little games with the human senses, he reached his hand out to the scriptures.
306 SAINT A UGUSTINE - SERMONS charity, it is no use to me (1 Cor 13:3). So imagine a complete body, as it were, of martyrs; some suffer out of charity, others suffer out of boastfulness.6 Remove the boastfulness portion, offer7 the charity portion. That's the food for Christ, give Christ his portion. Christ loves the martyrs who suffered out of charity.
He ate, and it was he himself, the same who had been seen and hanged on the cross, the same who was being seen and touched then; it was to him the food was offered, he that was taking and eating it before his disciples' eyes; and still all this was not enough. Pardon me, my dear apostles, still hard to convince after all this. But their correction is our instruction; I want you to notice what the Lord did next, how he removed all possible ambiguities. He was seen, he was touched, he ate; it was certainly him.
It was necessary for everything to be fulfilled that was written in the law and the prophets and the psalms about me
4. And yet, in case he should seem in any way at all to have been playing little games with the human senses, he reached his hand out to the scriptures. Let the pagans say whatever they like:8 "He was a magician, he was able to make himself appear. Was a magician able, even before he was bom, eh, to prophesy himself from the scriptures? Notice that what you are seeing was foreseen long beforehand, and what you now observe was previously foretold. Listen, daughter, and see (Ps 45:10). O holy Church, listen and see; listen to things foretold, see things fulfilled. It was your head who was trying to convince you, the Lord Christ; it was the head of the Church who was trying to convince you he was alive, real, whole, undeniable, and was leading you to the faith of believers. So what did he say to you from the scriptures? Do you not know that it was necessary for everything written about me in the law and the prophets and the psalms to be fulfilled? Then he opened their minds, to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, that thus it was written, and that thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day (Lk 24:44-46).
Look, it's happened, what was written; look, it's been fulfilled, what was foretold; look, it's been displayed, what was read. Listen to the words, look at the facts. The truth is complete, the faith sure; now at long last let heretical unbelief be done away with. Look, Thus it was written, thus it was necessary what was? For the Christ to suffer—it was foretold; to rise again from the dead on the third day—it was foretold. The Jews had read these things; they continued to read, and didn t see them; and that there might be something for others to believe, they stumbled over the stone lying in front of them.9 For if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory (I Cor 2:8); if they had never crucified the Lord of glory, the nations would not have believed in him, his birth and his passion.
So that is why these disciples, to distinguish them from the Jews, whose minds were closed so that they wouldn't understand the scriptures—the grace of the Lord made the distinction.10 Dear apostle, dear Peter, dear Matthew, dear