The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1906-11-01
SATURDAY
NIGHT TALKS
HIGHEST MONUMENT.
Nov. 4, '06-(Matt 26:17-8O.)
By p. e. Dawson Rutland Vt. @

| Nov. 4, 'O6-(Matt 26:17-80.)
To build commemorative monu-
ments has been the universal ambi-
tfon. Wherever men have gone
they have erected memorial pillars,
mountainous pyramids, colossal
statues to mark the spot where great
discoveries were made, or battles
fought or heroes were entombed.
The traveller in his Journey
around the world visits these gfgan-
tic memorials, and hears again the
story of their creation So it is with
the Pyramids. of Egypt those mighty
mountains of stone. overlooking the
fat valley of the Nile, the famous
tombs Of the Egyptian kings which
a school boy in Goshen.
So it Is with the mighty pile upon
the battlefield of Waterloo, which
marks the spot where the ambition
of the great Napoleon was crushed.
and the death blow to his career was
| given.
So 1t is with Bunker Hill monu-
ment, modest shaft as TO altitude,
testisying to a seeming defeat, but in
reality to the birth of nation.
| These are but samples of a desire on
the part of all men to perpetuate the
memory Of great deeds or Of great
men to the generations yet unborn.
| 1t is a natural craving, and men
are not to be criticised for 1T. For
| even the Son Of Man erected a monu-
! ment higher than all others, more
| enduring than all others, more sig
| nifcant than all others, when he in
| stituted the Eucharist-the feast of
love.
How did he do 1t? He did not
put his disciples to quarrying rock
with which to rear an imperishable
| memorial. He gathered them around
him in an upper room, and partook
| of a plain supper with them, and
| then said, do this in remembrance
of Me-"
And that monument stands for
the utter breaking down and de-
| struction of the spirit of cast among
men. At that table when the feast
was inaugurated there were many
men of many minds" 1t would be
difficult to find a company of men
more unlike in temperament and
disposition. Yet they were held to-
gsther as with bands of steel by
their allegiance to their Master.
They were all equal at that board.
Every man, in all time, finds HIM
self represented among the apostles.
40 hi IN,
Thomas; the fiery, hot-headed,
quick-tempered man finds himself
in John, the Son of Thunder;
the opinionated, impulsive man in
Peter; the hard-headed, practical
man, desiring the first place in the
kingdom, in James; the dreamer in
Nathaniel Bartholomew; the bust-
ness man in Matthew; the cautious,
far-seeing, careful, full of the sense
of difficulty man, Andrew; the slow
witted, but solid and substantial
man, Philip the practical; together
with the business economist Judas,
and Simon, the Canaanite, a man Of
zeal, enthusiasm, independence and
patriotism. We are all there.
One would think to hear some
people talk that the, Lords Supper
was only for members of particu-
lar church, or particular members Of
any one church, the cream, as 1t
were, of devout people, the men and
women who have reached the calm
and holy heights Of perfection. But
glance at the lives OF the men who
were present at the Inauguration of
the Eucharist, the men who are the
foundation stones upon which the
church is built, will forever dispel
that idea One of them was a doubt
er, one was devil. One of them
broke out into profanity and BIAS
phemy and denied his Lord before
the morning light, and one Of them
sold him to his enemies for the price
of dog. True, all but one of them,
were sincere, honest, intended to do
right, and they overcame in time
their defects of character, with the
exception OF one. But 1t ought to be
a comfort to men of this age who are
tempted and tried, and sometimes
fall even though they are church
members, to realize that they do
uOt ucCSSSdIily III ISAI lhCIA iA6ht
and title to partake of His supper
because they have slipped and STUN
bled The church glorifies the men
who gathered around that first Pas
chal feast; let 1t not too readily con-
denim modern disciples who show by
their lives that they belong to the
same human brotherhood and are
tempted like as they were.
And so it is ever. Whether In
great cathedral or in barren chapel,
whether with ornate Or with simple
services, whether in golden chalice
or with plain cup, the emblems are
received, we are all entitled to them,
and proclaim our loyalty and allegi-
ance to the mighty founder when we
participate in His ordinance. The
rich and poor, the high and low,
stand on the same plane when we
remember Him.
And we must never forget that
this monument means victory and
not defeat Till I come" Is the
thrilling watchword with which the
foundation and the capstone were
laid. 1t does not mark the grave Of
slain hero; it is the stepping stone to
the throne of universal dominion. 1t
is not place to drop tear over a
conquered warrior; 1t Is a place to
shout ha1lelujah chorus with a vic