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002 - The Attractive Power of God · Meister Eckharts Sermons First English Translation

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  Speaker 1: Sermon one of Meister Eckhardt's sermons, translated by Claude Field.
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  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by
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  Speaker 1: Eric Metzler. The Attractive Power of God, Saint John six
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  Speaker 1: forty four. No one can come unto me except the Father,
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  Speaker 1: which hath sent me draw him, our Lord Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 1: hath in the Gospel, spoken with his own blessed lips,
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  Speaker 1: these words which signify, no man can come to me
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  Speaker 1: unless my Father draw him. In another place, he says,
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  Speaker 1: I am in the Father, and the Father in me. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: whoever cometh to the Son cometh to the Father. Further,
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  Speaker 1: he saith, I and the Father are one. Therefore whomsoever
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  Speaker 1: the Father draweth, the Son draweth. Likewise, Saint Augustine also said,
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  Speaker 1: the works of the Holy Trinity are inseparable from each other. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: the Father draweth to the Son, and the Son draweth
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  Speaker 1: to the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost draweth to
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  Speaker 1: the Father and the Son. And each person of the Trinity,
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  Speaker 1: when he draweth to the two others, draweth to himself.
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  Speaker 1: Because the three are one. The Father draweth with the
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  Speaker 1: might of his power. The Son draweth with his unfathomable wisdom,
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  Speaker 1: and the Holy Ghost draweth with his love. Thus we
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  Speaker 1: are drawn by the Sacred Trinity with the chords of power, wisdom,
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  Speaker 1: and love. When we are drawn from an evil thing
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  Speaker 1: to a good thing, and from a good thing to
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  Speaker 1: a better and from a better thing to the best
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  Speaker 1: of all. Now the Father draws us from the evil
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  Speaker 1: of sin to the goodness of his grace, with the
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  Speaker 1: might of his measureless power and all the resources of
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  Speaker 1: his strength, in order to convert sinners, more than when
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  Speaker 1: he was about to make heaven and earth, which he
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  Speaker 1: made with his own power, without any help from any creature.
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  Speaker 1: But when he is about to convert a sinner, he
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  Speaker 1: always needs the sinner's help. He converts thee not without
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  Speaker 1: thy help, As Saint Augustine says, Therefore, deadly sin is
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  Speaker 1: a breach of nature, a death of the soul, a
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  Speaker 1: disquiet of the heart, a weakening of power, a blindness
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  Speaker 1: of the sense, a sorrow of the spirit, a death
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  Speaker 1: of grace, a death of virtue, a death of good works,
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  Speaker 1: an aberration of the spirit, a fellowship with the devil,
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  Speaker 1: an expulsion of Christianity, a dungeon of hell, a banquet
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  Speaker 1: of Hell, an eternity of Hell. Therefore, if thou committest
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  Speaker 1: a deadly sin, thou art guilty of all these and
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  Speaker 1: incurrest their consequences. Regarding the first point, deadly sin is
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  Speaker 1: a breach of nature, for every man's nature is an
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  Speaker 1: image and likeness and mirror of the trinity of Godhead
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  Speaker 1: and of Eternity. All these together are marred by a
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  Speaker 1: deadly sin. Therefore it is a breach of nature. Such
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  Speaker 1: sin is also the death of the soul, for death
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  Speaker 1: is to lose life. Now God is the life of
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  Speaker 1: the soul, and deadly sin separates from God. Therefore it
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  Speaker 1: is a death of the soul. Deadly sin is also
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  Speaker 1: a disquiet of the heart. For everything w u nowhere
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  Speaker 1: except in its own proper place, and the proper resting
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  Speaker 1: place of the soul is nowhere except in God. As
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  Speaker 1: Saint Augustine saith Lord, thou hast made us for thyself.
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  Speaker 1: Therefore we may not rest anywhere save in thee. Deadly
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  Speaker 1: sin is also a weakening of the powers, for by
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  Speaker 1: his own power, no one can throw off the load
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  Speaker 1: of sin, nor restrain himself from committing sin. It is
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  Speaker 1: also a blindness of the sins for it prevents a
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  Speaker 1: man recognizing how brief is the space of time that
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  Speaker 1: can be spent in the pleasure of voluptuousness, and how
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  Speaker 1: long are the pains of hell and the joys of heaven.
