CHAPTER X
CHAPTER X
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON THE CHURCH
The Church and Fellowship THE question as to whether Jesus founded the Christian Church is being hotly debated to-day.
Until recent times any Christian would have answered this question without hesitation in the affirmative.
He would have said that the Gospels contained ample evidence that Jesus founded the Church as an instrument for carrying on His work in the world after He left.
The conviction of modern Biblical scholars on this point is not so sure.
The word Ecclesia or Church appears only twice in the Gospels and in both cases they are found in the Gospel of Matthew.
The first reference occurs when the duty of Christian forgiveness is discussed.
" And if thy brother sin against thee, go, shew him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established.
And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church: and if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican.
Verily I say unto you, What things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." * This passage is now regarded as not containing a genuine saying of Jesus.
It occurs only in Matthew and is not supported by the other Gospels.
The contemptuous reference' to the publican is not consonant with the love and tenderness which Jesus showed when He moved with the publicans in spite of public opposition and sought to win them over.
The saying about binding and loosing seems to echo the early practice of excommunication in the Church.
It is likely that the verse in its present form was put into the Gospel at a later date with a view to provide the discipline of excommunication with Christ's own authority.
The other passage in which the word "Church" occurs is found after the confession of Peter that Jesus is the Christ.
"* And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, * Matthew xviii. 15-18.
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Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which isin heaven. And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." * The reference of the word "rock" has been much disputed.
The rock on which the Church would be built has been understood as (1) Peter himself, (2) Peter's faith,
(3) the acceptance of Jesus as the Christ or (4) Jesus Himself.
If Peter was considered by Jesus to be so important and if His disciples were aware of it, how did they dispute as to who was the greatest among themselves?
This controversy could have had no meaning if Peter had been acknowledged so clearly and emphatically by Jesus as the greatest among His disciples.
It is now held that the passage reflects the conviction of certain Jewish Christians who regarded themselves as the followers of Peter rather than of Paul.
The commission to preach and baptize and to spread the Church everywhere is found in the following passage:
" And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.
Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." * It is only in this passage in the whole New Testament that we read of baptism in the name of the Trinity.
The practice of baptism in the early Church seems to have been in the name of Jesus only.
So it is held that this verse reflects later beliefs.
There is a further difficulty in accepting the genuineness of this verse.
If Jesus laid down so clearly the universal character of the Christian religion, we fail to understand the controversy which raged in the early Church about preaching
Christianity to the Gentiles.
The first Christians were all Jews and they held that the non-Jews should first become Jews and be circumcised and accept the Jewish law before they could become Christians. -It was only St. Paul who, though an orthodox Jew himself before he was converted, took the wider view
* Matthew xvi. 15-19.
° Matthew xxviii. 18-20.
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that Christ is for all men and won a triumph for his cause by his able and persistent advocacy.
It is clear, then, that the references in the Gospels to the Church are not of great value.
Jesus did not found a Church in the sense in which we understand it. But He called together a band of twelve disciples; the number is important; it is meant to refer to the twelve tribes of Israel.
'"' That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and ye shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.' * '' And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." ° At the Last Supper He spoke also of the covenant.
" And he said unto them, This is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many." ° To understand these references correctly we must go back to the Jewish ideas which were the basis of His teaching.
God had chosen the people of Israel as the means of revealing Himself to the world and patiently He had trained them through the centuries for their special vocation.
The story of this education is told in the Old Testament.
The children of Israel were given up to idolatry and superstition like the surrounding nations.
God had slowly taught them to believe in Him as Spirit without any form or image and to worship Him with purity of heart and rightness of conduct.
Prophet after prophet had arisen among them to call them back to the true worship of God. And yet they had often relapsed into idolatry, unbelief and evil living.
But there was a small remnant who were faithful to God whatever happened.
It was the belief of Jesus that the old Israel was not faithful to its vocation but that a new Israel would arise to give to the world the knowledge of God as He is and of His power to help and redeem His people from their sin and suffering and to bring them into close, unbroken fellowship with Himself.
His obscure saying that His disciples shall sit on the twelve thrones of Israel probably means that they shall be the nucleus of a new Israel who shall be the means of the salvation of the world.
He had no intention of founding a new Church.
His only purpose was to give a new lease of life to Israel and to give it an opportunity to exercise aright its vocation in the future.'
"Luke xxii. 30.
> Matthew xix. 28.
° Mark xiv. 24.
; ™See W. R. Matthews, Christ, pp. 126-134.
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If Jesus did not found a new Church, it is clear that He regarded that in some special sense God works through a community of people rather than through individuals.
His saying:
'"' Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them " * reflects His belief that God makes
His Presence felt to groups of people in a sense in which individuals do not feel it. Religious people everywhere believe that God speaks to individuals.
All earnest and sincere men who seek God do so with the unshaken conviction that God will make
Himself known to them and their belief is confirmed by their practical experience in which they are led by God and receive of His Spirit.
The Christian religion holds that not merely individuals but also groups as such in some special way come to know and experience the Spirit of God.
It is necessary to understand clearly this truth, for it lies at the root of all our beliefs about the Christian Church.
From time immemorial religion has been considered by many thinkers to be a matter which concerns only the individual.
Plotinus, the Greek philosopher, spoke of "the flight of the alone to the Alone."
The modern philosopher, Whitehead, speaks of religion as what a man does with his solitariness. There is, or course, a measure of truth in these sayings.
The highest and the truest religious experience seems to take place in the sphere of the individual's relation to God.
This is clearly illustrated in the experience of Jesus.
On the eve of His Crucifixion, when He wanted to pray earnestly, He took with Him only three of His disciples and He sought the Presence of God in their company.
But as His spiritual struggle became more intense, He left behind even this inner circle of His disciples to deal with His spiritual problems alone in the Presence of God.
While we need not doubt that God does speak to individuals and often to them alone, we are taught by Jesus to believe that in a special way God reveals Himself to groups of men.
There is good reason for this.
We are never alone in this world; for good or ill, we are always connected with other people.
