Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-11-18
Ca(r>1aQe
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee. ID. d.

ltSSOuS VI lllt 6lAAiANhN NhAN'
should feel for the self sacrifice OF
mothers, sisters and wives. The text Is
Mark xiv, s, "She hath done what she
could"
Some people are like the Dead sea
submerging the "cities of the plain"
They have no outlets. They would
make all the streams Of the surround
ing hillsdes tributaries to their reser-
voirs. They would gather into their
depths the waters from the fountains
beneath and from the showers over
head. But, though they take in every
thing they can, they never have any
outflowings. They would never give
anything to anybody else unless they
were compelled 80 to do. Their hands
are like steel traps. They keep the
palms open only as long as they have
nothing on them. But as soon as any
thing touches their skin their open
palms fly shut and every finger be-
comes a wise and every muscle as rig
id as a band of steel. Their doctrine Is,
"What Is yours ought to be mine and
what is mine is my own" Truly they
hang on to everything they can. Their
appetites are omnivOrous. But, like
great stagnant pools, they become
stenchful through their immob -lty.
Their love Of other people is completely
circumscrbed by their love of self.
Selfish love has even a more con-
temptible characteristic than n mere
brutal love for self AS a rule, selfish
men consider it personal reflection on
themselves if other people are not just
as mean and selfish as they are. When
any one makes a sacrifice for another
they give themselves to fault finding,
are always complaining and always
trying to depreciate the good which
that person has tried to do III q man
like Andrew Carnegie endows libra
nv they raise a protesting voice and
cry. saving: "What is the good Of CIV
ing q pile of books to lot Of work
men who never read? Why does he
not give them a loaf of bread instead
of a printed pageY If a philanthro-
pist offers to give loaf of bread every
midnight to every person who comes
for it they say: what is the good OF
feeding a lot of dirty tramps and dead
beats? These men ought to be made
TO work as | have TO work" Thus
wherever we turn we find some men,
and. alas, they are many, with these
two miserable characteristics. They
refuse to do anything for any one else'
and they find fault with all those who
are irving to do what these selfish men
ought to do.
Some of these carping, selfish, fault
finding critics were in the home OF 81
mon the leper in the time Of Christ, as
they are in the homes of our modern
Bethanys. They never give a cent to
any one if they can help it, and they
hate to see any one else give away a
cent. Thus when the woman or my
text TO show her love for Christ en-
tered the dining hall and broke an
alabaster box and poured the olnt-
ment Of spikenard very precious upon
Christ's head they commenced 10 COM
plain. absurd, absurd they cried.
THAT ointment could have been sold
for 300 pence and given to the poor.
WHY all this wastef" Then said Jesus:
"Let her alone. She hath wrought a
good work on me, for ye have the poor
with YOU always. and whatsoever ye
will We may do them good, but me ye
have not always" Then Christ utter
cd the words Of my text, "She hatn
done what she could" That means tc
the very best of her power she had
shown her true love for Jesus Christ.
A Noble Sacrifice.
Genuine and significant must nave
been the act of this woman of my tex
TO have brought forth such an encomi
um from the Saviour's lips. But Is
Jesus the only being who has had
woman break over his head an ala
baster box of ointment Of spikenarc
very precious? Have not some OF Us
been surrounded in our babyhood, II
5 our boyhood. in our young manhood
in our middle age and old age, by JUS
such noble self sacrificing women, Wh'
have for us literally done what the!
could? "Yes. Yes" most OF us cal
answer, I'VE have. We have"
would like to call to recollection SOM
Of our obligations, some Of the service
= that we have received from devoted
+ women, who would have laid dow
u their lives if it had been necessary 10
our welfare. They literally did al
= they could to bring us to our trues
and fullest mental and physical ant
spiritual development
Where shall we begin to find tnes
female characters, who have DroKe
, for us their alabaster box of ointmen
of spikenard very precious? Naturail
we start with that sweet face Una
lowered about our cradle. When W
90 back to the dim recollectons Q
childhood we remember that motner a
always busy. She was either cleanln
the parlors. or making the beds, or g
ing out to market, or busy with he
needle at a big basket filled with tn
weeks clean washing. We never II
member her asleep unless she was sic
in bed under the doctors care or III
less we crawled under her covers
the early morning when we awoR
frightened from dreaming bad dream
She was always busy.
Turn over the portraits In the ranll
album. There" you say, 'is my hr'
picture. Mother told me 1t was take
Just a short time after l was chrI
1t tened. She made that little dress VII