Comfortable Words (1928 BCP)
Comfortable Words (1928 BCP) are the four gospel sentences read by the priest immediately after the Absolution in the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer order for Holy Communion. They stand between penitential preparation and the Sursum Corda, so that the communicants hear Christ's own invitation, God's saving gift, apostolic proclamation, and Christ's advocacy before they lift up their hearts in eucharistic thanksgiving.
The phrase "comfortable" here means strengthening, consoling, and assuring. The words are not a devotional appendix to the rite. They are the scriptural answer to the confession and absolution: sinners who truly turn to Christ are directed away from self-trust and toward the promises of the Gospel.
Text in the 1928 Communion Office
The 1928 office introduces the Comfortable Words with a rubric addressed to the priest and then gives four sentences from Matthew, John, 1 Timothy, and 1 John. The wording below has been compared with the local 1928 BCP source, including the introductory sentence and all four scriptural texts.
Then shall the Priest say,
Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all who truly turn to him.
COME unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. St. Matt. xi. 28.
So God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. St. John iii. 16.
Hear also what Saint Paul saith.
This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 1 Tim. i. 15.
Hear also what Saint John saith.
If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the Propitiation for our sins. 1 St. John ii. 1, 2.
The immediate context matters. The Comfortable Words follow a confession made by those intending to receive Communion and an absolution declaring God's promised forgiveness to those who turn with hearty repentance and true faith.
ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all those who with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto him; Have mercy upon you; pardon and deliver you from all your sins; confirm and strengthen you in all goodness; and bring you to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Scriptural Consolation
The first sentence begins with Christ's invitation to the burdened. In the Communion office it answers the weight of confession: the penitent does not remain fixed on the burden, but hears Christ call the weary to himself.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
The second sentence gives the ground of assurance in God's act, not the communicant's inward achievement. The believer is comforted because the Father gives the Son for the life of the world.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The third sentence names the purpose of the Incarnation with stark simplicity. The communicant who has just confessed sin hears that Christ came precisely "to save sinners."
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
The fourth sentence completes the movement by naming Christ's continuing priestly work. The absolved communicant approaches the Holy Table with an Advocate and Propitiation, not with a claim of sinlessness.
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Historical Development
The Comfortable Words entered English eucharistic use through the Edwardian reforms. The 1548 Order of the Communion already placed them after confession and absolution and before the prayer that later became known as the Prayer of Humble Access.
Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith to all that truly turn to him.
COME unto me all that travail and be heavy leaden, and I shall refresh you. So God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have life everlasting.
Hear also what S. Paul saith.
This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be embraced and received, That Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners.
Hear also what S. John saith.
If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: he it is that obtained grace for our sins.
The 1552 Prayer Book moved the reformed Communion office toward the order that later Anglican books inherited: confession, absolution, Comfortable Words, Sursum Corda, Preface, Sanctus, and the following Communion prayers. Its Comfortable Words are already recognizably the same fourfold sequence as the 1928 text.
Heare what comfortable woords our savioure Christe sayeth, to al that truly turne to hym.
Come unto me all that travaile, and be heavye laden, and I shal refreshe you. So god loved the world, that he gave his onely begotten sonne to thend that al that beleve in him, should not perishe, but have life everlasting.
Heare also what Sainct Paul sayeth.
This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Jesus Christe came into the world to save synners.
Heare also what Sainct John sayeth.
If any man sinne, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propiciacion for our synnes.
The official 1662 Church of England text shows the direct English predecessor of the American form. The 1928 book keeps the same four passages and their position, while changing "all that truly turn" to "all who truly turn" and preserving the American book's received punctuation and citation style.
Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all that truly turn to him.
Come unto me all that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. St. Matthew 11.28
So God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. St. John 3.16
Hear also what Saint Paul saith.
This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 1 St. Timothy 1.15
Hear also what Saint John saith.
If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins. 1 St. John 2.1
Francis Procter and Walter Howard Frere interpret the placement of the Comfortable Words as a deliberate theological act. The sentences do not merely decorate the absolution; they provide the scriptural promises on which the absolution rests.
The Comfortable Words that follow are the scriptural statements upon which the Absolution is grounded: the idea was taken from the Consultation, but altered and set after the Absolution instead of before it.
Theological Meaning
The Comfortable Words summarize the Gospel in four movements. Matthew 11 gives Christ's invitation to those who are weary and burdened. John 3 gives the Father's saving love and the Son's mission. 1 Timothy 1 gives apostolic proclamation that Christ came for sinners. 1 John 2 gives the continuing advocacy and propitiation of Jesus Christ the righteous. Together they make the absolution audible as biblical promise.
The phrase "all who truly turn to him" links the Comfortable Words to the invitation, confession, and absolution that precede them. The rite does not comfort an impenitent congregation in abstraction. It comforts those who have been summoned to repentance, charity, amendment of life, faith, and humble confession before receiving Communion.
