I never tire of complaining about the church. I complain that she turns herself into a community center, a self-help center and a concert hall. Of course, it rarely occurs to me:
1. she is us; and
2. We cannot leave her for she is our mother as
3. She is the body of Christ
To realize the Church is made up of depraved people (us) makes us realize the necessity of prayer for her sin (our sin). To realize she is the body of Christ makes us accept we have no hope of being in Christ without her. This moving hymn by Thomas Pollock (pictured right) is a prayer for the Church. Pollock ministered to the poor of London as a minister in the Church of England. Here are the better verses:
Jesus, with Thy Church abide,Be her Savior, Lord, and Guide,
While on earth her faith is tried:
We beseech Thee, hear us.
Keep her life and doctrine pure,
Help her, patient, to endure,
Trusting in Thy promise sure:
We beseech Thee, hear us.
All her fettered powers releaseBid our strife and envy cease,
Grant the heav'nly gift of peace:
We beseech Thee, hear us.
May she guide the poor and blind,
Seek the lost until she find,
And the broken hearted bind:
We beseech Thee, hear us.
All that she has lost, restore,May her strength and zeal be more
Than in brightest days of yore:
We beseech Thee, hear us.
May she holy triumphs win,
Overthrow the hosts of sin,
Gather all the nations in,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
2 comments:
"May she guide the poor and blind,
Seek the lost until she find,
And the broken hearted bind:"
That's good stuff. I was thinking about how petty my own ambitions are the other day. What caused the thought was the thought of my ministry to this lady in a nursing home. She is only in her mid forties but totally incapacitated with Huntington's disease. Her mother tells me that, while she is unable to communicate, her mind is clear. She is aware of everything going on around her. In a way, she is a prisoner in a severely broken body. Sometimes when I pray with her or read Scripture with her, she cries. There's something freeing about ministering to the broken. Less "stuff" to get in the way of the Christ himself I suppose.
The trouble with the church (us) is that it (we) is (are) too wiling to deny and flee from the truth of our brokenness.
Post a Comment