a drop in that stream...

In this, our final excerpt from William Phillips Tilden's first lecture to seminary students, his great modesty and passionate love for God and for church work shines through.

"What richer privilege could be given by a loving Father to his waiting children than the privilege of working with such redeeming agencies for the uplifting of the world ? As individuals, we may do little. But to be only a drop in that stream of moral and spiritual power by which the great wheel of redeeming agencies is turned is enough to awaken unfeigned gratitude to God. For, though that drop be lost to human sight soon as its force is spent, though it be dashed off in spray and absorbed by the sun, it has aided in the noblest work God ever gives to man or angel.
I congratulate you, students of theology and religion, on the choice you have made of your life-work. I have tried to tell you my conviction that there is none nobler on earth, none more richly rewarding, none whose compensations are so sure and satisfying. I can truly say, as an old man, with only ordinary success in the ministry,—perhaps not that, judged by the common measure of success,— that, could I live my life over again, and have the free choice of my life-work, it would unhesitatingly be the ministry. It would be the Christian ministry. It would be the Liberal Christian ministry...Keep the nature of that work fresh before you; and, if in any hour clouds should gather and unforeseen difficulties make you despondent, look up, and, remembering with what a glorious band of ministering spirits on the earth and in the heavens you are working, sing with them: —

" I live to hold communion

With all that is divine ;

To feel there is a union

Between God's will and mine,

For the cause that lacks assistance,

For the wrong that needs resistance,

For the future in the distance,

For whate'er is good and true,

For all human hearts that bind me,

For the task by God assigned me,

And the good that I can do ;

To labor for that season

By gifted minds foretold,

When men shall live by reason,

And not alone for gold,—

When, man to man united

And every wrong thing righted,

The whole world shall be lighted

As Eden was of old."

Blessings

the more excellent way...

One of William Phillip Tilden's greatest virtues was his true ecumenical spirit. He, himself, had found much of value (including an abiding sense of the Holy Spirit) at a relatives Baptist Church in his youth. His "head and heart were united" listening to the preaching of Caleb Stetson and he became a staunch Unitarian with transcendentalist leanings. In his person, therefore, was united Evangelicalism, Unitarianism, and Transcendentalism all in the service of God and humanity.

His first lecture continued...

"And here we see our true relation to all other churches. In all practical work, it is a relation, not of antagonism, but of cooperation. Some of their doctrines we cannot accept, because we believe them untrue; but under this difference of opinion, perfectly sincere on both sides, there is an essential agreement as to the aim and end of all religion. There is a real unity of spirit and purpose as to all the moral and philanthropic movements for the suppression of vice and the promotion of virtue. We may say of them, as they frequently do of us, that "one is often better than his theology...

But you say, perhaps, They will not acknowledge us as coworkers, because we lisp in pronouncing the creed. Alas! it is true in spots, large spots, too; but this we should regard as a divine call to show the more excellent way by acknowledging them as fellow-workers for God and man just in proportion as their labors tend to moral and spiritual elevation.
But not only all the best and noblest powers of earth are with us, but the Power that moves these powers. Above all, these ministering spirits here on the material plane are all holy agencies in the invisible world, with the risen Jesus still about his Father's business, and God himself filling and inspiring all."

Blessings

want and woe...

Unitarians are (and long have been) accused of being overly intellectual, rational, NPR poster children. And while this is partly true (and not in itself a bad thing-I am prepared to out myself this morning as a lover of NPR) it is hardly the basis of our church life. William Phillips Tilden reminds budding church workers of the true foundation of the work:

"This work not only enlarges the mind, but especially the heart. It is a constant appeal to our sympathies. It keeps us from growing cold, fastidious, selfish. It enlarges our hearts for the cordial acceptance of that universal brotherhood which lies at the base of the religion Jesus taught and lived. Who, if he could, would dwarf his own nature by coming in contact with only one phase of human life, its happy, joyous, well- to-do experiences, knowing nothing of its heavy strains, its severe temptations, its sorrows and sins ? The real divineness of our calling is seen in this : that, while it brings us into communion with the very highest thoughts and noblest fellowships, it consecrates all knowledge and all gifts to the humblest ministries to want and woe.

