I finished Garry Wills’ well-done biography of Augustine today. There are many rich thoughts and subjects worth noting, but I wanted to highlight a memorable quote as he reflected on the “carnality of the incarnation.” Augustine says of Christ:
“Man’s maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at his mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witnesses, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.”
Gary Wills, Saint Augustine, pp. 139-140.
What insight from one of the most influential and important founders of our faith. Augustine obviously meditated often and deeply on the person and work of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. We would do well to do the same.
I highly recommend reading on and studying the history of the Church even for your own personal devotion. I’ve been ministered to richly as I’ve spent much time this year focusing on Church History - especially biographies of some of the men who laid the foundation on which we stand today. It is an important part of our heritage and can be a very devotional exercise to reflect on (and express gratitude for) the work that some very faithful men and women did on behalf of the Church in the last 2000 years.
