The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1900-05-12
THE PRODIGAL son.
Dr.. Talmage breaches a Sermon
About the Elder Brother.
Lesson of the Parable-He Denounces
SeIf-Ilighteousness and Lack of
sympathy for the Fallen
and Unfortunate.
copyright. 1900. by Louis Klopsch.l
Washington,

In this discourse DR.. Talmage
pleads for a hearty reception to all
those who have lone wrong and want
to get back, while the unsympathetic
and self-righteous are ~excoriated;
text, Luke 1853, "And he was angry
and would not go in"
Many times have 1 been asked to
preach a sermon about the elder
brother of the parable. l received a
letter from Canada saying: rs the
elder son of the parable so unsympa-
thetic and so cold that he is not
worthy of recognition" The TACT is
that we ministers pursue the young
err son. You can hear the tapping of
his rags in many a sermonic breeze
and the branching of the pods for
which he was an unsuccessful con
testant. 1 confess that it has been
difficult for me to train the camera
obscura upon the elder son of the par
able. l could not get a negative for
a photograph. There was not enough
light in the gallery, or the chemicals
were too poor, Or the sitter moved
in the picture. But now l think /
have him, not a side face or a three
quarters or the mere bust, but a full
length portrait as he appears to me.
The father in the parable of the prod
igal had nothing to brag of in his two
sons The one was a rake and the
other a churl. l find nothing admira-
BILE in the d~issoluteness of the one,
and L find nothing attractive in the
acrid sobriety of the other. The
goes down over the larboard side, and
the other goes down over the star
board side, but they both go down.
From all the windows of the old
homestead bursts the minstrelsy. The
floor quakes with the feet of the rus
tics, whose dance is always vigorous
and resounding. The neighbors have
heard of the return of the younger
son from his wanderings, and they
have gathered together. The house
is full of congratulations. | suppose
the tables are loaded with luXuries,
not only the one kind of meat men
toned, but it's concomitants. CLAP"
go the cymbals, "Thrum!" go the
harps, "Click!" go the chalices, up
and down go the feet inside, while
outside is a most sorry spectacle.
The senior son stands at the corner
of the house, a frigid phlegmatic. He
has just come in from the fields in
very substantial apparel. Seeing some
wild exhilarations around the old
mansion, he asks of a servant passing
by with a goatskin of wine on his
shoulder what all the fuss is about.
One would have thought that, on
hearing that his younger brother had
got back, he would have gone into the
house and rejoiced, and, if he were
not conscientiously opposed to dane
ing, that he would have joined the ori-
entail schottish. No, there he stands.
His brow lowers; his face darkens;
his lip curls with contempt. He
stamps the ground with indignation;
he sees nothing at all to attract. The
odors of the feast, coming out on the
air, do not sharpen his appetite
The lively music does not put any
spring into his step. He is in a ter
rible pout. He criticises the expense
the injustice and the morals of the
entertainment. The father PUSHES out
bareheaded and coaXes him to come
in. He will not go in. He scolds the
father. He goes into a pasquinade
against the younger brother, and he
makes the most uncomely scene. He
says: Father, you put a premium
on ~vagabondism. l staid at home and
worked on the farm. You never made
a party for me; you didn't so much
as kill a kid. That wouldn't have cost
half as much as a calf; but this scape-
grace went off in fine clothes, and he
comes back not fit to be seen, and
what a time you make over him! He
breaks your heart, and you pay hin
for it. That calf, to which we have
been giving extra feed during al
these weeks, wouldn't be so fat ano
sleek if 1 had known to what use yor
were going to put it. That vagabont
deserves to be cowhided instead Of
banqueted. Veal is toe good fol
him." That evening, while the young
err son sat telling his father about hi.
adventures and asking about what
had occurred on the place since hi.
departure, the senior brother goes t.
bed Disguised and slams the dool
after him. That senior brother still
lives. You can see him any Sunday
any day of the week. At a meetin:
of ministers in Germany some on
asked the question: "Who is tina
elder SOM" and Krummacher an
swered: II know him; I saw him yes
~terday." And when they insiste'
upon knowing whom 1 meant he said
myself; when L saw the recount o
the conversion of a most obnoxiou
man I was irritated."
First, this senior brother of tn
text stands for the self-congratula
tory, self-satisfied, self-worshipfu
man. With the same breath in whicl
he vituperates against his younge
brother he utters a p%anegyric TO
himself. The self-righteous man o
my text, like every other self-righteou
man, was full of faults. He was a
fngrale, for he did not appreciate tn