Photinus—who dogniatized that Christ was a mere | |
| 1616 man. So, this is the way those who are captivated by his greatness | |
| 1617 are drawn by the Father. But they are also drawn by the Son, | |
| 1618 through a wonderful joy and love of the truth, which is the very | |
| 1619 Son of God himself. For if, as Augustine says, each of us is drawn | |
| 1620 by his own pleasure, how much more strongly ought we to be drawn to | |
| 1621 Christ if we find our pleasure in truth, happiness, justice, | |
| 1622 eternal life: all of which Christ is! Therefore, if we would be | |
| 1623 drawn by him, let us be drawn through love for the truth, according | |
| 1624 to: “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the | |
| 1625 desires of your heart” (Ps 36:4). And so in the Song of | |
| 1626 Solomon, the bride says: “Draw me after you, and we will run | |
| 1627 to the fragrance of your perfume” (1:4).</p> | |
| 1628 <p>An external revelation or an object are not the only things that | |
| 1629 draw us. There is also an interior impulse that incites and moves | |
| 1630 us to believe. And so the Father draws many to the Son by the | |
| 1631 impulse of a divine action, moving a person’s heart from | |
| 1632 within to believe: “It is God who is working in us, both to | |
| 1633 will and to accomplish” (Phil 2:13); “1 will draw them | |
| 1634 with the cords of Adam, with bands of love” (Hos 11:4); | |
| 1635 “The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord; he turns | |
| 1636 it wherever he wills” (Prv 2 1:1).</p> | |
| 1637 <p>936 The second problem is this. We read that it is the Son who | |
| 1638 draws us to the Father: “No one knows the Father but the Son, | |
| 1639 and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal him” (Mt 11:26); | |
| 1640 “1 have made your name known to those you have given | |
| 1641 me” (below 17:6). So how can it say here that it is the | |
| 1642 Father who draws us to the Son? This can be answered in two ways: | |
| 1643 for we can speak of Christ either as a man, or as God. As man, | |
| 1644 Christ is the way: “I am the way” (below 14:6); and as | |
| 1645 the Christ, he leads us to the Father, as a way or road leads to | |
| 1646 its end. The Father draws us to Christ as man insofar as he gives | |
| 1647 us his own power so that we may believe in Christ: “You are | |
| 1648 saved by grace, through faith; and this is not due to yourself, for | |
| 1649 it is the gift of God”’ (Eph 2:8). Insofar as he is | |
| 1650 Christ, he is the Word of God and manifests the Father. It is in | |
| 1651 this way that the Son draws us to the Father. But the Father draws | |
| 1652 us to the Son insofar as he manifests the Son.</p> | |
| 1653 <p>937 The third problem concerns his saying that no one can come | |
| 1654 to Christ unless the Father draws him. For according to this, if | |
| 1655 one does not come to Christ, it is not because of himself, but is | |
| 1656 due to the one who does not draw him. I answer and say that, in | |
| 1657 truth, no one can come unless drawn by the Father. For just as a | |
| 1658 heavy object by its nature cannot rise up, but has to be lifted by | |
| 1659 someone else, so the human heart, which tends of itself to lower | |
| 1660 things, cannot rise to what is above unless it is drawn or lifted. | |
| 1661 And if it does not rise up, this is not due to the failure of the | |
| 1662 one lifting it, who, so far as lies in him, fails no one; rather, | |
| 1663 it is due to an obstacle in the one who is not drawn or lifted | |
| 1664 up.</p> | |
| 1665 <p>In this matter we can distinguish between those in the state of | |
| 1666 integral nature, and those in the state of fallen nature. In the | |
| 1667 state of integral nature, there was no obstacle to being drawn up, | |
| 1668 and thus all could share in it. But in the state of fallen nature, | |
| 1669 all are equally held back from this drawing by the obstacle of sin; | |
| 1670 and so, all need to be drawn. God, in so far as it depends on him, | |
| 1671 extends his hand to every one, to draw every one; and what is more, | |
| 1672 he not only draws those who receive him by the hand, but even | |
| 1673 converts those who are turned away from him, according to: | |
| 1674 “Convert us, O Lord, to yourself, and we will be | |
| 1675 converted” (Lam 5:21); and “You will turn, O God, and | |
| 1676 bring us to life,” as one version of the Psalm (84:7) puts | |
| 1677 it. Therefore, since God is ready to give grace to all, and draw | |
| 1678 them to himself, it is not due to him if someone does not accept; | |
| 1679 rather, it is due to the person who does not accept.</p> | |
| 1680 <p>938 A general reason can be given why God does not draw all who | |
| 1681 are turned away from him, but certain ones, even though all are | |
| 1682 equally turned away. The reason is so that the order of divine | |
| 1683 justice may appear and shine forth in those who are not drawn, | |
| 1684 while the immensity of the divine mercy may appear and shine in | |
| 1685 those who are drawn. But as to why in particular he draws this | |
| 1686 person and does not draw that person, there is no reason except the | |
| 1687 pleasure of the divine will. So Augustine says: “Whom he | |
| 1688 draws and whom he does not draw, why he draws one and does not draw | |
| 1689 another, do not desire to judge if you do not wish to err. But | |
| 1690 accept and understand: If you are not yet drawn, then pray that you | |
| 1691 may be drawn.” We can illustrate this by an example. One can | |
| 1692 give as the reason why a builder puts some stones at the bottom, | |
| 1693 and others at the top and sides, that it is the arrangement of the | |
| 1694 house, whose completion requires this. But why he puts these | |
| 1695 particular stones here, and those over there, this depends on his | |
| 1696 mere will. Thus it is that the prime reason for the arrangement is | |
| 1697 referred to the will of the builder. So God, for the completion of | |
| 1698 the universe, draws certain ones in order that his mercy may appear | |
| 1699 in them; and others he does not draw in order that his justice may | |
| 1700 be shown in them. But that he draws these and does not draw those, | |
| 1701 depends on the pleasure of his will. In the same way, the reason | |
| 1702 why in his Church he made some apostles, some confessors, and | |
| 1703 others martyrs, is for the beauty and completion of the Church. But | |
| 1704 why he made Peter an apostle, and Stepehen a martyr, and Nicholas a | |
| 1705 confessor, the only reason is his will. We are now clear on the | |
| 1706 limitations of our human ability, and the assistance given to us by | |
| 1707 divine help.</p> | |
| 1708 <p>939 He follows with the end and fruit of this help when he says, | |
| 1709 <span style="font-weight: bold">And I will raise him</span> tip | |
| 1710 <span style="font-weight: bold">on the last day,</span> even as | |
| 1711 man; for we obtain the fruit of the resurrection through those | |
| 1712 things which Christ did in his flesh: “For as death came | |
| 1713 through a man, so the resurrection of the dead has come through a | |
| 1714 man” (1 Cor 15:21). So <span style= | |
| 1715 "font-weight: bold">I</span>, as man, <span style= | |
| 1716 "font-weight: bold">will raise him up,</span> not only to a natural | |
| 1717 life, but even too the life of glory; and this on the last day. For | |
| 1718 the Catholic Faith teaches that the world will be made new: | |
| 1719 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth” (Rv 2 1:1), | |
| 1720 and that among the changes accompanying this renewal we believe | |
| 1721 that the motion of the heavens will stop, and consequently, time. | |
| 1722 “And the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land, | |
| 1723 raised his hand to heaven” (Rv 10:5), and then it says that | |
| 1724 he swore that “time will be no more” (v 6). Since at | |
| 1725 the resurrection time will stop, so also will night and day, | |
| 1726 according to “There will be one day, known to the Lord, not | |
| 1727 day and night” (Zec 14:7). This is the reason he says, | |
| 1728 <span style="font-weight: bold">And I will raise him up on the last | |
| 1729 day.</span></p> | |
| 1730 <p>940 As to the question why the motion of the heavens and time | |
| 1731 itself will continue until then, and not end before or after, we | |
| 1732 should note that whatever exists for something else is differently | |
| 1733 disposed according to the different states of that for which it | |
| 1734 exists. But all physical things have been made for man; | |
| 1735 consequently, they should be disposed according to the different | |
| 1736 states of man. So, because the state of incorruptibility will begin | |
| 1737 in men when they arise—according to “What is mortal | |
| 1738 will put on incorruption,” as it says in 1 Corinthians | |
| 1739 (15:54)—the corruption of things will also stop then. | |
| 1740 Consequently, the motion of the heavens, which is the cause of the | |
| 1741 generation and corruption of material things, will stop. | |
| 1742 “Creation itself will be set free from its slavery to | |
| 1743 corruption into the freedom of the children of God” (Rom | |
| 1744 8:21).</p> | |
| 1745 <p>So, it is clear that the Father must draw us if we are to have | |
| 1746 faith.</p> | |
| 1747 <p>941 Then (v 45), he considers the way we are drawn. First, he | |
| 1748 states the way; secondly, its effectiveness (v 45b); and thirdly, | |
| 1749 he excludes a certain way of being drawn (v 46).</p> | |
| 1750 <p>942 The manner in which we are drawn is appropriate, for God | |
| 1751 draws us by revealing and teaching; and this is what he says: | |
| 1752 <span style="font-weight: bold">It is written in the prophets: They | |
| 1753 shall all be taught by God.</span> Bede says that this comes from | |
| 1754 Joel. But it does not seem to be there explicitly, although there | |
| 1755 is something like it in: “O children oi Zion, rejoice and be | |
| 1756 joyful in the Lord your God, because he will give you a teacher of | |
| 1757 justice” (JI 2:23). Again, according to Bede, he says, in the | |
| 1758 prophets, so that we might understand that the same meaning can be | |
| 1759 gathered from various statements of the prophets. But it is Isaiah | |
| 1760 who seems to state this more explicitly: “All your children | |
| 1761 will be taught by the Lord” (is 54:13). We also read: | |
| 1762 “I will give you shepherds after my own heart, and they will | |
| 1763 feed you with knowledge and doctrine” (Jer 3:15).</p> | |
| 1764 <p>943 <span style="font-weight: bold">They shall all be taught by | |
| 1765 God,</span> can be understood in three ways. In one way, so that | |
| 1766 all stands for all the people in the world; in another way, so that | |
| 1767 it stands for all who are in the Church of Christ, and in a third | |
| 1768 way, so it means all who will be in the kingdom of heaven.</p> | |
| 1769 <p>If we understand it in the first way, it does not seem to be | |
| 1770 true, for he immediately adds, <span style= | |
| 1771 "font-weight: bold">Every one who has heard the Father and has | |
| 1772 learned, comes to me.</span> Therefore, if every one in the world | |
| 1773 is taught [by God], then every one will come to Christ. But this is | |
| 1774 false, for not every one has faith. There are three answers to | |
| 1775 this. First, one could say, as Chrysostorn does, that he is | |
| 1776 speaking of the majority: all, i.e., very many shall be taught, | |
| 1777 just as we find in Matthew: “Many will come from the East and | |
| 1778 the West” (Mt 8:11). Secondly, it could mean, all, so far as | |
| 1779 God is concerned, shall be taught, but if some are not taught, that | |
