Milford chronicle., 1906-10-12

mand. Listen how he describes tne
way in which you should welcome
some Of your angelic visitors. Ihese
are Christ's words. not mine Love
vour enemies" That means give them
the best places at your table and your
warmest welcome. BLESS them that
curse you.p That means go out of your
way TO speak a kind word FOR those
who are denouncing you and trying 10
undermine your character. DO gooa
to them who hate you and pray TOT
them which despitefully use you" DO
Won hear it? My Lord and my Coo,
have we read thy words arightf How
few. how very few of us have wei
coined at our doors those who have re-
viled us and prosecuted us and have
saidallmanner of evil things against us!
Now. YOU have read many essays ana
heard many sermons upon the theme,
"The Blessings of Having an Enemy"
but / want to tell you that the great
est blessing of an enemy after all is to
teach. us to forgive those people VINO
have trespassed against us as we eX-
pect God to forgive our trespasses.
Unless we can learn this lesson of for
gfveness we can never learn to be ike
Christ Are you willing to live as that
famous Irishman lived who recently
passed away? Did ycu read the last
will and testament of Michael Davitt!
He did not have any money to give
for he spent most of his life in the
struggle Of home rule for the Emeraiu
Island. So he made up his last will
and testament thus-wise. l do wish l
had it verbatim. He said in part:
'eThis is my last win and testament l
have not any money to give, but l
leave my blessing to all mankind. l
first ask forgiveness from all those
whom I may have injured in life OF TO-
ward whom I have acted unjustly.
Then I leave my forgiveness to all
those who have done me any injury
Then I ask that when my literary ex-
ecutor publishes hereafter any Of my
works he will Gull from them any bit
ter words which might wound the
heart of any living man or the hearts
Of the loved ones of any of my politi-
cal foes" Did you ever read a senti-
ment more beautiful and Christlike
Than that? MY brother you have
erected many friends in your home
Thev have dined with you and you
with them. But have you ever spoken
the words of a Davitt? Alas, if not
then I fear you have shut out angelic
visitors" who, if they should enter your
home would bring to you the greatest
Of spiritual blessings. These angelic
messengers may be men who have
spitefully used you. Cannot you give
them loving welcome for Christs
sake. as Abraham asked the three
strangers to rest with him under the
shadow of his eastern tent?
should Not End There.
But should our hospitality end herei
Oh. no. If you turn to the fourteenth
chapter of Luke you find these words
srWhen thou makest a feast or sup
per. call not thy friends nor thy breth
ren, neither thy kinsmen nor thy rich
neighbors. lest they also bid thee again
and a recompense be made thee. But
when thou makest a feast call the
DOOR the MANNED the lame, the blind.
Now, who are the MANNED and the
lame and the blind? Are they simply
the poor who go around on erutches ol
feel their way with a staff? think
not. Christ would not here say "th'
Door and the MANNED and the halt anC
the blind if that was the case.
think the manned and the halt and thu
blind mean the moral cripples.
think these words to a great exten
mean the spiritual outcasts. thinl
they mean those who are like the sev
en- deviled Mary and zacchaeus, whom
honest people shun as the health,
physical man would run from laza
retto OF a loathsome plague. Yes, VI
are to give a cordial welcome even t
the vilest of sinners, such a welcom
as Abraham gave the three stranger
at his home.
These words mean that we should 8
forth in the name of Christ and try t
save those who have sunk so low Il
the ouagmires of sin that, befouled an,
reeking with immoral filth, like will
beasts of prey, they seem to be stas
gering alone through a dark wilder
ness Of despair. They seem to b
alone, all alone in their crimes. Whe
the great Roman orator Cicero wa
hurllng his condemnation against tn
sins OF Catiline, so Overpowering wa
the scene that no senator would sit b
the conspirator and destroyer OF youn
mems virtues. One by one they lei
the bench upon which the cringin
Catillne crouched. There he trembleC
with no friend by his side, while th
Edmund Burke OF Caesars reign we
denounclng him as Warren Hastine
centuries later was denounced In Yves
Minister. Thus as we see the wren
doer cringing under the lash as he q
alone we can see the modem Cstilint
! Stunned and forsaken on accountN
their sins. we can see the poor hi
. lots. the brazen faced libertinessa
. the immoral lepsrs reeking with
Christ bids US to 80 to them, even
the uaImed and the halt and the bB
II - tfatst