Here we join hands with all the workers for humanity the world over,— all that ever increasing company under whatever name, Social Science, Ethical Culture, Moral Reform, Christian Socialism,— all who are ministering to the poor and needy, all everywhere, of every name or shade of faith, or of no name, but who without avowed faith save in doing good to the world while in it,— all these the liberal minister will draw into the circle of his thought, his study, his fellowship, knowing that from all something may be learned for the enlargement of his conception of a true Christian ministry, and of the variety of methods that may be adopted for the building up of the kingdom of God.

It is not necessary to agree with any one in his beliefs or methods, in order to learn from him. If he be conscientiously devoted to doing good in his own way, we shall be wise to come close to him, that we may catch the fervor of his zeal, and feel that we have a common end in view."

Blessings

the privilege of such a fellowship...

William Phillips Tilden never lost sight of the tremendous privilege it is to do church work. His love for and joy in the work is deeply inspiring. This from his first lecture to Meadville students continued:

"Let us think a moment of the atmosphere of thought in which a Christian minister must live if he would work successfully in his high calling. It must be the clearest, the purest, the very best. Nothing is too .good to be wrought into his thought. History, poetry, literature of the best quality, are an essential part of his mental and moral outfit. This brings him into contact with the noblest minds.

Of course, as a Christian minister, he must first of all form a spiritual acquaintance with the thought, life, spirit, of Jesus, not merely with his recorded words, which may not always do justice to that wonderful soul,— for none but a soul well up on the mount of vision could record what was spoken there,— but a spiritual acquaintance with his spirit, with the aim of his life, with his relation to God and man, with the real object of his mission, with his sense of God, not only above and around, but within him, of his divine sonship, as both type and assurance of the divine sonship of humanity. We need this interior vision of his interior being, of that which made him the beloved son of God he was, so as to feel the touch of his spirit, and understand something, at least, of what the love of God and man was to him. It is this companionship with the spirit of Jesus that is essential to the accomplishment of his work. One must feel his own sonship before he can help others to feel it. He must ascend the mount if he would lead others up. The true minister is not a guide- post with finger-point, or a blazed path telling where others have passed. He must himself pass up, axe in hand, marking the way with his own sturdy strokes. His own feet must tread every step of the way, so- that he can say not "Go!" but "Come!" as the brave general leads his soldiers to victory. To this end, he needs that fellowship of spirit with Jesus which will keep his soul alive with a sense of God with him, and the real greatness of his work.

And this fellowship with the noblest will lead to fellowship with all noble souls,—all true sons of God, all working for the uplifting of man. A ministry that should limit itself to the teachings of Jesus would hardly be Christian. It would lack the real Christ spirit of universality. To know Christ is to know all Christ-like souls. To follow Jesus is to follow his spirit, not necessarily his methods or his precise words, but his spirit. It is to recognize all men as children of God, and to open mind and heart, as he did, to all the fresh communications of divine love, through nature, through human experience, and the still, small voice. This brings one into fellowship with all the true workers for man. What a glorious company we thus gather round us! Do we fully appreciate the privilege of such a fellowship,— the privilege of pursuing our life-work in such companionship ?"


Blessings

the whole conception of salvation...

The description of this blog, "A truer and nobler life" comes from the "conversion" of William Phillips Tilden as a young man. He remained true to this vision of what it means to live a religious life for the duration. This from his first lecture to Meadville students continued...

"The need of keeping a true idea of our work before us, whether as students or as workers in the broad field of the world, is plain. We need it as a perpetual incentive to fidelity... we all need to keep the real work of the ministry before us, to stimulate courage and give us an assurance that in a work like ours there is not only no such word as fail, but no such thing as failure, save in our own fidelity to conscience and God. For though one's idea of means and methods may radically change, though his theology, even, may be turned upside down and inside out, so long as he holds on to God and the human soul, so long as he knows without a peradventure that he is God's child, and that every other human being is God's child, too, so long as he sees and feels that selfishness and sin enslave, and truth and love liberate, so long as he feels sure that the Christ spirit of self-sacrificing love for the world's uplifting is really divine, and that all who will may share it,— so long the work of the Christian ministry will have a charm for him that no difficulty or discouragement can break.

