St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-03-27
FAILURE OF THE CHURCH.
Rev. William Wilkinson breaches
Sermoa for Holy Week.

ReF. William Wilkinson breaches
Sermon for Holy Week.
Yesterday the rector of st. Andrews
church, Rev. William Wilkinson,
preached in the morning upon the
words in the second lesson for the day:
"Sleep on now and take your rest"
After dealing with the time, place and
circumstances under which Jesus spoke
these forever memorable words to the
disciples, who had let pass unimproved
the opportunity of sympathiZing with
HIM and helping Him in the hour of his
heavy trial, he said:
81 dare say as we hear recital of those
very wonderful facts, some OF us say,
If / had been there sleep would have
been far from my eyes. | would have
done deeds and spoken words which
would have made the heart of the
Savior glad 1t is ever thus. When no
is 10 be had, hands are brave and hearts
are SIrOng.'
LET US see. Do you for one moment
think that these events of 1000 years
ago took place for that day and for that
time only? Nay; tell you truly that
here and now stands the Master, in His
appeal to His servants. He Is in the
men lie has made, in the children of
sin and of sorrow. in all the many and
varied problems which perpleX us.
There stands the Son of God.
and we, if we can Alright
read the signs of the times
and the needs of the hour, may clearly
see Him. What means the ever-present
cry of the poor? You say 1t means
vice and crime; it means drink and
shame and idleness. Suppose what you
say is true. 1t is not less true that the
worst prOdigalitY does not destroy hui
man brotherhood, if it increase human
need: and it can never give to you or to
me the right to be Judge of men, and to
shut the door OF our hearts to the appeal
of sorrow. When all is said Christ
speaks through the wants and the deep
warnings of sorrow which is not the
result of sin, or of prOdigality; the
fatherless and the widow; the vast
mass of men who, looking upon social
conditions as they are, are to their
deepest souls dissatisfied with things as
they are, knowing that the machinery
of life is out OF gear i'll some OF its parts,
and works i'll to many. 1t is OF no
use for the church to stop its ears.
1t is impossible to deny the facts, much
less is it of service to sleep in indiffer-
ence TO the call for love and sympathy
and help, for to do so is to be recreant
to duty, to deny the faith, and to be
worse than infidel. The needs, the
calls of men, the grief and sorrow, the
suffering and pain, ali are so many
mute but powerful appeals for help.
They are Gods voices to His servants
asking for assistance, and the man who
has it in his power and refuses to hear
and help in Judgment must stand
speechleSs. Look over the days past,
the years gone by; think what the
church could have done and been. She
could have had history which would
have shown respondent with the
charmed deeds of mercy which had
made glad the hearts of men.
AlaS with the Spirit to lead, the Bible
20 teach and the wants of men to urge
to duty, never has the church risen to
her high place, never has she filled her
mission. Too often she has discussed
personal honor, methods Of work, seat
folding and tackle, papal Supremacles,
points of CalviniSm, fine points or ritual
Methodist policy, church view and con-
gregational history-things about which
men outside the church do not care one
straw, and most men inside the church
are heartily weary of their very name.
Men have asked too often Tor bread ana
have had given them creed. They
have asked for fish and received a tract,
till half the Roman Catholic world is
careless, and half the Protestant world
is agnostic. The revealed religion of the
Bible, as interpreted by Christian peo-
pie, does not rule the world. All the
questions, How to Reach the Masses"
How to Reach Meng andthe like show
it. A glance at any daily newspaper
demonstrates all l say beyond doubt.
When, instead of falling asleep in
presence Of the worlds needs, we apply
the simple rules of Christ to them, do
as He would do. say as He would speak;
when we learn to know that all goodness
is good, and all from God, its front and
king; when we cast out the devil of
narrOWness and give to men perfect
liberty In all non-eSsential things
and absolutely refuse to call anything
essential which God has not clearly and
Enthusiastically labeled so; when we,
holding the verities of faith, yet know
that uniformity of vision is not to be
had, and that useful, helpful, devout
life is even better than faith, that men
who are good have all eternity to learn
we shall see in the church such a day
as men have never yet known"