Homily 16, Quinquagesima Sunday

by: Anne B. Thompson (Editor)

from: The Northern Homily Cycle  2008

Dominica in quinquagesima. Evangelium secundum Lucam. In illo tempore:1 Assumpsit Jhesus duodecim disciplis suis et ait illis: Ecce ascendimus Jerosolimam et consummabuntur. Et cetera.2
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 155 160 165 170 175 180 185 190 195 200 205 210 215 220 225 230 235 240	Saynte Luke tellis us that Criste himselve Toke to him his dissiples twelve And saide, “To Jerusalem we wende And all thinge bese broght to ende. That es writen in prophecye Of Goddes Sonne that man sall bye. To haythen men he bese bekende That sare sall pyne him with thair hende. For all sall him with schenschip schende And do him wa als men unhende; And when thai have done him this wa Than sall tay atte laste him sla, And he sall rise the thrid daie.” Bot what Criste ment never wist thaie: Wist thai noght what Criste walde mene For nane of thaim had fandid bene. When Jhesu Criste had saide this sawe, Towarde a cytee gon he drawe That Jericho was callid than, And with him many a man. And als thai yede be the strete A pure blynde man gon thai mete, And he spirid wha yede be the waie? “Jesus the prophete,” for sothe saide thaie. And he cryed als blynde er wone And sayde, “A, Jhesu, David sone, Of me that es blinde have mercye.” And the folk bad him be still his crye, Bot mare and mare aye cryed he, And saide, “Jesue, thou rewe on me.” And Jhesus stinte and stude him still And bad bringe the blind man him till. When he was nere Criste saide him to “What will tow that I to thee do?” “Lorde,” he saide, “gife me my sight.” And Criste thare schewid Goddes might And saide, “I bid thee that thou se For thi trouthe has savid thee.” And als swithe had he his sight, And folowid Criste and louid his might. And all the folk that sawe that dede Loued God and his godhede. This es the Gospell of todaye, Als man in Ynglisse tonge mai saye.    Here on spekis Saynte Gregorye, And saise that Criste schewid openlye His passyoune lange before the tyme, To gerre the apostles trowe in hyme. For he schewid on whatkin wyse He suld first dye and sithen ryse Fra dede to lyve, to gere thaim fande And se that all his worde suld stande, When thai sawe him right swa be graythid Als he before to thaim had saide: That thai might trowe thorghe pinynge And be right sikir of his risinge; For when thai sawe his pynes all Als he said suld on him fall Of his risinge borde thaim be sikir And therof nouther doute ne flikir For he saide he suld first drye Full harde paynes, and sithen dye And ryse apon the thrid daie Fra dede to lyve, als wha saye “Sikir maye ye of mi risinge be When ye all this with eye se.” Yitt es thare another enchesoune Whi Criste thaim schewid his passyoune: For his dissiples suld be resoune To thole harde dede be balde and boune, When thai sawe thaire maistire take Gladli his dede withouten sake. Forthi before thaim warnid he And talde thaim all how it suld be: First pynid and sithen slayne To ger thaim to thaire dede be bayne. Before thaim to dede he yede, And gave thaim ensaumpil of his dede, How thai suld thole willfulli For his lufe pyne, and sithen dye. For thaire hele than tholid he Harde pyne apon the rude tre. Bot for thai might noght undirstande What he ment with worde tellande, With dede he schewid thaim his might And gave a blynd man his sight. Forthi will we luke forthermare What oure Gospel menes thare, Thare it is saide Criste yede into A towne that was callid Jericho, And fand bi the gate sittand A blynde man on him fast calland. And Criste stude and gave him sight, And schewid bi this dede full right, That all mankynde with synne was blynde, For na man coude the right waie fynde To hevene, or Crist come to do Oure aller nedes in Jerycho. Jericho, es for to saye On Ynglis, mone that chaunges aie And it betaknes the werld thatt es Chaungeand with synne and wickidnes. This wickid werld es so chaungeabile That nathinge es tharein stabile For now es leve and now es lathe, And now er we gladde and now wrathe. Now er we hale, now er we seke, And now wode and now meke, Now calde and now hate; And swa dwellis never a thinge in state And for this werld es swa chaungeande Be the mone we may it undirstand. For the mone ye wate wele chaunges aye Swa duse this werld bath night and daye And Jerycho betaknes the mone On Ynglihsse when it es undone: And forthi may we undirstand Bi Jericho this werld chaungeand. Thidirward yede Criste full right And gafe a blynde man his sight. When he come for to hele mankynde That Adam synne made gasteli blynde; For gasteli blynde may be callde He that canne noght the right wai halde. That was sene on oure fadir Adame That broght his ospringe all in blame: For thorghe him yede mankynde ille Aye to Jesus come us till, And broght us into the right waie Unto the blisse that lastis aie; And gave us sight this waie to halde For right trouthe gasteli sight es callde. For trouthe of Hali Kirk es sight That ledes man to lemes light, Into the blisse that graithid es To thaim that lives in rightwisnes. Bot for mankynde held noght the waie, Forthi sais oure Gospell todaie That this blind man gon noght sete In the waie, bot all besyde the strete. Als to saie mankynde was oute gane Of the strete for sight was fra him tane, Aye to