In general terms, I suppose, we may say that the grand aim and end of the Christian ministry is to lift mankind to a higher plane of thought and life. The old idea of saving souls from the wrath of God and future burnings by a scheme of salvation which makes it possible for God to forgive and man to accept forgiveness has not only passed out of liberal theology, but is fast passing out of all religious thinking ; and the idea of salvation as the deliverance of human souls from whatever enslaves and debases, and lifting them into harmony with the divine will, is taking its place. This radically changes the whole conception of salvation. It no longer means deliverance from future peril merely, but from present evil, wrong, and sin. It still means restoration for the fallen. It still means forgiveness to the penitent. It still means new births to higher planes of thought and life. But all this is supernatural, only as life itself is supernatural. It is not in conflict, but in harmony, with human nature, which was plainly constructed on this plan of rising out of lower into higher forms of life.

Now, is there any higher work to which a human being can give himself than to a ministry whose sole aim and end is the elevation, the improvement, the perfection of the race to which he belongs ?"

Blessings

mummy wrappings

This from William Phillips Tiden's first lecture to Meadville students:

"Tis true that every now and then we are told that the ministry has lost its power, that Christianity itself is outgrown and must give place to something higher. This is no new cry. Some of us heard it a half-century ago, and learned to respect it as coming from honest minds. The cry has done good in helping us to discriminate between the letter and the spirit. That what passes for Christianity is very defective, very far from the simple teaching of Jesus, that many of its beliefs are unbelievable, an offence to reason, a libel on God and man, and a gross perversion of pure and undented religion, is only too painfully apparent. But these beliefs are only the mummy wrappings in which devout but mistaken worshippers have tried to embalm the body of Christianity, not perceiving that her soul is ever making new bodies for herself to meet the new exigencies of redeeming love. It is this soul that lives on from age to age, in the face of all the confident assertions that it is dead or dying. Beliefs change, but the spirit lives,— lives to clear its throat, and speak in truer and sweeter tones of God, man, and religion.

It is to study this spirit of Christianity you are here. You will not, therefore, be greatly alarmed by such as tell you that you have enlisted in a lost cause, that you have joined the corps of a forlorn hope. The cause of religion, pure and undefiled, never can be a lost cause while God lives and man is his child. And that can never be a forlorn hope which works for the uplifting of humanity in the spirit of him who shows us how "one with God is always a majority."
There are always bright tokens of encouragement in our sky, if we have only an eye to see them; and it does seem to me that as a Church we were never in a more hopeful and inspiring condition than now. But of this I shall speak more fully in my next lecture.

On this, my first meeting with you, we cannot do better perhaps than to think together of the high and sacred work of the Christian ministry. It is an old theme, of course, as the everlasting gospel is old; but if, like that, it were not always new, you would not be here to fit yourselves for it. That it has already won your hearts, and waked in you a desire to give your lives to it, shows that you have already given it your serious thought. But it is a work that grows as we ponder it. Its real glory and blessedness do not appear at first. It rises as we rise to the contemplation of it from the watch-towers of Christian thought, where alone we can see it as it is in the real glory of its aim and end."

Blessings

wise counsels...

William Phillips Tilden did not have theological school training and, in later life, when he was asked to deliver a series of lectures to the students at Meadville Theological School he was honored. They were well received and he repeated them three years later. It is these lectures that make up his "The Work of the Ministry." Today I include thanks and a request for publication from his original listeners-the students, and his response largely because I really like that kind of thing...

"Resolved, That we, the students of Meadville Theological School, tender our thanks to the Rev. Mr. Tilden, of Milton, Mass., for his instructive course of lectures upon the ministerial offices, so beautiful in their spirit and so valuable in material.
"Resolved, That we feel that the course of lectures just closed, to which we have listened with so much pleasure and profit, would be still more valuable to us if we possessed them in a form more enduring and complete than that contained in the insufficient mental record and the incomplete note-book. We therefore take this opportunity to express the hope — if we may do so without trespass upon plans otherwise determined upon — that the Rev. Mr. Tilden may find it convenient to put in the enduring form of print these wise counsels to his younger brethren, these words so full of the spirit of manly Christianity, and which surely have proceeded from the experiences of a long and useful life, devoted to disinterested and noble service of the Christian ideals. For many years to come, before we ourselves possess the experience of long Christian service, we are sure that these true words of our venerable adviser will do much to guide us safely upon our way."

and WPT's reply:

"IN complying with the foregoing request, I yield the distrust of age to the sanguine judgment of youth, and dedicate these familiar lectures to the students of the Meadville Theological School, past, present, and future, and to all earnest students of " the faith that makes faithful."

