St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-10-27

vine, light, life. truth and way" Never
had mortal made such claims. Never
had human cTeduiity been so
taxed. They looked at Him and
said He appears like other men, face.
hands, feet and form. Is not this the
carpenters son2 and are not His bretf-
rem here with US? Whence has this
man these things?" No wonder they
demand that He support His claims by
the strongest evidence. Jesus, realiZ-
ing the situation, proposes to do, and
actually does Go, what no man can do
except God be with hm-raiSes the
dead, stills the storm, gives sight to the
blind aud voice to the dumb. His
thoughts are high, His doctrines orig
inal. His knowledge of men and things
wonderful. They correspond to His
miracles, and every candid man says
with Nicodemus. "Thou are a teacher
come from Gud.'
But Jesus never performed miracles
Tor the sake OF doing wonders. They
were acts OF mercy, and suggestive of
spiritual lessons. When did Jesus
sound a trumpet before him ask
ing the people to come and see
dumb tongue Embossed or
blind eye opened? Never. He did
not perform miracles with His fingers,
else He might have called the crowd 10
witness his wonders. They came out
OF the center of His helng. the lnfinily
of His though and power. hence to Him
they are trivial, like drops which hang
on the rim of bucket You feel as you
read that the miracles of Jesus cost Hin
no effort. Were they thousand times
as great they had been performed with
with equal ease. But Jesus had pur-
pose i'll miracles, hence they all, with
Few exceptions, were i'll one direction.
From the abnormal TO the normal, from
tire wrong to the right, from weakness
TO strength, from detUrinity to perfec-
ton. lie would show through the mir
acle his method of reaching and recon-
Structing manhood. ii. re we find
Jesus performing his first miracle, and,
like the others, it has lessons beyond
itself. 1t is prophetic of the future.
1t is the keynote to the gospel
dispensation, 1t was perfoimed at
wedding feast. One of those
events eye, 80 full OF poetry and romance.
The oldest institution in the world.
Blessed OF heaven when a iielpmeet was
found for man in the fair bowers of
Enen. As full of interest for the young
man and maiden to-day as when Isaac
met Rebecca while walking in the field
at eyeltide, or Jacob met Rachel at
Laban's well. We find Jesus perf0rni-
ing his first miracle TO add to the joy of
a weddingfeast, participating himself
as guest IN It's gladneSs and innocent
mirti. What contrast between the
Old dispensation and the new, John the
Baptist and Christ, Mt. Sinai aud the
Mount of Beatitudes. The former sug-
gests thunder and lightning, terrific DIS
plays of divine power. 1t represents
authority, law, inexorable law. The lat
and JOY, hope and cheer. Christianity
is not ascetic. The old view OF
God filled men with fear. They were
like the little boy in the chamber in
The night of storm when lie wants
mamma to come and stay with him. She
says: Lie still. nv son, God is there
with YOU" But when the storm wakes
louder. and the lightning strikes the
chimney, the little f, How calls out:
"Mamha! Mamma! Won't you come
up here and stay with God. and let me
come down by the sitting room firt?''
He did not enjoy His company under
full mah enjoy the Sinaitic representa-
tions of God. but when divine love lnokS
out OF human eyes, and is felt by the
pressure OF human hand. we draw
near without fear and in the fullest
confidence. john the Baptist and
Elijah were not typical Christians.
Jesus was not an ascetic. He moved
about smong the people of all classes;
entering their homes He sought every
where 10 relieve their sorrows and i'll
crease their happiness. 1t is a mistaken
IDEA that to be a Christian one must
wear frial's hair, girdle and
long face. Christianity is joyful;
1t gladdens anu transforms and
gloriiies human life. The first miracle
of Moses turned water into blood;
ChriSt'S first miracle turned it into wine.
HeI. is ever turning. the water of human
misery irtO Joy aid gladneSS, What a
lesson of unselfiSfineSs. He would not
turn stones into bread to satisfy his own
piercing hunger, bur turns water INTO
WINE to relieve sorrow and perpeXity
al wedding feast. There he chose
first to manifest his glory. Note that
word. manifested. Itfimplies that the
power was there before. 1t had been
there for thirty years unknown to the
world. 1t was there in all the trivial
duties he had performed. as well as in
this miracle. So he would teach us
That God is in the natural as we'll as the
supernatural. God usually takes from
April to September to produce the
tempting clusters of grapes. They
come out of the earth. the air, the
sunshine, the dew and rain 10y slow
processes. Jesus gathered these eIe-
mtntS together in a moment, aud the
people wondered and called it miracle.
But it was only the visible display of
power always there. The extraordinary
only proved that the ordinary is divine.
That was the object of the miracle. 1t
was done 10 manifest forth his glory. To
the unedncated the lightning exists
only where it is seen. But the educated
know the subtle element is in the dew
drop and flower. as well. So GOd is
everywhere. Jesus CAME to reveal him.
He is our Father, and all we be breth-
rem.