07 - Knowing Christ Face to Face
VII KNOWING CHRIST FACE TO FACE A the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1928, a new question and answer were introduced into the Confirmation Service, bringing the formal vows of character and creed up into the glory of a personal allegiance. All candidates for Confirmation will now be asked, ’Do ye promise to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?’ and each one is expected to answer, ’I do,’ .Thus far, in this book, we have been studying chiefly the outward aspects of Christian discipleship. Let us now strive to see to what heights these lower steps may lead, and how our allegiance may culminate in knowing Christ face to face. Our first duty must still be outward. We must do all we can to know about Christ as the records concerning Him have come down to us from the first century. These records bear the internal evidence of authenticity. Beginning in an oral tradition, the first record to be put on parchment was undoubtedly the Words of Christ. This original document has been lost.
Later our Gospel according to St. Mark was written; this with the lost document of the Words of Christ was largely incorporated in the Gospels of St. Luke and St. Matthew. These three books are commonly called the Synoptic Gospels. The Fourth Gospel is not so much a biography as a book of sermons by a great mystic, showing us how the life of the Master expressed itself through the experience of a saint at the end of the first century. The Fourth Gospel is a free portrait, the most arresting portrait which words have ever painted.
Side by side with this written record about Christ has been the living tradition, passed from parents to children all down the years. I believe that we should have known our Saviour’s words and deeds to day, even had no record ever been made of them. But the Christian finds in the New Testament the picture of a Master which he instinctively feels to be true. The face of the Lord Christ shines through the fourfold story; and His own know Him.
I put down, therefore, as the firstrequisite of Christian discipleship the making of a quiet time each day, when the world, with all its perplexities and allurements, is shut out, and there is freedom attentively to learn about the Master of us all. Such a quiet time is, primarily, the period in each day when we may carefully read the Gospels. It is wise to begin by reading the oldest Gospel, which is also the shortest and the simplest, St. Mark; then we should begin the tender, human account of St. Luke; then, when that is finished, St. Matthew, the Gospel showing our Lord as the long expected Messiah; and, finally, St. John. Having read these books through, we should begin them all again, and ever continue, however familiar we may be come with the sacred pages, to read the Gospels in this orderly way until life in this world is over, that the words and the deeds of Christ may be printed on our minds and our hearts for ever. ii The next step is the frank facing of the question, ’Who is this?’ In giving an answer it is not necessary to speak in hard, theological terms. It is only necessary to ask what difference Christ has made in men’s thought about God. The best men in the Roman world in the first century were the Stoics. They found the world a relentless and cruel power, from which escape was the only solution.
They were brave and noble, but they missed the joy of living. A good many people to-day believe that the God of the universe is a heavenly Father, both just and loving. If they weigh only the same material for judgment which the Stoics had, can they really rest in that trust? The Creator seems all love and justice in the brilliance of a summer sunset, in the laughter of a little child, in the strength of a good man’s face. But when a tornado or an earthquake destroys men, when a little child dies, when a man’s face is black with evil, then it is very hard to believe in a God of justice and love. The stoic fortitude is sublime, but it is hopeless.
How can you solve the tragic riddle about the nature of God’s character? So far as I can see, there is only one way, and that is by accepting the revelation of God’s character in Christ. It is strange that men can rely upon a good and merciful God, and forget the source of that reliance as the world in history has come to grasp it.
If you believe that God is like the father of the Prodigal Son, then you must bow down in reverence before the Man who by His words and His life made that greatest of all stories vivid and real. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. When you believe the message about God’s character which the words and life of Christ teach you, you will not cease to have weariness and pain and grief, but you will have a new point of view: all the troubles of life will instantly gain a meaning which they never have had before.
They will be illumined as a discipline and a law which proceed out of the heart of a loving heavenly Father. Every pain and every sorrow may thereupon become the means of a victory, bringing a joy which could not have been but for the suffering. The follower of Christ may echo for him self the words spoken by an unknown saint of the first century, ’For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross/
Believing in Christ is not a far-away problem in philosophy or theology. It is the most immediate and practical concern of the plainest man who lives. It gives triumphant assurance for the coming day. In its light, every danger can be met with equanimity, the darkest hour can be entered with confidence; for behind the most tragic circumstance is the controlling hand of One who loves as no mother ever loved her little child. In this life we cannot understand all; but we can rest in peace, in the knowledge that God is our God, the true Father of the patient, forgiving, loving Christ.
Knowing about Him, believing in Him, as the New Testament and Traditionreveal Him, then yield yourself to His power.
