The great example

Front matter

Chap, Copyright No.

UMTED STATES OF AMERICA.

s*

Preface

These addresses would not have been published but for a promise made five years ago to some of the clergy of the Diocese of New York before whom they were first delivered, and the belief that there is still room for a book of Devotions to help Candidates for Holy Orders during the days immediately preceding their Ordination. Retreats for the Ember seasons, though happily common, are not universal, and there are not a few young men who, with the very best intentions to pass such a time seriously, find it difficult to know how they may employ it profitably. The aim of this little book is to supply their need ; it therefore contains not only addresses on the fourfold life of the Ministry, but outlines of meditation together with some devotions. The passage of Scripture selected for meditation is intended to suggest the teaching that follows in the address, and the devotions to gather it up in short petitions and acts of praise. So it is hoped that those unable to share in the blessings of a Retreat may find help in making some preparation by themselves for entering into the thoughts of the greatest day of their lives.

The forms in which the devotions are given are in viii Preface.

nearly all cases substantially the same as those followed on the Quiet Day in New York and in the Retreat at Albany nearly two years ago, but the addresses have, in such parts as seemed necessary for the sake of clearness, been amplified. The informal literary expression, for which some apology seems necessary, is in a measure due to the desire to preserve as far as possible their character as spoken addresses.

In conclusion, the Author desires to add that he is not unaware that in presenting so great a Subject, he runs considerable risk not only of belittling It by trying to unfold It, but also of marring Its majestic proportions by contemplating It so largely in the light of experience. The venture is made in reliance upon the judgment of those for whose opinion he entertains a high respect. It is not likely that the book is free from mistakes; but anything that is not in accord with the mind of the Church he desires by anticipation to fully and unreservedly retract.

The Author desires to acknowledge his indebtedness to the many authors from whom he has quoted, and also to the widow of the Rev. S. Kettlewell, by whose kind permission he has been allowed to make extracts from the valuable ' Meditations on the Life of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis — translated and edited by the Ven. Archdeacon Wright and the Rev. S. Kettlewell.'

The Feast of Epiphany, Bede College, Durham, 1897.

Contents

PAGE

I. The Vision of the Christian Ministry . 4 II. The Prophetic Office or the Ministry of "The Man"

The Preacher . . . . . 18

I. The Vision Of The Christian Ministry

MEDITATION.

The Retreat and its Blessings.

And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech ; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue ; And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. — St. Mark vii. 32-35.

" He took him aside" — So Jesus is taking- me aside

(a) from parish, friends, family cares, that I The Retreat. ma y realize afresh His Presence. At first it seems awkward to be alone, even though it is with Him, for I do not see Him very clearly ; but I must get rid of this impediment in my speech, this confusion of mind and slowness of utterance which my people have noticed. I must get time to hear His Voice, which I have been so long without hearing. For my flock's sake, if not my own, I must go aside with Jesus and steadily contemplate Him by faith.

"He put His fingers into his ears, and He spit, and

(b) touched his tongue " — Yes ; something like The Method. t hi s He will do for me. Only instead of His fingers into my ears, His precious Body and Blood into my mouth. Instead of the outward sign of His life, His very Life itself; instead of the touch, His indwelling Presence. Surely if the less effected so complete a cure, the greater will not do less. Believe, then, O my soul. Open thy mouth wide and He will fill it.

"He sighed" — Yes ; this I know He does over my own sad condition and that of my people. If He has pity for me, have I none for myself? A deaf priest unable to preach plainly ! What can be done with him ? Show him the sorrows of Jesus and he will surely cry to be healed.

"He saith unto him, Ephphatha " — Oh, Lord Jesus, Thou good and gracious Physician, say this to me during this Retreat that I may hear Thy voice again and be able to speak plainly.

"His ears were opened, . . . he spake plain" — (c) Yes ; so others have told me. They have

The Blessing, told how, as the Retreat continued, the Scripture, the Psalms, the Hymns seemed to be full of teaching ; and how they felt a new power of prayer. May it be so with me. " Lord, speak, for Thy servant heareth." "Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief."

To be steadfast in staying " aside from the multitude,' „ , . and to contemplate Jesus Christ and Him

Resolution. , r J

only.

I.

THE VISION OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.

Preparation for the Vision.

