The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1905-11-16
Calnage
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talrnaee. d. d.

lessons of the gratitude which men
should feel for the self sacrifice of
mothers. sisters and wives. The text is
Mark xiv. s, "She hath done what she
rould'
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 hillsides tributaries to their reser-
voirs. They would gather into their
depths the waters from the fountains
beneath AMI from the showers over
head But, though they take in every
kning they can, they never have any
outfiowings They would never give
ANYTHING to anybody else unless they
were compelled so 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 wise and every muscle as rig
ID as a band of steel Their doctrine is,
"IVhat is yours ought to be mine and
what is mine is lay own" Truly they
aang on to everything they can. Their
appetites are omnivorous. But, like
great stagnant pools, they become
stenchful through their immobility.
Their love of other people is completely
circumscribed by their love of self.
Selfish love has even a more con-
temptible characteristic than mere
brutal love for self AS 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 depreeiate the good which
that person has tried to do. If man
like Andrew Carnegie eiadows libra
~ they raise a protesting voice and
cry. saying: what is the good of CIV
ne a 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 pager 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 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 trying to do what these selfish men
ought to do
Some Of these carping, selfish, fault
finding critics were in the home of ST.
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 of my
text. to show her love for Christ, en-
tered the dining hall and broke an
alabaster box and poured the ONT
ment of spikenard very precious upon
Christ's head they commenced to COM
plain. Absurd, absurd.' they cried
THAT ointment could have been sold
for 800 pence and given to the poor
Why all this waste?" Then said Jesus
LET her alone She hath wrought a
good work on me, for We have the poor
with you always, and whatsoever ye
will re may do themxgood, but me ye
have not always" Then Christ utter
ed the words of my text, "She hath
done what she could" That means to
the very best of her power she had
shown her true love for Jesus Christ.
Noble Sacrifice.
Genuine and significant must have
been the act of this woman of my text
to have brought forth such an encomi-
nm from the Saviours lips. But is
Jesus the only being who has had a
woman break over his head an ala
baster box of ointment of spikenard
very precious? Have not some of us
been surrounded in our babyhood, in
our boyhood. in our young manhood,
in our middle age and old age, by just
such noble self sacrificing women, who
nave for us literally done what they
could? ''Xes Yes" most of us can
answer, 1--WE have. We have"
would like to call to recollection some
of our obligations, some of the services
that we have received from devoted
women, who would have laid down
their lives If it had been necessary fol-
our welfare They literally did al
they could to bring us to our trues'
and fullest mental and physical an6
spiritual development.
Where shall we begin to find these
female characters, who have broker
for us their alabaster box Of Ointment
Of spikenard very precious? Naturally
we start with that sweet face tha'
lowered about our cradle. When VIZ
go back to the dim recollections Of
childhoodkwe remember that mother al
always busy. She was either cleaning
HE parlors4orsmaking the beds, or go
out to market, or busy with hel
Z at a big basket filled with the
clean washing. We never re
o,e.s soy asleep unless she was sicE
In bes ,ssr the doctors care or I'm
less we ~ SleG under her covers il
the early 9rning when we awok'
frightened rom dreaming bad dreams
She was always busy.
Turn over the portraits in the family
H.