The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-01-07


in various methods to explain away its mir
aculous character; they have labored to show
that the Greek may me an no more than that
JESUS walked along the shore parallel to the
vessel; or even that in the darkness the apos-
ties may have thought at first that he was or
had been walking upon the sea. Such sub
terfuges are idle and superhuous. 1t any
man find himself unable to believe in mira
cles-if he even think it wrong to try and ac-
quire the faith which accepts them-then let
him be thoroughly convinced in his own
mind, and cling honestly to the truth as ne
conceives it. 1t is not for us, or for any man
to Judge another; to his own masterhe stand
eth or falleth. But let him not attempt to
foist such disbelief into the plain narrative
of the Evangelists. That they intended to
describe an amazing miracle is indisputable
to any one who carefully reads their words;
| and as 1 have said before, if believing IN GOD
we believe in Divine Providence over the
lives of men-and believing in the Divine
| Providence, believe in the miraculous, accept
| as truth the resurrection of our Lord JESUS
CHRrsT-and believing that he was indeed
the Son of GoD-then, however deeply we
may realize the beauty and the wonder and
the power of natural laws, we realize yet
more deeply the power of Him who holds
those laws, and all which they have evolved,
| in the hollow of His hand; and to us the mir
| aculous, when thus attested, will be in no
| way more stupendous than in the natural,
nor shall we find it an impossible concep-
| ton that He who sent His Son to earth to
die for us should have put all authority into
| his hand Canon Farrdr's "Life of Christ"
| Legend of Thomas Didymus.
JESUS sent us away to go back to the west
ern side of the lake to Kaphar- nahum. He
did not 90 in the boat with us, but stayed be-
hind, at which we wondered greatly, for
there was no other boat there in which he
could follow. He stayed behind, saying that
| he must go into mountain to ask the LORD
| to give him help for his next work. So we
| embarked on the boat and hoisted the sail;
but the wind blew furiously down from the
| mountains, and the waves rose, and the boat
| labored heavily. We we're forced to take
down the Fail and row; and the heavy waves
| struck the bow of the vessel, and much
water came into it. At once we heard a
| voice and looked, and behold JESUS was near
the vessel, but walking lightly over the waves
| as though they were solid ground. Some
were frightened and cried out, thinking it an
| evil spirit coming after us. But | saw who
| it was, and thought l saw light coming
| from his eyes, and giving light to the face
a strange thing to tell. Then he stepped
from the water into the ship, and soon after
the winds ceased; for on that lake they rise
and fall very suddenly.
| Now it is strange to me as look back that
such things did not appear more wonderful
when they took place. But, truly, whatever
Jesus did was done SO easily and peacefully,
that all seemed to belong to the very move
ment of nature. When 1 saw him thus NOV
| ing over the waves, it looked natural, and as
that which any one might do. I did not won
| der, therefore, that Simon Peter tried to i'm
| itate his master. But it turned out that he
| mad not any such power unfolded in him, for
| he was almost drowned. I thought how often
! in my dreams had seemed to myself to rise
from the ground, all the weight being taken
| from my body, so that l could float without
wings in the air. Perhaps, indeed, such
dreams are prophecy of the time to come
when the laws of lightness will be under
stood, and men will be able to learn how to
destroy for time the weight of their bodies.
But what now speak is that this strange ac-
] ton was not done by the Master out of any
display, nor did he speak of it to us, or to
others, as wonderful thing. l think it was
because he knew our trouble and peril that
| he felt comp assion for us, and the power of
| his compassion drew forth in him this
strange human faculty. 1 call it human; for
all his actions were humsn,-either such as
men do now or may do hereafter.
| Because of this vast humanity in his soul
and body, he loved, think, to call himself
the "Son of Man." or ''the Man." All that
| is in man was in him: and he was the type
and perfect model of what man--not COR
rupt, not diseased, not sinful-ought to be-.
| If among ten thousand oaks most are de-
formed or stunted, and at last only one is
found which has become perfect, the same
thing may > true of mankind. The perfect
oak is the type of all oaks, and is the only
true oak: SO ths perfect man is the type of
all men, and is the only true man.-Jomes
| Freeman Clarke.
| TRUTH sYMB0LIZED.-Them miracle of
the Lesson may symbolic much that soon
mon in human. especially Christian, expert
ence. The soul is often tos sed by waves of
| adversely, and beaten back into the sea of
trouble by adverse winds of passion and in
| clination. Our Lord is not present with us
in our distresses, and when he appears is but
phantom to our dim spiritual vision. He
comes to encourage US. His presence is al
ways blessing, his words are always assur-
ing. He comes TO encourage and help in
every extremity; transforming every griev-
Gus and sorrowful experience, bringing
sweetness out of woe, and Hottest pleasure
out of pain. He comes waking upon the
waves of the storms that disturb our sea of
life, speaking his word of cheer, and when
we accept his companionship the storm
ceases, or its fury no longer frightens us.
So then if, like Peter, we fix our eyes on
JESUS, we, too, may walk triumpbantly over
the swelling waves of disbelief and unterri-
fed amid the rising winds of doubt; but if
we turn away our eyes from him on whom
we have believed-if, as it is easy to do, and
as we are so much tempted to do, we look
rather to the power and fury of these terrible
and destructive elements, than at him who
can help and save,--then we, too, shall inev-
itably sink. Oh, if we feel, often and often,
that the water-hoods threaten to drown US,