For five years Ezekiel had been waiting for a clearer knowledge of the mind of God. Called to a holy priesthood, filled with expectation of what that office would mean, he had as yet received no revelation which enabled him to see how he would exercise it. But they were years of rich experience, for, living as he did, some four hundred miles away from Jerusalem, among the captives, he was enabled to enter into their feelings, to understand their sorrows and complainings, and so to interpret to them the Vision when God might show it. He learned patience, sympathy, and faith.

It may be that some of us, though priests and exercising our office, have not yet learned in what particular direction our work is to lie. We, too, are waiting for a revelation of God's mind. We, like Ezekiel, have been led by the Spirit far from our homes and familiar faces, and are " among the captives," amongst those who are bound by traditional customs and class feelings and prejudices, which prevent our going forth in that freedom we desire.

Accompaniments of the Vision. 5

And yet this time, which seems so largely barren, has been fruitful. We have become acquainted with things and people as they are, we have learned something of the nature of our work, we see what must be done though we know not yet how to do it. Let us not be in haste. Ezekiel had no vision till he was thirty years of age, and even of the Master Himself we read that He was thirty years of age when the heavens were opened and the Spirit as a Dove descended upon Him. It may be that now we shall see more clearly where and what our future work is to be.

Accompaniments of the Vision.

" The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel." " The hand of the Lord was there upon him."

The first phrase speaks of the objective character of the Revelation, the second of the Divine sympathy which enabled him to bear it. The "Vision was not the outcome of a dreamy contemplation of religious subjects, nor an ecstasy which was the result of hard thinking, but a Divine interposition. Ezekiel remembered distinctly the year, the month, the very day when the Word of God ' ' came expressly ' ' to him. He remembered, too, the impression, as of the hand of some friend upon his shoulder bidding him look. It stirred every faculty within him. As the hand of the Lord roused the prophet Elisha when he sat moodily before the three kings not knowing what to say; as it quickened even the physical strength of

Elijah so that he ran with extraordinary speed to Jezreel before the storm that was sweeping in from the sea; as it awakened Daniel, fallen into a deep sleep, and prepared him to face the vision of things to come; as it gave life to St. John when he lay at the feet of his Lord as one dead ; so it awakened and excited all the powers of Ezekiel, and he looked, expecting some great sight.

To us, too, may come some such experience. John Bunyan describes how in one great spiritual conflict with the Tempter the word of the Lord came so expressly to him that it was "even as if one had clapped me upon my back." And if we may not feel so vivid a realization of the Divine Presence as is there described, yet to us will come, it may be in the Meditation or in the Divine Food, a strong spiritual stimulus, an inrush of the power of the Holy Ghost, giving at once illumination and consolation.

The Vision.

At first " a whirlwind" " a great cloud" and " a fire infolding itself." So Ezekiel endeavors to place before us that which he first saw. The words convey no distinct image, for none is intended. At first with us, as with him, there is confusion ; we seem to see nothing. Our mind is in a whirl ; we are swept by a storm of emotions ; stirred, awakened, and excited, and yet no one thought is clear. The only conviction is that we are in the presence of a Divine Person,

The Revelation of God. 7

for out of the midst of our mental and spiritual confusion we see " eyes of bright brass " (this seems to be the meaning of the phrase "color of amber") reading us through and through.

But as Ezekiel looked and looked upon the face of God thus manifested, and his eyes became used to the brightness of that divine light, he saw that the Majesty of God was borne upon four living creatures, more human than anything else, and yet each having the likeness of a lion, an ox, and an eagle, as well as that of a man. There was much else that he was enabled to notice and which he has given us, for the development of which we have not time here. It is sufficient to consider the broad features of the "Vision. And first let us note the quarter whence it came. Not from Jerusalem, as Ezekiel might have supposed, but from the north. Accustomed to the daily splendor of the Temple, its ceaseless worship, intercession, and sacrifice, it was natural for the prophet to suppose that the revelation of God was confined to that hallowed spot and those sacred ministries of high priest, priest, and Levite. He now learns that from the north, the quarter most to be feared, God manifests Himself.

We, too, cherishing naturally and rightly the splendid traditions and the chastened and delicate beauty of the Church's services, are tempted to feel that the revelation of God is confined to them ; that only in the Liturgy, the Sacraments, and the varied Ministries of the Body of Christ can God be revealed, and we are therefore seriously depressed when we think of all those hindrances and limitations by which the Divine Revelation is confined and darkened. We are disheartened with the thought that large numbers, even of the citizens of Christ's Kingdom, are indifferent or hostile to that ministry which has been ordained to be the medium by which the Word of God is to be made known. This Vision gives us a wider conception of the Divine Ministry. All creation is seen to be carrying the message of God to mankind. " The heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament sheweth His handywork." Our service is not so isolated, not so peculiar as it appeared. So far from it being exceptional to serve God, the Universe proclaims His service as its law. " Subject to vanity " * at present, and therefore not able to give so clear a witness as she would like, yet by her groans as well as by her smiles Nature testifies to " the eternal power and Godhead " 2 of her Creator so that men who refuse to accept her testimony are without excuse.