When we are born we inherit qualities of mind and heart from our ancestors.
In childhood, we are nurtured by other people and imbibe all too well their ways of thought and life; if they are good folk we profit from such contacts and if they are wicked people we suffer.
In school we continually move with others and our development for good or ill is determined by what we hear and see others saying and doing. When we grow up into * Matthew xviii. 20.
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manhood our contacts increase and we experience joy or sorrow along with others, struggle with or triumph over them, and love or hate them.
There is perhaps not a single moment in our waking lives in which we are not influenced by others and in which we do not influence them.
All the time we help or hinder and are helped or hindered by our fellow-men.
It is in this hard and difficult school of social life that the virtues of love, meekness, gentleness, patience, service and self-sacrifice are learnt.
No man can separate himself completely from human society.
So many of our duties are determined by our relations with our fellow-men that it is only in a society or Church we can learn aright the art of living. To be complete, religion must deal with the individual in his own secret, inner life and at the same time teach him to live in peace with his fellow-men.
If we are to learn to practise the Golden Rule of loving our neighbours as ourselves, we can only do so in a society or Church and not in an anchorage or retreat.
It is for this reason that Jesus teaches that God deals not merely with individuals but also with His Church.
Having said this we may safely assert that Jesus laid down no precise directions as to how the Christian Church should be organized, what officers should be appointed, how they should carry on their work and what disciplines should be enforced for making the Church receptive to the will and purpose of God ; all these are later developments.
In India there is no clear recognition of the social character of religion; we have only some glimpses of it.
Again and again it is taught in the Hindu Scriptures that if a man is to reach a right experience of God he must seek the help of a Guru.
This immediately takes him into a wider sphere.
A Guru has often many disciples; the greater the teacher the larger the number of his disciples.
The spiritual aspirant lives in the company of other disciples patiently waiting for his turn; he meets them at all times and under all circumstances; he carries on his studies and takes part in worship along with them.
Thus he learns to exercise the virtues of patience, meekness, gentleness and love.
The only tie which binds together this company of disciples is that of personal loyalty to their teacher.
The organization is loosely knit.
The disciples may live in various places following different occupations.
They may come to the Guru for a few weeks or months of spiritual instruction and then return to their own homes.
It is not suggested here that the relationship between the different disciples of a Gurw is of the same intimate and close character as exists or should exist among the
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S' HERITAGE
members of the Christian Church.
All I am saying is that in a dim and remote way the ties which bind them together are the same as those which prevail among the members of a Church.
The faith of the Hindu Bhaktas in the saints is another important fact which has a bearing on our subject.
Again and again Hindu Bhaktas express a longing to be devoted to the feet of the saints.
This again shows that religion is not wholly a matter between God and the individual.
Other relationships and duties enter into it. A Bhakta seeks the company of other devout men.
He feels that by living with them and worshipping with them he reaches a new experience of God; in their company he realizes that he is able to understand God far more clearly and to serve
Him far more truly than when he is by himself.
Their longing for God kindles in his soul a new ardour; their earnestness stimulates him to more persistent efforts.
He learns to practise their methods of meditation.
He is moved to ecstasy by their fervent hymns.
In their fellowship he feels God speaking to his soul more clearly and more effectively than when he is engaged in private prayer.
But this again is only a glimpse of the profound truth which lies at the bottom of the Christian belief about the Church.
When the Tambaram Conference met, a group of Indian Christian laymen produced a volume of essays entitled Rethinking
Christianity in India with a view to put before the delegates their views on the Indian Church.
This book has attracted much attention.
The writers in the volume are well known in India and are held greatly in respect.
They and their friends have been meeting regularly once a year for the past twenty-five years to discuss the problems connected with the progress of Christianity in India.
The views set forth in the book are the result of careful and prolonged thought on the part of the writers and deserve our most careful consideration. It must, however, be remarked that the writers represent only a small, though influential, section of the Indian Church.
The majority of Christians in India do not hold their views.
Though the essayists are men of different temperaments and hold different outlooks, they are all agreed in strongly condemning the Indian Church as it is.
Again and again they come back to this theme.
They hold that the Christian Church in India as it is at present is entirely opposed to the spiritual genius of India.
"That Western church organizations are the only possible things, cannot be admitted.
They are the products of other aims and circumstances.
In the absence of any instructions of
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the Lord, the Indian mind, when it is free, as it is not free, will fashion forms for the maintenance and spread of Christianity, as the Lord directs in accordance with its natural genius.
While it may absorb some elements from the West, it will transform them.
Let us draw the picture of the Indian Church to be, though prophecy is sure to err.
In Hinduism there is no central authority: it is not an authoritarian religion nor a totalitarian religion with the dictator. No church council or synod formulates or fulminates, though there must have been some attempts of that kind.
It is, therefore, inevitable that the Indian Christian religious community should look askance at authority in religion.
In all that has been stated, we do not say anything of the Roman Church.
A formal authority is not constituted by the Lord and in the New Testament.
There is the authority of the spiritual that may degenerate into that of the formal.
It is not possible to conceive of the Indian Church or community organizing itself into huge federations or even unions.
The Indian David cannot fight in the armour and with the sword of Saul.
Simpler and more psychological forms of spiritual obedience will come into vogue, deriving their power not from commissions and holy orders and councils.
There will be individual churches, managed by trustees and carrying on worship and preaching the word according to varying forms and traditions." °
There is a large measure of truth in the contention of the writers in Rethinking Christianity in India that the spiritual genius of India is, on the whole, opposed to the idea of a wellorganized Christian Church.
The question about this as well as about other matters is "" What did Christ teach and practise?'
If our traditions in India conform to Christ's teaching we are at a distinct advantage; it is easier for us to accept and follow these precepts of His which are in line with our own best ideals.
We should be constantly on the look-out for such points of contact with the ancient heritage of India.
There is a great deal in the teaching of Christ which is clear and easy for us to follow because of the spiritual values which have been cherished in India. But if there are any distinctive elements in His teaching for which there are no parallels in Indian thought we cannot abandon them.
