News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-12-16
THE SUNDAY PULPIT.
THE CHARTER OF LOVE.
The Great Struggle Between ihristianit
and Mans Innate SeIfshn.ss.

The Great Struggle Between Christianity
and Mans Innate Selfshnss SIS.
The death of ex- President Arthur re-
ceived mournful recognition Sunday in
! Plymouth Church in lhe singing by the
quartet choir of the anthem, Beyond
the Smiling and the Weeping - in the
selection OF the hymns, ali being more
or less funeral in sentiment. and IN a
pathetic reference by Mr. Beecher in
the opening prayer to the berea <ed OF
the late Presidents family.
The subject of MIR. Beechers sermon
was Christianity in its essence as com
pared with sectarianism. The text was
Luke, tx, 51-56, which gives the mar
ratlve of the rejection Of Jesus by the
Samaritans.
An exposition of the incident de-
scribed in the text, and a reference of
the feuds between the Hebrews and the
Samaritans, formed the introduction to
the sermon and afforded an opportunity
to the Plymouth pastor, of which he
availed himself. to say something about
the want of charity and loving kindness
between the sects. There never was.
he said, such hatred as that which was
bound together with man conscience.
Men very often had an impression, un-
der such admOnitions of conscience, that
it was Gods voice in the soul when half
the time it was the DEVILS voice The
Samaritan was a bastard Hebrew, he
had been carried away into captivity,
and which was the Hebrew and which
the heather was not quite clear. Be-
tween them they worshipped God like
the devil. On the whole, he thought the
Samaritan was little more religious
than the Hebrew.
''But what did the Saviour do?"
asked Mr.. Beecher. "He had been re-
fused the hospitality that should be ac-
corded to a stranger, and the reason
was that His face was set toward Jeru-
salem. Had He been coming from
Jerusalem there ould have been no
difficulty about His acceptance, but for
one setting his face that way the Sama-
ritans had nothing to offer. Well the
Saviour went another way, but He re
buked the disciples who desired Him to
call down fire from heaven to destroy
those who had declined to entertain
Him. To those disciples lie said, 'Ye
know not what manner of spirit We are.
and to Himself he said, the Son of
man came n to destroy, but to save
men,
The immortal charter of Christianity
and its liberal theology" continued Mr..
Beecher, sis found in the fourth chapter
OF Johns gospel-'But the hour cometh,
and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in
truth; for the Father seeketh such to
worship him. God is spirit and they
that wosrhip Him must worship Him
in spirit and in truth
Call God what you will, let YOUR con-
ception of Him be what it may, If you
look up to Him in spirit and in truth
lie viii accept your Offering. God is
not so narrow as we are. His mind is
wider than any of our creeds or our
churches. God is love- Yet there is q
universal cause for this difference, this
tse4stfon, this antagoHas4ir irs the-various-t
sects of the Church.
The tendency of nature is toward |
separation. Among ANIMALS there is a
natural Tepusion to a stranger If we
60 to the lowest tiers of human life it is |
the same. Race preiudices become as
men from one another All the way |
through time the fact that men were of |
different nations was a cause of provoca
ton. Men In the scramble of COM
petition and for some advantage or op-
portunity pursue it entirely on selfish |
and separate grounds.
THE love of Christ to man is very |
little known in our social relations as
yet, but we are coming to it. There |
has been an endeavor ON the part of this |
nation to keep the Chinese out of the !
country, but the Chinese are going to |
live where they like, and We shall not |
be able to prevent them
ga vast work mas been done by Chris |
tianity in spite of these difficulties of
dissension and selfishness. We are
great deal better with Christianity than |
we would have been without it. Our
ideal OF Christianity is that of a self
sacrificing man. We have attained to
that. Christianity has done something |
for the household and for the Church.
Upon all the forms of this seltishness
we are entering upon a great conflict and
struggle In the realm Of political econo
my. 1t is now certain that there can be |
no permanent arrangement in political |
economy that does not bind men to-
gether in mutual help, and that does not
bottom itself upon disinterested love-
But before this is accomplished we are
going through a great many deserts of
infdelity.
''It has been said that a crimson
thread runs through the Bible from
Genesis to Revelation. Yes, and it is
of blood shed for others. But through
the ages of Christianity there has been
a river of blood the result of persecu-
tion, of shame and degradation.
MEN may not believe as we do, may
not worship in the way we approve, but
after all the main point is to lift men
out of their lower instincts and habits,
for men are wrapped up in garment of
"There are individuals all the world
over who are better than the churches,
just as there are men who are worse
than their creeds. | am perfectly will
ing to take the responsibility and the
of not being orthodox, of
not being quite regular. My heresy is
in running in the direction of this uni
versal love. There is not Christian
sect upon the face of this earth that |
cannot wish oOd need tO -