| 1780 is due to themselves. For the sun, on its part, shines on all, but | |
| 1781 some are unable to see it if they close their eyes, or are blind. | |
| 1782 From this point of view, the Apostle says: “He desires the | |
| 1783 salvation of all men, and that all come to the knowledge of the | |
| 1784 truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Thirdly, we could say, with Augustine, | |
| 1785 that we must make a restricted application, so that <span style= | |
| 1786 "font-weight: bold">They shall all be taught by God,</span> means | |
| 1787 that all who are taught, are taught by God. It is just as we might | |
| 1788 speak of a teacher of the liberal arts who is working in a city: he | |
| 1789 alone teaches all the boys of the city, because no one there is | |
| 1790 taught by anyone else. It is in this sense that it was said above: | |
| 1791 “He was the true light, which enlightens every man coming | |
| 1792 into this world” ( 1:9).</p> | |
| 1793 <p>944 If we explain these words as referring to those who are | |
| 1794 gathered into the Church, it says: They shall all, all who are in | |
| 1795 the Church, be taught by God. For we read: “All your children | |
| 1796 will be taught by the Lord” (Is 54:13). This shows the | |
| 1797 sublimity of the Christian faith, which does not depend on human | |
| 1798 teachings, but on the teaching of God. For the teaching of the Old | |
| 1799 Testament was given through the prophets; but the teaching of the | |
| 1800 New Testament is given through the Son of God himself. “In | |
| 1801 many and various ways (i.e., in the Old Testament) God spoke to our | |
| 1802 fathers through the prophets; in these days he has spoken to us in | |
| 1803 his Son” (Heb 1:1); and again in (2:3): “It was first | |
| 1804 announced by the Lord, and was confirined to us by those who heard | |
| 1805 him.” Thus, all who are in the Church are taught, not by the | |
| 1806 apostles nor by the prophets, but by God himself. Further, | |
| 1807 according to Augustine, what we are taught by men is from God, who | |
| 1808 teaches from within: “You have one teacher, the Christ” | |
| 1809 (Mt 23:10). For understanding, which we especially need for such | |
| 1810 teaching, is from God.</p> | |
| 1811 <p>945 If we explain these words as applying to those who are in | |
| 1812 the kingdom of heaven, then <span style="font-weight: bold">They | |
| 1813 shall all be taught by God,</span> because they will see his | |
| 1814 essence without any intermediary: “We shall see him as he | |
| 1815 is” (1 Jn 3:2).</p> | |
| 1816 <p>946 This drawing by the Father is most effective, because, | |
| 1817 <span style="font-weight: bold">Every one who has heard the Father | |
| 1818 and has learned, comes to me.</span> Here he mentions two things: | |
| 1819 first, what relates to a gift of God, when he says, <span style= | |
| 1820 "font-weight: bold">has heard,</span> that is, through God, who | |
| 1821 reveals; the other relates to a free judgment, when he says, | |
| 1822 <span style="font-weight: bold">and has learned,</span> that is, by | |
| 1823 an assent. These two are necessary for every teaching of faith. | |
| 1824 <span style="font-weight: bold">Every one who has heard the | |
| 1825 Father,</span> teaching and making known, <span style= | |
| 1826 "font-weight: bold">and has learned,</span> by giving assent, comes | |
| 1827 to me.</p> | |
| 1828 <p>He comes in three ways: through a knowledge of the truth; | |
| 1829 through the affection of love; and through imitative action. And in | |
| 1830 each way it is necessary that one hear and learn. The one who comes | |
| 1831 through a knowledge of the truth must hear, when God speaks within: | |
| 1832 “I will hear what the Lord God will speak within me” | |
| 1833 (Ps 84:9); and he must learn, through affection, as was said. The | |
| 1834 one who comes through love and desire—“If any one | |
| 1835 thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (below | |
| 1836 7:37)—must hear the word of the Father and grasp it, in order | |
| 1837 to learn and be moved in his affections. For that person learns the | |
| 1838 word who grasps it according to the meaning of the speaker. But the | |
| 1839 Word of the Father breathes forth love. Therefore, the one who | |
| 1840 grasps it with eager love, learns. “Wisdom goes into holy | |
| 1841 souls, and makes them prophets and friends of God” (Wis | |
| 1842 7:27). One comes to Christ through imitative action, according to: | |
| 1843 “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will | |
| 1844 refresh you” (Mt 11:28). And whoever learns even in this way | |
| 1845 comes to Christ: for as the conclusion is to things knowable, so is | |
| 1846 action to things performable. Now whoever learns perfectly in the | |
| 1847 sciences arrives at the conclusion; therefore, as regards things | |
| 1848 that are performable, whoever learns the words perfectly arrives at | |
| 1849 the right action: “The Lord has opened my ear; and I do not | |
| 1850 resist” (Is 50:5).</p> | |
| 1851 <p>947 To correct the thought that some might have that every one | |
| 1852 will hear and learn from the Father through a vision, he adds: | |
| 1853 <span style="font-weight: bold">Not that any one has seen the | |
| 1854 Father,</span> that is, a person living in this life does not see | |
| 1855 the Father in his essence, according to: “Man will not see me | |
| 1856 and live” (Ex 33:20), <span style="font-weight: bold">except | |
| 1857 the one,</span> that is the Son, <span style= | |
| 1858 "font-weight: bold">who is from God—he has seen the | |
| 1859 Father,</span> through his essence. Or, <span style= | |
| 1860 "font-weight: bold">Not that any one has seen the Father,</span> | |
| 1861 with a comprehensive vision: neither man nor angel has ever seen or | |
| 1862 can see in this way; <span style="font-weight: bold">except the one | |
| 1863 who is from God,</span> i.e., the Son: “No one knows the | |
| 1864 Father except the Son” (Mt 11:27).</p> | |
| 1865 <p>The reason for this, of course, is that all vision or knowledge | |
| 1866 comes about through a likeness: creatures have a knowledge of God | |
| 1867 according to the way they have a likeness to him. Thus the | |
| 1868 philosophers say that the intelligences know the First Cause | |
| 1869 according to this likeness which they have to it. Now every | |
| 1870 creature possesses some likeness to God, but it is infinitely | |
| 1871 distant from a likeness to his nature, and so no creature can know | |
| 1872 him perfectly and totally, as he is in his own nature. The Son, | |
| 1873 however, because he has received the entire nature of the Father | |
| 1874 perfectly, through an eternal generation, sees and comprehends | |
| 1875 totally.</p> | |
| 1876 <p>948 Note how the words used are appropriate: for above, when he | |
| 1877 was speaking of the knowledge others have, he used the word | |
| 1878 “heard”; but now, in speaking of the Son’s | |
| 1879 knowledge, he uses the word “seen,” for knowledge which | |
| 1880 comes through seeing is direct and open, while that which comes | |
| 1881 through hearing comes through one who has seen. And so we have | |
| 1882 received the knowledge we have about the Father from the Son, who | |
| 1883 saw him. Thus, no one can know the Father except through Christ, | |
| 1884 who makes him known; and no one can come to the Son unless he has | |
| 1885 heard from the Father, who makes the Son known.</p> | |
| 1886 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 1887 </p> | |
| 1888 <p style="text-align: center"><span style= | |
| 1889 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE 6</span></p> | |
| 1890 <blockquote> | |
| 1891 <dl> | |
| 1892 <dd>47 “Amen, amen, I say to you:</dd> | |
| 1893 <dd>Whoever believes in me has eternal life.</dd> | |
| 1894 <dd>48 1 am the bread of life.</dd> | |
| 1895 <dd>49 Your fathers ate manna in the desert,</dd> | |
| 1896 <dd>and they are dead.</dd> | |
| 1897 <dd>50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven,</dd> | |
| 1898 <dd>so that if anyone eats of this [bread]</dd> | |
| 1899 <dd>he will not die.</dd> | |
| 1900 <dd>51 I am the living bread</dd> | |
| 1901 <dd>that has come down from heaven.</dd> | |
| 1902 <dd>52 If anyone eats of this bread,</dd> | |
| 1903 <dd>he will live forever.</dd> | |
| 1904 <dd>And the bread which I will give is my flesh,</dd> | |
| 1905 <dd>for the life of the world.”</dd> | |
| 1906 </dl> | |
| 1907 </blockquote> | |
| 1908 <p>949 After our Lord quieted the grumbling of the Jews, he now | |
| 1909 clears up the doubt they had because of his saying, “I am the | |
| 1910 bread that has come down from heaven.” he intends to show | |
| 1911 here that this is true. This is the way he reasons: The bread which | |
| 1912 gives life to the world descended from heaven; but I am the bread | |
| 1913 that gives life to the world: therefore, I am the bread which | |
| 1914 descended from heaven. He does three things concerning this. First, | |
| 1915 he presents the minor premise of his reasoning, that is, | |
| 1916 <span style="font-weight: bold">I am the bread of life.</span> In | |
| 1917 the second place, he gives the major premise, that is, that the | |
| 1918 bread that descended from heaven ought to give life (v 49). | |
| 1919 Thirdly, we have the conclusion (v 5 1). As to the first he does | |
| 1920 two things. First, he states his point; secondly, he expresses it | |
| 1921 as practically proved (v 48).</p> | |
| 1922 <p>950 His intention is to show that he is the bread of life. Bread | |
| 1923 is life-giving insofar as it is taken. Now one who believes in | |
| 1924 Christ takes him within himself, according to: “Christ | |
| 1925 dwells,in our hearts through faith” (Eph 3:17). Therefore, if | |
| 1926 he who believes in Christ has life, it is clear that he is brought | |
| 1927 to life by eating this bread. Thus, this bread is the bread of | |
| 1928 life. And this is what he says: Amen, amen, I say to you: | |
| 1929 <span style="font-weight: bold">Whoever believes in me,</span> with | |
| 1930 a faith made living by love, which not only perfects the intellect | |
| 1931 but the affections as well (for we do not tend to the things we | |
| 1932 believe in unless we love them), <span style= | |
| 1933 "font-weight: bold">has eternal life.</span></p> | |
| 1934 <p>Now Christ is within us in two ways: in our intellect through | |
| 1935 faith, so far as it is faith; and in our affections through love, | |
| 1936 which informs or gives life to our faith: “He who abides in | |
| 1937 love, abides in God, and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16). So he who | |
| 1938 believes in Christ so that he tends to him, possesses Christ in his | |
| 1939 affections and in his intellect. And if we add that Christ is | |
| 1940 eternal life, as stated in “that we may be in his true Son, | |
| 1941 Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 Jn | |
| 1942 5:20), and in “In him was life” (above 1:4), we can | |
| 1943 infer that whoever believes in Christ has eternal life. He has it, | |
| 1944 I say, in its Ciause and in hope, and he will have it at some time | |
| 1945 in reality.</p> | |
| 1946 <p>951 Having stated his position, he expresses it as, <span style= | |
| 1947 "font-weight: bold">I am the bread of life,</span> which gives | |
| 1948 life, as clearly follows from the above. We read of this bread: | |
| 1949 “The bread of Asher will be rich, he will furnish choice | |
| 1950 morsels,” of eternal life, “to kings” (Gn | |
| 1951 49:20).</p> | |
| 1952 <p>952 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Your | |
| 1953 fathers ate manna in the desert, and they are dead,</span> he gives | |
| 1954 the major premise, namely, the bread that descended from heaven | |
