The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-05-05
REV. DIR. TALMAGE
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE
NOTED DIVINE.
Subject: "An Everyday Christ"


dener."-John TX. Is.
Here are Mary Magdalene and Christ, jus
after His resurrection. For 1000 years
grim and ghastly tyrant had been KILLING
people and dragging them into his cold pal
ace. He had a passion for human skulls
For forty centuries he had been unhinderet
in his work. He had taken down kings ant
queens and conquerors and those without
fame. In that cold palace there were
shelves of skulls and pillars Of skulls and
altars of skulls and even the chalices at the
table were made OF bleached skulls. To the
skeleton of Abel he had added the skeletons
of all the ages, and no one had disputed his
right until one Good Friday, about 1867
years ago. as near as l can calculate it, a
Mighty Stranger came to the door Of that
awful place. rolled back the door, and went
in, and seizing the tyrant, threw him to the
pavement and put upon the tYrant's neck
the heel Of triumph.
Then the Mighty Stranger. exploring all
the ghaetly furniture OF the place and walk.
ing through the labyrinths, and opening the
dark cellars of mystery and tarrying under
roof the ribs OF which were made OF human
bones-tarrying for two nights and clay,
the nights very dark and the day very dis
NAL, He seized the two chief pillars OF that
awful palace and rocked them until 1t began
to fall, and then, laying hold OF the ponder.
Gus front gate. hoisted 1t from its hinges and
marched forth crying, II am the resurrec-
ton." That event we celebrate this Easter
morn, Handelnn and Beethoven miracles
OF sound added to this floral decoration
which has set the place abloom.
There are three or four things which the
world and the church have not noticed In re.
gard to the resurrection of Christ. First,
our Lord in gardeners attire. Mary Mag
dalene. grief struck, stands by the rified sar-
cophagus of Christ and turns around, hop
ing she can find the tracks of the sacrilegious
resurrectionist who has despoiled the grave,
and she finds some one in working apparel
come forth as II 10 water the flowers or up
root the weeds from the garden or set 10 re-
climbing the falling vine-some one In
working apparel, His garments, perhaps.
having the sign Of the dust and the dirt OF
the occupation.
Mary Magdaene, on her face the rain OF a
fresh shower OF weeping, turns to this work
man and charges him with the desecration
of the tomb, when, 10! the stranger responds,
flinging His whole soul into one word which
trembles with all the sweetest rhythm OF
earth and heaven. saying, "Mary!" In that
popularity Of accentuation all the incognlto
fell off, and she found that instead OF talking
with an humble gardener Of Asia Minor, she
was talking with Him Who!owns all the hang
ing gardens Of heaven. Consultations the
clusters OF forgetmenots, the sundower the
chief OF all, the morning sky and midnight
aurora, flaring terraces of beauty. blazing
Ikea summer wall with coronation roses
and giants of battle. Blessed and glorious
mistake OF Mary Magdalene! "She, suppos-
ing Him to be the gardener" What does
that mean? It means that we have an every
day Christ for everyday work in everyday
apparel Not on Sabbath morning in our
most seemly apparel are we more attractive
to Christ than we are IN our everyday work
dress, managing our merchandise, shifting
our anvil, plowing our field, tending the n.y.
ing shuttles, mending the garments for our
household, providing food for our families
or toiling with weary pen or weary pencil or
weary chisel. A Aworking day Christ in work
ing day apparel for us In our everyday toll.
Put it into the highest strain OF this Easter
anthem. "Supposing Him to be the gardener" "
II Christ had appeared at daybreak with q
crown upon His head, that would have
seemed to suggest especial sympathy for
monarchs. If Christ had appeared in chain
of gold and with robe diamonde1 that would
have seemed to be especial sympathy for the
afluent. If Christ had appeared with SOL
dier's sash and sword dangling at His side,
that would have seemed to imply especial
sympathy for warriors. But when / lind
Christ in gardeners habit, with perhaps the
flakes Of the earth and OF the upturned soil
upon His garments, then spell it out that
He has hearty and pathetic understanding
with everyday work and everyday anxiety
and everyday fatigue.
Roll it down in comfort all through these
aisles. A working day Christ in working
day apparel. Tell it in the darkest corridor
of the mountain to the poor miner. Tell 1t
70 hn oi6 IN III a
establishment at Lowell or Lancaster. Tell
it to the clearer Of roughest new ground in
western wilderness. Tell 1t to the sewing
wo ran, a stitch in the side for every stitch
In the garment, some OF their cruel en-
ployers having no right to think that they
will get through the door OF heaven any
more than they could through the eye Of n
broken neelle which has just dropped on the
bare floor from the pricked and bleeding
fingers of the consumptive sewing girl.
Away with your talk about hypostatic union
and soteriology Of the council OF Trent and
the metaphysics of religion which would
freeze practical Christianity out of the world,
but pass along this gardeners coat to all
nations that they may touch the hem OF it
and feel the thrill Of the ChristlY brother
hood. Not supposing the man to be Caesar.
not supposing Him to be Socrates, but "sup-
posing Him to be the gardener"
Oh, that is what helped Joseph Wedgwood,
toiling amid the heat and the dust Of the
potteries, until he could make for Queen
Charlotte the first royal table service of Eng
lish manufacture. That was what helped
James Watt, scoffed at and caricatured until
he could put on wheels the thunderbot Of
power which roars by day and by night in
every furnace Of the locomotive engine OF
America. That is what helped Hugh Miller.
toiling amid the quarries Of Cromarty, until
every rock became to him volume OF the
worlds biography, and he found the foot
stems of the Creator in the old red sandstone.
Oh, the world wants Christ for the office,
Christ for the kitchen, a Christ for the shop,
Christ for the banking house, Christ for
the garden, while spuding and irrigating the
territoryl Oh, of course we want to see
Christ at last in royal robe and bediamonded,
a celestial equestrian mounting the white
horse. but from this Easter OF 1897 to our
last Easter on earth We most need to see
Christ as Mary Magdalene saw Him at the
daybreak, "supposing Him to be the gar
dener."
Another thing which the church and the
world have not noticed in regard to the res
direction of Christ is that He made His first
post mortem appearance to one who bad been
the seven devied Mary MaGdalene. One
would have supposed He would have made
His first posthumous appearance to woman
who had always been illustrious for good
ness.
There are sanity women who have always
been saintly-saintly in girlhood, sanity in
infancy, always sanity. In nearly all OUT
families there have been sanity aunts. Iu
my family circle it was sanity aunt Phebe
in yours sanity aunt Martha or sanity aunt
Ruth. One always sanity. But not so was
the one spoken Of in the text.
While you are not to confound her with
the repentant courtesan who had made her
long locks do the work OF towel at Chrlst's
foot washing, you are not to forget that she
was exercised OF seven devils. What q capt.