seid to love his lyf, þat loveþ it more þan oþer þing; and he is said to hate his lyf, þat puttiþ oþer love bifore it; for þe first is a passinge love, and þe toþer a maner of hate; and bi þis manere of speche many gospellis moun be knowun, for it is a suynge þing to love a þing and to hate it þus. But in þe þridde word of þis gospel spekiþ Crist more speciali, how þes wordis longen to him, as to ground of good religioun. First Crist seiþ, If ony man serve to Crist, sue he him; and here he techiþ þat no man mai mynystre to Crist, but if he sue him; and þus moun we se how feyntli we serve to Crist, for now we leven þe weie of Crist and bowun [bowen, E.] bi a wrong weie, and now we gone ever abak to synne þat we han first done. And so fewe men or noon suen Crist wiþouten defaute, for we speken of suynge in vertues, and not of suynge of bodili weie. And þis suynge stondiþ most in ordynal love of man, and herfore spekiþ þe gospel of love, and of hate next bifore.
But over þis, Crist seiþ þat, Where he is, his mynystre shal be, and þis is seid suyngli to þe word þat is seid bifore; for it semeþ of þat word þat it is hard to serve Crist, and her|fore telliþ Crist þe meede þat men shulden have þat serven him; for he þat may not lye bihetiþ þat his servaunt shal be þere, boþe in blis and in place, where Christ is wiþouten eende. And siþ Crist is in hevene and in blis bi boþe hise kyndis, þis biheest shulde move men to sue Crist, al ȝif it be hard, for þe mede of þis suynge passiþ gretli þe traveile herfore; for Crist mai not rewarde men but if he ȝeve hem over her traveil; as he mai not ȝyve a þing, but ȝif he ȝyve it graciousely; for as he is al grace, so he mediþ and ponishiþ bi grace. But þe laste word here shulde move a trewe man to serve Crist, for he seiþ, If ony man serve me, my Fadir shal worshipe him. And þis worship mai not be, but if it make þis man Goddis sone, and so eir [heyr, E.] of God, and ȝyve him goodis of all his rewme; and þanne he is maad worshipful, as we maken worship unto kyngis. And so alle eiris of Crist ben moche more þan erþeli kyngis.
In þis shorte gospel ben doutis, boþe of conscience and
