Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1893-09-28
A COLOSSAL SCHEME.
DIR. TALMAeE PROPOSES AN INTER-
NATIONAL CHRISTIAN JUBILEE.

In Appropriate Observance of the Nine
teen Hundredth Anniversary of Christs
Birth Suggested In DIR. Talinage's sunday
Sermon at the Brooklyn Tabernacle.
BROOKLYN, Sent 2i.-At the Brooklyn
Tabernacle this forenoon Rev. DR.. Talmage
preached n sermon of unusual interest to n
jast audience, the subject being "The Nine
teen Hundredth Anniversary-A PROPOSE
lion Concerning It." The text was taken
from Isaiah tx, e, ITO us a child is born"
That is tremendous hour in che history
If any family when an immortal spirit is in
,arnated. Out of u very dark cloud there
lescends a very bright morning. One life
spared and another given. All the bells of
yladness ring over the cradle. l know not
Why any one should doubt that of old n star
,ointed down to the Saviour's birthplace,
lor a star of JOY points down to every hon
Drable nativity.
A new eternity dates from that hour,
that minute. Beautiful and appropriate is
the custom of celebrating the anniversary
of such an event, and clear on into the
Eighties and nineties the recurrence of that
day of the year in an old mans life causes
recognition and more or less congratula-
lion. So, also, nations are accustomed to
celebrate the anniversary of their birth
and the anniversary of the birth of their
great heroes or deliverers or benefactors.
The pod of February and the 4th of July
Ire never allowed to pass in our land with
put banquet and Grafton and bell ringing
and cannonade. But all other birthday an
uiversaries are tame compared with the
Christmas festivity, which celebrates the
birthday described in my text.
A CONTINENTAL CHORUS.
Protestant and Catholic and Greek
churches, with all the power of music and
garland and procession and doXology, put
the words of my text into national and
continental and hemisphere chorus, TO
Wis a child is born" On the 25th of Deem
per each year that is hetheme in St. Paul's
md st. Peters and st. Marks and st.
Isaac's and all the dedicated cathedrals,
ehapels, meeting houses and churches clear
round the world We shall soon reach the
nineteen hundredth anniversary Of that
happiest event of all time. This century is
dying. Only seven more pulsations and
It's heart will cease to beat. The fingers of
many of you will wife at the head of your
letters and the foot of your important
documents, 1900"
1t will be a physical and moral sensation
unlike anything else you have before eX-
perienced. Not one hand that wrote 1901"
1t the induction of this CENTURY will have
running left to write 1901" at the Undue
ton of another. The death of one century
and the birth of another century will DO
sublime and suggestive and stupendous be-
yond all estimate. TO stand by the grave
of one century and by the cradle 6 another
will be an opportunity such as whole gen
erations of the worlds inhabitants never
experienced.
pray God that there may be no sickness
or casualty to hinder your arrival at that
goal, or to hinder your taking part in the
valedictory of the departing century and
the salutation of the new. But as that se--
son will be the nineteenth hundredth an
niversary of u Saviour's birth Inow nomi-
nate that a great international jubilee or
exposition be opened in this cluster of cities
by the seacoast on Christmas day, the 25th
of December, 1900, to he continued for at
least one month into the year 1901.
This century, closing Dec. 81, 1900, and
the new century beginning Jan. /, 1901
will it not be time for all nations to turn
aside for n few weeks or months from
everything else and emphasize the birth of
the greatest being who ever touched our
planet, and could there be a more appro-
pirate time for such commemoration than
this elimination Of the centuries which are
dated from his nativity? You know that
all history dates either from before Chris.
or after Christ, from b. c. or A. ID. 1t will
be the year of our Lord 1900 passing into
the year 1901. We have had the Centen-
NAL at Philadelphia, celebrative of the one
hundredth anniversary of our nations
birth. We have had the magnificent expo
eitions at New Orleans and Atlanta and
Augusta aud St. Louis.
We have the present Worlds exposition
at Chicago, celebrative of the four hun
1redth anniversary of this continents emer-
gence, and there are at least two other great
celebrations promised for this country, and
other countries will have their historic
events to commemorate, but the one event
that has most to do with the welfare of all
nations is the arrival of Jesus Christ on
this planet, and all the enthusiasm ever
witnessed at London or Vienna or Paris or
any of our American cities would be eclipsed
by the enthusiasm that would celebrate the
ransom of all nations, the first step toward
the accomplishing of it being taken by an
infantile foot one winters night about five
miles from Jerusalem when the clouds
uTOpptu INC itllStllC
in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
to men"
ITS PRACTICAL ASPECTS.
The three or four questions that would be
asked me concerning this nomination OF
time and place proceed to answer. What
practical use would come of such interna-
tional celebrations Answer-The biggest
stride the world ever took toward the evan
geliZation Of all nations. That is a grand
and wonderful conyocation, the religious
congress at Chicago 1t will put intelli-
gently before the world the nature of false
religions which have been brutalizing the
nations, trampling womanhood into the
dust, enacting the horrors Of infanticide,
kindling funeral pyres for shrieking vic
Tins and rolling juggernauts across the
mangled bodies of their worshipers
But no one supposes that any one will be
converted to Christ by hearing Confucian-
ism or Buddhism or any form of heather,
Ism eulogized. That is to lie done after
ward. And how can it so well be done as
by IA celebration of many weeks of the birth
and character and achievements of the
wondrous and unprecedented CHRISTI Tc