The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1919-07-17
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
Especially Prepared For Readers o
The Republican.
SUNDAY, JULY 20.

For as often as We eat THIS Dread,
and drink the cup, ye proclaim the
Lords death till He come. l Cor. IL: &c.
U. S. WRIGHT.
The GIFT.
Our appreciation of gift cannot be
separated from its giVer. If there
were nothing else connected with the
Lords Supper that the fact of Christ's
having requested it's perpetuation on
that night when He first pressed it in
to the hands of his followers it would
be a sacred thing to all Christians. He
gave US this rite therefore it quicken in
us the consciousness of His presence.
But unless the gift is wisely chosen
even love for the giver will not be suf-
ficient to keep it living thing among
ones possessions. Witness the many
ties and other Christmas presents that
are acknowledged but never used and
are presently discarded altogether. I'm
less it had served some purpose in the
life the Lords Supper would have been
1OSl III IlS uuSl VI LAlC past oilo LIS
wisdom was never more clear than in
the choice of this old. custom for the
carrying on the thought of Himself.
From the beginning there was some mi
tiary rite into family, clan, tribe, ma
ton or organization and this universal
custom has been carried forward IN
baptism. But having entered there
must be some social bond marking the
fellowship of these initiates. This was
early found in the sacrifcial meal where
the father of the family or the king of
the nation acted as priest and all shar
ed the feast. For the Hebrew it had
been linked with the birth of a nation
in the Passover and had been sanctified
by long years of use and it was this age
old thing that Jesus laid his hands upon
and passed on to the disciples. The
meat of the ancient offering was rep
resented by bread and the blood by the
cup but it is the precise thing that be-
gan with Adam at Eden's altar that
has lived down to the latest Commun-
ion where it was said, THE body given
for thee; the blood shed for thee" 1t
is the Oldest rite in existence among
men. For the Disciples it was a class
banquet. to use the language of today,
for no others shared it was meant to
become the social bond that soon took
in all the believers in Jesus as Lord.
THE MEANING.
The Sacrament is a symbol To make
it actual flesh and blood would seem to
carry it away from the spiritual into
the realm of magic and if it is men,
orial certainly the actual presence is
foreign to the meaning of the word.
And the vitality of the Protestant
faith confirms the serviceableness of
the rite as it Is conceived by it. But if
1t is symbol what does it symbolic?
The flag is a symbol of nationality but
what is a nation? President Faur ce
defines it as collective memory and
collective hope" All the experiences
of the past with the sacrifices and suf-
ferings, achievements and successes
have entered into the making of each
citizen and there is that forward look
toward greater future that calls each
to the strongest endeavor to realize the
nations ideals. All this is wrapped in
the colors. The same thing is true of
the Lords Supper which is a symbol
also represents collective memory and
a collective hope. Taking it, we find it
a rallying point about which all may
unite as we do about the flag giving our
allegiance to those memories shrined
within it thru the centuries and shining
brightest in Its Inauguration and to-
gether we turn our face toward a new
and BETTER day in which the ideals of
Christ may be more fully expressed in
the life of the world. Republican, Dem
ocrat, Progressive and any other party
unite under the flag where all are
Americans Greek, Catholic and Pro-
testant find in this symbol a uniting
bond for where Christendom is there it
is to be found also. The Lord OF the
Supper is held in memory whatever
ideas may accompany the act and in
this it becomes the mark of common
loyalty to a common Lord that should
be pledge of common service in bring
ing in the Kingdom.
THE MESSAGE.
Various names are applied to this
great service the earliest of which is
the Eucharist or thanksgiving. Those
early followers could not separate this
meal from the idea of praise for the
giver of it and the benefits that inher-
ed in Christianity. They had been born
into new world. A joyous group
shared that new life and praise was as
natural as breathing. If we shut this
thought of gladness out of the sacra-
ment certainly vital part of it's mean
ing has vanished. 1t is the Lords Sup
per where as guests of God we are all
upon the same level and of equal worth
sv,f ho Toll &c Il