The sequence is also sacramental. The communicants are about to hear "Lift up your hearts" and enter the eucharistic thanksgiving. Before that ascent, the Prayer Book gives them the Gospel in concentrated form: Christ calls, the Father gives, Christ saves sinners, and Christ intercedes. This prevents both presumption and despair. The table is not approached by merit, but neither is it approached carelessly.
For classical Anglican and Reformed Episcopal catechesis, the Comfortable Words are therefore a concise way to teach assurance without detaching assurance from repentance. For High Church and Anglican Catholic readings of the rite, they also show that sacramental approach is grounded in Christ's priestly work and the written Word, not in ceremony alone. In both cases the text's force is pastoral: the Church speaks Scripture to communicants at the point where tender consciences most need to hear it.
Use in Worship and Catechesis
In parish worship the Comfortable Words should be read as proclamation, not as a hurried bridge between absolution and the Sursum Corda. Their order can be taught clause by clause: invitation, gift, mission, advocacy. They are especially useful in preparation for Communion because they answer the questions raised by confession: Who receives the weary? What has God done? For whom did Christ come? What help remains when Christians still sin?
The 1928 placement also helps explain related Communion texts. The Invitation calls communicants to draw near with faith and take the Sacrament to their comfort. The General Confession names sin without excuse. The Absolution declares God's promised forgiveness to those who repent and believe. The Comfortable Words then let Scripture itself define the comfort by which the communicant comes to the Lord's Table.
See Also
- Book of Common Prayer (1928)
- Holy Communion (1928 BCP)
- Invitation to Confession in Holy Communion (1928 BCP)
- General Confession in Holy Communion (1928 BCP)
- Absolution in Holy Communion (1928 BCP)
- Prayer of Humble Access (1928 BCP)
- Sursum Corda (1928 BCP)
- Sacraments in the 1928 BCP
References
- ↑ Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Book of Common Prayer, Standard Book accepted in 1928, "The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion," Comfortable Words after the Absolution; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion. Quotation compared word for word with local source
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 404-426; HTML drop-cap styling, italic citation labels, and line wrapping normalized. - ↑ Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Book of Common Prayer, Standard Book accepted in 1928, "The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion," Absolution before the Comfortable Words; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion. Quotation compared with local source
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 398-403. - ↑ The Holy Bible, Authorized Version, Matthew 11:28; BibleGateway, Matthew 11:28, King James Version. This citation supports the article's claim that the first Comfortable Word is Christ's direct invitation to the weary and burdened; the 1928 BCP retains the older Prayer Book wording "travail" and "refresh."
- ↑ The Holy Bible, Authorized Version, John 3:16; BibleGateway, John 3:16, King James Version. This citation supports the article's claim that the second Comfortable Word locates eucharistic assurance in God's gift of his only-begotten Son.
- ↑ The Holy Bible, Authorized Version, 1 Timothy 1:15; BibleGateway, 1 Timothy 1:15, King James Version. This citation supports the article's claim that the third Comfortable Word applies apostolic gospel proclamation directly to penitent communicants.
- ↑ The Holy Bible, Authorized Version, 1 John 2:1-2; BibleGateway, 1 John 2:1-2, King James Version. This citation supports the article's claim that the final Comfortable Word joins moral exhortation, advocacy, and propitiation.
- ↑ Church of England, The Order of the Communion, 1548, text as reprinted in H. B. Walton and P. G. Medd, eds., The First Book of Common Prayer and The Ordinal of 1549 together with The Order of the Communion, 1548, London: Rivingtons, 1869, from a Bodleian Library original; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, The Order of the Communion, 1548. Quotation checked against the resolving Justus HTML source on 2026-07-19; early modern capitalization and wording retained, whitespace normalized.
- ↑ Church of England, The Book of Common Prayer (1552), "The Order for the Administration of the Lordes Supper, or Holy Communion," Comfortable Words after the Absolution; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, The Communion (1552). Quotation checked against the resolving Justus HTML source on 2026-07-19; early modern spelling retained, whitespace normalized.
- ↑ Church of England, The Book of Common Prayer (1662), "The Lord's Supper or Holy Communion," Comfortable Words after the Absolution; official Church of England online text, The Lord's Supper or Holy Communion. Quotation checked against the resolving official text on 2026-07-19; web line breaks normalized.
- ↑ Francis Procter and Walter Howard Frere, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer, with a Rationale of Its Offices, revised and rewritten edition, London: Macmillan and Co., 1902, chapter XII, "The Communion Service," comparison of "The Present Office" with "Order of Communion"; Society of Archbishop Justus/Project Canterbury transcription, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer: Chapter XII, Holy Communion. Quotation checked against the resolving Justus HTML source and the Internet Archive bibliographic record, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer.