Arizona republican., 1899-05-28
OUR SUNDAY SERMON
By Rev. Thomas T. ELEans pas9or of the wainu! Street Baptist
 Church, louisville lay.
"AS A LFAF."

e.. 6.
 From the earliest historic times peo- pie have placed flowers on the gravss
 Of their dead. flowers which symbolize
 the tcluty and frailty Of human life.
 As the loved cnes, whose memories ars
 cherished, have faded and Withered, so
 these flowers, placed above their i graves, fade and wither, telling the
 story Of human life
 Flowers are but leaves, the botanisJs ] tell Us, and every leaf teaches the great lessons cf CEr earthly existence i As we gather on Decoration day to ] place fair leaves upon the graves of i our heroic dead, t is fitting that we should consider the lessons of the leaf to cur souls.
 1-Leaves soon fade. Bright and beautiful for a season, the frOsts and blasts s0cn wither them and sweep them away. The generations of men are like the successive generations of leaves, which pass away with the sea- son, while the great tree of humanity remains to bear other leaves, which shall pass away in their turn h our texC. the prophet is reminding the world of the brevity Of human life. 2-Leave3 work faithfully in their ap9cinted places, teaching us to be content with our lot in the world. There is among the leaves 10 wili scramble to reach the t0DmOst branches: no refusal to work because Of the places they occupy. Wherever they are on the tree. they cheerfujly turn their bright faces tc the sun md faithfully do the work appointed them. There are no enyies and iesI0usies among the leaves Those on the upper br2nChes Go not array themselves or F-, these below complain of these above They all in their several places. work together in beautiful harmony fer the upbuilding cf the tree.
 Why may not cur lives be like that? Wherever. We are. whatever eur lot. let Us labor heartily and gladly to build I'D the gTeac tree Of humanity. to ben eft the world and to glcIify God. The tree needs t5le iTCrk of every leaf, and would be sadly m2rrad If Cnly the leaves Cn the tc1nost branches did their work \ leaf in the humblast place does as good and as lasting work as does tba leaf in the highest and sunniest pace. Oh. to be '.as 2 leaf in this.
 3-Leaves purify the atmosphere by absorbing the caTb9lic acid gas and giving CG oxygen. They take away what is n0xi1Cs and furnish what is' health giving. V hat iljuEes man they remove and they supply what he ps him instead. To ba "as 9 leaf then, gre must purify the worlds atmosphere by removing whatever in5uTes men. Alas! how many hurtfuI things there are il the w5Tld--dTinkiEg, gambling, imDuIiJy, selHshness, dishonesty, ha1Ted-it is q long black catalogue.
 It is the work of the leaves Cn the
 
 by the blessing of God, and b impart instead the faith, hope and love; peace, joy, righteousness, justice, mercy and tTueh; and all the bright catalogue Of blessings
 E-The leaves work ce2selessIy. Not 9 moment CT their brief existence is l lest. Every hour finds them dCing their work with all inc energy of their being. There is 10 leaving their posts for a season. nc |Te-2xItion Of tbair unfinished TcrA. The season is 100 short for idleless. Their work will not be OTard0ne if they do their best Need I make the application? Shall l we not all ba ''as 9 leaf' il making the utmost Of our opp3r ,unities? In 1 view of the great wcTk before Us, Of ] the shCTtness Of our lives and of the i weakness Of our powers, shall we rog | make every hour Tedolent Of ssrYiae, ] fearing, most of al. lest lhe coming ! night cf death shall find cur work uI- ! done?
 We honcr our solGizr dead precisely 1 beca1se of tAeir faithful srvice to i their country. They faced danger and ! weIccmcd death in order that they l might i 0 their duty. This is what Ouf Cherishing their memory means. This | i5 what relG-rs t fitting that we should put flowers each season upon ! their graves, and keep their memories ever green il car hearts.
 5-Thc lEav-s work uusclis1ly. They absorb the carbon from the air, not that they may retain it for themselves, but that they may give t to the tree What an unSightly and useless thing Q leaf would be that retained all the carbon it could get. and gathered only co use upon itself. It would be swollen, heavy and unsightIy. and would soon fall from it's place to the ground to perish.
 Neither dces the leaf k-ep the oxy- gen it gathers, but gives it off that men and animals may breathe ic and be strong. Constantly and unselishIy aOcs the leaf work Un, gathering car ban for the tr5e and oxygen fer man kind, and thus ceaz eleSsly l2b0ring for the bstterEelt of the world. What 9 -ebuke GO the leaves administer to the 5rssping, ss-f-seeking spirit we see