Read the exhortation on page 88, BCP.
“Dearly beloved in the Lord, ye that mind to come to the holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ, must consider how St. Paul exhorteth all persons diligently to try and examine themselves, before they presume to eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup.”
In days gone by this exhortation, and that which
follows on page 90 were placed in the Liturgy in such a way that it was
presumed that they might be read as part of every celebration of the
Holy Eucharist. Indeed, in the 1662
Prayer Book, still the official Prayer Book in England and Australia, the
exhortations are so placed in the service.
While some might find the idea of listening to not just one, but both exhortations every Sunday, a frighteningly tedious prospect, we should perhaps not be so hasty in thus dismissing them from our collective radar screens, relieved that we only hear this one twice per year, and that on page 90 three times. That which they exhort us to do, individually, is really quite important, as each of us, beforehand, anticipates our participation in the divine mysteries. When we come to the service of Holy Communion, we are not here just to see our Christian brothers and sisters, we are not here just to sing some wonderful hymns. We are here at the express command of God Incarnate to partake of that heavenly Food of the Sacred Body and Blood of the same our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who shed that precious Blood on the Cross so that we might be reconciled to God.
I do hope that each of us spends some time prior to
every participation in the Eucharist pondering that great and awesome
mystery. If not, perhaps we can make a
personal Lenten resolution to read the exhortations every time before we come
to Mass, and then engage in the reflection and self-examination that they
suggest.
Today, being the first Sunday in Lent - the Church’s
primary season of penitence, the reading of the exhortation corporately is most
appropriate, especially as we have just heard read the episode of our Lord’s
fasting and temptation in the wilderness.
When we acknowledge that what He endured in the
wilderness was entirely for our benefit, as the Collect states, “O Lord, who
for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights,” we must then ask
ourselves, in terms of “diligently trying to examine ourselves” how His
experience there applies to us. We have
no reason to doubt that this episode actually occurred; but, how often do we
acknowledge from the episode that Jesus’ temptations are our temptations?
Of course, He endured those temptations without
falling into sin. We are exhorted to
examine ourselves with sufficient honesty to recognize the many and varied ways
in which we have fallen into sin, and continue to do so, before we come
to receive Holy Communion. In having
admitted to sins, we must honestly and contritely confess them as we presume to
come to that holy table, ever aware that only through God’s forgiveness of our
sins are we made worthy partakers of that heavenly food.
The Gospel reading mentions three particular temptations. Can we recognize, in a different order than we might hear them categorized in the Baptism service, what those are? The flesh, the world and the devil; and these three, as they are in the Baptism service, are meant to encompass the entire spectrum of those things that turn us away from God.
The flesh, as represented by
bread. This does not mean that we can or
should ignore our daily needs for the things that sustain our very lives. It does mean that we must acknowledge that
the things that satisfy our daily needs, be they physical or sensual, are all
good gifts from God, and that, without giving Him credit and thanks, we risk
falling into the sin of failing to recognize that He, and He alone is the sustainer
of life. “Man does not live by bread
alone.”
The world, as represented by tempting
God. This does not mean that God cannot
and does not uphold us in time of need, that he cannot and does not bestow upon
us many marvellous and wondrous things.
It does mean that we must acknowledge that, as Bp. Mercer was wont to
point out, we do not empower God by our prayers. He is not waiting for us to tell Him what to
do. He is not our cosmic bellhop, eager
to satisfy our every whim and fancy; neither does He exist for our amusement or
entertainment. We exist, only because He
is. “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy
God.”
The devil, as represented by anything
that might usurp the primacy of God in our lives and affections. This does not mean that we should ignore the
very real responsibilities and obligations that we have to others - our
families, our relations, our brothers and sisters in Christ, our fellow
workers, our communities. It does mean
that we must acknowledge that, only by placing God first can we properly fulfil
our particular calling as functioning parts of His creation. Our relationships with others are only made
perfect and whole when He is the glue that binds them together. The fulfilment of our responsibilities in the
world is only perfectly dispensed when He is the source and ground of our
purpose, as only then are all shreds of self-promotion dissolved. “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him
only shalt thou serve.”
“Man does not live by bread alone.” “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him
only shalt thou serve.” We must further
exercise care to recognize that these phrases as uttered by our Lord, while
they do encapsulate concisely the age old struggle between sin and grace,
should not be bandied about as trite and cliché. Life is a struggle. It is not always possible to discern in an
instant what is God’s will in a given situation; not always possible to
distinguish correctly whether our response, actions, decisions or inclinations are
God-centred or part of the flesh, the world and the devil. Holiness is not won without our own episodes
in the spiritual wilderness; and then, not at all if we have not learned to
place Him first.
But thanks be to God, for that He, through the
precious Blood of His only-begotten Son, has made a way for us, when we truly
and earnestly repent us of our sins and, with full purpose of amendment of
life, intend to follow His commandments and walk henceforth in His holy ways,
to be pardoned and delivered from all our sins, to be confirmed and
strengthened in all goodness, sustained by His grace as contained in the
precious Body and Blood of the Sacrament of the altar, and, finally, to be
partakers of His freely offered gift of eternal life.
And so we begin once again the season of Lent. May each of us, as part of our various chosen
disciplines, include time for sober reflection on our Lord’s own forty days and
the attendant teaching contained therein.
ANNUNCIATION OTTAWA 2007 +CR