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 JjCSB LIBRARY
 
 THOUGHTS 
 
 IN 
 
 WAR-TIME. 
 
 FOUR SERMONS 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REVEREND R. E. ROBERTS, M.A. 
 Vicar of S. Mark's, Peterborough. 
 
 PRICE SIXPENCE. 
 
 Note. — The Churchwardens of S. Mark's have kindly 
 made themselves responsible for the cost of producing 
 this little book, with the result that all the money 
 derived from its sale will be given to the local funds of 
 the British Red Cross Society.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Introductory ... DEDICATION. 
 
 Sermon I. ... PROVIDENCE. 
 
 Sermon II. ... LIFE'S FULFILMENT. 
 
 Sermon IIL ... LOVE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 Sermon IV. ... THE CHURCHES.
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 My dear Parishioners and Friends, 
 
 It is just ten years since I was licensed and 
 solemnly admitted to a Curacy in this Parish. I 
 take leave to mark the occasion by dedicating to 
 you, and particularly to the congregations habitually 
 worshipping in S. Mark's and S. Barnabas' Churches, 
 these *' Thoughts in War-time." They have the 
 advantage of being fairly representative of what I 
 have endeavoured to teach, and the disadvantage of 
 my method of doing so, in the hundreds of sermons 
 you have heard from me. 
 
 1 ask you to accept the little book as an 
 expression of my gratitude for all the kindness and 
 support you have extended to me, and of my 
 happiness in ministering amongst you. 
 
 That the spirit of Christ our Saviour may be 
 more and more manifested among us is the earnest 
 and prayerful wish of your faithful servant and 
 
 affectionate friend, 
 
 R. E. ROBERTS. 
 June, 1917.
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Shortly before this little book efnen:^ed fro7u the 
 hands of the Publishers I was offered by the JiisJwp 
 and accepted the Benefice of Knii^hton, Leicester. 
 
 I shall cherish ?nany happy 7nemories of S. Marks 
 Parish^ and pray God*s Blessing may rest upon the 
 Church there. R. E. R. 
 
 I
 
 I. 
 
 PROVIDENCE
 
 PROVIDENCE. 
 
 The Lord is King, the earth may be glad thereof : 
 yea, the multitude of the isles may be glad thereof. 
 Clouds and darkness are round about him : right- 
 eousness and judgment are the habitation of his 
 seat. — Psalm xcvii., i, 2. 
 
 The fact of ProYidence. 
 
 The Lord is King. There is a ring of confidence 
 in the statement. These old Psalmists did believe 
 intensely in Providence. To them God was a 
 present reality, a living intelligent Person who 
 actually reigned in the kingdom of men. 
 
 The same belief is very general to-day. We find 
 it even beyond the confines of church and chapel. 
 People with little idea of what we understand as 
 orthodox convictions believe not only that there is 
 a God, but that He controls and directs the course 
 of events. One of the things which impressed me 
 most in the Army was the intensity of this belief
 
 5 
 
 among almost all officers and men. Many whose 
 knowledge of Christian Doctrine was sadly deficient 
 believed most fervently in the Providence of God. 
 An officer who was excessively anxious to disclaim 
 any pretention to be religious, and who certainly 
 was ' a man of the world,' said to me, " I am quite 
 convinced those Angels did appear at Mons. I 
 was there, and although I did not see them, I saw 
 the enemy's horses take alarm and refuse to advance 
 when according to all human calculations they 
 ought to have trampled us to the dust." And then 
 he added, " We shall win this war because God 
 will not allow the Right to be defeated." That 
 sort of simple faith is typical ; one meets it almost 
 everywhere, among civilians as well as soldiers. It 
 is the most universal of all religious convictions, 
 and whatever its limitations it has the effect of 
 inspiring prayer and sustaining confidence — the two 
 things which perhaps we most need in this fierce 
 and prolonged ordeal. 
 
 But in order to have a right conception of Divine 
 government, it is important to recognise that it is
 
 6 
 
 both general and particular. God has the whole 
 universe to consider and control, and, being what 
 He is. He seeks and works for the goodness and 
 happiness of nations, continents, and worlds. It is 
 important to bear this in mind, because it goes far 
 to protect us on the one hand against exaggerated 
 expectations of Providential intervention in the 
 interest of undertakings which concern us more 
 especially as individuals, and on the other hand 
 against misjudging the actions of Providence. The 
 whole is greater than its part ; and the fact that 
 God governs and cares for the whole must necessarily 
 act as a restraining influence upon our notion of 
 His dealings with the parts. And yet. His Govern- 
 ment is also /dJr/'/Vw/drr, i.e., it has regard for the 
 component parts which make up the whole. Our 
 blessed Lord's teaching is unmistakable on this 
 point. "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, 
 and not one of them is forgotten before God. But 
 even the very hairs of your head are all numbered." 
 The goodness and happiness of mankind generally 
 are not sought without regard for the goodness and
 
 7 
 
 happiness of individuals. Just as in the Army, a 
 commanding officer who cares for the success of 
 the whole movement displays concern for the due 
 protection of every man engaged in it, so God 
 whilst ruling the universe does not lose sight of the 
 several parts and entities of which it consists. 
 Divine Government is not Prussian ; it is Divine. 
 
 Now this Government is usually administered 
 through laws, which, because they are very common, 
 we call Natural laws. But remember we are not 
 governed by laws ; we are governed through laws 
 by God. God is not a machine. He is not 
 irrevocably committed to a routine. Again and 
 again, in the Old and New Testaments, we are 
 assured that behind the laws of Nature is the 
 Sovereignty of God. If, therefore, to us individually, 
 there seems adequate reason for the suspension of 
 a Natural law, we are perfectly justified in appealing 
 to His loving kindness and supreme intelligence. We 
 must, of course, be sure that our motive, so far from 
 being frivolous or merely selfish, is pure and good. 
 But granted our prayer is ofifered in the right spirit,
 
 the whole teaching of the Bible, and above all of 
 our Blessed Lord Himself, is such as to encourage 
 it. Let no one in this time of gigantic movements 
 and appalling happenings think that Prayer on 
 behalf of even a single individual is unauthorised 
 or useless. Above the raging of battles and the 
 crushing of nations is God, supreme, intelligent and 
 gracious — gracious enough to hear the cry of His 
 humblest subject if only it be sincere, and even to 
 supersede a Natural law where in His wisdom He 
 knows such intervention will better serve the great 
 purpose of life. The Lord is King. 
 
