Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1903-05-28
GOSPEL OF RESURRECTION
Powerful Address By the Rev. Henry
G. Swentzel.
What a Hopeless Task It Seemed to Be to
Convert the Human Family to the dos'
Pei OF Jesus Christ.


NEW York CITY.-Dr. Henry g. Swent.
eel, rector of St. Luke's Church, preached
direction" He took his text from Acts
xvii: Is: "He preached unto them Jesus
and the resurrection" DR.. Swentzel said:
With what noble confidence did the apos.
tolic church set out to serve its worldwide
mission. 1t had new religion to proclaim,
a glorious message from God for all the
races of mankind. 1t was not provincial,
looked forward to comprising the whole
earth Wherever it went it encountered
beliefs and rites which were venerable, i'm.
pressive and upheld by the prestige OF
wealth, rank and culture, but it was none
the less devoted to its huge work. What
hopeless task it seemed to be to convert
the human family to the. gospel of Jesus
a jew. He had been disgraced by c,uciiiX.
ion, and there was now scarcely more than
a handful of disciples to tell the story If
His career. When we consider the over.
whelming odds against which these men
struggled as they proceeded to evangelize
the multitudes, we are all the more pro.
foundly impressed with the confidence with
which they took up the more than hercu.
lean labor. The magnitude of the effort to
which they were called did not deter them,
persecution could not alright them. the
oppositions or indifference OF the better
classes could not discourage them. On
they went, from city to city. from country
to country, preaching the religion of which
they We're gladly the earthly champions.
Not always had they been of this temper.
The mightiest among them, the rock-man
priests palace, and after the fatcful dav of
the cross they all accepted the plight
of those who had served lost cause. But
now all this is changed. The towards are
the bravest of the brave, and each of the
apostles is ready to face every peril and to
meet death for the message of love and sal.
walton which burned upon his lips.
Nor is the reason for this radical change
difficult to account for. Those timid and
laundering men had received divine af
fiatus-they had been revolutionizcd in
mind and heart and soul by the Lords res.
direction from the dead. TO the gifts OF
the Holy Ghost which they received was
added the indomitable assurance of the
triumph of their divine Master over death
and the grave. The Lords resurrection
was the dominant doctrinal note in their
thinking and their teaching, and wherever
they went they bore the witness of eve,
witnesses to the fact which they so boldly
declared. Although they had known Jesus
and had companied with Him rs intimate
associates for several years their spiritual
perceptions were dull until the last, and
they understood not His oft repeated say.
ing that He would rise from the dead But
as soon as they are satisfied of His resur.
rection they all come to the front, ready
for the fray, eager for the honor of repre-
senting Him in every land and willing tc
endure every hardship for His cause.
st. Paul on Mars Hill is an illustration
OF he temper of the Apostolic Church. He
is thoroughly imbucd with the certainty OF
the Easter. story, and hesitatcs not tc
neys when he so snlendidlv served his Office
as he apostle to the Genties. As we think
OF him in the Grecian capital, we can only
wonder at the camness and courage with
which he met the ordeal which he had de-
libcratey sought. What striking picture
he is as he stands on Areopagus. facing the
chief intelects OF the classic metropolis and
speaking with undaunted holiness of the
risen Jesus. The sun-browned Traveller. a
stranger in strange land, he knows that
ne Is IN the centre Of the very best pagan,
ism, and he is as fearless of its prejudice.
and suhtlcties and ridicule as he had beer
OF the prisons of Syria. His training hth.
erto had prepared him to appreciate the
sights on which he gazcd. In him the civil
izations of Jews, Romans and Greeks met,
and ne had appropriated the finest thing:
tt
see. the difficulties all the more plainly.
Evidently Hebrew, his nationality would
make IT harder for him to win the respect
OF his hearers. Conscious OF this handicap
he would feel the weight also Of the quer
les and the bias which his words would
surely evoke, 1t was probably his first visit
to this seat of enlightenment. Its far
famed glorics which he had long since de
sired to see were now before his eyes ir
all their bewlldering splendor. He had
mastered its language and literature, anG
now he walked on its streets looked upon
Its population, gaZed upon objects made
rare in interest and celebrated in epic 81
in, song, visited its sanctuarcs and it.
schools, met its thinkers and artists. and
realized the beauty, and the power of it,
life and thought. From the time that he
discmbarked at the pier his attention wa.
constantly arrested by the monuments and
shrnes OF Athens. and all the tokens o.
its genius and culture.
OF monuments the new reliaion has vel
had scarcely one. 1t was still in the dnvt
of its poverty. Churches and cathcdra!i
and endowmcnts were matters of the fut
ure. What could St. Paul expect in re
sponsc to his pronouncemcnt? The ambas,
sador of Christ understood that he had
come hther as the legate from the courtd
of heaven to the secrs and scholars of hi.
seat OF learning to declare the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead. lie was face
to face with the clever scions of the highest
intellectual culture known to antiquity;
hard by We're the temples of Eumenides
and Theseus the Propylaeum of the Acrop
Oils, the temple of victory. and. towering
above all from its lofty pedestal, was the
bronze colossus of Minerva. Well might
nc, assume that Stoics. and Epicurcans and
other thinkers would attempt his over
throw, but he did not finch while he an.
nounced religion as yet without influence
or art or literature, with scarcely a com.
Portable resting place for its Scriptures and
its sacraments. In his manner however,
there are no indications that he was con.
sclous of any special advantages 1t could
not be otherwise, for he had himself senn
the risen Jesus and ne could. therefore,
not be more certain Of the shining sun than
he was of the truth of the Gospel which he
preached. 1t was this unaltcrdble convic.
ton which sustained HIM even on Mars
Hill while he discoursei # the redemption
accomplished by Him who died and rose
again. lie was not splitting hairs nor tell.
ing tables nor playing with metaphysics.
lie upheld the risen Christ to challenge at.
tention and support his truths and win the
souls of his distinguished audience.
The basis of st. Pauls confidence as an
apostle of Christ Is The only basis of conf
dence in believing. The first Christians
were Easter enthusiasts. Their unfrilns
belief in the resurrection of Jesus had
much to do in making them worthy Of ven.
Grafton as the hest among Gods family of
saints. All that had been written concern.
ing the Son of Man they pondered with
plous devotion, but they never forgot that
oil Ia,