The Sermons of Johannes Tauler · 78 of 124

Second Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after

And they bring to Him one deaf and dumb; and they besought Him that He would lay His hand upon him* And taking him from the multitude apart. He put His fingers into his ears, and spitting, He touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, He groaned, and said to him: Ephpheta, which is. Be thou

We are to inquire to-day into man’s spiritual deafness. Since our first parents lent a willing ear to the voice of Satan, we are all deaf to the voice of the eternal Word of God within our souls. And yet we know full well that this divine Word is indescribably close to our souls, closer than our own thoughts, or our very nature to our conscious existence. Within our inmost souls dwells that divine Word, and He addresses us without ceasing. Man hears Him not, for he is afflicted with great deafness. Nor is this a blameless state of deafness, for we are like one to whom something is spoken, and who stops his ears lest he shall hear what it is. We are worse; we have done this so much that at last we have lost knowledge of ourselves, and are become dumb, that is to say, wholly stupid. Ask a worldly man about his interior life, and he is dumb — he knows not if there be any such a life. And the cause of it is that the enemy has crept into that soul, which has hearkened to him, and thus has become deaf and dumb.

Insight

Christ heals a deaf-mute man. Tauler reads the gospel inward. The deafness is your own. The eternal Word is closer to your inmost soul than your thoughts are to your conscious mind, addressing you without ceasing — and you don't hear it because you've stopped your own ears. Eventually you've done it so long you lose the knowledge that you ever did it, and the deafness now registers as normal. This is the specific kind of not-hearing that doesn't know it isn't hearing. The Buddhist tradition calls this avijja, fundamental unknowing — not a stupidity, exactly, but the original obscuration that hides what is actually here. The healing has to begin with realizing the condition is present.Mark 7:31-37; Augustine, Confessions X.27 ("you were within, I was without"); cf. Anguttara Nikaya on avijja.

Now how does Satan insinuate himself into the soul? Thou shalt detect him in all blameworthy conduct; his guidance is in all the deceit ever on the watch to take advantage of thy inclination to evil. Sometimes he urges thee to shun a certain pain that thou shouldst manfully bear; again, to seek forbidden joys, whispering inwardly in thy ear, showing pictures before the eyes of thy soul, all that thou mayst shut eyes and ears and soul to the eternal Word. If we but instantly turn away from the enemy’s allurements, his temptations are easily overcome. If, on the contrary, one dallies with the tempter, gazes upon his pictures, listens to his suggestions, then is he nigh to destruction; the temptation is grown very heavy. Resist instantly, turn from him instantly, and thou art close to a victory. Soon thy deafness shall be cured, and thou shalt hear the inner voice of the eternal Word.

This deafness afflicts not only people living in the world but also those called to a spiritual life, but who permit their souls to be occupied by love and enjoyment of created things. This is well known to the devil, who tells them things calculated to gratify their inclinations. Some are made deaf by their infatuation for their self-chosen devotional customs and outward observances, which link them strongly to creatures in a spirit of proprietorship. The clatter of all this hinders the soul from hearing the inner voice of the eternal Word. We know well, of course, that we must have approved spiritual exercises and follow them earnestly; and yet without a feeling of proprietorship. Such are devout prayers to God as well as holy meditation, by means of which Our sluggish nature is aroused; we are heartened to our work, and we are drawn inward to the Spirit; but never with an obstinate sense of ownership, and always looking inward to God in the depths of our souls. We should not imitate some men, who persist to their very deaths in certain external pious practices and use them in a wholly externized spirit, never seeking to go beyond this. If God wishes to speak to them, the ears of their souls are always preoccupied by other voices. Children, there are so many cases of this sort of spiritual deafness, that at the end of all things we shall be amazed at the revelation of it.

Now God’s word is never spoken in any man’s ears of whom it may not be said “If any one love Me, he will keep My word” (John xiv: 23). St. Gregory explains this: “Wouldst thou know if thou lovest God?

Take note of thy conduct when thou art tried. What dost thou do when pain comes on thee, or contradiction, or any other distress from round about thee? And how dost thou bear thyself in time of interior distress, when thy mental anguish is so sharp that thou knowest not whither to turn for relief? What is thy bearing in sudden storma of adversity; when beset with difficulties all unforeseen? If thou sbalt rest quiet in these visitations, thy soul resting in peace,, without any outburst of impatience, with no fault of word or act or even motion, then without doubt thou lovest God truly.” On the heart that truly loves, neither outward pain nor pleasure can make any impression. One may give to thee, one may take from thee, if only thy Beloved abide with thee, it is all one to thee, and thou restest in interior peace. Thy outward man weeps — that thou canst not help; the inner man rests content with God’s holy will. But if, alas, thou canst not stand this test, then art thou deaf — the divine Word will not be heard by thee.

Another test: art thou full of thanksgiving to God for the manifold favors He has conferred on thee, and on all mankind, and on all creatures in earth and heaven and never ceases to confer? And art thou especially thankful for the unspeakable gift of His Son’s holy humanity? Again, thy universal spiritual exercise should be sincere love of all mankind, not only the members of thy own community, but all priests and monks and nuns and sisters, and all humanity besides, of whatever state or condition; and this love should be active, and by no means confined in practice to thy own community, as far as lies in thy power. This universal love is of inestimable benefit; for whosoever are real enlightened friends of God, their hearts are melted with affection for all men living and dead. Had we no such lovers of mankind among us, our lot would be evil indeed. Futhermore, thou shouldst also show thy love by outward works, by making gifts, by speaking words of comfort and counsel, in so far as thy own real necessities will permit. And if thou art unable to give outward help, at least excite thy heart to say in all truth, that thou wouldst do so if it were within thy power. Here then are thy plain signs for true love, and they will show that thy heart is not deaf.

Insight

Gregory's test, quoted again. What do you do when pain comes, or contradiction, or unforeseen difficulty? How do you bear yourself in interior distress? If in those visitations the inner part rests in peace without outburst, fault of word, or even motion — then you love God truly. Tauler adds: the outward man weeps, that you cannot help; the inner rests content with God's will. The two can coexist. This matters. The test is not whether you stop feeling pain. It's whether the deeper part remains in possession of itself while pain runs through the surface. The Stoic image of the diamond inside a sea — surface continually moved by storms, the core unmoved — captures the same fact.Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job; Epictetus, Discourses III.10; Marcus Aurelius, Meditations IV.49.

And now comes our Lord to a man deaf and dumb, and He spiritually putteth His finger in his ears, and anoints his tongue with His holy spittal, and immediately the man’s soul can hear and can speak.

O children, wonderful words might be said of this act of our Lord; we content ourselves with naming the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, which thus enter the soul and are granted when it hearkens to God in very truth.

First is the spirit of fear, which is given us that we may renounce all self-will, all self-conceit. It teaches us to fly from every evil thing. After that is granted the gift of piety, making us tender-hearted, hindering all rash judgment, rendering us yielding and kindly towards all. The third touch of the Lord’s finger is the gift of knowledge, giving us an interior lesson of divine experience, and guiding us to know the inner ways of union with God’s holy will. The fourth is divine fortitude, by which the soul is so strengthened as to be able easily to suffer all pain for God’s sake, and courageously to undertake all heavy tasks in His honor. The fifth is holy counsel, making all who receive it lovable men, and acceptable guides to others. And now come two touches of the divine finger that are deep and strong, namely, understanding and wisdom; but as to these, one can more easily feel the worth of them than he can describe them. May God grant that our ears may thus be opened to His truth, and that we may ever hearken to His eternal Word. Amen.