156 THE SIXTEENTH SUNDAY like a strong winged angel, into higher and higher levels of petition until he loses himself in the fullness of God. Strange paradox the Church puts before us. The pathos of human death, of mothers' grief, of the tribulations suffered by a servant of God-and yet-the sure confidence, the high hope, the sense of absolute security shown in the great prayer of St. Paul. We are not left lonely in a darkening world. The whole family in heaven and earth is named of our Father. Christ, the Resurrection and the Life, takes us by the hand. Fear, distrust, excess of grief, doubt of God's love, these are the dark and murky places of the soul; like times of panic, when reason itself fails to support us, and waves and billows cover all the well-known headlands and the rock of safety. Then the spirit teaches us that Hope is the soul's finest courage. Trust in God is the essence of this hope. It comes from no philosophy. It springs from Faith; and, being "rooted and grounded in love" ascends with the prayer of the Apostle, claiming glory in tribulation, knowing that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” THE SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY al Collect. Lord, we pray Thee that Thy grace may ways prevent and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN. Epistle. Eph. iv. 1. Gospel. St. Luke xiv. 1. The lesson of Humility is ours to-day. We see what is the etiquette of the heavenly Court, the form of courtesy pleasing to the King. We are to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called "in all lowliness and meekness, forbearing one another in love, keeping the bond of peace.' These are the fundamentals of good breeding; these are the instincts of the magnanimous, these are the precepts of Christ. How many of us put on good manners as a dress, as fine clothes are often arranged to hide deformed bodies! Better the dress than the ugliness; but how much more beautiful the dress that follows the lines of natural beauty, the manners that come from within, which society formulates into the letter of social custom, at the same time often losing the proper spirit. 158 THE SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY Choosing the chief places, elbowing and jostling for the highest rooms, ill become the guests of the Eternal Host at whose feast we have been graciously bidden. We are all one: the exaltation of one is the exaltation of all. The unity of our race, and the higher unity of the Church, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, this is the high thought of God for humanity: the path He foreordained that we should walk in. The gracious manners of the followers of Christ are best learned by those who preserve the discipline and order of the Church's teaching. A religion which considers all times alike, which gets rid of stated seasons, stated preparation, stated observance comes finally to that vague generality in religious emotion which holds, in my mind, the same relation to the divine love that the lack of marriage ceremonies brings to human love. There may be slaves of the form of church service, to whom words and motions, once full of true subordination and loyal service, are now only a badge of caste. There is absence of power in such an "ecclesiastical habit," as Stanley calls it; and yet habit and custom in religion, as in human love, is a great arch to span the seething immensity of human passion and desire. Some hearts are naturally large; all may be made large by the cultivation of large thoughts, large aims, and noble loves. No cultivation can be done spasmodically; it needs daily training to attain anything in art or science, in physical THE SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY 159 strength or mental ability. We should accept with gladness the opportunities for the culture of the spirit which the Church gives, for there is so much in our daily life to draw our hearts away from "the things which are eternal." THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY Collect. Lord, we beseech Thee, grant Thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow Thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN. Epistle. 1 Cor. i. 4. Gospel. St. Matt. xxii. 34. To-day we ask for grace to keep our Baptismal Vow. The testimony of Christ is to be confirmed in us. The Gospel of the day shows what that testimony was. Love to God; love to our neighbour. This was the great enunciation of the positiveness of Christianity, as against the comparative negativeness of the Ten Commandments, which nevertheless remain in the Ark of the Covenant. The grace of God, enriching us, filling us, dominating our whole being, is far better defense against the solicitations of the world, the flesh and the devil than any negative prohibition. Homer makes the goddess counsel Ulysses against the Sirens : "Firm to the mast with chains thyself be bound, Nor trust thy virtue to the enchanting sound. |