Select English works of John Wyclif; edited from original mss. by Thomas Arnold.

ÞE SECOUNDE SONDAY GOSPEL AFTIR OCTAVE OF TWELFÞE DAY.

[SERMON XXXIII.]

Nuptiae factae sunt in Chana Galilee.—JOH. ii. [I.]

ÞIS gospel telliþ of þe first myracle þat Crist dide in presence of his disciplis. And þus telliþ þe story, þat weddingis weren made in a litil dwellinge place in þe contre of Galile, and Jesus' moder was þere, wiþ Jesus and his disciplis. For as men seyen comounly, Joon Evangelist was weddid here, and Crist was his cosyn, and Cristis modir was his aunte; and herfore þei weren homelyer in þis weddinge of Joon. Studie we not to what woman þis Joon was weddid, ne axe we not autorite to prove þat Joon was weddid now; ffor þat þe gospel seiþ here is ynow to Cristen feiþ. And whan wyn failide, at þis feste, Jesus modir seide to him, Þei have noo wyn. And herby þis Lady ment on curtays manere as she durst, þat Jesus shulde helpe þis feste of

wyn bi his myracle. But Jesus answerede, strangely, What is þat to me and to þee, woman? as if he seide, Y have not by my manhede of þee for to do siche myraclis, but þerto nediþ my godhede; but afterward shal tyme come whan Y shal offre my bodi þat Y hadde of þee, for savynge of mankynde. And herfore notiþ Austyn how Jesus Crist clepiþ specialy in þes two places his moder, woman, and here he figuride his speche in his passioun. And to þis entent seiþ Crist, þat his hour is not ȝit comen, in which he shulde bi suffringe putte his bodi in werke. But his modir, supposinge ay good of hir sone, seide to þe mynystris to do what ever he seide. And þere were at þe feste sixe water pottis sett, and ech of hem held a galoun or more.—Þe Jewis hadden a custoum to washe hem ofte, for touching or seynge of þinge clene ynow, as Seint Mark meneþ in his gospel. Jesus bade þe servauntis fille þe pottis with watir, and þei filliden hem alle up to þe mouþe. And Jesus seide þan, Helde out now, and bere þe persoun:—an architriclyn was he, þat was clepid to blesse þe feeste, and principal in þe hous þat was of þre stages, as ȝif it were now a persone of a churche. And þei baren to þis persoun þe wyn þat Jesus hadde made. And whan he hadde tastid þerof, and wiste not how it came, but þe servauntis wisten wel þat drowen þe water, he clepide þe spouse of þe hous, and seide to him þus, Þes men þat festen oþer putten first good wyn, whan þer tast is freishe, for to juge þe goodnesse, and after whan þei ben drunken and þer taist failiþ, þanne he puttiþ wers wyn, but þou doist even þe contrarie, for, þou hast kept good wyn unto þis tyme. Þis was þe bigynnynge of signes þat Jesus dide in Galile, and shewide his glorie, bi doinge of þis myracle, and his disciplis trowiden in him.

Þis wedding bitokeneþ love þat God hadde to his Chirche, how he wolde bicome man, and be newe weddid to it. And herfor was Crist not bigamus, ne brake not his matrimonye,