But though men have not the only part in God's service, though we are taught to invoke the mountains and hills, the seas and floods, the winds of God, the whales, the fowls of the air, the beasts and cattle, to praise the Lord, yet ministry is seen to be chiefly human. " This was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man." Men are the priests of creation ; they utter intelligently and consciously all 1 Rom. viii. 19-22. 2 Rom. i. 20.

Manifold Mediation. g

that Nature is trying to say. The eagle, the ox, and the lion are all summed up in man, who is not only their crown, but their spokesman. In spiritually minded ascetics who soar above the earth and mundane wants, in self-sacrificing and devoted priests who have laid down their lives for their brethren, in zealous and wise-minded rulers and kings who have spent their strength in making the world better ; in and by these — men of all lands and all tongues : a Gautama, a Socrates, a Confucius, and thousands whose names none know but He whose message they bore — God has made Himself known to the sons of men.

But their voices are difficult to explain, their utterances are. uncertain, their movement hesitating. They need that which they themselves supplied to creation ; they need an Interpreter, and this God has supplied in His Church — the chosen few who are to represent the needs of their brethren before God, and bring back from Him that knowledge which is positive, certain, and clear. Here, again, we find that so far from this ministry being confined to the threefold order of the ministry, all the members of Christ have a share in it — " the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man ' ' J — and, again, in the Church we find the same types we found in mankind, only clearer and more sharply defined.

There are the seers, the mystics, the monks, nuns, and students, those who have lived apart from the world — a St. Bernard and a Tauler, a St. Catherine

1 I Cor. xii. 7.

io The Vision of the Christian Ministry.

of Sienna, a Hooker — eagles living in the clouds and speaking of the mysteries of God.

There are the Patriarchs, Bishops, Priests, who have died for men — a St. Ignatius, a St. Augustine, a Patteson, and a Lowder — offering themselves as Phinehas did of old for the people, and standing between the quick and the dead.

There are the rulers, men who have founded kingdoms and shaped constitutions — a Louis of France, an Alfred of England, a Washington of America.

And there are also the Prophets, men gifted with utterance, governing by words, discovering men's hearts to themselves, discerners of the times — men like Chrysostom, Savonarola, Maurice, and Liddon ; men like Wordsworth, Longfellow, Tennyson, and Browning.

All these, and many others, share our ministry and take their part in bearing along the ages the knowledge of the saving Presence of God.

And above them, above this firmament studded with stars, each differing from its fellow in glory, " the likeness of a throne," and "upon the likeness of the Throne the likeness as the appearance of a man ' ' — of that Man in whom each finds his image and type, that One whose character needed to be set forth in a fourfold Gospel, depicting by the hand of St. Matthew His portrait as Prophet, by that of St. Mark His portrait as King, by that of St. Luke His portrait as High Priest, and by that of St. John His portrait as the Eternal Word made flesh, reveal-

Ma?iifold Ministry. 1 1

ing the glory of the Father — that is the Vision, one surely full of comfort and strength. Separated as we are by our vocation, our dress, and even our language, moulded as it is, and sobered by the chastening influence of the daily use of the Divine Offices, we are apt to feel lonely, and, as we stand in some crowded throng of our countrymen, a little peculiar, as though we were the solitary bearers of the Divine message. It is not so ; amongst those around us are many like-minded, though not called with our calling. And we, the priests of the Church, are to be for them what they are for the world of mankind and what Humanity is for the Universe. We, like our Divine Master, whose example we strive to follow, are to sum up their various ministries in our own. We are to be Prophets, Kings, and Seers, as well as Priests. Our Priesthood virtually contains within itself the Prophetic and Royal ministries, and is sustained by that of the Seer. We cannot resign any one of the three. If our life should be mainly that of the student or teacher, we shall need the authority of Kingship and the broad humanity of Priesthood to make it effective ; or, again, if our life be chiefly spent in government, its rule is sure to be harsh and unsympathetic unless we are in touch with those we govern by the exercise of our Prophetic and Priestly ministries. We are strong in proportion as we are four-sided, weak in proportion as we are one-sided. It may be that as we study the outline of the Vision presented to us in the perfect life of the Son of Man, we shall see, as

Ezekiel saw, that our work is to be mainly prophetic, or it may be that we shall feel that our strength lies rather in a loving and wise care for individuals ; but in whatever direction the Divine leading points, we shall find our mission spoiled unless we make " a full proof " of every part of our ministry. 1 1 2 Tim. iv. 5.