| 1955 ought to have the effect of giving life. First, he explains this; | |
| 1956 secondly, he draws his point (v 50).</p> | |
| 1957 <p>953 He explains his meaning through a contrasting situation. It | |
| 1958 was said above (909) that Moses gave the Jews bread from heaven, in | |
| 1959 the sense of from the air. But bread that does not come from the | |
| 1960 true heaven cannot give adequate life. Therefore, it is proper to | |
| 1961 the heavenly bread to give life. So, the bread given by Moses, in | |
| 1962 which you take pride, does not give life. And he proves this when | |
| 1963 he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Your fathers ate manna in | |
| 1964 the desert, and they are dead.</span></p> | |
| 1965 <p>In this statement he first reproaches them for their faults, | |
| 1966 when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Your fathers,</span> | |
| 1967 whose sons you are, not only according to the flesh, but also by | |
| 1968 imitating their actions, because you are grumblers just as | |
| 1969 “they grumbled in their tents” (Ps 105:25); this was | |
| 1970 why he said to them: “Fill up, then, the measure of your | |
| 1971 fathers,” as we read in Matthew (23:32). As Augustine says, | |
| 1972 this people is said to have offended God in no matter more than by | |
| 1973 grumbling against God.</p> | |
| 1974 <p>Secondly, he mentions for how short a time this was done, | |
| 1975 saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">in the desert:</span> for | |
| 1976 they were not given manna for a long period of time; and they had | |
| 1977 it only while in the desert, and not when they entered the promised | |
| 1978 land (Jos 5). But the other bread [from the true heaven] preserves | |
| 1979 and nourishes one forever. Thirdly, he states an inadequacy in that | |
| 1980 bread, that is, it did not preserve life without end; so he says, | |
| 1981 and they are dead. For we read in Joshua (c 5) that all who | |
| 1982 grumbled, except Joshua and Caleb, died in the desert. This was the | |
| 1983 reason for the second circumcision, as we see here, because all who | |
| 1984 had left Egypt died in the desert.</p> | |
| 1985 <p>954 One might wonder what kind of death God is speaking of here. | |
| 1986 If he is speaking of physical death, there will be no difference | |
| 1987 between the bread the Jews had in the desert and our bread, which | |
| 1988 came down from heaven, because even Christians who share the latter | |
| 1989 bread die physically. But if he is speaking of spiritual death, it | |
| 1990 is clear that both then among the Jews and now among the | |
| 1991 Christians, some die spiritually and others do not. For Moses and | |
| 1992 many others who were pleasing to God did not die, while others did. | |
| 1993 Also, those who eat this bread [of the Christians] unworthily, die | |
| 1994 spiritually: “He who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and | |
| 1995 drinks judginent upon himself” (1 Cor 11:29).</p> | |
| 1996 <p>We may answer this by saying that the food of the Jews has some | |
| 1997 features in common with our spiritual food. They are alike in the | |
| 1998 fact that each signifies the same thing: for both signify Christ. | |
| 1999 Thus they are called the same food: “All ate the same | |
| 2000 spiritual food” ( 1 Cor 10:3). He calls them the same because | |
| 2001 each is a symbol of the spiritual food. But they are different | |
| 2002 because one [the manna] was only a symbol; while the other [the | |
| 2003 bread of the Christians] contains that of which it is the symbol, | |
| 2004 that is, Christ himself. Thus we should say that each of these | |
| 2005 foods can be taken in two ways. First, as a sign only, i.e., so | |
| 2006 that each is taken as food only, and without understanding what is | |
| 2007 signified; and taken in this way, they do not take away either | |
| 2008 physical or spiritual death. Secondly, they may be taken in both | |
| 2009 ways, i.e., the visible food is taken in such a way that spiritual | |
| 2010 food is understood and spiritually tasted, in order that it may | |
| 2011 satisfy spiritually. In this way, those who ate the manna | |
| 2012 spiritually did not die spiritually. But those who eat the | |
| 2013 Eucharist spiritually, both live spiritually now without sin, and | |
| 2014 will live physically forever. Thus, our food is greater than their | |
| 2015 food, because it contains in itself that of which it is the | |
| 2016 symbol.</p> | |
| 2017 <p>955 Having presented the argument, he draws the conclusion: | |
| 2018 <span style="font-weight: bold">This is the bread that comes, down | |
| 2019 from heaven.</span> He says, <span style= | |
| 2020 "font-weight: bold">This,</span> the Gloss says, to indicate | |
| 2021 himself. But our Lord does not understand it this way as it would | |
| 2022 be superfluous, since he immediately adds, <span style= | |
| 2023 "font-weight: bold">I am the living bread that has come down from | |
| 2024 heaven.</span> So we should say that our Lord wants to say that the | |
| 2025 bread which can do this, i.e., give life, comes from heaven; but I | |
| 2026 am that bread: thus, I am that bread that comes down from heaven. | |
| 2027 Now the reason why that bread which comes down from heaven gives a | |
| 2028 life which never ends is that all food nourishes according to the | |
| 2029 properties of its nature; but heavenly things are incorruptible: | |
| 2030 consequently, since this food is heavenly, it is not corrupted, and | |
| 2031 as long as it lasts, it gives life. So, he who eats it, will not | |
| 2032 die. Just as if there were some bodily food which never corrupted, | |
| 2033 then in nourishing it would always be life-giving. This bread was | |
| 2034 signified by the tree of life in the midst of Paradise, which | |
| 2035 somehow gave life without end: “He must not be allowed to | |
| 2036 stretch out his hand and take from the tree of life and eat, and | |
| 2037 live forever” (Gn 3:22). So if the effect of this bread is | |
| 2038 that anyone who eats it will not die, and I am such, then [anyone | |
| 2039 who eats of me will not die].</p> | |
| 2040 <p>956 He does two things concerning this. First, he speaks of | |
| 2041 himself in general; secondly, in particular, <span style= | |
| 2042 "font-weight: bold">And the bread which I will give is my | |
| 2043 flesh.</span> In regard to the first, he does two things: first, he | |
| 2044 mentions his origin; secondly his power (v 52).</p> | |
| 2045 <p>957 He said, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am the living | |
| 2046 bread;</span> consequently, I can give life. Material bread does | |
| 2047 not give life forever, because it does not have life in itself; but | |
| 2048 it gives life by being changed and converted into nourishment by | |
| 2049 the energy of a living organism. <span style= | |
| 2050 "font-weight: bold">That has come down from heaven:</span> it was | |
| 2051 explained before [4671 how the Word came down. This refuted those | |
| 2052 heresies which taught that Christ was a mere man, because according | |
| 2053 to them, he would not have come down from heaven.</p> | |
| 2054 <p>958 He has the power to give eternal life; thus he says, | |
| 2055 <span style="font-weight: bold">If anyone eats of this | |
| 2056 bread,</span> i.e., spiritually, <span style="font-weight: bold">he | |
| 2057 will live,</span> not only in the present through faith and | |
| 2058 justice, but <span style="font-weight: bold">forever.</span> | |
| 2059 “Everyone who lives and believes in me, will never die” | |
| 2060 (below 11:26).</p> | |
| 2061 <p>959 He then speaks of his body when he says, <span style= | |
| 2062 "font-weight: bold">And the bread which I will give is my | |
| 2063 flesh.</span> For he had said that he was the living bread; and so | |
| 2064 that we do not think that he is such so far as he is the Word or in | |
| 2065 his soul alone, he shows that even his flesh is life-giving, for it | |
| 2066 is an instrument of his divinity. Thus, since an instrument acts by | |
| 2067 virtue of the agent, then just as the divinity of Christ is | |
| 2068 lifegiving, so too his flesh gives life (as Damascene says) because | |
| 2069 of the Word to which it is united. Thus Christ healed the sick by | |
| 2070 his touch. So what he said above, <span style="font-weight: bold">I | |
| 2071 am the living bread,</span> pertained to the power of the Word; but | |
| 2072 what he is saying here pertains to the sharing in his body, that | |
| 2073 is, to the sacrament of the Eucharist.</p> | |
| 2074 <p>960 We can consider four things about this sacrament: its | |
| 2075 species, the authority of the one who instituted it, the truth of | |
| 2076 this sacrament, and its usefulness.</p> | |
| 2077 <p>As to the species of this sacrament: <span style= | |
| 2078 "font-weight: bold">This is the bread;</span> “Come, and eat | |
| 2079 my bread” (Prv 9:5). The reason for this is that this is the | |
| 2080 sacrament of the body of Christ; but the body of Christ is the | |
| 2081 Church, which arises out of many believers forming a bodily unity: | |
| 2082 “We are one body” (Rom 12:5). And so because bread is | |
| 2083 formed from many grains, it is a fitting species for this | |
| 2084 sacrament. Hence he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">And the | |
| 2085 bread which I will give is my flesh.</span></p> | |
| 2086 <p>961 The author of this sacrament is Christ: for although the | |
| 2087 priest confers it, it is Christ himself who gives the power to this | |
| 2088 sacrament, because the priest consecrates in the person of Christ. | |
| 2089 Thus in the other sacraments the priest uses his own words or those | |
| 2090 of the Church, but in this sacrament he uses the words of Christ: | |
| 2091 because just as Christ gave his body to death by his own will, so | |
| 2092 it is by his own power that he gives himself as food: “Jesus | |
| 2093 took bread, he blessed it and broke it, and gave it to his | |
| 2094 disciples, saying: ‘Take and eat it, this is my body’ | |
| 2095 “ (Mt 26:26). Thus he says, <span style= | |
| 2096 "font-weight: bold">which I will</span> give; and he says, | |
| 2097 <span style="font-weight: bold">will give,</span> because this | |
| 2098 sacrament had not yet been instituted.</p> | |
| 2099 <p>962 The truth of this sacrament is indicated when he says, | |
| 2100 <span style="font-weight: bold">is my flesh</span>. He does not | |
| 2101 say, “This signifies my flesh,” but it <span style= | |
| 2102 "font-weight: bold">is my flesh,</span> for in reality that which | |
| 2103 is taken is truly the body of Christ: “Who will give us his | |
| 2104 flesh so that we may be satisfied?” as we read in Job (31:3 | |
| 2105 1).</p> | |
| 2106 <p>Since the whole Christ is contained in this sacrament, why did | |
| 2107 he just say, this <span style="font-weight: bold">is my | |
| 2108 flesh</span>? To answer this, we should note that in this mystical | |
| 2109 sacrament the whole Christ is really contained: but his body is | |
| 2110 there by virtue of the conversion; while his soul and divinity are | |
| 2111 present by natural concomitance. For if we were to suppose whal is | |
| 2112 really inipossible, that is, that the divinity of Christ is | |
| 2113 separated from his body, then his divinity would not be present in | |
| 2114 this sacrament. Similarly, if someone had consecrated during the | |
| 2115 three days Christ was dead, his soul would not have been present | |
| 2116 there [in the sacrament], but his body would have been, as it was | |
| 2117 on the cross or in the tomb. Since this sacrament is the | |
| 2118 commemoration of our Lord’s passion—according to | |
