The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-03

CTIRl0.JR1JENY



any star of hope and put it's seal upon
the tomb of Jesus SAYING make it as; as
assertion that God is nature and nature
is God, and Polytheism with Its gods
many ard Deism with its assertion that
mention of himself-au of these are
striving to seal the sepulcher of Jesus
and destroy the joyful truth of his res
direction; but to no avail. They cannot
satisfy the yearning soul; it escapes
from them as one suffocating fees for the
fresh air. Christ has broken the power
may look through the grave at another
door into that larger life that awaits the
liberated soul and alone can satisfy it's
longing The power of the life to come
is the greatest of all inspirations. In it
all injustice will be banished and evil
qualities leveled, and the oppressed lib
Life this side of the resurrection is but
the lesser half of life's story and onlv d
minor part of it's song of joy. They who
by living faith are savingly united with
shall sit with him on the throne Of his
glory. I'm, 49, % 49,.
Grass, ST. was the subject Of the sermon
Church Paulist by Rev. Father Mac
Cory. He took his text from the eighth
of the field" He said:
Christ says to US, Consider the lilies of the
field" Let measure them from petal to
root let us listen to the message; let US breathe
voices from their white tops The lilies are
the angels of the grass. the evangels OF the
skies. When the cataract speaks, II roars;
when the clouds speak, they thunder; when the
whirlwind speaks, ii screams but the lilies
when they speak, speak soft and sweet ana ana
field. not for the sake of sentlmentality. but
for the sake of grand and holy and helpful
Christian application
,7,oI 70 CHI how
God cared for the lilies and to draw the
conclusion that If his love so cherished
those flowers, it would also cherish and
guard those made in his image. Contnu-
ing. the preacher painted several beauti-
full word pictures of floral associations at
the marriage altar and at the grave. He
said in conclusion:
The lilies of the field the proofs of our
coming resurrection. That is why decorate
with them to-day; that is why st. Paul will
not permit to say the dead are buried He
always tells they are simply soWn. Had
not Christ burst from the tomb to-day we
should not have risen from the grave. Be-
cause Christ has risen we shall arise glorious
and immortal from our sleeping place Inc
cemetery is simply summer bower where
Gods children sleep to awake IN the glorles Of
that great Easter dawn, when Christ will come
up through the netted grass to the flowers and
will say, Arise, arise, ye have slept so long
we must be rested now"
The services at the Central Methodist
Church on Mission street was unique in
this one particular-that the crowd who
attended the morning service was solarge
as to fill every available inch of sitting
and standing room within the walls-so
great, indeed, that the pulpit was taken
possession of, barely leaving the pastor
room in which to stand while delivering
his sermon. Even with this, several had
to go away who could not find accommo-
dalton inside the doors.
The morning sermon was on THE
Empty Sepulcher," which the reverend
doctor portrayed to his congregation in
glowing colors and pathetic words. The
music, under the direction of j. j. Nor
ris, was exceptionally artistic, and the
floral decorations were beautiful and elab-
crate. The feature of the decorations was
huge cross composed entirely of Gala
lilies.
Dr. Locke's sermon was an argument
for the resurrection of Jesus. He said In
part, taking his text from Matthew,
Xxviii:6:
The domes and battlements of the city of
truth all ablaze to-day with Easter glory!
All hail the Easter morn! Because Of the tri-
umphs of that first Easter morning many dark
clouds have been trimmed with gold and lined
with silver; many tears have glistened with
eternal hone, and life itself is crowned with
Immortality.
The resurrection of Jesus is essential to
Christianity. Looking back through the per-
spective of nineteen hundred years. how do we
And how so confidently claim that the
sepulcher was empty that first Easter morning?
Greenleaf, the author of lawbook on "Evi-
dences," says 1.-THE argument for Christ S
resurrection Is positively irrefutable."
The resurrection of Jesus was a fundamental
necessity in order to convince his disciples
who Immediately went back to their nets. and
1t was necessary to prove the divinity of Jesus
His resurrection the master stroke of the
Almighty to prove the deityshp of Jesus Christ.
In his resurrection he became the keystone in
the massive arch which sustains the royal
highway between earth and heaven. which
redeemed multtudes have thronged heaven
ward for nineteen centuries. Unbelief has done
its worst, but has awaited little in stopping the
progress of the divine and risen Christ adown
the years The mythical and legendary theo-
res are ridiculous. Christianity founded
upon a myth or legend is ten thousand times
wonderful and more difficult to believe
than a Christianity established upon a Christ
who rose from the dead. The burden of proof
Of the resurrection of Jesus is not with the
Christian. 1t Is for enemies to prove that
he did not rise. Christianity is mighty su-
perstructure which rests upon the foundation
of Christ's resurrection. If you want
gIment for the resurrection look at the fruit
age OF Christianity. Let unbelief account for
all OF these magnificent achievements with
out risen Christ.
Behold how the risen Christ has healed hui
manity's wounds and assuaged humanity's sor-
rows! The glory of an empty sepulcher floods
the EARTH A living Christ is bringing all
things to life. The Christ spirit is gradually
transforming society, and the command Bear
We one another's burdens and fulfill the law
of Christ will not cease its application until
the Christ love shall permeate all circles of
cety and all men will seek their own happI-
ness In the highest good Of others All hail the
power of Jesus name! Let US crown Jesus
Christ Lord Of all!