New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-05-31
SUGGESTIONS OF DECORATION DAY.

The Rer arthur brooks at the church II dc Incarnation PROT
estant Episcopd)
The Rev. Arthur Brooks preached yesterday
In the Protestant Episcopal Church Of the lnoainauOn
at Madsonave aud hiryfft-st, taking his text from
Matthew X 3d. He that hndeth his life shall lose IT, ana
he that oseth his life for my sake shall find It,"
Tie cross Is tho central symbol OF Carists religion IL
represents that great law OF His gospel The law Of scfsac
rce When we find this great law illustrated, e dashed
in human lie independent OF It's religious Thought We
cannot but feel that fact is Endorsement OF the
nauralness and truth OF Chrst's teacliRGs. And 50
when this Decoration Day, which under the influence OF
the best promptngs of gratitude AMI patriotism has
been set apart for the honor OF those wLO gave their
lives for our safety and welfarewhen this day comes on
Sunday surely there no better observance OF it than to
learn toe great lessons which 1t teaches us about
We place flowers tie graves and monuments OF our
brothers that ie IN battle or by !?et or le siey OF
oircountly But there EelUcs vinga nd moNiS among
us to-day who fought hard ana Kissed Is much &s they
did, vino willing AMI ready we're Oh brothers
tLat fell We honor to-day the iaci OF sati'te ~ wen "a
lis =, int. That the great feature tldt has stamped
Itself upon tnc annual observance 0f decoration Day
Men are always giving up some .ihS lot "'it a'ry w
sire love. lie world Is full OF tEa' law 81 compcnsl
lion. Lie is capital to he expended hOt t"sute 10 Ne
boarded That is i.e one great Thought wh'her Wftteh
On pages of our Bibles III mo words iie dt sFeih
s life shall lose it, or written on Ia rOLhe ga SS Vi
buried Heroes IN the sariands VIA wnlch we aion t'
Uufl you eXpend o your NE you can nay hoshills.
Ike like gOd worth nothing til you sei rid III IT, "u
are poor, wIctccd ml,er II you ,.iaha an M ,ti ~
ent. And sill more You must nave "a cause worth cN-
INN Who has died for his country, nc h:hest iutn
only awaits him Who Las given Ill Giving that he hath
How often grIb!c IN our WORK because We SEQ no
fruit no reward labor. roihap- is not ,iinc
We may have exhausted time and strength, Dut We rave
left 10 give, more wOrh, mere energy! III az Hsi,
when the whole oil lie has been gwen 20 re cause we
love- then the crown shall come Many ~ t came back
not done II is going in all their performance OF duty as
good citizens. Their record being made mp day BY day
and viii be read and honorUd wien 1t il complete; they
must give their mole lives Their bro id 50 Dy one
act giving all they had. They died ana their glory came
So nave we seen II lite has departed from rs
IL has been constantly labornt but when tho account
closed, then alone We saw lis ri oiy A. we h'e II,
we do not deract the liz ing brother. lie TOO j.
working, and when bis whole life l. gwen ne 700 VIII Dc
judged aud crowned Give no moment ~ n!th Gd daI
life the only thing worthy Of the crown. Ana Dc not
hce if such IS the call or b. tie long Of moments
which 10 BRING no reward IL Is the giving lat Is
that are TO form your garland they growing with
your lie, and they viii he ready 10 DO liuckeu Nhch
yomr lie has all been given the service OF your God
Let us look fllrthcr into tle law Of sacrifice. Why is
it 50 necessary The world is too large Tor any one OF
Us to tic whole OF It, Paths of profit and pleasure
wien you DO you lay aside all that OF the others We
and when Dc bcIaoly we make up mind to this and
take what is worth cntiOn, giving up the rest we
act OF choice the exercise wills Is what makes
seltsdcrifco necessary and good for us We honor n
tins day OF decoration the spirit when cunalst Ia NC
act death. We remember the enlistment OF TIE sol
dicrs, and that the real act of seisacrlhco The
death gcriy was only the natural result OF that we
remember when noble lives could not be Kept BACK IRON
that choice These men valued life more Than any hire,
ling sodiery could possibly alo H. Bnt tleir haAho9d
made the choicc 1t did not drlt into suffering ana death
il chose them. Oh how men have distorted iris pure
principle Of selsacrhce LIS only strength In the Nv
ing soul. ScSacriice IL not suicide No pcn2nCe IOf
committed SIM mutlat0n OF life III answer TO false
religious STANDARD asceiicsm have any relation to this
pure beautiful flower OF life, growing naturally from the
soil Of devotion and love IN human heart.
Such q day as Decoration Day points then to some
thing posi,ive ii 1t does not II Is piece Of destructive
t6ings It strives to bnd up life on that Every
thing that has the spirit ~ seli-sacrhce IN IL mus 90
one is able to something beyond his present sur
the dead, and by tributes shsw our belief that
noble life can die. This Immortality Of fame points
10 the existence Oh the hope withn the immortality
OF The soul There is contradiction, awful rcrusiye
in the belief that the so, whose nobility draws
found but, with the honor We give, belief in the he
eternal begins to dawn upon us-and then we talk OF
honor and glory. Whatever We may think and however
We may oct at other times, this ceremony Of todays
custom puts honor and glory IN 80 conspicuous .
like plying the men VINO gave UP earthly adNal,
tages TO obtain them The reward OF lite IL placed
before US as consisting not IN what man cams OF enoys
but what he does and L. The inerlted praise vi oeIs
ia above the petty enjoy mens OF lew years more or les
Of life. lam sure We must the vae OF sden
a day the midst OF the very hard practicaincss wilch
refuses TO let life get beyond proil ara gam rs he
flower in The midst OF desert ana u u 10 De
hoped that the sun reelected from me nara hay ne
around VIII not paroh and wher H. IL may 10 one day
i'm the midst OF year, followed out how great are s
consequences Ii opens whole range oi hlgLT thodsns
source Of them the valuable arc they, and tie
praise God becomes the most valuable tnng We can
want the cultivation OF the mans soul becomes Inc
greatest object In iie and look or neehbor no
longer as source OF profit, but ~ one toward whom We
shall 80 act from his hand there shall drop the wen
earned garland heads while We I've ON our graves
when gone . . .
IL is in this view Of its dwelling on lofty ideas, in s
A. ,ertop that they belong all men, that such Gay
this the egious side Of lire Men dstrust The IN
visible theory of life being religious and unpraceed
thing But where You draw the line between reli-
gion and lie This day which Ia church festival says
as plainly any Bible can tho things With seen
are temporal the things which not seen are eerna
Life steps with change easily into religion, when We
touch this its Highest side: sacrifice the lower that yoa
may have the her which after all is the reality 10 Ia
not the giving up IL receiving that must look upon
as The ron event to-day The new lie W which the per
sacrifice of SELF In the ay and gate, IN the object
which Ia uIaced before every man. How close all this