The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-11-28
THE LIFE HEREAFTER.
A Discourse to the Unitarian Society OF
Austin, Texas, by Rev. Il. M.
Wheelock.

The old Hebrew phrase descriptive of
death was this: HE was gathered to
his fathers" The dead pass from our
sight indeed, but are neither dissolved
nor destroyed. They are gathered to
their fathers. They part from our
touch and sight, but that separation from
those we love means to them reunion
with those to whom they are akin by
old ties of time. Husbands and wives
return to the children who had pre-
viously ''passed on" children joyfully
welcome the parents from whom death
had sundered them, and those whom
we call the departed feel no sense of
bereavement, for they stand within the
larger family circle and taste its warm,
welcome, sympathy and love. Thus is
each man or woman of the globe taken
tenderly in charge on passing through
their nearest of kin, and who cherish to-
ward them the affectionate memories
of old relationship. The highest and
the lowest share the same attendance
and sympathy. In that world remain
no distinctions of the artificial life that
rules here.
Death is the departure of life-not the
destruction of life. Life is not destroyed,
though we feel no more the pressure
of the loving hand, and hear no more
the accents of the gentle voice. We
place within the earth with all tender
reverence the mortal casket that so re-
Gently contained the jewel, life. Our
hearts are full of natural sorrow, yet not
of hopeless sorrow. The life that has
parted from us has not fallen into moth
ingness. Life is stronger than death,
and survives every change.
Death never enters any home without
leaving behind it a tenderness sweeter
and love stronger than it found therein.
If we do not make our earthly life de-
structive of love, be sure that death will
neither destroy our love for others, nor
the love of others for us. Never yet
did man feel a true love which death
did not touch to hallow, to enlarge, to
finite, and who shall say it is dearly pur-
chased even at the price of that great
change which we call death. Life could
never be enriched with it's deepest ten
derness and it's most unseltish and pathet-
ic moods were not called upon to bid
each other fearful goodbye"
The body of man is a miracle of COM
pick and delicate organization. 1t is
the nimble and facile instrument of the
soul 1t is the y-chambered house in
which the spirit dwells for time in the
material world. This body is made by
the in-dwelling spirit and is the servant
of spirit. 1t is not the creator, but the
creative stuff. 1t is not power, but the
channel of power. 1t is not life, for life
is spirit, but ii is used by life as its mate
rial and base. The spirit of man is in
the human form. The spirit thus gives
form to the body which grows as the
spirit grows. The body has no life which
the spirit does not give to it. There IS
no more power i'll the elements OF matter
which make up our bodies-the carbon,
nitrogen and phosphorus-to organize
themselves into a living body-to make
brain and muscle. nerve and bone, than
there is in the clay in our hillsides to
mould itself into bricks and in
the bricks to arrange themselves
into house. 1t is the spirit which
weaves the material garment around 1t
as it is the man who forms the clay into
bricks and then reforms the bricks into
his dwelling. Man not only has spirit
he is a spirit, and that spirit is always
in the human form. 1t is the spirit that
gives form to the body, shapes 1t INTO IT'S
own image and likeness and holds 1t
such while life lasts. When the man
leaves his body the eye can no longer
see, or the ear hear, or the brain think.
So the organism falls to pieces and the
body soon disappears. This body OF fesh
grows slowly, has many ailments and
illnesses, and the limits of its capacity
to receive life and power from the spirit
are soon reached. Its delicate mechanism
is easily deranged. 1t is like veil to the
senses, glove TO the hand. AS it grows
infirm or old, the body becomes an en-
cumbrance; SO the spirit frequently be
gins to discard it years before death,
and to gradually separate itself from
its enfeebled companion. When that sep
aration is complete it is called death.
1t is the will of God and the law of Ma
ture that these external bodies be laid
aside when the spirit is to enter upon
the next phase of fife. For our existence
here is that of the embryo. A man is
not completely born till he is dead. All
who tabernacle here must put off the
outer shell.
Why, then, make we such ado when a
nov, ,.tr ~ ." "dHr.' - 10 upper
society of man? There is no destruction no