Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-03-21

come the RreNt HuIIltu0e, Sneer1nR
and wagging their heads. Here are
the soldiers gambling FOR the garments
of the dying Saviour. by n strange
coincidence I find that this same Cap
tain Julius, whose conversation we
were listening to the other night in
the Roman barracks, has been detail
ed to see that the order OF Plate in
reference to the three state criminals
Ia carried out. Methinks I see him
standing in the foreground of the cru
cifixion scene looking up at the face
of Jesus. This Roman centurions
countenance has a troubled look. us
he God 2" that countenance seems to
say. "If he is God. why does he not
come down from the cross and save
himself, as the scoffers are chsleng-
ing him to do2 Oh, wish could say
he was my Lord! Then might go
back to Rome and tell my brothers and
sisters and old sinful companions
about him" As the Roman centurion
soliloauizes thus II Ia about II o'clock
noon. Suddenly the heavens become as
black MS midnight Then there IS
booming and n crashing as though the
rocks were being spllntered under our
feet and the firm mountains were
! shaking from their foundations. There
Is great cry Of agony. hear the
Saviour call, "Eli. Ell. Lama Sabsch-
thaniw which Is interpreted, "My God.
my God why hast thou forsaken me"
Then I see the Roman commander in
fright tren,ble and crouch rs II terror
stricken. see him arise and stand
straight I'M and reach out his hands
toward the cross and cry ont, "Truly
this was the Son Of Cod
Another Picture.
OF course In one sense this sermon Is
entirely imaginative. And yet think
there may he more truth in It than
many of us believe. AS began It IN
an imaginative way, so l will end in
the same way. When I think of this
Roman centurion. I never picture him
as simply acknowledging Christ as the
Son of God and then going back to his
life of sin. picture him as resigning
from the Roman army and returning
to the Roman capital. Then picture
him as one of the Christians of old
Rome to whom Paul later wrote. Then
picture him as going out to the old
homestead, to the pure home Of his
youth, and telling his brothers and
sisters about his new found Christ.
Then picture the prosecutions COM
Ing. Then I imagine him an old man.
bending under the weight of seventy
five years. but strong in faith and in
fidelity to Christ. He may have been
among "the saints In Caesars house.
hold" Of whom Paul writes. He may
even have been among the Christian
martyrs who were burned under Nero.
The change would not have been any
more extraordinary than that which
transformed Saul the prosecutor into
Paul the apostle. You may say the
story Is imaginative, but it is not I'M
reasonable.
In the dark catacomhs OF ancient
Rome, where G,0O0,0O0 bodies We're en-.
tombed there is martyrs grave which
has on it this epitaph: while on his
knees in prayer before the altar Of the
true God they took him and led him
away to execution" | wonder whose
grave that was. l have never heard
the name Of the martyr who was buried
there. l wonder if IT was the grave OF
an old man. ] wonder il 1t was the
grave Of Captain julius. l wonder II
1t was the martyrs grave of the Ro
man centurion whose company had
charge Of the cruclhxion of Christ and
| the two thieves in the spring Of sc
, A. d. 1t may have been that grave
When the death angel shall come t
summon us before the judgment sea-
? Of Christ, l would that, like that mar
: tyr in the catacombs Of Rome, he
might find us kneellng 'in prayer be
= fore the altar OF the true God" Ther
will that death angel be able to LEAD
: us into the eternal life triumphant
Then we shall not stand at the foot o.
r the cross, but we shall be seated upor
5 a throne and wear a crown Of eterna
E and triumphant reward. May Goo
| bless this sermonic dream. "Truly thi
T was the Son Of Godw Come, let III
/, change the text a little-"Truly thi
t man is and forever shall be the Sol
1 OF God and our resurrected Saviour
p and redeeming Lord"
i