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Chapter 18MedVC.1.18

De apertione libri in synagoga

A Method for Meditating on Christ's Life

The author explains that from this point forward the meditations will focus on selected deeds and words of Christ, offering a practical method of imaginative contemplation centered on his daily actions and especially his face.

Up to this point, by the grace of God, we have discussed the life of the Lord Jesus in an orderly way — but only slightly, or as if we had said nothing at all about the things that happened to him or were done through him, leaving most of them aside. From now on, though, I do not intend to go on that way. For it would be far too long to reduce into meditations everything he said and did, especially since it ought to be our constant concern to carry the deeds of Christ with us at all times — in the manner of blessed Cecilia — hidden in the secret place of our heart.1 So let us gather some things from his deeds, and in meditating on them let us dwell with him constantly — all the way up to his passion. For from that point on, nothing at all should be left out.2 But there are other things we should not abandon entirely — rather, we ought to meditate on them according to place and time. I do not intend, however, to treat the meditations at greater length from here on — only very rarely. For it is enough that you place before the eyes of your mind some deed he performed or word he spoke, and that you converse with him and become familiar with him.3 For in this there seems to be a greater sweetness, and a more powerful devotion — as though the whole fruit of these meditations consists in this: that everywhere and always you contemplate him devoutly in some action of his — how he stands with his disciples, how he sits with sinners, how he speaks to them, how he preaches to the crowd, how he walks, how he sits, how he sleeps, how he keeps watch, how he eats, how he ministers to others, how he heals the sick, and how he works other miracles.4 In these and similar scenes, consider all his gestures — and above all, contemplate his face, if you can bring yourself to imagine it. That, more than anything I have mentioned, seems to me the most difficult thing of all.5

Christ's Hidden Humility in the Early Ministry

After his baptism Jesus gradually and humbly began to reveal himself through quiet teaching, deliberately deferring to John the Baptist's public ministry as an example of profound humility.

Pay attention to this as well, carefully. Perhaps he himself will look on you with kindness. And so let these serve you as a resource and as instruction for all the things I will recount. Wherever I tell them, if I pass over or set aside certain particular meditations, you may return to this place, and it will be enough for you.6 Let us now turn to the account of what follows. After the Lord Jesus returned from his baptism, the Teacher of humility lived humbly, as he had before; yet gradually he began to reveal himself to some, by teaching and preaching in a low-key way. For he is not said to have taken up the office of preaching publicly for the whole following year — that is, until the wedding miracle, which took place on the same day he was baptized, a year having elapsed.✦✦78 And if at any time he did…?9 He was preaching, and the disciples were baptizing; nevertheless, before John's imprisonment, he did not yet devote himself so fully to the work of preaching, in his own person and through his followers, as he did afterwards. In this he offers us an example of astonishing humility, for he humbly deferred to John, placing himself far below him in the office of preaching — as can be devoutly gathered or inferred from what was said above.✦✦10

The Book Opened in the Synagogue

In the synagogue on the Sabbath, Jesus reads from Isaiah, declares the Scripture fulfilled in himself, and astonishes all present with his humble beauty and eloquence, fulfilling the prophet's words.

He does not, therefore, rattle on with shouting and pomp, but humbly and quietly. On a certain Sabbath day, then, while he was in the synagogue with the rest of the Jewish assembly, he stood up to read from the book of Isaiah, and he read the passage where it is written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me.✦ And when he had closed the book, he said: This scripture has been fulfilled today in your ears.✦ Notice, then, how humbly he takes on the role of reader, and with a kind and gentle countenance reads among them and explains the Scripture, and how humbly he begins to reveal himself, saying: Today this scripture has been fulfilled — that is, I am the one it speaks of.✦ And everyone's attention was fixed on him, because of the power of his words and his humble and seemly appearance; for he was most beautiful, and he was also most eloquent. And concerning both of these things, it had been spoken beforehand through the prophet: Fair in beauty beyond the sons of men; grace is poured out upon your lips.✦

