Sermon 38 — Jesus stood among the disciples and said: peace

Pfeiffer Sermon 38Middle High German + EnglishAbout this edition

Original Source (Middle High German)

English Translation

Stetit Jesus in medio discipulorum et dixit: pax etc. (Luc. XXIV, 35. Joh. XX, 19.).

Sante Johannes schrîbet uns in sîme êwangeliô ‘an dem êrsten tage in der wochen, dâ ez âbent was, dô kam unser herre ze beslozzenen türen în enmitten under die jünger unde sprach: vride sî iu! und anderwarbe: vride sî iu! und zuo dem dritten mâle: nement den heiligen geist!’ Nû enwirt ez niemer âbent, dâ ensî ein morgen und ein mitentac vor gewesen. Nû sprichet man, der mite tac sî heizer denne der âbent. Doch alse verre sô der âbent den miten tag in sich sliuzet unde diu hitze zuo legende ist, dâ ist er heizer, wan vor dem âbent ist ein ganz lûter tac. Aber spâte ime jâre, alse nâch sungihten, sô sich diu sunne gerâtet nêhen der erden, sô wirt der âbent heize, ez kan niemer werden mite tac, der morgen sî enwec, noch enkan niemer werden âbent, der mite tac sî enwec. Daz diutet alse vil: sô daz götlîch lieht ûf gebrichet in der sêle ie baz unde baz unz ein ganz lûter tac wirt, dâ entwichet niht der morgen dem miten tage noch der mitentac dem âbende: ez sliuzet sich alzemâle inein. Dar umbe ist der âbent dâ heize. Denne ist ganz lûter tac in der sêle, swenne allez daz diu sêle ist erfüllet wirt mit götlîchem liehte. Aber denne ist ez âbent in der sêle, als ich ê sprach, sô daz lieht dirre welte abe vellet unde der mensche în beslozzen ist unde ruowet.

Dâ sprach got: vride und aber vride unde nement den heiligen geist. Jacob der patriarche kom an eine stat, dô ez âbent was, und er nam steine die in der stat lâgen under sîn houbet unde ruowete. In sînem slâfe sach er eine leiter ûf gên in den himel unde die engel klimmende ûf und abe unde got hâte sich oben ûf die leitern geneiget. Diu stat, dâ Jacob slief, was ungenant. Daz diutet alse vil als: diu gotheit ist alleine ein stat der sêle und ist ungenant. Nû sprechent unser meister: waz des andern stat ist daz muoz oben im sîn; alse der himel ist ein stat aller dinge und dez fiur ist stat des luftes unde der luft ist stat des wazzers unde des ertriches unde dez wazzer ist niht vollen stat des ertriches unde daz ertriche ist kein stat. Der engel ist stat des himels unde iglicher engel, der eines tröpflînes mê von got hêt enpfangen denne der ander, der ist stat unde sezunge der andern unde der oberste engel ist stat unde sezunge unde mâze aller der andern und er ist sunder mâze. Aber swie er ist sunder mâze, sô ist doch got sîn mâze.

Stetit Jesus in medio discipulorum et dixit: pax etc. (Luc. XXIV, 35. Joh. XX, 19.).

“Jesus stood in the midst of the disciples and said: Peace,” and so forth (Luke 24:35; John 20:19). Saint John writes to us in his Gospel: “On the first day of the week, when it was evening, our Lord came through closed doors into the midst of the disciples and said: Peace be with you! And again: Peace be with you! And a third time: Receive the Holy Spirit!” Now it can never be evening unless a morning and a midday have come before it. People say that midday is hotter than evening. Yet insofar as evening encloses midday within itself and the heat is added to it, evening is hotter, for before evening there is a wholly clear day. But late in the year, as after the solstice, when the sun draws near the earth, evening becomes hot. Midday can never come without morning having passed, nor can evening ever come without midday having passed. This means that, as the divine light breaks forth more and more in the soul until there is an entirely clear day, morning does not give way to midday, nor midday to evening: all are enclosed together in one. That is why evening is hot there. There is a wholly clear day in the soul when all that the soul is becomes filled with divine light. But it is evening in the soul, as I said earlier, when the light of this world falls away and the human being is enclosed within and rests.

Then God said: Peace, and again peace, and receive the Holy Spirit. Jacob the patriarch came to a place when it was evening, and he took stones that lay in that place, put them beneath his head and rested. In his sleep he saw a ladder reaching up into heaven, with angels climbing up and down, and God had inclined himself over the top of the ladder. The place where Jacob slept had no name. This means that the Godhead alone is a place for the soul, and it is nameless. Now our masters say: whatever is the place of another must be above that other. Thus heaven is the place of all things, fire is the place of air, air is the place of water and earth, and water is not fully the place of earth, while earth is no place at all. The angel is the place of heaven, and every angel who has received from God one little drop more than another is the place and ordering of the others; and the highest angel is the place, ordering and measure of all the others, and he is without measure. Yet although he is without measure, God is nevertheless his measure.

Jacob widerruowete an der stat, diu ungenant ist. Daz man ir niht enennet, dâ mite ist si genennet. Swenne diu sêle kumet in die ungenamete stat, dâ nimet si ir widerruowe, dâ alliu dinc got in gote sint gesîn, dâ ruowet si. Diu stat der sêle, diu got ist, diu ist ungenant.

