The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1900-05-19

Subject: The Resurrection OF Christ-The
Season Of Spiritual Gladness and Re-
frcshmcnt-Victory Over Death and
the Grave-The Mission of Flowers.
fCopyright 1901
WASHINGTON, d. C.-~This sermon OF Dr..
Talmage rings all the bells OF gladness,
especially appropriate at this season, when
all ChristendOm Is celebrating Christ g
resurrection; text, John xix, Al, "lu the
garden n new supulcher.'
Looking around the churches this morn
ing, seeing flowers in wreaths and flowers
In stars and flowers In crosses and flowers
in crowns, blllows OF beauty. conflagration
Of beauty, you feel as If you stood in a
small heaven.
You say these flowers will fade. Yes, but
perhaps you may see them again. They
may be immortal. The fragrance OF the
flower may be the spirit Of the flower; the
body OF the flower dying on earth; its
spirit may appear in better worlds. do
The ancestors OF those tuberoses and
camellas and japonicas and jasmines and
hellotropes were born In paradise. These
apostles Of beauty came down In the regu-
lar line Of apostolic succession. Their an
cestors during tho flood, underground,
afterward appeared.
The world started with Eden; it will end
God. Paradise means flowers. While theo-
logical geniuses In this day are trying to
blot out everything material from their
idea Of heaven, and, so far as | can tell.
their future state Ia to be u floating around
somewhere between the Great Bear and
Cassiopeia, should no: be surprised il at
last can pick up daisy on the everiast-
ing hills and hear 1t say; Il am one OF the
glorned flowers OF enrth. Don't you re-
member me? l worshiped with you on
Easter morning in 1900.'
My text introduces us into garden. 1t
is manor in the suburbs OF Jerusalem
owned by wealthy gentleman OF the name
OF Joseph. He belonged to the court Of
seventy who had condemned Christ, but
he had voted in the negative, or, being q
timid man, had absented himself when the
vote was to be taken. At great expense he
laid out the garden. It being q hot climate,
l suppose there were trees broad bran0hed.
and there were paths winding under these
trees, and here and there were waters drip.
ping down over the rocks into fish ponds,
and there were vines and flowers blooming
from the wall, and all around the beauties
OF kiosk and arboriculture. After the fa-
tigues OF the Jerusalem courtroom, how
refreshing to come into this suburban re-
treat, botanical and pomological
Wandering In the garden, l behold soue
rocks which have on them the mark OF the
sculptor's chisel. I como nearer, and
find there Is a subterranean recess. leone
down the marble steps, and | come to
portico, over which there Is an architrave,
by the chisel cut into representations OF
fruits and flowers. ! enter the pOrtico. On
either side there are rooms-two or four or
six rooms OF rock, the walls OF these rooms
having inches, each niche large enough to
hold dead body: Hero Is one room that
Is especially wealthy OF sculpture.
The fuct Ia that 1OSnnh realfZpa he c0nrfOk
always walk this garden, and he has pro.
vided this place for his last slumlsr. Oh,
what q beautiful spot In which tO.wait for
the coming OF the resurrection! Mark we'll
this tomb, for 1t Is to be the most celcbrat
ed tomb IN all the ages. Catacombs OF
Egypt, tomb OF Napoleon, Mahal Tai OF In
dia, nothing compared with 1t. Christ has
just been murdered. and His body will be
thrown to the dogs and the ravens, like
other crucfed bodies, unless there be
prompt and efficient hindrance. Joseph,
the owner OF this mausoleum In the rocks,
begs for the body OF Christ. He washes
the poor, mutilated frame from the dust
and blood, shrouds it and perfumes it.
I think that regular embalmment w0s
omitted. When in olden time a body was
to be embalmed, the priest, with some pre-
tension Of medical skill, would point out
the place between the ribs where the in
cision must be made, and then the operator,
having made the incision. ran lest he be
slain for violation OF the dead. Then the
other priests would come with salt OF inter
and cassia and wine oilpalm tree and COM
plete the embnlmment. But Think this en-
balmmept OF the body OF Christ was
omitted. 1t would have raised another
contention and another riot.
The funeral hastens on. Present, /
think, Joseph, the owner Of the mauso-
. leum; Nicodemus, the wealthy man who
had brought the spices, and the two Marys.
No organ dirge, no plumes, no catafalque.
Heavy burden for two men as they carry
Christ's body down the marble stairs and
into the portico and lift the dead weight to
. the level of the niche In the rock and push
the body Of Christ into the only pleasant
resting place it ever had. Coming forth
from the portico, they close the door Of
rock against the recess.
The government, afraid that the dis
ciples may steal the body OF Christ and
play resurrection, order the seal Of tho
sanhedrin to be put upon the door Of the
tomb, the violation OF that SEAL like the
violation of the seal OF the Government Of
the United States or Great Britain, to be
followed with great punishment. COM
pany OF soldiers from the tower Of Antona
is detailed to stand guard.
At the door Of the mausoleum fight
takes places which decides the question
for all graveyards and cemeteries. Sword
OF lightning against sword OF steel. Angel
against military. No seal OF letter was
ever more easily broken than that seal OF
the snnhedrin on the door OF the tomb.
The dead body In the niche in the rock
begins TO move in its shrOud OF fine linen,
slides down upon the pavement, moves out
of the portico, appears In tho doorway, ad-
vances into the open air, comes up the
marble steps. Having left His Mortuary
attire Letind Him, He comes forth in work.
mans garb, as take it, from the fact that
the women mistook Him for the gardener.
That day the grave received such shat
tering it can never be rebuilt. All tho
troweis Of earthly masonry can never mend
it. Forever and forever it is broken
tomb. Death, taking side with the mill
tary In that fight, received a terrible cut
from the angels spear OF fame, SO that he
himself shall go down after awhile under
1t. The king OF terrors retiring before the
King Of grace! The Lord is risen! Let
earth and heaven keep Easter to-day!
Hosanna!
Some things strike my observation while
stan ding Ia this garden with a new sepui-
cher. And, first, post mortem honors In
contrast with ante mortem ignominies. II
they could have afforded Christ such
costly sepulcher, why could not they have
given Him an earthly residence? Will they
give this piece OF marble to dead Christ
instead of a soft pillow for the living Jesus2
II they had expended half the value of that
tomb to make Christ comfortable. it would
not have been SO SAD story. He asked