 Our Knowledge limited. 
 
 It is true, however, that God's answers to our 
 prayers are sometimes very different from what we 
 hope and expect ; true also that a great deal which 
 takes place in the world is, at any rate at first sight, 
 unintelligible to us. " Clouds and darkness are round 
 about Him." Just now perhaps more than ever we 
 are baffled by what is happening ; the world seems 
 all out of gear and control, and if there be a devil
 
 9 
 
 he appears to be having it all his own way. People 
 are puzzled and perplexed. Again and again I have 
 beenasked these last months, "Why all this slaughter? 
 If God be good and supreme why was my hus- 
 band — as good a man as ever lived — why was he 
 killed?" 
 
 It will alter what would be an accusatory 
 judgment in such a case if we frankly confess that 
 God's government is on such an enormous scale as 
 to be beyond our intellectual grasp. God guides 
 the destinies of the whole universe, and the blow 
 that falls on that bewildered mother, or the swift 
 tragedy one sees in a trench, must be considered, 
 and, if you will, judged in relation to the whole 
 universe. Therefore from the human point of view 
 clouds and darkness are round about Him. And 
 then our vision is often so short that at a given 
 moment we fail to appreciate the full significance 
 of a particular event. There are many instances 
 of this. Imagine the perplexity of Jacob when 
 Joseph, his favourite son, a handsome and capable 
 young man, was represented as slain. Or again in
 
 lO 
 
 the New Testament : What must the disciples have 
 felt when Jesus upon Whom they had staked their 
 all lay helpless on the Cross, and the cry went up 
 from parched and quivering lips, " My God, my 
 God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" The experience 
 of the early Christians was much the same. When 
 it seemed so important they should make a good 
 start they were subject to violent persecution and 
 hounded from place to place, cast into prisons and 
 slaughtered with impunity. So it is in this War- 
 time. Every day things are happening which within 
 our very limited view cannot be otherwise than 
 disappointing, dark and terrible. " Clouds and dark- 
 ness are round about Him." 
 
 It is because of this limitation of vision and 
 comprehension that we ought never to judge, 
 especially in the case of individuals in respect of 
 misfortunes they experience. You remember how 
 perfectly explicit our Lord was on this point : " His 
 disciples asked Him, saying. Master, who did sin, 
 this man or his parents, that he was born blind? 
 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned nor
 
 II 
 
 his parents, but that the works of God should be 
 made manifest in him." The same warning is 
 given in reference to the Galileans whom Pilate had 
 murdered : " Suppose ye," cried Jesus, " that these 
 Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans 
 because they suffered such things? I tell you 
 Nay. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in 
 Siloam fell and slew them, Think ye that they were 
 sinners above all that dwelt in Jerusalem ? I tell 
 you Nay." Neither you nor I have any shadow of 
 right to attribute the suffering and affliction of any- 
 one to Providential punishment. We do not know 
 all the ways of Providence ; our knowledge and 
 vision are circumscribed. " Clouds and darkness are 
 round about Him." 
 
 The Justice of Providence. 
 
 But the clouds and darkness are not altogether 
 impenetrable. We have, it is true, our limitations, 
 but we are not abandoned to blind and sheer 
 stupidity. The Psalmist, whilst admitting certain 
 difficulties, cuts a way through the clouds and is
 
 12 
 
 satisfied that the God behind them is perfectly- 
 just : Righteousness and judgment are the habitation 
 of His seat and the very foundation of His Throne. 
 The Psalmist believed it. Do you? Does the 
 evidence available convince you that in spite of all 
 which tends to show the contrary, God is good and 
 just? Let us glance again at those instances of 
 darkness. The selling of Joseph to the Ishmaelites 
 culminated in his elevation to preside over the 
 productive resources of Egypt. The crucifixion 
 of Jesus Christ was immediately followed by 
 the Resurrection and the complete attainment 
 of Redemption for mankind. The persecution of 
 the early Christians had the unexpected effect of 
 dispersing abroad the Gospel of Christian Salvation. 
 And is there not evidence in every age that God 
 over-rules the machinations of Satan for the promo- 
 tion of those higher qualities with which we associate 
 His Sacred Name, and of which indeed He is the 
 only Source ? There is perhaps in all history no 
 greater revelation of the power of the Devil than 
 this war. And yet even in the midst of this appalling
 
 holocaust it is apparent that God inspires noble 
 elements of character, and gathers a richer harvest than 
 generations of peace had yielded. I submit to you 
 that, wherever we are able to take anything approach- 
 ing a full view of the case, the balance is on the 
 right side and bears out the saying of the Psalmist. 
 Let me beg you, my brethren, not lightly to lose or 
 forsake this belief in the Righteousness of Providence. 
 To lose this is to lose all. Belief in the goodness 
 of God is the first and most essential thing in our 
 Religion. That is why our blessed Lord in the 
 great model Prayer made " Hallowed be Thy 
 Name " the first petition. Our Father, Who art in 
 Heaven, enable us before all else to think of Thee 
 as pc. cctly Holy, and always to know Thee as 
 good and righteous and just. 
 
 The Joy of Belief in Providence. 
 
 The Lord is King, and though clouds and dark- 
 ness are round about Him, righteousness and 
 judgment are the habitation of His seat. Therefore 
 the earth may be glad thereof, yea the multitude of
 
 14 
 
 the isles may be glad thereof. The joy of belief in 
 Providence ! If your faith is well established that 
 the world so far from being a mere whirlpool of 
 chance and confusion is governed by a supremely 
 wise and good God, you will have peace of mind 
 and inward happiness. Briefly, this faith will have 
 three effects upon you. First, you will wish to 
 pray : to come into communion with God, and 
 in that communion to commit all your cares and 
 anxieties to Him Who cares for you. Secondly, 
 you will as a result of prayer be patient and brave. 
 Things may appear to go all wrong, but you know 
 that on the Throne and sitting above the water- 
 floods is God. He holds in His hands the reins 
 that control the universe ; He guides the destinies 
 of men and nations. Believing him to be infallible 
 and All-Sovereign, you will be content to bide your 
 time and patiently endure till the shadows flee and 
 light prevails where now is darkness. And lastly, 
 think what happiness such faith will bring you. 
 When depression has seized the doubter and 
 despair the unbeliever, you will go on your journey
 
 15 
 
 with the music of optimism in your soul. 
 
