Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1903-06-06
SECRET OF CHRISTIANITY
sunday Sermon By Rev. DR.. Lyman
Abbott.
Nct Fine Windows and Music, But Making
the World Wiser and Bet er-A
Christians Outs.

Pilgrims. Brooklyn. DR.. lyman Abbott
preached SUNDAY morning on The Secret
If Christianity" He took for his text
Luke ii: II: Unto you is born, thi: Fay,
in the city of David. a Saviour, which ~
Christ the Lord and said:
In the Anglo-Saxon version OF the New
Testament the word Saviour Is rem:
iered for the Angio-Saxoa word helper"
You know also that tine word Christ is
not a proner name. but title equivalent
to The Messiah"-the Lord
Every great movement has at the heart
Of il some secret. which il we can discover
il. viii disclose to NC the secret OF that
great movement. What is the secret at
.he heart OF Christianity. which has made
y the great mower that IL is? In asking
you to consider this question you will I'M
ierstand. of course. that / am not under
taking in half an hour 10 answer the entire
question; | am only going to try in that
half hour to indicate the essence of Chris
tianitv-,hc secret OF its vitality. The
Jewish reop.e were in more than one sense
in this: That their faces were turned to-
ward the future. All other nations look
backward for their golden age. but these
'pecuiar neop'e" looked forward for theirs.
They believed that a time was coming
when there would be peace instead Of war
and for themselves nrosnerity instead OF
universal poverty. They believed that this
great time would come through their own
nation and that Jerusalem would become
the holy city and the mistress OF the world:
And their prophets even pointed forward
10 this divine consolation and they ind-
Gated that it would come through some de,
livercr. Sometimes they regarded the ma.
tion Itself as that deliverer; sometimes
succession of prophets: sometimes single
prophet; sometimes single man. as king
or prince. as a teacher. as priest, as
Man OF Sorrows: and acquainted with
or inconsistent those nrophesies might be-
they pointed the minds of the neople Tor
ward 10 a great delivery and delivered. So
the shepherds perfectly well understood
the angels when they said: The delivcrer
has come: the helper is here: Yon will find
Him Graded in the manger" When Jesus
began His ministry His first sermon: ot
which we have record. was preached in
the synagogue at Nazareth. He went into
the synagogue n roll was open before Him
and He read one of the prophecies Of the
great deliverer who was coming and then
said: This dav is this Scripture fulfilled in
your ears | have come. i am that deiiv-
erer." Having begun His ministry in this
way He went ont to be helner and ted
the hungry. taught the ignorant and healed
the sick and disnensed the gospel OF hope.
Once John the Baptist. nerplexed to know
il this was the Messiah, for things went on
much the same and no great thing seemed
to he accomplished, sent Him message
saving: "Art Thou the Messiah" and
Christ said to the messengers. wait here.
see what YOU will see. and then 20 and tell
your master" The waited and saw. and
then Christ tod tham: 60 your way and
tell John what things We have seen and
heard: how that the blind see. the lame
walk the iepers are cleansed. the deaf hear.
the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel
is preached"
No nan can undertake to help his fellow
men really sincerely. on a large scale. with
on. coming in contact with men who do
no. want the helm. those who arc making
something out Of the misfortunes OF their
fellow mon. Christ came in contact with
such, and thcr leagued themselves together
TO destroy Him. He was arrested and
brought before the Jewish tribunal and
asked. Are hoI the Messiah And un-
der a solemn oath He said. II am" Plate
said. Are You a king He said. IL am"
To both the Jewish tribunal and the Ro-
man He said. Il am" and for that He was
condemned TO die and for il He died.
When II. died the hopes ri His disciples
disspated. They said I'VE thought He
was to be tho great deliveror. hut evidently
He was not" Rumors Of His ascension be-
ran 10 circulate. and. little by little they
bean" convinced. and then they said,
"Ah. He is the deliverer. after all" IL you
viii turn to the Bool, of Acts and read one
Of the sermons there ven will see that was
tNt DuTNFI III al lNt
No new theo'ogv. cthc or law. Their mes
sages we-e all the same: THE deliverer is
como. He is here; the celiverance has be-
gun
In the first century rule was BY absolute
aespotism. Gradually government has been
transformed. until now il is completely es-
taoiished. and there is no government in
Europe west o. Russia that does not at
least recognize the fact that government is
not for the government, but for the gov
erncd. All industry was servile. Half the
Roman reputation we're slaves. and the
her half were on the edge of f4mine ard
s. kept alive BY the largess Of others
,herever Christianity has gone the chain
has dropped from the slave and labor has
hce1 emancna,ed. There were no schools
in Rome and none among the jews. evoep:
those connected with the synagogue. but
wherever Christianity has gone il has es-
ieh,ishcd schools and wealth has been diff
fused among the people This is called an
are OF concentrated wealth. That is not so.
There never was an age. and that is espe.
cia v t-ue Of America, when wealth was
more Distributed. There are charities
everywhere. The church has also changed
the co?crDtion of punishment so that pun
ishment has become reformatory. The oh
,ect OF the old pagan religion was not to
hem man: ii was to app<ase the wrath of
God or to purchase the ia. or OF corrupti.
he God. Christianity has altered all that
with various degrees Of success, The church
OF Christ is engaged in the work of lifting
the burdens of men, in inspiring them with
courage and nobler purposes. Christianity
~ not a mere sum of doctrines a new
method OF worship or a new law of morals
II is great historical movement
Flowing down through the centuries with
ever widening and deeDening current. bless
inr every land IL has touched and carving
with II some measure of helpfulncss. Chris
tianity has done. through the centuries
what Christ did in those four short Years
il has helped the helpless. fed the hungry.
taught the ignorant. given courage to the
desDairiny and brought glad tidings to the
poor. The secret Of Christianity. then. is
helpfniness. This il is that distinguishes
the theology of the Christian religion from
the Theology of all other religions II is a
new doctrine respecting God-not absolute.
ly 81. hut still new contrasted with the
teachings Of other religions. Everywhere
on the globe men believe in the aid Of
God and in the power of God. The dis
Traction between the Jewish religion and
Paganism was not that one called God
Jehovah and the other Baal. II was that
-)ne worshiped Justice and the other
power The message of the Pagan religion
was OF an omnipotent power back of the
affairs Of nature AMI life. The message OF
Judaism was that God is n righteous God
and demands Righteousness of His children
Still we need TO understand that God ex.
poets Righteousness from us, and nothing
sess viii satisfy Him. In later Judaism
there came the greater message. No longer
cd as powerful. Just God but God az n
Cd who will help you TO be righteous.
nc message of the later prophet was
Mercy hack IN Ho,,,r.