Perhaps you do not understand what His power is. But, again and again, you will come into some narrow passage in life where all seems dark and perilous, and you are frankly afraid. Perhaps the doctor has told you that one you love is going to die. Perhaps you have been told that your own days are numbered. Perhaps you have failed disastrously, and wonder if you have the right to end your life. You know not to whom you can turn. Former helpers are inadequate. Then you think of the in visible Christ. Is He real? Can He help?
All I say now is this: Try Him. Yield yourself to Him. Yield yourself to Him as a man, frightened about his health, yields himself to his physician. Tell Him every thing. Lay your life bare before Him.
Hold back not one sin. Tell Him secrets which you have never before told to any one.
One of the dangers of our time is that we are exceedingly comfortable. Our whole Nation is in grave danger because of its unparalleled prosperity. We are not afraid of anything or anybody. There is among us no longer fear of parents, no longer dread of the law. We have even lost our deep reverence for the Eternal God; that is, until some calamity befalls us.
Now it is no cause for dismay when the calamity does come to one or another of us.
We point to Jonathan Edwards and his alarming sermons as strange expressions of prophetic fire. But there is wholesome truth in such heart-searching prophecy.
Before Christ came to men, men heard the relentless cries of John the Baptist: Re pent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand’; C O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ’
Accordingly, part of the way by which we come to the centre of Christ’s fellow ship is this earnest struggle to leave the dead past behind, so preparing for the new life in Him. We must examine ourselves to find just what we are in His sight. If we are self-centred, let us own it. If we are sarcastic, bitter, let us own it. If we are, in letter or in spirit, breaking any of the Commandments, let us own it. If we are failing to live up to all the Lord’s Beatitudes, let us own it. ’Sell all your past, every penny of it, and come, follow me,’ is Christ’s uncompromising command. That He may give to us His best that is, Himself we must sweep out our houses that we may make room for Him; He gives us everything; but to that end, He must find every corner of our lives free for His coming.
And, if we comply, if we yield to Him, if we rise into His life, what will be theresult? A multitude answer out of history and biography and poetry and present-day experience. They tell us that out of the unseen the dim figure of the Man of Nazareth comes to them. But it is not by a mere wish. It is not by mere passivity.
Glorious, heroic action is required. The Lord Christ comes to men’s help, but He comes only to men who fulfil His stern conditions. The words of those conditions ring down the ages: ’Take up your cross and follow me’; ’He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it’; ’Love your enemies’; ’Do this in remembrance of me.’ The Lord Christ is gracious beyond imagination, but He is also exacting. He demands yielding to the point of absolute and complete surrender. This surrender is not abject, but triumphant. You surrender to the conquering Christ, and at once you possess His power and share His victory. This surrender is not negative, nor is it mere formality; it is not a price which is paid for a reward. It is the losing of the self in the life of the Master. It is such love for Him that the disciple cannot help obeying. He obeys because he ardently desires to obey; his highest wish is to please Christ.
IV
Then Christ’s final command flashes in the heart of His follower: ’Andrew, go, bring to me thy brother Simon’; * Martha, cease serving, and go, bring to me thy sister Mary’; ’Love one another as I have loved you’; ’Go ye, and make disciples of every nation.’ Not until we have obeyed this last command of Christ do we completely find Him.
It is a common experience that no branch of human knowledge is quite learned till its pupil becomes its teacher, and succeeds in imparting it to others. In the same way, no one finds Christ till he has brought some one else to Him. He is the Lord of a Kingdom, and is known when two or three are gathered together. He is not a Master who comes to selfishness.
Here I can do no better than remind you of a tale which must be familiar to most of you. A young man said one Sunday morning to his old rector: * I am not coming to church any more. I have been reading, and talking with friends and scholars, and have decided that I don’t any longer believe in anything. So, much as I love you, I am not going to be a hypocrite: my church-going is over/ The old man made no protest, but only said: ’I want you to visit a prisoner this afternoon. Will you do it?’ The young man promised to go to the prison; and in due time found himself talking to a man behind the bars. The prisoner was in despair. He felt that he had disgraced his mother and would possibly kill her with grief. He saw no future. He asked only that he might die and be over with the ghastly thing called life.
Here was no holiday task for the unbeliever. Before him was a man in utter need.
What could he do to help? Every emotion was stirred. He found himself drawing up from his sub-conscious self all the reserves of his faith. He discovered himself telling about the same Christ whom in the morning he had said that he no longer believed.