That would be to diminish altogether the mportance and the value of the message of Jesus; we must be prepared to accept all that is fundamental in it whether we have anything in India to support it or not.
If there is anything in India to correspond to it, our task is comparatively easy ; if there
° Rethinking Christianity in India, p. 114.
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is nothing to correspond to it, our task would be arduous and difficult but should not for that reason be given up.
Individualism may, on the whole, be considered to be the characteristic of the religious life of India.
In the social life of India this tendency of individualism to reign supreme has been curbed by the caste system.
The individual becomes a member of a caste and acts according to its mandates.
He does not follow his own inclinations; he conforms to the regulations of his caste.
Unfortunately. the caste system, which has divided Hindu society into innumerable conflicting groups, is not much of an improvement upon the inherent tendency of the Hindu to individualism.
We are concerned here with the Hindu emphasis upon individualism in the spiritual field.
This cannot be regarded as an ideal or noble characteristic.
As Christianity develops in India it should not follow the individualistic lines of the Hindu religion.
The utter confusion which prevails in Hinduism even on the most fundamental doctrines is due to the lack of a religious organization to state its doctrines.
There is no agreement even on such fundamental questions as, Is there a God?
Is He a personal or an impersonal Being?
How best can He be worshipped?
Has the world any reality?
What is the relation of the world to God?
There is considerable difference of opinion on these problems.
Some Hindu thinkers assert that there is no God, others that there is a God but that He is impersonal and others again that He is personal and that He is rich in the qualities of love and goodness.
The world, according to some Hindu theologians, is real and according to others unreal.
This complete lack of unanimity is due to the fact that there is no common organization to pronounce on questions of orthodoxy.
Indian Christians, who have come to love the complete freedom of religious thought which is current in India, must see to what a variety of conflicting beliefs it gives rise to.
If there had been a Hindu Church for considering and formulating its different doctrines, Hinduism would have been saved much of the chaos in thought which prevails within its borders.
Though there is considerable difference of opinion in the different branches of the Christian Church, all Christians are agreed, at least, on the fundamentals.
Members of all the Churches, whatever differences might exist in their methods of Church government, worship or doctrine, fully believe that there is a God, that He is a personal Being, that Christ is the Incarnation of God, that His life and death are the means of the world's
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IgI redemption and that the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts to help and guide us.
This profound unity of thought is due to the existence of the Christian Church and of the part which it has played in the formulation of doctrine.
In view of this enormous gain in unity of doctrine, we ought to be prepared to give up some of the religious freedom which individuals have claimed in India and to submit to the guidance and discipline of the Church which seeks to pronounce upon the orthodoxy or otherwise of doctrines.
Just as in the sphere of the individual's relationship to God it is imperative that constant effort must be made to eliminate human error and prejudice from God's direction, so in the life of the Christian Church strenuous endeavour must be made to distinguish between the voice of God and the wilfulness of man.
Often the guidance of God in the Church is not clearly understood through man's ignorance and sin.
To give only one instance, the divisions of the Christian Church are clearly the result of men's sin.
There are many Christian Churches— Roman, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist
—each claiming to hold to the true ideals of Christ.
Though all follow the same Lord there is often little or no fellowship among them.
For this God is not responsible; man's sinfulness alone is.
The fact that the Christian Church believes firmly that it is led by God does not prevent the operation of human error and sinfulness.
All that it does is not right; there is much in its history which can only be attributed to human frailty and waywardness.
A great deal of the opposition to the Church, which is reflected in the pages of Rethinking Christianity in India and which is current among some Christians in the country, is due to the fact that the Christian Churches of the West which have established themselves in India have held that their various doctrines and practices alone truly convey the mind of Christ.
The Indian Church is only a copy of the Christian Church in the West.
"To any one coming from the West, with a keen interest in Christianity, the Indian Churches will present no new features with which he is not familiar in Churches in the homeland.
The Indian Churches will be but pale replicas.
They cannot open out to him any new vistas into unknown regions of Christian experience.
Ecclesiastical architecture, dress, music, rites, ceremonies and thought will be echoes, strong or feeble as the case may be, of Western religious life.
There was no conscious fault on the part of the early missionaries when they planted the banner of the only Christianity they knew which they took to be
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the absolute.
Nor can their modern successors get rid of the same complex.
Here lies the tragedy, for it is the tragedy of training and character against an alien environment.
Adaptation is difficult, if not impossible.'*° The Christian in the Anglican Church is taught that whatever the Church of England has believed and practised should be the norm for the Church in India.
The same with the various other Churches, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Congregational, Baptist and Methodist.
It is only very slowly that the Indian Church is allowed to think or act for itself.
This rigidity of the Western Churches as established in India is mainly responsible for the feeling that Indian Christians with their different spiritual heritage should have nothing to do with them.
It is to be hoped that as years go by the Indian Church will be allowed complete freedom. to follow Jesus in her own way.
This may not be the way of Western Christianity, but as long as the Indian Church is sincere and earnest in its effort to understand the mind of the Master and to conform to it, so long must it be considered to be within its rights.
The Churches of the West cannot impose upon the new and growing Indian Church all their own doctrines and practices, however valuable they themselves may have found them to be.
If such wholesome freedom could be given to the Indian Church, a great deal of the criticism which is now urged against it would disappear.
The blame for the lack of freedom in the Indian Church lies not merely with the missionaries but also to some extent with the Indian leaders.
Our Indian leaders are often far more conservative than the missionaries.
They are unwilling to take the trouble to pioneer in the difficult field of rethinking Christianity for India and are only too content to follow literally the Christian traditions which have been brought to India from the West. Indian leaders should become conscious of this lethargy and really stir themselves up.
It has been pointed out that there is not much fellowship in the Church as worshippers gather together only once a week for about an hour's service and then disperse.
This criticism is true in a large measure of the Indian Church.
Here in India most Christians gather in the Church probably only once in the week and that for a short period of worship. But in the older Churches in the West there is an element of genuine fellowship.