 Grow old along with me ! 
 
 The best is yet to be, 
 
 The last of life, for which the first was made 
 
 Our times are in His Hand 
 
 Who saith, " A whole I planned. 
 
 Youth shows but half ; trust God ; see all ; 
 nor be afraid ! " 
 
 Should not the heart beat once 
 
 " Praise be Thine 1 " 
 
 " I see the whole design, 
 
 I, who saw power, see now love perfect too : 
 
 Perfect I call Thy plan : 
 
 Thanks that I was a man ! 
 
 Maker, remake, complete, — I trust what 
 Thou shalt do." * 
 
 Robert Browning in " Rabbi Ben Ezra.'
 
 II. 
 
 LIFE'S 
 FULFILMENT
 
 LIFE'S 
 FULFILMENT, 
 
 Verily I say unto you, There is no man that 
 hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or 
 children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall 
 not receive manifold more. — S. Luke xviii., 29, 30. 
 
 The circumstances which led up to this great 
 declaration are interesting to recall and significant 
 in their bearing. Our Blessed Lord had addressed 
 certain words to a young man desirous of ensuring 
 for himself eternal safety, and these had a very 
 depressing and indeed alarming effect upon the 
 Apostles who overheard them. They exclaimed 
 in amazement, " How hardly shall they that have 
 riches enter the Kingdom of God ! " And they
 
 20 
 
 asked in perplexity, " Who then can be saved ? " 
 The moment seemed opportune to have the whole 
 situation clarified, and to come to an understanding 
 with Jesus. The condition of their services to and 
 with Him ought to be defined, at any rate in 
 general terms. They had taken great risks. 
 Although, with one or two exceptions, they were 
 not men of wealth, their sacrifice had been very 
 considerable, for they had turned their backs on 
 homes and domestic ties that were dear to them ; 
 they had abandoned a means of livelihood, in 
 which, by training and long practice, they were 
 experts, and had involved themselves in an enter- 
 prise which was anything but popular. It was not 
 surprising nor unnatural that they should require 
 to have some notion of their prospects. In such 
 circumstances they invariably looked to S. Peter 
 to express and interpret their thoughts. He was 
 their spokesman, and he now filled the role with 
 characteristic directness and courage. " Lo," he 
 exclaimed, " we left our own, and followed Thee." 
 It is a challenge. Has the Master anything to
 
 21 
 
 offer? If men make sacrifice for Him and all 
 that He ^represents, what is to be their ultimate 
 fate? Are they mere temporary tools to be case 
 aside when spent and effete ? Is the sacrifice made 
 and service rendered the end of all ? If it is 
 frail humanity that prompts such wistful question- 
 ings, then, indeed, are many of us human. We 
 like to have some idea of our destiny. Is there 
 reward ? Shall we have the gratifying conscious- 
 ness that all is not vain ? Shall we have some 
 share in the triumph of the cause we have 
 championed ? Will there be opportunities for the 
 continued exercise of our best and most cherished 
 capacities ? 
 
 Now, mark our Lord's attitude. He did not 
 rebuke the bold questioner, nor refuse to answer. 
 And the answer He gave was full and generous. 
 " Verily I say unto you. There is no man that hath 
 left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or 
 children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall 
 not receive manifold more." We see, then, that 
 Christ promised abundant reward to the dutiful
 
 22 
 
 and loyal. Every sacrifice will have ample recom- 
 pense, — a recompense that far out-weighs in value 
 anything one has lost in the meantime. We are 
 encouraged to be enterprising, to take risks, to 
 stake all, in the fulfilment of our Christian 
 vocation. 
 
 A Manly Religion. 
 
 It appears, then, that Christianity is a manly 
 Religion which awakens in us the best ambitions, 
 and incites us to accomplish and achieve. 
 
 God who created me 
 Nimble and light of limb, 
 In three elements free, 
 To run, to ride, to swim : 
 Not when the sense is dim, 
 But now from the heart of joy, 
 I would remember Him : 
 Take the thanks of a boy.
 
 23 
 
 Jesu, King and Lord, 
 Whose are my foes to fight, 
 Gird me with Thy sword 
 Swift and sharp and bright. 
 Thee would I serve if I might ; 
 And conquer if I can, 
 From day-dawn till night. 
 Take the strength of a man.* 
 
 But this is an aspect which has been far too 
 much neglected. Although it is not the only 
 aspect, it is of the first importance, and holds an 
 essential place in the moral structure of our 
 Religion. We ministers especially, and you lay- 
 men too in measure, are to blame for not having 
 presented a better balanced interpretation of the 
 teaching of Jesus Christ. We have not dwelt 
 sufficiently either on His exacting claims, or on 
 His suie rewards, — the latter, because we fear the 
 former. The crown is in the background because 
 it presupposes the cross. We have erred, I think, 
 
 * H. C. Beeching, in the Oxford Book of Bnglieh VerBe.
 
 24 
 
 on the side of not committing our Faith to very 
 much. There has been a manifest tendency 
 towards smoothness, and an exaggerated regard 
 for people's convenience and susceptibilities. With 
 what result ? One cannot but observe that in the 
 minds of many men Christianity is chiefly associated 
 with an effeminate inoffensiveness. Mercifully, 
 however, in spite of our mistake in not advocating 
 sufficiently a manly enterprise, men generally have 
 retained a robust ambition. It is, doubtless, 
 instinctive. You all must have observed that, 
 when a clear call and soul-stirring appeal is made 
 in the interest of a great and righteous purpose, 
 people are willing and even anxious to respond. 
 If ever we had any doubt about this, our experience 
 in the War has surely dispelled it. A young man 
 of wealth, beloved beyond measure of all his 
 neighbours, and apparently destined to a life of 
 boundless pleasure, remarked to me, " I am glad 
 this War has given me the opportunity to show 
 that I am capable of something better than soft- 
 living." He has since made the supreme sacrifice.
 
 25 
 
 Think of the hardships and agonies millions of 
 our fellow-countrymen have patiently endured 
 these three years ! We know now what splendid 
 qualities are latent in men. The pity of it is, 
 that in consequence of a certain timidity on our 
 part in normal times, and a certain aloofness on 
 their own part, many of them are wholly uncon- 
 scious that such a demonstration of self-surrender 
 is just what Christianity teaches and inspires. 
 They do not know that in facing desolation and 
 death in order to stem the rising tide of a 
 monstrous tyranny, they are more Christian than 
 the most punctilious priest or the most ' pious ' 
 Protestant who is self-regardful and finds excuses 
 for taking no risk ; they do not know that in 
 their splendid patriotism and self-sacrifice they 
 stand on Holy Ground, and, like Simon of Cyrene 
 of old, share with Christ the burden of the Cross 
 on the very slopes of Calvary.
 
