The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-03-31

I LOS ANGELES, Cal, March 24.-Ap-
 proprate to the Easter season is - this sermon, in which from tho empty crosses and from the empty tomb the preacher hears voices of warning, joy and triumph. The text is Mark xv, 27. And with him they cruelty two thieves, the one on his right hand and the other on his left
 In my life time l ahev seen many pic- tures symbolic of the first Easter morn. Some of them have depcited Jesus in the garden walking among the lilies talking with Mary. Some of them have pictured Christ stepping out of the tomb amid the prostrate forms of the Roman soldiers Some of them have pictured Peter and John looking into the empty crypt, where was nothing but the shroud of the risen Lord. But of all Easter pictures the one which impresses me the most was that which used to hang upon the walls of my boyhood home In the foreground of the picture was a broad winged angel flying. He was a divine messenger bringing to earth the glad tidings of the rescurrected Christ To the right of the picture was the rising sun trimming the eastern hills. And as this sun was crawling over tho eastern hills 1t cast it's light upon six pieces of wood which had been formed into three crosses. There stood these three crosses emptied of their human burdens. The horrors of the crucifixlon were over. The corpses of the two thieves and tho dead Christ had been quietly laid away in their graves. The deereeS of the Roman law had been carried out. No Jesus was there. No repentant dying thief was there. No blaspheming muruerer was there. oil. There were mute signs that the horrors of the blackest of all Fridays had forever passed away There stood the three empty crosses bathed in the glory of the rising sun of the first Eastern morn.
 As a little boy standing before that Eas- ter picture 1 used sometimes to Wohuer If God really did focus the light or tho rising sun upon those three empty crosses as he focused the light of the star which guided the three wise men from the east upon the Bethlehem manager when Jesus was born. Does Gods sun truly reneee to the joy of the Divine Fathers bene- diction. Mr Torrey is one of his Mel horne addresses gave vivid description of the death and funeral of his great leader, D. l.. Moody. He said in part
 ,nen l stood up to speak, there lay tho body in front of me, and there sat HIS wife and children with heads erect not bowed their eyes looking right into mine  we sang those wonderful hymns abour Emanuel's land and the second coming of Christ, the mourners, as you call tnem' Joined in the singing with shining laces- Then, when all had spoken ana that serN- ice was oyer, Will Moody, the son, rose calmly in his place and, turning round to face the audience, gave a trlumphanu testimony to the power of the risen Christ and the Holy Ghost. Just then, as II b shutter above had swung open, the sun burst through the clouds, and every ray of sunslght that came into the church. fell on the face lying still in the casket'
 Was 1t Chance?
 I wonder if it was mere haphazard chance that the light of Gods sun felt upon the face of Gods redeemed dead at the funeral of D. l.. Moody l trow not I wonder if 1t was d mere irldescent dream of an imaginative artist that made the flood light of the rising sun hover about the three empty crosses on the first Easter morn. I believe if the midnoon sun was able to hide it's face hehind the black clouds on the day that Jesus was crucined that the same sun could change the beams of Christs cross into bars of gold on the day that Jesus was resurrected. Let us think of that Easter morn and those sig nificant crosses.
 Let us in the first place, turn our att tenton to the central cross, upon which Jesus died Why was this cross left standing amid the glories and the tri- umphs of Easter day? Why was it al- lowed to stand there to cast it's dark shadow over the beautiful form of a. risen Christ? l think God left it stand ing there for a purpose. He is coming to you and me today to say: "Oh, child. amid the songs of rejoicing which you are singing at this Easter season, amid the beautiful flowers with which you are ft,ty fa1I of triumph with which you are celebrat- ing your sacred festal day, you must not forget the price Jesus Christ paid for your redemption Let the smile be on the lip, let joy come yelling up out of tho heart as the bubbling brook bursts out of the green moss upon the mountain side. but let the empty cross upon which Jesus died always stand near to remind you of the agony and the sufferings and