Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1894-11-08
DIGEST OF SERMON BY REV. :
r. MASON, NOV 4, 1884

Re himself stood in the midst OF
them. Luke, "a; Sc.
Jesus stood in the midst of his dis
ciples when they least expected him.
Stead wrote book with the title. III
Chris. came to Chicago" He SAYS the
original concept came to him through
poem of James Russell Lowell's.
The first stanza reads;
Said Christ, our Lord. II will 90 and see
How the meu, My brothers, Believe in Me- -
He passed not again through the gate Of birth.
But made himself known to the children of
Earth.
He was received with great pomp by
priests and kings. They We'd with
each other in doing him honor. The
most elegant mansions were thrown
/ open 10 him. like Vanderbilts on 9Th
Ave. Receptions were given. feasts
were sl,read. He was led through ca.
thedrals and churches; he heard the
great organs open their throats and
pour out his praises in floods. He saw
magnificent judgment halls and palaces
and heard that all these were built in
his honor. Was he elated? No. as
they led him, he weRt with his head
bent down in sorrow. He had a keen
sense of hearing and he heard beneath
the foundation stones the groans of
men. o. what have you done?
Have We founded your thrones and affairs, then.
On the bodies and souls Of living menu
Have commissioned you
TO build thrones aud affairs and iudg-
ment halls ard palaces aud great pipe
organs? No. | have commissioned
you 10 build images, images of myself.
You are to be scuIptors. The material
on which you are to work is human
beings. Have you been about itp
Then Christ sought out an artisan
low-browed, stunted, haggard man;
And a motherless girl whose fingers thin
Pushed from her family want and sin.
These set he In the midst of them,
And as they drew back their garments hem
For fear of dehlement. 40, heren said Re
THE limoges you have made of Me-"
What if Christ should come into this
church this morning. Hear the door
open; hear footsteps IN the social room.
He enters and walks up the aisle. l
would just as we'll stop; no one now
hears any thing say.
Everybody wonders what he thinks of
these things. He is the man in whose
honor they are built. See, Lord, what
we nave done. We have built this
house in your name; this organ. car
pet, etc. we have provided in your
service. We have spent hundreds of
dollars in your name. Did | tell YOU
10 do this? No, but we thought you
meant it told you to build images,
images of myself and to use human
beings as the material, build them out
of human beings.
Yes, Lord, but workman must have
tools, he must work by means. When
the carpenter builds the house, he has
his saw and hammer and plane and
augar, etc. He puts up scaffolding
about the house. This brick house,
these Seats, this csrpeting, this organ,
this freseoing, these stained windows,
etc, are the tools and scatfolding with
which we are to work.
Well, what are you doing with themP
How do they work? Are they accom-
plishing the purpose? Are they as hit
instruments as the carpenters tools
and scaffodingp Do you succeed as
well with our instruments as he does
with his?
Yes, we came here TO worship and
we take CREST comfort in TINS pleasant
room with its furnishings, unless there
happens to be no fire or 100 much fire.
But who finds satisfaction in tools ex-
eept as efficient instruments? Does
this Church with its furnishings accom-
plish its purpose? How many human
beings are there in this city III whom
the likeness of Christ does not appear?
Itmay be that this building, and this
organ and carpets are standing be-
tween the gospel and these souls; hind
RANGES instead of helps. see men on
the streets every day thst have never
seen inside of the church.
Or possibly, these things are wall
adapted to their purpose, but
you are not using them.
A carpenter rams up bis scatfolding
around the unfinished building aud
then he goes up and sits down on it and
spreads his tools around him and adj