The Indianapolis journal., 1886-04-11
TRIALS OF HOUSEKEEPING,
The Thirteenth Sermon on "The Mar
riage Ring" by Rev. Dewitt Talmage.
Mary and Martha, with Jesus as Their Guest
A Crushing Weight on Woman Which
Only Religion Can Fully Sustain.

City, and lecturing and preaching in sixteen
cities. and speaking at the Missouri University
and Central College, Rev. DR.. 7. Dewitt Tai
mage preached on Sunday, April 4 the thirteenth
Of the series OF sermons on THE Marriage
Ring" entitled '.The Trials of Housekeeping .
The hymn sung was:
GLORY to God on high
Let heaven and earth rejoice
After expounding an appropriate chapter of
Scripture, the preacher took for his text Luke
4. 40 Lord, dost thou not care that my sister
hath left nae to serve alone? Bid her. therefore.
that she help me-" Following is the sermon in
full:
Yonder is beautiful village homestead. The
man of the house is dead, and his widow is TAX
Ing charge of the premises This is the idow
Martha, of Bethany. Yes, will show you also
the pet of the household. This is Mary, the
younger sister, with a book under her arm ana
her face having no appearance of anxiety or per-
turbation. Company has come. Christ stands out
side the door and, of course, there is good deal
OF excitement inside the door. The disarrangcd
furniture is hastily put aside, and the hair is
brushed back, and the dresses are adjusted as
we'll as, in SO short time, Mary and Martha can
attend to these matters. They did not keep
Christ standing at the door until they were new
ly appareled or until they had elaborately ar
ranged their tresses, then coming out with their
affected surprise, as though they had not heard
the two or three previous knockings, saying
"Why, is that you7" No. They were ladies,
and were always presentable, although they may
not have always had OH their best, for none of us
always have on our best: If we did, our best
would not be worth having on. They throw
open the door and greet Christ. They say:
''Good morning, Master; come in and be seated" I"
Christ did not come alone; He had a group Of
friends with Him, and such an influx of city
visitors would throw any country home into per-
tprbation. / suppose, also the walk from the
city had been d good appetizer. The kitchen
department that day was very important de
partment, and suppose that Martha had no
sooner greeted the guests than she fed to that
room. Mary had no anxiety about household
affairs. She had full confidence that Martha
could get up the best dinner in
Bethany. She seems to say: NOW let
us have division of labor. Martha,
you cook and I'll sit down and be good" So you
have often seen great difference between two
sisters. There is Martha, hard-working, pains
taking. a good manager ever inventive of some
new pastry, or discovering something in the art
Of cooking and housekeeping. There is Mary.
also, fond of conversation, literary, SO engaged
In deep questions OF ethics she has no time to at
tend to the questions of household welfare. 1t
Is noon. Mary is in the parlor with Christ.
Martha Is In the Kitchen. 1t would have been
better ii they had divided the work, and then
thsy could have divided the opportunity to listen
TO Jesus but Mary moncpolizes Christ while
Martha swelters at the fro 1t was a
very important thing that they should
have a good dinner that day. Christ was hun
CRY, and He did not often have luxurious enter
fainment Alas, mel If the duty had devolve6
upon Mary. what repast that would have been.
But something went wrong in the kitchen. Per-
hAps the fire would not burn, or the bread would
hot bake, or Martha scalded her hand. or some
thing was burned black that ought only to have
been made brown, and Martha lost her patience
and forgetting the proprieties Of the occasion.
with besweated brow, and, perhaps, with
pitcher in one hand and tongs in the
other, she rushes out of the kitchen into
the presence of Christ saying Lord. dost
Thou not care that my sister hath left ms to
serve alone2" Christ scolded not word. If it
were scolding, should rather have His scolding
than anybody elses blessing. There was moth
ing acsrb: He knew Martha had almost worked
herself to death to get Him something to
eat, and so He throws a world of tenderness into
His information as He seems to say My dear
woman, do not worry. Let the dinner go. Sit
down on this ottoman beside Mary, your younger
sister Martha, Martha. thou art careful and
troubled about many things but thing is
peedful" AS Martha throws open that kitchen
door, look in and see great many household
perplexities and anxieties.
First, there is the trial of appreciation.
That is what made Martha so mad with Mary.
The younger sister had estimate Of her older
sisters fatigues AS now, men bothered with
the anxieties of the store, and Office, and shop,
or. coming from the Stock Exchange. they say
our fAstory little while; you ought to have to
manage eight. or ten, or twenty subordinates
and then you would know what trouble and
anxiety arel" Oh, sir the wife and the mother
has to conduct at the same time university, a
eiothing establishment a restaurant, a laundry,
library. while she is health officer, police
and president of her realml She must do
thousand things. and do them well, in order to
Keep things going smoothly; and so her brain
and her nerves are taxed to the utmost. know
al % uvh IN a ra n hat
they can sit In arm m-char in the library, or lie
on the helated pillow. and throw off all the care
upon subordinates who, having large wages and
great experience can attend to all OF the affairs
OF the household These are the exception.
am speaking this morning of the great mass Of
hcusekeepers-the women to whom life is a
struggle and who, at thirty years of age look
As though they were forty, and at forty look
As though they were fifty, and at fifty look
as though they were sixty. The fallen at
Chalons and Austerlitz, and Gettysburg, and
Waterloo, are small number compared with
the slain II the great Armageddon of the kitchen.
You 60 out to the cemetery and you will see
that the tombstones all read beautifully poetic;
but if those tombstones would speak the truth,
thousands of them would say: Here lies a
woman killed by too much mending. and sewing,
and baking, and securing the weapon with which
she was slain was a broom, or sewing machine,
Or ladle." You think, oh man of the world,
that you have ali the cares and anxieties.
If these cares and anxietes of the house
bold should come upon you for one week, you
would oe ht candidate for Bloomin gdale-I
mean insane asylum. The half-rested house
keeper arises in the morning She must have
the morning repast prepared at an irrevocable
hour. What if the fire will not light; what if
the marketing did not come; what if the clock
has stopped--no matter. she must have the
morning repast at lrrevocable hour. Then
the children must be got off to school. What If
their garments were torn; what If they do not
know their lessons; what if they have lost hat
or sash-they must be ready. Then you have
all the diet Of the day. and perhaps
Of several days. to plan; but what if
the butcher has sent meat unmasticabe,
Or the grocer has sent articles of
fool adulterated, and what if some piece of
silver be gone. favorite chalice be
,racked, or the roof leak. or he plumbing fail.
DIR any enc of thousand things occur-you must
be ready Spring weather comes. and there
must be revolution in the family wardrobe; or