June 12

Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and troubled himself, and said, where have ye laid him?—John 11:32-34.

SOMETHING he hath intimated to us, by groaning in spirit and troubling himself. For who indeed could trouble him, but himself? Therefore, my brethren, in the first place mark here his power, and then inquire the signification. Thou art troubled, against thy will; Christ, because he willed to be troubled. Jesus hungered, it is true, but because he willed it: Jesus was sorrowful, it is true, but because he willed it: Jesus died, it is true, but because he willed it: it rested in his power to be thus and thus affected or not affected. For the Word took soul and flesh, fitting to itself the nature of whole man in the Unity of Person. Thus the apostle's soul also was enlightened by the Word, Peter's soul was enlightened by the Word, Paul's soul, the souls of the other apostles, of the holy prophets, all were by the Word enlightened: but of none of them is it said, The Word was made flesh; of none is it said, I and the Father are one. Soul and flesh of Christ with the Word of God is one person, is one Christ. And consequently, where supreme power is, there the weakness is handled according to the sovereign pleasure of the will: this is the meaning of, Troubled himself.

I have spoken of the power, now mark the signification. That person is an heinous sinner, whom the four days death and that burial betoken. What meaneth it then, that Christ troubled himself, but to betoken to thee how thou oughtest to be troubled when thou art weighed and pressed down by so huge a load of sin? For thou hast taken note of thyself, hast seen thyself to be guilty, hast taken account with thyself: "This have I done, and God spared me: I heard the gospel and despised it: this have I committed, and he forbore me: I was washed, and fell back again to the same wickedness: what am I to do? whither to go? which way to escape? While thou thus speakest, it is even Christ that groans in indignation within thee, because it is the groan of faith. In that groan of displeasure it is shown that there is hope of resurrection. If faith itself be within, in it Christ groaneth: if faith in us, Christ in us. For what else saith the apostle, That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts! Consequently, thy faith concerning Christ is Christ in thy heart. Of a piece with this, is that incident of his sleeping in the ship: when the disciples were in jeopardy, at the very point of being shipwrecked, they came to him and awaked him: Christ arose and rebuked the winds and the waves, and there was a great calm. So fares it also with thee. The winds enter thy heart, wherein thou art on a voyage, wherein thou art passing this life, like as it were a stormy and perilous sea: the winds enter, they stir up the waves, they trouble the ship. What are the winds? Thou hast been reproached, thou art angry; the reproach is the wind, thine anger the waves: thou art in jeopardy, art setting thyself to answer, setting thyself to render railing for railing; even now the ship is nigh to be wrecked: wake the sleeping Christ! For the reason why thou art tossed with waves, and preparing to render evil for evil, is, that Christ is asleep in the ship. To wit, that Christ is asleep in thy heart, is, thy forgetfulness of thy faith. For if thou wake Christ, that is, recollect thy faith, then when Christ as it were awaketh in thy heart, what saith he? "To me they said, Thou hast a devil, and I prayed for them: the Lord is reviled and suffereth it; the servant is reviled, and is indignant! But thou wouldst be avenged. What? Am I avenged?" When thy faith saith these things to thee, it is as it were a command given to the winds and waves, and there is a great calm. As then to wake Christ in the ship, is, to wake up thy faith; so, in the heart of a man who is pressed by a great load and custom of sin, in the heart of a man who hath transgressed even the holy gospel, who hath set at naught eternal punishments, let Christ groan indignantly, let the man rebuke himself. Hear yet more: Christ wept, let the man weep for himself. For why did Christ weep, but to teach man to weep? Wherefore did he groan for indignation and trouble himself, but to show that the faith of a man who has good cause to be displeased with himself ought to groan, as one may say, indignantly, in self-accusation for his evil works, that so the custom of sinning may be forced to give way to the violence of repentance.