The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-06-11
A Benediction.

Mayor Weaver or to any other official. I
EG E-=-------s-===--- Aft
"A Benediction.
(selected for The Tmes-Dispatch
THE communion of the Holy Ghost
Cor, xiii:14.
This great benediction of the Christian
Church never grows old. and never be-
comes monotonous. II Is like the sum
shine, which rises on lis every dSss with
fresh beauty or like our truest Friends
ships which are forever new.
THE grace OF our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God, and the communion
of the Holy. Ghost, be with you ALL
Upon how many ears has the invocation
of that blessing fallen! How many souls
have felt the peace that was in It
descend upon them, as II 1t fell out OF the
opened heaven! And yet how vague, even
to those who love it most, Is It's full
meaning. Z.
Let US study 1t to-day Once more In
memory we visit that chamber when the
Pcntecostal grace was given to the jew
ish peasants, which made them the teach
ers Of the world. Again we see the
tongues OF fire descend upon tho heads
of the disciples. Again we witness the
true birth Of the Christian Church in
the great gftrof the communion of the
Holy Ghost"
1t is good for us to draw near revere
entity and endeavor to understand that
power, by which the Church was born,
and by which 1t has lived ever since, and
is still living. For us, as for them. there
Is no blessing moro continually needed
than ''the communion of the Holy Ghost"
One Of the perpetual and universal
facts Of human life Is mans continual
need Of intercourse ana fellowship. A
life OF solitude never makes a truly
healthy man. IIe needs companionship.
For his best development, he should have
various fellowships-with those above him
on whom he depends; those beside him
who are his equals; and those below him,
whom he helps. All three of these rela-
tionshps round out the life of we'll
ordered man. And the essence Of AL.
these followships is something Intervals
not external. 1t is in spirit and SYM
pathy, not In outward occupations. 1t
is communion and not mere contact
The communion or fellowship Of men
are seldom direct; they generally come
about through a medium. They are often
the result OF a common interest, which
brings them together, and the occasion
BY which their sympathy is extended
Is this not 80
Two children Of the family grow up in
cordial love for each other. but their
love Is love ofeand in the family. They
did not deliberately choose each other for
friends but their hearts. turned to the
same father. the same mother. the s,fhe
home associations. and SO they met and
loved each other. ~
So two scholars find their element OF
fellowship in their common study. Two
business men reach each other and be-
come friends through their common BUSH
ness. Two artists learn to love each other
from the Interpretation Of nature and
beauty. Two soldiers. hearts beat to-
eether In the throbbing heat OF the same
battle.
In every case the union Of men is made
through third term. an element into
which both could enter and in which
they find each other, as they could not
do elsewhere.
a It is in the application OF this same
idea that we find4the key to the phrase,
"the communion Of tho Holy Ghost. !"
Here is an element, an atmosphere, in
which men are brought close together, as
they are in no other way. That element
is God. Men meet each other. when they
meet in Him. with peculiar confidence,
nearness, frankness and truth. All their
fellowship is Fellowship BY and through
God. Their communion Is the communion
Of God.
Now take one step further. Who is the
Holy Ghost? He is the effective and
present Deity. He IS the God Of peren-
NAL and hourly inspiration; the Comforts
or, to whom we look in the most pressing
needs Of our common life. He is the
God Of continual contact with all man
Kind, touching each daily life.
The doctrine Of the Holy Ghost is q
continual protest against every recurring
tendency to separate God from the affairs
OF this world. 4 present God, an ever.
living God. an eVer-loving, overwhelming,
ever-scrving God-@tiiIs is the God whom
Christ revealed and promised us, the God
who came vlsibly In the miracle Of Pen-
tecost and who forever here abdes.
The Holy Ghost Is the Lord and giycr
of life not only In our bodies, but our
souls. The power Of life is the power of
unity everywhere. 1t is life that keeps
these bodies of ours from falling to
pieces
Life. the gift Of the Holy Ghost-nay,
the presence Of tho Holy Ghost In society
or in the soul. is the power of unity In
that society or that love. The society In
which there Is no presence Of a living
Cod drops into ana md faIls IN