Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1907-07-25
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. a. H. EGGLESTON
Subject: The Measure of Duty.

servants, we have done that which 1t
was our duty to do" as his text. He
said:
In the vocabulary of Christianity
love Is the supreme word. Operating
in life it becomes the supreme law.
1t is so because 1t was supreme in the
life of Jesus. But outside the religion
of Jesus, duty is perhaps the con-
spicuous word. Upon duty the non
Christian heart lays extreme en-
phasis. Duty, interpretated in terms
of the best each age could produce,
has been the ideal Of life.
To-day the very atmosphere is sur
! charged, as Ly an electric current,
with the Importance of faithfulness
to duty. That which is in the air OF
the age is made tangible continuous
ly from pulpit and from press, In
school and club and home. Ministers
and teachers, leaders in business and
in civic life, are pleading for the en-
thronement of duty in human hearts
Public sentiment, finding expression
in courts and Investigations and laws.
is being aroused in the interest of
duty. Traitors to duty are being
branded at their true worth.
We admire the devotion to duty
in that rising nation of the East
which Enthusiastically found ex-
preston in the speech of the captain
of the Japanese battleship Asama,
who said 20 his men as they drank
in turn from a cup OF cold water,
bidding each other a last good-bye:i
"In sending you on the duty of block
ing the harbor entrance of Port Ar
thur-a duty which affords you only
one chance out of a thousand to re-
turn alive-I feel as If were sending
my beloved sons. And If had hun
bred sons l would send them all on
such a bold adventure as this; and
had l only one son should wish to
do the same with him. In perform
ing your duty, If you happen to lose,
your left hand, work with your right; /;
If you lose both hands, work with
both feet; If you lose both feet, work,
with your head, and faithfully carry
out the orders Of your commander
What l ask of you all is to do your
duty regardless of your life. The cup
of water now offer you is not meant
to give you courage. 1t would be
shameful If our men needed courage
to go to the place Of death. 1t is only
to make you representatives of the
honor of the Asama. Submit Your
life to the will of Heaven, and calmly
perform your duty" That is tho
utterance of the spirit of the age,
crystallized in those nations that
stand in the vanguard of progress.
1t Is the emphasis upon duty.
Do we realize what that spirit
would mean If we had 1t beating in
the life blood of the Christian
church? 1t would mean the purifica-
ton of our ideals 1t would mean
the strengthening of the Church OF
Jesus in work and worship. 1t would
so we could see the brotherhood Of
man. If that loyalty to the duty of
patriotism which Is characteristic of
the best citizens could be translated
into terms of the moral and religious.
it would mean that the message Of
the Cross, love, service and sacrifice,
would find expression in every life.
What result If Christians and the
Christian church would do its bare
duty! But is it being done? Nom
inally this Is a Christian country.
And yet the deadly child labor in all
it's horror exists in this country. 1t
could not exist IL the united Christian
church should say it shall not. Nom
inally a Christian country, and yet
the sale of the stun that kills men
and women physically, mentally and
morally, that destroys domestic hap
piness and undermines the stability
of our nation, goes on. 1t could not
be so, were it not sanctioned and pro-
tected by the sentiment and power Of
Christian people But why the need
of citing Illustrations of that which
we all know? The conclusion Is
clear. There are those who, though
faithful to duty in home and in pri-
vate life, when 1t comes to moral
issues affecting the welfare of hui
mainly at large, are afflicted with
myopia or Indifference. Can 1t BIO
that the cup Of cold water tasted by
men of pagan religion contains
greater inspiration to the perform
ance of duty in the face of danger,
than does the sacred brotherhood
of the Christian church? They touch
their lips to the cold water; then
face duty unflinchingly. though 1t
cost hand, or foot, or life. So the
true Christian from time to time
touches his lips to the wine of the
Communion in pledge of his loyalty
to the Master and In memory of the
love of that Master. So the majority
gain therein the inspiration that sets
their face unflinchingly toward duty
without thought of what it may cost.
There are many who finch. These
break the solid phalanx of the Chris
tian army, and SO put off the day of
victory over evil. Many to whom
dollar is of more worth than a moral
principle. Many to whom their own
personal well-being counts for more
than needy brother or sister. Many
to whom gold is of greater value than
the welfare of their fellowmen.
In view of the fact that so many
fall short of doing their bare duty,
dare we state the ideal of the Chris
tian religion, or will 1t be SO lofty as
to discourage us in our humble eff
forts? No! We will set before us
the ideal which Jesus gave to life,
and it will be the means of inspiring
of His followers more than mere
duty, noble as that is. If there had
been no Jesus, no Gospel, If Confu-
cluS dHu OOCldLSo anu puuuud WeIc
the greatest, then duty would have
been the supreme word. But be-
cause Jesus Himself in His life took
that final step beyond the point Of
bare duty, it has become forever obli-
gatory upon the followers of the man
of Nazareth to take that final step I'M
service. Jesus did it. He over-
stepped the bounds of naked dutyl
He made new standard. The story
of that precious life of love and ser!
vice, the martyrs death upon tie
cruel Cross, for twenty centuries has
touched the hidden depths of human