| 2119 “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you | |
| 2120 proclaim the death of the Lord” (1 Cor 11:26)—and the | |
| 2121 passion of Christ depended on his weakness—according to | |
| 2122 “He was crucified through weakness” (2 Cor | |
| 2123 13:4)—he rather says, <span style="font-weight: bold">is my | |
| 2124 flesh,</span> to suggest the weakness through which he died, for | |
| 2125 “flesh” signifies weakness.</p> | |
| 2126 <p>963 The usefulness of this sacrament is great and universal. It | |
| 2127 is great, indeed, because it produces spiritual life within us now, | |
| 2128 and will later produce eternal life, as was said. For as is clear | |
| 2129 from what was said, since this is the sacrament of our Lord’s | |
| 2130 passion, it contains in itself the Christ who suffered. Thus, | |
| 2131 whatever is an effect of our Lord’s passion is also an effect | |
| 2132 of this sacrament. For this sacrament is nothing other than the | |
| 2133 application of our Lord’s passion to us. For it was not | |
| 2134 fitting for Christ to be always with us in his own presence; and so | |
| 2135 he wanted to make up for this absence through this sacrament. Hence | |
| 2136 it is clear that the destruction of death, which Christ | |
| 2137 accomplished by his death, and the restoration of life, which he | |
| 2138 accomplished by his resurrection, are effects of this | |
| 2139 sacrament.</p> | |
| 2140 <p>964 The usefulness of this sacrament is universal because the | |
| 2141 life it gives is not only the life of one person, but, so far as | |
| 2142 concerns itself, the life of the entire world: and for this the | |
| 2143 death of Christ is fully sufficient. “He is the offering for | |
| 2144 our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the entire | |
| 2145 world” (1 Jn 2:2).</p> | |
| 2146 <p>We should note that this sacrament is different from the others: | |
| 2147 for the other sacraments have individual effects: as in baptism, | |
| 2148 only the one baptized receives grace. But in the immolation of this | |
| 2149 sacrament, the effect is universal: because it affects not just the | |
| 2150 priest, but also those for whom he prays, as well as the entire | |
| 2151 Church, of the living and of the dead. The reason for this is that | |
| 2152 it contains the universal cause of all the sacraments, Christ. | |
| 2153 Nevertheless, when a lay person receives this sacrament it does not | |
| 2154 benefit others <i>ex opere operato</i> [by its own power] | |
| 2155 considered as a receiving. However, due to the intention of the | |
| 2156 person who is acting and receiving, it can be communicated to all | |
| 2157 those to whom he directs his intention. It is clear from this that | |
| 2158 lay persons are mistaken when they receive the Eucharist for those | |
| 2159 in purgatory.</p> | |
| 2160 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 2161 </p> | |
| 2162 <p style="text-align: center"><span style= | |
| 2163 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE 7</span></p> | |
| 2164 <blockquote> | |
| 2165 <p>53 The Jews therefore disputed among themselves, saying: | |
| 2166 “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 54 Jesus | |
| 2167 then said to them:</p> | |
| 2168 <dl> | |
| 2169 <dd>“Amen, amen, I say to you,</dd> | |
| 2170 <dd>unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his | |
| 2171 blood,</dd> | |
| 2172 <dd>you will not have life in you.</dd> | |
| 2173 <dd>55 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal | |
| 2174 life;</dd> | |
| 2175 <dd>and I will raise him up on the last day.</dd> | |
| 2176 <dd>56 For my flesh truly is food,</dd> | |
| 2177 <dd>and my blood truly is drink.</dd> | |
| 2178 <dd>57 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood</dd> | |
| 2179 <dd>abides in me, and I in him.</dd> | |
| 2180 <dd>58 Just as the living Father has sent me, and I live because of | |
| 2181 the Father,</dd> | |
| 2182 <dd>so whoever eats me,</dd> | |
| 2183 <dd>he also will live because of me.</dd> | |
| 2184 <dd>59 This is the bread that has come down from heaven.</dd> | |
| 2185 <dd>Unlike your fathers who ate manna and are dead,</dd> | |
| 2186 <dd>whoever eats this bread shall live forever.”<br /> | |
| 2187 60 These things he said teaching in the synagogue at | |
| 2188 Capernaum.</dd> | |
| 2189 </dl> | |
| 2190 </blockquote> | |
| 2191 <p>965 Above, our Lord checked the grumbling of the Jews over the | |
| 2192 origin of this spiritual food; here, he stops their dispute over | |
| 2193 the ealing of this same food. First, we see their dispute; | |
| 2194 secondly, our Lord stops it (v 54); thirdly, the Evangelist | |
| 2195 mentions the place where all this happened (v 60).</p> | |
| 2196 <p>906 As to the first, note that the Evangelist brings in the | |
| 2197 dispute among the Jews in the form of a conclusion, <span style= | |
| 2198 "font-weight: bold">saying, The Jews therefore disputed among | |
| 2199 themselves.</span> And this is fitting: for according to Augustine, | |
| 2200 our Lord had just spoken to them about the food of unity, which | |
| 2201 makes into one those who are nourished on it, according to, | |
| 2202 “Let those who are just feast and rejoice before God,” | |
| 2203 and then it continues, according to one reading, “God makes | |
| 2204 those who agree to live in one house” (Ps 67:4). And so, | |
| 2205 because the Jews had not eaten the food of harmony, they argued | |
| 2206 with each other: “When you fast, you argue and fight” | |
| 2207 (Is 58:4). Further, their quarreling with others shows that they | |
| 2208 were carnal: “For while you are envious and quarreling, are | |
| 2209 you not carnal?” (1 Cor 3:3). Therefore, they understood | |
| 2210 these words of our Lord in a carnal way, i.e., as meaning that our | |
| 2211 Lord’s flesh would be eaten as material food. Thus they say, | |
| 2212 <span style="font-weight: bold">How can this man give us his flesh | |
| 2213 to eat?</span> As if to say: This is impossible. Here they were | |
| 2214 speaking against God just as their fathers did: “We are sick | |
| 2215 of this useless food” (Nm 21:5).</p> | |
| 2216 <p>967 Our Lord stops this argument. First, he states the power | |
| 2217 that comes from taking this food; secondly, he amplifies on it (v | |
| 2218 55). As to the first he does three things. First, he states why it | |
| 2219 is necessary to eat this flesh; secondly, its usefulness; and | |
| 2220 thirdly, he adds something about its truth (v 56).</p> | |
| 2221 <p>968 Jesus said: <span style="font-weight: bold">Amen, amen, I | |
| 2222 say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink | |
| 2223 his blood, you will not have life in you.</span> As if to say: You | |
| 2224 think it is impossible and unbecoming to eat my flesh. But it is | |
| 2225 not only possible, but very necessary, so much so that <span style= | |
| 2226 "font-weight: bold">unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and | |
| 2227 drink his blood, you will not have,</span> i.e., you will not be | |
| 2228 able to have, <span style="font-weight: bold">life in you,</span> | |
| 2229 that is, spiritual life. For just as material food is so necessary | |
| 2230 for bodily life that without it you cannot exist—“They | |
| 2231 exchanged their precious belongings for food” (Lam 1:11); | |
| 2232 “Bread strengthens the heart of man” (Ps | |
| 2233 103:15)—so spiritual food is necessary for the spiritual life | |
| 2234 to such an extent that without it the spiritual life cannot be | |
| 2235 sustained: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every | |
| 2236 word which comes from the mouth of God” (Dt 8:3).</p> | |
| 2237 <p>969 We should note that this statement can refer either to | |
| 2238 eating in a spiritual way or in a sacramental way. If we understand | |
| 2239 it as referring to a spiritual eating, it does not cause any | |
| 2240 difficulty. For that person eats the flesh of Christ and drinks his | |
| 2241 blood in a spiritual way who shares in the unity of the Church; and | |
| 2242 this is accomplished by the love of charity: “You are one | |
| 2243 body, in Christ” (Rom 12:5). Thus, one who does not eat in | |
| 2244 this way is outside the Church, and consequently, without the love | |
| 2245 of charity. Accordingly, such a one does not have life in himself: | |
| 2246 “He who does not love, remains in death” (1 Jn | |
| 2247 3:14).</p> | |
| 2248 <p>But if we refer this statement to eating in a sacramental way, a | |
| 2249 difficulty appears. For we read above: “Unless one is born | |
| 2250 again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of | |
| 2251 God” (3:5). Now this statement was given in the same form as | |
| 2252 the present one: <span style="font-weight: bold">Unless you eat the | |
| 2253 flesh of the Son of Man.</span> Therefore, since baptism is a | |
| 2254 necessary sacrament, it seems that the Eucharist is also. In fact, | |
| 2255 the Greeks think it is; and so they give the Eucharist to newly | |
| 2256 baptized infants. For this opinion they have in their favor the | |
| 2257 rite of Denis, who says that the reception of each sacrament should | |
| 2258 culminate in the sharing of the Eucharist, which is the culmination | |
| 2259 of all the sacraments. This is true in the case of adults, but it | |
| 2260 is not so for infants, because receiving the Eucharist should be | |
| 2261 done with reverence and devotion, and those who do not have the use | |
| 2262 of reason, as infants and the insane, cannot have this. | |
| 2263 Consequently, it should not be given to them at all.</p> | |
| 2264 <p>We should say, therefore, that the sacrament of baptism is | |
| 2265 necessary for everyone, and it must be really received, because | |
| 2266 without it no one is born again into life. And so it is necessary | |
| 2267 that it be received in reality, or by desire in the case of those | |
| 2268 who are prevented from the former. For if the contempt within a | |
| 2269 person excludes a baptism by water, then neither a baptism of | |
| 2270 desire nor of blood will benefit him for eternal life. However, the | |
| 2271 sacrament of the Eucharist is necessary for adults only, so that it | |
| 2272 may be received in reality, or by desire, according to the | |
| 2273 practices of the Church.</p> | |
| 2274 <p>970 But even this causes difficulty: because by these words of | |
| 2275 Our Lord, it is necessary for salvation not only to eat his body, | |
| 2276 but also to drink his blood, especially since a repast of food is | |
| 2277 not complete without drink. Therefore, since it is the custom in | |
| 2278 certain Churches for only the priest to receive Christ’s | |
| 2279 blood, while the rest receive only his body, they would seem to be | |
|
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2280 acting against this.</p> |
| 35 | 2281 <p>I answer that it was the custom of the early Church for all to |
| 2282 receive both the body and blood of Christ; and certain Churches | |
| 2283 have still retained this practice, where even those assisting at | |
| 2284 the altar always receive the body and blood. But in some Churches, | |
| 2285 due to the danger of spilling the blood, the custom is for it to be | |
| 2286 received only by the priest, while the rest receive Christ’s | |
| 2287 body. Even so, this is not acting against our Lord’s command, | |
| 2288 because whoever receives Christ’s body receives his blood | |
| 2289 also, since the entire Christ is present under each species, even | |
| 2290 his body and blood. But under the species of bread, Christ’s | |
| 2291 body is present in virtue of the conversion, and his blood is | |
| 2292 present by natural concomitance; while under the species of wine, | |
| 2293 his blood is present in virtue of the conversion, and his body by | |
