Reflections on The Saviour of the World Volume 7

“In the Charlotte Mason Digital Collection,” I wrote, “there are several pages of handwritten papers from Mason’s early days. These may be journal entries, drafts for books, or other reflections. I find it difficult to read Mason’s handwriting, but … I was wondering if you might have time to take a look at some of these documents to see if you can read enough of each page to get a sense of what each page is about.”

The year was 2017 and I was writing to Linda Fern. Four days later she replied: “In this second document, … it appears to me that she is moving into working on another volume [of The Saviour of the World,] as the one we currently have ends with The Prodigal Son in Luke 15. Here, of course, she picks up on Luke 16 and calls it Book 1, Of Riches.”

“I think you’ve struck gold,” I replied. And indeed she had. For in this stack of barely legible pages, Linda would identify twenty poems that were intended to be published as Charlotte Mason’s seventh poetry volume. To my knowledge no one even knew of their existence, much less of their content.

Linda Fern and Antonella Greco then painstakingly analyzed each handwritten letter to transcribe Mason’s twenty last Gospel poems. And now Antonella has recorded them too. Today we present the poem that “picks up on Luke 16.” Read or listen to “The disciples learn about riches” here.

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🖼️: Parable of the Unjust Steward by A. Mironov

“It is a common idea,” writes J. R. Dummelow, “that virtue shades off into vice by imperceptible gradations, and that the majority of men are neither bad nor good. Our Lord pronounces absolutely that in the last resort there are only two classes of men, those who are serving God, and those who are serving the world.”

Jesus said, “No servant can serve two masters.” But what if one of those masters — money — is required to live? Charlotte Mason explores this challenging idea in her unpublished poem “How to make use of Mammon.” You can read or hear it today here.

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🖼️: The Worship of Mammon by Evelyn De Morgan

“Life, in any real sense, is the knowledge of God now,” writes Charlotte Mason; “and, without that knowledge, there cannot be the free and joyous activity of our powers, the glow of our feelings, the happy living, free from care, the open eye for all beauty, the open heart for all goodness, the responsive mind, the tender heart, the aspiring soul—which go to make up fulness of life.”

In Luke 16 the Pharisees scoffed at Christ’s teaching about riches. Charlotte Mason wrote an unpublished poem that extrapolates from this text and imagines what the conversation between Christ and the Pharisees might have been like. She understood that their interaction was about more than just money. She wrote:

What men give
Proclaim them not acceptable to God
But what they love, desire exceedingly
Nor ever let it from their thoughts remove.

It is not what we give or what we do that makes for life. It is what we love. Read or hear about the knowledge which goes to make up fulness of life. Find it here.

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🖼️: The Pharisee and the Publican by James Tissot

The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is one of the most unforgettable and chilling parables of Christ. It is unique to the Gospel of Luke, and as J. R. Dummelow indicates, it is “full of that sympathy with the poor which characterises [Luke’s] Gospel.” But sympathy with the poor is accompanied by a warning to the rich. Charlotte Mason picks up on the theme in her 16-stanza poem based on this parable. The handwritten poem has never been published, but you can read or hear our transcribed version today. Find it here.

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🖼️: Folio 78 recto from the Codex Aureus of Echternach, Lazarus and Dives

Four times in the Gospels, Jesus says “all things are possible.” Twice it is “with God” that all things are possible. Once it is “all things are possible to him who believes.” And finally, most poignantly, Jesus says, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.”

“All things are possible.” It’s a message of hope. It’s a message of possibility. It’s a message we all want to hear.

That’s why Luke 17:1 is so shocking. Here Jesus says, “It is Impossible.” IMpossible? How can that be?

It is a question that opens Charlotte Mason’s thoughtful and thought-provoking poem on this passage in Luke. It was never published, but you can read or hear it today here.

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In his commentary on the Gospel of Luke, D. L. Block assigns a title to the section from 17:1 to 17:10. He calls it “False Teaching, Forgiveness, Faith and Service.” He explains: “This short section highlights four aspects of discipleship. It is hard to be certain if these four characteristics are simply listed or whether there is some relationship between them.”

Charlotte Mason was determined to pursue a “synthetic study of the life and teaching of Christ.” She believed with all her heart that “if we could only get a whole conception of Christ’s life among men, and of the philosophic method of His teaching, His own word should be fulfilled, and the Son of Man, lifted up, would draw all men unto Himself.”

Therefore it goes without saying that Charlotte Mason sought (and found) a connection between these verses in the Gospel of Luke. But she did not lift the pen of an expositor to explain the links. Rather, she sought the pen of a poet. Read or hear her poem on verses 3 and 4 and see how Mason observed the philosophic method of our Lord. Find it here.

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🖼️: Joseph’s brothers beg forgiveness; Joseph blesses them, Illuminated manuscript, Weltchronik

In early 2017 I had the privilege of announcing a great discovery: we had found the draft of Charlotte Mason’s seventh poetry volume. I was so excited and I wanted to share a sample with the world. I chose the poem “Increase our Faith.” I introduced it with these words:

Some things are just too good to escape the notice of divine providence. Mason wrote these beautiful verses but never brought them to the publisher. God had other plans, and now Mason’s words of beauty and power speak to us as if they were penned only yesterday. This particular poem is notable for its depth of theological insight and its dramatic implications for spiritual formation. Please read it carefully, with your heart and your mind, because this one packs a punch.

Later I selected this poem for use in workshops on Mason’s poetry. And a friend of mine who came to Christ explained to me, “I cannot think of a more divinely beautiful and elegant way to capture my story and my message than these stanzas.”

Please take time to listen to, read, and reflect on this timeless piece. Find it here.

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🖼️: Parable of the Mustard Seed by Jan Luyken