W. P. T.

blessings

The blessed art of bearing one another's burdens...

Yesterday we heard William Phillips Tilden's rendering of Emerson's "sealed orders." Today his marching orders for anyone taking up the ministry...

from: "The Work of the Ministry" cont.

"We may think, therefore, of one as reading and accepting all the sealed orders of Mr. Emerson touching the relation of the individual soul with God, and yet finding other orders for the practical work of the ministry, such as these:—

" Remember that man is not an individual, but a member of a body."
" Thou shalt not live for self, not even for self-improvement, but for the welfare of thy fellows."
"Thou shalt not be satisfied with the vision of truth, but strive continually to work the truth thou seest into thine own and other lives."
"Thou shalt seek not only to announce truth boldly, but to make it a persuasive power for the higher life."
"Thou shalt deem no human being beneath thy notice."
" Thou shalt honor alike the rich and the poor, and permit no outward distinctions to influence thy regards."
"Thou shalt live in cordial sympathy with thy people, rejoicing in their joys and sorrowing in their sorrows."
" Thou shalt help them to see the deformity of sin and the beauty of holiness."
"Thou shalt win them to the love of Christian worship and Christian work."
" Thou shalt show them the meaning and use of a church of God, that they may feel their need of a church home as truly as of a family home."
"Thou shalt teach them the blessed art of bearing one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."

Something like this may you all find in your sealed orders, only more and better. You will find more and better if you keep mind and heart opened upward for the Divine Hand to write the orders of each new day."

Blessings

Christian Navigation...

I have been reading "The Transcendentalist", Emerson's "defence" of the young idealists that he was so responsible for, and it has made me cranky...I love Emerson but he often brings out the fogy in me and I despair over the practical effect of the philosophy on society and, most important for me, on the church. So over the next few days, I want to excerpt a lecture by one of my great heroes, William Phillips Tilden, given to budding churchmen, on another of my heroes, Ralph Waldo Emerson. I hope you find it as interesting as I do:

from, "The Work of the Ministry"

Chap. VIII. SEALED ORDERS.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,— "Every human soul," says Dr. Holmes in his Life of Emerson, " leaves its port with sealed orders. These may be opened earlier or later on the voyage; but, until they are opened, no one can tell what is to be his course, or to what harbor he is bound."
We will let this serve as a text for our closing lecture. Some of you are getting ready to leave port, loosing your sails, and will soon weigh anchor and steer for the open sea. All of you are expecting to sail sooner or later. You are studying Christian navigation, learning the use of compass, chart, and nautical instruments, all looking to the voyage you are to take. What course you are to steer, when the time comes for leaving port, you know not. You have thought of many pleasant voyages you would like to make, over smooth seas to golden shores. Maybe you will. You cannot tell. Your orders are sealed, not to be opened till you are out of sight of land, and feel the ground swell of the deep sea beneath your keel.

There is something profoundly impressive in these " sealed orders." If only they were open, if you could know just what they were before leaving port, so that you could talk the matter over with old navigators, and learn about the reefs and shoals to be shunned, and the safe harbors one may make in a storm, it would save you from much anxiety. But your orders are sealed. Not till you are off sounding will you know them; and not till the end of the voyage will your friends or the world know just what they were. It is the finished voyage that reveals their character. That was what revealed to Dr. Holmes the sealed orders of Emerson. It was not till the end of the voyage they were fully known. Then all was clear...

Many persons might be selected from our best Christian workers whose sealed orders, judged by their ministerial fidelity, were just as high as Emerson's, and whose obedience to them was just as complete. Nay, many have found in their sealed orders things which Emerson did not find in his papers. His orders were grand and inspiring for the thinker, but not always so helpful for the worker. There are few men who quicken thought like Emerson; but his thought is not easily harnessed to practical work. He followed his own oft-quoted saying, and "hitched his wagon to a star." It was high riding, aerial and breezy, but not always convenient for agricultural purposes. It took too long to change the harness. It was not Mr. Emerson's peculiar views about church ordinances merely, that led him out of the Christian ministry. He was a devotee of individualism. He could hardly have been successful as the minister of a working church. He was not born for that. He had no appreciation of organized efforts. He did not believe in the Church. He thanked God that he never asked one to join it. To his peculiar nature there was a touch of bondage in it. He trusted to his wings rather than to his hands and feet. He had a skylark soul. He could soar and sing better than he could plough and plant. His "wagon" was for commerce with the skies, not for mundane uses. True, he returned to the Church in his old age, as the dove to the ark; but it was only to bring a leaf, showing that the floods of individualism had abated, and the dry land, waiting to be cultivated, had appeared. His sealed orders were of the highest kind for individual life and personal character; but they fail of meeting all the needs of a patient Christian worker for the kingdom of God, who sees the necessity of "working together" with his fellow-men in associated action for human uplifting."

