The Attractive Power of God
by Meister Johannes Eckhart, Dominican Mystic
Our Lord Jesus Christ hath in the Gospel, Spoken-with
His Own Blessed Lips, these Words which Signify, "No Man can Come to Me
unless My Father Draws him". In another place He says, "I am
in the Father and the Father in Me". Therefore whoever Cometh-to the Son, Cometh-to the
Father. Further, He saith, "I
and the Father are One. Therefore whomsoever the Father Draweth, the Son Draweth likewise". Saint Augustine also saith,
"The Works of the Holy Trinity are Inseparable from each other".
Therefore the Father Draweth-to the
Son, and the Son Draweth-to
the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost
Draweth-to the Father and the Son;
and each Person of the Trinity, when
He Draweth-to the Two (2)
Others, Draweth-to Himself, because the
Three (3) are One (1). The
Father Draweth-with the Might of His Power, the
Son Draweth-with His Unfathomable
Wisdom, the Holy Ghost Draweth-with
His Love. Thus we are Drawn-by the
Sacred Trinity with the Cords-of Power,
Wisdom and Love, when we are
Drawn-from an Evil Thing to a Good Thing, and
from a Good Thing to a Better, and from a
Better Thing to the Best of All. Now the
Father Draws us from the Evil of Sin to the
Goodness of His Grace with the Might of His Measureless Power,
and He needs all the Resources of His Strength in
order to Convert Sinners, more than when He was about to
make Heaven and Earth, which He made with
His Own Power, without Help from any Creature. But when He
is about to Convert a Sinner, He always
Needs the Sinner's Help. "He Converts thee not without thy
Help", as Saint Augustine says.
Therefore Deadly Sin is a Breach of Nature, a
Death of the Soul, a
Disquiet of the Heart, a Weakening
of Power, a Blindness of the
Sense, a Sorrow of the Spirit, a
Death of Grace, a
Death of Virtue, a Death of
Good Works, an Aberration of the
Spirit, a Fellowship with the
Devil, an Expulsion of Christianity, a Dungeon of
Hell, a Banquet of Hell, an Eternity
of Hell. Therefore, if thou Committest a Deadly
Sin, thou art Guilty of all These
and Incurrest Their Consequences. Regarding
the First Point:
Deadly Sin is a Breach of Nature, for every Man's
Nature is an Image and Likeness and Mirror of the Trinity, of
Godhead and of Eternity. All these together are
Marred by a Deadly Sin; therefore, it is a
Breach of Nature.
Such Sin is also the Death of the
Soul, for Death is to Lose Life.
Now God is the Life of the
Soul, and Deadly Sin Separates-from God;
therefore it is a Death of the Soul.
Deadly Sin is also a Disquiet of the
Heart, for everything Rests nowhere Except-in its own Proper Place; and the Proper Resting-place of the
Soul is nowhere Except-in God as Saint Augustine saith,
"Lord! Thou hast made us for Thyself, therefore we may not Rest anywhere Save in Thee".
Deadly Sin is also a Weakening of the
Powers, for by his own Power, no one
can Throw-off the Load of Sin, nor Restrain himself from
Committing Sin.
It is also a Blindness of the
Sense, for it Prevents a Man Recognizing how
Brief is the Space-of-Time that can be Spent-in the
Pleasure of Voluptuousness, and how Long (∞) are
the Pains of Hell and the
Joys of Heaven.
Deadly Sin is also a Death of all
Grace, for whenever such a Sin is
Committed, the Soul is
Bereft of all Grace.
Similarly, it is the Death of all
Virtue and Good Works, and an
Aberration of the Spirit.
It is also a Fellowship with the
Devil, for everything hath Fellowship with its-Like; and
Sin maketh the Soul and
Satan Resemble each other.
It is also an Expulsion of
Christianity, for It Depriveth the
Sinner of all the Profit that comes from
Christianity.
It is also a Dungeon of Hell, for if the
Soul Remain-in the Purity in which
God Created her, Neither
Angel nor Devil may Rob
her of her Freedom. But
Sin Confines it
in Hell.
Sin is also an Eternity of
Hell, for Eternity is in the
Will, and were it not in the Will, it would not be in the
Consciousness.
Now, People say when they Commit Sin, that they do
not Intend-to do so always; they Intend-to Turn-away from Sin. That is just as though a Man were to
Kill Himself, and Suppose that he could Make himself Alive-again by his own
Strength. That is, however, Impossible; but to Turn-from
Sin by one's own Power, and Come-to
God, is still much more Impossible. Therefore, whosoever is to Turn-from Sin and
Come-to God in His Heavenly Kingdom, must be
Drawn-by the Heavenly Father with the
Might of His Divine Power. The
Father also Draws the Son Who
Comes-to Help us with His Grace, by Stimulating our Free-Will
to Turn away-from, and Hate Sin, which has Drawn us Aside-from
God, and from the Immutable
Goodness of the Godhead. Then, if she is
Willing, He Pours the
Gift of His Grace into the Soul,
which Renounces all her Misery and
Sin, and all her Works
become Living. Now, this Grace Springs-from the Centre
of Godhead and the Father's Heart, and Flows
Perpetually, nor ever ceases, if the Soul Obeys
His Everlasting Love. Therefore
He saith in the Prophets: "I have Loved thee with an Everlasting Love,
therefore with Loving Kindness have I Drawn thee". Out of the Overflow of His Universal
Love He Desires to Draw all to
Himself, and to His Only-Begotten Son, and to the
Holy Ghost in the Joy of the
Heavenly Kingdom. Now, we should Know that before Our Lord Jesus Christ was Born, the
Heavenly Father Drew Men with all His
Might for Five Thousand, Two Hundred (5,200) Years; and yet, as far as we know, Brought
not one into the Heavenly Kingdom. So, when the Son
saw that the Father had thus Strongly Drawn Men and even
Wearied Himself, and yet not Succeeded,
He said to the Father: "I will Draw them with the Cords of a
Man". It was as though He said, "I see well, Father, that Thou with
all Thy Might, canst not Succeed, therefore will I Myself Draw them with the Cords of a Man".
