Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-02-18

II,
mystery, mystery! A high, deep, i'm
penetrable and overpowering mystery!
Yet the mystery OF the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit Is n fact revealed n us, 10
be accepted by faith and bringing TO all
who so receive 1t message OF Joy and
peace.
Mystery Esseutin1 to Pence.
Consider how near this conception Of
Christ. the Divine Son manifested in
human flesh. brings the Deity to us.
II we did not have the manifestation
Of Gocs love in Jesus Christ how
would we worship? Even the lowest
forms of religious truths cannot exist
in the heart of man without some Kind
Of an incarnation. said some years
ago in India to Buddhist priest: You
do not believe that these hideous idols
of wood and clay and stone have any
divine power? You do not believe that
those bleared eyes and that horrible
grin and that twisted body is god ?
You know you do not. Why. could
knock him down with my hand.
could crush him with the heel Of my
.
what you say is true. We intelligent
leaders Of the east do not believe those
idols are gods. But the common pco.
pie cannot conceive of n spirit God as
our prophet has revealed him to US.
SO we give the common people q god
of clay and wood. which they can see
and touch" Brother. our God has sent
a.,
MS a revelation Of God. lie came so
that our finite minds might grasp the
infinite. He came to show us that God
could suffer rs we suffer anil be tempt.
ed az we arc tempted. set be without
sin. He came as Il God of never end
ing love. Mystery. Mystery. The
Trinity is IN incNplainabic mystery.
Yet it is mystery we all need. a mys.
terry we should oil accept. 1t is Il mys-
terry essential 10 our peace.
Mystery Of the Trinity.
Thus the mystery Of the Trinity
means simply this: God the Father
comes to us ana says: ITO explain 10
you all things. my child, would he 10
SGT before you what you could not com
prohcnd. Your mind is too weak to
grasp it. any more than Il little child IN
his fathers laboratory can understand
or grasp the chemical principle of the
adhesion OF the basic elements. But il
man form if YOU see The Spirit OF God
animating n being like Yourself, if You
come in contact with tho divine peri'cc-
tons. active in human environment,
you will then have Il glimpse Of the
glory of the Godhaad and realize some
thing OF the supcrnal mystery Of Fa-
ther. son and Holy Spirit. All this 1
will show 10 prove that am God, the
Loving Father, and ye are my chill
lren.' Today We find the Trinity Il
mystery. But. though a mystery, deep
and high and ovcrrowering, It is a
mystery 50 simple that Il little child
can reverence the majesty OF the Ia.
thcr can realize the love of the Son and
can yield 10 the influence OF the Holy
Spirit. Great and yet beautiful and
simple is the mystery Of godlincss in
Jesus Christ.
The conflicting doctrines Of Gods
omnipoiencc and mans free agency are
an incXplainnblc mystery. Yes. We
know that God Is infinitely grca or rhan
man. We know that the Creator who
holds the seas in the palm of his hand
and at whose touch tho volcanoes
smoke and the eerth trcmhles and
whose voice is the voice Of tie STORM
has supreme control over the creatures
he has made He can say TO man. Go
and he gOeth: come. and h. com"th; do
this, and he docth it, But though
God the Omnipotrnt is truly all pow
crful. | know can resist his will I
know as a free agent, l can raise my
hand or lower it. know that | can
clnch my fist with hate or have the
open palm Of love. know l can walk
across this pulpit to the right or to the
left. I know I can choose between
right and wrong Free. free, Free
am I, glcrlously free. a mystery a
great unfathomable mystery, With
God tho Omnpotcnt am still man, the
free agent.
Harmonizins Crccds.
These two conflicting facts are true
but who can reconcile them? There
fore. after we have once accepted this
mystery we can harmoul2e all Chris
tian creeds ar the foot Of the cross
With il we can take down the bars OF
sectarianiAm and call all members of
the different Protestant churches on
brothers and our sisters. How can
YOU do that z" saws some one to me.
Simply enough After this MYSTERY
this great fundamental mystery-is
once granted the question OF the man.
ner Of your service and the church IN
which you will worship Is determined
by the aspect from which You view
your relation to God. If begin 10
argue from God down to man. be
come Calvinist. If say to myself
Il know God Is omnipotent know he
can foresee all things: he can save
me il he will. know" then | natu-
rally 90 into the Presbyterian church
Eut If I say to myself. Il know | am a
free AGENT; know | can accept or rc-
iect my Heavenly Father" 90 into
the Methodist church. Then instead of
Hrg",nG from God down to man.
argua from man m TO God. II is sim
ply the difference OF putting the EN-.
phasis of my creed uDon Gods ON.
Impotence or mans free agency. Yet,
though ! was born CNlvinst and
have been baptized In n Calvinistic
church ana have received my thee
lp.,.nl puliprtiop i'm IA t'olviDiSti, .anI