Sublime

God wishes to approach man only through man; he seeks out man in no other way but in his fellow humanity.

CHAPTER

In contrast to such limited notions, the aphorism with which Hölderlin prefaced his Hyperion will serve to recall the Christian image of the true greatness of God: “Non coerceri maximo, contineri tamen a minimo, divinum est” (Not to be encompassed by the greatest, but to let oneself be encompassed by the smallest—that is divine).

We would learn again of God the Father and Creator who has preserved our life through the dark night and awakened us to a new day; God the Son and Savior of the World, who vanquished death and hell for us, and dwells in our midst as Victor; God the Holy Spirit who pours the bright light of God’s Word into our hearts early in the morning, driving

Lord’s Prayer. But God wants it otherwise. The richness of the Word

Es ist beschämend, wie schnell nach der konstantinischen Wende aus einer verfolgten Kirche eine verfolgende Kirche wurde, die nun, wo sie an der Macht war, meinte, ihre Interessen mit Gewalt durchsetzen zu können.