The Irish standard., 1907-07-20

and he chuckled when he made his
declaration Of absolute and unques-
tioning belief in them as divine phe-
nomena.. Indeed, it was more. than
chuckle-a laugh. rather, that con-
veyed a curious blending Of humility,
Of happiness. Of amused condescen-
sion.
Suddenly he grew wrathful. and.
with a shout, he launched this bolt:
The greatest miracle Of all the ages
is that we are not worse than we are"
He inveighed against the love of
money and told, in manner at once
angry, sorrowful and Mortified, how
he recently had asked a young woman
il he might congratulate her on her
marriage. Was she happy? Did she
truly and deeply love her husband?
This was her answer: Il just loathe
him, but It's better than home, and,
after all. there's the money. and with
money you can get everything: with
out 1t nothing"
He referred to the contention of
certain modern German critics that
there Is no trace Of Christology in the
synoptical gospels and that the Christ
Of modern thought was the creation
of St. Paul. and he said: Il can read
hardly single chapter Of the gospels
without finding those traces" Again.
he took up the familiar assertion that
the Christ Of the scriptures can be
only an ideal figure in modern life.
"They say" he cried. that His COM
raandrnents. His doctrines. His ethics,
His beatitudes, are all beyond us. Nay,
say to you. we give up Christianity
when we give up Christ" And thus
he defined Christianity:
Christianity is nothing but the as
similating Of the Christ thought. the
Christ word, the Christ deed and the
Christ character. Before the teach
ing and before Christianity is Christ.
1t is sad for those who have suffered
and sacrificed for Him to hear Christ
spoken Of as less than Plato. So
crates or a Marcus Aurelius His
beauty Of life. Of thought. of doctrine,
of ethics, but, above all. His beauty
Of character, is to the moral world
what the sun is to this.
He had power. but He was not
feared. And, brethren. He told the
people that it were better a man
should have milestone hanged about
his neck than that he should offend
the virtue Of little child Let
man today tell that to a girl who is
seen in a London drawing-room, let
him tell her that he who offends. the
virtue Of young girl should be nog-
ged and have a milestone hung about
his neck and be cast into the mud of
the Thames. and she will only say:
Poor man. he is not we'll"
We look upon our women and we
say: Behold the newly evolved twen-
tieth century type of beauty. What
horrible creatures we are. 1t is poor
evolution if this is all it amounts to-"
We have more beauty on US than
in us.
Christ told the world that nothing
mattered but character. To build up
a pure, a lofty. a noble, a holy char
acter-that was all that mattered. He
came to sinners. That's the advan-
tage of being a sinner-we have the
sympathy of Jesus. but only when we
acknowledge our sin. And He will
neglect not one Of you. There Ia not
one OF you for whom He would not
again live and die If He had not al
ready given you a plentiful redemp-
ton. Each one of you may call Him
My particular friend" each one Of
you may say: He will live with me-
and be with me in death and after
death. letting none other Judge me
lest all justice be not done me, and
He will reward me with Himself"
In these words he closed:
"Oh. my brethren. He is so splen-
did. this Christ of ours. and I think
there is nothing so glorious in our
English heritage as the memory of the
service that was given Him by the
men who built up, our parliament.
who erected our cathedrals and who
wrought out our freedom. What think
We of Him? I invite you to come
again next Sunday. and let me then
thrash out this question again, for it
means everything to US. 1t means
eternal life"
He descended from the pulpit. The
music Of the organ breathed among
the arches that had rung with his
trumpet blasts. There was the meas
ured clank Of censor chains. and the
smoke Of incense foated above his