 26 
 
 Yirtue Rewarded. 
 
 And the second great fact which our Lord's 
 attitude and utterance bring home to us is, that 
 such nobility of conduct does not go unrewarded. 
 The men who have so borne themselves, though 
 they are " still in death," and their bodies are 
 exposed to sun and storm in * no-man's land,' are 
 not abandoned of Heaven. They know the thrill 
 of duty done in extremest peril ; in their soul is 
 the joy of achievement ; in their ears the sweet 
 sound of the Master's commendation, " Well 
 done, thou good and faithful servant." Although 
 their life on earth was brief, it was wondrously 
 intense ; and it is likely that in a few fleeting 
 hours they knew more of life's fulfilment than 
 many who have run the course of three score 
 years and ten. 
 
 It is not growing like a tree 
 
 In bulk, doth make man better be ; 
 
 Or standing long an oak, three hundred year, 
 
 To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere :
 
 27 
 
 A lily of a day 
 
 Is fairer far in May, 
 
 Although it fall and die that night ; 
 
 It was the plant and flower of light. 
 
 In small proportions we just beauties see ; 
 
 And in short measures, life may perfect be.* 
 
 After all, brethren, the intensity, gallantry, and 
 inner joy of such a life are a higher and more 
 enduring reward than all the prizes and possessions 
 of this material world. " There is no man that 
 hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, 
 or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who 
 shall not receive manifold more." 
 
 Christianity Aggressive. 
 
 Let us try and regain this m^nly aspect of 
 Christianity ; let us re-assure the men and women 
 who spend themselves by labour and suffering and 
 sacrifice for some good end, that they are doing 
 the most Christian thing in the world ; and let us 
 
 * Ben Jonson.
 
 28 
 
 have the courage to tell those who .shrink from 
 such conduct, and ^^whose chief concern is their 
 own safety and comfort, that though they be ever 
 so ' worthy,' from the Christian standpoint they 
 are deplorably defective. It seems to me that 
 one of our greatest needs is to raise again the 
 standard of an attacking Christ : to interpret Him 
 to the world as God's great Joshua, Captain of 
 mighty hosts, Who leads His followers in strong 
 and irresistible attack upon all that is base and 
 evil in hfe : Who marches on to achievement and 
 victory, and a thousandfold repays and blesses 
 those that have rallied round Him, and in His 
 spirit borne the brunt of battle. " The Son of 
 God goes forth to war ; " and the challenge comes 
 to you and me and all mankind, " Who follows in 
 His train?" That is a presentment of Christ 
 which is at once true and effective. Strong 
 leadership seldom fails to attract. Let me give 
 an illustration from the history of Wales. When 
 Owen Glyndwr made a stand for national inde- 
 pendence the whole country was kindled with
 
 2^ 
 
 enthusiasm. It must have been known from the 
 start that the enemy's resources were very much 
 greater than their own, and that the prospect of 
 victory was extremely slender ; and yet, when the 
 Flag with its fierce red dragon was unfurled, the 
 whole race of the Cymry flocked to lift it on high, 
 and to carry it onward and forward, whatever 
 obstruction they encountered. Farmers sold their 
 cattle to buy horses and war equipment ; labourers 
 hurried from England, and mercenaries from 
 France and the distant East. The Bards sang 
 songs that flamed with patriotism; students and 
 clergy broke through their scruples and hastened 
 to follow the National Hero ; high and low 
 counted it not loss but gain to fall in his service. 
 For fourteen years of bitter and dogged fighting 
 he was sustained by devoted adherents, until at 
 last he died, still defiant. So it ever has been ; so 
 it will be. 
 
 If we proclaim Jesus Christ as the great Leader 
 of men, — the Commander, Who with supreme 
 authority calls for service and sacrifice, and
 
 3° 
 
 abundantly blesses His followers, — we shall attract 
 to Christianity the great masses of men, and we 
 shall see our churches full of ungruding and loyal 
 disciples. 
 
 God grant it may be so more and more in 
 time to come.
 
 III. 
 
 LOVE IN THE 
 CHURCH.
 
 LOVE IN THE 
 CHURCH. 
 
 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye 
 love one another ; as I have loved you, that ye also 
 love one another. By tliis shall all men know that 
 ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. — 
 S. John xiii., 34, 35. 
 
 The words gather solemnity from the circum- 
 stances surrounding their first utterance. Our Lord 
 and His disciples were in the 'upper room' in 
 Jerusalem, where they had duly observed the Feast 
 of the Passover. The Cross was already throwing 
 its shadow in advance, and the Last Supper had 
 been instituted as one of the two great Sacraments 
 of the Christian Dispensation ; Judas restless yet 
 resolute in his dark undertaking had relieved the 
 little company of his presence ; and Jesus as a 
 symbol and example of humility had deigned to 
 wash the feet of His disciples. Then it was He
 
 35 
 
 raised Himself, and looking round upon the nucleus 
 of His Church, delivered them the solemn charge 
 to love one another. Surely, if anything were 
 required to give the words additional force and to 
 make them bum into the hearts of those who heard 
 them, we have it here. It was, observe, a * new ' 
 commandment. In the Greek there are two words 
 translated 'new,' one suggesting a forward outlook, — 
 young as compared with aged ; the other suggesting 
 retrospection and indicating /r^x^ as compared with 
 worn-out. It is the latter word that is found here. 
 And when we take the hint, and send our thoughts 
 far back into Jewish history, we see its deep and 
 subtle significance. In one sense the command- 
 ment was anything but new, for had not Moses 
 enjoined, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy- 
 self?" But it was now endowed by the Great 
 Messiah, Incarnate Son of God, with a significance 
 it never had before, and with a certain freshness 
 which gave it incomparable force. He gave a new 
 motive for obeying it, namely, God's love for men. 
 This had the effect of carrying the principle of
 
 3f 
 
 mutual love very much farther than had been 
 imagined under the old Dispensation, and of 
 inspiring it with undreamt-of graces. If you would 
 appreciate this striking development you can hardly 
 do better than compare the thirteenth chapter of 
 S. Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians with the 
 measured benevolence of the Pentateuch. 
 
