Augustine in His Own Words (continued)
The Exegete 193 stand which of these two phrases refers to the Head and which to the Body, that is, which to Christ and which to the Church.68
The Totus Christus
Augustine's précis of Tyconius's first rule gives one little hint of the frequency, richness, and depth with which he himself used this optic of Christ, Head and Body, to interpret the Bible. This theme is pivotal to his exegesis, especially his Expositions of the Psalms. It is also key to appreciating how he inextricably intertwines his views on Christ and on the Church. From here to the end of this chapter, we will explore variations he gives to this theme in his exegesis of the Psalms. As one scans the Expositions, one finds him asking again and again: "Who is speaking?" This would have been an obvious question for readers in the ancient world as they read poems or plays or philosophic dialogues since their texts lacked quotation marks. It is, therefore, no surprise that Augustine asks it as he walks his congregation through the poetry of the Psalms. Scholars refer to this ancient technique of exploring the identity and intention of the speaker as "prosopological exegesis." The term "prosopological" comes from the Greek prosopon, meaning "person," especially a "character" in a play. As Augustine saw it, the speaker of the Psalms is not— or at least, not simply—King David, the Psalms' purported author; the speaker is "the whole Christ" (totus christus), sometimes the risen Christ, other times His Body, the Church. In the following passage, Augustine sets out his basic scheme. From Expositions of the Psalms 56: (1) Let us listen to Christ in this Psalm. Opportunely, and by His foresight, it so happens that the Gospel echoes the Psalm, commending to us the love of Christ, who laid down His life for us that we might lay down ours for our brothers and sisters. This [theme] rings out and sings along with the Psalm in order that we may see in what way Our Lord Himself laid down His life for our sake. The Psalm sings about the Passion itself. After all, the whole Christ (totus Christus) is both Head and Body, as you know quite well. The Head is Christ our Savior Himself, who, having suffered under Pontius Pilate, rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of the Father. His Body is the Church, not simply this or that church, but the Church scattered across the entire globe—and not only people who live at the present moment, but also those who have gone before us, belong to it, and so too do those who will come after us, even to the end of the ages. Because all the faithful are members of Christ, the whole Church, firm and secure among all believers, is this Head established in the heavens from where He governs His Body. Even if
68. Doc. Chr. 3.30.42–31.44 (Green, 172–76); my trans., based on Gavigan, FOTC 2:150–52.