People's voice., 1900-03-29

tened. has the world great treasure IN
song been so often held far from the
poor because the personal possessor Of
voice or fingers capable Of stirring di-
vinest melody has so often regarded the
gift as something with which to make
money! Shall there be no martyrs
among the gifted ones of the EARTH 7
Shall there be no giving Of this great
gift as well as of othersf"
And Henry Maxwell again, as before,
called up that other audience at the
Rectangle, with increasing longing for
larger spread of the new discipleship.
What he had seen and heard at the set
Element burned into him deeper the be-
lief that the problem of the city would
be solved if the Christians in it should
once follow Jesus as he gave command
ment But what of this great mass of
humanity, neglected and sinful, the
very kind of humanity the Saviour
came to save, with all its mistakes and
narrowness, its wretchedness and loss
of hope-abOve all, its unqualified Bit
terness toward the churchH That was
what smote Henry Maxwell deepest.
Was the church, then, so far from the
Master that the people no longer found
him in the churchf Was it true that
the church had lost its power over the
very kind Of humanity which in the
early ages of Christianity it reached in
the greatest numbersH How much was
true in what the socialist leader said
about the uselessness of looking to the
church for reform or redemption be-
cause Of the selfshness and seclusion
and aristocracy of its membersf
He was more and more impressed
with the appalling fact that the COM
paratively few men in the hall, now
being held quiet for awhile by Rachel's
voice, represented thousands of others
just like them, to whom a church and
a minister stood for less than saloon
or beer garden as a source of comfort
or happiness Ought it to be sol If the
church members were all doing as Jesus
would do, could it remain true that
armies of men would walk the streets
for jobs and hundreds of them curse
the church and thousands of them find
in the, saloon their best friendl How
far were the Christians responsible for
this human problem that was personally
illustrated right in this hall tonight
Was it true that the great city churches
would, as a rule, refuse to walk in Je-
sus' steps'so closely as to suffer actual
ly suffer, for his sake?
Henry Maxwell kept asking this ques-
tion even after Rachel had finished sing
ing and the meeting had come to an
end, after a social gathering which was
very informal He asked it while the
little company Of residents, with the
Raymond visitors, were having a devo-
tional service. as the custom in the set
tlement was. He asked it during a con-
ference with the bishop and DR.. Bruce
which lasted until o'clock He asked
it as he kneeled again before sleeping
and poured out his soul in his petition
for spiritual baptism on the church in
America such as it had never known.
He asked it the first thing in the morn
ing and all through the day as he went
over the settlement district and saw the
life Of the people so far removed from
the life abundantly. Would the church
members, would the Christians, not
only in the churches of Chicago but
throughout the country, refuse to walk
in his steps if, in order to do so. they
must actually take up cross and fol-
low him?
This was the one question that con-
tinually demanded answer He had
to go into details of the result, but we
all know that certain things would be
impossible that are now practiced by
church members. What would Jesus dc
in the matter of wealth. How would
he spend itl What principle would reg
ulate his use of money! Would he be
likely to live in great luxury and spend
ten times as much on personal adorn-
ment and entertainment as he spent to
relieve the needs of suffering humanity
How would Jesus be governed in the
making of money! Would he take rent
ais from saloon and other disreputable
property or even from tenement prop
erty that was so constructed that the
inmates had no such thing as home
and no such possibility as privacy or
cleanliness?
"What would Jesus do about the
great army Of unemployed and desper-
ate who tramp the streets and curse
the church or are Indifferent to it, lost
in the bitter struggle for the bread that
tastes bitter when it is earned, on ac-
count of the desperate conflict to get it 2
Would Jesus care nothing for them
Would he 90 his way in comparative
ease and comfort? Would he say it was
none of his business? Would he excuse
himself from all responsibility toremove
the causes Of such a cOnditionl