The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-04-04


scenes of his earthly life are power
full appeals, but now his agony is
passed. He SORROWS no more, and no
more does he cry for sympathy, and
therefore there can be no response.
But this is too narrow; it is not Chris
tan, neither is it true. Was his suf-
fering of the body or of the soul?
Unless he has passed awayas myth,
unless he has ceased to be, he lives
somewhere and as really and truly
Jesus as when he lived in his human
body. Has the tragedy of the Cross
ceased9 In one form of it, yes, but
not all.
Break, o breaf, hard heart of mine!
Thy weak sef.loye ard guilty pride
| His PLATE and his Judas we're;
| Jesus our love is cruciied.
"Weak selflove and guilty pride"
cruelty him; Jesus is crucified afresh
every day. Not indeed in the old
brutal way, but in such ways as the
worlds ingratitude, hypocrisy and
wrong doing can pain his divine soul.
1t was not the nails, nor the spear
driven into his flesh that made the
agony of the Cross, but sin that made
men so cruel and base and wrong,
and wild with madness. 1t was
agony because he loved-loved the
better selves of men-and came to
save. Wheresoever he is now his
love is the same and is in travail I'M
til he shall have won all souls to
themselves and to their God. Sym
pathy is as precious to him now and
can reach him as readily as when
Mary anoiDted his body for burial,
We think, perhaps, too much of
his teachings and not enough of the
Teacher: we think toe much of the
healing and net enough of the ESealer:
we think too much of the benefits
and not enough of the Benefactor.
do this" he said, Gin remembrance
of Me-" "Come unto Me and ye shall
find rest" "Come unto Ne" is as
possible as when be lived in the flesh,
Remember me now, not as l was
simply, but as 1 am'-
The recognition of the fest that
Jesus is now, though unseen, in
tensely, divinely real, is of priceless
value. The recognition of the fact
that he is the same row as VIXEN he
spoke in the flesh, tender, mercjful,
forgiving; grand, glorious and divine,
is of all things most precious. The
recognition of the fact that he is ROW
in the world, is here in fh1fillment of
his promise to ocme-nct visible to
the eye indeed, nor sensible to the
touch, but none the less real for that
is the recognition of the vital power
of Christianity. Jesus lives = che
ever lives" low from the limitaE
tions of an earthly body hesnpoves att
will, and works everywhere in the-
church and out Of it, in the slums,
among the wretched, amid the sor-
rows, of broken hesgts, in tie great :
arenas where questions of social and
political matters are discussed, and
in the greater arenas where ideas are
in the test Of practical experiment.
He is here, and YOU nor l nor one
poor hunted and sorrewing soul need
walk alone, nor meet, the trials and
problems Of life without his compan-
ionshipl He is still the sin bearer
and the sorrow bearer0f the world
through the divine and humarasym
pathies- of his nature. He gives
freely, and as, tendertF' as when he
said, Go, and sin no more" and to
penitencs, Go in peace, thy sins are
forgiven" and to weeping sorrow,
"Thy brother shall rise again" He
both gives sympathy and asks Id to-
day. We. can, respond. Though we
see him not we do not throw our
words TO- the winds when we say,
"Oh, blessed Lord Jesus we strive to
appreciate thee, to feel, as thou dost
feel fo0 us all, and dOst struggle to
bring. all men to see and to knowthe
glory of thy salvation" SympatAet- |
icalIy we cry out,
Unjust Jesus bear the Cross alone,
And all the world go freea
No! there's cross foo every one,
And there's a cross for me-"
This is practical sympathy that
works bsavely, stand to the right
hsroically, bears the cross triumph-
antly. Weeping with those that
weep is but one side of sympathy;
we should rejoice with those who
rejoice. Out of this scene in Gehhsem-
ane comes the lesson of sympathetic
rejoicing as we'll as sympathetic sor
rowing. How calm was Jesus after
the struggle! "Sleep on now, take
your rest" The disciples should
bora haan awake To reioicA in this