 " Even as I have loved you." Our Lord's 
 intention, as already indicated, was not so much to 
 point to Himself as an example, but rather to supply 
 His disciples with a new incentive to love one 
 another. The argument appears to be : * Because 
 God in Christ has loved you with a love that is 
 infinite, the least you can do is to love one another.' 
 It has been well said that love is the meeting-place 
 of God and man ; but this does not mean that man 
 initiates love or any other virtue. " We love because 
 He first loved us." It is all of God. This is well 
 illustrated in Browning's Saul^ in which David, 
 whilst soothing the king with voice and harp, and 
 yielding himself to the spell of inspiration, saw the 
 prophetic vision of Divine Love revealed in its
 
 t7 
 
 fulness in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. 
 
 'Tis Thou God that givest, 'tis I who receive. 
 
 In the first is the last, in Thy will is my power 
 to believe. 
 
 All's one gift. 
 
 Would I suffer for him thafi love ? So would'st 
 Thou, — so wilt Thou ! 
 
 So shall crown Thee, the topmost, ineffablest, 
 uttermost crown — 
 
 And Thy love fill infinitude wholly, nor leave 
 up nor down 
 
 One spot for the creature to stand in ! 
 The disciples were bidden to imbibe the very 
 love God had revealed in the Incarnation and Sacri- 
 fice of His Son, and to diffuse it as the symbol and 
 seal of His presence and spirit among them. The 
 church, of which the nucleus was gathered in that 
 upper room, was to be characterised by the love 
 our Blessed Lord had so superbly demonstrated 
 under provocations and hardships it is impossible to 
 measure ; " even as I have loved you." 
 
 The PrimitiYe Church. 
 
 And it was so characterised in its early days. In 
 whatever respect we may have advanced from the
 
 38 
 
 Standard of the primitive Christians, we must admit 
 with shame that in respect of the great principle and 
 paramount duty of love, the Church has deteriorated. 
 At any rate it seems to me that this supremely 
 important subject has not the place it once had in 
 the teaching and practice and general regard of 
 Church people. We owe to S. Jerome the touching 
 story of how S. John in his old age, when too infirm 
 either to walk to church or to speak at any length 
 after having been conveyed there, used to say 
 repeatedly, '* Little children, love one another." 
 When asked why he so often gave the same counsel, 
 he answered, " Because it is the Lord's command- 
 ment, and if it only be fulfilled, it is enough." But 
 the duty thus pressed home by earnest exhortation 
 was most effectively emphasised by the practice of 
 the Agape. — a social gathering of the local church, 
 arising no doubt from the custom of common meals 
 which obtained alike among the heathen and early 
 Christians. At this love-feast all distinction of 
 class and wealth was subordinate to the spirit oi 
 mutual love and fraternity ; and the whole affair was
 
 39 
 
 solemnised and uplifted by the celebration of the 
 Holy Eucharist which immediately followed.* Justin 
 records of this practice, — " Those of us who are 
 wealthy help all that are in want, and we always 
 remain together." In the primitive Church the 
 close connection of the ' new commandment ' with 
 the sacrament of the Last Supper was a conspicuous 
 feature. I cannot but feel, brethren, that in this 
 respect at any rate, the Holy Communion has lost 
 something of its significance, and that for us it is 
 not so much a token of brotherhood as it was in the 
 first four centuries.! And observe that not only was 
 love extolled by preachers and accepted and 
 practised in the Church, but it was reckoned by 
 friend and foe alike to be the most distinguishing 
 feature of the early Christians. TertuUian exclaimed, 
 " The working of such love puts a brand upon us, 
 for see, say the heathen, how they love one another." 
 
 * I owe these references to Gwatkin's " Selections from early 
 Christian Writers," a very useful book for those who, like myself, have 
 little time and less aptitude for original research. 
 
 t See "Reservation Addresses" by the Bishops of Oxford and 
 Chelmsford (Robert Scott), in which Dr. Gore reviews and deplores the 
 process by which the Holy Communion has become an intensely individual 
 act instead of what it was in the beginning — a corporate one.
 
 40 
 
 And even hostile Lucian remarked, " Their Master 
 makes them believe that they are all brothers" 
 Quotations such as these which abound in the 
 literature, Christian and pagan alike, of the first few 
 centuries of the Christian era leave one in no doubt 
 that brotherly love was prominent among the marks 
 of the primitive Church \ and in view of our Lord's 
 teaching in the text and elsewhere we cannot ques- 
 tion it was intended to be so. 
 
 The Church of To-day. 
 
 Brethren, is the same in any appreciable degree 
 true of the Church to-day ? I ask you, as members 
 of the Church of Christ, to face the question seriously 
 and with as little prejudice as possible. We have, 
 at any rate, arrived at this, — that in a world which 
 to no small extent is governed by business con- 
 siderations, and is apt to show more concern for 
 economics than for morals, (although in the long 
 run the two must surely t>e in harmony), — in such a 
 world I say, the Church was intended to be the 
 home and treasure-house of love, a haven from the
 
 41 
 
 selfish conflicts of life, a witness to those higher 
 aspirations and finer feelings which alone can 
 satisfy the souls of men. But is it ? What of our 
 Church of England ? We take a pride in its com- 
 prehensive character, and rejoice to think that our 
 aim is not rigid uniformity, but accommodation for 
 reasonable diversity ; and we do well, for surely it 
 is not the purpose of love to obliterate natural 
 differences. Reproach is brought not by variety, 
 but by the bitterness of feelings, the narrow one- 
 sided outlook, the hardness of disposition, the 
 scandalous separations, from which, alas ! few 
 churches seem free. If only we had learnt the 
 great lesson of love, and taken to heart the import- 
 ance ascribed to it by our Blessed Lord, our 
 diversities, however numerous, would be sanctified, 
 and our differences, however deep, would be 
 mellowed, lor " love suffereth long and is kind." 
 Do not misunderstand me. I am far from suggest- 
 ing we should, out of consideration for those who 
 differ from us, abandon convictions and cultivate 
 only a faith which is flabby. No. What I plead
 
 42 
 
 for is a loving disposition towards all men. This 
 does not involve anything so indiscriminating and 
 unnatural as that we should be equally fond of 
 everyone ; but it does mean a respect for the 
 sincere convictions of others, and a genuine wish 
 for their well-being and happiness. This practical 
 adoption of love would bring about the atmosphere 
 in which the principle would increase its hold, and 
 unity would be more and more realised. Some 
 improvement, I believe, has been brought about in 
 this respect within the last generation, and especially 
 within these fateful three years. Men have more 
 respect for other folk's convictions than formerly, 
 and instead of adopting towards them an attitude 
 of '* fixed bayonets," they are seeking rather their 
 correlation. I thank God, and you too, my friends, 
 that it is my good fortune to serve in a Parish where 
 diversity among the disciples is not lacking, and 
 toleration and unity are conspicuous features. 
 
