The Sermons of Johannes Tauler · 16 of 124

Sermon for the First Sunday after the Epiphany

And when He was twelve years old. — Lake 11, 42.

We read in the Holy Gospel that when our Lord was twelve years old He went with His parents to the temple, and that when they started homeward He remained there and they knew it not. Then when they missed Him on the journey and could not find Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance, they must go back to the temple seeking Him. And so they found Him.

We may use this event to show thee, that if thou wouldst find the Divine generation thou must quit all men, and go back to the source from which thou hast sprung. All the powers of the soul, intelligence and understanding, memory and will, lead thee into multiplicity. There fore, thou must give them all up in so far as they lead thee into the life of the senses and of images in which thou seekest and flndest thyself; then and not otherwise shalt thou find the Divine generation. It is not to be found among kinsfolk and acquaintance, but, on the contrary, the search for it among them only leads thee astray.

And now it may be asked: Shall a man find this birth in certain works which are in themselves Divine, but which give us representations of God contributed by our senses, showing God’s goodness, wisdom and mercy — framed by our own reason and yet Godlike in very truth? I answer no. Although these are good and Godlike, yet they come from our outward life of the human senses, and the Divine generation must come from within us and direct from God. When this Divine illumination shines within thee in actual reality, then thy activity must all cease and thy soul’s powers must minister to God’s and not to thy own activity; or, rather, God must alone be active and thou must rest passive. When thou hast given up thy own willing and knowing, then does God enter in, and He then lights up thy soul brilliantly with His presence. Wherever God would know Himself, there must thy power of knowing thyself cease to act. Do not imagine that thy reason may ever be so highly developed as to be able to know God by its native power in this Divine generation. If this light shines within thee, it borrows no rays from thy natural knowledge, but rather both thy reason and thyself must be brought to nothing before God, and His light shall possess thee. And when He thus comes to thee, He will bring with Him everything that thou hast renounced for His sake increased a thousandfold, to be known and enjoyed by thee in a new and all-embracing form. An example of this is given us in the Gospel, where our Lord conversed with the Samaritan woman at the well, and she left her pitcher and ran into the city and announced to the people that the Messias had come, and they believed her. But when they hastened out to the well and saw our Lord Himself, then they said to her: “We now believe, not for thy saying, for we ourselves have heard Him and know that this, indeed, is the Saviour of the World” (John iv, 42). And so in very truth, all created things and all sciences, added to thy own wisdom, cannot give thee the knowledge of God as God is divinely known. Wilt thou gain this knowledge? Then thou must give up all knowledge and become oblivious to all created things, even to thyself. *

Alas, then, thou mayst complain, what will become of my poor mind, standing thus vacant and inert? Can such a way be right, since it directs my thoughts to an unknown knowledge? And how can this really be, for I cannot know at all without knowing something? If I know anything I am not, according to thy teaching, rightly prepared for God. Must I actually be in utter darkness? Yes, I answer, undoubtedly; thou art never better off than when thou art sunk in the darkness of unknowing. And if thou askest: Is this to be my final state, from which I shall never return? I answer: Yes; certainly yes. Again, if thou wouldst know what this darkness is, what name it has, I answer that it is thy soul reduced to a state of pure and simple receptivity, which alone can fit thee to attain to perfection. Out of this thou art not to come forth, except it be by a way that is not the way of truth. Thou mayst, indeed, do so, but it must be by the way either of the senses, the world or the devil. And that path will lead thee necessarily into transgressions; perhaps it may lead thee so far from God as to capacity for Him has been filled by His blessed presence; thy soul’s longing will never cease until it is entirely filled with God. Unformed matter never rests till its form is granted it to the extent of its capacity; nor does the soul of man ever find repose till it possesses God according to the fullness of its capacity.

