Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-08-04
HYPOCRISY REBUKED
WHAT WAS 1T THAT CHRIST WROTE
! IN THE DUST?

SCopyrght, lSS, ny American Press ASso-
Ciationl
WAsruNGToN, July 3t.--In this dis.
course DR.. Talnangc gives heroic treatment
Of delicate subject and applies to mod
crn society the Lesson taught by Christ on
u memorable occasion; text, John wifi, g,
".Iosus stopped down and with his finger
wrote ON the ground. -
You must take your shoes or and put
on the especial slippers provided at the
door if you would enter TN Mohammcdan
mosque which stands now where once
stood Hcrod's temple, the scene of my
text SolUmon's temple had stood there,
but Ncbuchadnc22ar had thurdcrCd il
down. Icruhbabcl's temple had stood
there, but that had been Frustrated Now
we take our places in a temple that lIcrod
built, because he was fond Of great urchi-
lecture, and he wanted the preceding tenn
Pies to scum insignificant, Put eight or
ten modern cathcdrals together, and they
would not equal that structure. 1t Gov
cred ~ acres There were marble pillars
supporting roofs of cedar and silver tables
ON which stood golden cups, and There
were carvings exquisite and inscriptions
rcsplcndcnt glittcring balustradcs and
urnamcutcd gntcways. The huilding Of
this temple kept 10, OO0 workmcn busy 46
years.
In that etupcndous pile of pomp and
magniNccncc sat Christ, and u listening
throng stood about him when II lid dis
turhancc took place. a group Of mon arc
pulling and pushing along n woman who
had cumittcd crime against society.
When they have brought her in front Of
Christ, they ask that he sentence her 10
death by stoning. They are critical,
mcrcilcSS, disingcnuuus crowd. They
want to get Christ into controversy and
public apprehension. If he say, "Ict her
die, 80 they will charge him with cruelty
il he Let her 20, they will charge him with
being in completely with wichGdncss.
Whichever way he docs they would howl
at him.
Then occurs scene which has not been
sufficiently regarded. He leaves tho lounge
or bench on which he was sitting and goes
down on one knee or both knees, and
with the forcingcr OF his right hand he
begins 10 write in the dust of the floor,
word after word. But they were not to bc
diverted or hindcrcd. They kept on de-
handing TINT he settle this case of trans
erosion until he looked upand told them
they might themselves begin the woman :
assas sination if the complainant who had
never done anything wrong himself would
open the fire. eco ahead, hut be sure
that the man who llngS the first missile
Is immaculate Then he resumed writ.
ing with his finger in the dust of the floor,
word after word. Instead Of looking over
his shoulder to sec what ho had written,
the scouudrolS slulkCd away, Finally the
whole place is clear of purSucrs, antago-
nists and plaintiffs, and when Christ has
finished this strange chirugraphy in the
dust lie looks up and finds the woman all
alone
A Divine Judge.
The prisoner is the only ono OF the
courtroom left, the judges, the police, the
prosecuting attorney having cleared ont.
Christ Is victor, and he says to the woman:
Where are the prosecutors in this case?
Are they all gone; Then discharge you.
Go and sin no moro | have wondered
what Christ wrote on the ground. For do
You realize TINT Is the only time that he
ever wrote at alIf | know that Euscbius
says that Christ once wrote II letter to Alb
garus, the King Of Odessa, but there Is no
good evidence Of such u correspondence.
The wisc,t being tho world ever saw, and
the one who had more to say than any ono
who ever lived never writing "A book or u
chapter or Il paragraph or word on parch
mcutl Nothing but the literature of tho
dust, and one sweep Of n brush or one
breath of wind ohlitoratcd it forever.
Among all the rolls Of the volumes Of
the first library founded at Thchcs thcrp
WAS not one scroll of Christ. Among tho
zoo, OCO books of the AlrNandrnn library.
which by the infamous decree of Caliph
Omar were used rs fuel to heat the / 900
baths Of the city, not one sentence had
Christ pcnncd. Among all the infnitudo
Of volumes now standing In the libraries
of Edinburgh, the British museum or Der.
lin or Vienna or the learned repositories Of
all nations not one word written directly
py the finger Of Christ. All that he over
wrote lac wrote in dust, uncertain, shifting
dust.
My text says he stopped down and wrote
On the ground, Standing straight up II
man might write on the ground with "a
staff, but if with his fingers he would
write in the dust he must bend clear over.
Aye, he must get at least on one knee
or he cannot write on the ground. BE not
surprised that he stopped down. His
whole life was STOPPING down. STOPPING
down from castle TO barn. STOPPING down
from celestial homage to munocratic jccr
From residence above the stars TO where "A
IlllulnQ
place From hcayen's front door to the
world back gate. From writing in round
und silycrcd letters Of constellation and
galaxy on the blue scroll Of heaven to
writing on the ground in the dust which
the feet Of the crowd had left in Hcrod 5
temple If In january you have ever step.
ped out of u prince conservatory that had
Mexican cactus and magnolas in fun
bloom into the outside air, 10 degrees be-
low zero yon may get some idea Of
Christ S change Of atmosphere from coles
tinl 10 terrestrial How many heavens
thorc are ! know not, but there are ut least
three for Paul was "caUght mp into the
third heaven"
Christ came down from the highest
heaven to the second heaven and down
from second heaven to first heaven, down
swiitcr than mctcurs ever fell, down amid
stellar spcndOrs that himself CClipscd
down through clouds, through ntnos-
phcrcs through appalling space down TO
whore there was no lower depth. From
being waited on Mt the banquet Of the skies
70 the bruiling Of fish for his own break
fast on the banks Of the lake. From en-
blH2oncd chariots Of eternity to the saddle
of u mule back. From the homage che
rubic seraphic, arChangclic, to the paying
Of G2}4 cents Of tax TO Caesar. From tho
dcathlrss country to tomb built 10 hide
human dissolution. Tho upliftcd wave of
Galilcc was high, but he had to come down
before with his feet he could touch it, and
the whirlwnl that arose above tho billow
was higher yet but he had to como down
before with his lip he could kiss it into
quiet Bethlehem STOPPING down, MAJ
aroth u STOPPING down Death between
two burglars = STOPPING down. Yes, it