Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-04-28
ReliuioMa JepagtMsn1.
THE EXALTED CHRIST.

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THE Exalted Christ Text. John
u, 32-ssAnd [, if | be lifted up
from the earth will draw all men IN
to myself" These words he said,
were spoken on the occasion of GER
tain Greeks having expressed a de-
sire to see Jesus. Jesus virtually
SAID in answer, eff you look at a
seed you only see husk, but the ell
ement of life, of potential and initial
structure that constitutes the thing q
seed you cannot see. And SO you Gu
rious and inquisitive Greeks may see
my face and form, and hear my voice,
but me, my life and work and hope
and aim you may not see. Nor is
there at present any outcome and re-
suit of that life to which | can point |
as a type OF Indication of it. My |
life has been given to those things
which are unseen, and the issues of
it are, as yet hidden in the inappar-
ent. And | have nothing to point to
as an adequate exponent of its nature
and ultimate results. Still it is not
wasted or unproductive life, any
more than the seed which lies under
ground until the spring. So long as
the seed is kept in the store, retained
within the reach of sight and touch It
is fruitless, gives no indication Of the
wondrous forces that are in it, or of
the beauty and use that are to come
out of it, and so it fails to realize its
function. Commit to the earth, lose
it as q seed, and ultimately it issues
in harvests of use, or in flowers of
bright consummate beauty" And
so says Jesus it is with me and my
work. My life for the moment is
buried beneath the worlds prejudices
and seems a failure, but it is not dead
and will not die. Let me ask your
attention then to the apparent failure
of the life of Jesus; then to its SOW
ereign triumphs, and finally to one or
two lessons, which thus regarded it
suggests. At the time the words of
nv text were uttered the life of Jesus
seemed an utter failure. Excluding
those kind words and qualities of sue
| cess which the wise and good deem
hollow and unreal, as entirely aside
flom the question, say that even of
those things which are admitted
to constitute real and genuine tri-
umph Jesus had little or nothing TO
show. He seemed to have lived al
most in vain. He had not won any
position in the worlds life or achiev-
ed any marked success as a religious
teacher. A few sermons and para
bles addressed to miscellaneous
crowds from hiIlsides and fishing
boats and which were apparently for
gotten, the collection of dozen dis
ciples, who dispersed and fed, the
temporal good of life relinquished
for spiritual ends which up to his
death were unachleved, few years
OF hopeful, enthusiastic and divine
endeavor, and hateful death between
two thieves as a reward, constituted
the outcome of his life.
To every eye, except the eye OF
that faith which gives conviction OF
things not seen, the Christ had most
: ingloriously failed. There was no.
lacking any mark of disappointment
and defeat. But Christ, though fall
en-, was soon destined to be lifted up
t His life was destined to be the mos
beautiful and sacred thing of history
: the most fertile and productive of thu
deepest human issues. He founC
, no home, but he has shed Il blessing
and reflected q light upon every hons
A in Christendom. He added nothing
to the worlds material wealth, but h
! has created living heart at its centre
sent pulsations of humanity through
z its circle, made it more conscious O
: it's responsibilities, more mindful o
the claims of suffering and of want
. He took no immediate part in politics
J. redressed no grievances, removed 1t
= abuse, enacted no law, established n,
institution but he has breathed int
ut politics the breath of abuses, the re
e. dressing of all wrongs, and woult
r fam harmonic with justice and ever
pit institution and every lazy. He mad
n no discovery in science, but his spiri
has entered into science too, and i
taking possession of its vast resource
e. in order to put them to huma
re and philanthropic ends, to alleviat
e. pain, to promote health, to sooth
% the grief of wounds, to sap the sourC
es of disease, and to rain on man til
ca charities that heal and bless. TIL
an lesson such a life teaches is the real
1t ty and endurance of things not seer
Only that in nature or in life While
eye has not seen nor ear heard la
'e' any true endurance and permanent
i of being, and the vitality and endul
or ance of Jesus is the endurance an
ne ie vitality of the divine revelation *
nd which he lived and died. His was
rs life permanently consecrated to il
In visible things; he stood for nobl
Ill conceptions Of justice, truth, human
ity and love, for larger thoughts
ak God and his providence of humf
life and Immortality than had Y
me been embodied in ritual and cree
an Unseen he felt them in his mind al