The Angel's Greeting
by Meister Johannes Eckhart, Dominican Mystic
Luke 1:28 -- "Hail, Thou that art Highly Favored among Women, the Lord is
with Thee".
Here there are Three (3) Things to Understand:
the First, the Modesty of the Angel;
the Second, that he thought himself Unworthy to Accost the
Mother of God;
the Third, that he not only Addressed her,
but the Great Multitude of Souls who Long after
God.
I affirm, that had the Virgin, not First
Borne God Spiritually,
He would never have been Born-from her
in Bodily Fashion. A certain woman said to Christ,
"Blessed is the Womb that Bear Thee". To which Christ
Answered, "Nay, rather Blessed are they that Hear the Word of God and Keep it". It is more Worthy-of
God that He be Born
Spiritually of every Pure and
Virgin Soul, than that He be Born of
Mary. Hereby we should Understand that Humanity is, so-to-speak, the Son of God
Born from all Eternity (∞). The
Father Produced all Creatures, and me among them, and I Issued-forth from
Him with all Creatures, and yet I Abide-in the Father.
Just as the Word which I now speak is Conceived and Spoken-forth by me, and you all receive it, yet none-the-less it, Abides-in
me. Thus I and all Creatures Abide-in the Father.
Hereto I adjoin a Parable. There were a certain Man and Wife; the Woman, by Accident, Lost an Eye, and was Sorely
Troubled thereat. Her Husband then said to her, "Wife, why are you Troubled"? She answered,
"It is not the Loss of my Eye that Troubles me, but the thought that you may Love me Less on Account of that Loss".
He said, "I Love you all the same". Not long after, he put one of his own eyes out, and came to his Wife
and said, "Wife, that you may believe I Love you, I have made myself like you; I, too, now, have only One Eye".
So Men could Hardly Believe that God Loved
them till God put One of His Eyes out, that is
Took-upon Himself Human Nature, and was made Man. Just as Fire
Infuses its Essence and Clearness into the Dry Wood, so has God
done with Man. He has Created the Human Soul
and Infused His Glory into it, and yet in
His Own Essence has remained Unchangeable.
If you ask me whether, seeing that my Spiritual Birth is out-of Time,
whether I am an Eternal Son, I answer "Yes", and
"No". In the Everlasting Foreknowledge
of God, I Slumbered like a Word Unspoken. He hath
Brought me Forth His Son in the Image of His
Eternal Fatherhood, that I also should be a Father and Bring-forth
Him. It is as if one stood before a High Mountain, and cried, "Art
thou there"? The Echo comes back, "Art thou there"? If one cries,
"Come out", the Echo answers, "Come out".
Again; if I am in a Higher Place and say to some one, "Come up hither", that might be
Difficult for him. But if I say, "Sit down", that would be Easy. Thus
God Dealeth with us. When Man Humbles himself,
God cannot Restrain His Mercy; He must
Come-down and Pour His Grace into the
Humble Man, and He gives Himself
Most of-all, and all at-Once, to the Least of-all. It is Essential to God to Give, for
His Essence is His Goodness and
His Goodness is His Love. Love
is the Root-of all Joy and Sorrow.
Slavish Fear of God is to be put-away. The
Right Fear is the Fear-of
Losing God. If the Earth Flee-downward from
Heaven, it finds Heaven beneath it; if it Flee-upward, it comes-again to
Heaven. The Earth cannot Flee-from Heaven,
whether it Flee Up or Down, the Heaven rains its Influence upon it, and Stamps its Impress upon
it, and makes it Fruitful, whether it be Willing or Not. Thus doth
God with Men; whoever Thinketh-to Escape Him, Flies-into
His Bosom, for every Corner is Open-to Him.
God Brings-forth His Son in thee, Whether thou Likest-it or Not, Whether thou Sleepest
or Wakest; God Worketh His Own Will. That Man is Unaware
of it, is Man's Fault, for his Taste is so Spoilt by Feeding-on Earthly Things
that he cannot Relish God's Love. If we had Love to
God, we should Relish God, and all
His Works; we should Receive all Things from God, and
Work the same Works as He Worketh.
God Created the Soul after the Image of
His Highest Perfection. He Issued-forth from
the Treasure-House of the Everlasting
Fatherhood in which He had Rested from all
Eternity. Then the Son opened the Tent of
His Everlasting Glory and
Came-forth from His High Place to Fetch His Bride
(i.e. Human Nature), whom the Father had Espoused-to
Him from all Eternity, back to that
Heaven from which she came. Therefore He Came-forth Rejoicing as a
Bridegroom and Suffered the Pangs-of
Love. Then He Returned-to
His Secret Chamber in the Silence and Stillness of the Everlasting
Fatherhood. As He Came-forth from the
Highest, so He Returned-to the
Highest with His Bride, and Revealed-to
Her the Hidden Treasures of His Godhead.
The First Beginning is for the Sake-of the Last End. God Himself doth not Rest because
He is the Beginning, but because He is the
End and Goal of all Creation. This End is Concealed-in the Darkness of the Everlasting
Godhead, and is Unknown, and never was Known, and never will be Known.
God Himself remains Unknown; the Light of the
Everlasting Father Shineth in Darkness, and the Darkness comprehended it not.
May the Truth of which we have Spoken, Lead us to the
Truth.
Amen
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