And Saul approved of their killing [Stephen]. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.

—Acts 8:1-8 (TNIV)

It is to the glory of God that he can use even severe persecution to spread his Gospel. Here we see the first example of it. The Gospel did not really begin to spread until the Church began to be persecuted and the history of the Church suggests it thrives best during times of persecution. I have often wondered if its safe and comfortable status in our society has resulted in its decline. As the various enemies of the cross ascend to power, however, I suspect this will change in a hurry. This amounts to bad news and good news for the church, if history is an accurate guide. The bad news is that we will be forced to suffer increasing hostility and persecution, and that is never good for anyone. The good news is that this seems to be what the church needs to become revitalized.

How is the body to become a sacrifice? Let the eye look on no evil thing, and it has already become a sacrifice. Let the tongue say nothing filthy, and it has become an offering. Let your hand do nothing evil, and it has become a whole burnt offering. But even this is not enough for we must have good works also. The hand must do alms, the mouth must bless those who curse it, and the ears must find time to listen to the reading of Scripture. Sacrifice allows no unclean thing. It is the first fruits of all other actions.

—John Chrysostom, Homilies on Romans 20

Especially at communion times [the priest] is in a great confusion, as being not only to receive God, but to break, and administer him. Neither finds he any issue in this, but to throw himself down at the throne of grace, saying, “Lord, you know what you did, when you appointed [communion] to be done this way; therefore fulfill what you appointed; for you are not only the feast, but the way to it.

—The Country Parson 1652

Herbert was an exemplary Anglican priest, one of my heroes whom I seek to emulate. Notice here the humility in his writing and the continuing emphasis on holiness, in this context Christ’s holiness, not the priest’s. If you are seeking to better understand Anglican eucharistic theology, you can see some glimpses of it here: Christ’s Real Presence in the elements that are not diminished by the sinful nature of the human who is presiding at the Eucharist.

“And in your name I will lift up my hands”: Lift up, therefore, hands in prayer. Our Lord has lifted up for us his hands on the cross, and stretched out were his hands for us, and therefore were his hands stretched out on the cross, in order that our hands might be stretched out with good works; because his cross has brought us mercy. Behold, he has lifted up his hands, andd has offered for us himself a sacrifice to God, and through that sacrifice have all our sins been effaced.

—Augustine, Commentary on Psalm 62

The experience of the race is clear that some things God never can do until he finds a man who prays. Indeed, Meister Eckhart, the mystic, puts the truth with extreme boldness: “God can as little do without us, as we without him.” If at first this seems a wild statement, we may well consider in how many ways God’s will depends on man’s cooperation. God himself cannot do some things unless men think. He never blazons his truth on the sky that men may find it without seeking. Only when men gird the loins of their minds and undiscourageably give themselves to intellectual toil, will God reveal to them the truth, even about the physical world. And God himself cannot do some things unless men work. Will a man say that when God wants bridges and tunnels, wants the lightnings harnessed and cathedrals built, he will do the work himself? That is an absurd and idle fatalism. God stores the hills with marble, but he never built a Parthenon; he fills the mountains with ore, but he never made a needle or a locomotive. Only when men work can some things be done. Recall the words of Stradivarius, maker of violins, as George Eliot interprets him:

When any master holds ‘twixt chin and hand a violin of mine, he will be glad that Stradivari lived, made violins, and made them of the best… For while God gives them skill I give them instruments to play upon, God choosing me to help him…. If my hand slacked I should rob Godsince he is fullest goodleaving a blank instead of violins…. he could not make Antonio Stradivari’s violins without Antonio.

Now if God has left some things contingent on man’s thinking and working why may he not have left some things contingent on man’s praying? The testimony of the great souls is a clear affirmative to this: some things never without thinking; some things never without working; some things never without praying! Prayer is one of the three forms of man’s cooperation with God.

—Harry Emerson Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer

We need to be careful not to take Fosdick’s argument too far, but his point remains valid nevertheless. For whatever reason, God has ordained that human be active stewards of his creation as well as in our prayer life. What a wondrous and awesome privilege and opportunity!

Hilarious!

Heh. Gotta love it. My beloved would surely agree. 🙂