Second part of Sermon XX. for the Sunday called Quinquagesima.
1 Cor. xiii. 1-13. St. Luke. xviii. 31-43.
Charity never faileth.— I COR.
xiii. 8.
(for the first part, on the Epistle.)
...And now very impressive and instructive is the transition from the
Epistle to the Gospel for the day; for thus, after the description of divine
love, we pass to the perfect Pattern of divine love itself; for “greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down Ins life for his friends.”
And here we have our Lord preparing Himself, and preparing others for His
death, even as now He would prepare us, through the season of Lent, to
go up with Him to witness His death at Jerusalem. And all this His journey
throughout, accompanied at every step with lowliest acts of that charity
which “suffereth long and is kind;” and blessed be God, not only setting
forth to us what true love is, but giving us power to obtain it while we
look to Him. For how shall we learn this love unless He draw us unto Himself?
This divine love goeth forth like virtue from Him; for very love’s sake
may He make us to love Him, and if we love Him we have perfect love; love
of God and love of man; love of man whom we have seen, in Him Who is emphatically
the Son of Man; and love of God also, Whom in mart we see manifested in
Jesus Christ.
Then took He unto Him, says St. Luke, the twelve,— i.
e. took them apart from all others, as about to disclose some great and
concerning circumstances unto them,— and said unto them, Behold, we
go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning
the Son of Man shall he accomplished. For He shall be delivered unto the
Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on
: and they shall scourge Him, and put Him to death: and the third day He
shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying
was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
Now this is not the only occasion when our Lord prepared His disciples
for His approaching sufferings; for some months before His death He had
been doing so continually; as many as nine times of His doing so are mentioned
in the Gospels. Yet it was so beyond all their thoughts, that, notwithstanding,
they could not comprehend it; and in this it is like all prophecies of
God. He repeats them often and often, as if saying, “let these things sink
deep in your ears,” yet before they are fulfilled they are never understood;
when they take place, then the prophecies are remembered, and it is seen
how God had been foretelling all the events throughout. But although the
disciples could not understand how such things could he, yet all the while
the effect of these our Lord’s repeated declarations did prepare their
hearts, put them in a state of prayer, and watchfulness, and waiting upon
God. On one occasion, it is said, “they were exceeding sorry,” when they
heard it: on another St. Peter deprecated, praying that it might not be;
from which it is evident that he understood it to mean the enduring of
some great sorrows by his beloved Master. And at this time, when they saw
their Lord’s boldness in going up to meet all these things at Jerusalem,
it is said in another Gospel, they “were amazed ;" and “as they followed
Him they were afraid.”
He took the twelve aside, it is said, apart from the multitude, to teach
them of these things. Blessed privilege, to be taken aside from the world
and taught by Him; and to be taken, though they hardly know, into fellowship
with His sufferings; to prepare them beforehand for closer communion with
Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, and for the Last Supper, and the Mount
of Calvary, and afterwards for that upper chamber at Jerusalem, where,
the doors being locked, He should be with them, and give them His peace.
In like manner is it the ease with us now; the Scriptures would prepare
us for some great and wonderful manifestation, suddenly to come upon us,
when charity alone shall stand, but we cannot comprehend how such things
are to be. In the, meanwhile Christ would talk to us apart would take us
up to Jerusalem with Him, to witness His sufferings, saying, that in Him
only shall we find life and safety in those awful things which are to be.
Again, “charity never faileth,” is never wanting under any trial; and
this we are to keep in mind through this approaching season of humiliation,
that under no pressure of self-mortification we forget the love of our
neighbour. This also is beautifully brought before our minds in the Gospel
for this day. For while our Lord was now going up to Jerusalem as a willing
Victim to die, so filled with a sense of the awful sorrows that awaited
Him, and the Twelve around Him partaking of the like feelings of undefinable
sorrow, amazement, and apprehension, yet all is alleviated by acts of mercy
to the meanest. “Charity never faileth,” but “suffereth long and is kind.”
It is that same love which amidst the agonies of Gethsemane forgot riot
the sleeping disciples, nor on the Cross was unmindful of the penitent
thief, and of His suffering Mother, and of those who, in crucifying Him,
knew not what they did.
Moreover, this incident which follows seems to derive a peculiar significancy
from its connexion with that discourse itself which preceded it. For it
is said, “they understood none of these things, and this saying was hid
from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.” And then the
narrative proceeds. And it came to pass, that as He was come night unto
Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: and hearing the
multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him that Jesus
of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, Thou Son of David,
have mercy on me. He had been teaching the disciples, but they were
blind; they could not understand; helpless, by the way side, having none
to guide; but in this their blindness who shall lead them? who shall open
their eyes? This lowly act of charity shall teach them and instruct us
all. When the Lord approached Jerusalem He wept over it because “the things
belonging to their peace” were “hidden from their eyes;” because they were
blind, and had no eyes to see, and were not sensible of their own blindness.