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  Speaker 1: Deadly sin is also a death of all grace, for
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  Speaker 1: whenever such a sin is committed, the soul is bereft
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  Speaker 1: of all grace. Similarly, it is the death of all
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  Speaker 1: virtue and good works, and an aberration of the spirit.
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  Speaker 1: It is also a fellowship with the devil, for everything
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  Speaker 1: hath fellowship with its like, and sin maketh the soul
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  Speaker 1: and satan resemble each other. It is also an expulsion
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  Speaker 1: of Christianity, for it depriveth the sinner of all the
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  Speaker 1: prophet that comes from Christianity. It is also a dungeon
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  Speaker 1: of hell, for if the soul remain in the purity
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  Speaker 1: in which God created her, neither angel nor devil may
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  Speaker 1: rob her of her freedom, but sin confines it in hell.
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  Speaker 1: Sin is also an eternity of hell, for eternity is
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  Speaker 1: in the will, and were it not in the will,
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  Speaker 1: it would not be in the consciousness. Now people say
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  Speaker 1: when they commit sin that they do not intend to
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  Speaker 1: do so. Always they intend to turn away from sin.
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  Speaker 1: That is just as though a man were to kill
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  Speaker 1: himself and suppose that he could make himself alive again
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  Speaker 1: by his own strength. That is, however, impossible. But to
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  Speaker 1: turn from sin by one's own power and come to
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  Speaker 1: God is still much more impossible. Therefore, whosoever is to
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  Speaker 1: turn from sin and come to God in his heavenly
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  Speaker 1: kingdom must be drawn by the heavenly Father with the
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  Speaker 1: might of his divine power. The Father also draws the Son,
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  Speaker 1: who comes to help us with his grace, by stimulating
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  Speaker 1: our free will to turn away from and hate sin,
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  Speaker 1: which has drawn us aside from God and from the
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  Speaker 1: immutable goodness of the Godhead. Then if she is willing,
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  Speaker 1: he pours the gift of his grace into the soul,
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  Speaker 1: which renounces all her misery and sin, and all her
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  Speaker 1: works become living. Now this grace springs from the center
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  Speaker 1: of Godhead and the Father's heart, and flows perpetually, nor
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  Speaker 1: ever ceases. If the soul obeys his everlasting love, therefore
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  Speaker 1: he saith. In the prophets, I have loved THEE with
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  Speaker 1: an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn
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  Speaker 1: THEE out of the overflow of his universal love. He
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  Speaker 1: desires to draw all to himself and to his only
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  Speaker 1: begotten son, and to the Holy Ghost in the joy
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  Speaker 1: of the heavenly Kingdom. Now we should know that before
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  Speaker 1: our Lord Jesus Christ was born, the Heavenly Father drew
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  Speaker 1: men with all his might for five thousand, two hundred years,
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  Speaker 1: and yet, as far as we know, brought not one
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  Speaker 1: into the heavenly Kingdom. So when the Son saw that
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  Speaker 1: the Father had thus strongly drawn men, and even wearied himself,
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  Speaker 1: and yet not seated, he said to the Father, I
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  Speaker 1: will draw them with the chords of a man. It
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  Speaker 1: was as though he said, I see well, Father, that thou,
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  Speaker 1: with all thy might, canst not succeed. Therefore will I
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  Speaker 1: myself draw them with the chords of a man. Therefore
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  Speaker 1: the Son came down from heaven and was incarnate of
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  Speaker 1: a virgin, and took upon him all our bodily weaknesses
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  Speaker 1: except sin and folly into which Adam had cast us.
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  Speaker 1: And out of all his words and works, and limbs
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  Speaker 1: and nerves. He made a chord and drew us soskillfully
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  Speaker 1: and so heartily that the bloody sweat poured from his
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  Speaker 1: sacred body. And when he had drawn men without ceasing
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  Speaker 1: for three and thirty years. He saw the beginnings of
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  Speaker 1: a movement and the redemption of all things that would follow.
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  Speaker 1: Therefore he said, and I, if I be lifted up
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  Speaker 1: on the cross, will draw all men unto me. Therefore
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  Speaker 1: he was stretched upon the cross and laid aside all
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  Speaker 1: his glory and whatever might hinder his drawing men. Now
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  Speaker 1: there are three natural means of attraction with which Christ
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  Speaker 1: on the cross drew to himself between the third and
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  Speaker 1: the ninth hour, more people than he had drawn before
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  Speaker 1: during the three and thirty years of his life. The
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  Speaker 1: first means by which he draws is affinity, that affinity
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  Speaker 1: which brings creatures of the same species together and like
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  Speaker 1: to its like. With this cord of affinity, he drew
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  Speaker 1: men to the Godhead, whom he always resembles, in order
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  Speaker 1: that God may draw more to himself and forget his wrath.
