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9 For thou, Lord, art high
above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods. 10 Ye that love the Lord,
hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the
hand of the wicked. 11 Light is sown for the
righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. 12 Rejoice in the Lord, ye
righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. (Psalm 97:9-12)
Altars, Candles, and Crosses – which
of these symbolic articles may be out of place in the worship of the Church?
Consider your response carefully before answering.
Just a few years ago, a clergy friend
of mine who happened to be Baptist, visited my office. He wanted to have a look
at our small sanctuary. When he saw the cross and candles on the Table, he
complained we were too much like the Roman Catholic Church. I asked why? He
said it was because we had candles and a cross on the altar, and the altar was
the central article of furniture (with the pulpit off to the right side facing
out). When I asked him if he had an altar in his church, he responded, “Of
course we do have – we are a Baptist church!” “What is the purpose of the
altar?” I asked. He replied, “It is for serving the Lord’s Supper.”
The minister had unwittingly talked
himself into losing the argument. There is no “ALTAR” in Anglican Churches of
the English Reformation tradition – only a Lord’s Table. The term Altar is in
no rubric of the traditional Book of Common Prayer (1662, 1928, or other
Commonwealth Prayer Books). But the furniture from which the Lord’s Supper is
served is called the Table of the Lord. The Rubric immediately preceding the
Prayer of Humble Access (prior to partaking of the Lord’s Supper) reads, like
many other of the rubrics, Ҧ Then shall the Priest,
kneeling down at the Lord's Table, say in the name of all them that shall
receive the Communion this Prayer following.” Why is this reference to the Table (instead of Altar) important?
In language, precise meanings are
important. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, the definition of an
altar is “a place, especially a raised platform, where sacrifices and offerings
are made to a god, an ancestor, etc.” It goes on to offer a popular definition
that is not consistent with biblical claims, i.e. that “the Communion Table is
sometimes referred to as an altar in some churches.” That sometimes reference
would be incorrect and misleading. Always in Scripture, an altar is a place of
offering sacrifices. In reading the justification for calling the Lord’s Table
an Altar in the apostate 1979 Book of Common Prayer is that it “means the same
thing as Lord’s Table” Altar in no way bears the same meaning as Table. We have
the Lord’s Table to partake of the Holy Communion of the Lord just as He shared
with his apostles at the Last Supper. That was a TABLE and not an ALTAR. The
loose theology of the modern Anglo-Roman churches derive from the Oxford Movement
emendations that proposed a return to Roman Catholic worship. We do partake of
that Table with the Lord with His Spiritual Presence, but the wine and bread
are not magically transformed into the actual and physical blood and body of
our Lord as the utterance of the ‘sacerdotalist’ priest suggests. So, we have
no altar as my Baptist friend has because it represents the error of Rome.
Actually, he does not have an altar either.
Next, seeking to ‘justify himself, he
critiqued our use of CANDLES on the Lord’s Table. Candles are symbols of Light,
and Light is symbolic of our Lord Jesus Christ. I explained to my friend that
we have candles on either side of the Lord’s Table. On the strong side (left
side facing Table) is the Gospel Candle representing the immutable Gospel of
Jesus Christ going forth in the midst of our worship. It is for this reason
that the Gospel text is read from that same side of the chancel (or sanctuary).
On the other side of the Table is the Epistle candle representing the apostolic
light of the early church. The symbols remind and inform spiritual truths to
our worshippers. The clergyman said, “Yes, but those resemble the Catholic
Church and the “altar of the mass.’ I responded that the Roman Catholic Church
also recites the Lord’s Prayer and Apostles’ Creed. Did he consider those
unbiblical? He had no immediate response and I did not, out of courtesy, press
the point. But I did remind my friend of the words of the Lord in the Book of
Revelations: 5 Remember therefore from whence
thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto
thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou
repent. (Rev 2:5-6) Just out of pure meanness, I reminded the preacher we in the
Anglican Church still have our candles! (smile)
OK, maybe I could convince the man of
the Table and Candles, but wasn’t the CROSS going a bit too far? It depends on
in what manner you consider the cross. If you look upon it as an object of
worship, that would not be appropriate; but as a reminder of the sacrifice that
our Lord made for us, and in our stead, is quite proper. My friend thought it
was too showy to be placed right at the central place of the sanctuary. I asked
if he had not placed a cross at the very pinnacle (steeple) of his church? Yes,
but that was different. Why was it there, I asked? “It is to reveal to all
passersby that we are a Christian Church” was his answer. That is commendable
of him to say so. The cross on the steeple announces the Lord’s sacrifice to
all without, but the cross on the Lord’s Table INSIDE reminds every worshipper
of the sacrifice Christ made for them. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I
in the midst of them. (Matt 18:20) The cross reminds us of the
Spiritual Presence of Christ. It
also represents a borrowed grave from which Christ arose. It is not a crucifix,
still bearing the body of Christ, but an empty CROSS symbolizing the once and
for all sacrifice Christ made for us. He is no longer to be sacrificed, but has
arisen and sits today on the right hand of God.
The symbols of our faith are
important. As the churches gradually dispense with the symbols that have been
our ancient stones of remembrance, faith is cheapened and less meaningful.
Christ used symbols constantly in teaching a people whose minds were incapable
of comprehending the greater spiritual meaning of which He spoke. He used terms
such as pearls, mustard seeds, dragnets, fish, and many others – even crosses
that we must take up daily to follow Him. The Apostle Paul reminds us of
various natures of vessels: But in a great house there are not only vessels
of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and
some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall
be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared
unto every good work. (2 Tim 2:20-21) If Christ and the Apostles used such symbols to remind us of
spiritual truths, why cannot an apostolic church do the same?
It seems to me that, like those of the
time of Christ, our people have no comprehension of spiritual truths, and they
have no symbols to assist their ignorance of them.