DEVOTIONS.

Oh, how amiable are Thy dwellings, Thou Lord of Hosts ! My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into Thy courts ! My heart and my flesh cry out for the Living God ! For I have looked upon the Face of Thy Majesty, I have beheld Thy Glory. I would therefore dwell with Thee as long as I live.

But Thou callest for service and not simply for contemplation. Oh, how good it is to teach, and to baptize, and to rule, and to study the Divine Word ! How good to voice the inarticulate cries of Nature and the aspirations of mankind, to make all the earth praise Thee and sing unto Thee, so that all flesh may bless Thy holy Name, that every creature may serve Thee ! But who is sufficient for these things ? Alas ! not I, stained with many sins, enfeebled with repeated acts of self-indulgence ! But Thou, O Lord, who hast called me to this Ministry, wilt give me the grace to fulfil its duties. Thou wilt cleanse, purify, and strengthen me so that I may be Prophet and Priest, Ruler and Seer. Thou hast made Thy servant Thy Minister, and I am but a little child ; I know not how to go out or to come in. And Thy servant is in the midst of Thy people whom Thou hast chosen ; give, therefore, Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people, a deep sympathy wherewith to pray for Thy people, and a wise mind that I may teach Thy people. And so make me to fulfil Thy Ministry after the glorious Pattern given to us in the Life of our great High Priest, Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose Name I ask these blessings.

II. The Prophetic Office Or The Ministry Of "the Man."

MEDITATION.

The Revelation of God.

In the beginning- was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. — St. John i. i, 2, 14.

1. "In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God'" — Here is the basis of my preaching. Long before time began, in the far reaches of Eternity, the Invisible and Immortal God is expressed in the Son Who is eternally generated from Him ; fully expressed for "the Word was God." Every inspiration, then, that I have is not the creation of my own mind or imagination, but the Revelation of the Word through the Spirit. It is a flash from the Uncreated Light. But see to it, O my soul, that as the Word is ever towards God, so thy face is ever towards the Word.

2. " The Word was made flesh " — Wondrous condescension ! Unspeakable compassion ! The Mind of God, Infinite and Incomprehensible, translated for us in human words and deeds by the Incarnation ! With this before me how dare I shrink from the lowest depths of humiliation if thereby I learn how to make known the Word of God ! Welcome fellowship with the outcast and poor, that through it I may learn the tongue of the unlearned, and express the saving Gospel of Christ in simple language !

3. " The Word dwelt a?nong us " became the true Shechinah, the very Shrine of the Eternal, so that the weary entering His Refuge found rest to their souls. Is my preaching a revelation of the abiding Christ ? Do men turn to my ministrations expecting, as well as hoping, to find Him there ? Have my words made it clear to them that the Church is the Body of Christ ?

I will seek more diligently the Face of God, I will try to walk in the light of His countenance, I

Resolution. . ....

will be earnest in my daily meditation that His Word may express itself through me.

II.

THE PROPHETIC OFFICE OR THE MINISTRY OF "THE MAN."

The Preacher.

All writers on the Gospels have noticed the resemblance they bear in their characteristic features to those aspects of service which are brought before us in the Vision of Ezekiel which we have just looked at. Art has still further emphasized the likeness, so that there are but few churches which have not, in stone, needlework, or glass, perpetuated the teaching. As we have admired the skill which has so strikingly expressed the prophetic conception, have we realized that not in stone or needlework, but in our lives, those four types of ministry must be wrought out ?