But if by humiliation we are made to know our own blindness, and, as the
beggar by the road side, to know that we have no help but in Him, He will
open our eyes; He will give us power to follow Him on the road, and to
be with Him in that true Jerusalem which is “the vision of peace.”
Blessed be His Name, He bids us ask of Him in order that He may give.
“Thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing;
and knowest not that thou art,” as this blind beggar, “wretched, and miserable,
and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried
in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest
be clothed; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
(Rev. iii. 17, 18)
And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace;
but he cried so much the more, Jesus Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
How does this represent ourselves? blind by nature and by sin, we would
appeal earnestly to Christ to open our eyes, that we may see Him and ourselves;
but when we would set our faces steadfastly to seek Him in prayer, what
a thronging multitude of fancies would make us to hold our peace, and rebuke
us until we do; what thoughts of business intervene to stop us,— conversation
with others,— reading or worldly matters,—relations, friends, strangers,—all
seem to combine to draw us away from prayer and communion with God; household
duties, our very meals, daily labours, all cry out; and if we listen to
then], Jesus will pass by as if He heard not,—will pass by and never again
return. But herein faith is the more seen and tried : “He cried so much
the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!” He was all the more
importunate for these hindrances; so will it ever be with the Christian
who is thoroughly in earnest. Things that would stifle a weak flame, serve
as fuel to the strong one. Those very temptations which would hinder the
lukewarm, render him more fervent in overcoming them; and above them all
his voice is heard. The world is importunate, and sin and Satan, hut more
importunate is his prayer to Him Whose Name is Love., Who “suffereth long
and is kind.”
And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto Him. St.
Mark gives an interesting account of the scene. Our Lord seems to have
passed by, when turning He “commanded him to be called; and they call the
blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; He calleth thee.
And he, casting away his garment, rose and came to Jesus.” And when
he was come near, He asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I should do
unto thee ? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said
unto him, Receive thy sight; thy faith hath saved thee. That faith
which first inquired after Me; that faith which cried unto Me, though I
was “as one that heard not,” and, unless I had been constrained by thee,
would have passed by; that faith which fainted not, but persevered, and
was the more urgent when so many that went before would have come between
Me and thee, and stopped thins entreaties; that “faith hath saved thee.”
“I am the Light of the world.” Blessed is he who knoweth his own blindness,
poverty, and. nakedness, and seeketh of Me eyes to see.
And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying
God. By faith Christ drew him unto Himself, and when his eyes were
opened he followed Him. Faith came first, and then love; by love lie followed
Him, and in following Him glorified God. What a lively emblem of the Christian
is this! he feels his misery and helplessness, and prays in faith with
perseverance, and his eyes are opened to see God, Whom to see is to love
and follow. It has been well said of this Divine lesson, set forth
in this blind man, “Happy is that blind person, to whom God gives not only
eyes to know Him, but likewise feet to follow, a tongue to praise, and
a heart to love Him.” (Quesnel on St. Luke.)
And all the people, it is added, when they saw it, gave praise
unto God. Thus wherever there is such a true conversion of the whole
heart and life to God through “faith working by love,” the “light shines
before men;” and they who before would have hindered and held him back,
are now themselves moved by the marvellous grace which they witness, and
they also glorify God.
Now consider what is this light, my brethren, of which we speak; this
light, not of the body, but of the soul, which Scripture so often mentions.
This light is no other than love; it is the same love which St. Paul describes
in the Epistle, that charity which never faileth. “He that saith he is
in the light,” says St. John, “and hateth his brother, is in darkness even
until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is
none occasion of stumbling in him.” (1 St. John ii. 10.)
“God is Light,” and “God is Love.” This love is that light which surrounds
the steps, and warms the heart of the penitent, and burneth more and more
bright to cheer him on Ins desolate road. If any ask, what is the one thing
needful? the Epistle says it is Love. If any ask, what is Love? the Gospel
for this day says, it is Jesus going up to Jerusalem to die. And if we
ask, and what shall we do? it is with blind Bartimaeus to pray earnestly
in faith that we may have sight to see Him; and casting aside the beggarly
garments of our former self, to follow Him in the way.
In short, in the exalted account given us of charity, we may well feel
overwhelmed at our great want of it, as we come to fathom the depths of
our need, and measure ourselves by the Pattern. Our great relief on such
occasions is looking to Christ in prayer; in prayer with regard to every
particular of these our daily sad miscarriages and short-comings; and what
we derive from dwelling on this incident, is the assurance, that if we
are importunate He will hear us, in such a prayer as we offer in the Collect
for this day.