| 2294 natural concomitance.</p> | |
| 2295 <p>It is now clear why it is necessary to receive this spiritual | |
| 2296 food.</p> | |
| 2297 <p>971 Next, the usefulness of this food is shown: first, for the | |
| 2298 spirit or sou; secondly, for the body, <span style= | |
| 2299 "font-weight: bold">and I will raise him up on the last | |
| 2300 day.</span></p> | |
| 2301 <p>972 There is great usefulness in eating this sacrament, for it | |
| 2302 gives eternal life; thus he says, <span style= | |
| 2303 "font-weight: bold">Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has | |
| 2304 eternal life.</span> For this spiritual food is similar to material | |
| 2305 food in the fact that without it there can be no spiritual life, | |
| 2306 just as there cannot be bodily life without bodily food, as was | |
| 2307 said above. But this food has more than the other, because it | |
| 2308 produces in the one who receives it an unending life, which | |
| 2309 material food does not do: for not all who eat material food | |
| 2310 continue to live. For, as Augustine says, it can happen that many | |
| 2311 who do take it die because of old age or sickness, or some other | |
| 2312 reason. But one who takes this food and drink of the body and blood | |
| 2313 of our Lord <span style="font-weight: bold">has eternal | |
| 2314 life.</span> For this reason it is compared to the tree of life: | |
| 2315 “She is the tree of life for those who take her” (Prv | |
| 2316 3:18); and so it is called the bread of life: “He fed him | |
| 2317 with the bread of life and understanding” (Sir 15:3). | |
| 2318 Accordingly, he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">eternal | |
| 2319 life,</span> because one who eats this bread has within himself | |
| 2320 Christ, who is “the true God and eternal life,” as John | |
| 2321 says (1 Jn 5:20).</p> | |
| 2322 <p>Now one has eternal life who eats and drinks, as it is said, not | |
| 2323 only in a sacramental way, but also in a spiritual way. One eats | |
| 2324 and drinks sacramentally or in a sacramental way, if he receives | |
| 2325 the sacrament; and one eats and drinks spiritually or in a | |
| 2326 spiritual way, if he attains to the reality of the sacrament. This | |
| 2327 reality of the sacrament is twofold: one is contained and | |
| 2328 signified, and this is the whole Christ, who is contained under the | |
| 2329 species of bread and wine. The other reality is signified but not | |
| 2330 contained, and this is the mystical body of Christ, which is in the | |
| 2331 predestined, the called, and the justified. Thus, in reference to | |
| 2332 Christ as contained and signified, one eats his flesh and drinks | |
| 2333 his blood in a spiritual way if he is united to him through faith | |
| 2334 and love, so that one is transformed into him and becomes his | |
| 2335 member: for this food is not changed into the one who eats it, but | |
| 2336 it turns the one who takes it into itself, as we see in Augustine, | |
| 2337 when he says: “I am the food of the robust. Grow and you will | |
| 2338 eat me. Yet you will not change me into yourself, but you will be | |
| 2339 transformed into me.” And so this is a food capable of making | |
| 2340 man divine and inebriating him with divinity. The same is true in | |
| 2341 reference to the mystical body of Christ, which is only signified | |
| 2342 [and not contained], if one shares in the unity of the Church. | |
| 2343 Therefore, one who eats in these ways <span style= | |
| 2344 "font-weight: bold">has eternal life.</span> That this is true of | |
| 2345 the first way, in reference to Christ, is clear enough. In the same | |
| 2346 way, in reference to the mystical body of Christ, one will | |
| 2347 necessarily have eternal life if he perseveres: for the unity of | |
| 2348 the Church is brought about by the Holy Spirit: “One body, | |
| 2349 one Spirit ... the pledge of our eternal inheritance” (Eph | |
| 2350 4:4; 1:14). So this bread is very profitable, because it gives | |
| 2351 eternal life to the soul; but it is so also because it gives | |
| 2352 eternal life to the body.</p> | |
| 2353 <p>973 And therefore he adds, <span style="font-weight: bold">and I | |
| 2354 will raise him up on the last day.</span> For as was said, one who | |
| 2355 eats and drinks in a spiritual way shares in the Holy Spirit, | |
| 2356 through whom we are united to Christ by a union of faith and love, | |
| 2357 and through him we become members of the Church. But the Holy | |
| 2358 Spirit also merits the resurrection: “He who raised Jesus | |
| 2359 Christ our Lord form the dead, will raise our mortal bodies because | |
| 2360 of his Spirit, who dwells in us” (Rom 8:11). And so our Lord | |
| 2361 says that he will raise up to glory whoever eats and drinks; to | |
| 2362 glory, and not to condemnation, as this would not be for their | |
| 2363 benefit. Such an effect is fittingly attributed to this sacrament | |
| 2364 of the Eucharist because, as Augustine says and as was said above, | |
| 2365 it is the Word who raises up souls, and it is the Word made flesh | |
| 2366 who gives life to bodies. Now in this sacrament the Word is present | |
| 2367 not only in his divinity, but also in the reality of his flesh; and | |
| 2368 so he is the cause of the resurrection not just of souls, but of | |
| 2369 bodies as well: “For as death came through a man, so the | |
| 2370 resurrection of the dead has come through a man” (1 Cor | |
| 2371 15:21). It is now clear how profitable it is to take this | |
| 2372 sacrament.</p> | |
| 2373 <p>974 We see its truth when he says, <span style= | |
| 2374 "font-weight: bold">For my flesh truly is food.</span> I some might | |
| 2375 think that what he was saying about his flesh and blood was just an | |
| 2376 enigma and a parable. So our Lord rejects this, and says, | |
| 2377 <span style="font-weight: bold">my flesh truly is food.</span> As | |
| 2378 if to say: Do not think that I am speaking metaphorically, for my | |
| 2379 flesh is truly contained in this food of the faithful, and my blood | |
| 2380 is truly contained in this sacrament of the altar: “This is | |
| 2381 my body ... this is my blood of the new covenant,” as we read | |
| 2382 in Matthew (26:26).</p> | |
| 2383 <p>Chrysostom explains this statement in the following way. Food | |
| 2384 and drink are taken for man’s refreshment. Now there are two | |
| 2385 parts in man: the chief part is the soul, and the second is the | |
| 2386 body. It is the soul which makes man to be man, and not the body; | |
| 2387 and so that truly is the food of man which is the food of the soul. | |
| 2388 And this is what our Lord says: <span style="font-weight: bold">my | |
| 2389 flesh truly is food,</span> because it is the food of the soul, not | |
| 2390 just of the body. The same is true of the blood of Christ. | |
| 2391 “He has led me to the waters that refresh” (Ps 22:2). | |
| 2392 As if to say: This refreshment is especially for the soul.</p> | |
| 2393 <p>Augustine explains these words this way. A thing is truly said | |
| 2394 to be such and such a thing if it produces the effect of that | |
| 2395 thing. Now the effect of food is to fill or satisfy. Therefore, | |
| 2396 that which truly produces fulness is truly food and drink. But this | |
| 2397 is produced by the flesh and blood of Christ, who leads us to the | |
| 2398 state of glory, where there is neither hunger nor thirst: | |
| 2399 “They will neither hunger nor thirst” (Rv 7:16). And so | |
| 2400 he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">For my flesh truly is | |
| 2401 food, and my blood truly is drink.</span></p> | |
| 2402 <p>975 Now our Lord proves that this spiritual food has such power, | |
| 2403 that is, to give eternal life. And he reasons this way: Whoever | |
| 2404 eats my flesh and drinks my blood is united to me, but whoever is | |
| 2405 united to me has eternal life: therefore, whoever eats my flesh and | |
| 2406 drinks my blood has eternal life. Here he does three things: first, | |
| 2407 he gives his major premise; secondly, the minor premise, which he | |
| 2408 proves (v 58); and thirdly, he draws his conclusion: <span style= | |
| 2409 "font-weight: bold">This is the bread that has come down from | |
| 2410 heaven.</span></p> | |
| 2411 <p>976 We should note, with respect to the first, that if his | |
| 2412 statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">He who eats my flesh and | |
| 2413 drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him,</span> is referred to | |
| 2414 his flesh and blood in a mystical way, there is no difficulty. For, | |
| 2415 as was said, that person eats in a spiritual way, in reference to | |
| 2416 what is signified only, who is incorporated into the mystical body | |
| 2417 through a union of faith and love. Through love, God is in man, and | |
| 2418 man is in God: “He who abides in love, abides in God, and God | |
| 2419 in him” (1 Jn 4:16). And this is what the Holy Spirit does; | |
| 2420 so it is also said, “We know that we abide in God and God in | |
| 2421 us, because he has given us his Spirit” (1 Jn 4:13).</p> | |
| 2422 <p>If these words are referred to a sacramental reception, then | |
| 2423 whoever eats this flesh and drinks this blood abides in God. For, | |
| 2424 as Augustine says, there is one way of eating this flesh and | |
| 2425 drinking this blood such that he who eats and drinks abides in | |
| 2426 Christ and Christ in him. This is the way of those who eat the body | |
| 2427 of Christ and drink his blood not just sacramentally, but really. | |
| 2428 And there is another way by which those who eat do not abide in | |
| 2429 Christ nor Christ in them. This is the way of those who approach | |
| 2430 [the sacrament] with an insincere heart: for this sacrament has no | |
| 2431 effect in one who is insincere. There is insincerity when the | |
| 2432 interior state does not agree with what is outwardly signified. In | |
| 2433 the sacrament of the Eucharist, what is outwardly signified is that | |
| 2434 Christ is united to the one who receives it, and such a one to | |
| 2435 Christ. Thus, one who does not desire this union in his heart, or | |
| 2436 does not try to remove every obstacle to it, is insincere. | |
|
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2437 Consequently, Christ does not abide in him nor he in Christ.</p> |
| 35 | 2438 <p>977 Now he presents his minor premise, that is, whoever is |
| 2439 united to Christ has life. He mentions this to show the following | |
| 2440 similarity: the Son, because of the unity he has with the Father, | |
| 2441 receives life from the Father; therefore one who is united to | |
| 2442 Christ receives life from Christ. And this is what he says: | |
| 2443 <span style="font-weight: bold">Just as the living Father has sent | |
| 2444 me, and I live because of the Father.</span> These words can be | |
| 2445 explained in two ways about Christ: either in reference to his | |
| 2446 human nature, or in reference to his divine nature.</p> | |
| 2447 <p>If they are explained as referring to Christ the Son of God, | |
| 2448 then the “as” implies a similarity of Christ to | |
| 2449 creatures in some respect, though not in all respects, which is, | |
| 2450 that he exists from another. For to be from another is common to | |
| 2451 Christ the Son of God and to creatures. But they are unlike in | |
| 2452 another way: the Son has something proper to himself, because he is | |
| 2453 from the Father in such a way that he receives the entire fulness | |
| 2454 of the divine nature, so that whatever is natural to the Father is | |
| 2455 also natural to the Son. Creatures, on the other hand, receive a | |
| 2456 certain particular perfection and nature. “Just as the Father | |