 Now, the secret of this recent and beneficent 
 movement is that, through our various faiths and 
 religious observances, we are really drawing nearer
 
 43 
 
 to our common Master and Saviour. As we advance 
 by divers devotions and enlightened paths towards 
 Him we find that incidentally we are also drawing 
 closer together. It is His will and command that 
 we who bear His Name and claim to be His 
 disciples should live as one family. That is the 
 ideal. And like all other noble ideals it is difficult 
 of realisation. F. D. Maurice said, " If it were 
 only a precept in a book, it would be the cruellest 
 precept ever uttered." But, thank God, it is much 
 more than that. God Himself is love, and has 
 manifested Himself to be so in the life and death 
 of His Son. And by the gift of the Holy Ghost 
 He enables us to respond to that spirit of His 
 Being and to love one another. If we are using 
 mght our means of grace, and coming thereby into 
 real union with God, it seems to me certain and 
 indisputable, that the better Churchmen we are, the 
 more loving in disposition shall we become.
 
 44 
 
 The Test of Disoipleship. 
 
 At any rate it is only by such progress we can 
 bear the test our Blessed Lord foretold would be 
 applied to us. " By this shall all men know that 
 ye are my disciples." I do not wish to suggest that 
 nothing matters save mutual love. Indeed it is 
 altogether erroneous to regard the Christian virtues 
 like so many isolated atoms. They are all coherent 
 and correlative. Different forms of conduct and 
 varying shades of disposition carry back the mind 
 to questions of belief, and you cannot rightly pro- 
 nounce judgment upon any one of them if you 
 regard it as altogether independent. There is much 
 inaccurate thinking and more inaccurate talking in 
 consequence of not recognising this fact. Let 
 us try to have a clear conception of what our 
 Lord said in this connexion in our text. He did not 
 say or even suggest that discipleship consists in 
 nothing but good-natured affection. What He did 
 say was, that men would know us as His disciples 
 if we had love one to another. Love would be the 
 
 I
 
 4S^ 
 
 quality most sought in Christians, and Christ 
 sanctions the test. What, therefore, we can be 
 quite certain of is, that domestic affection among the 
 brethren — the word itself and the whole circum- 
 stances surrounding the ' new commandment ' 
 point rather to this quality than to a general 
 sentiment of inoffensiveness or liberal charity — is 
 an essential feature of Christianity, and that a 
 Church is rightly judged by the spirit which prevails 
 among its members, and not by its external 
 prosperity. No amount of churchmanship and 
 punctilious worship avails where love is wanting. 
 Jehovah's message to the Jews as recorded in 
 Isaiali i., 14 — 17, still holds good in principle: 
 " Your new moons and your appointed feasts my 
 soul hateth ; they are a trouble to me ; I am weary 
 to bear them. And when ye spread forth your 
 hands I will hide mine eyes from you ; yea, when 
 ye make many prayers I will not hear : your hands 
 are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean : put 
 away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes ; 
 cease to do evil, learn to do well, seek judgment,
 
 46 
 
 relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead 
 for the widow." We know by experience and 
 observation that the world judges us and our Church 
 mainly by our disposition one to another, and our 
 Lord Himself has told us the final judgment will 
 proceed on the same principle.* We see, then, 
 that whatever else is necessary — and much else is 
 necessary — we are no Christians unless we have 
 the loving spirit of Christ in us. You may fuss 
 and fight for certain tenets, but if you have not love 
 all your professions and enthusiasms are like a 
 tinkling cymbal. God grant us to realise this more 
 and more, for, m spite of improvement, the greatest 
 danger which threatens our Church, aye, and our 
 country, is not that involved in those questions 
 which commonly excite most indignation ; it lies 
 rather in those deeper, subtler, less palpable 
 influences, wliich make us love our party more 
 than the Church, and our Church more than. 
 Christianity, and our Christianity more than the 
 Truth, and ourselves more than all. There is the 
 
 * S. Matthew xxv., 31—46. 
 
 I
 
 47 
 
 real menace. We need in our conduct and judg- 
 ments that breadth of outlook, that sympathy and 
 wisdom, that self-restraint and brotherly love which 
 so distinguished our Blessed Lord and His early 
 disciples. Pray God to give us this spirit, that the 
 world may know we are indeed true followers of 
 Him whose Name we bear, and that through us 
 men may be drawn to the Christian Religion. 
 
 Forgive my rehearsing a personal experience to 
 conclude. We had toiled and stumbled through a 
 wonderful labyrinth of German trenches, when at 
 length we emerged "over the top." A gallant Scots 
 Division had borne the brunt of the first attack, and 
 just here, on the ridge, a very moving spectacle was 
 about us. The ground was littered with hundreds 
 of killed bodies ; there they laid, gripping their 
 
 i rifles, in a deathly grasp, and their faces to the foe. 
 
 I As I cast my eyes over the ghastly Goigotha, and 
 reflected that it all resulted from Germany's un- 
 bridled ambition and hatred, I solemnly swore to 
 myself that, if I were spared to return, I would do 
 all in my poor power to mitigate strife and to
 
 4» 
 
 promote peace and goodwill. More than ever that 
 is a cause which imperiously calls for disciples, and 
 in responding we obey the most solemn charge of 
 our Blessed Master : "A new commandment I give 
 unto you, that ye love one another ; even as I have 
 loved you, that ye also love one another. By this 
 shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye 
 have love one to another."
 
 IV. 
 
 THE 
 CHURCHES.
 
 THE CHURCHES 
 
 The seven stars are the angels of the seven 
 churches : and the seven candlesticks which thou 
 sawest are the seven churches. — Revelation i., 20. 
 
