The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-06-18
a Lay Sermon.
rrror the New York Trihune.l

-, Oh. sermons which we shall near |
,,rnacbrd in the city pulpitS tomorrow,
~ nil, br but two thcmcS-God ana our
hrother: and by Monday morning. we
,,arc listened to preacher OF our own crecu. |
n,o shall have dl-c>ted aud accepted inc
S,rmas laid down concerning our Mahet'
tnt with regard TO our neighbor we St',
r,nst of MS have our own opinion, III spite
~ Tho sermon. lust rs before. The mysterl' |
ans ayiul Presence, behind Nature ana hu- J
man lif,.. we are usually humble enough |.
no willing to look at and believe in, through
III, ,,ronhe,ic vision or faith OF other men,
THE preacher is qualified to instruct US IN Ills
mercy and power. But when u Comes 10
having down the law about Jones or Siaitll,
we shake our heads knowingly as we so out
oC or pewS. We are little sharper, we
f,;ter ourselves. than the good aaa theie-
As 10 this matter st brotherhood OF winch Ike
talks, the secret conviction WITH us no Hs.-
ter what our Christian zeal, Is fhat WINE II
is all very we'll for the Poiyr's'an savage UT
the Laphpder, who are quite out oil SSu''
to claim common Father with us, ana only
4 pleasant t,tillStion OF our emotions 70 senu
them h!other'y greeting IN the shSpe %.
Bibles and missionaries, the case is Ntss uit-
fcrent Whca /: cones 10 that snoootSsl niue
Potts round the cor1er- throwing eiluo OH
our wj,c's dress froan the wheelS'o his dog
cart. or the drunken cook whs Has JUST
burned I'D our dinner. brothers, indeed
We arc all alike in this. The good preacher
himself comes down out Of the UEspil, where
ne has been urgia@ that God made OF one
blood all the children of men, Suu stops 10
sneak kindly 20 Deacon Wright, the meaneSt
man il, the parish. though heknuwS wright
will Snecr at him and bis sermon ana hi>
wife's new bonnet Is soon Us MS back Is
turned But does he put the Deacon SIDE
by side with his twin brother Joe out IN
Iowa. WHOM he is going TO see this cCmlR@
August. he has gone Shivering without
an ovtrcGt all winter That's he may take some
little gifts 10 poor JoG's aie and babies. As
for the Wriyh'S, lie knows in his secret SOU
that the parish and the world in general
would breathe frccr it tae whole lot were
ircouliueu!ly drowned The world Is I'll
yircd for Us al! into Weights aud brother
does, and the most that Christianity can do
for us is TO help lis trcat the first with tie
reyo)en1 forgiveness (og their unlikeneSs to
ourselves.
THE tac. is (and it would be wiSein religious
and social leaders to recognize it rs tact),
that dltl:.riry tastes and temperamcnts. not
character nor position, put two-thlrds OF the
men and women about us at secret war WIN
us: if they are our brothers, they are GER
tainly " hat the French would call les JtfefeS
lOin. The service Of our great Master re-
q,lircS lis to help them If they need 1t IN
body and soul rs encrsetical'y as we would
help ourselves, but it demands no more.
Churches ana society waste too much time
in dragging people into harness together,
striving TO make intimates OF them, when
they would love each other much better
aplrt. rs long Us the good parson
keeps Deacon Wright ut distance
there is chance that they will respect
each other and work together for their COM
mon cause in harmony. But rs soon US they
fall into Sociable arguments, and into the
haiti Of dining in company. each discovers
the other to bc fool. AS for society, how
much of our lives is wasted in trying to form
partner,hips-fo for an hours talk perhaps, or
nerhaps for l!e--with men or women who
ought TO live at the antipodcs from us,
with their heads forever going precisely the
other way Though space: TO think OF the
millions of "caIls" mlde by women and
dinner parties given by men, from
which come nothing but platitudcs, dreary
emytinc>s, and a pecvish sense of exhaustion,
simply because like has not wit and wisdom
TO mate with like. A heroic idea or our re-
ligion may make it easy for us to die for a
man, while if he were TO visit Us for week
: we would nag each other into frenzy. Our
Law sermon 10 all beginners in social life, II
we could supplement those of tomorrow,
would be TO give Their help heartily to all
their step-brothcrs in the world, bu, il they
want peace in the family, to keep them ut
arms length While they are shaking hands.