Father Dale Matson
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your
toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15: 51-58)
Yesterday was the feast day of Henry
Martyn Priest and Missionary to India and Persia. Although the beginning
passage is not from the readings assigned to his feast day, it is from the last
verse of the epistle lesson of the readings for the Daily Office of Wednesday Morning
Prayer and perfectly fits the theme of the lesson from Isaiah (49:1-6) assigned
for Fr. Martyn’s feast day. Perhaps Isaiah too felt that he had labored in vain
because neither the Northern nor Southern Kingdoms heeded his preaching and
repented. His reward was from God.
While
Christ preached the Gospel of the Kingdom few heeded his call to follow Him. He
was rewarded by His Father by His resurrection and ascension to glory in
Heaven.
Henry Martyn labored as a
missionary in obscurity also translating the Bible and Prayer Book into Hindi
and Persian. Following his death at the age of only 31, he was recognized for
his accomplishments throughout the world. If we serve our Lord on this earth,
St. Paul tells us that our toil is not in vain.
I believe the lesson from the Lord
today was that those who do the work of the Lord do not labor in vain whether
or not they see the fruits of their labor.
As I was celebrating Morning Prayer
and Holy Eucharist today, it did not seem any more or less eventful than any
other Wednesday morning. We had the usual handful of clergy and lay folks who
attend and I am always thankful when there are at least two of us so that we
can celebrate the Liturgy of the Table. When everyone had communed, I began to
clear the Liturgical Vessels with Fr. Carlos standing beside me to assist by
taking the vessels from me and placing them on the Credence table. I had rinsed the Chalice, wiped it with the Purificator,
laid the Purificator on the cup and rested the Paten on it. I then laid the
Pall on top.
As I began to fold the Corporal,
something caught my attention in the corner of my vision to the right. As I
looked, I found myself looking into the tomb of the resurrected Christ. He was
folding his burial linen. My hands stopped as I watched and then I turned and
finished folding the Corporal. The Corporal represents the burial linen of
Christ. Before offering a blessing and dismissal, I told those present what I
had seen. Once again, Christ had made
Himself known in the breaking of the bread. God had shown me what it truly
means as a Priest to be the “In persona Christi”. Those who labor in Christ do
not toil in vain. Amen
1 comment:
This is a point of clarification since I don't want to edit the original article. I called Bishop Schofield that night and related the vision to him. He was the one that made the connection between the Corporal and the burial linen of Christ. I was unaware of the connection until then.
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