The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-03-01
JRe RUZMF
.~e-s1SSSl~-EN
a SERMON @E9
pY THE REV W.
lIAMHtNDERSSNNS
Subject: Representing Christ.


Henderson, took as his text John 13:
S4-S5, "A new commandment | give
unto you, That ye love one another;
as have loved you, that We also love
one another. BY this shall all men
know that We are My disciples, If We
have love one 70 another" He said:
This, to my mind, is one OF the
broadest, most far reaching, most
widely inclusive of the moral duties
that our Lord has made obligatory
upon those who wish TO enter into
the Christian life.
The time and the scene are famil-
lar 10 us all. The Supper is over;
Christ has washed the feet OF His dis
ciples; the betrayer is named and de-
parted upon his errand of shame.
The end is very near. A few hours
and Calvary.
With the knowledge of His ap-
proacnIng suffering weighing heavily
on Hia heart, the Saviour with a
more than kingly courage speaks His
words of comfort and command. Only
eleven men, and they soon sorely to
be tried. hear the melody of His
voice; but to our hearts He speaks
to-day, with those same kindly yet
authoritatively tones with which He
swept the faithful, fickle, strangely
human souls Of that little band to
whose ministry we owe so mucn.
This new commandment" that
our Master enjoins upon the discipleu
demands equal obedience from us. In
it is embodied the essence of the
whole moral law. To be true sons OF
the Father We must exemplify in our
own lives those very qualities of love
of the Saviour to draw men, every.
where and at all times, unto Himself
With our every thought and word
and act must we represent the Christ
With all our moral and spiritual
forces, given to us of God and dedi.
Gated to His service, must we repre-,
sent the message of salvation.
Let us look for a moment at the
character of the love which Christ
demands of us who would serve Him
truest. With Him there is no lettins 3
down either in degree or in kind
Christ asks Of us tn same ideal love
that He spread wide about Him
whithersoever He went. Even as
have loved you" so shall We love one
another. mot a simple comparison,
but conformity; the love is to be
of the same nature" the commenta-
tors tell us. Thus we see, that, in
short. We are, in our love, to be
Christlike. No mere sentimentalty,
no passing fancy or passion, is this
love OF which the Christ is typal.
1t transcends and includes all our
personal passions. All the hearts
emotions are at their best when, the
love of Christ reigning within US,
they are expressions Of that altur.
istic, world-including affection which
the Nazarene calls forth. The infiu-
ence Of the Christ makes for greater
beauty In all the gardens of the soul.
Everywhere in life we find it to be So
The gentle light that glances from
the mothers eye becomes holy,
steadfast glow when once the power
of the loving, living Christ is felt
within the soul. All love that is
worthy of the name is beautifed, en-
nobled, sanctified by the incomins of
the Spirit of Almighty God, the Com.
forter from Christ. The Christ life
without the Christ love cannot be.
The life implies the love. The in
coming Christ compels an outgoing
love; and only in the measure that
we pour out our love upon our fellow
men do we live truest for Christ and
SlOSSSJ W Ills nus, we see
that, in essence and in sum, our love
as Christian men and women must
measure true to the character of the
love which was in Jesus Christ Him
self.
A cursory examination OF these
words of the Master would lead the
reader perhaps, to conclude that this
love that the Saviour showered upon
His disciples and to which He bad lie
the eleven to conform was TO be con-
fined in its application to themselves
only, or at best to those who would
accept the Gospel and its messenger.
To be sure, there Is a mighty element
of truth contained even in this limit
ed, short-sighted, rather self-centred
view. Christ did mean and does
mean that Christians should prac-
tice all the arts of love within the
circle of those who have heard tho
call and have answered it. Perhaps
it would be better, no not perhaps,
but certainly it would be best, for
the Christian household OF faith, in
dividually and collectively, to make
effective in their lives the highest
principles Of ideal love laid down by
Christ. But as we read closer and
enter more fully into the mind of the
Master. we see a deeper and a grand
er message in these parting COM
mands. Listen once again to His
words: Even as / have loved you"
Do you not see the great, world-wid
principle lying Just within the shad-
ow OF the sentence? Even as | have
loved you" And how had He loved
them? Moses, you know, brought
the children OF Israel up from the
torrid lands of bondage, up TO the
confines of the land of Jehovah s
promise. And the name of Moses is
held in reverent memory by the host
OF that scattered people of God every
where to-day. But this Christ, this
despised Nazarene, had found these
men struggling rot only with un-
wholesome economic and ecclesiasti-
cal conditions. but with inner and
spiritual distress. True TO the pur-
pose and motive of His life Christ