He was pleading that the Christ who had helped Zacchaeus and the Magdalen would surely help him. Then, as he continued speaking, the prisoner behind the bars had faded away, and One, all white and shining stood there. Of course it was Christ. He had foretold that so He would reveal Him self: ’ Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me/ It has always been so; so it will always be.
There were two elements which brought this man face to face with Christ. First, a moral struggle, by which his conceited as surance vanished; and then, merged with it, the love, borne of Christ, which made him love a man whose need was greater than his own. Christ filled him, and Christ spoke through him.
Christ can be known face to face by any man who will fulfil these conditions.
Know about Him; believe in Him; yield to Him; obey Him; obey Him because you love Him; obey, most of all. His command to bring others to Him; and then, leaving behind all your sins, which you have confessed to Him, all your ignorance, all your prejudice, all your unkindness, rise unto His life, lose yourself to find the radiant Christ. Be as St. Paul, who said, * It is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me*; be as St. Augustine, who said, ’My heart is restless till it rests in Thee’; be as St. Francis, who lived so close to Christ that men saw in his hands and his feet the print of the nails which bound Christ to His cross; be as our own Phillips Brooks, who, in a moment of revealing confidence, once told a young man that the secret of his life was that he was conscious of the presence of Christ: Christ’s presence was the most real experience of his life.
All this is mystical. The invisible Christ is not simply the supreme character of history. He is alive with power, to be claimed by all who will obediently, loyally, lovingly follow Him. He will be known to you in the Holy Communion; He will be known to you as you say your prayers at your bedside; He will be known to you as you talk with your friend about Him; He will be known as you go out into the by ways and hedges seeking the unhappy and forlorn; most of all He will be found as you come bringing some man or woman to His friendship. Then, at last, you will know the Lord Christ face to face, and He will bless you with the joy which shall make you part of Himself for ever.
Follow Christ till His life fills your life; till you become the medium through which the light of His face shines into the eyes of men; till through you, they hear the accents of His voice; till they enter, with all mankind, into the glory of His eternal Kingdom.
APPENDIX
CHAPTER I
LEARN THE FOLLOWING, The Bible is God’s Message to Men. It is Divided into Two Parts: Old Testament Thirty-nine Books, New Testament Twenty-seven Books: Sixty-six Books in all.
OLD TESTAMENT
LAW, FIVE BOOKS GENESIS. From the Creation to the Time of Joseph.
EXODUS. Deliverance of the Israelites by Moses from Slavery in Egypt.
LEVITICUS. First Giving of the Law.
NUMBERS. Wanderings in the Wilderness Forty
Years.
DEUTERONOMY. Second Giving of the Law, HISTORICAL, TWELVE BOOKS JOSHUA. Conquest of Canaan.
JUDGES. Deliverance from the Heathen in the Land of Canaan.
RUTH. Love of Ruth and Naomi.
I SAMUEL. History of Samuel the Prophet and of Saul the First King.
II SAMUEL. History of David’s Reign.
I KINGS. History of Solomon, Elijah, and others II KINGS. History of Elisha, Hezekiah, and others.
1 Chronicles 1:1-54 A _, _ TT, __.
II CHKO NICI.ES.} A Condensed Hebrew History.
EZRA. Return from Seventy Years’ Captivity in
Babylon.
NEHEMIAH. Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem.
ESTHER. God’s Care of His People.
POETICAL, FIVE BOOKS JOB. Trust in God in Spite of Trouble.
PSALMS. The Hebrew Hymnal.
PROVERBS. A Book of Wise Sayings.
ECCLESIASTES. A Book of Sermons.
SONG OF SOLOMON. A Lyric Poem. THE FOUR GREAT PROPHETS, FIVE BOOKS ISAIAH. Coming of the Messiah.
JEREMIAH. Warnings to the Hebrews.
LAMENTATIONS. Sorrow for their _Sins and Punishment.
EZEKIEL. Visions of the Future Glory of God’s
People.
DANIEL. Victory over Sin. THE MINOR PROPHETS, TWELVE BOOKS HOSEA. OBADIAH. NAHUM. HAGGAI.
JOEL. JONAH. HABAKKUK. ZECHARIAH.
AMOS. MICAH. ZEPHANIAH. MALACHI.
NEW TESTAMENT GOSPELS, FOUR BOOKS (Gospel means Good News), ST. MATTHEW, j f the Expected King.
ST. MARK. I Lives of Ourj the Servant of Men.
ST. LUKE. | Saviour as | the Son of Man.
ST. JOHN. I I the Son of God.