In any town or city the Church is an active centre of spiritual and social work.
A great many services are held throughout the week and * Rethinking Christianity in India, p. 104.
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the people frequently come together for worship.
In the parish hall every night various activities take place and the members of the Church gather together for the study of the Bible, for the discussion of modern problems, for keeping alive an interest in foreign missions and for various forms of social work among the poor in the locality.
In an active Christian Church where the members of the congregation come together constantly for prayer and work, a real sense of fellowship grows up.
While it is perfectly true that a great deal more needs to be done in this direction, let us gladly acknowledge that the Christian Church, especially in the lands of the West, is often a real centre of fellowship.
Here also in India our Churches must become living and busy cells of worship and work.
We must not merely come together once a week for prayer.
Every Church in the city or village must be the means of bringing Christians together constantly so that they may worship God and serve Him in all such ways as are possible for them.
The Church and its Worship We note an extraordinary catholicity in the methods of worship which Jesus followed.
As a child of twelve He was attracted by the temple and its worship. We see the same devotion to the temple during the years of His public ministry.
Like every devout Jew He went faithfully to the temple to take part in its worship.
The account we have of the cleansing of the temple gives a clear insight into His love for the temple.
"And they come to Jerusalem: and he entered into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and them that bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves; and he would not suffer that any man should carry a vessel through the temple.
And he taught, and said unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but ye have made it a den of robbers." "* This shows how dearly He loved the temple and how much He resented those who defiled it with their merchandise.
The worship which took place in the temple was of an elaborate nature.
The building itself was a beautiful structure, on which all that devotion and money could buy had been lavished.
The priests were clad in gorgeous robes.
Lovely music was played during the times of worship.
The sacrifices, offered by hereditary priests, followed most minutely the regulations
™ Mark xi. 15-17.
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which had been laid down of old.
All the requirements of the law about worship were fulfilled; there was not a departure from them even by an iota.
Only the Levites (a people set apart) officiated and there were strict regulations as to which of them could take part in the various ceremonies and at what times.
The type of worship which was followed in the temple was highly ritualistic, appealing at once to the eye and the ear.
It is striking that Jesus conformed faithfully to this worship.
» The suggestion has been made that there is no note of sadness in His prophecy about the destruction of the temple.
" And Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way; and his disciples came to him to shew him the buildings of the temple.
But he answered and said unto them, See ye not all these things ? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." *"
This saying cannot be considered as indicating clearly His attitude towards the temple.
When~He was speaking about the destruction of the temple He was merely foretelling a future event without saying anything about how He Himself felt about it. The cleansing of the temple which seems to have taken place twice, once at the beginning of His ministry and again towards its close, is a more adequate indication of His attitude to the temple.
Jesus was equally at home in the worship of the synagogue, though there was a world of difference between it and the worship in the temple.
There was only one temple in Jerusalem whereas there were many synagogues scattered up and down
Palestine.
The synagogues were plain; simple buildings and the worship which took place in them was of an informal character.
The important part of the service was the exposition of a passage of Scripture. Any pious Jew, who was respected by his fellows, could be invited to read a passage from the Old Testament and to explain its meaning.
We know from the Gospels that in the early part of His ministry Jesus worshipped regularly in the synagogue (wherever He was) on every Sabbath day.
As the nature of His revolutionary teaching became evident and as opposition to Him from the religious teachers of the day increased, it looks as if He was not called upon to expound Scripture during worship in the synagogues in the latter part of His ministry; for that; of course, He was not responsible; the shortsighted and conservative nature of the rulers of the synagogue must be blamed for it. There is plenty of evidence in the Gospels for us to say that Jesus worshipped regularly in the synagogues
* Matthew xxiv. 1, 2.
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and that He took active part in their services whenever He was called upon to do so.
It is quite remarkable that Jesus who loved the temple loved also the synagogues.
Among His followers those who love ritualistic services find it difficult to worship in a simple, informal service.
Those who are accustomed to the freedom of a simple service find it equally difficult to understand what spiritual help can be gained from an elaborate form of worship.
To these services of public worship Jesus added His own constant and abundant private prayer.
In the chapter on His inner life we have tried to understand something of the intensity of the methods of prayer and meditation which Jesus followed frequently in private, often seeking the quiet of a mountain top or of the seaside for His devotions.
The writers in Rethinking Christianity in India suggest that there can be no real and genuine religion in a well-organized
Church.
They hold the opinion that where there is careful organization with rules and disciplines about worship, real spiritual life cannot flourish.
"In the Acts we have a conspicuous instance of the movement of life; highly dynamic without any institutional support.
The situation may be said to be unparalleled in religious history.
The disciples were under the immediate command of the Holy Spirit who planned, directed, arranged.
Every worker looked to the invisible Spirit for orders and implicitly obeyed them.
The directing agency was real enough and near enough to be consulted and was as much available as Jesus when He was in the body. The disciples threaded in and out, banded and disbanded, combined and separated—all the time working in union and precision—for the spreading of the Gospel.
No visible institutions, no concrete sources of power are to be found anywhere.
Such was the vision of Jesus.
If the Acts of Apostles gives us a picture of the state of things which Jesus desired, the place of the visible Church should be taken by the invisible Holy Spirit.
The Church as we know it was not in the scheme of Jesus.
It came into existence only when the Holy Spirit ceased to be a reality and the sense of His immediate direction evaporated." *°
The example of Jesus, who profited both from the temple and from. the synagogue, is an effective answer to this criticism.
Also among His followers many mystics with deep spiritual experience have flourished within organized Christianity.
St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, St. John of the Cross, *® Rethinking Christianity in India, p. 95.
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St. Theresa, St. Catherine of Sienna and several others were religious geniuses of the first rank. They sprang from the Roman
Church with its elaborate ritual and rigid organization.
While they were unhappy about its errors and often protested against them, initiating large movements of reform, they fully conformed to the ways of the Roman Church.
They worshipped in it regularly, received its sacraments frequently, sought the spiritual help of its priests and implicitly obeyed its rules.
