The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-06-25

nation; and verify believe that there is more of the spirit of Jesus of Naza- reth in the daily life and work of the American people than there is in any other of the great nations of the world, l believe that whenever it comes to a great crisis-politioal, industrial or moral-there Is enough of the spirit of Christ in America to save us But though we have good ground for hope, we are very far short of having ground for complacent assurance. We have l only to look at the facts in the world about us to see how far the American people is from really believing in Jesus as the man they wish to be like and in the things for which Jesus stands as their ideals of success. That part of our people which turns with avidity to sensational accounts of robbery and ar son and murder is not tar removed from the multitude that cried, Not the man, but Barabbas!" That part which uooks to platform or press for appeals to its passions, and which seeks a lead CT who can give voice to the prompt ings of its own prejudices or emotions, has advanced little beyond the stage of those who clamored for the crucifiction. And that part of our people which, though more respectable than the first group and more enlightened than the second, is nevertheless content to make l prosperity in business or politics the test of success, and to give all it's thoughts to the attainment of that prosperity by any means not too gross ly inconsistent with responsibility or enlightenment, does not differ greatly from him who washed his hands of the whole matter that was the most mo- mentous in the worlds history.
 Which of these standards is yours? Whom are you choosing for your hero? do you the justice to think that none of you will choose Barabbas. Every consideration of habit and interest makes against that choice. You come of law-abiding ancestors; and they by
 their good conduct for many genera tions have guarded you against the danger of making an outlaw your ob- ject of worship. Nor do believe that many of you will be found in the group that follows after Caiaphas. You have seen so many sources that you are pro-
 tected in large measure against the danger of a fanatical devotion to some one passion or prepudice. But there is danger, and very grave danger, that without knowing it you will enroll yourselves among the followers and
 Worshippers of Pontius Pilate. The air iC fI1lI 6f inAJnnnnc n I1rh 3n1 Lan5 s.,
 that direction without your knowledge. In these last months the community
 has been shocked by the revelations of immoral methods in the conduct of bus mess and politics on the part of men
 who had enjoyed the respect of the community. We have asked ourselves over and over again how it was possi-
 ble that such men, honorable, high
 minded and self-respecting to all out
 ward appearance, should have accepted wrong customs without protest. But if any of us will look at his own present and prospective temptations, the an-
 swer is not far to seek. The moment
 we choose as our example of profess
 stonal success the man who has made
 fortune or secured an office or achieved a reputation with the world, we tend to put fortune and office and reputation in
 the foreground, and to regard the ques-
 tion of how we use the fortune or office or reputation as an unimportant incl 1 dent. When things once, get into this shape in our minds, every position or
 honor or power becomes 0 position of
 peril to the soul. The greater the crisis { we are called upon to face, the greater
 the ruin that follows. Tn the quadran- gle of Leland Stanford University there was a magnificent memorial arch that
 stood as a monument to it's builder no less than to its designer, He had striv-
 en for effect and he obtained it. One
 day there came an earthquake that
 shook the foundations; and it was found that they were not of solid stone,
 but chips and rubble. Perhaps this man built no worse than others; but
 the very loftiness of the memorial that
 he had raised served to emphasize the
 ruin that he had wrought. There is no reason to believe that Pontius Pilate was worse than a hundred other Ro-
 man governors; but it fell to his lot to
 have his work really tried before the
 day of judgment In the sight of men as
 well as of God.
 Stand for the doing of things, by all means. Stand for the doing of great
 things if possible. But never let the greatness of the thing get so far into
 the foreground as to obscure the pur- pose for which it exists. And above all things let the honest intent to serve others have larger place in your lie
 than the things you are trying to do for yourself. It is for this that Jesus stands. He cared as much for deeds as any one. He spoke straight to the peo- pie who were doing the worlds work, in
 His own time and ever afterward, He
 was practical man, who took things as He found them and made the best of them-to such an extent that this was made reproach to Him by those whose , range of vision was narrower than His.
 But when His hearts purpose demand : ed the sacrifice of His life and the im- pertinent of all appearance of tangible success, He hesitated not a moment. This life and death of Christ show what Paul means by faith. It is not belief in ? a formula; it Is not an abstract idea of the way in which the universe Is gov erned. It is a purpose which dominates a mans life; strong enough to enable