Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1904-03-10

scriptures lay stress upon His humble cir.
cumstanees, but they do not place Him ON
a. par with the thriftless sluggard who de-
serves 60 teel the pinch of want No ef.
tort of ours can fathom the depths OF His
numlllat1on who, being the Son of God, be-
Game the Sons-ofaAIary and zasAearnenter.
VINO. though He was rich yet for our sakes
ne became poor, that we through His pow
e~ey mlght be richs but He knew no indi-
gence. we see this divine Being in Naza-
reth on self-supporting basis, making =
living by mending .plows and yoLes. re-
pairing houses and doing all the Jobs which
Iail TO village carpenter; we see Him
working with His hands for bread and
learning by day that way of labor which
must be trodden BY all bread winners. He
nelonged ;nr 20 the grand army of self-respect-
ing WorklngInen. Not from palace nor
yet from a hoyei, but from the workshop
OF an artisan does Jesus of Nazareth make
common cause with all the people of the
passing generations. -
How surely our Lord condemns the. sin.
fulness .'ofi Incidence, and how .sublimely
aoes Hls example urge the employment Of
our energies, lie, might have maintained
Himself without work, but to have done so
would have been to set the seal of His
sanction. upon the very spirit that prompts
the average individual to get through this
world with as little effort as possible-the
spirit that is plainly the spirit Of the devil.
and that Is the prolific cause of crime and
woe. lie who fed the. crowds from a few
loaves and fishes might have wrought a
daily miracle for Himself, but never once
was his omnlpotence exerted in His own
behaf He accepted the very situation
winch confronts us. Engaged with the oc-
cupatlons of His trade during so manv
years, He exalts industry into a divine
virtue and brands sloth as deadly sin.
fnr an L.,
TOR absolute ease. 1t may not be necessary
Tor any one to be occupied with the bur
Gems OF business, but we are all bound to
keep IN personal touch with the life of hu-
manity. There are other spheres of use
f1dness than the field and the shop, the
asks for thousands who are willing to fol-
low the example of splendid heroes who
have withdrawn from the haunts of trade
and from the hope Of gain IN order to de-
vote themselves exclusively to the ministry
Of Christian laymen. Everywhere are char
lties calling loudly for, encouragement and
service: Politics presents a. wide range for
the activities of patriotism and Of the very
highest religion.{ There is something for
everybody to don and no one is justified in
living for himself in a sequestered and at
tractive nook away from the demands that
sound from every quarter. Each individ-
ual should have some occupation, a place
III the worlds vast factories, a work of
some sort which shall tell for the happiness
of Others. 75.a F 4s(9%-
Ihes Lord has a strong word for labor:
He IS the fellow and the champion of all
tollers. He has a meaning for all those
who work with their brain or with their
hands, for all such are workingmen. BE
has !. forever sconsecrated the everydayness
:The1 Light of ASIA" which states beauti-
fully certain features of the Buddhist reli-
glon, represents the incarnate Buddha as a
wandering beggaf, asking-food Jesus
Christ was no beggar. The mendicant, any
more than the pauper, receives not the ap-
proval OF His own practice, by which He
sanctlhed labor until the end of the world.
Ihe Galhlean Carpenter was no less the
lncarnate Son of God during the years
which He spent at Nazareth than He was
on the mountain of the Transformation or
on the first Easter Day. There are many
reasons why work is honorable, but it re-
ceives its crowning glory from the exper-
ience of the divine Christ during the lonp
period of which we know nothing save that
He was mechanic. He has endured all
occupations with dignity that nothing short
OF our own disloyalty can possibly take
away. 1t matters not what ones daily
tolls are, they, are worthy of fidelity and
energy, and they are as much part of
Gods service as the saying of prayers and
the receiving of religious rites. The en-
peror and his humblest subject, the prime
minister and the street sweeper. the mil
honalre and his valet, all are included in
the spirit Of industry and devotion which
Jesus manifested at the bench which stood
IN a shop or, perhaps, at times under
huge tree at Nazareth. He has hallowed
all vocatlons by the conservation of His
personal industry, and they should be in
terpreted and accepted as a sacred part of
the life which now is. r.
The Nazareth Carpenter teaches that
worldly place of itself is nothing worth A
man may. be man wherever he is, and
labor Is honorable whatever it may be.
Station or the lack of it does not make
the man or4shis life. The people OF lowlv
degree may likewise learn precious lessons
OF the Gah1ean artisan. They become dis
couraged because they fancy themselves to
pc OF no account, and they too often cher
1si1 I, an m unhappy Contempt for their, daily
tolls. They despise athe factory or the
Office as necessary evils Jesus has lesson
Tor them which, He pronounces from the
Nazareth shop. Long years He spent in
obscurlty.a No smurmurs escape Him, no
signs of lmpatience,a no evidences Of
restless longing to be otherwise, no vulgar
and goddess disposition to try to improve
upon the plans of divine providence Quiet
" day after, day He was concerned with
the unlmpresslve and uninteresting mat
ters of His business, and His only aim was
TO De true to- the state where He was des-
tined to live until the time came for be-
ginning the public ministry. Wherever the
Heavenly Father has placed us we, the
sons of men, can be the sons of God. The
real things Of life are not earthly and tenn
poral, and the true estimate OF ourselves is
not the place-be it lofty or lowly-which
we hold among men. The divine Carpen-
ter is a comfort and an inspiration to all
s Amid the employment Of His trade did
Jesuss ssprepare Himself for His public life.
There He was made, ready, at least in part.
| to exercise all those transcendently great
qualities of mind and heart which marked
His ministry. For three. years He gave
Himself up to His work sas the worlds Re-
deemer, but for fifteen years, and more. as
was probably the case, He svas o1,lyaa car
penter.z Surely He did not spend all His
time and energy upon His daily tolls. Of
ten did He devote Himself to godly exer-
cises Of prayer and contemplation, without
which no one cam develop the traits OF
highest character. I But He was no .recluse.
He settled the truth once. for all .tiaat the
place for strong minded, stout hearted, folk
TO serve God is in the world 'the arena for
doing the Fathers will 10 Eightsherc where
we have abundant Opportunities Tor the
culture Of holy graees and the practice Of
holy living. We need the benefits Of ocea-
sional eoitude. kut we are bound 10 think
SO seriously of lie and Of Gods cause az
to give no place 70 the mawkish sentimea-