God gave him gasteli sight And broght hin into wayes right. In synne he fand him blynd sittand, Bot Criste him kende full stiffe to stand With rightwisnes ageyn the fendis, That rightwismen wit schame schendis. The folk that yede be the strete Bad this blynde man his cryinge lete. Thare maye we se that in oure bedes, Bathe in kirk and other stedes. Evyle thoghtes comes us in, And biddes us of oure prayers blynne. Forthi suld we ensaumpile take Of this blinde man prayere to make, That callid on Criste and wald noght lete His cryinge, for folk that yede be the strete. The mare thai bad him leeve his crye, The mare he cryed Criste mercye. And for he callid on Criste swa fast, He gave him his sight atte last; And so duse Criste with Cristen man That callis on him als he can; If he leve noght for thoghtes yll His bedes, Criste grauntis him at his will. Bot now es many a man that prayes And his thoght to wyde strayes, That he ne wote noght what he sayes; For he thinkes on werldes playes: He thinkes of halles and of boures, And now of castelles and now of toures, And now of fayres and marchawndise, And so his prayers he forlyes. How suld Jhesu here his prayere When he himself will it noght here? Of swilk prayers Jhesus ne kepes: Thaire lippis spekis and the hert slepes.    We find writen of Saynte Bernarde That anes fore to a cytee warde Ane erande in his abbaye nedes, And sawe a tyllman do his dedes. And Saynte Bernard bad him wele spede And spake to him of sawle mede; And als he spak on this manere, He askid him what was his prayere. He saide, “Prayere canne I nane Bot the Pater Noster allane.” And Saynte Bernarde answerd than, And sayde unto that ilk tyllman: “What thinkes thou, godeman, all waies, When thou thi Pater Noster sayes?” He saide, “Than es all my thoght On Criste that me on rode boght.” Than Saynte Bernarde sayde him to: “Full wele es thee that so maie do For so ne fares it noght of me That man of ordir suld be; For my thoght flyes ferre and nere Umstonte, when I make my prayere.” This tyllmane saide, “That ware ferlye That thou suld be wers man than I: Thou hase gode pees in thine abbai, Thou suld noght late thi thoghtes straye.” And Saynte Bernard answerd than And saide, “Thou ert a haly man; Bot whether fande if thou maye Withouten any evyle thoght saye A Pater Noster all this daye And I sall give thee my pallfraie.” And wha was fayne bot this tillman? And Pater Noster he began, Bot or he might thre wordes saie His thoght was all on this palfraie. “Lorde,” he thoght, “Whether I sall have, Bathe sadil and bridil and the knave?” This Pater Noster was saide sone, Bot he sawe wele when he had done That he thoght thoghtis tharein, And he wald it eftsones begynne. This hors was in his thoght allwaies, So he it tynt and all the hernayes. For Saynte Bernard wist what he thoght Forthi of him gatte he right noght Thus fares it now of folk full fele That thinkes mare of thaire catele In prayere than of thaire saule hele And swagates thaimself thai tele; For God will noght thaire prayere here That praies him on swilk manere. Forthi es gude that we oute steke Thoghtes that maie oure prayers breke, And sett oure thoghtes in Cristis woundes That for us tholid harde stoundes. For than will he us gladli here Aye when we make oure prayere, And freli graunte us oure bone And all oure langinge gerre be done. Oure Lorde fullfill oure langynge And till his blisse he us all bringe. Amen.	Drew towards him go will be brought to pass shall redeem will be given up sorely; torture; hands bring him to destruction; (t-note) woe; cruel they; slay understood put to the test saying went poor asked who went in truth accustomed have pity stopped commanded do you wish belief at once praised divinity (t-note) (t-note) (see note) revealed make; believe in what manner then death; to make them understand be upheld prepared [his] suffering certain would befall him ought waver suffer as if to say reason So that; according to reason suffer; death; be bold and ready death; guilt Therefore ahead of time tortured; then make; ready went And offered them an example through his death suffer willingly healing; salvation cross But because by speaking words power examine before all that was necessary for us (see note) moon signifies pleasing; hateful angry healthy; sick irritable in one state know explicated spiritually keep to That was shown through offspring went; (t-note) Forever until Because spiritual insight is called true faith rays of light prepared because did not sit As if to say; gone out taken until taught; resolutely (t-note) destroy (see note) cease prayers places tell; cease; (t-note) follow the example stop despite cease; on account of So that; knows worldly pleasures bowers forfeits To such; attends (see note) once; travelled toward his abbey’s business ploughman; work greeted him the soul’s reward know Except for the Our Father alone same do you think about; at any rate it goes not thus for me Who ought to behave like a man in holy orders Frequently; (see note) That would be marvelous But just the same see if you can steed who was happy if not this ploughman before Which of these will I have servant would; again lost; harness knew many are more mindful; possessions thus; deceive; (t-note) thrust out interrupt hard times of suffering request desire; cause [May]