More tomorrow and

Blessings

'Not here, but risen."

May you all have a blessed Easter!

"Day of the Resurrection (Scripture Reading)

IN the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre, . . . bringing the spices which they had prepared. . . . And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
And the angel said unto the women, Fear not ye: he is not here: for he is risen, as he said. And they remembered his words.

***********************
But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she . . . seeth two angels in white . . . and they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou ? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Matt, xxviii. Luke xxiv. John xx.

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" The Great Morning." (Tilden's Meditation)

'"THANKS be to God that every night, however dark, has its morning! We wake; the light of a new day streaks the East. We go at once to the tomb, as Mary did, carrying our spices of deathless love. We wonder if there be any power strong enough to roll that stone away. But lo! as we look, it is rolled away, and an angel voice says, " Not here, but risen." This is God's world; He owns it all, its sepulchres as well as its gardens. God's angels of comfort are a mighty host, and He knows just what ones to send to roll our stone away. The graves of our loved ones are empty now. New hopes glorified take the place of old hopes buried. It is Easter with us, the octave of our Palm Sunday. The old note of joy is not repeated; but another note is struck, an octave higher. The promise of our Palm Sunday is fulfilled, but not in the way we then hoped. Two suns rise this morning: one to quicken the earth, the other to quicken the soul. No wonder it has been called "The Great Morning." Would we could always live in the light of it; that all the experiences of our Passion Week, our season of Promise, of Purification, of Controversy, of Bargain, of Communion, of Crucifixion, of Darkness, might be lighted with the Resurrection hopes of the Immortal Day!

_____________________________________________________

AND they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures ?
Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. . . .
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you.

_______________________________________________________

JESUS LIVED ON THE MOUNT. SO WE HAVE TO CLIMB TO SEE WHAT HE SAW. AND THIS IS WHAT HE WOULD HAVE US DO: TAKE HIS HAND, LOOK UP, AND CLIMB.

Amen

the deeper the darkness...

"It always darkest before the dawn" is one of those saying that always struck me a singularly unhelpful. And yet, like most such sayings, has some profound truth lost in the repetition. We all have times in which prayer doesn't come and the "clouds hide the heart." Rev. Tilden reminds us that the "the deeper the darkness, the nearer we are to the light."

EASTER-EVEN (Scripture Reading)

AND now when the even was come, because it was the
preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honorable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. . . .

And . . . he gave the body to Joseph.
And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred weight.
Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, . . . and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.
And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus beheld where he was laid.

*********************************************
And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.
Mark xv. Luke xxiii. John xix.

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Passion Week of Human Life (Tilden's Meditation)
DARKNESS

We are with the Marys, preparing the spices with which to embalm our buried treasures. Just as that long silent Saturday, when the dead body of Jesus lay in the tomb, was darker than the tragical Friday, so the period that follows close upon any great grief is harder to bear than the day the sorrow came. Our treasures are entombed, and a stone, too great for us to move, is laid over the door of our sepulchre. All is dark, and God seems too far away to hear our cry. Here is darkness indeed! But the deeper the darkness, the nearer we are to the light, though we know it not. The clouds may hide the stars, they can never extinguish them. God's voice is in the cloud, though we may not hear. But this is only a day. It may be a long one; still, like all days, it will have its close. We fall asleep in our tears, our prayers half said, it may be. No matter. God knows.

Blessings

Good Friday of the soul...

A torrent of words have, of course, been written on the Crucifixion. Who was responsible? Why was Jesus crucified? Rev. Tilden reminds us of the simple reality that we all suffer the crucifixion as a part of living human life. It matters not your theology or your politics. May your day of crucifixion become the Good Friday of your soul.