Ich spriche, daz got sî ungesprochen. Nû sprichet sant Augustînus, daz got sî niht ungesprochen; wan wêre er ungesprochen, daz selbe wêre ein spruch, wan er ist mê ein swîgen denne ein sprechen. Unser eltisten meister einen, der die wârheit ie vant lange unde lange vor gotes gebürte, ê kristen geloube ie würde als er nû ist, den dûhte des: allez daz er sprechen möhte von den dingen, daz daz etwaz frömdes und unwâres in ime trüege; dar umbe wolde er swîgen. Er wolde niht sprechen: gent mir brôt oder gent mir trinken. Dar umbe wolde er niht sprechen von den dingen, wan er sie niht alse lûter gesprechen kunde, alse sie von der êrsten sache geursprunget sîn: dar umbe wolde er lieber swîgen, unde sîne nôtdurft bewîsete er mit zeichen der vinger. Daz füeget uns noch baz, sît er niht kunde gereden von den dingen, daz wir swîgen müezen alzemâle von dem, der dâ ist ein ursprinc aller dinge.

Jacob rested in return in the place that has no name. By not naming it, one names it. When the soul comes into the nameless place, there she finds her reciprocal rest; where all things have been God in God, there she rests. The place of the soul, which is God, has no name.

I say that God is unspoken. Now Saint Augustine says that God is not unspoken; for if he were unspoken, that itself would be a saying, since he is more a silence than a speaking. One of our most ancient masters, who found truth long, long before God's birth, before the Christian faith ever came to be as it is now, thought this: whatever he could say about things would carry something foreign and untrue into them. For that reason he wished to be silent. He would not say, “Give me bread,” or “Give me something to drink.” He did not want to speak of things because he could not speak of them as purely as they had sprung from the first cause. Therefore he preferred to be silent, and he made his needs known by signs of his fingers. This applies to us still more: since he could not speak adequately of things, we must be wholly silent about him who is the origin of all things.

Nû sprechen wir, daz got ein geist ist. Des enist niht. Wêre got eigenlîch ein geist, sô wêre er gesprochen. Sant Gregorius sprichet: wir mügen von gote niht eigenlîche sprechen. Waz wir von ime sprechen, daz müeze wir stamlen. Diu stat, diu ungenant ist, in der grüenent unde blüegent alle crêatûre in rehter ordenunge, unde sezunge aller crêatûren ist genomen alzemâle ûz dem grunde dirre stat rehter ordenunge, unde sezunge der sêlen fliuzet ûz disem grunde.

Jacob wolte ruowen: merket! er wolte ruowen. Swer dâ in gote ruowet, diu ruowe ist âne willen sîn. Nû spreche wir: wille ist an üebunge. Der wille ist frî, er nimet niht von materien. An dem einen ist er frîger denne bekentnisse unde dar an stôzent etliche tôrehte liute unde wellent, daz er sî über bekentnisse. Des enist niht. Bekentnisse ist ouch frî, aber bekentnisse nimet von materien und von lîphaftigen dingen an eime orte der sêle, als ich sprach an dem ôsterâbent, wie etliche krefte der sêle verbunden sîn an den fünf sinnen, alse sehen unde hœren, die dâ în tragent daz man lernen sol. Nû sprichet ein meister: niergen welle got, daz daz iemer zuo ougen oder zuo ôren în gehœre, daz daz edelste teil der sêle erfüllen müge, niht alleine denne diu ungenemete stat, diu ein stat ist aller dinge. Ez ist wol ein guotiu warnunge, ez fürdert wol dar zuo in der wîse, wan ez ist verwunden mit varwe unde mit dône unde mit lîphaftigen dingen. Ez ist niuwen ein üebunge der sinne unde wirt diu sêle dâ mit erwecket unde dez bilde der kunst ist ir nâtûrelich în gedrucket. Plato sprichet unde mit ime sant Augustînus: diu sêle diu hât inne alle kunst, und allez daz man von enûzen geüeben mac daz ist niuwen ein erweckunge der kunst. Jacob ruowete an dem âbende. Nû bâten wir ê umb ein nû, nû biten wir umb ein kleine dinc, eht umbe einen âbent. Daz uns der gegeben werde, des helf uns got. Âmen.

Now we say that God is a spirit. That is not so. If God were properly a spirit, he could be spoken of. Saint Gregory says: we cannot speak properly about God. Whatever we say of him, we must stammer. The nameless place is where all creatures grow green and blossom in their proper order; the ordering of all creatures is drawn entirely from the ground of this place, from its proper ordering, and the ordering of souls flows forth from this ground.

Jacob wanted to rest. Take note: he wanted to rest. Whoever rests there in God has a rest that is without willing. Now we say that willing belongs to exercise. The will is free; it receives nothing from matter. In this one respect it is freer than knowledge, and certain foolish people stumble over this and insist that the will is above knowledge. That is not so. Knowledge too is free, but knowledge receives from matter and from bodily things at one place in the soul, as I spoke on Easter Eve of how certain powers of the soul are connected to the five senses, such as seeing and hearing, which convey inward what a person is to learn. Now a master says: God nowhere wills that anything which enters through eyes or ears should ever be able to fill the noblest part of the soul; only the nameless place, which is the place of all things, can do that. Sensory perception is indeed a good prompting, and it helps one toward that in its own mode, since it is bound up with colours, sounds and bodily things. It is only an exercise of the senses, by which the soul is awakened; the image of knowledge is naturally imprinted within her. Plato says, and Saint Augustine with him: the soul already has all knowledge within her, and everything one can practise from outside is only an awakening of that knowledge. Jacob rested in the evening. Earlier we asked for a now; now we ask for a little thing, only for an evening. May God help us to receive it. Amen.