"When he was on the earth, leading a life of sorrows and perfecting his acquaintance with grief, no man appeared to covet the privilege of suffering with him. John and James were bold to say, 'We are able to drink of your cup.' Thomas said, 'Let us also go that we may die with him.' Peter said, 'I will lay down my life for your sake.' So likewise said they all.
Yet when the hour of his enemies came, and the power of darkness, he was left to tread the wine-press alone. His disciples forsook him; or if they ventured to approach, it was only to increase his suffering by the exhibition of their unbelief and pusillanimity."
— George Bowen (1816–1888) · The White Sadhu of Bombay"He was left to tread the wine-press alone."
— Isaiah 63:3 · Every disciple who promised to die fled when the darkness came✦ Boldness in Daylight, Flight in Darkness
Peter promised to die. Thomas said let us go. James and John said we are able. All spoken in daylight. All evaporated in the darkness. The boldness that was spoken when the cost was theoretical vanished when the cost became real. And the King of Glory carried the wine-press alone.
"Imagine yourself there. You are in the secret. You know that this is indeed the very king of the Jews, though they mock him with a crown of thorns. You know that legions of angels are waiting to receive his commands. You know that there is buried within that suffering body, glory sufficient to bathe all the mountains of the earth in radiance, and suffuse the heavens with splendor in the absence of the sun.
Well, what is the course you adopt? It seems to you that you must hasten to his side; nay, cast yourself at his feet, and solicit the honor of suffering with him; confessing withal that, if you had the goodness of an archangel, you would still be most unworthy of such a privilege."
— George Bowen (1816–1888)✦ The Honor of Suffering
Bowen puts the reader at the scene and asks: knowing who He is, knowing the glory buried within the suffering body, knowing the legions waiting — what do you do? The only honest response is not reluctant acceptance. Not endurance gritted through. The honor. The privilege of standing where the disciples would not stand. And even with the goodness of an archangel, the soul would still be unworthy of this privilege.
"Christ is not willing that you should be debarred this privilege. He did not take his cross away to heaven with him. Ages have not extinguished the opposition of the world to him.
Have you not turned aside from many a path, chiefly because you caught a glimpse of something like calamity, and concluded that duty did not call you to enter it? Does not the anticipated elements of loss, shame, or danger, assist you much too readily in reaching your conclusions as to what is duty?"
— George Bowen (1816–1888)"Have you not turned aside from many a path, chiefly because you caught a glimpse of something like calamity?"
— George Bowen · Choosing Barabbas is not only a first-century decisionThe cross did not go to heaven. The opposition did not end. The via dolorosa is still open. And every time the soul turns aside from the hard path because it caught a glimpse of calamity, it repeats the choice of the crowd: not this man, but Barabbas. The comfortable path. The safe conclusion. The duty conveniently avoided.
"Formerly, in the days of the Church's simplicity, Christians ascertained their path by the plain sense of Scripture. But now the Church has become exceedingly wise and prudent, and discovers that the old paths are many of them quite unnecessary.
Yet is it a far more foolish thing to disregard the admonitions of the Spirit. It is the acme of folly to do anything that may jeopard our hope of reigning with Christ, in the day that the kings of the earth shall be crouching in dens and caves."
— George Bowen (1816–1888)"I am grateful for the Crew and the Beloved Book Collection, for helping me learn and renew my mind to the Church's simplicity."
✦ The Old Paths
The Church has become exceedingly wise and prudent. The old paths are declared unnecessary. The plain sense of Scripture replaced by sophisticated interpretation. But Le walks the old paths — Bowen, Guyon, Baker, Fénelon, Kempis, Augustine — the paths the simple Church walked before wisdom replaced obedience. The Beloved Book Collection at books.ledamorais.org is a library of those old paths, preserved and modernized so they can be walked again. And the Crew that tends the lampstand is the community that keeps the paths lit.
The Wine-Press Alone
Every disciple promised. Every disciple fled. The King of Glory carried it alone. The boldness spoken in daylight evaporated in the darkness.
The Honor of Suffering
Not reluctant endurance but privilege. Cast yourself at His feet. Even with the goodness of an archangel, still unworthy. The cross did not go to heaven. The via dolorosa is still open.
The Old Paths
The Church's simplicity — Christians who ascertained their path by the plain sense of Scripture. The old paths are not unnecessary. They are the paths where Christ still walks.