Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-04-27

wild dora 6 the tropics. In Honolulu
We were Welcomed by friends who
came down to greet us with thousands
upon thousands Of flowers. They On.
twined them In our horses hair and
harness. They covered our carriages
with them. They placed them In gar.
lands about our necks. They tossed
them under our feet in the streets.
But Notwithstanding my experience in
the east I was unable to realise the
beauty Of an Easter Sunday in south
ern California until I myself had par.
ticipated in such O service. No man
can appreciate the beauty Of Lon
Angeles church until be sees there .
church building literally covered with
pure white lilies. Not rcd leaf there.
only the white leaf and the green lsaf
side BY side. The lilies seemed not to
be lilies, but great curtains and crosses
and columns Of white. On my arst
Easter service the people brought %
many liliee for decorating purposes
that the ladies could not use them all.
Great piles Of these white lilies had
been thrown away as useless. Why
did We not send some Of these lilies to
other churches? That would have been
foolish waste Of time. All the other
churches had Just as many lilies on
hand % we had.
The Lily Of Christ's Time.
Beautiful and abundant as are the
lilies of southern California, appropri-
ate as they are as symbols Of Christ's
resurrection, would not limit our
thoughts to them on this Easter MORN
ing. 1t was not of such flowers as these
alone that Christ referred to when he
babe US consider the lilies. The lily Of
Christ's time was not, as many sup
pose, like the lily Of the western world.
It was not the Gala lily. with its cor
nucopia leaf and long pistil Of gold; not
the lily Of the valley, which looks like
a string of bells, ready to ring out the
Easter chimes; not the Bermuda lily,
with its clapper Of white, nor the water
lily, lifting its head above the river
Nile to be decapltated and pounded into
-four as the modern husbandman
makes his wheat. Nor was It the hulch
lily, which DR.. Thomson. the oriental
traveller, describes as of such velvety
softness that the finest silk could not
be softer The New Testament lily was
q name given Complementary to all
the wild flowers Of Palestine. as the
name sparrow" embraced all the small
birds that winged their way above the
Judean hills. Thus. as my Easter text,
Consider the lilies" embraces all wild
flowers, shall not hem In and circum-
scribe my subject by the beautiful
lilies which we find decorating our
churches this Easter day. In the SYM
Dol Of the growth Of the wild flower
shall try to find some practical gospel
lesson appropriate for this glorious
service Of Easter morn.
The wild flowers Of Palestine, in the
first place, teach us that man, insig.
nificant though he is, is nurtured and
protected by a divine Fathers care. nc
matter where he may be. They teach
US that II God takes the trouble tC
plant and develop little wild flower
; God Is certainly willing to care for and
does care for us. One day the grea,
wizard Of Abbotsford" was found ir
a Scottish ravine, down on his knees
with paper and pencil. drawing thu
construction Of the leaf Of wild
flower Some one said to him. ISL
Walter, why are you spending you
time thus?" "Ah," answered Sir Wal
ter Scott. II am studying the love o
my Maker for me in bis care for thi
little wild flower. If God Is willing t
take the time to color this little lea
and place II in veins and arteries a
perfect in construction as are the vein
Of my own body. II he ia at pains t
warm this leaf into life and feed 1t ant
give 1t drink, surely God is willing t
{ care and docs care for me. whom h
has made In his own divine image.
Was not Walter SCOTS answer right
( Can we not find the love Of God TO
man demonstrated in Gods care TO
the wild flower Of Palestine. whlcl
Christ called lilies? Indeed on this da,
|, 70 further than this. assert that n
man can fully realize the love and ten
derness Of God unless he has seen then
pictorialized on the leaves Of the will
flowers. The poet preacher. Henri,
| NuTu 0ctCuSgs 00iUs = Wv NV OOssVv
that any one can fully read the nature
world who does not read the Bible. An
am satisfied that no one can read th
Bible to the best advantage who doe
not read the natural world a grea
deal. These things are very much (
each other-what blossom is to frul
and what germ Ia to blossom. One
> not the cause Of the other helps to PR
g duce It, And 80 these two revelations
G the external and the internal, work Il
q gether and both work for the sam
O purpose"
, Symbols of Code Care.
Can you not see Gods love and car
for you in the looms which weave 4
gether a rose leaf. In the strength q
the honeysuckle. which lifts itse
above the ground. clambering over til
= sides Of wall or porch In order t
n reach the light Of the sun? Can 20
" not find Gods protection lowering owe
s you in the bristllng thorns Of the busl
!. which guard the wild flower from til
q reckless touch of an approaching foe
Gan you not fathom Gods care for 70
by studying the roots that suck up I'll
" strength out Of the ground and the ma
velous chemistry which can gather OF
g Of the same black soil the red for Il
n aaalen the Dlrple for the daffOdil, tt