Holy Week.
DAY OF THE CRUCIFIXION (Scripture Readings)

AND when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. . . One of the malefactors said, . . and we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou contest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shall thou be with me in paradise.

********************
When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

********************
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.

********************
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama, sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, . . saith, I thirst.
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Mark xv. Luke xxiii. John xix.

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Passion Week of Human Life
CRUCIFIXION (Tilden's Meditation)

FRIDAY stands for The Great Tragedy.
We use the word Crucifixion in a very modified sense, as symbolic of those deep experiences when our fondest hopes are crucified, and the sun that made our life shine with the glory of heaven becomes darkened at noon-day. Not all of us may have come to the Friday of Passion Week; but it lies in our life-path. The River of Life, to some, runs almost without a ripple from source to sea; while, to others, it is full of dashing rapids, falls, whirlpools, and counter-currents. Few do not know of crucified hopes, when we pour out our prayers and tears beneath the olives of our grief. Some show such seasons more than others, and wear the Cross on their garments, as the Crusaders did ; some bear the Cross in their souls, and give no sign. It is only when we have passed on through these experiences that we can understand how the Friday of Crucifixion can become the Good Friday of the soul. "

Blessings

arise and gird ourselves...

Jesus washing the feet of the disciples is, for me, one of his greatest teachings. If he can do it, we must do it. And then a wonderful and true line, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." For Rev. Tilden, this means "girding ourselves like the master" and comforting those wearier than we are...

"Holy Week.
THE LAST SUPPER (Scripture Reading)

NOW when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. . . .
And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.
And supper being ended, . . . He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. . . .
So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you ?
Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. . . .
If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Matt. xxvi. John xiii.

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Passion Week of Human Life.
COMMUNION (Tilden's Meditation)

"THURSDAY brings us to The Upper Chamber, the Feast of Love, the eating of the Passover, the Last Supper, the memorial washing of the feet, and those wonderful discourses in the heart of John's Gospel which have comforted countless souls for near two thousand years. Here we have Communion with the Soul of souls; seasons when we rise out of controversy into trust; when tempting thoughts leave us, and angel thoughts come to minister to us; when we feel God near, and make His arm a pillow for our weary souls; when faith becomes sight, and hope, fruition ; when lowliest services, wrought in love, are fragrant with the breath of heaven; when the bread of life is broken and the cup of blessing poured; when our prayer forgets to ask, in its desire to praise. Let us come closer to that Holy Spirit in which Jesus lived. But we cannot stay in this Upper Room. Like the Master we must arise and gird ourselves to wash the feet of those more weary.

May your path be fragrant with the breath of heaven. Blessings

an age of Bargain...

As Rev. Tilden says in today's Leaflet, "The bargain of Judas is one of the most astounding acts in the New Testament." So astounding that we rarely compare ourselves to Judas-rarely contemplate our own propensity to bargain away our principles. What to do? "Bless the Home world," do what we can.

"SELLING THE MASTER (Scripture Reading)

'THEN entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
And he went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you ? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.
Jesus being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made ?
For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. . . .
She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
Eerily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

Matt. xxvi. Mark xiv. Luke xxii

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Passion Week of Human Life (Tilden's Meditation)
BARGAIN

THE bargain of Judas is one of the most astounding records in the New Testament. So base a deed for so small a sum! We are not tempted to the Judas act; but are we never tempted to betray the truth and spirit that Jesus stands for in this world ? Our age is an age of Bargain. How many, since Judas, have betrayed Christ's principles for less than thirty pieces of silver ? The tempter whispers, So many pieces for so much principle. But if, by the power of God, we can say, "Get thee behind me, Satan," we are lifted into a purer atmosphere, and are prepared to go at the close of the day to Bethany. This scene in the house of Simon the leper has its counterpart too in human life. How suggestive of what we may do to honor The Master. We cannot anoint his head or his feet now, but we can open our heart's alabaster box and pour our love out to bless the Home world. Here the alabaster box of very precious ointment is broken, whose fragrance goes all around the world; and here love utters itself, and brings from the Master's lips those words that have comforted lowly hearts ever since, — " She hath done what she could."

Blessings

wrestling with the stormy wind...

Self sufficiency, quibbling, and unbelief. Today's Leaflet talks of the day of "faith battling doubt" and very few are immune (no matter the content of your faith.) The image of the oak tree, strengthened through "wrestling with the stormy wind" is a powerful one for me. May it be so for you as well.

