St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-11-16
Eeecher in Chicago.
;o1 10 @lA

CHICAGO, Nov. 15.-The Centenary
Methodist church was crowded to overflow
ing this morning, the occasion being a ser
mon by Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. Shortly
after the opening services the pastor an
nounced that in consequence of the death
in New York of Il. B. Clafin, one of Mr..
Beecher's earliest friends, the lecture adj
vertised tomorrow night would be post
poned. The great preacher took his text
from the Gospel of st. Luke, ix., 1886,
by very careful study of the four evan
gelists, and the putting Of them together, as
they are not in themselves. He said: /
think we may trace the history that culmin-
ated in this radiant climax in about this
order: There were three periods of the life
of Christ. His ministry in Galilee, His min.
istry in Judea and His very brief ministry
after His own resurrection. The earlier
part of his ministry was in Galilee. Galilee
was an extremely poor province, filled up
with disintegrated armies and with all
sorts Of people, and they were held in great
contempt by the aristocratic Jews of Judea
the
ARIsTocRACY OF RELIGION
which is about as bad an ariStocracy as can
exist on the earth. The period of his
Jundan ministry was comparatively short.
The second part of his ministry in Judea
rose far higher than this. 1t was the COM
pletion and outcome of the first part,
in which he opened up the relations Of the
soul to invisible and spiritual truths. Now,
in his Galilean work, he first excited atten-
ton and then curiosity and then amaze
ment and finally ambition, for as he went
on the idea became popular that perhaps
this is the Messiah. I'VE have been wait
ing for the time to come when we
should overthrow our adversaries and
put our foot on their necks as they have put
their foot on ours. Perhaps the time has
come, and this may be the man." And they
watched him and followed him. They
were, some of them, so poor that they at
that day followed him from hunger, too. A
good, full meal was rather rarity to many
of those people, and it was the motive that
thronged his steps in some periods of his
ministry. A loaf of bread put in the doors
to-day, but it did then. Well, the people
were torrnented with doubts, and feeling
arose, controversy one way and another,
warmer and warmer, until the
MIRACLE OF THE LOAvEs.
There is none of all the miracles of
Christ that strikes us with less force. but
there was none that struck the people of
his time with greater force. They listened
with their bellies when he distributed the
bread to 5000. That was wonderful, and
it set on fire zeal for hearing the gospel
such as they never had before. And when
he went to Capernaum the throngs from the
villages and cities rushed after him, and
not finding them there they followed on the
northeast shore of the sea to Of Galilee,
and saw the crowds that came to hear his
ministry and they were then ahungered,
and the disciples said: ''Send
them away, they Cypress you,"
and he said No" He looked upon them
with compassion-that they were as sheep
without a shepherd. He asked what they
had. Some fish and some rolls. He calls
to the crowd to sit down, and by divine
power He multiplied the fish and the bread
and distributed it to them, and they were
all filled, and there were some seven thou
sand all told, men, women and children.
This was the first blow to incredulity, and
that great crowd said: This is He." His
ministry brought forth the same WEAKNESS
and the same disgust, and the same despair
ing mood which affects the active
WORKERS OF GOD
everywhere. all the world over, and for
them, as for him, there was sent the trans
fguration, that they might be comforted, as
He himself was comforted. And it is said
that from this time forth He began to teach
His disciples that He must needs go to Je-
rusalem, and that He must suffer at the
hands of the chief priests and be put to
death. but on the third day He would rise
again And they were aroused and could