The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-09-15
OUR RESPONSIBILITIES.
whether One Member Suffer, All the
Members Suffer with III"
SERMON PREACHED BY REV. Il. D. AYES
The Too Free Tolerance Of Social Evils
Responsible for Much OF the Crime
Committed IN This Age.

Rev. II. d. AYES, rector Of Christ church. !
delivered the following interesting sermon
at the forenoon service last Sunday OF that
church, taking for his rext;
Whether one member suffer. all the
members suffer with It," / Cor. xii. 20.
The words are q part Of an extended fig
ure drawn by ST. Paul TO show to the
/ people Of the Corlnthlan church their cor.
/ porate oneness as society. and the inter-
| dependence upon each other Of the sew
ernl parts and elements which make up the
social body. The analogy which the apos.
! tie uses is one which Plato and others had
| used before with reference to the State
! the analogy which suhsistS between the va
J rlons limbs and functions of the human
! nody If, the apostle reasons-if a body
! Is really an organic whole. ii its several
J members and functions are not Indcpend-
| ent of each other, hut are connected and
! bound together by nerves and cords and
1 muscles SO that the injury, the mutila-
| ton, the shock Of any one is Immediately
J felt throughout the system: II God has so
! ordered that the members should have
/ the same care one for another, then mucn
more In the higher and more, sensitive
! organism. the social body Of Christ, the
! church, holding together her many nom
belS IN the strong and tender bands Of a
| common fnith and hope and charity In.
| spired by Him-mu h more in her must an
injury To any one bc felt quickly by each
and all. If one member suffer all the
!
We do not have to look for a realizing
sense OF this great truth as applied either
t2 me church or state. This day Itself,
the anniversary Of the great shock of suf
ferng which came a year ago to one
stricken community, and which was felt as
thrill o. pain throughout the land. re-
minds us how true It is Of the social state:
IL one member suffer. all the members
| suifpr with II"
And the same phase of this great truth
| has been brought home to us again with
| a most shocking and painful vlyidness. One
member-thc most honored of our great
| connonwcalth-has suffered and the "lHc
! trio wires, Ike physical nerves. have 1ashe
! the shock of pain throughout the body II
the nation And TO him who lies pruStrate
/ with Il possible death wound have gone
! out me quick responsive sympaihies OF
the people In his wounding the nation
Is wounded As representing all, ms the
! impcrsonation of the National honor and
/ dignity and unity Of all, rs the political
/ bead Of ALL as the representative center
| OF the loyalty and patriotism of all true
| members OF the body polite his indign.ty,
of all,
BUT, wildly real as this is, we must hot
telpr"iaion Of ibis oaa TOO fa m"reSg
| principle which wouts limit its scope TO
/ the sympathy which one should feel for
/ another The words include this, but far
more than this. They mean also that II
| one member Of society does wrong his
Wrongdoing Is matter of common con
! Germ; that ALL in certain degree, are
! harmed by II; that all In a certain degree
( are responsible for 1t.
! from n social and moral wound when tTe
/ apostle had particularly in mind-thc com
mon suffering Of humi!iatng disgrace lich
/ social evil or n social crime -
! The moral lIfe or the r"n,mrnit, IN 90
rlnth mad become diseased; It's social life
\ acter The anostlo NO. r SF ~ ", cm,,r
! in pnrhcularHa case among The most. h"r
Tidy unnatural In the calendar Of crime
n ulacid and sunoi"r iudiTrnrnrco m 81 ~
| il we're a matter in which thew We're 'I In na
Ana FOR tbis ottItrdo % o,,ttott, ,
snonsibIiitv tbe anostim gpat it IRE IRE
are pnfled nm ahd boTa uot h ,nen
Cd such crimesSlI crInes alnyt niou w
/ anostla eantenda ~ ho t ~, yne
humiioting dsnrac w e ,rS 40 vuihi. III
| a. ne ISSius, are WOUNDED by the wound
t aa e,cdr one OLE, ltihoer suller' an the mem
RIM NV f,dond do. ,. ..
/ n,ntn ~ ssonf.I n.,ii WI wi our common estl
/ vim no sni'it ~ th "an vilmurs correspond
49," III. .nT SUI VI Ilest WoriS' 10 we III
o on' n az, nn, S'upnin9 sense aGEnowiedge
orin65 " ne social responslblilty Tor
! GSithV! l-tl us appcal 70 our experiences in
| utia nl4 YET, Wv anu AGAIN some great
G Gn,i,i case occupies the columnsNof the
eMN press, we take up tho thread and
| IpiloW II through all the horrible details
! upWh 70 tne maj conviction of the pris-
/ Hher. At hIst we were interested by the
| StrHngehtsS or the circumstances, or by
/ thcir hatufalheSS ana the probability Of
| tutF occurrence. As the caSe developed
we acquired deep personal interest In the
story. BY our close study Of the principal
! characters concerned they become almost
| Ike personal aclualntances. We sat. as ii
| were, as jnrymen at the trial We weighed
! the conflicting evidence, balanced the on
! posing probabilities analygcl the proha-
! bic motives. and at last, perhaps formed
! our private verdict
And the press which had So faIthfnlIv
! supplied ms day by day with the materials
| for n this varied interest invited MS nj
| the close of the trial to n resume Of rho
whole case until II became no small part
of our daily thought and Interest.
| Now 1t will moi be necessary to tax orr
memories to Justify this description. but
! the question / wish you to consider my
! friends is this: Do we feel that we our
,'clvts are in any way personally con
| tCrurd on these occasions? Does our I'm.
| tetest In these proceedings differ I'm any
marked degree from the Interest we take
| In reading n bit of romantic drtion or
viewing the varying scenes of n tragic
! dramat And does not the secret Of our
interest In the novel or the play center
fl the fact that we are merely spectnfors
aud are not as in actual life burdenpd
| With any sense OF rGspnnsIbiiity. for my
| thlng that NAV happen in Nc deveIon
prnl Of the play or story? DO we not
| read The reportS Of a cflminnI trial in
very much fine same splritf 'it he very