"CONFUTING THE SADDUCEES (Scripture Readings)

"AND they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. . . And they say unto him, . . . Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
. . . But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.
And they brought it. And he said unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesars.
And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.
Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; . . . And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God ? ... He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.
Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law ? Jesus said unto him, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second ts like unto it, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

Matt. xxii. Mark xiii

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Passion Week of Human Life (Tilden's Meditation)
CONTROVERSY

"THE cleansed temple within does not stay cleansed. The sheep and oxen and money-changers, though they leave at our bidding, come again, and need renewed expelling. Jesus is supposed to have purged the temple near the beginning of his ministry, as well as at its close. The Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees of eighteen hundred years ago, give us little trouble. But we find in each of our hearts Pharisaic self-sufficiency, that makes us content with tithing mint, anise, and cumin, even though we omit justice, mercy, and truth; we find Herodian quibbling, bewildering us with subtle questions about tribute paid in pennies, when our whole souls should be a tribute of praise to God; and Sadducean unbelief, telling us there is no spirit, that death is the end of man, and immortality a false hope. It is the great day of faith battling with doubt. There are those who do not know of this conflict; to whom faith and hope are as easy as song to the bird. Let all such thank God and sing on! Happy, too, are they who, having doubted, having gained strength in the struggle, as the Oak grows strong through wrestling with the stormy wind, can silence unbelief, as Jesus did."

Sing on! and blessings

an house of merchandise...

Much has been written of the purging of the moneychangers, and for good reason. It has such profound implications theologically, politically and socially. Rev. Tilden reminds us in today's Leaflet that the the first temple that needs scourging by us is us.

PURGING THE TEMPLE (Scripture Readings)

"AND Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves ;
And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changer's money, and overthrew the tables;
And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,
And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise ?
And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany ; and he lodged there.

Malt. xxi. Mark xi. John ii.

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Passion Week of Human Life (Tilden's Meditation)

PURIFICATION

"WE are in the city now, but it is not the Jerusalem of our hope, nor from above. The Palm branches lie withered by the way-side. We see a work of purification before us, not in the city, but in our souls. It is not the old temple built by Solomon, but the new temple of our hearts, built by God and for the Holy Ghost, that needs purifying now. Sheep and oxen are in the House of Prayer; moneychangers are turning it into a place of traffic. The animal is usurping the spiritual. We need to hear the prophetic voices of the children still crying, " Hosanna," in the Temple. The scourge we need, to drive the appetites and passions out of our sacred places, is not made of hemp, but heroism; a heroism that is valiant in the conscious aid of an Invisible Arm. The moral sentiments must be quickened, conscience voiced, faith stimulated, hope brightened, selfishness driven out by self- denial, and the Father's House purified for the Father's service. " Know ye that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"

Blessings

tropical prophecy of a good time coming...

Palm Sunday signifies much about the spiritual life and the revolution that Jesus brought to what that kind of life would look like. Rev. Tilden reminds reminds us that Holy week comes to all of us in one way or another by virtue of our being human. Today is about "good time coming" and yet we know so much more is before us.

"THE SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE EASTER (Scripture Readings)

AND they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments
on him; and he sat upon him.
And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strewed them in the way.
Much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. . . .
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.
And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him
And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Matt. xxi. Mark xi. Luke xix. John xii.

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PASSION WEEK OF HUMAN LIFE.

PALM SUNDAY. PROMISE (Tilden's Meditation)

PASSION Week comes to us in our human life, not always in consecutive order, seldom crowded into so brief a space. Some spend a longer, some a shorter, time among the Palms, breathing the soft air of fond hopes, and feeding eye and heart on the tropical prophecy of a good time coming. We all have our palmy days, days of bright Promise; they are our spring seasons when the snow melts on the cold slopes of life, and the daffodils come out to greet us. This may be in youth, it may be in ripe manhood or even while nearing sunset. These days of promise come to every season of life, just as summer, autumn and winter have each their bright invigorating days. Our souls are awake. Every cause we have at heart is gaining strength and power. Song is not only in the air, but in our hearts. We think what we would do. We lay our plans. We map out our way, and gird up our loins to walk in it, thanking God that the stones in our path are so few, and the flowers so many. No lions in the way, no slough of despond to cross; a clear, smooth path seems opened right up to the City of God. Palm branches of great expectations are spread in our path. It is our Palm Sunday; we are on our way to Jerusalem."