To suppose that there cannot be real spirituality where there is organized religion is to ignore the clear, abundant and indisputable evidence of history.
The Quakers in the Christian Church have as a body protested against elaborate and rigid organization in worship and in Church government.
Their leader, George Fox, was a genuine Bhakta who lived close to God and depended daily upon His immediate direction.
His followers have now been in existence for over three hundred years in England and in other parts of the world.
Among them there have been many saintly men and women who 'have had a first-hand experience of God.
The Quakers have also to their credit many remarkable achievements in the application of the principles of Christ to the social problems of the day.
They have stood up courageously for 'the position that all wars should be given up and that wealth should be equitably distributed among the different classes of people.
It is worthy of note that, in spite of the splendid record of the Quakers both in the spiritual and in the social realms, their numbers have not increased to any great extent.
The total membership of the entire Quaker group throughout the world stands somewhere about a hundred thousand.
This demonstrates clearly that simple and unorganized forms of worship and church government do not have a wide appeal.
It is only the elect few who can respond to this call to worship God in silence and to follow
His immediate guidance; the vast majority of people require for their needs carefully organized and more or less set forms of prayer and worship.
In India Hinduism comprehends both ritualistic and mystical religion.
The temples themselves are carefully built according to the instructions given in the Agamas of yore.
The worship which takes placé in them is most elaborate; it follows to the letter regulations which have come down from ancient times.
The priests who offer the worship are a hereditary caste who for generations have done this work following the strictest rules.
The prayers which are recited are also of ancient origin.
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freedom or spontaneity is allowed in the various rites which are prescribed in connexion with worship in Hindu temples.
There have also been always Sannyasis in India who have sat loose to temple worship.
They have regarded themselves as being above the requirements of ceremonial religion as they have attained to a high stage of spiritual development in which worship in a temple is not essential.
Those who speak as if all Hindu religion is free and unorganized are no doubt thinking of the Sannyasis, always few in number, who do not take part in popular worship, but who seek God in the solitudes of the forest or of the mountain.
When talking about Sri Sankaracharya of the Sringeri Mutt, I inquired whether he took part in temple worship and I was told that he did so, not so much because he found it helpful for himself as because he wanted to set a good example in public worship to other Hindus.
As a follower of Sankara and as his greatest present representative, he would believe that he himself is above the need for worship, having realized his oneness with the Supreme Nirguna Brahman who neither demands nor enjoys the worship of devotees.
But whatever his own personal experience may be, Sri Sankaracharya identifies himself with the mass of Hindus and fits into their religious organization.
On the basis of what a few Sannyasis in India may say with regard to religious rites, it is incorrect to maintain that the institutional element in religion is entirely alien to the Hindu spirit.
The opposition to an organized Church in India will lose much of its point if more freedom is allowed to the Christians in India to worship in their own way.
When missionaries came first to India they built churches exactly like those in their homelands and taught the people to worship just as their own people worshipped in Europe or in America.
A slow but perceptible change is now taking place in this matter.
The new churches which are being built seek to follow whatever is characteristic and attractive in Hindu architecture.
Hymns of devotion sung from the hearts of Christian people in their vernaculars are replacing gradually the quaint translations of English or German hymns.
Experiments in new forms of service are permitted in a limited way in the various Churches, both liturgical and free.
It is significant that the Tambaram Conference gave its authoritative approval for the forms of worship in the different
Churches in the mission lands to conform more closely to their national heritage.
' We have seen that the use by every wor-
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S..HERITAGE
shipping group of its native heritage of speech and posture, of verse and music, of craftsmanship and architecture, not only helps to make Christ's Church the true home of men, but should be the offering of each nation's gifts to the Crucified and Risen
Lord.
At the same time we have realized that many of the ancient treasures of Christian worship, as well as some that are modern, are a part of the heritage of the whole Christian family and may become at home in any land.
In this connexion we have noted that poems, prayers and meditations from the nonChristian past, have sometimes found and may yet find their place in the devotional treasures of the Christian." **
In a country like India far more attention should be given to advanced methods of prayer and meditation than is being paid now.
From the rich storehouse of the religious experience of India a great deal can be drawn which will prove of use to the Indian Christian. At present far too few people know anything of the higher methods of contemplation about which there is so much valuable teaching in India.
There is a great deal of literature about different types of Yoga and innumerable hints could be gathered from them for our use.
The Church and its Witness In His Sermon on the Mount Jesus said:
'" Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men.
Ye are the light of the world.
A city set on a hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house.
Even so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good. works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." *® The duty of the Church to witness to the power of Christ is urgent during these difficult times.
Here in India with so many communities scrambling for political power and with a future so uncertain, the duty of the Christian Church to preach its message effectively is daily becoming more insistent.
Indian Christians should not separate themselves from the rest of India as a social and political unit.
There is much danger along this line.
Already most Christians in our country tend to live in their own separate quarters and to pursue their own distinctive interests.
They seem to have no real share in the larger life of "The World Mission of the Church, p. 64.
* Matthew v. 13-16.
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON THE CHURCH
India.
This is not as it should be. As the children of India we should identify ourselves with all the best movements in the country making for its political and social uplift.
The desire that we should have separate votes in the political assemblies and that in the various services we should have a representation proportionate to our education and numbers seems to be the only ambition of some Indian Christians.
What is far more important is that the Christian Church should clearly bear witness to the ideals of love, selflessness and service which were put forward by its Lord.
The critics of the Christian Church in India have been zealous in pointing out its drawbacks and there is much truth in what they say.
In spite of vigorous propaganda carried on by missionaries from the West on a large scale for over a century, the Church is still a lowly factor in the national life of India.
There are less than seven million Christians, most of them drawn from the depressed classes.
The mass movements which have taken place in the country have had their dangers and it is not possible to say clearly that the people who have been drawn into the Christian Church through them have always been led by the deepest and truest of spiritual motives.
The higher castes with their culture and social position have been barely touched.
In the Christian Church itself there is far too little unity.