| 2457 possesses life in himself, so he has given it to the Son to have | |
| 2458 life in himself” (above 5:26). He shows this because, when | |
| 2459 speaking of his procession from the Father, he does not say: | |
| 2460 “As I eat the Father and I live because of the Father, | |
| 2461 “ as he said, when speaking of sharing in his body and blood, | |
| 2462 whoever eats me, he also will live because of me. This eating makes | |
| 2463 us better, for eating implies a certain sharing. Rather, Christ | |
| 2464 says that he lives because of the Father, not as eaten, but as | |
| 2465 generating, without detriment to his equality.</p> | |
| 2466 <p>If we explain this statement as applying to Christ as man, then | |
| 2467 in some respect the “as” implies a similarity between | |
| 2468 Christ as man and us: that is, in the fact that as Christ the man | |
| 2469 receives spiritual life through union with God, so we too receive | |
| 2470 spiritual life in the communion or sharing in this Sacrament. | |
| 2471 Still, there is a difference: for Christ as man received life | |
| 2472 through union with the Word, to whom he is united in person; while | |
| 2473 we are united to Christ t through the sacrament of faith. And so he | |
| 2474 says two things: <span style="font-weight: bold">sent me</span> and | |
| 2475 <span style="font-weight: bold">Father</span>. If we refer these | |
| 2476 words to the Son of God, then he is saying, <span style= | |
| 2477 "font-weight: bold">I live because of the Father,</span> because | |
| 2478 the Father himself is living. But if they are referred to the Son | |
| 2479 of Man, then he is saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">I live | |
| 2480 because of the Father,</span> because the Father has sent me, i.e., | |
| 2481 made me incarnate. For the sending of the Son is his incarnation: | |
| 2482 “God sent his Son, made from a woman” (Gal 4:4).</p> | |
| 2483 <p>978 According to Hilary, this is a rejection of the error made | |
| 2484 by Arius. For if we live because of Christ, because we have | |
| 2485 something of his nature (as he says, “Whoever eats my flesh | |
| 2486 and drinks my blood has eternal life”), then Christ too lives | |
| 2487 because of the Father, because he has in himself the nature of the | |
| 2488 Father (not a part of it, for it is simple and indivisible). | |
| 2489 Therefore, Christ has the entire nature of the Father. It is | |
| 2490 because of the Father, therefore, that the Son lives, because the | |
| 2491 Son’s birth did not involve another and different nature | |
| 2492 [from that of the Father].</p> | |
| 2493 <p>979 Next (v 59), he presents his two conclusions. For they were | |
| 2494 arguing about two things: the origin of this spiritual food and its | |
| 2495 power. The first conclusion is about its origin; the second is | |
| 2496 about its power: <span style="font-weight: bold">whoever eats this | |
| 2497 bread shall live forever.</span></p> | |
| 2498 <p>980 With respect to the first, we should note that the Jews had | |
| 2499 been troubled because he had said, “I am the living bread | |
| 2500 that has come down from heaven” (v 51 ). Therefore, in | |
| 2501 opposition to them, he arrives at this same conclusion again, from | |
| 2502 his statement, “I live because of the Father,” when he | |
| 2503 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">This is the bread that has | |
| 2504 come down from heaven.</span> For to come down from heaven is to | |
| 2505 have an origin from heaven; but the Son has his origin from heaven, | |
| 2506 since he lives because of the Father: therefore, Christ is the one | |
| 2507 who has come down from heaven. And so he says, <span style= | |
| 2508 "font-weight: bold">This is the bread that has come down from | |
| 2509 heaven,</span> i.e., from the life of the Father. <span style= | |
| 2510 "font-weight: bold">Come down</span>, in relation to his divinity; | |
| 2511 or <span style="font-weight: bold">come down</span>, even in his | |
| 2512 body, so far as the power that formed it, the Holy Spirit, was from | |
| 2513 heaven, a heavenly power. Thus, those who eat this bread do not | |
| 2514 die; as our fathers died, who ate the manna that was neither from | |
| 2515 heaven, nor was living bread, as was said above. How those who ate | |
| 2516 the manna died is clear from what has been mentioned before.</p> | |
| 2517 <p>981 The second conclusion, concerning the power of this bread, | |
| 2518 is given when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">whoever eats | |
| 2519 this bread shall live forever.</span> This follows from his | |
| 2520 statement, “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides | |
| 2521 in me, and I in him” (v 57). For whoever eats this bread | |
| 2522 abides in me, and I in him. But I am eternal life. Therefore, | |
| 2523 <span style="font-weight: bold">whoever eats this bread,</span> as | |
| 2524 he ought, <span style="font-weight: bold">shall live | |
|
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2525 forever.</span></p> |
| 35 | 2526 <p>982 Jesus said this in the synagogue, in which he was teaching |
| 2527 at Capernaum. He used to teach in the temple and in the synagogues | |
| 2528 in order to attract many, so that at least some might benefit: | |
| 2529 “I have proclaimed your justice in the great assembly” | |
| 2530 (Ps 39:10).</p> | |
| 2531 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 2532 </p> | |
| 2533 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style= | |
| 2534 "font-weight: bold">LECTURE 8</span></p> | |
| 2535 <blockquote> | |
| 2536 <p>61 On hearing this, many of his disciples said: “This is a | |
| 2537 hard saying! Who can accept it?” 62 But Jesus, knowing fully | |
| 2538 that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them:</p> | |
| 2539 <dl> | |
| 2540 <dd>“Does this scandalize you?</dd> | |
| 2541 <dd>63 What if you should see the Son of Man</dd> | |
| 2542 <dd>ascending to where he was before?</dd> | |
| 2543 <dd>64 It is the spirit that gives life;</dd> | |
| 2544 <dd>flesh profits nothing.</dd> | |
| 2545 <dd>The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.</dd> | |
| 2546 <dd>65 But there are some of you who do not believe.”<br /> | |
| 2547 For Jesus knew from the beginning those who would believe in him | |
| 2548 and who it was that would betray him. 66 And he said:</dd> | |
| 2549 <dd>“This is why I said to you,</dd> | |
| 2550 <dd>that no one call come to me,</dd> | |
| 2551 <dd>unless it be given him by my Father.”<br /> | |
| 2552 67 From this time on, many of his disciples turned back, and no | |
| 2553 longer walked with him. 68 Jesus then said to the Twelve:</dd> | |
| 2554 <dd>“Do you too wish to leave?”<br /> | |
| 2555 69 Simon Peter replied: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have | |
| 2556 the words of eternal life. 70 We have come to believe and to know | |
| 2557 that you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 71 Jesus answered | |
| 2558 him:</dd> | |
| 2559 <dd>“Did I not choose you Twelve?</dd> | |
| 2560 <dd>And one of you is a devil.”<br /> | |
| 2561 72 Now he was talking about Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, who would | |
| 2562 betray him, since he was one of the Twelve.</dd> | |
| 2563 </dl> | |
| 2564 </blockquote> | |
| 2565 <p>983 After our Lord put an end to the complaining and arguing | |
| 2566 among the Jews, he now removes the scandal given to his disciples. | |
| 2567 First, we see the scandal of those disciples who left him; | |
| 2568 secondly, the devotion of those who remained with him (v 68). | |
| 2569 Concerning the first, he does three things: first, we see the | |
| 2570 scandal given to his disciples; secondly, the kindly way Christ | |
| 2571 takes it away (v 62); and thirdly, the stubbornness and unbelief of | |
| 2572 those who leave him (v 67).</p> | |
| 2573 <p>984 We should note, with respect to the first, that there were | |
| 2574 many Jews who adhered to Christ, believed him and followed him. And | |
| 2575 although they had not left all things as the Twelve did, they were | |
| 2576 still all called his disciples. It is of these that he says, many, | |
| 2577 that is, many of the people who believed him, <span style= | |
| 2578 "font-weight: bold">on hearing this,</span> what he had said above, | |
| 2579 said, <span style="font-weight: bold">This is a hard saying!</span> | |
| 2580 We read of these: “They believe for a while, and in the time | |
| 2581 of testing fall away” (Lk 8:13). He says, <span style= | |
| 2582 "font-weight: bold">many</span>, because “The number of fools | |
| 2583 is infinite” (Ecc 1:15); and, “Many are called but few | |
| 2584 are chosen” (Mt 20:16).</p> | |
| 2585 <p>They said: <span style="font-weight: bold">This is a hard | |
| 2586 saying!</span> Now that is said to be hard which is difficult to | |
| 2587 divide, and which offers resistance. Accordingly, a saying is hard | |
| 2588 either because it resists the intellect or because it resists the | |
| 2589 will, that is, when we cannot understand it with our mind, or when | |
| 2590 it does not please our will. And this saying was hard for them in | |
| 2591 both ways. It was hard for their intellects because it exceeded the | |
| 2592 weakness of their intellects: for since they were earthly minded, | |
| 2593 they were incapable of understanding what he said, namely, that he | |
| 2594 would give them his flesh to eat. And it was hard for their wills, | |
| 2595 because he said many things about the power of his divinity: and | |
| 2596 although they believed him as a prophet, they did not believe that | |
| 2597 he was God. Consequently, it seemed to them that he was making | |
| 2598 himself greater than he was. “His letters are strong” | |
| 2599 (2 Cor 10:10), “Wisdom is exceedingly unpleasant to the | |
| 2600 unlearned” (Sir (, 21 ). And so it reads on. <span style= | |
| 2601 "font-weight: bold">Who can accept it?</span> They said this as an | |
| 2602 excuse: for since they had given themselves to him, they should | |
| 2603 have accepted what he said. But because he was not teaching them | |
| 2604 things that were pleasing to them, they were waiting for an | |
| 2605 occasion to leave him: “A fool does not accept words of | |
| 2606 wisdom unless You tell him what he desires” (Prv 18:2).</p> | |
| 2607 <p>985 Next (v 62), we see the kindly way Christ dispelled their | |
| 2608 difficulty. First, he takes notice of it; secondly, he removes its | |
| 2609 cause (v 63); and thirdly, he mentions what the cause was (v | |
| 2610 65).</p> | |
| 2611 <p>986 He had noticed that they were scandalized because they had | |
| 2612 said, although privately, so he could not hear, <span style= | |
| 2613 "font-weight: bold">This is a hard saying!</span> But Christ, who | |
| 2614 in virtue of his divinity knew that they had said this, mentions | |
| 2615 it. And this is what he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">But | |
| 2616 Jesus, knowing in himself,</span> what they said within themselves, | |
| 2617 that is, <span style="font-weight: bold">that his disciples were | |
| 2618 grumbling about this</span>—“He did not need anyone to | |
| 2619 give him testimony about men. He was well aware of what was in | |
| 2620 man’s heart” (above 2:25); “God searches into the | |
| 2621 hearts and loins of men” (Ps 7:10)—said to them, | |
| 2622 <span style="font-weight: bold">Does this scandalize you?</span> As | |
| 2623 if to say: You should not be scandalized at this. Or, it can be | |
| 2624 understood less strongly, as meaning: I know that you are | |
| 2625 scandalized at this. “He will be our sanctification,” | |
| 2626 i.e., those who believe in Christ, but “a stumbling-stone to | |