HISTORICAL, ONE BOOK ACTS. The Earliest Church History.
(Written by St. Luke.), ST. PAUL’S LETTERS, THIRTEEN BOOKS ROMANS. A Christian Philosophy.
I CORINTHIANS.! Practical Advice to Old ParishII CORINTHIANS. Jioners.
GALATIANS. St. Paul is a True Apostle.
EPHESIANS. A Letter about the Church.
PHILIPPIANS. A Letter of Gratitude to his Favorite
Church.
COLOSSIANS. New Life God Would Have Us Live.
I THESSALONIANS. Second Coming of Christ.
II THESSALONIANS. Many Things Must First Come to Pass.
I TIMOTHY. (Bishop of Ephesus.) 1 _, TT I Be examples to II TIMOTHY. \ i, ^ /TV t. rr-. \ those you teach.
TITUS. (Bishop of Crete.) J J PHILEMON. A Letter of Introduction. A LETTER BY AN UNKNOWN AUTHOR HEBREWS. Jesus our only High Priest.
GENERAL LETTERS, SEVEN BOOKS JAMES. Faith and Works Go Together.
I PETER.) n,. _ TT7..
IT P I Building anc * Watching.
I JOHN.I II JOHN. >God is Love.
Ill JOHN.], JUDE. Punishment for the Impenitent.
APOCALYPSE, ONE BOOK REVELATION. St. John’s Vision of Heaven.
ALSO LEARN, Question. What is your Christian name?
Answer. My Christian name is.
Question. Who gave you this name?
Answer. My Sponsors gave me this name in Baptism; wherein I was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.
Question. When were you made a member of the Church?
Answer. I was made a member of the Church when I was baptized.
Question. What is the Church?
Answer. The Church is the Body of which Jesus Christ is the Head, and all baptized people the members.
Question. How is the Church described in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds?
Answer. The Church is described in the Creeds as One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.
Question. What do we mean by these words?
Answer. We mean that the Church is One, because it is one Body under one Head;
Holy, because the Holy Spirit dwells in it, and sanctifies its members;
Catholic, because it is universal, holding earnestly the Faith for all time, in all countries, and for all people, and is sent to preach the Gospel to the whole world; and Apostolic, because it continues steadfastly in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship.
Question. What is your bounden duty as a mem ber of the Church?
Answer. My bounden duty is to follow Christ, to worship God every Sunday in his Church; and to work and pray and give for the spread of his Kingdom.
Question. What special means does the Church provide to help you to do all these things?
Answer. The Church provides the Laying on of Hands, or Confirmation, wherein, after renewing the promises and vows of my baptism, and declaring my loyalty and devotion to Christ as my Master, I receive the strengthening gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Question. After you have been confirmed what great privilege does our Lord provide for you?
Answer. Our Lord provides the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, for the continual strengthening and refreshing of my soul.
READ, The Gospel according to St. Mark, through Chap ter VIII.
IF YOU HAVE TIME, READ ALSO, How We Got our Bible. By J. Paterson Smyth, D.D. Samuel Bagster & Sons: London. On the Threshold. By Theodore T. Munger, D.D.
Hough ton Mifflin Company: Boston.
DAILY SAY THIS PRAYER, OGOD, who through the teaching of thy Son Jesus Christ didst prepare the disciples for the coming of the Comforter; Make ready, we beseech thee, the hearts and minds of thy servants who at this time are seeking to be strengthened by the gift of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, that, drawing near with penitent and faithful hearts, they may evermore be filled with the power of his divine indwelling; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CHAPTER II LEARN THE FOLLOWING, St. Matthew v. l-n.
LEARN ALSO, Question. What did your sponsors then promise for you?
Answer. My Sponsors did promise and vow three things in my name: First, that I should renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanity of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh; Secondly, that I should believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith; and Thirdly, that I should keep God’s holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of my life.
Question. Do you not think that you are bound so to do?
Answer. Yes, verily; and by God’s help so I will. And I heartily thank our heavenly Father, that he hath called me to this state of salvation, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. And I pray unto God to give me his grace, that I may continue in the same unto my life’s end.
Question. You said that your Sponsors promised and vowed that you should keep God’s holy will and commandments. Tell me how many Commandments there are.
Answer. There are Ten Commandments, given in old time by God to the people of Israel. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS I. Thou shalt have none other gods but me.
II. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them.
III. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
IV. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbathday.
V. Honour thy father and thy mother.
VI. Thou shalt do no murder.
VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
VIII. Thou shalt not steal.
IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
X. Thou shalt not covet.
Question. What does our Lord Jesus Christ teach us about these Commandments?