A heathen philosopher -has said: “In all nature nothing is so swift as the flight of the heavenly bodies, and yet the mind of man overtakes and passes beyond them.” If our spirit were only true to its original power and unfettered by lower and degenerate influences, it would transcend the highest heavens, and would never be content till it had touched the remotest goal, and fed upon the most perfect food. Such was its original capacity, which it should long to restore. This it will do by entering upon a state of entire abandonment to its nobler impulses, in a state of entire self-renunciation, and never returning from this salutary darkness. In this way it will finally win possession of Him Who is all in all, and its progress toward this end is in proportion to its emptiness and to its obliviousness to all created things. Hence God speaks of the human soul by the prophet Osee: “I will allure and will lead her into the wilderness and will speak to her heart” (Osee ii, 14). The true and eternal Word is spoken only in that solitude of heart, in which a man has laid waste his affections for creatures and for his very self, being quite alienated from self-love and all multiplicity. This solitude and self-alienation is spoken of by the prophet David: “Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest?” (Ps. liv, 7). Where shall we find rest? Assuredly in the rejection and alienation of all created things. Hence David says again: “I have chosen to be an abject in the house my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners” (Ps. lxxxiii, 11).

And now thou mayst ask: Must one of necessity be spoiled of all things and alienated from them inwardly and outwardly, including his own natural faculties and their operation? It is a grievous thing that God should thus leave a man wholly without support; as the prophet says: “Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged!” (Ps. cxix, 5.) When God prolongs my waiting in a state of self-spoliation, not lighting up my soul, nor speaking His Word, nor being anywise active within me, as thou hast here been teaching me; when, in a word, a man is sunk in absolute nothingness, is it not better that he should do sornething to relieve the gloom and desolation of his spirit? Should he not saj prayers, read good books, hear sermons, or resort for help to other pious means of relief? And to all this I answer no. These are all good in their place and time, but now God offers thee what is better. Be assured that to endure to the uttermost in thy patient silence, is in every way the best for thee. Out of that state thou canst not withdraw thyself without injury, no matter to what solace thou mayst resort. Thou art being made ready for God’s coming, and thou wishest to have thy own share of this work of preparation, which cannot be; it belongB all to Him. Thou hast not, seemingly, so much as the power to think it or desire it. God alone must prepare thy soul. If, by an impossibility, thou couldst have for thy part the preparation and He have for His part the entering in and possessing of thy soul, yet be assured that when thy part were done and thy soul prepared, God must at that moment enter in and possess thee. But all this is impossible. Do not dream that God acts upon thy soul as a carpenter does his task, now working and again leaving off, all just as He pleases. No, but on the contrary, the moment God finds thy soul prepared, He enters in and dwells there. It is like the shining of the sun — shine it must if the air is clear. It would be attributing a grave fault to God to suppose that He would not do His great work in thee, as soon as He finds thee capable of receiving it; that is to say, wholly resigned and detached.

Learned men tell us, that the instant a human body is materially formed in the maternal womb, God imparts to it the spiritual soul, which is that body’s living form; the readiness of the flesh and the pouring in of the spirit being simultaneous in this case, as in every other. When nature has been brought to its highest point of perfection, then and in the same instant God grants His grace. As soon as thy spirit is prepared for Him, God enters in without a moment’s delay. In the Apocalypse we read our Lord’s words: “Behold, 1 stand at the gate, and knock! If any man shall hear My voice and open to Me the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Apoc. iii, 20). Search not here nor there for Him; He is not far from thee; He is even at the door. There He stands and waits. Whomsoever He finds ready, He inspires to open the door and bring Him in. Thou needst not call loudly for Him, as if He were far off, for He is at hand and eager to have thee ready for His coming — a thousand times more so than thou art thyself. The very instant thy soul’s door is opened to Him, He is within thee.

If thou objectest that thou dost not feel Ilis presence, I answer that thy feelings are not thine, but His, to control as He sees best. When He is with thee, He may show Himself or conceal Himself, as best suits His purpose. Accordingly our Lord said to Nicodemus: “The spirit breatheth where He will, and thou hearest His voice, but thou knowest not whence He cometh and whither He goeth” (John iii, 8). He has often spoken to thee, and thou hast heard Him and yet hast not understood Him. But God, whether as master of nature, or of grace, will not permit a vacuum. And when thou thinkest that thy soul is empty, .having no feeling of God’s presence, in truth it is not empty; God is there. Emptyness of soul cannot continue; it must be filled by heaven coming down into it, or by its own self returning to its earthly fullness. God never permits a vacuum. Therefore, stand thy ground in all tranquillity; suffer thy soul to be emptied; for if thou departest from this detachment thou canst not again easily recover it.

