Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-08-03

| they were as Miriam OF old dancing
over the grcensward ana singing In
time with the moving feet. The young
men cnmc there with their fleet horses
caparisoncd with the finest trappings.
There were games and feats Of
strength for the competitors at these
festivals. At last, after days Of frolic,
came the wedding ceremony. Then
came the great climax Of oil. the WED.
ding supper" Christ's first miracle
wns performed at q season of social
festivities.
I am glad that Christ's Nativity wns
announced to the world by the overture
Of song am glad that his first mira.
Gle was performed at wedding. I
am glad we do not see Jesus Mt this
time standing clothed In the skins OF
wild beasts. az was John the Baptist In
the wilderness. Christ came to this
wedding to mark his approval Of limo
cent pleasure. His attendance upon
the wedding In Cana Of Galilee proves"
wrote Bishop Ryle. that true religion
choly. There are times when It is law.
full to be merry and rejoice" The cal.
endar Of the sinner has only few days
of the year marked as festival days."
wrote Elon Foster. but every day Of
the Christians calendar Is marked by
the hand Of God as day Of rejoicing"
Yes, by the echoing chimes Of the we'd
ding bells we know II. ny the joyful
songs we hear today coming over tho
Galilcan hills, In the chorus Of which
Christ's words may be blending we
believe it. Thank God, Christ's first
miracle was performed for q bride and
not for widow. at banquet and not
by bier!
Rejoice though storms assail thee, rejoice
when skies are bright
Rejoice though round thy pathway IS
spread the gloom OF night.
II the good hope be in thee that all at
last is we'll,
Then let thy happy spirit with Joyful It'd
ings swell
Where Christ's Ministry Began.
Christ's ministry opens in scene Of
human festivities. 1t does more than
to prove that the most important place
OH earth this side of heaven is the mar.
riage altar. Marriage" wrote Or.
Taylor, ''is the mother Of the world
and precious kingdoms and fills cities
and churches and heaven ITSELF Like
useful bee, it builds a house and
gathers sweetness from every flower.
and labors and unites into societies and
republics, and sends out colonies, and
feeds the worlds with delicacies. and
obcys the king. and exercises many vir-
tues. and promotes the interest OF man.
kind, and is that state Of good to which
God hath designed the present consti-
tuition Of the world" That is, the right
kind of marriage does all this. There.
fore, as marriage is so important in
Gods sight and mans, it Is very essen
tial, oh. young people, that you ask
Jesus Christ to your weddings when
you are about to be married! Yet the
strange fact remains that the last be-
ing in the universe some Of us would
ever think Of inviting to our weddings
Is Jesus Christ.
We treat Christ a great deal as some
Of us have treated our best earthly
friends when giving a reception or a
party. We take the calling list Of our
wives and grown daughters and sons
and we bunch them together with the
names of our personal friends. both
business and social. Then when the
night Of the entertainment comes
around we say to ourselves. why Is
not Mr.. So-and-so here?' Then we go
to our wife and say: my dear, Mr.
So-andso is not here. Did you invite
him?" She looks at the list Of guests
and answers: mo. husband. We for.
got to put that name down." TOO
bad. too bad" You say. Yes. it is too
bad. But. though it is too bad, this
fact remains incontrovertible. You did
not neglect to invite that very wealthy
man to your daughters wedding.
Why? Because you expected him to
give her a present You did not for.
get to invite that prominent statesman
and social queen. Why! Because you
expected them to give that wedding
prominence in the newspaper. But you
did neglect to invite that old time
| IIItilu WIN uNS oseu TRUE W YOU lot
many. many years. Thus we often
neglect to invite to our weddings
Christ, who is our best Of all friends.
Too Late to Ask Advice.
Not only do the young people often
neglect to ask Christ to the wedding.
but they very often neglect to talk to
him and consult with him before they
engage themselves for life. They treat
Christ in reference to the coming ell
gngemcnt n great deal ms did young
lady many years ago her New England
pastor. She came to DIR. Pelpin and
said: Pastor. want to talk to you.
I am in doubt whether should marry
Mr.. So-and-so. want your advice"
With that the kindly old minister look
I'd at her and said: well, my girl.
when is the wedding to take place?
Next week Tuesday," "Oh, no." she
answered. mot next Tuesday. bst
next Thursday" So some people come
to Christ to talk about their coming
marital plans when they have made up
their minds to marry whether God
wants them to marry or no. These
young girls will talk about their wed.
ding plans with other girls. They will
talk about them to people who are al
most strangers. But they will not talk
about them to Christ, who Is more in.