| 2627 the two houses of Israel,” to the grumbling disciples and the | |
| 2628 crowds (Is 8:4).</p> | |
| 2629 <p>987 But since teachers should avoid creating difficulties for | |
| 2630 those who are listening to them, why did our Lord mention those | |
| 2631 things that would upset the people and have them leave? I answer | |
| 2632 that Christ had to mention such things because his teaching | |
| 2633 required it. For they had pleaded with him for material food, when | |
| 2634 he had come to strengthen their desire for spiritual food; and so | |
| 2635 he had to make known to them his teaching on spiritual food.</p> | |
| 2636 <p>Nevertheless, their difficulty was not caused by any defect in | |
| 2637 what Christ was teaching, but by their own unbelief. For if they | |
| 2638 had not understood what our Lord was saying, because of their own | |
| 2639 earthly mindedness, they could have questioned him, as the apostles | |
| 2640 had done in similar circumstances. According to Augustine, however, | |
| 2641 our Lord purposely permitted this situation, to give teachers a | |
| 2642 reason for consolation and patience with those who belittle what | |
| 2643 they say, since even the disciples presumed to disparage what | |
| 2644 Christ said.</p> | |
| 2645 <p>988 Then (v 63), he takes away the occasion of their scandal so | |
| 2646 far as concerns the person speaking and what he said, as Chrysostom | |
| 2647 says. First, he deals with the person who was speaking; secondly, | |
| 2648 with what he said (v 64).</p> | |
| 2649 <p>989 The occasion for their scandal was when they heard our Lord | |
| 2650 say divine things about himself. And so, because they believed that | |
| 2651 he was the son of Joseph, they were upset at what he said about | |
| 2652 himself. God takes away this reason by showing them his divinity | |
| 2653 more openly, and says: You are upset over the things I have said | |
| 2654 about myself; <span style="font-weight: bold">What if you should | |
| 2655 see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?</span> What | |
| 2656 would you say then? As if to say: You can never deny that I came | |
| 2657 down from heaven, or that I am the one who gives and teaches | |
| 2658 eternal life. He did the same thing before with Nathanael. When | |
| 2659 Nathanael said to him, “You are the King of Israel” our | |
| 2660 Lord, wanting to lead him to more perfect knowledge, answered him: | |
| 2661 “You will see greater things than this” (above 1:5 0). | |
| 2662 And here too, our Lord reveals to them something greater about | |
| 2663 himself which would happen in the future, saying, <span style= | |
| 2664 "font-weight: bold">What if you should see the Son of Man ascending | |
| 2665 to where he was before?</span> Indeed, he did ascend into heaven in | |
| 2666 the sight of his disciples (Acts 1:9). If, therefore, he does | |
| 2667 ascend to where he was before, then he was in heaven before: | |
| 2668 “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down | |
| 2669 from heaven” (above 3:13).</p> | |
| 2670 <p>990 Let us note that Christ is one person: the person of the Son | |
| 2671 of God and the person of the Son of Man being the same person. | |
| 2672 Still, because of his different natures, something belongs to | |
| 2673 Christ by reason of his human nature, that is, to ascend, which | |
| 2674 does not belong to him by reason of his divine nature, according to | |
| 2675 which he does not ascend, since he is eternally at the highest | |
| 2676 summit of things, that is, in the Father. It is according to his | |
| 2677 human nature that it belongs to him to ascend to <span style= | |
| 2678 "font-weight: bold">where he was before,</span> that is, to heaven, | |
| 2679 where he had not been in his human nature. (This is in opposition | |
| 2680 to the teaching of Valentinus, who claimed that Christ had assumed | |
| 2681 a heavenly body). Thus, Christ ascended in the sight of his | |
| 2682 apostles to where he was before according to his divinity; and he | |
| 2683 ascended, by his own power, according to his humanity: “I | |
| 2684 came forth from the Father, and I have come into the world. Now I | |
| 2685 am leaving the world and am going to the Father” (below | |
| 2686 16:28).</p> | |
| 2687 <p>991 Augustine understands this passage differently. He said that | |
| 2688 the disciples were scandalized when our Lord said that he would | |
| 2689 give him them his flesh to eat because they understood this in a | |
| 2690 material minded way, as if they were literally to eat this flesh, | |
| 2691 just like the flesh of an animal. Our Lord rejected this | |
| 2692 interpretation and said. <span style="font-weight: bold">What if | |
| 2693 you should see the Son of Man ascending,</span> with his entire | |
| 2694 body, <span style="font-weight: bold">to where he was | |
| 2695 before?</span> Would you say that I intended to give you my flesh | |
| 2696 to eat like you do the flesh of an animal?</p> | |
| 2697 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 2698 </p> | |
| 2699 <p>992 Then (v 64), he settles the offense they took at what he | |
| 2700 said. And, as Chrysostom says, he distinguished two ways in which | |
| 2701 his words could be understood. And secondly, he showed which way | |
| 2702 was appropriate here (v 64b).</p> | |
| 2703 <p>With respect to the first, we should note that Christ’s | |
| 2704 words can be understood in two senses: in a spiritual way, and in a | |
| 2705 material way. Thus he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">It is | |
| 2706 the spirit that gives life,</span> that is, if you understand these | |
| 2707 words according to the spirit, i.e., according to their spiritual | |
| 2708 meaning, they will give life. <span style="font-weight: bold">Flesh | |
| 2709 profits nothing,</span> that is, if you understand them in a | |
| 2710 material way, they will be of no benefit to you, they will, rather, | |
| 2711 be harmful, for “If you live according to the flesh you will | |
| 2712 die” (Rom 8:13).</p> | |
| 2713 <p>What our Lord said about eating his flesh is interpreted in a | |
| 2714 material way when it is understood in its superficial meaning, and | |
| 2715 as pertaining to the nature of flesh. And it was in this way that | |
| 2716 the Jews understood them. But our Lord said that he would give | |
| 2717 himself to them as spiritual food, not as though the true flesh of | |
| 2718 Christ is not present in this sacrament of the altar, but because | |
| 2719 it is eaten in a certain spiritual and divine way. Thus, the | |
| 2720 correct meaning of these words is spiritual, not material. So he | |
| 2721 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The words that I have spoken | |
| 2722 to you</span>, about eating my flesh, <span style= | |
| 2723 "font-weight: bold">are spirit and life</span>, that is, they have | |
| 2724 a spiritual meaning, and understood in this way they give life. And | |
| 2725 it is not surprising that they have a spiritual meaning, because | |
| 2726 they are from the Holy Spirit: “It is the Spirit who tells | |
| 2727 mysteries” (1 Cor 14:2). And therefore, the mysteries of | |
| 2728 Christ give life: “I will never forget your justifications, | |
| 2729 because through them you have brought me to life” (Ps | |
| 2730 118:93).</p> | |
| 2731 <p>993 Augustine explains this passage in a different way, for he | |
| 2732 understands the statement, flesh profits nothing, as referring to | |
| 2733 the flesh of Christ. It is obvious that the flesh of Christ, as | |
| 2734 united to the Word and to the Spirit, does profit very much and in | |
| 2735 every way; otherwise, the Word would have been made flesh in vain, | |
| 2736 and the Father would have made him known in the flesh in vain, as | |
| 2737 we see from 1 Timothy (c 4). And so we should say that it is the | |
| 2738 flesh of Christ, considered in itself, that profits nothing and | |
| 2739 does not have any more beneficial effect than other flesh. For if | |
| 2740 his flesh is considered as separated from the divinity and the Holy | |
| 2741 Spirit, it does not have different power than other flesh. But if | |
| 2742 it is united to the Spirit and the divinity, it profits many, | |
| 2743 because it makes those who receive it abide in Christ, for man | |
| 2744 abides in God through the Spirit of love: “We know that we | |
| 2745 abide in God and God in us, because he has given us his | |
| 2746 Spirit” (1 Jn 4:13). And this is what our Lord says: the | |
| 2747 effect I promise you, that is, eternal life, should not be | |
| 2748 attributed to my flesh as such, because understood in this way, | |
| 2749 <span style="font-weight: bold">flesh profits nothing.</span> But | |
| 2750 my flesh does offer eternal life as united to the Spirit and to the | |
| 2751 divinity. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the | |
| 2752 Spirit” “Gal 5:25). And so he adds, <span style= | |
| 2753 "font-weight: bold">The words that I have spoken to you are spirit | |
| 2754 and life,</span> i.e., they must be understood of the Spirit united | |
| 2755 to my flesh; and so understood they are life, that is, the life of | |
| 2756 the soul. For as the body lives its bodily life through a bodily | |
| 2757 spirit, so the soul lives a spiritual life through the Holy Spirit: | |
| 2758 “Send forth your Spirit, and they will be created” (Ps | |
| 2759 103:30).</p> | |
| 2760 <p>994 Then (v 65), he indicates the reason why they were upset, | |
| 2761 that is, their unbelief. As if to say: the cause of your difficulty | |
| 2762 is not the hardness of what I have just said, but your own | |
| 2763 unbelief. And so first, he mentions their unbelief; secondly, he | |
| 2764 excludes an incorrect interpretation; and thirdly, he gives the | |
| 2765 reason for their unbelief.</p> | |
| 2766 <p>995 Our Lord indicated their unbelief when he said, <span style= | |
| 2767 "font-weight: bold">But there are some of you who do not | |
| 2768 believe</span>. He did not say, “who do not | |
| 2769 understand.” He did more than this, for he gave the reason | |
| 2770 why they did not understand: they did not understand because they | |
| 2771 did not believe. “If you do not believe, you will not | |
| 2772 understand,” as we read in another version of Isaiah (7:9). | |
| 2773 He said, <span style="font-weight: bold">some</span>, in order to | |
| 2774 exclude his disciples: “All do not have faith” (2 Thes | |
| 2775 3:2); “All do not obey the Gospel” (Rom 10:16); | |
| 2776 “They did not believe what he said” (Ps 105:24).</p> | |
| 2777 <p>996 The Evangelist then rejects an incorrect interpretation when | |
| 2778 he adds, For Jesus knew. As if to say: Jesus did not say, there are | |
| 2779 some of you who do not believe, because he just recently learned | |
| 2780 it, but because <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus knew from the | |
| 2781 beginning</span>, i.e., of the world, <span style= | |
| 2782 "font-weight: bold">those who would believe in him, and who it was | |
| 2783 that would betray him.</span> “All things are naked and open | |
| 2784 to his eyes” (Heb 4:13); “All things were known to the | |
| 2785 Lord God before they were created,” as we read in Sirach | |
| 2786 (23:29).</p> | |
| 2787 <p>997 Our Lord next mentioned the cause of their unbelief, which | |
| 2788 was the withdrawal of attracting grace. Thus he said: This is why I | |
| 2789 said to you. As if to say: Thus it was necessary to tell you what I | |
| 2790 told you before: <span style="font-weight: bold">that no one can | |
| 2791 come to me,</span> i.e., through faith, <span style= | |
| 2792 "font-weight: bold">unless it be given him by my Father.</span> It | |
| 2793 follows from this, according to Augustine, that the act of | |
