Church of England -- Sermons; Sermons, English -- 19th century
So the Lord sent to those Corinthians the very sort of proof which
they wanted, by the hand of the learned apostle, St. Paul. They
were great observers of the works of nature, of the strange movement
and change, birth and death, which goes on in beasts, and in plants,
and in the clouds, and the rivers, and the very stones under our
feet. And they said, We cannot believe in the resurrection of the
dead, because we see nothing like it in the world around us. And
St. Paul was sent to tell them. No: you do see something like it.
If you will look deeper into the working of the world around you,
you will see that the rising again of the dead, instead of being an
unnatural or an absurd thing, is the most reasonable and natural
thing, the perfect fulfilment, and crowning wonder of wonderful laws
which are working round you in every seed which you sow; in the
flesh of beasts and fishes; in bodies celestial and bodies
terrestrial: and so in that glorious chapter which we read in the
Burial Service, St. Paul tells the Corinthians, who went altogether
by sense, and reasoning about the things which they could see and
handle, that sense and reasoning were on his side, on God's side;
and that the mysteries of faith, like the resurrection of the body,
were not contrary to reason, but agreed with it.
So does the Lord clear up the doubts of his people, in the way which
is best for them. But he does not call them as blessed as others.
There is a higher faith than that. There is a better part. The
same part which Mary chose. The same faith of which our Lord says,--
'Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed.' The
faith of the heart; the childlike, undoubting, ready, willing faith,
which welcomes the news of the Lord; which runs to meet it, and is
not astonished at it; and, if it ever doubts for a moment, only
doubts for very joy and delight; and feeling that the news of the
gospel is good news, cannot help feeling now and then that it is too
good news to be true; shewing its love and its faith in its very
hesitation. This is the childlike heart, whereof it is written,
'Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall in
no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account