Answer. Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that they are summed up in two Commandments, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength; this is the first and great Commandment. And the second is: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Question. What then, do you chiefly learn from these Commandments?
Answer. I learn two things from these Command ments: my duty towards God, and my duty towards my neighbour.
Question. What is your duty towards God?
Answer. My duty towards God is to believe in him, to fear him, And to love him with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my strength;
I and II. To worship him, to give him thanks, To put my whole trust in him, to call upon him;
III. To honour his holy Name and his Word;
IV. And to serve him truly all the days of my life.
Question. What is your duty towards your neighbour?
Answer. My duty towards my neighbour is> To love him as myself, and to do to all men as I would they should do unto me, V. To love, honour, and help my father and mother; To honour and obey the civil authority; To submit myself to all my governors, teachers, spiritual pastors, and masters; And to order myself in that lowliness and reverence which becometh a servant of God;
VI. To hurt nobody by word or deed; To bear no malice nor hatred in my heart;
VII. To keep my body in temperance, soberness and chastity;
VIII. To keep my hands from picking and steal ing; To be true and just in all my dealings;
IX. And to keep my tongue from evil-speaking, lying, and slandering;
X. Not to covet nor desire other men’s goods; But to learn and labour truly to earn mine own living, And to do my duty in that state of life unto which it shall please God to call me.
Question. You are not able to do these things of yourself, nor to walk in the Commandments of God, and to serve him, without his special grace; which you must learn at all times to call for by diligent prayer. What is the prayer that our Lord taught us to pray?
Answer. Our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil, For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
READ, The Gospel according to St. Mark: Chapter ix through Chapter xvi.
IF YOU HAVE TIME, READ ALSO, The Master of the World. A Study of Christ. By C. L. Slattery. Longmans, Green & Company, New York. [Read Part II on Christ as our example of Character.], William Crawford Gorgas. His Life and Work. By Marie D. Gorgas and Burton J. Hendrick.
Doubleday, Page & Company: New York. [The biography of a member of the Church who loved and feared God and served his neighbour truly.], DAILY SAY THIS PRAYER, ALMIGHTY God, make us to hate that JLJL which is bad in thought, word, and deed; make us to love that which is good; make us to stand up for the right and the true, as brave soldiers of Christ; and, day by day, make us faithful members of his Kingdom the Church; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CHAPTER III LEARN, Romans vm. 38, 39.
LEARN ALSO, Question. You said that your Sponsors promised and vowed that you should believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith. Recite the Articles of the Christian Faith as contained in the Apostles’ Creed.
Answer. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost: The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints: The Forgiveness of sins: The Resurrection of the body: And the Life everlasting. Amen.
Question. What do you chiefly learn in these Articles of your Belief?
Answer. First, I learn to believe in God the Father, who hath made me, and all the world;
Secondly, in God the Son, who hath redeemed me, and all mankind;
Thirdly, in God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth me, and all the people of God.
READ, The Gospel according to St. Luke through Chapter
VIII.
IF YOU HAVE TIME, READ ALSO ONE’OF THESE BOOKS, The Apostles’ Creed. Its Origin, Its Purpose, and Its Historical Interpretation. A Lecture, with Criti cal Notes. By Arthur Cushman McGirTert, D.D.
Charles Scribner’s Sons: New York. [A book for scholars.], The Apostles 1 Creed. Six Lectures given in West minster Abbey. By H. C. Beeching, Litt.D. E. P.
Button & Company: New York. The Apostles’ Creed. Its Relation to Primitive Christianity. By H. B. Swete, D.D. University Press: Cambridge. [Lectures delivered to Divinity Students.], The Apostles’ Creed To-day. By Edward S.
Drown, D.D. The Macmillan Company: New York.
DAILY SAY THIS PRAYER, OGOD, who hast taught us to trust in thee as our loving Father; Open our hearts to share that most daring faith which thou hast revealed to thy servants in all ages, till the littleness of our knowledge is lost in the greatness of thy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CHAPTER IV LEARK, I Corinthians xin.
>
REVIEW, Question. What is the Church?
Answer. The Church is the Body of which Jesus Christ is the Head, and all baptized people the members.
Question. How is the Church described in the Apostles 1 and Nicene Creeds?
Answer. The Church is described in the Creeds as One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.
Question. What do we mean by these words?