The many divisions of the Western Churches have been established and perpetuated in India.
There has been little original or creative Christian theology.
Except one or two outstanding persons like Sadhu Sundar Singh and Pandit Rama Bai, the Indian Church has not produced many persons remarkable for their spiritual attainments.
All this, we must confess with shame, is quite true.
'At the same time the Christian Church in India must be considered to have initiated certain momentous changes.
The India of to-day is vastly different from the India of a generation or two ago. There is a powerful movement on foot to raise the social position of the seventy millions of Hanjans and to give them the same opportunities and responsibilities as the other people in India possess. The women in India are coming to their own. They are entering schools and colleges in large numbers and are taking an active share as leaders in many departments of life.
Both these profound and amazing changes in the social life of India have been probably influenced by many factors such as the spread of modern education, the facilities for travel and intercourse with the other nations.of the world and the awakening
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S HERITAGE
of a keen desire for political independence.
No impartial student of Indian affairs can possibly deny that, along with these factors,
Christianity must be given the credit for a large and real share in this social and political awakening which has swept over the country.
The millions of outcastes who have been absorbed into the Christian Church, the love and care with which they have been educated and the striking intellectual and spiritual gifts which they have shown must also be reckoned as among the potent factors which have been at work in recent years in India, making for the uplift of the Harijans.
The freedom which has been given to women in Christian circles, the thousands of schools for girls which missions have run and the scores of women's colleges which missions have established have had a large influence in the mighty change which has taken place in the social position of Indian women.
In the religious sphere the most striking change is the new attitude of love and devotion to Christ which has spread throughout the country.
The figure of Christ has made an irresistible appeal to the religious heart of India.
There is a real and profound desire to understand what He taught and to practise it.
The new spirit of service and sacrifice which is widely seen in India to-day is no doubt largely due to the influence of Christ in the hearts of men.
The Christian Church in India cannot remain content with this record of service. "It must ceaselessly bear testimony, both by word and deed, to the need for Christ in the complex situations of modern India.
The tension between the different communities in India—Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Parsee—can only be solved by a real application of the spirit of Christ's love.
In the new democracy which every lover of India desires for this country, the purity, selflessness and service which are required of its citizens can only be found in Christ.
The work of emancipation of the seventy millions of Harijans has just begun. There is a great deal to be done before this vast body of people can really enjoy their birthright as human beings with full opportunities for education and leadership in all spheres of life.
The problem of widespread illiteracy has to be tackled effectively ; there is a tremendous amount of hard, continuous and unselfish labour ahead of us'in this matter and only Christ can provide the vision and power necessary for such service.
The education which has been given to women has only touched a fringe of their vast numbers.
The problems created by India's appalling poverty must be dealt with; the distribution of wealth must be
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON THE CHURCH
made just.
All these and other tremendous social and spiritual tasks are waiting to be performed. The Indian Church must bear its steady witness to the power of Christ in these and various other directions.
The work before us is far beyond the resources of the small Indian Church, with its limited spiritual and moral resources. But with the power of God to strengthen it, the Indian
Church could and must bear effective witness in the coming days in India.
The Holy Spirit in the Christian Church In Rethinking Christianity in India Mr. P. Chenchiah says:
"The Church as we know it was not in the scheme of Jesus.
It came into existence only when the Holy Spirit ceased to be a reality and the sense of His immediate direction evaporated." **
This is a stupendous charge to make against the Christian Church and needs to be examined fully.
_ All Christians believe in the Holy Spirit of God and realize that He makes Himself evident to those who earnestly and sincerely wait on Him.
We hold that to-day, if we are sincere in our prayer, He will guide us and strengthen our feeble efforts.
If this is true of the present time we must accept that throughout the history of the Christian Church during the twenty centuries of its existence there have been millions of earnest
Christians who have waited on Him, both as individuals and as Churches, and who have fully believed that they have received
His help. Who are we to say that He helps us only to-day and that He did not help the devout and earnest Christians of old?
If there is a Holy Spirit, as we believe there is, and if He is willing to come into the hearts of earnest seekers after Him, as we believe He is always willing, then we cannot but say that He has been at work in the past as well as in the present.
It is not possible to mark off clearly the past from the present and to maintain that He is present only now and that He was not present in the past ages of the history of the Christian Church.
Let us examine briefly the history of the Christian Church to see whether the Holy Spirit was at work during the previous centuries of its existence.
There is a great deal of truth in the charges which have been made against the Christian Church in the West. The step which Constantine took in the fourth century
A.D. to make the Christian Church a powerful political organization has left an evil mark on its subsequent history for all ages.
% Rethinking Christianity in India, 'p. 96.
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S: HERITAGE
Time and again in the various countries of Europe the Christian Church has associated itself closely with current political powers and degraded the purity and strength of its message.
We have already referred more than once to the divisions in the Church.
We may also speak of the uncertain voice with which the Church has spoken on such important questions as economic injustice and the muddled relationships between the different nations.
While all this is true, we cannot but say that the Church has kept alive in the world the vision and power of Christ through the centuries.
The roll of Christian saints, remarkable for their sincere devotion, spiritual fire and unselfish service, is a long and distinguished one.
To the long list of well-known saints must be added the names of humble, obscure Christians who lived in communion with God, knew the joy of forgiveness and peace and served their fellow-men in many noble ways.
The student of the Christian Church must also recognize that steadily its vision of Christ has become clearer and its understanding of His purpose for men has become richer.
To give only two examples, Christians are advocating to-day a new outlook about the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means and about the distribution of wealth.
Not long ago Christians were content to practise the ideals of truth, love and justice in their own personal spheres.
Now it is being widely recognized throughout the Christian Church that it is not enough to practise truth, love and justice in our personal dealings; we must also practise them, if we are true Christians, in the wider spheres of national and international life.
Disputes between nations cannot be settled by force; they must be decided by arbitration in a spirit of love and justice.
The wealth that is available in the world must be available to all classes—educated men and manual workers.
Every child that is born in the world must be given the opportunity to make good.
