The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1906-04-26
TIE PULPIT.
e< a BRILLIANT SUNDAY SEFMOM BY
TIE R.E. CS. LYMAN ESEOTT.
Subject: "The Spirit of Christianity"

OF the present pastor. the Rev. \. u.
Hills. Dr.. Abhott'S subject was The
Essential Spirit OF Christianity" He
chose for his text the passage Matthew
xx::1-2S: "Whosoever will be chief
among you le: him be your servant.
even us the Son of Man came, not to
be miuisterel unto. but TO minister.
and 20 give His life Il ransom Tor
many and said:
What do we mean by Christianity?
What is. its essential, specific spirit:
It is the spirit OF tie Christ who came
not to be ministered unto. but to minis
ter The spirit OF the Christian is to
be like the Christ. 1t is to get back OF
all that is Injurious and a.! tEat is val
liable: al the accretioEs that are lnJur-
inc and all the additions which have
been made in the growth of Christian
ity, doctrine, ritual and institutional:
to get back to the time Of Christ Him
self, and, if we can, see what Chris
tianity meant then and there. in order
that we may get at the essential spirit
Of it.
There appeared at the beginning OF
the so-called Christian era a religious
teacher in a province of Palestine. He
was certainly for that age and for al!
ages singular man. The things We
care for most He seemed to be indiffer-
ent to. Re did not care for pleasure.
but He was not ascetic. He did not
hide Himself from the world. There
is no instance in. which He refused all
invitation to a feast. He began His
ministry be creating wine to prolong
the festivities at a marriage feast, and
vet He did not care TO-" what men call
pleasure. He said Himself that He
had not where to lay His head" He
often laid down to sleep with only the
stars overhead. He lived on the SIM
plest food. He did not care for wealth.
He never called a man fool but once,
and that was the man who spent all his
life in accommodating and then did not
know what to do with the accumula-
tons. He did not care for power, Tor
when He was offered crown He re-
fused it. One day they gathered about
Him. waved palm branches and
shouted "Hosannah"' and amid all the
Joy and acclaim He stopped and wept
as He remembered the sorrows which
we.e to come upon Jerusalem.
Ambition did not appeal to Him. He
was willing to preach to 5000 or to 2OO
or to twenty-five or thirty, or to sit
down with one poor wretched woman
and talk to her by the well: and it did
not make any difference. What did He
care fc-? For service-to so about
among men and make them happy.
That was what He cared for. He cared
for all sorts Of men. He was equally
willing to serve the Greek or the Jew.
If He lived now, He would be as will
ing 10 serve the Jew as the Christian.
He was willing to save the poor and
the rich. He was not 4 poor mans
prophet. nor q rich mans prophet. He
was willing to minister - the ignorant,
and Just as willing to minister to the
wise. He would talk with the peasant.
or spend an evening with cne OF the
great rabbis at Jerusalem. Character
or rast conduct did not separate men
from His sympathy. It did not make
any difference how badly a man lad
lived o. how rotten was his character.
Ee WAS ready to help him. He came
into 5ericho one day and the people
crowded round Him. 1t was city OF
priests and corrupt politicians. Tie
politicians were more corrupt than III
this day, and that is saying !. great
deal. 1t was :. city of priests and poll
tic:a1s. and one of these latter. VINO
had made money by squeezing the pub
lie. was little man. VINO climbed into
q tree. because he wanted to see this
strange man pass. This strange man
passed the priests and the orthodox
religious people and looked up at the
little man and said: "Come down: I an,
going to dine with you to-day" he
sought out the bad man because He
thought He could do something for
him. He was equally ready to minis
ter food to the hungry, healing to the
sick. comfort to the afflicted. wisdom
to the ignorant. inspiration to the de-
pressed OF succor to the simple and the
burGeneG.
The only question with Him was: us
this man in trouble?' Wha5 kind Of
trouble? 1T does not matter what
kind OF trouble. I want to help him.
That was absolutely His only question.
And vet this man saw that the deepest
troubles Of men are the troubles that.
come upon them because o. their
wrong doing. In His first great ser-
mon He gave the secret Of happiness
when He said: BLESSED are the pure in
heari" and 'E:eSsed are the poor in
spis.t." etc. The>secret Of happiness
is what you ere. not what you have.
So the thing He wanted to do WAS to
change mems characters, to get them
out Of sin and lead them in the paths
of virtue and truth and good will. He
wanted to Eft off the burden Of Their
:sins and make them healthy, normal.
holy mea and women. To this He
gave His life. He did not Go this Incl
Gentally. rs it chanced Him: there was
something more. He said: That is
what I am here for. That is what
hsod put Ne into the world for; it is the
mission He has given Me- He be-
longed to nation that had been taught
to look forward for the golden age, not
backward. They thought the good
time was yet to come. Their prophets
lad told them so. They thought it was
to be brought about. some said. by the
nation, by a series Of prophets. OF by a
single man. a conqueror. And this
man Jesus said: This kingdom of God