The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-08-13
REV. QUINCY EWING
EXPLAINS PASSAGE
One of the Hard Sayings of the
New Testament
VESTRY MEETS TOMORROW
Mr.. Ewing Purposes to Leave for Ma
poleonvI.e, La, Where He VIII
Accept Call About Middle
of September.

OF september.
The services at the Church of the Ad-
vent were well attended yesterday morn
ing. The Rev Quincy Ewing ofriciated,
During the services he announced meet
ing of the vestry for Tuesday morning.
the business of which will be in connec-
ton with the call Mr.. Ewing has re-
ceived to become rector of the church at
Napoleonville. La. Mr. Ewing stated yes
terday afternoon that he would probably
leave Birmingham about the middle of
September.
The rector chose as the text of his SER
mon the 2sth 10Th and aOth verses of the
10th chapter of St Mark:
Then began Peter to say unto Him.
10 we have left all and have followed Thee.
And Jesus answered and said, Verify,
say unto you, there Is no man that hath
left house, or brethren, or sisters, or
father, or mother or wife, or children, or
lands, for My sake and the gospels, but
he shall receive an hundredfold, now IN
this time houses and brethren, and sisters
and mothers, and children and lands, with
prosecutions: and In the world to come
eternal life"
Mr.. Ewing spoke in part as follows
This Is one of the hard sayings of the
New Testament There is only one hard
eff any man come to Me and hate
his father and mother, etc, he cannot
be My disciple" Both these sayings, OF
course, have been many times quoted by
hostile critics of the Christian religien
to prove that that religion, as taught by
its founder, Is impractical, and from the
highest ethical standpoint imperfect.
The Teacher of a perfect religion, of
Anal and faultless moral code, it has been
asserted, would not have said to His dis
ciples that. If they forsook their fathers,
mothers, sisters, brothers, wives, chill
dren, to follow Him, they would be re-
warded in both the coin of earth and the
coin of heaven. That cannot be the high
est religion. It is urged, which tells a
man to disregard sacred human relation
ships. in order to add to the measure of
his own good, material and spiritual
What answer shall be make to the crit
les? How shall we understand the reput-
ed saying of the Master?
Meaning of Text.
There can be no question, 1t would
seem, that as the words stand In st.
Marks gospel they seem to mean that the
objectors have understood them to mean,
what they were understood TO mean by
thousands of disciples in the early time,
and what they are understood to mean
by other thousands at the present day:
namely. that the best followers of the
Christ are those who give up everything
possible, who renounce every human re-
latlonshp as far as possible, In order to
be His followers. Such was the under
standing of the ascetlcs, anchorites, pill
lar saints of early times, and such is
the understanding of all those of the mod
ern time who retire from the world,
In order to live what is called the re
ligious life.'
1t is. l say, not only the natural but
the inevitable understanding of the words
as we read them in the gospel of Mark.
And therefore. If you were to go to any
body who has chosen to forsake his wife
and children and aged parents, to live
better the religious life and were to
demonstrate with him, suggesting that his
course was wrong, foolish, un-Chrstian,
he could very properly read to you from
the tenth chapter of Mark and confront
your criticism with scriptural authority
for his conduct; scriptural authority for
his conviction that his reward for ADAM
donng home and family Will be greater
than yours for staying at home and meet
10. t1xr f.f.l TAFT tone
What could you reply? Your reply, of
course would depend upon the character
of your Christianity. 1t might be one
thing 1t might be another. 1t might be
an honest reply it might be jesutical
evasion. But | shall suppose that 1t
would run somewhat as follows
The Natural Understanding.
If Jesus really spoke just the words
we have about leaving father, mother,
wife and children, in order to be His dis
ciples, He must Himself have been pos
sessed at the time Of the idea so wildly
held by His countrymen, that the visible
kingdom of God was very soon to be es-
tablished upon earth; He must have be-
lieved that His efforts joined with those
of His most Jealous followers were to re-
suit In establishing 1t in His day and
generation and that then, naturally,
those who had done most to bring 1t
about would have the places of honor in
the kingdom; would be rewarded as they
deserved-far above those who had done
nothing, or next to nothing, to make the
dream of Israel reality They would re-
ceive far more than they had renowned;
their human relationships would mean
vastly more to them than they had
meant the parents, the wives, the chill
dren they had forsaken temporarily,
would share with them their exaltation
and rejoice with them that they had been
accounted worthy to suffer hardship, in
order TO get the kingdom established. So
entertaining was the conviction that the
visible kingdom of God was very soon
to be established, provided 1t drew to
It's service the slnge-hearted loyalty of
those who looked for 1t, there was Moth
ing unethical In the demand of Jesus that
His disciples give up everything and
everybody, to hasten the earthly advent
of a new and divine order, which would
mean the passing of all sin and pain, the
triumph of all good and JOY. 1t would
have been foolish on the part of the men
He addressed to object to the breaking
up of their homes and the severing of
family ties, II in a few days, a few weeks,
a few months. few years at most, their
self-sacrifice would issue In consum-
nation so divine!