God Served By Helping Those In Need
As Sir Launfal mused with a downcast face,
A light shone round about the place;
The leper no longer crouched by his side,
But stood before him glorified,
Shining and tall and fair and straight
As the pillar that stood by the Beautiful Gate,—
Himself the Gate whereby men can
Enter the temple of God in man.
His words were shed softer than leaves from the pine,
And they fell on Sir Launfal as snows on the brine,
That mingle their softness and quiet in one
With the shaggy unrest they float down upon;
And the voice that was softer than silence said:—
“Lo, it is I, be not afraid!
In many climes, without avail,
Thou hast spent thy life for the Holy Grail:
Behold it is here,—this cup which thou
Didst fill at the streamlet for me but now;
This crust is my body broken for thee,
This water his blood that died on the tree;
The Holy Supper is kept indeed
In whatso we share with other’s need.
Not what we give, but what we share,—
For the gift without the giver is bare;
Who gives himself with his alms feeds three.—
Himself, his hungry neighbor, and me.”
—Jamis Russell Lowell.
Life’s Ladder
Love is the ladder by which we climb up to the likeness of God.
—Johann von Schiller.
Helpful Greetings
As ships meet at sea—a moment together, when words of greeting must be spoken, and then away upon the deep —so men meet in this world; and I think we should cross no man’s path without hailing him, and if he needs, give him supplies.
—Henry Ward Beecher.
Alternate Reading: Psalms 119: 1-8.