The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1905-03-17
Calm ace
ser 110O N
by Rev.
Frank De Witt Talrnace, D. D.

Los Angeles, Cal, March 12.-In al
most every home throughout the lane
the topic chosen by the preacher il
this sermon is more or less flmilia,
one. The text is Proverbs Y, l, "a fool
ish son is the heaviness of his mother
Death is an enemy. The Bible dis
tinctly declares it. remember some
years ago, when visiting one of the
New Zealand cities, this thought wa:
impressed upon me as never before. A
young man, a musical genius, had late
ly come from London ard captured thai
whole city by his organ playing. He
was to play that Sunday in the church
where we were worshiping. The night
before, coming home from practicina
upon the keys, he sat down to eat din,
ner with his wife and two children
Suddenly he began to gasp. A fish.
bone had caught in his throat. In a
few minutes he was dead. The whole
city was shocked at the awful tTag-
edy. The church was draped in black.
Among the sobs of the dead mans
friends his pastor preached eulogy
upon this young mans life from | Co
rinthians Ky, 2j, The last enemy that
shall be destroyed is death" AS the
preacher uttered those solemn words
they sank into his hearers con3ciences,
all automatic truth.
Oh. yes. death is an enemy. Death
at times seems to be a cruel AMI a
mercilCss enemy 1t breaks asunler
the marital bands. 1t lifts the little
baby out OF the crib ana shuts her for
ever from oar eyes by the closing Of
the coffin Id. 1t strikes down the strong
man who is proclaiming COTS word in
the p"l2it. 1t empties the c1lce OF the
physician who is bending over the pa
tient. 1t sometimes sends the pleading
lawyer to the grave even before the
murderer whom lie has defended eXpi-
ates his crime upon the gallows.
4 Living Sorro--.
But when listening to that sermon in
the faroif country of New Zealand l
so.iloQUiZed thus: THAT widow is to-
helrse's whec,s even as the Indian
jrgg2rnaUt Used to mangle the bodies
of the IinIoo Gevotees. But q living
SORROW can be more formidable and
more awful enemy than a sorrow, of
the gave. The fiendish acts Of disso-
lutte. Il debauched, a drunken, a cruel
or an unfa.thful husband can weigh
more heavily upon the wife's heart
than the corpse of a dead husband.
And by the same reasoning tie evil
dee-s of an uldut.ful or unfaithful
son fail upon the parental heart with
a more crushing weight than the sol
that falls Upon the coffin lid of a dead
chil1. Thus today, from a parental
STANDPOINT. I woull preach upon the
agcnizing suTCriEgs Of father ana
mother when their chil-ren 60 astray
and 90 wrong. inclu-e here tie IA
Tiers suCCr.Egs. as well as the moth
er's, The full wording of the verse Of
my text embraces both parents. "a
wise son maketh Il CAD father" That
sentence, interpreted from the negative
STANDPOINT, means, a bad boy mGkcth
, sad father, and a foolish son is the
hcaviness of his mother"
Why sad? Why heavy? First be-
car2c the tue father and mother can
never separate Their JOYS and so-ro7s
from the joys GLl sorrovs of their
chill. Though a nan may live afser
his right an has been alnp-tItel. tie
hand ami the arm cease to live as sooG
as Tie S;.vg2on's knife has cut the ar
ter.cs ana the bones which unto them
to the FhoHl,cr. But here nature
seems to reverse the conditions Of l.9e.
Tho"gh a chill may I've independent
of his D2"cnt q tlwe parent can never
live in[cpenlent Of his children. From
. IT, parental st&n-po:nt the parental
life AMI TIE c,,ill life are not only
boHa Of one bone and flesh of one
fc~h. hut their cyi-tcnces are truly
grated u9ou each other.
Law OF Love Is Unequal.
From t-p STANDPOINT Of Il c.:.I you
n@y Uot believe this. You ask: Is not
the love between parent ana child q
mutual love? Why, then. should NOT
it, separation a-c"t the o2e equally
with the other? Oh. no! The law Of
love is uuc~ual The one who makes
sacrifices he's 4 stronger acroc,i2n than
the ono for whom the sacrifices are
m@Ga. - into tic sculDtor's studio,
AM say: "Tho"wallsCn. why art
thou Ecn-iug 50 lovingly over yonder
piece Of coll marble? Has the stone
a h2art?" "Ch, no" answers tie Dan
fish s~u'rt9r. Il % not love THE atouc
because IL has Il heart. love it Le-
cause ] have PIT r.y heart into it III
my eft - b",ng out the beautiful
figt,res which there I see slu-lbor.ng
or le-:3a.,g ID re from tie COLI
stone" Why does the art.7t love his
canvas and lie composer his orlto"!o?
Pc"a---o ter l.fc's work he's gone into
the Gre tons Of tho-p ma7ta.n,c"e7 Of
art o. # r.us.c. Why dill Ch".1toDhcr
Wrcn's i.fo seem u lie ancho"al II St
PARIS caE:e2ral ana Isaac Newtoa's
life - n laboratory? Because IN
those plac@s those ren spent mort of
tlc.r c~rNly c-irtcnce in Or'er to
wor% Oft t',c problems Of Their live7.
Love INSPIRED by sacrifice Tint Is
tire. |hc.l bow can true father and
mother help loving their children?
How con- ihey ever separate their OK
i7tclcc f"0.,l the joys and sorrows. the
success -cs anil failures of their Children?
Oh. ov' many sacrifices they have
made, Was It ten yelrs Of s,crifce?
No" t'oH thnt-twenty years. thirty
ye- -o""~ -" voice. and
years the burden or raising their fam
flies never left their minds and hearts.
If could take you back to your oil
homestead thirty years ago, | would