[Homily 17 not included in this edition. See Explanatory Notes.]

Go To Homily 18, Second Sunday in Lent

Footnotes

HOMILY 16, QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY: FOOTNOTES

1 Quinquagesima Sunday. The Gospel according to Luke. In that time

2 Latin rubric (Luke 18:31–43): Then Jesus took unto him the twelve, and said to them: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished [which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of man. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and scourged, and spit upon: And after they have scourged him, they will put him to death; and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things, and this word was hid from them, and they understood not the things that were said. Now it came to pass, when he drew nigh to Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the way side, begging. And when he heard the multitude passing by, he asked what this meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying: Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And they that went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out much more: Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus standing, commanded him to be brought unto him. And when he was come near, he asked him, Saying: What wilt thou that I do to thee? But he said: Lord, that I may see. And Jesus said to him: Receive they sight: thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he saw, and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.]

HOMILY 16, QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY: EXPLANATORY NOTES

Abbreviations: MED: Middle English Dictionary; NHC: Northern Homily Cycle; NIMEV: The New Index of Middle English Verse, ed. Boffey and Edwards; OI: Old Irish; ON: Old Norse; Tubach: Index Exemplorum, ed. Tubach. For manuscript abbreviations (ED, A, D, G, L, V), see the Introduction.

