The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-12-05

buo Ou0 Ill WulCu bu0 WIlJoI biONOo
the existence of God to the presuma-
BILE satisfaction of the greatest skep-
tic, is to my mind the worst. Brush
ing aside the natural convictions OF
mems own hearts, the testimony of
our own personality; and the divine
revelation as it comes through
prophet, seer, and the Christ, the
unwise preacher takes his congrega
ton, yes, even the boys and girls,
into the depths of metaphysics till
we are lost in a maze SO bewildering
that he cannot show us the way,
though he may see it himself. The
apostle of iconoclasm, Ingersoll him
self, could not suggest more doubts
to the young mind in thirty minutes.
If ever faith seems triumphant
and the immortal life real, it is at
Easter, and yet l have seen in Uni
versalist churches the glory of the
day completely hidden by sermon
on Immortality from purely scien
tifc standpoint, with the old, old
story of the quickening earth, and
the chrysalis, and the butterfly. As
a boy, l used to say, "but the plants
die again, aud what becomes of the
butterfly" OF that same unhelpful
class is that Easter sermon consisting
of an elaborate statement and refuta-
ton of every possible surmise of the
skeptic as to possible deceit or Gre
dulity in the story of Christ's resur-
rection. Still worse was the Easter
| day when in one of our churches,
beautifully decorated for the occa-
sion, with he motto" Christ is Risen"
above the pulpit. l listened to a
STRIPPING who prefaced sermon on
evolution or some kindred theme
with the statement that "those who
believed in the Easter myth would
probably preach that day on the res
direction, but, for his part, he pre-
ferred something more practical" 1t
is needless to say he did not find our
church congenial For my own part,
1 have much sympathy with that
| Unitarian brother who wanted "his
preachers head we'll stored with a
| fund of knowledge which he had the
good sense to keep out of his ser
MONS"
But we dwell too long on the neg
alive side. The sermon that really
helps comes close home to mems
hearts and lives; it aims to reach
them where they live, to dignity
and glorify their lives by exalted
motive and God-directed service.
To this end the preachers word is
one of faith, grand, inspiring faith.
reasonable, to be sure, but faith al
ways. He combats error and skepti-
cism by preaching the great affirma-
tions of his own faith, and manifests
the strength of his belief by life
of trust. This faith is contagious.
1t spreads from the preacher to the
people and kindles the spiritual fires
on the affairs of the souls who listen.
He believes in something, and is not
so anxious so be broad that he be-
comes correspondingly shallow. The
preacher knows the merit of all the
greet religions of the world and the
purpose they serve, but he breaches
the religion of Jesus because it is to
him the grandest and best. Socrates,
Plato, Buddha. Confucius, are great,
but Jesus is the Son of God, first,
foremost, solitary. He knows many
an argument for Immortality, but he
oftenest bases his comfort on the
testimony of the deathless affections
of the human heart and Gods Bible.
Instead of ransacking all nature for
argument and analogy, he ever turns
to the words of Christ, "In my
Fathers house are many mansions"
Though he knows much of philoso-
ply and of the attributes of God as
seen in nature, he realizes that to
most men the only true conception
of God comes through that divinity
in the personality of Christ by which
he is able to say II and my Father
are one" Indeed it is all summed
up in a word: he breaches the Gospel,
he breaches Christ. And it is here
that every truly helpful sermon has
its root. Everything helpful radiates
from the Christ. "What humanity
needs" says Ian MacLaren, sis not
moods but motives. 1t is sick of
speculation. it longs for action. No
emotion in human experience has
been so masterful, none so faithful,
as the passion for Jesus. 1t has in
spired the churches, it has half saved
the world. Devotion to Christ is the
dynamic of religion"
In the light of history, how is it