Therefore the Son came down from Heaven, and
was Incarnate of a Virgin, and took upon
Him all our Bodily Weaknesses, except
Sin and Folly, into which Adam had cast us;
and out of all His Words and Works and
Limbs and Nerves,
He made a Cord, and Drew us so Skillfully, and so Heartily, that the
Bloody Sweat Poured-from His Sacred Body. And when He
had Drawn Men without-ceasing for Three-and-Thirty (33) Years,
He saw the Beginnings-of a Movement and the
Redemption of all things that would follow. Therefore
He said, "And I, if I be Lifted up on the Cross, will Draw all Men unto Me". Therefore
He was Stretched-upon the Cross, and laid aside
all His Glory, and whatever might Hinder His
Drawing Men.
Now, there are Three (3) Natural Means of Attraction with which
Christ on the Cross Drew to
Himself between the Third and the Ninth
Hour, more People than He had Drawn before during
the Three-and-Thirty (33) Years of His Life. The
First Means by which He
Draws is Affinity, that Affinity which brings
Creatures of the same Species together, and like-to-its-like. With this Cord-of
Affinity He Drew Men to the
Godhead, Whom He always Resembles. In order that
God may Draw more to Himself, and Forget
His Wrath, the Son saith,
"Beloved Father, seeing that Thou wouldest not Forgive Sins because of all the former Sacrifices Offered, lo I, Thine
Only Begotten Son, Who Resemble Thy Godhead in All Things, in Whom Thou hast hidden all the Riches of Divine Love, I come to the Cross,
that I may be a Living Sacrifice before Thine Eyes; that out of Thy Fatherly Compassion Thou mayest Bend and Look on Me, Thine only Son,
and on My Blood Flowing-from My Wounds, and Slacken the Fiery Sword with which in the Angel's Aands Thou hast Barred the Way to Paradise, that all
who have Repented and Bewailed their Sins through Me, may enter therein".
The Second Means of Attraction which He used is
Emptiness, as we see when we place One (1) End of a Hollow Pipe in Water, and Draw-up it by Suction;
the Water Runs-up the Stem to the Mouth, because the Emptiness of the Pipe, from which the Air has been Drawn,
Draws the Water to itself. So Our Lord Jesus Christ made
Himself Empty that
He might Wisely Draw all things to Himself. Therefore,
He let all the Blood that was in
His Body Flow-out, and so Attracted-to Himself all the
Compassion and Grace that was in His Father's
Heart, so Completely and Profitably as to Suffice-for the Whole World. Accordingly, the
Father said, "My Compassion will I never Forget", and further,
"Now, My Son, be Bold and Strong that Thou mayest Lead the People altogether into the Land which I have Promised, the Land of
Heavenly Joys, the Land which Floweth with the Honey of My Godhead, and with the Milk of Thy Manhood".
The Third Means of Attraction is this -- that as we see the
Sun Draw-up the Mists from the Earth to Heaven, so the
Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Waxed Hot as a Fiery
Furnace upon the Cross, so Fiercely Burned the Flame of Love
which He felt towards the Whole World. Thus, with the Heat of
His Love, from which nothing could be Hidden, so Intense was it --
He Drew the Whole World to Himself.
Never did Our Lord Jesus Christ display such Great Love as when
He Suffered the Torture
of the Cross, when He gave His
Life for us, and Washed our Sins with
His Precious Blood. Therefore with the Cords-of
Love, He Drew us all to
Himself upon the Cross that those who feel the Drawing of
His Death and Martyrdom
might Live-with Him in Everlasting Felicity.
Now when the Holy Spirit saw that the Only Begotten Son of the
Father had Drawn so Wisely, that He had Won-to
Himself all things in Heaven and Earth,
He also felt Impelled-by His Own
Love and Kindness to
Draw. Therefore He said, "I will also Draw with My Cords
and My Net". So He made a Net of the
Seven High Attributes of the Father, of the
Seven Graces of the Son,
of His Own Seven Gifts,
and of the Seven Christian Virtues. Thus He
Assures us that we shall never Perish, for we are so Caught by
His Goodness that He Expels-from us all the
Evil Works of the Flesh, and Produces-in us
His Fruits, so that we Gain the
Reward of Everlasting Life.
May the Father of His Love,
and the Son of His Grace,
and the Holy Spirit with His Fellowship,
Grant us to be Worthy of the same.
Amen
|
