In This Issue
H
ow do we ever really see the Lord? The Rev. John L. Odhner says we can
see Him every time we open and read the Word, especially as He reveals
Himself in the internal sense. Jesus had told His disciples that He had many
things to say to them that they could not yet understand, but that when the
Spirit of Truth comes it “will lead you into all truth.” That Spirit of Truth, in
His Second Coming, turns the Word into a mirror in which we behold the face
of the Lord. (Page 447)
We have the promise of conjugial love, but how can genuine love in
marriage grow? In a sermon the Rt. Rev. Brian W. Keith says the secret is
friendship, which has a threefold role in marriage: as a bridge, as a stabilizing
factor, and as a means of resolving issues. “As we work at becoming a better
friend to our spouse,” he writes, “a conjugial friendship will become a genuine
face and garment of that intense and eternal love which the Lord is giving us.”
(Page 454)
How should we respond, as New Church men and women, to the United
States Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriages? The Rt. Rev. Peter
M. Buss Jr. offers the prism of the Lord’s love and wisdom, which give us all
the doctrinal teachings, as well as a charitable approach. The Church has a
responsibility to present the vision of marriage that the Lord describes in the
Word, but also to be a welcoming place and a beacon of hope for all. (Pag 460)
A comprehensive report by the Rev. Kenneth J. Alden on the June 2015
Council of the Clergy meetings in Bryn Athyn includes: discussion of several
pre-circulated papers; reports on the non-North American Church; progress
in General Church Outreach; a joint meeting with the General Church Board
of Directors; and plenty of useful social interaction, some including ministers’
wives. (Page 469)
The Rt. Rev. Brian W. Keith r