It is true that even in the Western countries where the Christian Church has a great prestige and an immense following, the voice of the Church when it speaks on such matters is still ineffective.
Not long ago a party of Christians went to Geneva to influence the members of the League of Nations to deal with the questions which came up before it in the Christian spirit but nothing came out of their effort.
The point, however, is that the Christian Church is understanding more and more clearly the mind of Christ and trying to apply it in various directions which were not even thought of before.
The Indian Church cannot afford to ignore the lessons writ
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON THE CHURCH
large in the history of the Christian Church.
As a student at Oxford I was once invited to lunch with a distinguished theologian.
The talk turned on the subject of God's revelation to man and I expressed my firm belief in God speaking to men today and guiding them.
The following morning I received a long letter from my host in which he urged me to remember that not merely in the present but also in the past God had spoken to men.
There are many questions such as methods of church government, forms of worship and rules of discipline which arise in connexion with the existence of the Christian
Church.
Jesus has given no clear instructions on these matters.
We, beginning afresh our life as a Christian Church in India, cannot neglect the accumulated experience of the Christian
Church.
This would be to blot out of our vision twenty centuries of Christian life and of the work and guidance of the Holy
Spirit in the hearts of men.
Unfortunately the voice of God which spoke through the ages was not always clearly heard; it was often lost in the clamour of politics, worldly ambition and human sin. The discerning student must sift the wheat from the chaff and decide which is the work of God and which is the work of man.
| As new problems in the life of the Indian Church arise, we would do well to draw not merely upon our own heritage as Indians but also upon our heritage as Christians.
The Christians in India have a double heritage, the heritage of India and the heritage of the Christian Church; it would be folly to ignore either heritage.
'To suppose that we can deal with all the problems before us by direct guidance from God is to forget the existence of history.
We are dim of understanding and God's purpose is not always clearly revealed; so we must use all the possible resources at our disposal; the study of Church
History is one such important help. Many things become quite clear as we watch the work of the Holy Spirit at operation in the course of the long and chequered career of the Christian
Church.
The Sacrament of Holy Communion On the eve of His Crucifixion our Lord instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion.
" And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it; and he gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took a cup, and gave thanks and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S HERITAGE -
unto remission of sins." 7".
We may now inquire what exactly Jesus meant by calling the bread which He blessed His body.
We all know what the human body does.
The body is the instrument by which the human spirit works in the world.
We have been reading recently a good deal in the papers about C. F.
Andrews.
No one saw or touched the actual spirit of C. F. Andrews.
It was invisible and intangible.
When Andrews heard about suffering anywhere, caused by a flood or by some unjust legislation or by the greed of capitalists, he immediately went to the place, gathered the necessary information and sought to relieve the suffering by using all the power he had with the pen and the tongue.
Thus his feet, his hands and his tongue enabled him to fulfil his purpose of helping the poor and the needy.
His body was the instrument which obeyed his will and enabled him to achieve the purpose he had in mind.
The idea that the world is the body of God is central in Bhakti religion and philosophy.
There is a famous passage in the Brihad-Aryanyaka-U panishad which speaks of the world as being the body of God:
""He who, dwelling in the earth, yet is other than the earth, whom the earth does not know, whose body the earth is, who controls the earth from within—He is your soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.
He who, dwelling in the waters, yet is other than the waters, whom the waters do not know, whose body the waters are, who controls the waters from within—He is your Soul, the Inner
Controller, the Immortal.
He who, dwelling in the atmosphere, yet is other than the atmosphere, whom the atmosphere does not know, whose body the atmosphere is, who controls the atmosphere from within him
—He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.
He who, dwelling in the wind, yet is other than the wind, whom the wind does not know, whose body the wind is, who controls the wind from within—He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.
He who, dwelling in the sky, yet is other than the sky, whom the sky does not know, whose body the sky is, who controls the sky from withn—He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.
He who, dwelling in the sun, yet is other than the sun, whom the sun does not know, whose body the sun is, who controls the * Matthew xxvi. 26-28.
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON THE CHURCH
sun from within—He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.
He who, dwelling in the quarters of heaven, yet is other than the quarters of heaven, whom the quarters of heaven do not know, whose body the quarters of heaven are, who controls the quarters of heaven from within—He is your Soul, the Inner
Controller, the Immortal.
He who, dwelling in breath, yet is other than breath, whom the breath does not know, whose body the breath is, who controls the breath from within—He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.
He who, dwelling in speech, yet is other than speech, whom the speech does not know, whose body the speech is, who controls the speech from within—He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.
He who, dwelling in the eye, yet is other than the eye, whom the eye does not know, whose body the eye is, who controls the eye from within—He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.
He who, dwelling in the ear, yet is other than the ear, whom the ear does not know, whose body the ear is, who controls the ear from within—He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.
He who, dwelling in the mind, yet is other than the mind, whom the mind does not know, whose body thé mind is, who controls the mind from within—He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.
He who, dwelling in the understanding, yet is other than the understanding, whom the understanding does not know, whose body the understanding is, who controls the understanding from within—He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal." **° Ramanuja has made this teaching about the world being the body of God fundamental in his philosophy.
" Brahman— essentially antagonistic to all evil, of uniform goodness, differing in nature from all beings other than itself, all-knowing, endowed with the power of immediately realizing all its purposes, in eternal possession of all it wishes for, supremely blessed—has for its body the entire universe with all its sentient and nonsentient beings
. and constitutes the Self of the Universe." * * Brihad-Aryanyaka-Upanishad, III, viii. 3-10, 16-20, 22.
Tr. by R. E.
Hume, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, pp. 115-117.
® Ramanuja, Sri Bhdshya, I, iv. 27.
Tr. by G. Thibaut, The Vedanta Sutras with the commentary of Ramanuja, p. 403.
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S HERITAGE
What do Hindu thinkers mean when they speak of the world as being the body of God?
Let Ramanuja explain.