Answer. We mean that the Church is One, because it is one Body under one Head;
Holy, because the Holy Spirit dwells in it, and sanctifies its members;
Catholic, because it is universal, holding earnestly the Faith for all time, in all countries, and for all people, and is sent to preach the Gospel to the whole world; and Apostolic, because it continues steadfastly in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship.
Question. What is your bounden duty as a mem ber of the Church?
Answer. My bounden duty is to follow Christ, to worship God every Sunday in his Church; and to work and pray and give for the spread of his Kingdom.
LEARN, Question. What orders of Ministers are there in the Church?
Answer. Bishops, Priests, and Deacons; which orders have been in the Church from the earliest rimes.
Question. What is the office of a Bishop?
Answer. The office of a Bishop is, to be a chief pastor in the Church; to confer Holy Orders; and to administer Confirmation.
Question. What is the office of a Priest?
Answer. The office of a Priest is, to preach the Word of God; to baptize; to celebrate the Holy Communion; to pronounce Absolution and Blessing in God’s Name; and to minister to the people committed to his care.
Question. What is the office of a Deacon?
Answer. The office of a Deacon is, to assist the Priest in Divine Service, and in his other ministrations, under the direction of the Bishop.
READ, The Gospel according to St. Luke: Chapter ix to
XVII.
READ ALSO, The Continuity of Christian Thought. By A. V. G.
Allen, D.D. Houghton Miiflin Company: Bos ton. A Popular History of the Church of England. By W. B. Carpenter, D.D, late Bishop of Ripon, John Murray: London.
Three Hundred Years of the Episcopal Church in America. By George Hodges, D.D. G. W. Jacobs, Philadelphia. The Church-Idea. By W. R. Huntington, D.D.
Hough ton Mifflin Company: Boston. The Light Within. A Study of the Holy Spirit. By C. L. Slattery. Longmans, Green & Company, New York. [An attempt to show God’s guidance of Christian history.], SAY THIS PRAYER ON ENTERING THE CHURCH, OGODj who makest thyself known in the stillness; Let me feel thy presence in this sacred place; make me to be of the company of brave saints who have worshipped here in spirit and in truth; through the voices of men and the instruments of praise give me to lift my heart to thee; and so, O Lord, purify my life that, going forth into the world, I may go in thy strength and in thy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CHAPTER V LEARN, Psalm LXXXIV. [Prayer Book Version.], REVIEW, Question. What is your duty towards God?
Answer. My duty towards God is to believe in him, to fear him, And to love him with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my strength; I and II. To worship him, to give him thanks, To put my whole trust in him, to call upon him;
III. To honour his holy Name and his Word;
IV. To serve him truly all the days of my life.
Question. What is your bounden duty as a mem ber of the Church?
Answer. My bounden duty is to follow Christ, to worship God every Sunday in his Church; and to Work and pray and give for the spread of his Kingdom.
READ, The Gospel according to St. Luke: Chapter xvm through Chapter xxiv.
IF YOU HAVE TIME, READ, I The Spiritual House. A First Lesson in Architecture. By W. R. Huntington, D.D. Thomas Whittaker: New York. The Poetry of Architecture: By^FranJc Rutter.
G. H. Dor an Company: New York. ii A Short History of the Book of Common Prayer. By W. R. Huntington, D.D. Thomas Whittaker, New York. The Book of Common Prayer. By Samuel Hart, D.D. University Press: Sewanee. The Inner Life. By Evelyn Underbill. E. P!
Dutton & Company: New York.
DAILY SAY THIS PRAYER, OGOD, who hast prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man’s under standing; Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee above all things, ma y obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CHAPTER VI
LEARN, Psalm xxin. [Prayer Book Version.], LEARN ALSO, Question. After you have been confirmed what great privilege does our Lord provide for you?
Answer. Our Lord provides the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, for the continual strengthening and refreshing of my soul. ^ Question. How many Sacraments has Christ ordained m his Church?
Answer. -Christ has ordained two Sacraments only as generally necessary to salvation; that is to say Baptism and the Supper of the Lord.
’Question. What do you mean by this word Sacrament?
Answer. I mean by this word Sacrament an out ward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us; ordained by Christ himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge t<? assure us thereof.
Question. How many parts are there in a sacrament?
Answer. There are two parts in a sacrament: the outward and visible sign; and the inward and spiritual grace.
Question. What is the outward and visible sign or form in Baptism?
Answer. The outward and visible sign or form in Baptism is Water; wherein the person is baptized, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Question. What is the inward and spiritual grace in Baptism?
Answer. The inward and spiritual grace in Bap tism is a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness: whereby we are made the children of grace.
