Charles Brent (1862-1929) was an Episcopal missionary to the Philippines for 16 years prior to becoming Bishop of Western New York in 1918. He authored the reflective thought, "What is dying?", that I shared at the graveside service I conducted today.A ship sails and I stand watching ‘til she fades on the horizon
and someone at my side says, She is gone.
Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all.
She is just as large now as when I last saw her.
Her diminished size and total loss from my sight is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment when someone at my side says, She is gone,
There are others who are watching her coming over their horizon
and their voices take up a glad shout, Here she comes!
and someone at my side says, She is gone.
Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all.
She is just as large now as when I last saw her.
Her diminished size and total loss from my sight is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment when someone at my side says, She is gone,
There are others who are watching her coming over their horizon
and their voices take up a glad shout, Here she comes!
And that is dying.
Bishop Brent's experiences in the Philippines had aroused in him a strong concern for the cause of visible Christian unity leading him to write this challenging thought.
The unity of Christendom is not a luxury, but a necessity. The world will go limping until Christ's prayer that all may be one is answered. We must have unity, not at all costs, but at all risks. A unified Church is the only offering we dare present to the coming Christ, for in it alone will He find room to dwell.
