The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-12-28
LESSON STORY.

Our human life has been compared
to meteor's flight, from cloud to cloud.
Impenetrable to our natural eyes are
both these clouds. No science or phil
osophy can tell US whence we have come;
no unaided human reason can penetrate
the veil which shrouds the realm OF
death.
But on the LIFE OF CHRIST the heart
OF Christendom has fixed its undying
faith as light that illumines the two
fold mystery. If the Life Of Christ is
true, all human life begins in God the
Father, and end it has none.
Luke. not less than three-score
years after the close of Christ's earthly
life, set about telling its story. He CLEAN
ed essential points from accredited re-
cords preserved among believers. He
based his story also largely. we assume,
on the testimony he had himself in his
earlier years received from the eye-wit-
nesses. He declared it to be his pur-
pose to write the things which were
"most surely believed" by his fellow
Christians at the time of his writing.
Luke, as this book and its sequel the
book of Acts, abun dainty prove. was an
educated, discriminating and skillful
writer.
He begins his Gospel, Immediately
after the dedication, by reproducing
traditional account of the births of john
the Baptist and of Jesus. That he quot
ed this story is apparent to scholars in
the fact that, while his own writing in
the dedication is in classic Greek, this
writing luke l, q is in the idiomatic
language of the Jewish writer's of that
age. Luke wrote his Gospel. we recall,
at period when all the eye-witnesses
of these birth scenes had fallen into the
final silence. The story was in Luke's
day tradition; Luke believed it and adj
opted it; this is the natural explanation
OF it's appearance in Luke's Gospel.
The merit of this unique tradition is
this: 1t clothes with visibility the COM
mon Christian faith that these lives, es-
pecially the life of Jesus, had peculiar
Divine beginning.
1t was then, as it is now, the common
faith of Christians that Jesus was di-
vinely sent into this world; that angelic
beings had provision of his coming; that
heaven Was, in exceptional degree, about
him in his infancy. 1t is the Christian
faith that, as believers are privileged
with glimpse Of heaven at the end OF
his mortal life, in his spiritual reap
searancss, 80 they are privileged with
a glimpse into the heavenly counsels
before se was born. That he should
be peculiarly born, In respect to divine
and angelic provision, seems to many no
more wonderful than that he should be
peculiar in his death to the degree that
he C uld, at certain seasons, be still per-
sonally present with his disciples.
The beautiful old story pertains to the
border-land OF the earthly and the hea-
venly. Where the dividing line is. who
of us can tell? To reduce everything to
tuo itN6t VI tuo CiOut dIO OOu1 q
spiritual significance to all marvellous
occurrences may not be the truest sci
ence or the highest earthly wisdom.
Our lesson STORY Ct nfessedly pertains
TO a realm we cannot at present scientif-
ically explore. Yet it is worthy of study
for its marvels. its mysteries. its spiritu-
al suppeetiyeness,
L. Concerning the Childless
Home of Zacharias and Eliza
beth,-vs. ST
We have in the scriptural narrative
first an indirect glance into the priestly
home of the parents of the yet unborn
John the Baptist.
The time is when Herod the Great the
founder of the family Of Herode, is still
by favor of Rome king of the Jews. Her
cd is not by birth Jew, but descen-
dant of Esau. His royalty is naturally
CALLING TO Jewish patriotism. He lie
now old; his blood-stained reign is near
ing it's end.
We are told that Zacharias was a
priest Of the course Tor class) of Abiiah.