Question. What is required of persons to be baptized?
Answer. Repentance, whereby they forsake sin; and Faith, whereby they steadfastly believe the promises of God made to them in that Sacrament.
Question. Why then are infants baptized, when by reason of their tender, age, they cannot perform them?
Answer. Because, by the faith of their Sponsors, infants are received into Christ’s Church, become the recipients of his grace, and are trained in the household of faith.
Question. Why was the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper ordained?
Answer. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was ordained for the continual remembrance of the sacrifice of the death of Christ, and of the benefits which we receive thereby.
Question. What is the outward part or sign of the Lord’s Supper?
Answer. The outward part or sign of the Lord’s Supper is, Bread and Wine, which the Lord hath commanded to be received.
Question. What is the inward part, or thing signified?
Answer. The inward part, or thing signified, is the Body and Blood of Christ, which are spiritually taken and received by the faithful in the Lord’s Supper.
Question. What are the benefits whereof we are partakers in the Lord’s Supper?
Answer. The benefits whereof we are partakers in the Lord’s Supper are the strengthening andrefreshing of our souls by the Body and Blood of Christ, as our bodies are strengthened andrefreshed by the Bread and Wine.
Question. What is required of those who come to the Lord’s Supper?
Answer. It is required of those who come to the Lord’s Supper to examine themselves, whether they repent them truly of their former sins, with stead fast purpose to lead a new life; to have a lively faith in God’s mercy through Christ, with a thankfulremembrance of his death; and to be in charity with all men* READ, The Gospel according to St. John through Chapter vi.
St. Mark 14:22-25.
St. Luke 22:14-20.
St. Matthew 26:26-30.
John 13:4-17. A ND now, O Father, mindful of the love JL”\, That bought us, once for all, on Calvary’s tree, And having with us him that pleads above, We here present, we here spread forth to thee, That only offering perfect in thine eyes, The one true, pure, immortal sacrifice.
Look, Father, look on his anointed face, And only look on us as found in him;
Look not on our misusings of thy grace, Our prayer so languid, and our faith so dim; For lo! between our sins and their reward, We set the Passion of thy Son our Lord. And then for those, our dearest and our best, By this prevailing presence we appeal; O fold them closer to thy mercy’s breast!
O do thine utmost for their souls’ true weal! From tainting mischief keep them white and clear, And crown Thy gifts with strength to persevere. And so we come; O draw us to thy feet, Most patient Saviour, who canst love us still! And by this Food, so awful and so sweet.
Deliver us from every touch of ill, In thine own service make us glad and free. And grant us nevermore to part with thee. Amen.
READ ALSO, IF YOU HAVE TIME, The Holy Communion: What It Is and How to Prepare for It. By C. L, Slattery. Houghton MifHin Company: Boston. The Holy Communion. By C. L. Slattery. E. P.
Button & Company: New York.
DAILY SAY THIS PRAYER, GRANT, O Father, that when we receive the blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, coming to those holy mysteries in faith, and love, and true repentance, we may receive remission of our sins, and be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CHAPTER VII SUGGESTED SERVICE INTRODUCING CONFIRMATION * \The Hymn suggested for the entrance of the choristers is either a Hymn appropriate for the Season, or one of the following, 433 (verses I and 4), 434 (verses 1:4, and 5), or 539 (verses 1:2, and 3).
If The Minister shall say, THE hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to wor ship him. St. John 4:23.
Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Sa maria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Php 1:2. The Lord be with you.
Answer, And with thy spirit.
Minister. Let us pray.
O Lord, show thy mercy upon us.
Answer. And grant us thy salvation.
Minister. O God, make clean our hearts within us.
Answer. And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
* This service is authorized for use, when it is desired, in the Diocese of Massachusetts.
If Then shall be said the COLLECT FOR THE DAY, and after that the Prayers following.
OGOD, who didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
1f Then, while all remain kneeling, shall be sung this portion of Hymn 204 (tune 141); and Note, that when it is desired, the first three lines of each stanza, may be sung by a single voice, but the last line of each stanza shall always be sung by the whole Congregation.
HOLY Spirit, heavenly Dove, Dew descending from above.
Breath of life, and fire of love; Hear us, Holy Spirit.
All thy sevenfold gifts bestow, Gifts of wisdom God to know, Gifts of strength to meet the foe; Hear us, Holy Spirit.
Keep us in the narrow way, Warn us when we go astray, Plead within us when we pray; Hear us. Holy Spirit.