| 2794 believing itself is given to us by God. Why it is not given to | |
| 2795 everyone we discussed above, where our Lord used almost the same | |
| 2796 words (6:44). They are repeated here for two reasons. First, to | |
| 2797 show that Christ received them in the faith more for their | |
| 2798 advantage and benefit than for his own: “It has been granted | |
| 2799 to you to believe in him” (Phil 1:29). As if to say: It is | |
| 2800 good for you to believe. Thus Augustine says: “It is a great | |
| 2801 thing to believe: rejoice, because you have believed.” | |
| 2802 Secondly, to show that Christ was not the son of Joseph, as they | |
| 2803 thought, but of God, for it is God the Father who draws men to the | |
| 2804 Son, as is clear from what has been said.</p> | |
| 2805 <p>998 Then (v 67), we see the stubbornness of the disciples: for | |
| 2806 although our Lord had rebuked them and had taken away the cause of | |
| 2807 their difficulty so far as it concerned himself, they still would | |
| 2808 not believe. Thus he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">From | |
| 2809 this time on, many of his disciples turned back.</span> He did not | |
| 2810 say, “they left,” but that they <span style= | |
| 2811 "font-weight: bold">turned back,</span> i.e., from the faith, which | |
| 2812 they had in a virtuous way; and cut off from the body of Christ, | |
| 2813 they lost life, because perhaps they were not in the body, as | |
| 2814 Augustine says. There are some who turn back in an absolute way, | |
| 2815 that is, those who follow the devil, to whom our Lord said, | |
| 2816 “Go back, Satan” (Mt 4:10). We also read of certain | |
| 2817 women that “Some turned back after Satan” (1 Tim 5:15). | |
| 2818 But Peter did not turn back in this way; he rather turned after | |
| 2819 Christ: “Follow after me, Satan” (Mt 16:23). But the | |
| 2820 others followed after Satan.</p> | |
| 2821 <p>Then follows: they <span style="font-weight: bold">no longer | |
| 2822 walked with him,</span> that is, even though we are required to | |
| 2823 walk with Jesus: “I will show you man what is good,” | |
| 2824 and then it continues on, “to walk attentively with your | |
| 2825 God” (Mi 6:8).</p> | |
| 2826 <p>999 Then (v 68), our Lord examined those disciples who remained | |
| 2827 with him. First, we see this in the question he asked them; | |
| 2828 secondly, Peter’s answer shows the devotion of those who | |
| 2829 remained; and thirdly, our Lord corrects Peter’s answer (v | |
| 2830 71).</p> | |
| 2831 <p>1000 Our Lord examined the Twelve who remained as to their | |
| 2832 willingness to stay on; and so he said to the Twelve, that is, to | |
| 2833 the Apostles, Do you too wish to leave? He asked them this for two | |
| 2834 reasons. First, so that they would not take pride, thinking it was | |
| 2835 due to their own goodness, in the fact that they stayed on while | |
| 2836 the others left, and think that they were doing Christ a favor. And | |
| 2837 so he showed that he did not need them by holding them off, but | |
| 2838 still giving them strength: “If you live rightly, what do you | |
| 2839 give him, or what does he receive from your hand?” (Jb 35:7). | |
| 2840 Secondly, it sometimes happens that a person would really prefer to | |
| 2841 leave another but is kept from doing so by shame or embarrassment. | |
| 2842 Our Lord did not want them to stay with him because they were | |
| 2843 forced to do so out of embarrassment (because to serve unwillingly | |
| 2844 is not to serve at all), and so he took away any embarrassment in | |
| 2845 their leaving or necessity for their staying, and left it to their | |
| 2846 own judgment whether they wanted to stay with him or leave, because | |
| 2847 “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7).</p> | |
| 2848 <p>1001 Then, from Peter’s answer, we see the devotion of | |
| 2849 those who did not leave. For Peter—who loved the brethren, | |
| 2850 who guarded his friendships, and had it special affection for | |
| 2851 Christ—answered for the whole group, and said, <span style= | |
| 2852 "font-weight: bold">Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words | |
| 2853 of eternal life.</span> Here he did three things. First, he | |
| 2854 extolled the greatness of Christ; secondly, he praised his | |
| 2855 teaching; and thirdly, he professed his faith.</p> | |
| 2856 <p>1002 He extolled the greatness of Christ when he said, | |
| 2857 <span style="font-weight: bold">Lord, to whom shall we go?</span> | |
| 2858 As if to say: Are you telling us to leave you? Give us someone | |
| 2859 better to whom we can go. But then, “There is no one like you | |
| 2860 among the strong, O Lord” (Ex 15:11); “Who is like | |
| 2861 God” (Ps 88:7). And so you will not tell us to go. | |
| 2862 “Where can I go that is away from your spirit?” (Ps | |
| 2863 138:7). Further, according to Chrysostom, Peter’s words show | |
| 2864 great friendship; for to him, Christ was more worthy of honor than | |
| 2865 father or mother.</p> | |
| 2866 <p>1003 He praised his teaching when he said, <span style= | |
| 2867 "font-weight: bold">You have the words</span> of <span style= | |
| 2868 "font-weight: bold">eternal life.</span> Now Moses, and the | |
| 2869 prophets, also spoke the words of God; but they rarely had the | |
| 2870 words of eternal life. But you are promising eternal life. What | |
| 2871 more can we ask? “Whoever believes in me has eternal | |
| 2872 life” (above 6:47); “Whoever believes in the Son has | |
| 2873 eternal life” (above 3:36).</p> | |
| 2874 <p>1004 He professed his faith when he said, <span style= | |
| 2875 "font-weight: bold">We have come to believe and to know that you | |
| 2876 are the Christ, the Son of God.</span> For in our faith there are | |
| 2877 two things above all that must be believed: the mystery of the | |
| 2878 Trinity, and the Incarnation. And these two Peter professed here. | |
| 2879 He professed the mystery of the Trinity when he said, you are the | |
| 2880 Son of God: for in calling Christ the Son of God he mentioned the | |
| 2881 person of the Father and that of the Son, along with the person of | |
| 2882 the Holy Spirit, who is the love of the Father and of the Son, and | |
| 2883 the bond or nexus of both. He professed the mystery of the | |
| 2884 Incarnation when he said, you are the Christ: for in Greek, the | |
| 2885 word “Christ” means “anointed”; anointed, | |
| 2886 that is, with the invisible oil of the Holy Spirit. He was not | |
| 2887 anointed according to his divine nature, because one who is | |
| 2888 anointed by the Holy Spirit is Made better by that anointing. But | |
| 2889 Christ, so far as he is God, is not made better. Thus, Christ was | |
| 2890 anointed as man.</p> | |
| 2891 <p>He said, <span style="font-weight: bold">We have come to believe | |
| 2892 and to know</span>, because believing comes before knowing. And | |
| 2893 therefore, if we wanted to know before believing, we would neither | |
| 2894 know nor be able to believe, as Augustine says, and as in that | |
| 2895 other version of Isaiah: “If you do not believe, you will not | |
| 2896 understand” (Is 7:9).</p> | |
| 2897 <p>1005 Our Lord corrected Peter’s answer when he said, | |
| 2898 <span style="font-weight: bold">Did I not choose you Twelve? And | |
| 2899 one of you is a devil.</span> First, we have the Lord’s | |
| 2900 reply: secondly, the Evangelist’s explanation of it (v | |
|
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2901 72).</p> |
| 35 | 2902 <p>1006 Because Peter was great-hearted and included all in his |
| 2903 answer, <span style="font-weight: bold">We have come to believe and | |
| 2904 to know that you are the Christ, the Son of God,</span> it seemed | |
| 2905 that all of them would arrive at eternal life. And so our Lord | |
| 2906 excluded Judas from this community of believers. This trust was | |
| 2907 commendable in Peter, who did not suspect any evil in his | |
| 2908 companions; but we must also admire the wisdom of our Lord, who saw | |
| 2909 what was hidden. Thus he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Did | |
| 2910 I not choose you Twelve? And one of you is a devil;</span> not by | |
| 2911 nature, but by imitating the devil’s malice: “Death | |
| 2912 came into the world -by the envy of the devil; his disciples | |
| 2913 imitate him” (Wis 2:24); “After the morsel, Satan | |
| 2914 entered into him” (below 13:27), because Judas became like | |
| 2915 him in malice.</p> | |
| 2916 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 2917 </p> | |
| 2918 <p>1007 But if Christ chose Judas, who was later to become evil, it | |
| 2919 seems that our Lord made a mistake in choosing him. First, we might | |
| 2920 answer this as Chrysostom does, and say that this choice was not | |
| 2921 for predestination, but for some task, and in reference to a | |
| 2922 condition of present justice. Sometimes a person is chosen this | |
| 2923 way, not in relation to the future, but according to present | |
| 2924 realities; for being chosen in this way does not destroy | |
| 2925 one’s free choice or the possibility of sinning: hence we | |
| 2926 read, “Let him who thinks that he stands, take heed so he | |
| 2927 will not fall” (1 Cor 10:12). And so our Lord did choose | |
| 2928 Judas, but not as evil at that time; and being so chosen did not | |
| 2929 take away his possibility of sinning. Secondly, we could answer | |
| 2930 with Augustine, who said that our Lord did chose Judas as evil. And | |
| 2931 although he knew that he was evil, because it is characteristic of | |
| 2932 a good person to use evil for good, God made good use of this evil | |
| 2933 in allowing himself to be betrayed in order to redeem us. Or, we | |
| 2934 could say that the choice of the Twelve does not refer here to the | |
| 2935 persons, but rather to the number; as if to say: I have chosen | |
| 2936 Twelve. For this number is fittingly set apart for those who would | |
| 2937 preach the faith of the Holy Trinity to the four corners of the | |
| 2938 world. And indeed, this number did not pass away, because Matthias | |
| 2939 was substituted for the traitor. Or, according to Ambrose, Jesus | |
| 2940 chose Judas as evil so that when we read that our Lord and Master | |
| 2941 was betrayed by his disciple, we might be consoled if sometimes our | |
| 2942 friends betray us.</p> | |
| 2943 <p>1008 We could ask here why the disciples did not say anything | |
| 2944 after our Lord said, <span style="font-weight: bold">one of you is | |
| 2945 a devil;</span> for later on, when he says, “One of you will | |
| 2946 betray me” (below 13:21), they reply, “Is it I, | |
| 2947 Lord?” (Mt 26:22). 1 answer that the reason for this is that | |
| 2948 our Lord was speaking here in a general way when he said that one | |
| 2949 of them was a devil; for this could mean any kind of malice, and so | |
| 2950 they were not disturbed. But later on, when they heard of such a | |
| 2951 great crime, that their Master would be betrayed, they could not | |
| 2952 keep quiet. Or, we could say that when our Lord said this, each of | |
| 2953 them had confidence in his own virtue, and so none feared for | |
| 2954 himself; but after he said to Peter, “Follow after me, | |
| 2955 Satan” (Mt 16:23), they were afraid, and realized their own | |
| 2956 weakness. That is why they asked in that indecisive way, “Is | |
| 2957 it I, Lord?”</p> | |
| 2958 <p>1009 Finally, what our Lord had just said privately is explained | |
| 2959 by the Evangelist when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">he | |
| 2960 was talking about Judas,</span> as events proved and which will be | |
| 2961 clear below (c 13).</p> | |
| 2962 </blockquote> | |
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