The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-06-09
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON ey
BISHOP BURGESS. q. o.
Subject: The Church. Foundation.

Burgess. ID. D.. Bishop OF Long Island,
on sunday preached from the text.
Matthew xvi:i3-e0. and particularly
the passage: And whom say ye that
! am? Simon Peter answered: Thou
art the Christ, the Son OF the living
God. Jesus answered and said:
Blessed art thou. Simon Barjona; flesh
and blood hath not revealed il unto
thee. but My Father which is in
Heaven. say also unto thee: Thou
art Peter, and upon this rock will
build My church" He said:
These words can be scarcely under
stood apart from their context The
author OF the hampton Lectures
poiINed out that Caesarea was the
/ borderland OF the Jew and the Gen
/ tile. and thus was fitting place for
| proclaiming the divinity OF Him who
! came 10 save. not one race. but all
! mankind. Later study of our Lords
/ life revealed the fact that He was NJ
| that time truly in exile. Ii becomes
! almost self-evident. as we read 'be
/ Gospels. that our Lord was suffering
! depression and felt that His work
/ was. 20 certain extent. q failure.
| The cities OF Capernaum and CoraZln.
where He had preached and labored.
Were all against Him. and you can all
recall the sad farewell which He gave
10 those cities. In the Gospel of ST.
John we can see evidence that n large
number OF people who ar first had
believed in Jesus were gradually es-
trauged from Him by His teaching
anl by His unpopularity. He had
been forced 10 leave His native land
ana 90 into exile. The words which
He spake 10 the Syrophoenecian
women. 1T is not meet 10 take the
children's bread and give il TO the
dogs" shows the sadness. almost bit
ter sadness: and when He came "a
His own His own received Him not"
In one way and another. we can see
how bitterly He felt and. while we
have no real picture. yet. neverthe-
less. we can. in fancy. see Him. as we
read the Gospels, with His little band,
going ahead OF them through those
northern valleys: and ve know that
il was no figure OF speech. but the
truth. when He said: The foxes have
holes. and the birds of the air have
nests: but the Son OF Man hath not
where 10 lay His head"
Now this confession OF Peter marks
the end Of this period Of exile. From
that time on He set His face toward
Jerusalem. Almost Immediately there
followed the TRANSPORTATION on. prob
ably. Mount Hermon. and then He
started. with His twelve apostles. 10
Jerusalem 20 suffer and 10 die. Now
this passage reveals deep truth. II
reveals the foundation on which
Christ built His church. But as you
understand. we must not lose sight of
His humanity. The heresy which
sees in Christ an unreal man. one who
cannot be touched by our sorrows, our
joys or our disappOintments, has al
ways been condemned in the councils
and by the or, eds of the church. Our
Lord could not have been truly man
If He had not hungered and thirsted
and been weary sometimes. He had
not sought for help IL sometimes He
lad felt the depression of loneliness
and disappointment. though only once
did il find expression. namely, on the
cross when He said: MY God. My
God. why hast Thou forsaken Me-"
This period of exile. then, was n per-
iod OF depression. Men had deserted
Him by thousands: the people whom
He had cured and taught were all
gone now. And perhaps He feared.
as He asked His apostles that crucial
question:: Whom DO men say that /,
the Son OF Man. ann" If. however.
He did fear. whatever He feared was
dissinated by the perfect faith OF
Peters clear. strong answer: Thou
art the Christ. the son of the living
God" And one who has ever tried
TO do real work for humanity and TO
help forward the kingdom of God
must have known something of this
depression. and must also have known
something OF this JOY when at least
He had found one man who believed
in Him and in His message and who
: was ready 10 stand ont before the
world and confess his faith.
our Lord. then. founded His church
upon n man-upOn Peter, if you will.
He did not found ii upon a doctrine. or
n building. or an army, or treasury.
No, but on a warm. rugged human
heart. He said 10 Peter Thou art n
rock. and on this rock I will build My
church and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against IT," Those who want
10 see in this passage long. hierati-
cal line. ever connecting itself with q
bishopric. must, l suppose, be allowed
10 hug their delusion as long as they
live. But q sane criticism will always
reveal the fact that our Lord was as
serting that He would found His
church upon loving luman hearts,
upon men who believed in Him, in
honor and disbonOr, through good re-
port or evil report, in sickness and
health, as well as In proverty and
exile. Our Lord believed in men; He
trusted them II has been well said
of Him that indignation. even anger.
were spoken Of men, but TO condemn.
never. Man, as man, was worthy OF
respect.
Now that has rot been the attitude
of the great writers and generals and
leaders OF mankind. Alexander. Cae-
sar. regarded men as so many pawns
10 be moved about as they willed.
what are million souls TO mei"
boasted Napoleon when he was
taunted with the loss Of an army: so
IN philosophy we find the same dis
crediting OF men. But Christ taught
n different estimate of mankind 10
His apostles. and ST. Paul reverenced
men. even when he saw their sins and
rebuked them. The parable OF the
prOdigal son and the epistle 10 the Ro-
mans have been contrasted. and IL
has been said OF the one that Il is ten
derry and pathetically human as he
rises above his rabbinical law 10 teach
the death Of the Lord and the riches
OF the goodness OF God. All through
that epstle 20 the Romans there runs
the burden OF the glory OF mans origin
and mans destiny: We are children
-