On this Sunday, fifty days before Easter, the Gospel text speaks of Jesus' journey towards Jerusalem and his prophecy of what will occur there. The blind man who cries out for help along the way and will not be distracted becomes a metaphor of the need for perseverance in prayer. In the exemplum that follows, a peasant's recognition of his inability to keep his thoughts from wandering as he tries to pray, as well as Saint Bernard's acknowledgment of a similar failure, makes this one of NHC's most appealingly human narratives. Gregory's words on this subject, which may have helped to inspire the choice of exemplum, also suggest the universal nature of the problem: "In proportion to the tumult of our unspiritual thoughts must be our eagerness to persist in prayer" (Forty, Homily 13, p. 96).

NIMEV 2971, 3865. Manuscripts: A: fols. 59r–62v; G: fols. 59r–61v; D: fols. 87r–89v; L: fols. 22r–23r.

45 Here on spekis Saynte Gregorye. Once again the NHC-poet makes explicit reference to and use of Gregory. Compare the opening of Homily 13: "Our Redeemer foresaw that the hearts of his disciples would be greatly disturbed by his passion. He foretold to them far ahead both the agony of his passion and the glory of his resurrection. Then when they beheld him dying, as had been foretold, they would not doubt that he was also to rise again" (Forty, Homily 13, p. 94).

99–100 Jericho. This meaning of the Hebrew word, "Jericho," comes from a work of Saint Jerome, as noted by Hurst in Gregory (Forty, Homily 13, p. 100n3).

149–54 The folk that yede be the strete . . . blynne. Compare Gregory's very similar allegori­zation of the scriptural text: "And the people ahead rebuked him, that he should be silent. What is meant by 'the people ahead' as Jesus comes if not the crowds of bodily desires and the uproar caused by our vices?" (Forty, Homily 13, p. 96).

179 We find writen of Saynte Bernarde. Tubach 3615: Paternoster, horse offered. Ber­nard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) was one of the most notable medieval exponents of monastic culture. As the abbot of the Cistercian house of Clairvaux, he played a leading role in promoting the newly reformed vision of the Benedictine Rule, whereby monks lived lives both literally and metaphorically apart, dedicated to prayer and contemplation (G. Evans, Bernard of Clairvaux, pp. 8–9). The emphasis on prayer perhaps provided this particular exemplum's link with Bernard, which otherwise appears to have no historical connection to the saint. Gerould suggests a possible affinity with one of the many affiliates of the celebrated French fab­liau, "Les Souhaits de Saint Martin" (NEHC, p. 47). The common thread linking all versions involves the granting of a wish by a supernatural being, but without the expected positive consequences. However, apart from this very general simi­larity there is nothing at all like the NHC exemplum found among the narratives described in Bédier's Fabliaux (p. 177), none of which mentions Saint Bernard. Closer analogues are found in the Legenda Aurea (chapter 120, volume 2, pp. 98– 107), the exempla of Jacques de Vitry (Die Exempla, p. 49), and the later AT (113).

200 Umstonte. MED: Probably from ON, compare OI um stund, perhaps by analogy with ME umbestounde, "at times."

HOMILY 16, QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY: TEXTUAL NOTES

Abbreviations: MED: Middle English Dictionary; Nevanlinna: Nevanlinna, The Northern Homily Cycle; NHC: Northern Homily Cycle; Small: English Metrical Homiles, ed. Small. for manuscript abbreviations (ED, A, D, G, L, V), see the Introduction.

9 schenschip. MED: Northern form of schendschip.

43 of todaye. MS: ol, canceled, between of and todaye.

44 Als man in Ynglisse tonge mai saye. MS: Als man etc. This phrase, often abbreviated in this manuscript, has been expanded here, following fol. 31v (Epiphany), where it is written out in full.

127 ille. So D. MS: will.

147–48 With rightwisnes ageyn the fendis, / That rightwismen wit schame schendis. So D. MS: With rightwisnes agaynes the fende; / For rightwis men thaim schameli schende.

154 And biddes us of oure prayers blynne. MS: Written as two half lines at the ends of lines 152 and 153.

228 tele. So D. MS: stele.