Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1903-07-09
LOST AT HOME"
A Brilliant Sunday Sermon BY Rev.
Francis J. Mcconnell.
The PARABLE Ia Luke Which Deals With the
Grace Of God Toward the Lost.

~
| evening by the Rev. Francis j. McConneii,
| pastor of the New York Avenue nj. %.
| Church. The sermon was based on Luke
XIV. Mr.. Mcconnell said:
All the parallels of this fifteenth, chapter
| of Luke deal with the grace OF God toward
| the lost. There is the story OF sheer. lost,
| another of a coin lost and another OF two
sons lost. The parable from which the text
| of the evening is taken is not the parable
of the lost son, but the parable of the lost
| sons. A great many of us stop at the TWEEN
| ty-tifth verse. We rejoice in the sound OF
music and dancing which welcomes home
| the prodgal, and prefer that the story
should end with the happiness OF the ban
| quet. The remaining verses, perhaps, seem
to us somewhat out of place. The beautiful
narrative is married by reference to the
ug.ness of the elder brother, but if we
! leave the elder brother out OF the parable
we have lost in large part the Masters
point Remember that Jesus is speaking
OF the lost; lie is justifying, His dealing
with publicans and sinners: These are lost
| sheep which have wandered away from the
| shepherds; lost coins which have cludcd the
| fingers of the housckeeper and fallen into
| the cracks; lost sons who have wandered
| far from home to spend all in riotous llv-
| ing. The parable was spoken in response
to the murmurs Of Pharisees and Scribes.
With wonderful eXqusiteness Jesus puts
| the Pharisees and Scribes into the parable.
| The elder brother is the Scribe. who cam
not understand the love OF the Master for
publicans and sinners. it requires but a
moments glance to see that in the Master rs
| thought the PhariSCc is loSt-lost not IN
open prodigality and outhreaking vice, but
lost in false conceptions and false feelings.
Jesus does not say indeed that the Pharl-
see is lost, but He implies as much. When
we look at the parable in the light of the
hall ,,f Ip-tt unn n
the "lo>tncss' Of the elder brother.
Possibly it would he well to say just
word about the sense in which the word
lost is here used. lost in the gospel
means not that destruction has already
come upon the soul. but that the soul is in
the grip of forces which, if left to them
selves, will sooner or later bring disaster.
If the stccpe climber loses his hold the
onlookcrs cry out "Lost,' not because the
death.dCaling shol * has already come, but
because the steeple-climbcr is in the grasp
of force which will inevitably bring him
to destruction. If ship falls into the
clutches of an irresistible current running
upon the rocks the watchers upon the
shore cry "Lo,t.' At the moment of the
cry the ship is as staunch as ever: The
''lostncss' consists in her being in the
grasp of a force that must. if left to itse'f,
bring her to doom. The sheep ont in the
wilderness had not been killed when the
shepherd found it. 1t, however, was lost
because wandering aimIcssiy in the pres
cncc OF danger that must sooner or later,
bring the end. The coin IN the dust was
aS good as ever, but i'll danger Of being
swept out upon the rubbish heap. where
it might never he fonud. The younger son
had not yet lost hi, hfc. but hi, day, we're
short if they were TO be left to the forces
prcymg upon them. Now, in this sense of
the word, in the sense OF being in the grasp
of dcath.bringing forces, the elder brother
was lost as trlly as the Younger.
OF cour.c, there may he degrees in "iost.
ness Onc man may be further from the
right road than another, though any man
of the road is lost \ cspcctablc-looking
phariscc certainly docs not seem SO bad
as a diSsoutc spcndthrlt reduced to the
company OF swine. Bat when lostneSs is
under consideration, nothing is 80 dCcCp-
tive as outward appearances. Physical
vices that manifest themselves in outward
signs arc no moro deadly than some subtle
spiritual vices that work quictIy within.
Not all vices are rough aud hoiS'crous.
Again in the parable before MS we may
tai to see the lostAC.' of the elder brother
because he remained at home. We are very
apt to think OF lostncss as suntial. The
younger son was in far country. and
whether we realize it or not, something OF
our thought Of his lo,t"C.s has to do with
WA. at home and tbcrnfnro sofe. bn, Tho
ln,tnc.s of thc nar,I,o l,,. yrrv littic Ia
do with sn,tinl rrIatinn. 'rhn f,,bnr ro,,II
not have saved the younger son by faster
ing chains Gpon him and keeping him at
home. The sou was already far away
when he C,aspcd his fathers hand TO say
not al all m,ttc, Of nhy.icai d;.t,rcc
The SON who rrmai,cL A. 6nnn ,,,, ~ ,
spiritual sense ne truIv lost as Tho en-, urbn
wnndorcd nto ,bc far corntr,. "' Sir; ""J
Io,tncss CONSISTS IN f,Isc m.ayS Of (onll,.;ng
at and feeling oh,mt ln;r;t,,i ,L;urs ''N'''e
II NAV Lr tLa, ,o,,,n VII o,;cnt th,. .,o
ph,riscCs ,rcrn - n,,,; ,r, ,I1(. go ~
jiyinc at n,rt;cn,, ' d "n " H., VI prGiie
history: that thrv bava lana s;nco n,ssaI
on rar,;nr al hn ""NH iY"S N,mHr llsSeu
OF what i,s6 ~ snn,I Of pbar;s" ",." . da,a
# mnst hr ro.nnnIcd that ' ~, , .1,""'
wholIv sunrrGc;nl"thot las ", s nn,,o f, al
aces that in Phar;.n;s,n ,Toro 'rr"o NJ f az
d7men,, ~ "a, 't"aH'' "e'r .r' '"h lul
nynin phnr;so;Sm, "Pp po ,,ot any o,hl
name is changnJ hmt Io VI, nea" 'e
rca,,roar 'IE"ns,u, "u. tnc rhurac'eriS'lcS
PharSaism to make protest a9a;nst the
discussion of the lostness of Pharisasm
especially relevant
First Of all tho s,or.,t h,,,o ,,.,a H.. :,
his thonaht IS ~" .pino M'S 'oSt III
wears do so,,rc thno !" Tlo , '''ISu MAY. l',ann
i not nj ali occidcnt,,. i ~ ,.o, go,
tia nort Of ,o''Gs'ta., " j. yer! essen,
deem fon,, VI o ne 81 ctuic; II S,rlkeI a. one
The phary,.s 80 r; ah M l1an'lty OF
want shin IN 10 10 .iHe "boNe 'me i,ea OF ser,
~ ga r. 'r[ n'H tro"fne .! h,an reiatioh
himse,f ~ Nv o,'e' n'otner ulu hot take
thnrcfnro a. r. " Soh; put a" servant ana
snT Af,c Wi H. ,'n, ~ n,' thonSht OF nm
came ~ L ,nG PLo"lsal among 'he SWINE
wnrtbr ~ =, "' ho ,I, ne Sh,u' am no more
ono Of ~, in III L rnI'ru lna son; make me as
s eh""En, , o. hlnSeIl as lost forever to son,
SntP t hnu mopeu 9nIy Tor servantshlp; and
ioss ~; $50 ieureln',iR lacl IN lhe reck.
tho ,,a;1t 'ase was tnai ne had come to
, 'hhT POLY wncte ne conld appreciate son,
h;nnp trLl ,on l1al ,act tne 1ather restored
~ his iGu trough hau learned something