Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1904-08-04
,'CHRISTIAhlTY ANDLOVE"
An Eloquent Sunday Discourse By
Bishop E. G. Andrews.
Church Manifestations Should Be Directed To-
ward Freeing the Human Soul OF
Scilshness.

christianity and Love- The text was
from l Timothy i:5: Now the end OF the
commandment is charity out OF pure
heart, and of q, good conscience, ana OF
Every careful reader OF the English
Bible takes knowledge of the fact that the
English language, like every other living
language, is in process of change. lie
Knows the significance of words, as well
Is their form, and occasionally their order
changes. He reads, for instance, in the
Psalms: "My heart is fixed, oh God, my
aeart is fixed" and he remembers that
that word fixed" at the time our version
vas made had the meaning, which we still
.etain in our colloquial speech, to be
liked up," and so he reads: "My heart is
prepared, oh God. my heart is prepared"
He reads in the Epistle to the Thessaon'
ans that they which are alive at the sec
md coming of Christ shall not prevent
them that are asleep, and he remembers
that the word prevent originally meant
20 prcccde simply, and came to have ITS
present meaning because he that preccdes
mother is likely to get in the way OF that
,ne and obstruct another who follows, and
10 he reads that at the second coming OF
Christ they that are alive shall not prccede,
,r shall not have the advantage over them
that sleep in Christ, for both alike shall be
called to meet their Lord in the air.
So in this text VIC have the word Char
ty," word which to-day signifies either
, llmsgiving or kindly Judgment of others,
put in the time of our version 1t had the
meaning to which the new reviscrs have
.eturned, viz, "lovc," or "bcnevo,ence,
md in this passage we read this statement:
The aim of the commandment is bcnevo
ence, good will, effective love, even as we
ipeak of the love of man to God then also
20 his fellow men.
Another Bible criticism is worth our
while. The word commandment like
The word "law," may have either narrow
,r broad significance. The narrow. sig
1ificance Of that is ''partcu,a lar precept at
:ended by particular sanction A broad
r meaning is that OF hoy ordained n,
,ttution and SYSTEM" and that broader
meaning evidently should be here used be
,ause of the context. We come then to
The entire statement: "The end, or aim, OF
The whole Christian institution is love out
If a pure heart, and of good conscience,
md of faith unfcigncd,"
| 1t originated in heart of boundless love
toward man in an act of love unparalleled,
Ne may suppose in all the ages of eternity
even the gift of Gods only Son. All Its
2recepts turn in this direction. Church or
CARNATIONS and ministrations of every
sind, if they he rightly directed, have SIM
bly, this purpose to discharge the human
soul of that seltshncss that belongs to 1t
~ nature, and to enter into it all the love
| If God.
Now all familiar with the New Tesla.
nent know that this is no solitary utter.
lnce-t is but one of many broad and
comprehensive statements. One came to
the Master saying: (Which Is the first and
great commandment And He answered:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with nil thy mind, and with all thy
strength this is the first commandment,
and the second is like unto it: Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two
| commandments hang all the law and the
prophets" In another passage st. Paul
tells us that Love is the fulfilling of the
law" If there be any other command
ment, it is briefly comprehended in this
saying: Chou shalt love thy neghbor as
myself" St. James calls this the royal
law" St. Paul tells us: above all things,
have fervent charity one toward another.
And St. John, in memorable passage, in
one of his cpistles, tells us that God Is
love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth
in God and God in him
Christ told the story of a man who went
down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell
among robbers, as one may nowadays DO
on that road. They robbed him, stripped
MN OF Ills TdlIleIl, WOu1ltlcu MN, anu wv
him half dead. Then came one OF the chief
representatives of the current religion, a
priest, and passed by on the other side.
Then there came down subordinate rep
resentative of the current religion, lie.
ute. and he came and looked and passed
by on the other side. Then came hereto
in religion, an alien in race, and, looking
upon the wounded man, he was moved
with compassion and dismounted and
bound up his wounds, set the wounded
man on his own beast, brought him to an
inn and took care of him for the night and
paid the charges, leaving money for add.
tional charges, saying to the inn keeper:
"If it costs more | will repay when | come
again" And that alien in race, that here.
tic in religion, the Lord Jesus presents be-
fore us as the one great example OF our
practical religion.
Now be pleased to notice two facts in
this natural love. In the first place. much
of it is simply instructive, divine I'M
plantation for high purposes, but because
not founded in moral reason, divine reason,
therefore without moral worth. 1t is but
part of that endowment of human nature
by which the propagation and the educa-
ton of the race is made possible, but 1t
, does not imply of necessity any high moral
quality The bear will rush on the point of
the spear in the defense of its cubs. The
wildcat will die for its young The eagle,
with unwearied patience, will teach the
young eaglet to fly. VIII YOU, therefore,
say: Behold, what paragons of moral ex.
cellence" Would you not say of them If
they lacked parental and tilal love: BE.
hold what monsters"
In the second place. this natural love is
marked by great limitations in its extent.
1t is laid upon ones family and ones
friends, upon ones neighbors and country,
upon those who are of the same race, or it
may be of the same religious faith, or of
the same political persuasion, and it is
hemmed in by these limitations. How
many a man goes to the market place and
to the exchange with perfect indifference
low man and wrestles with them in bust
ness to return to his home to lavish gladly
upon his family all his illgotten gains.
There are many generous men in all our
communities, but they may be also men de-
sirous of having their generosity duly ac-
knowledged and trumpeted abroad through
out the world, and if they fail of that ac-
acknowledgement somehow their charity
seems to sour upon them, and they feel
that they are not recognized as they eX-
pected to be. Benedict Arnold was an en-
inently brave and skillful soldier, and SO
far as we know a true patriot, but he was
a spendthrift, and when Congress censured
him in various ways he at length became
Benedict Arnold the traitor. The truth is
that it is very easy to overload all the
joists and timbers of our soul with these
defects and we may notice in passing that
a great deal that passes for charity is of
tentimes a thin veneer over unmcasured
masses of sel6shness, and we may further
notice that sometimes we have credited
ourselves with very great tenderness and
good will toward men, because, for in
stance, we wept over the griefs and woes
of the heroes and heroncs of fiction, and
yet find ourselves (such is the inertia of
our nature) never SO much as lifting up
our hands to relieve the unutterabIe woes
that crowd in human souls all around us.
Another defect of the natural love is that
1t is simply an unrighteous love; mean It
lanlsn 81 "A