The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1903-09-16
"CROSS BEARING"
Brilliant Sunday Sermon By Rev
James E. Homes.
Urges Us to Have th. Paul Spirit Of Courage
and Conientmen', Even When We Stag.
ger Under Load OF Adversely.

Methodist Episcopal Church Sunday morn.
ing the pastor, the Rev. James T. Holmes,
S, b. his s.3 ssSsMS MtSsS SrS', ,Is Bfarag nS
as they came out they found q man oi
Cyrene, Simon BY name; him they com.
pelled to bear His cross" Mr.. Holmes
said:
days of Jesus, the so-caled St. Andrews
cross, the cross in the form OF the letter
1T" and the ordinary Latin cross. 1t was
on the last of these that Jesus suffered
cruciiixion This consisted Of a strong up
right post, which was carried beforehand
to the place of execution, and two cross.
pieces, which were born by the victim. 1t
was these transverse pieces which proved
too heavy for the Master. 1t was prob
ably between the hours of and 10 o'clock
in the morning that that memorable pro.
cession, of which Jesus was the central fig.
ure set forth for the place of execution;
such a procession was in charge Of cen
turion, and preceded by a public cricr,
who from time to time proclaimed aloud
the nature of the crime. He also carried
white wooden board on which this was
written. The longest route was always
sc'ected, and the most crowded streets. to
attract the attention of the people. Each
Of the condemned would be accompanied
by guard Of four soldiers, and, as mat.
ter OF course, great crowd would follow.
The weight OF the cross soon proved too
heavy for the exhausted strength of Jesus.
You must remember He has not tasted
food or drink since the Paschal supper the
night before, and that events had occurred
since then in quick succession, every one
Of which must have stirred His soul with
deepest emotions. The betrayal by, Judas,
and the farewell to His disciples had oc.
cured after which He had spent some
hours alone in Gethsemane, engaged in a
terrific mental and spiritual struggle. 1t
was then, as YOU remember, that His ne.
emes found Him., since which time He
caly alone; for His discipes had all for.
saken Him. Meanwhile He has been hur.
ried from place to place and from one
official to another; from Annas to Caiphas,
then to Plate, then to Herod, and then
again to PLATE, lndigniity upon indignity;
torture upon torture have been heaped
upon Him all that livelong night and all
that morning, so that it is not to be won.
dered at that tie weight OF the cross
was too great for Him. Up to the last
gate, however, He managed to drag il. but
here He sank exhausted beneath the heavy
load. 1t happened just then that this
man, Simon of Cyrene, came upon the
scene, and him the Roman soldiers seized
and compelled to carry the cross the re
mainder OF the way.
On first thought it might seem strange
that the people would permit such an in
Simon was undoubtedly foreigner. which
his dress would indicate, and the soldiers
would know that 1t was safer to put this
humiliation on a foreigner than upon
native of Jerusalem. As it was, the peo'
pie do not seem to have resented it, that
fellow jew had to suffer the detilement
Of bearing heather cross, and this may
have been the explanation that Simon was
foreigner, and only proselyte jew. How
greatly surprised and chagrined he must
have been, to be thrust SO Unexpectedly
into such a predicament How it hap.
pened that he was there walking abroad
on fast day we do not know. He may
have been idly strolling along that country
road without any particular aim or purpose
in view. or he may have lived outside the
city. walls and was entering the city on
business or to worship or merely on pleas
ure bent. We cannot know how to explain
his presence there on that road between
Calvary and Jerusalem just at that moment
when some one was needed to bear the
cross of Christ, but it happened that he
beneath His load, and he finds himself
seized by the Roman soldiers, and despite
his remonstrances, compelled to bear the
cross of Christ. 1t is all so sudden. and so
unexpected that he can scarcely know
whether it is not all a dream.
We see it all as he did not. We see in
Simon's experience that for which we
would gladly give all that we have: And
why could he not appreciate it? Was it
ignorance on his part? Had he never
heard the name of Jesus of Nazareth?
Had he not heard of those strange and
usalem of late? To him it only appears as
an unfortunate accident that he happened
to cross the path of this man Christ on
the way to execution, just as He sank
down under the weight OF His cross. As
it is, he considers himself abused, humii.
atpI li nod and ha 1oppc for rho
moment OF release, that he may hide him.
self from the gaze OF the people and bear
in silence the defiement that has come
upon him and upon his house.
And now l wish to place alongside Of
the apostle Paul, "God forbid that should
glory save in the cross of Christ" To
Simon the cross of Christ means disap.
Pointment. disgrace and loss; to Paul it
Is the one thing glorious and worth re.
loicng over, How explain the difference
IN sentiment? 1t will not do to say Paul
i, simply dealing in a figure of speech,
while Simon actually suffered the weight
and the disgrace of an actual cross, for
Paul bore the cross OF Christ as actually
as Simon.
conflict with the authorities and with
mobs; it was the cross that drove MIN
from place to place. vagabond on the
lace of the earth; it was the cross hat
brought him into prison, and into Can-
ger; it was the cross that made him dis
grace, and his name an execration wher-
eyere there was Jewish synagogue. Paul
suffered loss and pain and humiliation over
and over again ON account of the cross.
yall it figure OF speech il you will, but
his back was bent, and broken his bodily
PAINS were as genuine, his humiliation was
y deep and his loss as great as came to
hlmon OF Cyrene and far more so. The
e1periences OF the two men were very
SIMILAR. almost identical; for it was on a
@untry road leading into Damascus that
Paul first came face to face with Jesus
vhrist, and it was then and there that
'he cross OF Christ was laid upon him.
md that from that moment until he died
bore that cross, feeling keenly the
seight OF it, the humiliation of it, the
hss it occasioned him. but. unlike the
other men. glorying in il and rejoicing on
Scount OF 1t. Why the contrast? Ali
faul understood the cross, its meaning. its
purpose, its power; Simon did not. Paul
NV that that cross, instead OF being the
sstrument of torture and shame, was on
le contrary Gods saving and sanctifyine
strument among men. In that cross
fau beheld the method and the means
hereby the transcendent plan of the Al
sghty to save this sinful world was made
psslble. Now any accident, or any provi.
sehtal occurrence that linked him to that
uoss. and thus to the glorious purposes OF
We Lord, Paul rejoiced in and counted
most fortunate.
And now, my friends, ask you to con
.qer for little while these two method,
cross bearing. The world is divided