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  Speaker 1: The sun seth beloved Father, seeing that thou wouldst not
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  Speaker 1: forgive sins because of all the former sacrifices offered lo
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  Speaker 1: eye thine only begotten son, who resemble thy Godhead in
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  Speaker 1: all things, in whom thou hast hidden all the riches
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  Speaker 1: of divine love. I come to the cross, that I
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  Speaker 1: may be a living sacrifice before thine eyes, that out
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  Speaker 1: of thy fatherly compassion, thou mayst bend and look on
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  Speaker 1: me thine only son, and on my blood flowing from
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  Speaker 1: my wounds, and slake the fiery sword with which in
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  Speaker 1: the angel's hands thou hast barred the way to Paradise,
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  Speaker 1: that all who have repented and bewailed their sins through
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  Speaker 1: me may enter therein the second means of attraction which
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  Speaker 1: he used is emptiness. As we see, when we place
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  Speaker 1: one end of a hollow pipe in water and draw
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  Speaker 1: up it by suction, the water runs up up the
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  Speaker 1: stem to the mouth, because the emptiness of the pipe
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  Speaker 1: from which the air has been drawn draws the water
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  Speaker 1: to itself. So our Lord Jesus Christ made himself empty
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  Speaker 1: that he might wisely draw all things to himself. Therefore
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  Speaker 1: he let all the blood that was in his body
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  Speaker 1: flow out, and so attracted to himself all the compassion
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  Speaker 1: and grace that was in his father's heart, so completely
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  Speaker 1: and profitably as to suffice for the whole world. Accordingly,
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  Speaker 1: the father said, my compassion will I never forget. And further,
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  Speaker 1: now my son be bold and strong, that thou mayst
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  Speaker 1: lead the people altogether into the land which I have promised,
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  Speaker 1: the land of heavenly joys, the land which floweth with
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  Speaker 1: the honey of my Godhead and with the milk of
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  Speaker 1: thy manhood. The third means of attraction is this that,
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  Speaker 1: as we see the Son draw up the mists from
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  Speaker 1: the earth to heaven, so the heart of our Lord
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ waxed hot as a fiery furnace upon the cross,
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  Speaker 1: so fiercely burned the flame of love which he felt
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  Speaker 1: towards the whole world. Thus, with the heat of his love,
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  Speaker 1: from which nothing could be hidden, so intense was it,
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  Speaker 1: he drew the whole world to himself. Never did our
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  Speaker 1: Lord Jesus Christ display such great love as when he
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  Speaker 1: suffered the torture of the cross, when he gave his
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  Speaker 1: life for us and washed our sins with his precious blood. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: with the cords of love, he drew us all to
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  Speaker 1: himself upon the cross, that those who feel the drawing
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  Speaker 1: of his death and martyrdom might live with him in
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  Speaker 1: everlasting felicity. Now, when the Holy Spirit saw that the
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  Speaker 1: only begotten Son of the Father had drawn so wisely
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  Speaker 1: that he had won to himself all things in heaven
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  Speaker 1: and earth. He also felt impelled by his own love
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  Speaker 1: and kindness to draw. Therefore, he said, I will also
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  Speaker 1: draw with my cords and my net. So he made
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  Speaker 1: a net of the seven high attributes of the Father,
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  Speaker 1: of the seven Graces, of the Son, of his own
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  Speaker 1: seven gifts, and of the seven Christian virtues. Thus he
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  Speaker 1: assures us that we shall never perish, for we are
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  Speaker 1: so caught by his goodness that he expels from us
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  Speaker 1: all the evil works of the flesh and produces in
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  Speaker 1: us his fruits, so that we gain the reward of
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  Speaker 1: everlasting life. May the Father of his Love, and the
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  Speaker 1: Son of his grace, and the Holy Spirit with his fellowship,
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  Speaker 1: grant us to be worthy of the same amen and
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  Speaker 1: of sermon one recording by Eric Metzler, Albuquerque, New Mexico.