siþ þe same Chirche his wyf lastiþ ever more, but wiþ newe wenchis is Crist now weddid, and on newe maner he kepte his firste matrimonye; as, if a spouse of a wife were newe cled, herfore were not dyvors made bytwene hem. A newe weddinge wiþ membris of þis grete womman makiþ not divors, ne bryngiþ in no bigamye; as, if a wyf growide and hadde many partis þat she hadde not bifore, sche were not þerfore lefte. And þus Chana, þat is gelousnes, and Galilee, þat is a turnynge whele, bitokenen þe love of Crist þat he hadde to conforte his spouse in þis weie, and brynge her after to blisse in þe chaum|bre of hevene.—Þe turnynge of þis water into good wyn techiþ hou Crist made his lawe more savery, as þe wyne was beter þan þe water bifore. And riȝt as o substaunce is first water and siþ wyne, riȝt so o lawe is first colde and siþ hote; and herfore seiþ Crist þat he came not to fordo þe lawe but to fulfille þe lawe, and make it more savery. And drede we not þes philo|sophris to graunte hem aptly þat þe same substaunce is first watir and siþ wyne, ne drede we not dyvynes þat axen in þis cas, what was maad newe of Crist in þis myracle; siþ qualite, as coloure or savoure of wyne, may not be by it silf. As Austyn seiþ, we shal wite þat myracle of Crist was wrouȝt here, so þat riȝt as water, þat first was in þe erþe, is drawen in to þe vyne tree, and siþ in to þe grapis, and by tyme defyed til þat it be wyne, so Crist did þis chaunginge in a litil tyme; but more myracle was of beteringe of his lawe, and þe moste of alle, of swifte turnynge to it. Þes sixe water pottis þat helden þis colde water ben men of þe olde lawe þat kepten Goddis lawe. But þei weren sixe, for fro ȝeer to ȝeer þei kepten þis lawe þat was hard as stones, and made hem colde on oþer manere þan þe newe lawe; for it makiþ men liȝt, and hetiþ hem, and confortiþ hem, as wyn doiþ mannis bodi. As philo|sophris seyn, þes mesures of þes vessilis ben þe olde cerymonyes þat weren beden of God, and sum founden of Jewis, and al þes weren fillid of Crist. But, to anoþer witt, þis archytryclyn was

þe manheed of Crist, for he made þis myracle bi his godhede. He was þe first þat tastide þis wyn and ȝaf it þes propreetes, boþe in him and oþers; and doinge of þis myracle passide mannis feestyng, for God puttiþ him silfe to be boþe mete and drynke to men þat he fediþ, and he is þe best. For worldely festyng is first savery to man, and siþ it is bittir as wermode to hym; but goostly foode aȝenward first is unsavery, and siþ it is swete, whan men defien it, for Goddis lawe savouriþ wele whan it is defoulid, as spicerye ȝyveþ smell whan it is powned, but dritte, ȝif stired more, is more unsavery, and þus þe ȝyvyng of þe lawe of God was ground and bigynnyng of Cristen mennis religioun. And þus þe disciplis of Crist, alle þat he haþ ordeyned for to come to hevene bi riȝt bileve, trowen in him bi vertue of þis wyne; and þus is Crist glorified in hevene and in erþe bi strengþe of his lawe þat he þus ȝaf.

Notes

• This myth, for it is nothing more, appears in its complete form in De Lyra (Biblia Sacra, Lugduni, 1589). 'Dicitur communiter quod istae nuptiae fuerunt Johannis Evan|gelistae a quibus eum Christus vo|cavit ante consummationem matri|monii per copulam carnis.' There is no trace of it in the works of St. Austin or St. Jerome, nor, according to Cave (Antiq. Apostolicae, p. 118), in any of 'the Fathers and best writers of the Church.' Bede (Prol. in Joh. Evang.) says, 'Hic est Jo|annes Evangelista . . . . qui virgo a Deo electus est; quem de nuptiis, volentem nubere, vocavit Deus.' But he does not identify these 'nuptiae' with the marriage at Cana.
• The interpretation throughout this sermon is generally founded on S. Austin's eighth Tractate In Jo|bannis Evangelium. Compare the fol|lowing passage: 'Miraculum autem quod facturus erat, secundum divini|tatem facturus erat, non secundum infirmitatem; secundum quod Deus erat, non secundum quod infirmus natus erat. . . . . . Miraculum ergo exigebat mater, at ille tanquam non agnoscit viscera humana, operaturus facta divina, tanquam dicens, Quod de me facit miraculum, non tu ge|nuisti; divinitatem meam non tu genuisti: sed quia genuisti infirmi|tatem meam, tunc te cognoscam, cum ipsa infirmitas pendebit in cruce.'
• So B; A and C have principaly.
• gelousnesse, B and C.
• 'Sicut enim quod miserunt mini|stri in hydrias, in vinum conversum est opere Domini, sic et quod nubes fundunt, in vinum convertitur ejus|dem opere Domini. Illud autem non miramur, quia omni anno fit; assiduitate amisit admirationem.' S. Aug. loc. cit.
• defied, B, C.
• wormood, B; wormode, C.
• The following passage, from the first Wycliffite version (I Sam. XXV. 37), throws light on the meaning of the text:—'Forsoþe eerli, whanne Naabal hadde defied þe wyn, his wyf shewide to him þes wordis.'