The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1891-01-29
AMONG THE HOLY HILLS.
A Day Amid the Scenes Where
Jesus Spent His Boyhood.
Sermon by Rev. T. Dewitt TaImage De-
scriptiSe of Nazareth and Its As
sociations in Connection with
the Life of Jesus.

New York City, from the text:
He came to Nazareth, where he was
brought up.-Luke iV., IT,
What a splendid sleep 1 had last
night in Catholic convent, my first
sleep within doors since leaving Jeru-
salem, and all of US as kindly treated
IS though we had been the Pope and
his College of Cardinals passing that
way. Last evening the genial sister
hood of the convent ordered hundred
bright-eyed Arab children brought out
to sing for me, and it was glorious!
This morning come out on the steps
OF the convent and looked upon the
most beautiful village of all Palestine,
its houses of white limestone. Guess
its namel Nazareth, historical Naza-
roth, one of the trinity of places that
all Christian travellers must see or feel
that they have not seen Palestine,
namely, bethlehem, Jerusalem, Naza-
reth. Babyhood. boyhood, manhood of
Him for whom believe there are fifty
million people who would now, if it
were required, march out and die,
whether under axe or down in the floods
or straight through the fire.
All Christ's boyhood was spent in
this village and it's surroundings.
There is the very well called THE
Fountain of the Virgin" to which by
His mothers side He trotted along hold
ing her hand. No doubt about it; it is
the only we'll in tie village, and it has
been the only we'll for three thousand
years. This morning VIC visit it, and
the mothers have their children with
them now as then. The work of draw
ing water in all ages in those countries
has been women's work. Scores of
them are waiting for their turn at it,
three great and everlasting springs roll
ing out into that we'll their barrels,
their hogsheads of water in floods glori-
ously abundant. The well is sur
rounded by olive groves and wide
spaces in which people talk
and children wearing charms
on their heads as protect
ton against the ''evil eye'' are playing,
and women with their strings of coin on
either side of their face, and in skirts
OF blue, and scarlet, and white, and
green, move on with with water Jars on
their heads. Mary. I suppose, almost
always took Jesus the boy with her, for
she had no one she could leave Him
with, being in humble circumstances
and having no attendants. do not be-
lieve there was one of the surrounding
fifteen hills that the boy Christ did not
range from bottom to top, or one cavern
In their sides He did not explore, or one
species of bird flying across the tops
that He could not call by name, or one
OF all the species of fauna browsing on
those stee ps that He had not recognized.
You see it all through His sermons. If
. man becomes public speaker, in his
orations or discourses you discover his
early whereabouts. What boy sees
between seven and seventeen always
sticks to him. When the Apostle Peter
breaches you see the fishing nets with
which he had from his earliest DAYS
been familiar. And when Amos deliv-
ers his prophecy you hear in it the
bleating of the herds which he had in
boyhood attended. And in our Lords
sermons and conversations you see all
THO phases of village life and the
mountainous life surrounding it. They
raised their own chickens in Nazareth.
and in after time He cries: 30
Jerusalem Jerusalem how often
would l have gathered thee
as hen gathereth her chick
ems under her wingsI" He had
seen His mother open the family ward
Fnha n{ al 1f
moth millers flying out, having de-
stroyed the garments. and in after
years He says: Lay not up for your
selves treasures on earth where moth
doth corrupt" In childhood He had
seen mile of flowers, white as the
snow, or red as the fame, or blue as the
sea, or green as the e-tops, and no
wonder in His manhood sermon He said:
Consider the lilies" While one day
On a high point where now stands the
tomb of Neby Ismail. He had seen wing
ing past Hin so near as almost to furry
His hair the partridge, and the hoopoe,
and the thrush, and the osprey, and
the crane, and the raven, and no
wonder afterward in His manhood SER
mon He said: Behold the fowls of the
air. In Nazareth and on the road to
it there are great many camels. |
see them now in memory making their
slow way up the zig-zag road from the
plain of Esdraelon to Nazareth. Famil-
lar was Christ with their appearance.
also with that small insect the gnat
which He had seen His mother strain
out from a cup of water or pail of milk.
and no wonder He brings afterward the
large quadruped and the small insect
into His sermon and, while seeing the
Pharisees careful about small sins and
reckless about large ones, cries out:
"Woe unto you blind guides which
straia out gnat and swallow camel.
lie had in boyhood seen the shepherds
get their focks mixed up, and to one
not familiar with the habits of sben-
herds and their focks. hopelessly mixed
up. An6 sheep-stealer appears on
the scene and dishonesty demands
some of those sheep when ho owns not
one of them. WELL" say the two
honest shepherds I'VE will soon settle
this matter" and one shepherd goes
ore direction and the other shepherd
frpng ont in annkhnp d;woo+;a. 81 ~