Sermon Blog
The Invisible Presence of Christ
December 16, 2023
In 1841, John Henry Newman was seeking reasons to remain in the Anglican Church. On Nov. 28, he preached a sermon, “The Invisible Presence of Christ,” the first of four sermons in which he argued for the safety of continuing in the Anglican Church despite doctrinal confusion and divisions. Newman found reasons which he developed in four sermons – until four years later, when he felt in conscience that he should ask to be admitted into the Roman Catholic Church.
Without entering into a discussion of the reasons adduced by Newman and objections to these reasons, some ideas from his sermons apply to all Christians, and especially in the season of Advent when we can ask ourselves about the nature of God’s kingdom which Jesus came to inaugurate. Christ is present in the soul of each Christian in the state of grace and in the Blessed Sacrament as well as in its rites.
Newman quotes Christ: “The kingdom of God, cometh not with observation; neither shall they say, Lo here! or, Lo there! for the kingdom of God is within you.” (Lk 17: 21) He tells us why He was not observed; it was that He came, not as the world cometh, not by an influence from without, but by an inward power; not subduing the outward man through the senses, but touching the secret heart.”
Newman acknowledges that the kingdom of God also exists in the world and as such has external manifestations and developments, but he wishes his listeners to understand that Christ’s presence is foremost a spiritual one effected by God in the soul:
“It came by an inward and secret presence; by outward instruments, indeed, but with effects far higher than those instruments, and really by God’s own agency.”
Even though Christ came and inaugurated his kingdom we see and experience darkness in the world, sin and forgetfulness of God. Advent is a season of hope in which we recall God’s manifestation in the flesh and welcome Him again in our souls.
Newman reminds us that: “Man is not sufficient for his own happiness; he is not happy except the Presence of God be with him. When he was created, God breathed into him that supernatural life of the Spirit which is his true happiness: and when he fell, he lost the divine gift, and with it his happiness also. Ever since he has been unhappy; ever since he has a void within him which needs filling, and he knows not how to fill it.”
Many people do not know Christ and of his first coming, even in countries with a Catholic heritage. And many others know about Christianity but are unsettled by religious disputes and differences among Christians.
“Look around you, my brethren, on every side: what, on the whole, is the religion of England? it is restlessness. Look round, I say, and answer, why it is that there is so much change, so much strife, so many parties and sects, so many creeds? because men are unsatisfied and restless.”
Indeed men are restless; they thirst for true peace and the meaning of life. In the meantime they are tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine. This very restlessness, however, is a sign of Christ, and a reason to pray more for people. We must say to people: Look at Christ; look at God who became incarnate in a little Child. He is the Savior of mankind. He will come one day in his Glory and gather his children for the glory of God.
Let us join, therefore, with all Christians in this Advent season, acknowledging the presence of Christ in the soul and wherever believers gather to pray in his name. Despite our differences we already experience the fruits of the Lord’s first coming and await with hope his future coming.
