Homily by St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.
44th Tract on John
[size=+2]D[/size]read and wondrous are all the things which our Lord Jesus Christ did, both His works and His words; the works, because He wrought them; the words, because they are deep. If, therefore, we consider the meaning of this work of His, we see that that man which was blind from his birth was a figure of mankind. This spiritual blindness was the consequence of the sin of the first man, from whom we all inherit by birth, not death only, but depravity also. For if blindness be unbelief, and faith, light, whom, when Christ came, did He find faithful? May, the Apostle who had himself been born of the race of which the Prophets came, saith: We also were by nature children of wrath, even as others. Eph. ii. 3. And if children of wrath, then children also of vengeance, children of damnation, children of hell. And wherefore so by nature, unless it were that the sin of the first man had made all his descendants to be born in sin, in that they partook of his nature? If, then, our nature bring sin with it, all men, according to the spirit, are born blind.
[size=+2]The Lord came; and what did He? He set before us a great mystery. Jesus spat on the ground, and made clay of the Spittle for the Word was made flesh. And He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay but yet that man saw not. He was anointed, indeed, but yet still he saw not. And He said unto him: Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam. Now, it was the duty of the Evangelist to impress upon us the name of this Pool, and therefore he saith Siloam, which is, by interpretation, Sent. Ye, my brethren, know Who is signified where it is written: (The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from his loins, until) He that shall be Sent cometh. Gen. xlix. 10. Yea, He it is, Who, if He had not been sent, we had never been sent loose out of the prison-house of sin. The blind man went his way therefore, and washed his eyes in that Pool, which is, by interpretation, Sent in other words, he was baptized in Christ. When, therefore, he had figuratively been baptized in Him Whom the Father hath Sent into the world, he came seeing. When he was anointed, he was perchance made a figure of a Catechumen.[/font][/size][/color]
[size=+2]We have heard this great mystery. Ask of a man: Art thou a Christian? He answereth thee: I am not. Then, if thou ask him: Art thou a pagan then, or a Jєω? And he still saith unto thee Nay and thou say Art thou then a Catechumen, though not yet one of the faithful? and he saith Yea, a Catechumen then there thou seest a man anointed, but not yet washed. With what hath he been anointed? Ask of him, and he will tell thee. Ask of him in Whom he believeth, and, being a Catechumen, he will say: In Christ. But, behold, I speak before both Faithful and Catechumens. What said I touching the. Spittle and the clay? I said for 'the Word was made flesh.' This the Catechumens hear, but it is not enough for them to be anointed; they must make haste to the washing, if they would have their eyes opened.[/font][/size][/color]
Topic: St. Augustine on today's gospel - the blind man and baptism (Read 5180 times)