The Penn's Grove record., 1908-06-19
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. G. H. EGGLESTON.
Theme: Unconditional Service.

Brooklyn. N. Y.-The Rev. Gurdon
H. Eggleston, pastor of the Greene
Avenue Church, preached Sunday
morning on Unconditional Service"
The text was from Luke 1850: "Let
the dead bury their dead; but go thou
and preach the Kingdom of God"
Mr.. Eggleston said:
We turn our thought to a verse Of
Scripture that leaves in many Chris
tian minds a wrong impression. or
seems to be entirely meaningless:
"Let the dead bury their dead; but
go thou and preach the Kingdom OF
Cod" AS we think of these words we
must beware of of reading into Chris
tianity an unnaturalness that savors
not OF a loving God "full of compass
sion-and plenteous in mercy" The
Christian religion, of which Jesus Is
the personiication, does not repudi-
ate one single human emotion. Its
demands are not thus harsh. 1t does
not demand the Remuneration of home
life and human relations in order to
be pure and good, as the monks and
nuns of old asserted. Not in clois-
2 Gu udll, 0SCluQSU ltOlu Cul lOuO CyO0,
is the hottest life lived, but out in the
busy world, bearing a share of its
burdens, meeting its temptations, yet
withal living a life that is pure and
good. The nun in her %seclusion and
much prayer is not more righteous
than the Christian housewife with her
many duties and less prayer. Nor is
the Christian business man living a
less noble life than the clustered
monk. Christianity is not for seclu-
sion. 1t is for the every day life
which you and l are living. 1t is to
lift common life into the divine. 1t
does not ask us to be unnatural. 1t
does not deny us any legitimate re1a-
tionship. 1t does not require neg
lect of any earthly duty, for the Cos
pei of Jesus is a religion for this life.
Some would make the text mean
simply that we must not entangle
ourselves with the affairs of the
world. This is likely to misrepresent,
the Gospel of Jesus. The true Chris
tian has a duty in this world, nor is
he to be separated from It,. He has
a part in the work of redemption. His
the obligation sc to enter into the
varied phases of life that he may help
to lift it to higher ideals. Business,
politics, professional life, should not
be unrelated to Christian principles.
Each needs nor men to carry Chris
tian principles into those departments
of life for their publication. When
men shall have grasped the idea that
every part of their life is related in
separately to their religion, and that
tho r,or who 10 n Gb,.o+s-~ 1~1, -,I-o
he is inside a church is not a Chris
tian at all, then will a mighty stride
be made toward the realization of the
Kingdom of God in the hearts and
lives of men.
If it is true the words do not mean
the reputation of natural affection,
II 1t Is true they do not mean separa-
ton from the world in order to be a
Christian, what, then, is the message
of these words from the lips of Jesus?
Two words suffice to state the propo-
sition. Unconditional service. "Let
the dead bury their dead" voices the
urgent demand of the message of
Jesus on the soul of men.
The occasion for the seemingly
strange words of Jesus was a season
of excuses. He had been talking to
His followers concerning the kingdom
OF righteousness. Attracted by His
many gather to hear His
words. To them Jesus said, Follow
Me-" But they begin with one accord
to make excuse. They would like to
follow Jesus, but they are not willing
to pay the price. Unconditional SER
vice. Their loyalty is tempered with
conditions. Jesus says, follow Me
now, this instant, ere I depart. But
one young mar feels he must first say
goodby to his friends. While he Is
gone to his native village to say good
by Jesus would have left the country.
1t would be too late to follow. His
goodby would have cost him his fell
with the Master. Therefore,
Jesus said to him, "No man having
put his hand to the pillow and looking
back is fit for the Kingdom of God"
We cannot believe Jesus had any OBJ
lection to the young mans goodby to
friends, if at the same time he
could have followed. Another young
man must needs first go bury his
But Jesus said to him, "Let
the dead bury their dead; go thou
and preach the Kingdom of God"
The performance of these duties,
were perfectly worthy in them
selves, would have separated them
from Jesus. Then when they were
ready to follow. Jesus would have
been far away. Participation in the
funeral rites would, according to the
Eastern custom, entail a ceremonial
u%ncleanness of seven days. Seven
days it would have taken to bury the
Before the funeral is over
Jesus would have been far away, and
the young nan might then be unwill-
ing to follow after Him.
By this STANCE answer, laden with
spiritual meaning, Jesus taught that
young man, and is teaching this age,
that His claims are paramount; that
obedience must be instant and abso-
lutte. 1t may be the path to hell is
paved with good intentions; but of
one thing we may be sure, the way
into the Christ life is not paved with
excuses. He who would be a follower
Of that Perfect Man, the Son of God,
must render unconditional service.
The same tree does not bear the true
and the false, the honest and the dis
honest, the pure and the impure.
"oy Vi " anu LuS
way of evil are two roads which lead
to opposite conditions. Would man
walk in the way of truth, he must
be willing to let the spiritually
dead bury their mead. If the dearest
friend a man has in the world would
keep him from righteousness and
Christ, then it must needs be as Jesus
said that a man must disregard the
desires even of his father and his
mother. How often in life we see the
of the sad story of the
young woman who would follow her
Master in a life of service for the suf-
fering, but who met with bitter op-
position from a goddess mother who
desired nothing better for the daugh-
ter than the useless life Of a society
belle. She was forced with sorrow to
forsake the mother, to leave the par