The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-03-11

Tor an instant, ana ask the judas CUES
ton, Lord, il 1t II"
The Symbolism Of the Sacrifice.
The things that men tive by are not
street. eUnrequited love, domestic un-
happiness, the illness of a dear one,
spiritual concern or Intellectual for
tune. Eyerybody's real life is lived in
the spirit. More or less consciously, ac-
cording to spiritual development,
mans weli-being il a thing within
himself and measureably independent
of circumstances. 1t is easy to- de-
ceive ourselves into believing that our
world is engrossed in foiiies and FASH
ions and in things OF sense. Never
theless, the quest for spiritual salts
faction, the, hunger for God. is deep
and universal today.
To feed this yearning was one Of
the reasons why Jesus established
the Lords supper. He gave Himself
tent with nothing less. 1t has been
the experience OF rich and poor. learn
ed and unlettered, in all the Christian
centuries, that they have counted all
as nothing il only they might feed
upon Christ. AS sang an unknown
poet of the eleventh century,
From the best bliss that earth tmparts,
We turn untitled to Thee again.
I'VE taste Thee, o Thou living Bread,
And long to feast upon Thee still;
We drink of Thee, the Fountain-head
And thirst our souls from Thee to fill.''
We bow in the presence of a Mys-
terry, as we look upon the scene in
the Upper Room. We cannot under
stand why or how; but we know that.
as He promised, Christ Himself is the
strength and sustepance Of His friends
His very life, as He symbolized, is i'm
parted to all who would feast on Him.
The Quaker mystic and the Catholic
monk, and countless types of Chris
tians between, find the same living
Christ to be the bread and wine of
their spirits life. The mystery re-
mains a mystery-but none the less
a present reality. Bishop Heber gath
cred the significance of the sacra-
ment into a few pregnant words:
Bread Of the world in mercy broken,
Wine of the soul in mercy shed,
By Whom the words Of life were spoken,
And in whose death our sins are dead;
Look on the heart by sorrow broken,
Look on the tears by sinners shed;
And be Thy feast to as the token
That by Thy grace our souls are fed"
A Three-way Fingerboard.
This supper in the Jerusalem Up
per Room, whereat the Jewish Pass
over developed into a. greater feast,
and fuller symbolism, is one which art
and literature and philosophy have
long tried in vain to express. 1t is
a three-way fingerboard, pointing
backward to the historical Jesus,
seeking to be held in remembrance
by His friends; inward, to the self
examination and, new life of the spirit:
and forward, to the kingdom wherein
the Lord will drink the new wine"
with His friends-so new that "eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart Of man.
the things which God hath prepared
for them that love Him.
That triumphant forward look may
not be omitted from any consideration,
however superficial, of the Last Sup
per. This was no mere farewell re-
union of a group of comrades, beaten
by fate, who were to separate, never
to be reunited. The Masters words
were no requiem Of a lost cause. Far,
far from it. The feast ended in a
song, eve commonly forgot the singing
| Christ, singing in the shadow Of Geth-
semane and Calvary, and it looked
forwardJto q triumphant reunion. The
Supper was a token of the tryst that
was to come. Every time we fulfill
the Masters commandment to partake
| of the communion, we give pledge of
the sure day when we shall feast with
Him in victorious kingdom.