A file with the picture that is used in conjunction with this sermon can be found at the end of this post. It can be printed and and given to the children while reading this sermon.
HOLY EUCHARIST
Now we come to the next of the sacraments — Holy
Eucharist. Who can give me the catechism answer? What is Holy Eucharist? The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament which contains the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ, under the appearance of bread and wine.
(This is a famous picture of Christ. Can anyone tell me the name of it? It is called, "Christ the Light of the
World." You were given pictures as you came in this
morning, so follow me as we go along.)
There is a well-known story about this picture. It was
painted by an artist named Holman Hunt. You can see
his name at the foot of the picture. I t shows our Lord
holding a lantern — The Light of the World. He is knocking on an old vine-covered door with very rusty hinges.
His words are, "Behold I stand at the gate and knock." The artist spent a long time at this painting and was very careful, as you can see, with the details. Notice how carefully Christ's garments are painted. He must have been a patient artist. The picture now hangs in the chapel of Kebel College in Oxford. Before it was shown to the public, however, Hunt followed the custom of artists, and called in his fellow artists to look at the picture. They looked at it from this side and that and all agreed that it was a wonderful painting.
"Just a minute," said one of them, "you made a mistake on the door." (Look very closely at the picture and see if you can find out what the artist meant. Have you got it yet?)
"Well," went on the critic, "there's no lock on the door." The artist, Holman Hunt, replied,
"That is not a mistake. The door represents the human heart and the lock is on the inside." Do you think that Holman Hunt did the right thing? Yes, he did. All Christ can do is knock at the door of your heart, but you must open the door yourselves. Before Communion time Christ knocks at the door of your hearts, but He will not force His way in. You must open the door yourselves because the lock is on the inside. You have a choice when Christ knocks at your heart. You can treat Him as you would a process server or a man with a summons, and leave Him standing outside, or you may welcome Him as you would welcome your grandfather when he knocks on the door and has a gaily wrapped present under his arm.
Your little task for this week: Wouldn't it be pleasing to God if every child in this church went to Communion once during the week, say on Wednesday or Thursday, as well as Sunday. Some go to Communion every day and God is very pleased with them. But not enough go. He will be pleased if He sees you, too, coming during the week. Behold He stands at the gate and knocks.
Source: Heavenwords, Imprimatur 1941
HOLY EUCHARIST
Now we come to the next of the sacraments — Holy
Eucharist. Who can give me the catechism answer? What is Holy Eucharist? The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament which contains the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ, under the appearance of bread and wine.
(This is a famous picture of Christ. Can anyone tell me the name of it? It is called, "Christ the Light of the
World." You were given pictures as you came in this
morning, so follow me as we go along.)
There is a well-known story about this picture. It was
painted by an artist named Holman Hunt. You can see
his name at the foot of the picture. I t shows our Lord
holding a lantern — The Light of the World. He is knocking on an old vine-covered door with very rusty hinges.
His words are, "Behold I stand at the gate and knock." The artist spent a long time at this painting and was very careful, as you can see, with the details. Notice how carefully Christ's garments are painted. He must have been a patient artist. The picture now hangs in the chapel of Kebel College in Oxford. Before it was shown to the public, however, Hunt followed the custom of artists, and called in his fellow artists to look at the picture. They looked at it from this side and that and all agreed that it was a wonderful painting.
"Just a minute," said one of them, "you made a mistake on the door." (Look very closely at the picture and see if you can find out what the artist meant. Have you got it yet?)
"Well," went on the critic, "there's no lock on the door." The artist, Holman Hunt, replied,
"That is not a mistake. The door represents the human heart and the lock is on the inside." Do you think that Holman Hunt did the right thing? Yes, he did. All Christ can do is knock at the door of your heart, but you must open the door yourselves. Before Communion time Christ knocks at the door of your hearts, but He will not force His way in. You must open the door yourselves because the lock is on the inside. You have a choice when Christ knocks at your heart. You can treat Him as you would a process server or a man with a summons, and leave Him standing outside, or you may welcome Him as you would welcome your grandfather when he knocks on the door and has a gaily wrapped present under his arm.
Your little task for this week: Wouldn't it be pleasing to God if every child in this church went to Communion once during the week, say on Wednesday or Thursday, as well as Sunday. Some go to Communion every day and God is very pleased with them. But not enough go. He will be pleased if He sees you, too, coming during the week. Behold He stands at the gate and knocks.
Source: Heavenwords, Imprimatur 1941
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