 S. John, you remember, was in the Isle of Patmos, 
 where for " the word of God and for the testimony 
 of Jesus Christ " he appears to have been banished 
 by Domitian. The loneliness of his life there 
 would naturally conduce to meditation and a certain 
 mysticism, and it was not long before he had 
 yielded all his faculties to the influence of the 
 Holy Spirit and become in the truest sense inspired. 
 " I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day." 
 
 The Vision. 
 
 His first experience was hearing a great voice as 
 of a trumpet, which said, " I am the Alpha and the 
 Omega, the first and the last : and, what thou 
 seest write in a book, and send it unto the seven
 
 52 
 
 churches which are in Asia." Then he saw seven .^^ 
 golden candlesticks, and in the midst " one like unto fl,^ 
 the Son of Man," and he had in his right hand .^ 
 seven stars. Fortunately for us, and perhaps for 
 S. John too, the voice partially interpreted the 
 mystery : " The seven stars are the angels of the 
 seven churches : and the seven candlesticks which 
 thou sawest are the seven churches." What is 
 meant by the an^e/s of the seven churches ? We 
 generally think of angels as God's messengers going 
 to and fro in obedience to His bidding, or serving 
 as gracious protectors of our persons. But that 
 is not always and exclusively their function. In the 
 eighteenth chapter of S. Matthew's Gospel we have 
 what appears to me another aspect of angels : 
 " Take heed that ye despise not one of these little 
 ones ; for I say unto you, That in heaven their 
 angels do always behold the face of my Father 
 which is in Heaven." If their function in this case 
 was to serve as overshadowing Cherubim they 
 would surely have been represented as hovering 
 around their objects of care and devotion, and not
 
 53 
 
 Ifin distant heaven. I suggest, not I trust without 
 
 I 
 
 • humihty and reverence, that our Lord was thinking 
 
 ' rather of the children's ideals ever symbolising 
 before the face of the Father what they might be. 
 [whatever may be advanced against this inter- 
 ! pretation, the notion that everyone of us has 
 in heaven a perfect representation of what he or 
 I she ought to be and by God's grace might be, is 
 ' calculated to produce an effect which is at once 
 
 • sobering and inspiring. So here. The angels of 
 ' the seven churches appear to me to be the ideals of 
 
 • the churches, — a perpetual representation of what 
 I God expects Christian Societies to aspire to. We 
 
 arrive then at this : S. John is bidden to write to 
 
 I the seven churches in Asia, and faithfully portray 
 
 to them first their actual condition, — the seven 
 
 candlesticks are the seven churches ; and secondly 
 
 the ideal towards which they ought ever to be 
 
 striving, — the seven stars are the angels of the seven 
 
 ! churches. 
 
 I The Churches as they are. 
 
 Observe that the candlesticks are of gold. So it 
 may truly be said that the organised bodies of
 
 54 
 
 Christianity have intrinsic value. They have their 
 blemishes and serious defects, — some of which we 
 shall presently notice ; but we do less than justice 
 when, as is sometimes the case, we refuse to 
 acknowledge their worth. When we look broadly 
 upon the world and see the great Churches of the 
 East and West and their million beneficent activities, 
 we cannot doubt that in a general sense they have 
 come into existence by God's will and are sustained 
 by the power of the Holy Ghost. Whatever their 
 faults it is they which teach men the knowledge of 
 God and His ways ; they which serve to link men's 
 souls in mystical union to the Great Unseen ; they 
 which present before the world the ideal example 
 and availing sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Carlyle, with 
 his usual penetration and vehemence, remarked 
 that without the Churches " men were no longer 
 Social but Gregarious, and Society itself a dead 
 carcass, — deserving to be buried." It is through 
 the ministrations of the Churches that millions find 
 moral principles by which to live and spiritual 
 sustenance for life's journey. To them the Churches
 
 55 
 
 are indeed " as rivers of water in a dry place ; as 
 the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." The 
 candlesticks, representing the churches, are not 
 without reason wrought of gold. 
 
 But a candle as a luminary is not the 
 most effective agent. We may appropriately ob- 
 serve in it at least two defects. First, in a spacious 
 room it lightens but a small portion ; the flame is 
 faint and feeble and quite inadequate. And it 
 betokens not untruly the limitations of Christian 
 organisations. Our Blessed Lord's injunctions, and 
 indeed the ver}' nature of our Religion make it 
 indisputable that the Gospel ought to be proclaimed 
 to all peoples. But what are the facts ? Are we 
 as concerned about shedding forth to heathen lands 
 the Light of the True God and of His Christ as we 
 are about embellishments and the perfecting of 
 adjuncts in our own respective and local churches ? 
 The Foreign Field cries aloud for help and guidance 
 just now. There is a great awakening particularly 
 in China and Japan and India. Dark and dusky 
 races are showing desire and surprising aptitude for
 
 56 
 
 education, and soon they will pass through the 
 tremendous crisis of entering our western 
 civilisation. What sort of influence it will 
 have upon them depends in no little measure 
 on our efforts to give them the guidance of the 
 Gospel of Jesus Christ. The world has surely had 
 a surfeit of a predominantly scientific culture. The 
 light of Christianity must be so dispersed that these 
 rising nations shall see and walk in the paths of 
 righteousness and peace. 
 
 And even here at home the light is feebler than 
 it ought to be, and far from extending to every nook 
 and corner of life. It shines brightly enough it is 
 true in certain little spheres ; but if we are satisfied 
 we make a fatal error, and prove ourselves as in- 
 capable of proper judgment as we are destitute of 
 enterprise. Indeed one of our greatest dangers is 
 contentment with restricted groups of more or less 
 pious and virtuous people, and the shelving of the 
 fact that outside the pale of these chosen few there 
 are in most parishes large numbers who never enter 
 a place of worship nor in any way come under the
 
 57 
 
 influence of the Churches.* This reflection is indeed 
 humbling to all us professing Christians. We have 
 little cause to be sleek and satisfied. 
 
