The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-19

Chicago, April 12.-In his Easter sermon the preacher shows how the resurrection is as much of a reality today to all who believe as il was to the apostles and draws some helpful spiritual lessons. The text is John xx. 1e, She turned herself and said unto him, 'Rabboni, which is to say. Master"
 Poor thing Poor thing! There goes a broken hearted woman. In the early hours of the morning she is sobbing and wrnging her hands. What is the mat ter. Mary?H An" she answers. they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him. The Roman body snatchers or the high priests ghonls have rlhed the tomb where We buried Jesus. I am trying to trace His sacred dust and bring it back. If possible, to it's former resting place."
 Are Marys actions extraordinary? If we thought the graves of our loved ones had been opened and the bodies carried away for dissecting purposes, would we not at once hurry off to the family plots and try to find some trace of these most despicable of all constituencies maraud- CTS and make them surrender their stolen treasures?
 In our bereavements comforters remind us that it is the mind, the soul, the spirit, of the departed that we love They tell us that the physical form that is still in death was not really the beloved one, but only the tenement that loved one temporarily occupied. We know that is true, but how dear that tenement Is to usl That hand which once held ours in loving clasp, those eyes which lighted up in joy when we approached, those lips which uttered words of affeetion-how dear they still are, though death has robbed them of all power of responsel It is hard to part with them even now.
 l was deeply impressed with this feel ing when some years ago l visited the crematory at Pittsburg. 1 held in my hand the urn containing the ashes of the famous engineer who devised the Fer ris wheel for the Chicago Worlds fair. Only n few months before he had wor- shiped In my church at Pittsburg. l re- membered well another exquisite form which had been similarly consumed. How well l could recall the face and form of Emma Abbott as she sang one of her wonderful songs only six months before her body was carried in on a strctcher and showed through the opened furnace
 
 tendant, Do you believe in cremation? ?" "I did" he answered, 'until last May. l firmly believed in 1t on sanitary grounds and could argue it's beneficence from any standpoint" Then his eyes grew moist as he said: But last spring my little girl, my only child, died l could not bear then to think of her beautiful curls and lovely form being shriveled up in that hot furnace So when her mother came to me and asked, Husband, shall we have baby's body cremated? I an- swered: No, wife. We loved that little body too well to let 1t be burned. l think we had better start family plot and let our baby sleep among the spring flow ers' I"
 Mary's Second Journey.
 An. yes Mary's second journey to that rified tomb was the most natural out come of her breaking heart. She wanted to find the poor, bruised, lacerated form of one whom she had loved while He was alive and whom she still continued to love after He was dead.
 But that journey back to the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea ended in the strangest of all surprises Mary went to seek the dead. She found the living Mary went to an empty crypt. She found a risen Lord. Let us learn today how Christ first appeared after the crucifx- ion, to whom He appeared and for what He appeared. titGL
 The risen Lord revealed Himself ac- cording to the ful1llment of prophecy If your husband should say to you: My dear, business compels me to go to New York. I shall be gone just four days l shall be home next Thursday morning on the Pennsylvania limited express" You would expect him home at that time. Why? Because in all your twenty years of married life your husband has never broken such an appointment with you. You say: He Is as particular about keeping an engagement as was George Washington. One day the Pres fuent stood by his desk with his open watch in his hand saying to his tardy secretary MT. Secretary, you have kept me waiting now ten full minutes. A slow watch is no excuse Either you must get a new watch or l will get a new sec retary.' That is my husband all through. He never, never breaks an appointment unless he first notifies the party that 1t will be impossible for him to keep it." But, my sister. you have mot as much right to expect your husband to keep an appointment with you as the Christian disciples had that Jesus would rise again from the dead. He clearly and distinctly and emphatically told them that He would do so. He told them this so clearly and pointedly that the high priest and his hirelings went to Pilate and had him seal the tomb and place thereabout a Roman guard until the third day lest his disciples come by night and steal Him away and say unto the people He is risen from the dead" Yet when the res urrection of Easter morn did come Christs disciples were surprised. They were all dumfounded. They were at first so nonplused that they thought the Ro- man ghouls had stolen Christ's body and the most despised of all thieves, the body snatchers, had desecrated the tomb.
 chrst's Promises Fulfilled.
 This leads to some suggestive infer ences. Our coming gospel triumphs and successes are to be a long succession of surprises. Though we Christians may live as close to Christ as His disciples did, yet when Christ promises are to be full filled we shall be amazed with a holy and glorified amazement. We shall be amazed in the way we shall come to die. Many really good people now look upon death as a haunting horror But most of us will then be surprised to find how easy It is for Christian to die. Was not dying William Hunter amazed when he cried "Al is we'll All Is we'll" Was not dying John Pawson amazed when he