Read the original Latin

Hucusque, per Dei gratiam, vitam Domini Jesu ordinate tetigimus, parum vel quasi nihil de his, quae sibi contigerunt, vel per ipsum facta sunt, omittentes: sed non sic deinceps facere intendo. Nimis enim essetlongum omnia, quae dixit et fecit, in meditationes redigere, maxime quia nostrae sollicitudinis debet esse, facta Chrisli continue, more beatae Cteciliae, portare in secreto pectoris nostri. Igilur aliqua ex gestis ejus coUigamus, in quibus meditando versemur assidue, et hoc usque ad passionem suam: ex tunc enim nihil est omittendum. Alia etiam non debemus ex toto dimittere, quin pro loco et tempore meditemur in eis. Meditationes autem non intendo deinceps prolixius tractare, nisi perraro. Sufficit enim, quod rem per eum gestam vel dictam ante oculos mentis ponas, et quod cum eo couverseris, et familiaris ei fias. Nam in hoc videtur haberi major dulcedo, et devoUo efficacior, et quasi totus fructus harum meditationum consistere, ut ubique et semper intuearis eum devote in aliquo actu suo, ut quando stat cum discipulis suis, quando cum peccatoribus, quando etiamloquitur eis,quando praedicat turbae, quando vadit, et quando sedet, quando dormit, et quando vigilat, quando comedit, et quando aliis ministrat, quando sanat aegrotos, et quando aUa facit rairacula. In his autera et similibus considera omnes gestus suos, maxirae conteraplans faciera ejus, si potes imaginarij quod super omnia praedicta mihi videtur difficilius.

lUud etiam atlente observa. si forte ipse te cum benignitate respiciat. Et tibi Quod kec sint pro recursu et doctrina omnium quae et ubicumque narravero, si aUter bns aninon-expressero singulares meditationes,velistas ^*d^"' omisero, recurras ad hunc locum, et sufficit tibi. Ad narrationem autem sequentium accedamus. Postquam ergo Dominus Jesus rediit a baptismo, conversabatur humilitatis Magister humiliter, ut ante solitus erat: tamen paulatim se manifestare aliquibus docendo et praedicando occulte. Non enim per totum annum sequentem proedicationis officium publice dicitur assumpsisse j videlicet usque ad rairaculum de nuptiis, quod fuit eodem die, quando fuit baptizatus, anno revoluto. Et si aliquando pra? dicabat, et discipuli baplizabant, non tamen adeo praedicationem ipsam per se et suos frequentabat ante Joannis incarceraUonem, sicut post: ex hoc nobis tribuens stupendae humilitatis exemplum, dum Joanni se longe et longe inferiori in praedicationis officio, prout ex superioribus pie percipi aut cogitari potest, humiUter deferebat.

