The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-09-05
STRIKING WORDS.
Sermon Delivered Appropriate
to Labor Day.
Rev. F. E. r.. Miller Touches Up a
Few Abuses, Striking From
the Shoulder.

God Searching for a Lost Man. !" He
took for his text, Luke Is AS. What
man of you having a hundred sheep,
If he loses one of them, doth not leave
the ninety and nine in the wilderness,
and go after that which is lost until
he find it9 Either what woman having
| ten pieces of silver, if she lose one
piece, doth not light a candle, and
sweep the house and seek diligently
until she find itH Here are some strik-
ing paragraphs: &s4 % aaaA..2si rs
What called forth the utterance Of
these wordsf "Then were drawing
near unto him all the publicans and.
sinners for to hear him. Among all
the wonders of his marvellous bio
graphy none are more striking than
the fact that the sunken classes of
society were. as by some strange spell
of necromancy, attracted to the holy,
unambitious, unpretentious Son Of
God. What is the secret which ex-
plains it all2 Is it that he offered the
people wealth? Did he promise to
lead them in q military revolution?
Did they find In him a radical social
istic. leader against the upper and
privileged classes of society," To none
of these questions will the facts Of his
life permit an affirmative answer.
What drew men to Jesus was their
finding in him, not that righteousness
full of pride and contempt which the
sanctimonious Pharisee exhibited, but
q holiness combined with the tenderest
love and compassion for the tempted
man whose lot is cast in lowly
sphere. What attracted the pubIicans
to him was discovering in Jesus, not
one who regarded and called them
dogs. thieves, traitors but man who
treated them in brotherly fashion,
whose evident aim was to 80 intim-
atley associate himself with them and
their interests that he could put a |
shoulder under their burdens and as
sist them in escaping into the straight
path which leads to material and
spiritual happiness. .uaa 80 g. --
Look upon the picture presented by
the times in which He lived. Here
stands the adorable Master with His
hand upon the head of patient, and
there around him, their faces black !
with scowls of disapproval and rage,
are grouped the murmuring Pharisees. !
"Why receive ye these outcsstsG |
Yea more, why eat ye with them2"
Does charity require association He
has replied to these questions before.
"They that be whole need not physi-
clan, but they which are sick I
came not to call the righteous but |
sinners to repentance. The monopo- |
list of the coal fields has no need of
friend. 1t is the unprivileged producer
and the victimized consumer. The
spirit of Christianity is not TO exalt
the prospered and the satisfied but the |!
oppressed and troubled. w aa:ftuass /
What is Christ's teaching in the
text9 That some people are lost and
he has come to save them. Of the in
cidents in his early life which go to
demonstrate this none are more
pathetically beautiful than the one in |
which the blind man of Jericho ap-
pealed for aid. Christ was on his way
to Jerusalem where the Pharisaic
wolves were waiting to lap his blood.
Passing out of the city of Jericho,
followed by his disciples and a great
concourse of people. he halted by the
cries of blind beggar. Oficious by
ISLANDERS tried to stop the solicitations
of this man. 'Blind Bartimaeus, hold
your peace; the prophet is going up to
Jerusalem to be crowned king of the
Jews, and he does not wish to be dis
turbed.
How like that are some protesting
Christians and formal churches They
do not want ignorance and need
in upon their esthetic feel
ings Of fitness and fashion. Better to 7
carry a splendid ritual through to its
glorious climax, better to set king
on his throne than to heed the cry of |,
q distressed soul sitting in darkness
and praying for the light. Why
should the Lord of glory and the pew
holders in his temples personally
to the needyf Let some an
derstanding be hired to go and serve
that bowling fellow with a dish of
soup. My friends, Christ does not en-
aorse such a policy the solicitor does
not care for the ministrations of
paid agent. No; the blind man lifted
1p his voice the louder; ''Jesus, Son
Of David, have mercy on mep' And,
oh, blessed record, "Jesus stood still.
The Son of God, with his face set ,
ike flint toward the passion of the /
cross, stopped to answer the prayer of
. wayside beggar.
Is it true then, that the cry of needy l
men can still arrest the attention of
Jehovah, speeding on his mighty
brands, experimenting his vast con- I
,erns2 Yea, brother, and not only so,
put the greatest work that Deity is
engaged in is hearing and answering
these very appeals The task which
gives the best and freest play to his
infinite resources is the searching out
md saVing of the lost. So them there
8 no factory hand with headache,
,sckache, nervousness. and the mental
produced by the monoton-
ms. discussing vista of fen houra a