The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-04-23

Us at last he will not throw mp to us whaS
Mary" Many people having met her
under such circumstances would have
said: Let me see. how many devils did
you have2 One, two. three, four. five. siA.
seven. What a terrible piece you were
when / first met you" The most of the
Christian women in our day would have
nothing TO do with Mary Magdalene. even
after her conversion. lest somehow they
be compromised The only thing I have
TO say against women Is that they have
Christ put all pathos. and all rerninis-
cence, and all anticipation. and all pardon.
and all comfort. and all heaven into one
word Of four letters. Mary Mark you.
beth. or Bible Hannah. or Bible Esther. or
Bible Deborah. or Bible Vashti. but to
ing was said. not to Mary. the mother &.
Jesus. not TO Mary. the mother OF James,
not 10 Mary. the sister Of Lazarus. but to
a seven deviled Mary.
There is a man seven d~eviled-devil OF
avarice. devil of pride. devil Of hate. devil
OF incidence, devil OF falsehood. devil OF
take them all away. : or 30. | rode over
the new cantalever bridge that spans
Niagara bridge 600 feet long. so feet OF
chasm from blum to blum / passed over
il without any anxiety. Why? Because
twenty-five locomoties and twenty-five
cars laden with gravel had tested
the bridge, thousands OF people
standing on the Canadian side. thousands
standing on the American side to applaud
the achievement. And however long the
train OF our immortal interests may be.
We are to remember that Gods bridge OF
mercy spanning the chasm of sin has been
fully tested by the awful tonnage of ali
the pardoned sin of all the ages, church
militant standing on one bank, church tri-
umphant standing on the other bank.
Oh. il was to the seven deviled Mary that
Christ made his first post mcrtem appear
anCe.
There is another thing that the world
and the church have not observed in re-
gard to this resurrection, and that IS. il
was the morning twilight.
| EASTER DAWN.
! If the thermometer had been invented
and Mary had as good n watch as some
OF the Marys OF our time have. she would
have found it was $50 o'clock a. m.
Matthew says it was in the dawn. Mark
says it was at the sunrising. Luke says
it was very early in the morning. John
says it was while ii was yet dark. In
other words, it was twilight. That was
the O'Clock at which Mary Magdalene mis-
took Christ for the gardener. What does
that mean? 1t means there are shadows
over the grave unified. shadows OF mys-
terry that are lowering. Mary stopped
down and tried to look to the other end OF
the crypt. She gave hysteric cutlery. She
could not see to the other end OF the
crypt; nm . 20 ,,s o.,or end .,
the grave Of your dead. Neither can we
sec to the other end of our own grave.
oh. if there were shadows over the family
plot belonging to Joseph of Arimathea, Is
II strange 11aI tneTe S1OuIu De some Slldu-
ows over our family lot? Easter dawn.
not Easter noon.
Shadow of unanswered question:! Why
were they taken away from us? why
were they ever given to us If they were
to be taken SO soon? Why We're they
taken so suddenly? Why could they
not have uttered some farewell words:
Why? A short question. but a whole
crucifiXion of agony in 1t. Why? Shadow
on the graves of good men and women
who seemed TO die before their work was
dove CInJlu- IN Ill tho GRO NnG nf chill
dren because we ask ourselves why so
beautiful q craft launched at all if it was
to be wrecked one mile outside of the
harbor? But what did Mary MaGdalene
have to do in order to get more light on
that grave? She had only to wait. After
awhile the Easter sun rolled up, and the
whole place was flooded with light. What
have you and / to do in order to get more
light on our own graves and light upon
the graves of our dear loved ones? Only
to wait.
Charles V Of Spain with his servants
and torches went down into the vault of
the metropolis where his ancestors were
buried. and went deeper, farther on
until he came to a cross around which
were arranged the baskets of his an
cestors. He also found a casket contain
ing the body of one of his own family.
He had that casket opened, and there by
embalmer's art he found that the body
was as perfect as eighteen years before
when it was entOnbed. But under the
exploration his body and mind persisted.
Oh. my friends, do not let US morbidly
struggle with the shadows OF the sepulch-
er. What are we to- do? Wait. It Is not
the evening twilight that gets darker and
darker. 1t is the morning twilight that
gets brighter into the perfect day. l
preach it today. Sunrise over Pere lie
Chaise. sunrise over Greyfriars church
yard, sunrise over Greenwood, over Wood
lawn, over Laurel Hill, over Mount Au-
burn. over Congressional burying ground,
sunrise over every country graveyard,
sunrise over the catacombs. sunrise over
the sarcophagi, where the ships lie buried.
Half past 5 o'clock among the tombs
now, but soon to be the MONDAY Of ex-
PLANTATION and beautitude. 1t was in the
morning twilight that Mary Magdalene
mistook Christ for a gardener.
Another thing the world and the church
have not observed-that is, Christ y pa
thetic credentials. How do you know 1t
was not a gardener! His garment said
he was a gardener. The flakes of the up
turned earth scattered upon his garments
said he was a gardener. How do you
know he was not a gardener? All! Be
fore Easter had gone by q grave to some
Of his disciples his three credentials. He
showed them his hands and his side.
Three paragraphs written In rigid or de-
a scar in the left palm. a scar amid the
ribs-scars, scars. That is the way they
knew him. That is the way you and I
will know him.
Aye. am 1 saying this morning too
much when l say that will be one of tho
ways in which you and I will know each
other by the scars OF earth: scars of ac-
cident, scars OF sickness, scars OF persecu-
ton, scars of hard work. scars OF battle.
scars Of old age? When / see Christ's
resurrected body having scars. II makes
me think hat our remodeled and resur-
rected bodies will have scars. Why. be-
fore we get out Of this world some of US
will be covered with scars all over.
Heaven will not be a bay into which float
summer yachts after a pleasUung. with
the gay bunting and with the embroidered
sails as fair as when they were first un-
furled. Heaven will be more like a
navy yard where men-of-war come in
from Trafalgar and Lepanto. men-of-war
with masts twisted by a cyclone. men-of-
war struck on all sides by ~ pounderS
men-of-war with deck scorcfled of the
shell. Old Constitutions. old ConstellA n
tons. floating In discharged from service
to rest forever. In the resurrection
Christ credentiaied by scars. You anGf 1
will be credentialed and viii recognize
each other by scars. Do you think them
now a disagreement? Do you think them
now a badge OF endurance? / tell you the
glorious thought this morning. they are
going 10 be the means Of heavenly rocog-