Everyone Has a Role to Play in Doing the Will of God

Greetings,        

            This message is perhaps more complex than most, but it speaks to the role every person plays in doing the Will of God.

Most of you know of my appreciation of the sources of our faith and the development of our faith through the centuries.  There is so much to be learned from our past.  A major influence in our faith, and at times a controversial one, was Theologia Germanica, also known as Theologia Deutsch, is a mystical treatise believed to have been written in the mid 14^th century by an anonymous author, usually associated with the Friends of God.  According to the introduction of the Theologia the author was a priest and a member of the Teutonic Order living in Frankfurt, Germany.  The language usage and practical psychological approach point to Meister Eckhart as a possible author.  One of the most prominent mystics of the 14th century, he disappeared in 1327 after being brought to trial by the Inquisition for heresy.  The Theologia was written during the disruptive reign of the Avignon Papacy when many clerics were forbidden to perform Catholic rites, because of the power struggle between the Pope and Holy Roman Emperor.  Lay groups of pious individuals like the Friends of God became prominent during this time.

Theologia Germanica proposes that God and man can be wholly united by following a path of perfection, as exemplified by the life of Christ, renouncing sin and selfishness, ultimately allowing God’s will to replace human will.  The book influenced Martin Luther, who published editions in 1516 and 1518, before his full break with the Catholic faith. It was Luther who gave the treatise its modern name; in the manuscripts it is known as "Der Franckforter", i.e. "the Frankfurter". Luther wrote,

"Next to the Bible and St. Augustine, no book has ever come into my hands from which I have learned more of God and Christ, and man and all things that are."

Another goal of Luther in the publication was supporting his thesis that the German language was just as well-suited for expressing theological ideas as the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin languages. The treatise itself does not discuss or reflect on the fact that it is written in German.

Theologia Germanica became a staple of the Radical Reformation and of Pietism.

However, John Calvin declared it “poison supplied by the Devil.”  Pope Paul V placed it on the Roman Catholic Church’s Index Librorum Prohibitorum where it remained into the second half of the twentieth century.

In recent years it has enjoyed a revival of interest and influence with several new translations in English.  This passage is from a translation in 1854 by Susanna Winkworth.

What is Paradise?  All things that are; for all are goodly and pleasant, and therefore may fitly be called a Paradise.  It is said also that Paradise is an outer court of Heaven.  Even so this world is verily an outer court of the Eternal, or of Eternity; and specially is this true of whatever in time, of whatever temporal thing or creatures, manifesteth or remindeth us of God and Eternity; for the creatures are a guide and a path unto God and Eternity.  Thus this world is an outer court of Eternity, and therefore it may well be called a Paradise, for it is such in truth.  And in this Paradise all things are lawful save one tree and the fruits thereof.  That is to say: of all things that are, nothing is forbidden and nothing is contrary to God but one thing only: that is, self-will, or to will otherwise than as the Eternal Will would have it.  For God saith to Adam, that is, to every man, “Whatever thou art, or doest, or leavest undone, or whatever cometh to pass, is all lawful and not forbidden if it be not done from or according to thy will, but for the sake of and according to My Will.  But all that is done from thine own will is contrary to the Eternal Will.”

            It is not that every work which is thus wrought is in itself contrary to the Eternal Will, but in so far as it is wrought from a different will, or otherwise than from the Eternal and Divine Will.

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Susanna Winkworth (1820-1884), translator, was born in London on August 13, 1820.  In 1854 Susanna published her translation of Theologia Germanica which takes its place beside the 'Imitation' in the literature of devotion.  She translated many major works, most by German theologians.

Miss Winkworth was a philanthropist as well as author and translator.  She worked among the poor of Bristol, and in her district visiting was struck by the difficulty poor people found in getting decent lodgings.  She therefore rented several houses in the poorest part of the town, put them into proper repair, and let them out in tenements.  She was thus the first in Bristol to make efforts for the better housing of the poor.  In 1874 she formed the company which built Jacob's Wells industrial dwellings, managing them herself till the time of her death.  She took also a great interest in the education of women, and in 1878 succeeded her sister Catherine as governor of the Red Maids' school, and member of the council of Cheltenham Ladies' College.  John Wesley and Dorothy Day would be pleased.

Yours & His,

DED