Perhaps there is some intended significance in that order of the Gospels which places that of St. Matthew first and that of St. John last. If we are right in following the interpretation of St. Jerome, which, in the West, has gained "almost universal currency," and assigning the " man " to St. Matthew, it is not difficult to see why this should be the first picture of the Divine Ministry to be set before us. Not only do

The Prophet. 19

we feel that there must be preaching before there can be a Kingdom and a Priestly Service, not only did our great Leader begin His work by preaching, but even in the public mind the work of preaching is that which is primarily associated with the Minister. Large numbers of men have indeed gone no farther, unwisely supposing that if this ministry be ably fulfilled they need no other. Still, the emphasis laid upon preaching, though often to the disparagement of the offices of Kingship and Priesthood, is not misplaced, for it has the support not only of Scripture, a large part of which is taken up with sermons and letters of prophets, but of Christ Himself, who in the mind of His contemporaries was preeminently a Preacher, the Prophet, spoken of long before by Moses. And here, before going further, it may be well to explain what we understand by the word Prophet. We take it in two senses, that expressed by the Hebrew &PD3 (navee) and that by the Greek 7tpocp?]rri^. The former word, which appears to be derived from a root meaning " to bubble over" indicates the Prophet as one charged with divine thoughts which he cannot refrain from expressing, as the writer of Psalm XLV. speaks of his bubbling over with the glorious subject which God had put in his heart. The latter rather signifies one who speaks for another — God's spokesman or interpreter. The consideration of what is involved in the Greek term we shall postpone to the next address, simply occupying ourselves for the present with that conception which is certainly primary, that of inspiration. It may be convenient to divide what we have to say into four parts : (a) The Call, (b) The Faith, (c) The Labor, {d) The Power.

(a) The Prophefs Call.

We need spend no time in proving that Christ is the Prophet, the Divine K'DJ. He, as St. Matthew tells us (xiii. 35), fulfilled the words foretold of the Messiah that He should not only open His mouth in parables, but declare (literally, bubble up, boil over) hard sentences of God. He speaks because He must speak. Being the very Word of God, the Divine Word is in His heart "asa burning fire shut up in His bones, so that He is weary of forbearing and cannot stay ' ' ( Jer. xx. 9) . And yet He does stay year after year, even for thirty years, till the call of His Father is heard in the summons of the Baptist. He does stay, though He knows His ministry of preaching will be of the shortest, barely three years. This Self-restraint will appear the more remarkable if we suppose with some that when He went up to the Temple for the first time, at the age of twelve, He received not only a larger conception of the work of Redemption than had been possible before, considering the perfect Humanity of His human mind, but also a new Divine impulse. But here we touch a mystery before which silence is the most fitting attitude, and neither the narrative nor our admiration of our Lord's patient waiting demands anything

The Prophet's Call. 21

more than that the occasion of seeing His Father's House for the first time with human eyes supplied its own inspiration.

The return to the cottage at Nazareth has often been noticed as a singular illustration of filial obedience ; but how can we speak of His silence when He reached it ! Only a little imagination is necessary for us to realize how formal and barren the weekly teaching at Nazareth was ; how dry, dull, and dead it must have seemed to the Life as He sat and listened to it ! And a recollection of that scene which St. Luke gives us (iv. 29) on the occasion of His first sermon there will at once remind us how great was the need of living teaching. How impatient even a saintly prophet would have been when he measured the crying necessity with the manner in which men feigned to supply it ! And yet for eighteen years, for nearly a thousand Sabbaths, He sat as a patient listener, with the sorrows not of Nazareth only, but of a world, on His heart ! What an illustration of the greatly needed warning of St. Paul, " The spirits of the prophets are subject unto the prophets ! " But when the call was heard He at once answered it, and electrified even a world taken captive by the powerful preaching of the Baptist with words spoken " as never man spake."

From His example, then, we learn that neither an ardent love of souls, nor a knowledge of that which will save them or of their sore need, is of itself sufficient for so great an undertaking as the work of a prophet. There must be a Call. So we are asked before we are sent, " Do you think you are truly called ? " Granted that you have what is indispensable — a love of souls ; granted that you have a firm conviction of the certainty of those truths you must preach — are there any indications that the time has come for the exercise of your ministry ? The Baptist's preaching summoned Christ from the seclusion of Nazareth. What voice has persuaded you to leave the privacy of your own home and come before men as a Prophet of the Lord? Is it that of your Bishop bidding you tarry no longer, that of some devout servant of God, like Ananias, telling you that the time is come when you must give your witness for Christ and His kingdom ? x Or is it some spiritual movement, the banding of clergy and workers together for foreign service, which you feel impelled to join ? 2 All or any of these may be indications of the voice of God saying to you as to Amos, " Go prophesy unto My people " (Amos vii. 15). It will be your steadfast assurance of this that can alone give you courage to meet its difficulties.