May your Holy Week be a blessed experience.

let down your nets...

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week. In today's Leaflet, Rev. Tilden helps us to prepare. "Let us launch out into the deep and let down our nets." No matter your particular religious home, Holy Week is a time to let down our nets-to fully trust and accept.

"THE LAST MORNING (Scripture Readings)

AFTER these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias. . . .
They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. . . . And for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
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Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord.

John xxi

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THE LAST MORNING (Tilden's Meditation)

"THOSE early disciples, who belonged to the true peerage in the realm of Character, who answered his first call at the sea-side, obey now his word by the self-same sea. Listen to the call, " Children, have ye any meat ? " Often, like these faithful followers, we, after having toiled all night and caught nothing, shall hear a voice, " Cast the net on the right side and thou shall find." Happy for us if we know, as did Jesus' loved disciple, "It is the Lord." Let us launch out into the deep and let down our nets for a draught; and lo! the unbroken net will be full! We can tend the lines and draw the seines ; but lines and seines and boat and sea are made and owned by a higher Power. How sublime is the faith of Jesus that no word of his could ever be lost, though spoken only to listening ears! The human soul was his chosen papyrus; on this only he wrote."

May we all tend the lines and draw the seines! Blessings

the dawning of a higher life...

The heart of prayer is "Thy will, not mine, be done." I have only scratched the surface of what this means in my own prayer life, but deeply believe it to be true. Rev. Tilden, in today's Leaflet equates prayer with trust; a radical trust that emerges with "the dawning of a higher life."

"THE LAST PRAYER (Scripture Readings)

LET not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe
also in me. . . .

I go to prepare a place for you.

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These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. . . .
And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. . . .
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. . . .
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

John xlv. xvii.

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THE LAST PRAYER (Tilden's Meditation)

WORDS that never grow old! Springs of comfort that never fail! The troubled heart pants for the comfort they give. His spirit breathes upon the heart.

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All who have felt the dawning of a higher life in their souls know what Prayer is. Prayer rises into trust; so prayer and trust are one. When first we long for the Christian life, how natural the cry, Father, help me. When sorrow for sin is waked, Father, forgive me. When great joy comes making the heart glad, Our Father, I thank thee! Prayer opens the door of that angel ministry at Gethsemane, and it lets angels of comfort into sorrowing hearts still. Gethsemane might lower and Calvary rear its cross before Jesus, but the will of his Father was his will. The Christ-spirit qualifies all its asking with, "Thy will, not mine, be done." Prayer is the child clasping his Father's hand, looking into his Father's face, warming himself in his Father's smile, asking nothing but to be closer, closer, closer to Him."

May angels of comfort be with you. Blessings

great heart of love..

In his autobiography, Rev. Tilden describes his experience with the idea of the Holy Spirit. "Orthodoxy had given me the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, which old-fashioned Unitarianism had said little about; but it was linked with a trinity I could not understand. The doctrine of the 'Immanence of god' gave the Holy Spirit to me in sweeter, tenderer, more rational for,-an ever present holy influence from god, not going and coming like a revival preacher, but a perpetual, indwelling presence." Today's Leaflet is about that promise.

"COMING AGAIN (Scripture Readings)

A LITTLE while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me ?
Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. .
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

John xiv. xvi.

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COMING AGAIN (Tilden's Meditation)

JESUS knew his work on earth was short. This "little while" troubled his disciples. It was himself, as well as his teaching, that won their hearts. He made their yoke easy and their burden light. His going away would break the spell of his personal presence, even though it brought the Comforter. How does Christ come ? He is coming again and yet again, always coming, as Son of God and Saviour from selfishness and sin, stimulating us to live as heirs with him of the Life Eternal. This world is fairer, life richer, human loves deeper, hope brighter, God nearer, and heaven dearer, for the coming of His Spirit in our midst. Let us feel the beating of his great heart of Love. Lowly hearts cannot let' him go; heroic hearts cling to him ; philanthropic hearts receive a new baptism of his spirit. Whose heart does not say, All hail! to such a coming, not in the clouds of heaven, but in the souls of men ? "

I will come to you."

Come Holy Spirit Come! Blessings