Willmar tribune., 1900-01-03
"a fact, am sure they 6. ne
bishop paused 10 moment, then went on
with increasing feeling

II In gIaCG, j am SUE "a 70 Ll6H sSsa rka. he
bishop paused d moment then went on
i with increasing feeling
Calvin. syou know how MANY 1yes,,.s
1 j have been doing tle, vnrl, # nv Yns;.
j ton. and Won know son,ethinp of tha
& responsibility aud the cara of Sit5 "a
4 not mean to' sav that nv lifo ,,,,a lhnn.n
| free from burden bearing q sorrow
\ but / have certainly led what the, moor
and desperate of this sinfnl CITY wo,,ld
call very connforta hle---.v1a 4 ver !,
i luxurious-life. Z have y heantifnl i
house to live in.. the most expensive
food, clothing and physical pleasures.
i have been able to % abroad at least a
dozen times and have enioyed for years
the beautiful companionship of art and
letters and music and all the rest of the
very best. have never known what it
meant to be without money or it's
equivalent, and I have been unable to
silence the question Of late, what have
I suffered for the sake of Christi Paul
was told what great things he must
suffer for the sake Of his Lord Max
wells position at Raymond is well tax
en- when he insists that to walk in the
steps of Christ means to suffer Where
has my suffering come in? The. petty
trials and annoy of my clerical life
are not worth mentioning as sorrows or
suffering. Compared with Paul or any
OF the Christian martyrs or early disci-
pies. l have lived luxurious. sinful
life, full of ease and pleasure I cannot
endure this any longer. I have that
within me which of late rises in ever
whelming condemnation of such fol.
lowing of Jesus. I have not been walk"
ing in his steps. Under the present sys-
tenn of church and social life see no
escape from this condemnation except
to give the rest of my life personally to
the actual physical and soul needs of
| the wretched people in the worst part
of this city. ...
The bishop had risen now and walked
over to the window. The street in front
of the house was as light as day, and
he looked out at the crowds passing,
then turned, and, with passionate ut
terance that showed how deep the vol
canic fire in him burned, he exclaimed:
which we live. Its misery, its sin, it's
selfshness, appall my heart, and have
struggled for years with the sickening
dread Of the time when I should be
forced to leave the pleasant luxury of
my Official position to put my life into
contact with the modern paganism of
this century. The awful condition of
the girls in the great department stores,
the brutal selfishness of the insolent So
clety, fashion and wealth. that ignores
all the SORROWS Of the city, the fearful
curse of the drink and gambling hell,
the vail of the unemployed, the hatred
of the church by countless men who see
in the church only great piles of costly
stone and upholstered furniture and the
minister as luxurious idler, all the
vast tumult of this vast torrent of hu-
manity with it's false and its true ideas,
us eSagseratlon OF evils In the church
and Its bitterness and shame that are
the result OF many complex causes-ali
thls AS total TACT, In It's contrast with
the easy comfortable lie l. have lived.
nus me more ana more with sense OF
n11ngleo 'eiror ana sen accusa11on. l
nave neard the words OF Jesus many
times lately, lnasmuch as ye ala 1t not
unto one OF these least my brethren,
ye dld 1t not TO me- And when have
personally visited the prisoner or the
uespefate OF the s'n1ul N any way tnat
mas actually caused me suffering!
tathef 1 nave; followed the conven-
tlonal, soft habits OF my position and
nave llVed IN the society OF the rich.
rennec, ar1stocratlc members OF my con-
gresatlons' Where has the suffering
come In! What nave l suffered tor
Jesus saker DO you know. Calvin
tne oishoP turned abruptly toward MS
tr1end-1 nave been tempted OF late
10 1asn myseit Win scourge' II had
iVed IN martin Luther's time, would
have barred my back to- a self inflicted
torture. .
DIR. Bruce was very pale. Never had
he seen the bishop or heard him when
under the influence Of such a passion.
There was sudden silence in the room.
The bishop had sat down again and
bowed his head DR.. Bruce spoke at last
Edward, I do not need to say that
you have expressed my feelings also. !
have been in similar position for
years. My life has been one Of compar.
atlve luxury. LIDO not. Of course, mean
to say that l have not hard trials and
discouragements and burdens in my
church ministry, but cannot say that
l have suffered any for Jesus. That
verse in Potter. hannta mo sChric< o1on