Holy, loving, as thou art, Come, and live within our heart; Never more from us depart;
Hear us. Holy Spirit. Amen.
OGOD, who through the teaching of thy Son Jesus Christ didst prepare the disciples for the coming of the Comforter; Make ready, we be seech thee, the hearts and minds of thy servants who at this time are seeking to be strengthened by the gift of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, that, drawing near with penitent and faithful hearts, they may evermore be filled with the power of his divine indwelling; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen. f Then shall the Minister declare when the candidates shall receive the Holy Communion, and give such other Notices as he shall think fit; and afterwards shall be sung these verses of Hymn 139, during which those to be confirmed shall present themselves at the Communion Rail.
JUST as I am, without one plea, But that thy blood was shed for me, And that thou bidd’st me come to thee,.
O Lamb of God, I come.
Just as I am, though tossed about With many a conflict, many a doubt, Fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come.
Just as I am: thou wilt receive, Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because thy promise I believe, Lamb of God, I come.
Just as I am, thy love unknown Has broken every barrier down; Now to be thine, yea, thine alone, Lamb of God, I come. Amen. THE SERVICE FROM THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER THE ORDER OF CONFIRMATION,)R LAYING ON OF HANDS UPON THOSE WHO ARE BAPTIZED, AND COME TO YEARS OF DISCRETION.
If Upon the day appointed, all that are to be confirmed shall stand in order before the Bishop, sitting in his chair near to the Holy Table, the people all standing until the Lord’s Prayer. And the Minister shall say, KLVEREND Father in God, I present unto you these persons to receive the Laying on of Hands.
If Then the Bishop, or some Minister appointed by him, may say, Hear the words of the Evangelist Saint Luke, in the eighth Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. WHEN the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (for as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
^T Then shall the Bishop say y DO ye here, in the presence of God, and of this congregation, renew the solemn promise and vow that ye made, or that was made in your name, at your Baptism; ratifying and confirming the same; and acknowledging yourselves bound to believe and to do all those things which ye then undertook, or your Sponsors then undertook for you?
If And every one shall audibly answer, I do.
Then shall the Bishop say y O ye promise to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?
If And every one shall answer, I do.
Bishop. OUR help is in the Name of the Lord; Answer, Who hath made heaven and earth.
Bishop. Blessed be the Name of the Lord; Answer. Henceforth, world without end.
Bishop. Lord, hear our prayer.
Answer. And let our cry come unto thee.
Bishop. Let us pray.
ALMIGHTY and everliving God, who hast JL\ vouchsafed to regenerate these thy serv ants by Water and the Holy Ghost, and hast given unto them forgiveness of all their sins; Strengthen them, we beseech thee, O Lord, with the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, and daily increase in them thy manifold gifts of grace: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and ghostly strength, the spirit of knowledge and true godliness; and fill them, O Lord, with the spirit of thy holy fear, now and for ever. Amen.
\ Then all of them in order kneeling before the Bishop, he shall lay his hands upon the head of every one severally, saying, DEFEND, O Lord, this thy Child with thy heavenly grace; that he may continue thine for ever; and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit more and more, until he come unto thy everlasting kingdom. Amen.
1f Then shall the Bishop say y The Lord be with you.
Answer. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
If Then shall the Bishop say the Lord’s Prayer, the People kneeling and repeating it with him. OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our tres passes. As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. f Then shall the Bishop say, ALMIGHTY and everliving God, who makJTjL est us both to will and to do those things which are good, and acceptable unto thy Divine Majesty; We make our humble supplications unto thee for these thy servants, upon whom, after the example of thy holy Apostles, we have now laid our hands, to certify them, by this sign, of thy favour and gracious goodness towards them. Let thy fatherly hand, we beseech thee, ever be over them; let thy Holy Spirit ever be with them; and so lead them in the knowledge and obedience of thy Word, that in the end they may obtain ever lasting life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
O ALMIGHTY Lord, and everlasting God, vouchsafe, we beseech thee, to direct, sanctify, and govern, both our hearts and bodies, in the ways of thy laws, and in the works of thy commandments; that, through thy most mighty protection, both here and ever, we may bepreserved in body and soul; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Then the Bishop shall bless them, saying thus> THE Blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be upon you, and remain with you for ever. Amen.
AFTER CONFIRMATION, FREQUENTLY SAY THIS
PRAYER, ALMIGHTY God, who hast sent thy Son into the world to be for ever the friend of man kind; Grant to me the consciousness of hispresence, that, receiving his power, I may conquer temptations and troubles, and rise with strength to do thy will; through the same Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.