The herald., 1895-12-30
YESTERDAY At THE CHURCHES
Some of the Sermons Delivered
in Different PuIpits
REV. BISHOP MONTGOMERY
"Al Things Were Created For Gods
Honor and Glory"
REV. BISHOP MONTGOMERY
I. s. Thomson at Unity-Cilnrch OF the New
Era-Other Services and General
Church Notes

Bishop Montgomery preached at the
cathedral yesterday morning from the
text, ''But when the fulness of the time
was come God sent His son that
He might redeem them who were under
the law, that we might receive the adop-
ton of Sons. Gal. Iv-5.
The bishop said: Livery one knows the
power for good that there is in proper
knowledge of ones own importance, oil
one's real powers and OF a noble purpose.
at is only ignoble minds that place no
value upon pure blood and an honorable
ancestry: and it is only the Christian faith
that teaches man at the same time true
humility and the real dignity of his being,
the noble destiny to which he should
aspire and for which he should strive to III
himself. There are those who seem salts
fed with no nobler ancestry Than mere
animal or earthly fatherhood. and with no
higher purpose in life than merely
natural one that is presumed to END with
this earthly existence. For Christians
there are higher ideals.
"The few words OF the inspired eplstle
lust read furnish these ideals. They
teach the divine sonship of Jesus Christ,
and tell us that we are his brethren, and
that consequently we. TOO, are sons OF Gou
by adoption. These are the lessons
which the holy season of Christmas presses
upon mans consideration: and for one
who understands the spirit and the genius
of the church. this holy season is one OF
the most fruitful of the whole eccleslasil-
cal year.
1.-THE church teaches not alone by her
catechetical instructions and by her clear
dogmatc and moral truths. but she teaches
most effectively these same truths by
means of her ritual, by her ceremonial III
the cycle of her liturGica feasts.
s.TOr tho Christian. ,lpslIs Christ, true
God and true man, stands as the central
figure in the worlds history. For the
Christian this world itself has a higher pur
pose than that of a mere theater for ami
NAL or even intellectual life. Regarded as
that alone it is great mistake, and ife's
riddles are interminable.
"All things we're created for Gods honor
and glory, and in his beneficent will that
honor and that glory were TO accrue to him
by sharing his own eternal happiness with
his rational creatures. And furthermore,
In the inscrutable dispensations of God
man was permitted TO forfeit that high
destiny, the restoration to which demanded
the incarnation of the Son of God. There
fore it is that there is no other name I'M
der heaven given to man whereby we must
be saved;' whereby we may, all who wish
it, share in that restoration.
"These are the facts which the church
teaches her children during this holy sea-
yours, you are Christ's, and Christ's are
God's.'-1 Cor. ii:22.
Jesus Christ is born into the world sur
Ided by poverty and privation. but the
lie choir proclaim him in these sur
.a.-dings to be king of kings and Lord of
ords; and in these strange surroundings
le draws to himself not alone the humble,
Supplemented shepherds, but the intel
lectual world, represented by the magi or
the wise men. He grows to manhood in
obscurty and Unknown to the world. In
the words of his precursor, There hath
stood in the midst of you one whom you
know not
"But once his public life is begun dis
ciples follow him and become the fruit of
his lahors in their own faith and personal
sanctification and suffering. sons OF
adoption they became heirs indeed aud
'co-heirs with Christ of heaven The
then are his crown. He associated with
them when sinners, the church associates
them with him when saints. and hence it
is that around the festival of Christmas the
church commentaries the life and suffer-
ings of such great saints as st. Stephen,
the first martyr TO Christian faith St.
Stephen, whose blood converted Paul, the
prosecutor, into Paul the apostle: St.
Stephen, who had learned SO well his mas
ter's lesson. On the cross Christ prayed:
'Father, forgive them, they know not what
they do ST. Stephen, when being stoned
to death, eXclaims: Lord, lay not this sin
to their charge What lesson for this
age of ours!
Near The feast of Christmas the church
commentaries the beloved disciple, St.
John, who wrote his gospel to prove his
masters divinity. Near it, likewise, she
commentaries the holy innocenIs, who
through the hatred of Herod became uncon-
scious martyrs to that faith which was aft
erwards to be SO fruitful of grace in the
martyrs death.
In preparation for this holy festival she
reveals to us the life of his precursor, st.
John the Baptist. So do we see that
around the feast of Christmas, the church
weaves a crown for her divine Master, III
the memories most sacred in Christian his
tory. This we say, is her spirit and her
genius. II Christ came to save sinners and
associated with them while sinners; if. be-
coming saints. they form body OF adorn-
ing spirits around him in heaven, because
they are sons, heirs with him Of heaven !;
if we are told TO walk before him, he must
be pleased i'll our setting before ourselves
examples of those who. in human form
like ours. "have fought the good fight and
kept the faith" to animate lis with hope
that we too may persevere to the end.
Thus does the church teach, by object
lessons the most powerful, the divinity of
Jesus Christ, the redemption by him and
by him alone, and the fruit of that redemp-
ton exefnplified in the saints that have
loved and practised his holy precepts.