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The War and the Gospel: Sermons and Addresses During the Present War cover

The War and the Gospel: Sermons and Addresses During the Present War

Chapter 2: PREFACE.
By Henry Wace
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Essays, Letters & SpeechesHistory - Modern (1750+)History - WarfareReligion/Spirituality

About This Book

A collection of sermons and addresses delivered during the wartime period that applies Christian teaching to the realities of combat, national duty, mourning, and public prayer. The pieces move through seasonal and liturgical occasions—Christmas, Easter, Advent, and Whitsun—and include topical reflections on divine judgment, resistance, the Christian sanction of war, intercession for rulers, prayer for the dead, and the relation between Christ and the soldier. Pastoral exposition is paired with practical consolation, urging right judgment, spiritual resolve, and reliance on eternal sources of goodness while confronting moral perplexities and sacrifice. The collection aims to offer comfort, ethical guidance, and a religious perspective to civilian and military audiences alike.


PREFACE.

As is usual in Cathedrals, it is the duty of the Dean of Canterbury to preach on the chief Festivals of the Christian year; and most of the following Addresses have been delivered in the discharge of this office. My comfort in the performance of this duty, especially to an audience of soldiers, in these solemn days, has been the sense that I was commissioned to deliver the message of a Gospel which has “brought Life and Immortality to light,” and which proclaims the good news of the presence of a Saviour in all the circumstances Of life or death. I have simply endeavoured, therefore, to bring some of the light of this Gospel to bear on the distressing and perplexing experiences which this War has forced upon us all, and especially upon those who have borne its chief sacrifices. I am sure that, if only believed and realized, the message of this Gospel is sufficient to support and to strengthen us under all such trials and strains; and I hope I am not presumptuous in offering these slight contributions towards that purpose to a wider audience than my Cathedral congregations.

H. Wace.

Canterbury, January 1917.