It is said there was...
Illustration
Object:
It is said there was a monk, in the Middle Ages, who was noted as a preacher. The
faithful would come from miles around to hear this man proclaim the gospel.
On a certain day, the monk announced that he would preach the next evening on the grace of God. The monastic chapel was, predictably, filled with eager listeners. The monk waited silently until the setting sun had caught the stained-glass windows, flooding the sanctuary with bright shards of color. When the last sparkle of light had faded from the windows, he took a lighted candle from the altar and walked over to a place in the church where a large crucifix was hanging. Slowly he held the candle up beside the pierced hands, then the wounded feet, then the bleeding side, and finally the brow surmounted by its crown of thorns.
The great assembly of people sat in silence, deeply moved. They had come to hear a sermon on the grace of God; yet this sermon they had not so much heard, as seen. Yes, they received what they expected, but far more. The words of a chant of the Iona Community could truly have been on their lips:
Wonder and stare, fear and beware;
Heaven and hell are close at hand.
God's living Word, Jesus the Lord,
Follows where faith and love demand.
(from About Come All You People: Shorter Songs For Worship [Chicago, GIA Publications], used by permission)
On a certain day, the monk announced that he would preach the next evening on the grace of God. The monastic chapel was, predictably, filled with eager listeners. The monk waited silently until the setting sun had caught the stained-glass windows, flooding the sanctuary with bright shards of color. When the last sparkle of light had faded from the windows, he took a lighted candle from the altar and walked over to a place in the church where a large crucifix was hanging. Slowly he held the candle up beside the pierced hands, then the wounded feet, then the bleeding side, and finally the brow surmounted by its crown of thorns.
The great assembly of people sat in silence, deeply moved. They had come to hear a sermon on the grace of God; yet this sermon they had not so much heard, as seen. Yes, they received what they expected, but far more. The words of a chant of the Iona Community could truly have been on their lips:
Wonder and stare, fear and beware;
Heaven and hell are close at hand.
God's living Word, Jesus the Lord,
Follows where faith and love demand.
(from About Come All You People: Shorter Songs For Worship [Chicago, GIA Publications], used by permission)