Non ergo crepit cum boatu et pompa, sed hurailiter et paulaUm. Quadam ergo die sabbati ^, dum esset in synagoga cum aliis in ecclesia Judaeorum, snrrexit legere in Ubro Isaiae, et legit locum, ubi scriptum est^; Spiritus Domini super me, propter quod unxit me, evangelizare pauperibus misit me. Et tunc cum plicuisset librum, dixit: Hcec scriptura impleta est hodie in auribus vestris. Conspice ergo eum, quomodo humiliter suscipiens lectoris officium, benigno et placido vultu legit inter eos, et exponit Scripturam, et quomodo humiliter se incipit manifestare, dum dicit; Ho'Jie impleta est hcec scriptura, id est, ego sum ille, de quo loquitur. Et ora omnium erant in eum intenta propter efficaciam verborum, aspectum humilem et decorum; fuit enim pulcherrimus, fuit etiam eloquentissimus. Et de utroque sic per Prophetam dictum fuerat: ^ Speciosus forma prce filiis hominum, diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩John.2.1-John.2.11 — On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, John.2.2 — And Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding. John.2.3 — And when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." John.2.4 — And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." John.2.5 — His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." John.2.6 — Now there were six stone water jars standing there, used for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding two or three measures. John.2.7 — Jesus said to them, 'Fill the jars with water.' And they filled them to the brim. John.2.8 — "And he said to them, 'Now draw some out, and take it to the head steward.' And they brought it." John.2.9 — When the master of the banquet tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew—the master of the banquet called the bridegroom John.2.10 — and says to him, 'Every man serves the good wine first, and when they have drunk freely, then the lesser. You have kept the good wine until now.' John.2.11 — Jesus did this, the first of the signs, at Cana in Galilee, and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
  2. ↩Matt.3.13-Matt.3.17;Mark.1.9-Mark.1.11;Luke.3.21-Luke.3.22 — Then Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him. Matt.3.14 — But John tried to prevent him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' Matt.3.15 — But Jesus answered him, "Permit it now, for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted him. Matt.3.16 — And when Jesus had been baptized, he immediately went up from the water. And behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. Matt.3.17 — And behold, a voice from the heavens said, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' Mark.1.9 — And it came about in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. Mark.1.10 — And immediately, as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending to him. Mark.1.11 — And a voice came from the heavens: "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." Luke.3.21 — Now when all the people had been baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, Luke.3.22 — and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, the Beloved; in you I am well pleased."
  3. ↩Matt.4.12;Mark.1.14 — Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. Mark.1.14 — Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God.
  4. ↩John.3.22-John.3.30 — After this, Jesus and his disciples came to the Judean countryside, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing. John.3.23 — Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people kept coming and being baptized. John.3.24 — For John had not yet been thrown into prison. John.3.25 — Then a dispute arose between John's disciples and a Jew over purification. John.3.26 — They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the one who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is coming to him." John.3.27 — John answered and said, 'A person cannot receive even one thing unless it has been given to him from heaven.' John.3.28 — You yourselves bear witness to me that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent ahead of him.' John.3.29 — The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine is now complete. John.3.30 — He must increase, but I must decrease.
  5. ↩Isa.61.1;Luke.4.18 — The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and release to prisoners. Luke.4.18 — "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to announce good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send the oppressed away in freedom."
  6. ↩Luke.4.21 — And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
  7. ↩Luke.4.21 — And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
  8. ↩Ps.44.3;Ps.46.2 — For it was not by their own sword that they took the land, nor did their own arm save them; but it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them. Ps.46.2 — God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩MS reads 'essetlongum' (likely scribal error for 'esset longum'); 'Chrisli' and 'Cteciliae' are MS spellings normalized to standard forms.
  2. 2 ↩MS reads 'Igilur' (normalized to 'Igitur'); 'coUigamus' normalized to 'colligamus'.
  3. 3 ↩MS reads 'couverseris' (normalized to 'converseris').
  4. 4 ↩MS reads 'devouo' (normalized to 'devotio'); 'etiamloquitur' likely for 'etiam loquitur'; 'aUa' and 'rairacula' are MS spellings normalized to 'alia' and 'miracula'.
  5. 5 ↩MS reads 'autera' (normalized to 'autem'); 'maxirae' to 'maxime'; 'conteraplans' to 'contemplans'; 'faciera' to 'faciem'; 'imaginarij' to 'imaginari'.
  6. 6 ↩The source text contains several uncertain or corrupt readings: 'kec' (possibly a corruption), 'auter', 'bns', 'aninon', 'velistas', and 'd' with superscript. The translation renders the most plausible intended sense: the author is telling the reader that the material provided will serve as a sufficient resource even if some individual meditations are omitted.
  7. 7 ↩The source contains 'j' (uncertain, possibly an abbreviation) and 'rairaculum' (likely a corruption of 'miraculum'). 'j' is omitted as unintelligible; 'rairaculum' is rendered as 'miracle' based on context (the wedding at Cana).
  8. 8 ↩The chronology here is difficult: the text seems to say the wedding miracle occurred on the same day as Jesus's baptism but also 'anno revoluto' (a year having elapsed). This may reflect a devotional compression rather than a strict historical claim.
  9. 9 ↩'pra' is an uncertain reading — possibly an abbreviation or corruption of 'praedicabat' or similar. The sentence appears incomplete or corrupt.
  10. 10 ↩'baplizabant' is likely a corruption of 'baptizabant'; 'incarceraUonem' is likely a corruption of 'incarcerationem'; 'humiUter' is likely a corruption of 'humiliter'. All corrected in translation.

Meditationes Vitae Christi (Pseudo-Bonaventure), Castilian court context companion

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