" We are thus led to adopt the following definition—Any substance which a sentient soul is capable of completely controlling and supporting for its own purposes, and which stands to the soul in an entirely subordinate relation, is the body of that soul...
. In this sense, then, all sentient and non-sentient beings together constitute the body of the Supreme Person, for they are completely controlled and supported by him for his own ends, and are absolutely subordinate to him." *° ~ As Christians we may also well say that God has made the entire universe as His body. God is love.
His great purpose is to manifest His love to men and to receive their love in return.
Love desires love.
God does not remain aloof, immersed in His own bliss. He is not an impersonal being, devoid of all qualities.
Only when men realize His love and return it fully, yielding themselves up voluntarily into His control, is He satisfied.
How does He achieve this purpose?
As a spirit God has no form.
He cannot be seen or heard or felt.
So He creates the world in order that through it His character may be revealed.
The world of physical objects is the instrument by which He makes known His nature and evokes the worship and love of His devotees.
The material universe makes clear His infinite wisdom and power.
The natural laws in the world and the faithfulness with which all objects obey them reveal the nature of God's mind.
It may be asked whether the whole world in all its parts reveals the mind of God equally well.
There are many sights and sounds of nature; do all of them manifest God with the same clearness?
We must acknowledge that some aspects of nature reveal Him more clearly than others.
The light of the sun is a wonderful thing; its beauty and grandeur are beyond words.
The light of the sun is also the source of life; but for it millions of beings would perish.
And yet normally we do not appreciate the light of the sun.
In a tropical country like India when the sun blazes with fierce heat we are rather apt to grumble about it.
But in the cool of the evening when we see the splendours of a sunset, we are more inclined to adore God for His power and glory.
This means that all natural phenomena are not equally effective in revealing God to us and in calling forth our adoration.
The world of nature reveals primarily the wisdom and power * Ramanuja, Sri Bhashya, II, i. 9.
Tr. by G. Thibaut, The Vedanta Stitras with the commentary of Ramanuja, p. 424.
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON THE CHURCH
of God.
The love of God is not so clear from nature.
Many thoughtful persons have been troubled by such questions as these: Why should there be earthquakes and floods which destroy thousands of men and women in a moment?
Why should there be lions, tigers and cobras which kill men and beasts?
That is why the English poet speaks of nature as being " red in tooth and claw." To make manifest His love God took a human body and became incarnate as Jesus Christ.
Thus God took, as it were, a second body, the fleshly organism of Jesus.
He lived on this earth and passed through the various experiences of men.
He was hungry and thirsty, He had friends and He felt the emotions of joy and sorrow.
God revealed Himself to men through the human body of Jesus. The words which Jesus spoke about God gave an entirely new idea of Him.
The life of active goodness which He led, His ready compassion with the suffering and the needy and His willingness to relieve suffering immediately, all these showed the infinite love of God.
The physical world with its beauty and power does not manifest clearly and beyond doubt the goodness and love of God.
What the material universe impresses us with is rather the power, glory and wisdom of God.
The teaching of Jesus and His life of selfless service and suffering conveys an altogether different conception of God.
This life of selfless service and suffering culminated in the death on the Cross.
Jesus was crucified and endured untold agony and shame.
The manifestation of God's love became absolutely clear on the Cross.
God endured the utmost suffering in order to demonstrate His love for us and to win our love and fellowship in return.
There are many beautiful sayings in the scriptures of the world which may be placed alongside the teachings of Christ.
The growing knowledge of different religions brings to our attention many parallels to the utterances of Jesus in the Gospels.
It may also be possible to gather from the lives of the saints from different parts of the world incidents which remind us of events in the life of Christ.
Nowhere but in the Gospels do we read of the suffering and shame which God endures with the purpose of making clear His love to men.
Thus the suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross is the culmination of God's manifestation of His love to men.
This revelation takes place gradually, becoming clearer little by little, until on the Cross it reaches undoubted certainty.
God took yet another body—the bread and wine which He blessed on the eve of His crucifixion.
The Lord of the Universe selected bread and wine and made them the instrument for fulfilling His purpose.
The bread and wine which He blessed were
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S HERITAGE
henceforth to be His body and blood.
They were to reveal to men His utter love for them leading to the complete sacrifice of Himself on the Cross.
The institution of this sacrament immediately before His death on the Cross is deeply significant; it shows the intimate connexion between this sacrament and the sacrifice on the Cross.
The bread and wine were to become a new body of our Lord.
In tasting them we taste His Love.
In seeing them we see Him yearning for mankind and ready to suffer to the utmost for them.
This sacrament deepens our love for Him and unites us with Him.
Truly the bread and wine become the body and blood of our Lord because through them
He fulfils His end of making known His love to men and gathering them into the intimacy and closeness of fellowship with Him.
The question may be raised as to whether communion with God is not possible without the use of such a sacrament.
As Archbishop Temple says, "No doubt Christ is always and everywhere accessible; and He is always the same.
Therefore it is possible to make a ' spiritual communion' which is in every way as real as a sacramental communion.
But it is far harder.
Our minds are greatly affected by our bodies.
When with our very bodies we repeat the sacrificial act by which the Lord interpreted His death, we find ourselves empowered to intend with fuller resolve our union with Him in His obedience to God. The consecrated elements are quite truly and certainly a vehicle of Christ's Presence to our souls." ** God took yet another body—His Church.
The life of Jesus on earth came to an end.
His contact with men under human conditions drew to a close.
So God planted in the world His Church as an instrument by which His rule over men would become real.
The Church was to be another medium through which He would make plain His will and render it effective in the world.
There may be times when we envy those who lived in Palestine during the life of our Lord.
We may think that they were specially blessed because they saw with their own eyes and heard with their own ears the Lord Jesus.
But let us remember that just as, when they opened their homes, He walked into them with His human body and discoursed with them and helped them, so to-day when we open the doors of our hearts, He enters them with His own body and blood at the time of Holy Communion.
His Presence becomes real to us. We behold Him full of grace and truth and experience fellowship with Him.
** William Temple, Christus Veritas, p. 241.