The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-12-20
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON eY
THE REV. HOWARD MEllSH.
Subject: The Gospel OF Love.

Brooklyn, N. Y.-When st. Luke's
Church celebrated this year the fes'
tival of itsspatron saint, the Rev. How
ard Melish, of the Church of the Holy
Trinity, preached an instructive ser
mon. Mr.. Melish's subject was 'The
Gospel of Love-" and the text, st.
John xv:12: This is My command
ment, That We love one another, as
have loved you" Mr.. Melish said:
What impressed the world, when
Christian love. The world had known
patriotism, family affection, clan 10y
atty. But interest in and sacrifices
for men outside your family clan.
country, were new. The %outpouring of
money to relieve the distress Of Gal
weston, Martinique, Armenia, is indi-
cative, we say, of our common broth
erhood to-day. Think of the effect on
q world which had never experienced
such deeds of the sacrifices Christian
people of Macedonia and Achaia made
to send help to the poor saints Of
jerusalem" at q time, too, when for
years the Jew was the most detested
Of all Mediterranean peoples. The
heather poet Lucian, in his comments
on the new religion was especially
struck by this. Their original law
giver," he wrote, had taught them
that they were all brethren, one an
other. p = They become incredi-
bly, alert when disaster occurs that
affects their common interests. On
such occasions no expense is grudged."
And one of the ablest Of the early
Christian apologists, Tertullian, OBJ
serves: 1T is our are for the helpless,
our practice of loving kindness, that
brands us in the eyes Of many Of our
opponents"
Professor Harnack has a most inter-
esting chapter on the gospel of love
and charity in his new book, "The Ex-
! pansion Of Christianity" He shows
that during all those years Of expan-
sion the Christian people were busy
with the support of widows and Or
phans, the sick, the infrm, and the
disabled, the care of prisoners and
people languishing in the mines, the
care Of poor people needing burial, the
care of slaves, Of those visited by
great calamities, of brethren on q
journey, and of churches in poverty or
any peril. The churches also furnished
work and insisted on work. 1t was
such love that called forth from the
heather world the exclamation Of sur
prise and deep interest, Behold how
these Christians love one another"
The Christian church, as Mt present
organized, no longer impresses the
world in this way. Once the church
maintained the hospitals and asylums;
to-day the State is the great charitable
agency, as it is the great educator.
Compared with Brooklyn's public
schools and charities our, Church Char
ity Foundation and schools at Garden
City are mere ,playthipgs. The labor
unions, NOT. the churches, support their
brethren who are thrown out of work.
Not only do they contribute heavily
to their fellows during strikes, but by
means of sick benefits and death pay
ments they maintain their members
during sickness, give them decent bur
ial and care for the widows and or
phans. The Roman Catholic church
still maintains parochial schools, So
| dalities, asylums, hospitals in q great
md useful way, because it has the
support of members and concentrates
its resources. The Protestant church,
though it Outnumbers the Catholic
church, is divided into eight princi-
| pal camps. Each is too weak to make
much Of an impress upon the world,
and, so far, they have not learned
how to unite in a common service.
Members of Protestant churches are
leaders in every educational and char
liable cause, but they count there as
individuals and only in the most in
direct way as church people. The
Young Mems and Young Women's
Christian Associations are the only
great union movements in which the
Protestant churches have taken active
part. But have those impressed the
community as an expression Of the
love Of the Christian church? 1t is
the opinion Of some workers in the
Young Mems Christian Association,
and Of many clergymen, that the asso-
citation has become another church. 1t
does a splendid work for young men,
and every cent given to it is well
| spent, but it does not make the Chris
tian church stronger except as all phi
lanthropic work outside the church
| plows the field and makes it ready for
the sowing. Since it was started there
are no more young men in the churches
than before. On the contrary, from
every church, Protestant and Catho-
lie, comes the common cry that the
men are leaving the churches for the
associations, for lodges, for the clubs,
for the labor unions. The churches,
among the working classes and the So
called upper classes, are attended and
supported largely by women. With the
extension of the trade union movement
among working women, and clubs
among other women, the future alone
can tell what the falling off here may
be. There are now over q million peo-
pie in New York City alone outside the
churches, while Professionalism has in
the last year actually shrunk in num-
bers. 1t is easy to see why thousands
should be out. All grafters, all dis
honest insurance officials, all gamblers,
'all lovers Of pleasure, more than low
ers of God," all Indifferent people, and
q hundred classes more, naturally stay
away from a place where every word
and look and sign disturbs the con-
science if it is not dead, and bids men
live for others. l wish all these were
in the church as I wish all the sick
were in the hospitals and the ship
wrecked safe on land. But when we
have subtracted from one million. the
thousands who Gun have nothing in
common with the Christian church
there remain the many thousands who
may and ought to be within the church.
They Ore outside the church, but they
are interested in the Christian religion.