The One Christ: St. Augustine's Theology of Deification
The Son's Descent 123 the rain's entering the soil and rising to nourish the grapes' roots and vines. We are amazed by the multiplication of loaves but daily grain in abundance fails to elicit gratitude. With common eyes, the regular and mundane prove soporific. This was the case with Christ's advent as well: appearing like an everyday man, many turned away without beholding the glory united to his common features. The eyes of the head must however give way to the reason of the heart [oculos in corpore, rationem in corde] and only then will the eyes begin to see the invisible workings of God in and through the everyday creation.97 Creation is yet again approached as the iconic means through which God intends to reveal himself.
The second half of this homily applies this rule to the unity of humanity and divinity in the incarnate Son, utilizing the forma serui, forma Dei distinction so important to Augustinian Christology. Christ's perfect humanity not only reveals to believers the fullness of human life, but the Son also reveals the life of the Father. Augustine therefore asks why most of those around the Christ fail to recognize him as the Messiah. Surely people saw him and we know that he promised to show himself to those who asked:
And there he stood, in front of the eyes of a servant, in the form of a servant, saving the form of God for deified eyes [seruans oculis deificatis formam dei], and he said to him, Am I with you all this time, and you do not know me? Whoever sees me also sees the Father (Jn 14:8–9). You want to see the Father, see me. You see me, and you don't see me. You see what I have donned for your sake, you do not see what I have been keeping for you. Listen to the commandments, purify your eyes.98
97. Cf. s. 126.3; Augustine also uses this contrast between Cana and common vintners at Gn. ad litt. 6.13.23-24.
98. s. 126.14; Hill, Sermons (III/4), 278: "Et ille stans ante oculos serui, in forma serui, servans oculis deificatis formam Dei, ait illi: Tanto tempore uobiscum sum, et non cognouistis me? Qui me uidet, uidet et Patrem. Patrem quaeris uidere, me uide. Vides me, et non uides me. Vides quod pro te assumpsi, non uides quod pro te seruaui. Audi mandata, purga oculos"; PL 38.704.