Evening journal., 1902-06-09
SOUND WORDS TO
MILITARY BOYS
The Rev. DR.. King breaches
BacCaIaureate Sermon
Cadets Of Wilmington Military Acad-
envy Told the Lesson Of The
LOayeS aud Fishes

mlngtOn Military Academy began yes |
terday morning when the baccalaureate
sermon was preached TO the students
by the Rev William Writ King in
Grace NJ r. Church. The students at
tended in a body in full uniform, but
without arms.
DR.. Kings subject was Being a |
Boy mis- text taken from St John,
Vi. 3. was There is a lad here who
hath five barley loaves and two small |
fishes; but what are they among so
mahy?"
DR.. King said in part:
Tho advent with which this boy
was so conspicuously connected and in
which he filled such an important
iplace was the miraculous feeding of
the Ave thousand by our Lord The
miracle cannot be mentioned without
lrecalling this boys connection with it
and contribution to il. The place where
| IL occurred was on a grassy slope at
the foot Of a mountain on the east
ern shore Of the sen Of Galilee down
the coast a few miles south of the town
OF Bethesda. Our Lord with His dis
ciples had left the more populous west
ern shores for the greater seclusion of
this eastern shore that they might bel
alone and understood for a little while.
"The people. however, soon discov-
cred the place TO which they turned
and began to come from every direc-
ton, up the lake. down the lake and
across the lake on the slope at the foot
of the mountain. Seeing them gather
ing there the Saviour came down from
the mountain and spent the day teach
ing and healing.
"As the evening grew on, they were
weary and hungry. and turning to
Philip the Saviour asked him where
they could get enough bread to feed
the people before they were dismissed.
He addressed the question to Philip
because that was Philips neighbor-
borhood. Bethesda, the town close at
hand. was his home Therefore he
was familiar with all the country He
had been up and down that coast hum
dreds Of times since his childhood. He
knew every point. every cove, every
fshermans hut. where everybody
lived. Therefore if anybody could give
information where to get food then
Philip would be the man.
Philips answer was equivalent tC
saying that even if he knew where tc
buy the bread. they did not hav,
enough money in the treasury to buy
= It, Then we get introduced TO the boy
= for Andrew, another of the disciples
\ said
There is a boy here who has 1--WE
4 barley loaves and two small fishes
= This is everything to eat in the whole
= crowd. but what is this among SO
n many? IL is scarcely enough for the
!. lunch of the hungry boy himself.
n I'VE are not at all surprised that
the boy was there and that he had
q something to eat with him. II was
4 Just like a boy. Boys are very fire.
v duently charged with turning up al
: the wrong time when they are not
II needed. and when they are not wanted,
y and 10 would not be a difficult thine
e to find any number of witnesses who
d would be willing to testify from ex-
d lperiences. But we must acknowledge
e that occasionally at least, boys dc
n turn up at the right time and just
d when needed This lad. of the text. fur.
, nishes us with at least an illustration
of this.
t. Il do not. for moment. think that
c this was the only boy vino was pres
II ent on this occasion. feel quite sure
q that he was not. for boys are gregari-
n Gus creatures and usually go in crowds.
A boy will never go anywhere alone II
e he can get another boy to go with him
s and seldom has any trouble in doing
J. this.
= What this boy was doing there OF
y that he had any reason at all for being
, there apart from ordinary curiosity to
see all that was going on, l do not
know. II would be an idle task ordi-
narily to undertake to explain the
!, philosophy Of a boys conduct. his
i presence at a certain place or absence
n from it. or why he does certain things
II latter he gets there.
/. 1t has been suggested that the boy
n was a youthful peddler or huckster
= whose business was to follow crowds
y who came to festivals at Jerusalem
5. with provisions for sale, and this ex-
y plains why he was there and why he
had the food. This may have been the
Is reason. Il is not an improbable rea-
= son. but / prefer a reason more in har-
! mony with our ordinary conceptions OF
ID boy life. | prefer to think he was there
without special business except that
he was a boy, that in all probability hs
+ had gone down the lake fishing and
= that his mother had prepared him a
: lunch consisting Of these barley bis.
" Quits and a couple of dried or picked
fishes. and seeing crowds of people
y moving in a certain direction he very
a naturally got curious to know where
o they were going. what was causing tn,
oommotion and excitement, and out OF
boyish curiosity, followed the crowc
with the result that he was there with
o the rest of them still carrying his
a lunch. which in the excitement of the
# day, ne had forgotten to eat
1 Il know that it was pretty good
r sized lunch for a boy, but there is no
way of deciding the size Of boys
!, lunch. especially if he has anything to
d do with its preparation. Whatever