Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1908-08-06
THE PULPIT.
An ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON ~
DIR. WILLIAM J. THOMPSON.
Subject: The Ascension.

Thompson. preached on 1.-THE Ascen-
sion." The text was from Luke
24:51: "And it came to pass, wh1le
He blessed them. He was parted from
them and carried up to heaven Dr.
Thompson said:
Concerning the crucifixicn the
Scripture gives month, day, hour,
participants-much minut1ae. Con-
corning the resurrection no mention
is made of the first heartbeat. only
the fact Of the empty tomb and the
risen Saviour. Still meagre Is the
| account Of the ascension.
The length of these narratives In
| dicates our limited know1ed ge. Death
| SO common would have fullest men,
| ton. The resurrection, contrary to
all experience, would admit simply
| the fact supported by "fnfallible
| signs" ! The ascension, contrary to
the n law we believe to prevail
throughout the universe-gravitation
land the entrances into the spirit
realm which battles the imagination
Of embodied spirits, would call for
the least mention.
Their Importance. however, Is In
versely as the length of the nara
tive. Death in itself Is failure, the
resurrection declares Jesus to be the
Son of God with power. The ascen-
sion to the right hand of God pro-
claims Him the ever-reigning su
preme sovereign.
The eagle-winged tyrant, death,
spreads over the whole earth, pals
Gods last and best creation in his
Unsuitable conquest; wrenches from
the human soul the organ of all Its
intelligent and spiritual expressions
the body, and dooms it with "dus1
to dust" Jesus Christ, the mighty
Prince of Life, conquered thi:
conqueror!
Our loudest Easter hosannas are
to His praise for this unrivalet
achievement. This triumph, how
ever. mighty as it is. is but a par
of His life. Like the figures Of arith
metic. depending for their richness
4 on what follows, so the glories O
Easter depend on what follows in thu
life of Christ.
Napoleon Bonaparte used Maren
60, Austerlitz and other victories a.
stepping stones to reach the dizz.
heights of military power; where h,
. swayed the sceptre from the Balti
to Southern Italy. and allied contig
uous nations as vassals or ~dependen
states. He stood with his armie
upon the Alps and exclaimed: "Han
nibal is surpassed" He led thes
soldiers beneath the pyramids wit
Forty centuries look down upo,
you" France saluted him with
Sire. your greatness is like that Q
j. the universe" If Napoleon had die
before June IS, 1915, a glamor Q
oIo,~, r,>,rI Io~1 >-os,oioI h;o ri Al
career. But his life after this, wit
the defeat of Waterloo and five an
one-half years in exile. leveled tn
I summit of his greatness.
We are not without concern fo
Q our ex-presidents, lest some i'll dee
initiate against their record in th
. high Office. Some grains Of comfo1
, are extracted from our three ma
tyred presidents, all of whom we1
snatched from us in the zenith {
8 their fame, a fact which shed glo1
over their whole lives. Jesus Chris
disarmed death of it's mortal stin
r and led the powers of darkness ca
4 tive. Yet some subsequent evel
could detract from the glory of tn
, high triumph. So the setting {
Christ in our faith hinges upon VIII;
. follows His death and resurrection
If Jesus had remained in Jerus
II lem. as His disciples hoped for, We
% sells from the four ends OF Christie
n dom would have congested the por
at nearest that city with Populations
r, visit Jesus as judge, divioer, benefa
tor. thereby weakening their fai
: and %enervating them in working O
a. their own salvation. The most sta
wart fibre in Christian manic,
lis comes from largest faith and zeal
n, self-culture, and this could not
Of favorably produced everywhere wi
Jesus localized. Men everywhe
should have equal divine assistan
~ in having right hearts, speaking &
w. ceptable words, and doing justly.
this end Jesus must be spiritual
aS present in the world and conseque1
do ly bodily withdraw. While the l,
"a ire of Jesus would have shone u
-. diminished had He remained
Earth, yet to reach His maximr
On fulgence it was exped1ent tnat
7t 20 away. Mans complete salvati
and the glory of Christ concurred
this departure. Our faith is vita
til involved in His destination.
His departure. the farewell :
dress of George Washington was i
pOItduI Ill us oSC1mdC1On as we'll
in that of his soldiers and posteri
A farewell address would be va
able and fitting for all our preside]
|ot to close their administration. c
farewells are the utterances of {
IN best selves. This is foreshadoy
N by it's typical formulas. Fare
WE'LL" God be with you,". abbre
Ia ated to "Good-by." The farewell
-. Jesus has the same relative imp
.a lance. He takes leave of the wo
that clamored for His blood and /
ia glee over its shedding. Mark v
.n He lifted up His hands and bles,
them" Thus His valedictory is
ap- the same exalted level as all that q
np cedes and our faith holds high in
IN. risen and departed Christ.
He departs not in darkness but
the light of day; not in the val
but from Olivet's top; not alone
in the view of His disciples. He
lea withdrawn many times before. t
i'd, time He ascends. while He bles
at them, He was parted from them
carried up into heaven" Sho,
70 after Stephen, the first martyr, loo
up and said: Behold, I see the he
- On~ 49, ~