Faith and Duty: Sermons on Free Texts, with Reference to the Church-YearBuchheimer, L. B. (Louis Balthaser)
Religion
Faith and Duty: Sermons on Free Texts, with Reference to the Church-Year
Buchheimer, L. B. (Louis Balthaser)
Church year sermons; Lutheran Church -- Sermons; Sermons, American
Such is the formation of our body, the constitution of the nervous
fibers and the tissues, that pain in one part affects the whole
frame; that joy in one part diffuses itself over all. A pain in
the heart, the side, or in one of the limbs does not confine
itself there, leaving the rest of the body in a state fitted for
its usual employments, but every part sympathizes with that which
is affected. And so the pleasure which we receive from beauty of
objects seen by the eye, or from the melody and harmony of music
as perceived by the ear, is diffused over the whole frame, and we
are filled with enjoyments. So is the Church which is the body of
Christ. What affects one member is supposed to affect all. What
gives pain to one gives pain to all. What honors one honors all.
As an injury done to a nerve in the body, though so small as not
to be traceable to an unpracticed eye, may be felt at the remotest
extremities, so is the body of Christ. The dishonor done to the
obscurest member should be felt by all; the honor done to that
member should produce rejoicing. Without any officious intermeddling
with the private concerns of individuals, there should be such an
interest felt in the common welfare of the whole that each might
depend on the sympathy of his brethren at all times and in all
circumstances. Say not that "So it is not." The consideration now,
the Savior's teaching, is that so it ought to be, and that every
member of His Church should strive to make it so.
And one more duty must we mention, however briefly. It is this: As
an essential to healthful congregational life there must be mutual
admonition among the members. Here is the fundamental principle laid
down by the Savior. "If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go
and tell him his fault between thee and him alone." You are not to
blazon his fault abroad, you are not to allow the suspicion that he
has done you wrong to lie, and rankle, and fester in your own mind.
You are not to allow it to make you cold and distant, and evasive
and repulsive when you meet him, without his knowing the cause; you
are not to send an anonymous letter or a message by any one. You are
to go to him and see him by himself, and give him an opportunity
of explanation, or confession. It is a painful duty, and it is not
a duty that devolves on the pastor, but according to the rule laid
down by the Savior, upon a brother, _i. e._, clearly every one who
is a member of the Church. Beloved, the more I study congregational
life and gather practical experience, the wiser does the Lord's
rule appear to me in preserving the welfare of the Church. Let us
all strive to conform to it. Let us openly and frankly treat each
other like brethren. If you have been offended by a brother, or if
you have offended a brother, here is the rule that guides you; if
you see a congregational member wandering from the path of true
religion, going astray from Church and godliness, fail not to do
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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