A Word from John Wesley
. . . it is impossible for any that have it, to conceal the religion of Jesus Christ. This our Lord makes plain beyond all contradiction, by a two-fold comparison: “You are the light of the world: A city set upon a hill cannot be hid.” You Christians are “the light of the world,” with regard both to your tempers and actions. Your holiness makes you as conspicuous as the sun in the midst of heaven. As you cannot go out of the world, so neither can you stay in it without appearing to all mankind. . . . Love cannot be hid any more than light; and least of all, when it shines forth in action, when you exercise yourselves in the labour of love, in beneficence of every kind. As well may men think to hide a city, as to hide a Christian; yea, as well may they conceal a city set upon a hill, as a holy, zealous, active lover of God and man. (Sermon 24: “Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount IV,” II.2.)
A Hymn from Charles Wesley:
1. Where is the holy heavenborn Child,
Heir of the everlasting Throne,
Who Heaven and Earth hath reconciled,
And God and man rejoined in one?
2. Shall we of earthly kings inquire,
To courts or palaces repair?
The nation’s Hope, the world’s Desire,
Alas! we cannot find Him there.
3. Shall learning show the sinner’s Friend.
Or scribes a sight of Christ afford?
Us to his natal place they send,
But never go to see their Lord.
4. We search the outward Church in vain,
They cannot Him we seek declare,
They have not found the Son of Man,
Or known the sacred Name they bear.
5. Then let us turn no more aside,
But use the Light Himself imparts,
His Spirit is our surest Guide,
His Spirit glimmering in our hearts. (Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord-1745, #17: 1-5)
Questions for Reflection:
Holy God, creator of light and herald of goodness, at the waters of his baptism you proclaimed Jesus your beloved Son. With the baptized of every time and generation, may we say yes to your call to repentance and be led to the life of abundance we experience in your kinship and your love. Amen.
*The Wesley excerpts are from A Disciple’s Journal—2018: A Guide for Daily Prayer, Bible Reading, and Discipleship, by Steven W. Manskar. Copyright © 2018 Discipleship Resources, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Used by permission. The prayer is reprinted with permission from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers, copyright © 2002, Consultation on Common Texts.---
. . . it is impossible for any that have it, to conceal the religion of Jesus Christ. This our Lord makes plain beyond all contradiction, by a two-fold comparison: “You are the light of the world: A city set upon a hill cannot be hid.” You Christians are “the light of the world,” with regard both to your tempers and actions. Your holiness makes you as conspicuous as the sun in the midst of heaven. As you cannot go out of the world, so neither can you stay in it without appearing to all mankind. . . . Love cannot be hid any more than light; and least of all, when it shines forth in action, when you exercise yourselves in the labour of love, in beneficence of every kind. As well may men think to hide a city, as to hide a Christian; yea, as well may they conceal a city set upon a hill, as a holy, zealous, active lover of God and man. (Sermon 24: “Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount IV,” II.2.)
A Hymn from Charles Wesley:
1. Where is the holy heavenborn Child,
Heir of the everlasting Throne,
Who Heaven and Earth hath reconciled,
And God and man rejoined in one?
2. Shall we of earthly kings inquire,
To courts or palaces repair?
The nation’s Hope, the world’s Desire,
Alas! we cannot find Him there.
3. Shall learning show the sinner’s Friend.
Or scribes a sight of Christ afford?
Us to his natal place they send,
But never go to see their Lord.
4. We search the outward Church in vain,
They cannot Him we seek declare,
They have not found the Son of Man,
Or known the sacred Name they bear.
5. Then let us turn no more aside,
But use the Light Himself imparts,
His Spirit is our surest Guide,
His Spirit glimmering in our hearts. (Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord-1745, #17: 1-5)
Questions for Reflection:
- In John Wesley’s description a Methodist he makes it clear that a Christian stands out in the crowd in the same way that the sun stands out in the heavens. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
- What is the meaning of Charles Wesley’s hymn for us today?
- What is it that Charles invites us to experience when he writes
- “Then let us turn no more aside,
- But use the Light Himself imparts,
- His Spirit is our surest Guide,
- His Spirit glimmering in our hearts.”?
Holy God, creator of light and herald of goodness, at the waters of his baptism you proclaimed Jesus your beloved Son. With the baptized of every time and generation, may we say yes to your call to repentance and be led to the life of abundance we experience in your kinship and your love. Amen.
*The Wesley excerpts are from A Disciple’s Journal—2018: A Guide for Daily Prayer, Bible Reading, and Discipleship, by Steven W. Manskar. Copyright © 2018 Discipleship Resources, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Used by permission. The prayer is reprinted with permission from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers, copyright © 2002, Consultation on Common Texts.---
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