And now thou mayst ask an explanation about the Divine generation neither the lapse of time, nor the oppressive weight of material existence, nor the distractions of the multitudes about him. And in very truth a man has reached that freedom, when this Divine generation has come to him; all created things after that are instinctively referred to God, and to His birth within the soul. Take an example from a stroke 4)f lightning. Whatever object is struck it is instantly turned toward the lightning. A man may turn his back away from it, but when struck he is quickly swung around again; the tree’s leaves are all drawn toward the lightning that strikes it. So when this Divine birth strikes the soul it is instantly turned toward it, carrying with it all the conditions and circumstances of its existence, even the most unfavorable ones being transformed into benefits, by the soul’s new relationship to God. No matter what thou seest or hearest, it all comes to thee sanctified by the Divine generation in thy soul. Everything becomes, as it were, God to thee, for thou knowest and lovest naught but God. It is like a man who has been gazing straight at the sun in the sky; when he turns to look at other objects he sees the sun’s disc shining in them. And if thou shouldst fail in this, and dost not seek and love God alone in everything, even the least, then instantly know that this Divine fcirth hath failed within thee.

Thou mightest ask: Ought not a man to continue to practice penance? Is he not to blame if, on account of this Divine state, he ceases his penitential exercises? I answer that all such practices, including vigils, fasts, tears, sorrowful prayer, disciplines and hair shirts, are good, because the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the body is grown too strong for the soul, producing an unceasing conflict. Here in this life the flesh is bold and strong, for this earth is its native home, and the world around us is allied with this fleshly uprising. Food and drink and all the comforts of life are injurious to the spirit, which is in exile in this mortal existence. But in Heaven everything favors the spirit. There is its fatherland and its home, and Heaven’s freedom from fleshly hindrance is granted the soul, if it would but direct its thoughts and its love to Heaven’s inhabitants, who are its real friends and kindred. Here below in our exile we must weaken the fleshly instincts and appetites, lest they overpower the spirit. This we succeed in doing by painful penances, putting a curb on the body’s ease and comfort. Thereby the soul holds its own against the uprising of fleshly passions, and finally reduces them to captivity. Only lay on the appetites the curb and the fetter of heavenly love, and thou shalt most quickly and most overwhelmingly subjugate them. Hence about nothing does God complain so severely as about our want of love. Love is like the hook on a fisherman’s line; the fish must take the hook or the fisherman can never catch him. After the hook is once in his mouth, the fish may swim about and even swim away from the shore, but the fisherman is sure to finally land him. And this I compare with love. Whoever is caught by love is held perfectly fast, and yet in a sweet captivity. Whoever has received the gift of Divine love, obtains from it more freedom from base natural tendencies than by practicing all possible penances and austerities. He it is that can most sweetly endure all misfortunes that happen to him or threaten to overwhelm him; he is the one who most readily forgives all the injuries that can be inflicted on him. Nothing brings thee nearer to God; nothing makes God so much thy own, as the sweet bond of love. Whosoever has found this way never seeks any other. Whosoever is caught by this hook is so entirely captive, that feet, hands, mouth, eyes and heart — everything that is himself — becomes God’s own. Therefore, if thou wouldst conquer these enemies, namely, corrupt natural tendencies, and render them harmless, love is thy best weapon. Therefore, it is written: ‘‘Love is strong as death, [its] jealousy hard as hell” (Cant, viii, 6). Death cuts the soul from the body, but love cuts all things from the soul. When the soul loves, then whatsoever is nqt God or Godlike, it suffers not to rest with it for an instant. Whosoever is enlisted in this warfare and treads this path, what he does or what he does not in active good works, or what he is not able to do, makes no difference — whether something or nothing, all is for love. The work of perfect love is more fruitful to a man’s own soul and to the souls of all other men with whom he deals, and it brings more glory to God, than all other works, even if these be free from mortal sin, but are done in a state of weaker love. The mere quiet repose of a soul with perfect love, is of more worth to God and man than the active labors of another soul. Therefore, do thou but cleave fast and firm to this hook of Divine love and thou shalt be God’s happy captive, and the more entirely captive, the more perfectly free shalt thou be. That this captivity and liberty may be vouchsafed us, we pray God the Father, and God the Son, anti God the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Him in correcting the least defects — This is followed by the joy of jubilee with God — Perfect souls now experience a torment of thirst, for God seems lost and gone from them forever — These find God again by groping through darkness into their deeper spirit.