 Secondly, the candle's flame is fitful and flickers, 
 and even in its very limited sphere is not steady and 
 stable. In measure this again is true of the 
 Churches. It is obviously their vocation to bear 
 witness to certain truths about God and life, and to 
 uphold those deep and penetrating principles laid 
 down by the Master. But although open hostility 
 and aggressive persecution are no longer the order 
 of the day, the conditions are frequently such as 
 not to facilitate the fulfilment of this supreme duty. 
 Wealth or popularity is occasionally ranged against 
 the advocating and application of Christian princi- 
 ples, and in the face of such opposition Churchmen 
 in the past at any rate have not displayed that 
 tenacious loyalty which God requires of us. We 
 have been all too willing to wink at abuses and 
 condone injustices for fear of giving offence ; and 
 if here and there a prophet has dared to raise his 
 
 * For a brilliant but not very well balanced statement of this 
 cate see " Civilization at the Cross Boads," by J. N. Figgis, p. 33 £f.
 
 voice in protest we have too often dismissed him as 
 " a crank," or held him up to obloquy and scorn. 
 
 My brethren, vacillation in the face of princi- 
 palities and powers is a shame and a scandal to the 
 Churches. As Christians we have certain principles 
 entrusted to us, and if for fear of the loss of popular 
 support or in some selfish interest of whatever sort 
 we keep back or abandon those principles, we bring 
 reproach upon our Religion in the long run, and 
 prove ourselves unworthy of our privilege. Nor is 
 it only moral principles that are entrusted to the 
 Churches, but also certain theological Truths and 
 Doctrines regarding the Person of God and the way 
 of Redemption. It should be our part to tell out 
 these truths with no uncertain note. Whilst guard- 
 ing against the folly of insistence on what perhaps 
 may be described as the accessories as distinguished 
 from the fundamentals of Religion, we ought to 
 know what we do believe, and should be able to 
 sustain it with intelligence. It is no real Church 
 that hides the essential truths of Christianity in the 
 background, or allows itself to be shifted this way
 
 59 
 
 and that by every new theology that comes along. 
 Stability no less than receptivity is a necessary 
 element in every Church. 
 
 These, then, are some respects in which the 
 Churches in varying degrees are defective. The 
 seven candlesticks are the seven churches. 
 
 The ChuFches as they might be. 
 
 We pass on to consider the other and higher 
 symbol, — the seven stars are the angels of the seven 
 churches. We have agreed to interpret these words 
 as indicating the ideals of the Churches, — what they 
 ought to be. The stars are above the dust and din 
 of the world, and suggest ideas of loftiness and 
 purity and beauty. They serve also to guide 
 voyagers and travellers by night, and it is significant 
 that the darker it is the more luminous they shine. 
 You may remember how Tennyson in his Locksley 
 Hall records impressions of a planet : 
 
 Could we dream of wars and carnage, craft and 
 madness, lust and spite, 
 
 Roaring London, raving Paris, in that point of 
 peaceful light ?
 
 6o 
 
 Might we not in glancing heavenward on a star 
 so silver fair, 
 
 Yearn, and clasp our hands and murmur, 
 " Would to God that we were there." 
 
 The stars may well symbolise the Churches and the 
 angels the ideals of the Churches. Imagine for a 
 moment what with Heaven's benediction the 
 Churches might be. Think first of their relation 
 to our industries and business transactions. In 
 public and private Ministers of Religion especially 
 ought ever to be holding up before men, without 
 fear or favour, the duty of personal consideration 
 on the one hand and of honest work on the other.* 
 Justice should be among the foremost of our watch- 
 words, and whilst in our corporate capacity as a 
 Church we must be careful not to dabble in the 
 politics of parties, we ought to be influencing 
 politics by the very nature of our moral convictions. 
 Or again, think what a healing influence the 
 Churches might be in a world so full of suspicion 
 and strife. The Prime Minister recently remarked 
 
 * There are wise and noble counsels on this subject in Marshall 
 Lang's " The Church and its Social Mission."
 
 6i 
 
 in reference to a political problem, which for genera- 
 tions has foiled all efforts at solution, that the basic 
 trouble was not in the nature of the case, but in 
 the suspicious atmosphere which enveloped it In 
 other words the real ultimate problem was moral, 
 not political ; spiritual, not material. My brief 
 experience of intimate association with employers 
 and workmen in a factory entirely bears out this 
 view. We shall continue to have strikes and strifes 
 and bloodshed, — fundamentally they are all one, — 
 until the spirit of antagonism has been exorcised 
 and replaced by the spirit of love and reasonable 
 accommodation. And who or what will bring about 
 this spirit unless the Churches called by the name 
 of Christ do so ? Ah ! brethren, when we give 
 imagination the reins and begin to dwell on the 
 vision of what the Churches might be, and the 
 tremendous influence for good they might exert in 
 every department of our complex life, we are re- 
 freshed and inspired as on a mountain top. It 
 may be retorted that such nebulous dreams are 
 worse than useless; but we know that in the
 
 62 
 
 Christian character they have an important place 
 and purpose, for is it not written, " Your young 
 men shall see visions and your old men shall dream 
 dreams ? " And after all, such thoughts are not so 
 very shadowy. There is solid ground for hope. 
 Amid the welter of the war there has come into 
 relief the Christian spirit of sympathy and solidarity, 
 like a rising sun which lights the sky with amber 
 and gold over a sea that continues to rage and 
 swell. Improvement in attitude and disposition 
 is discernible on all sides, and everyone agrees 
 that, whatever else may or may not be the outcome 
 of this terrible conflict, we simply must not and 
 can not go back to the same old ruts of mutual 
 indifference and hostility. 
 
 The Son of Man. 
 
 There is stated in the passage, of which our text 
 is a part, a beautiful and most encouraging truth. 
 " In the midst of the seven candlesticks I saw one 
 like unto the Son of Man." Within and among 
 the Churches is the very Saviour of mankind, and
 
 «3 
 
 there can be little doubt that in these latter days 
 men and women in considerable numbers are 
 discovering Him. There is an unmistakable move- 
 ment in France, and on a smaller scale in England, 
 towards Christian organizations, and the bewildered 
 and the bereaved are finding that the Great 
 Consoler and Healer still dispenses His gifts and 
 graces within the hallowed places. 
 
 And above all, surely, is He to be found and 
 drawn upon in His own appointed Service, — the 
 Holy Communion. Pre-eminently is His presence 
 vouchsafed in the Sanctuary through the medium 
 of the consecrated elements, for He said, " This is 
 my Body "...." This is my Blood." It is as we 
 partake of Him and receive with faith His Spirit 
 into our unworthy selves that we shall each grow in 
 His Likeness and do our humble share in uplifting 
 the Churches from what they are to what they ought 
 to be, and thus elevate their symbol from a candle 
 to a star.
 
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