ACC ~ John 21 v22

CONTEMPLATION AND ACTION

AUGUSTINE: There are two states of life, therefore, preached and commended as revealed to the church from heaven: the one being in faith, the other in sight; one remaining in time in a foreign land, the other residing in the eternal heavenly dwelling. … The first was signified by the apostle Peter, the other by John. … And so, it is said to Peter, “Follow me” by imitating me in the endurance of temporal evils. [But of John it is said], “Let him remain” till I come to restore everlasting bliss. And this may be expressed more clearly in this way: Let action that is perfected, informed by the example of my passion, follow me; but let contemplation that has only just begun remain until I come, to be perfected when I come. For the godly fullness of patience, reaching forward even unto death, follows Christ; but the fullness of knowledge remains until Christ comes, to be manifested then. For here the evils of this world are endured in the land of the dying, while the good things of the Lord shall be seen in the land of the living. For in saying, “I want him to remain till I come,” we are not to understand that John was supposed to remain on earth, or to abide permanently, but he was, rather, to wait. Therefore, what is signified by John shall certainly not be fulfilled now, but when Christ comes.

But what is signified by Peter to whom it was said, “Follow me,” except that his [and our] following must be done now, or it will never reach the expected outcome. In such an active life, the more we love Christ the more easily we are delivered from evil. But he loves us less as we now are, and therefore delivers us from this state of being so that we may not always be such as we are. There [in heaven], however, he loves us more; for we shall not have anything about us to displease him, or anything that would cause Christ to separate us from him. He loves us here for the purpose of healing and delivering us from everything he doesn’t love. Here, therefore, he loves us less because it is a place where he does not want us to remain. There [in heaven] he will love us in an even larger measure as the place toward which he would have us to be passing as we leave behind the place where he knows we would otherwise perish. Let Peter therefore love him, that we may obtain deliverance from our present mortality; let John be loved by him, that we may be preserved in the immortality to come. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 124.5. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:450-51**.

PETER FOLLOWS, JOHN REMAINS

AUGUSTINE: The Lord either said what he said to Peter about his martyrdom, or he said it about the gospel of John. As regards the martyrdom and this “Follow me,” [he means] suffer for me, suffer what I did. Because Christ was crucified, Peter too was crucified … while John experienced none of this. That is what is meant by, “It is thus that I wish him to remain.” Let him fall asleep without wounds, without torment, and wait for me. You, Peter, “Follow me,” suffer what I did. That’s one way these words can be explained… .

As regards the Gospel of John, though, this is what I think is meant: that Peter wrote about the Lord, others too wrote; but their writing was more concerned with the Lord’s humanity. … But while there is something about the divinity of Christ in Peter’s letters, in John’s gospel it is very much to the fore. … He soared above the clouds and soared above the stars, soared above the angels, soared above every creature and arrived at the Word through which all things were made. SERMON 253.5. [1]

[1] WSA 3 7:150*.