St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-10-03

xlSS&E NlVl WOTu VI pTOQucCy
A~ ~ declared. that the
My Christ who was to
NE4p come sh oul d
nv AE& y ~ preach the Gospel
2 to the poor, and
it was that passage
from Isaiah which Jesus quoted when
he presented Himself as the promised
Messiah at Nazareth, s"The Spirit OF
the Lord is upon Me, because He hath
Amounted Me to preach the Gospel to
the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the
broken-hearted, to preach deliyerance
to the captives, and recovering Of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that
are bruised, to preach the acceptable
year OF the Lord" When John the
Baptist sent his disciples to inquire of
Jesus ii He was the Christ, He replied:
Go and shew John again those things
which We do hear and see.. =. s. The poor
have the Gospel preached to them. -
Although HE was rich. vet for our
sakes He became poor" He identified
himself with the poor and needy, and
His hand was always outstretched to
help them. 1t could not possibly be
claimed with any reasonable justice
that He ever selfishly claimed for Him
self anything that might have been be-
slowed upon those VINO were poor. And
yet in the incident which is before us
we find some of the disciples murmur-
ing against the pouring Of the pre-
cious and costly ointment upon Jesus
head and claiming that the ointment
should have been sold and the poor
remembered. But Jesus, whose thought
was always for the poor, rebukes them
and declares: 'Ye have the poor with
you always, and whatsoever We will
We may do them good; but Me We have
not always" Tha poor were ever
present with them. affording perpet-
ual opportunity for the deed Of charity
and kindness. They were to be remem-
bered, they were to be helped, and
whatsoever anyone so desired he was
free to- do so; but there were gifts
which even the poor were not entitled
to. They belonged wholly to the Lord
Himself There were times when even
the poor must be forgotten in render
ing full and appreciative service to the
Lord.
1T is a matter Of proper adjustment
i OF ourselves to the Lord and to
those about US. Both have their claims
upon us. The giving to the one must
not take from the other that which Is
rightfully DUE We recognize. Of
course. the beautiful truth that he who
serves the poor serves the Lord
Scripture plainly declares that .'he that
hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto
the Lord" And Jesus, in the picture
which He drew of the judgment day,
identified those who had given cup Of
cold water to the needy as having rem
dered that service to Jesus Himself.
We may not meet Jesus in the flesh
and minister unto Him. but the poor
we have with us always and we may
find in their need opportunity Of bless
ed service unto the Lord. But in this
service there Is danger of error Of
Judgment in degree and kind Of SER
vice rendered. There must be careful
adjustment. The proper adjustment Of
the delicate balance wheel in my watch
determines whether the works will run
or not II the revolution Of the little
wheel is not equal in each direction.
SO as to properly act on the escapement
and permit the springs to drive
the wheels, my watch is good
for nothing as timekeeper. Ev-
erything else about the watch may be
of the best material and workmanship.
but If the balance wheel is not proper
" adjusted 1t will be Of no more ser
vice as a timekeeper than the gilded
play watch which my little one so
proudly carries. And so 1t is in re-
gard to our relations to the Lord and
the poor. An adjustment which ena-
bles one to render to each the rightful
devotion and service is the only adj
iustment which is fair to both. For
Mary to have sold her box OF ointment
for three hundred pence and distribu-
ted them to the poor would perhaps
have brought her much public praise,
but 1t would have robbed the Lord Of
that evidence of the exquisitely tender
love and devotion which comforted
His heart In the dark hours OF the last
days Of His ministry upon earth.
THAT Mary did not err Is evident
from our Lords rebuke to the muir
muring disciples and His commenda-
ton OF the deed OF Mary. She was so
adjusted in her relationship with her
Lord and those about her that she did
not allow the physical distress and the
needs OF the latter to obscure her Lord
and make her forget that the spiritual
vas far more important than the ply
steal. Three hundred pence and the
NOR looked bigger and better and more
smnortant to some Of the disciples than
the love and devotion and spiritual
nercebtton Of Mary. Human standards
ara SO different from those which God
recognizes and uses. Three hundred
,,.nce to the poor would have secured
- Mary honorable place among the
towns benefactors. She would have
hean known as q philanthropist among
men hut the Lord would never have
rad the privilege Of giving His gra-
cious ana appreciative testimonial
.bich has come with its rare fragrance
down to us through the years. Was
sSarv lacking in her sense OF the needs
e the poor. Were the critical disci-
.,,.s more jealous in charitable enter
.,s.s than their Lord? Mary's Offer
~ 49, .-..,n;e,o ~ the disciples. and