The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-04-20
CASTERS MEANING
ELOQUENT SERMON BY REV. STEW.
 ART M'QUEEN.
@Why Seek Ye the Living Amonx Desd' Was Chosen by MT. Me-
 Queen fer His
 Sermon


 Queen preached an impressive sermon on Easter. He chose as his text the words from Luke. Why seek ye the living among the dead"
 Mir. Mcoueen said;
 Today of all days we commemorate supremely the confirmation of mans hopes with regard to the future life, the answer to mans questions about immortality. During countless centu- ries man sat in gloom. and buried away his dead out of sight, lifting his anguished and tear-laden eyes upward to the silent midnight stars, shining down upon him in changeless calm,
 while ever and anon, as the mystery of life and death pressed more sorsiy upon his troubled spirit. he voiced his hopes and at the same time his long fngs and his fears in the most sub Timely pathetic cry ever wrung from a tortured soul: If a man die shall he live againT'
 And at last man got his answer to those eager. persistent questionings as to what and where and how 1t shall be after this earthly body Is turned back to dust. He got his answer in the heaven born light which flashed and famed from the open tomb of the risen Christ his answer. which settled all doubts forever and Quenched all fears; his answer, which enabled him. amid the changes and chances of this mortal life to lead that life in the confidence of a certain faith. ,n the comfort of reasonable, religious and holy hope; T am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in Me, though he were
 dead. yet shall he live. and whosoever iWeth and believeth in Me shall never die" And henceforth man could say,
 whatever might befall him here: T
 know that my Redeemer liveth and
 that He shall stand at the latter day
 upon the earth: and though, after my
 skin. worms destroy this body. yet in my flesh shall see God. Whom shall
 see for myself, and mine eyes shall be-
 hold and not another" He got his
 answer, an answer which bade him not
 to seek the living among the dead. but
 that out of death Itself should come
 life, even life everlasting. If so be
 there hath beer in him. through the
 power of tho resurrection death unto
 sin.
 ''why seek ye the living among the dead?" This was spoken by the two angels to the women on the first Easter morn at the open door of the sepul- chre. They had come to embalm tne body of Jesus. to Whom they had been so devoted and faithful. The burden of a great sorrow bore heavily upon their loving hearts. See how 1t looked to them-the One who spake as never yet man spake was dead. The world had conquered. It had won the victory, Jesus was no more. Their joyous anti cipat.ons of Israefs deitverance from hated bondage and cruel oppression had d with Him. There was noth- ing left for them but to pay" linn the last sa, tribute of love and custom. Anc so they hasten through the silent streets in the early dawn to the tomo' little reckoning of that which aWaits th, m there Instead. however, or md ing tn, dead body of Jesus, they ma only grave clothes and an empty toino. 1 And they are met with the angelic
 .,rset,nr. .'Why seek ye the living
 among the dead? He is not here. nut risen" Jesus had already gone be- fore them, gone into the life and lite- l rature, into the thought and As
 | of the race, gone to be the Author ana 1 Finisher of its faith.
 sruilyi seek ysa the living among, the dead?' This saiutation of the angels, while it applies primarily of course. to l the fact that Christ had risen and was alive, therefore not among the dead, is capable of . hre1 z" 1 application to the things which con- cern vitally mans highest welfare in every generation. It sets forth principle as profound as st is far | reaching. Take, for instance. Truth. which Is eternal, and. therefore. un- changeable. "the same yesterday, to- | day, and forever" We try to express 1t in systems of human thought and l oftentinfes at the expense of truth It. | self for truth is ever more potent than | systems and our systems become| not | infrequently. the graves of truth And | so truth, time and again all through i out the ages, has to burst forth from | mans little systems in order to rsse l into life and light. So. too. of Justice. | We bury 1t beneath dead legalisms and | dishonest technicalities and number
 less appeals based upon vicious qutb- 1 bies; to almost numberless courts, ar d | then, forsooth. expect the law to be Administered, expect life and property
 to be protected, expect. in q word. to | find the living among the dead. Too | often. even Constitutions themselves
 are the tombs of justice. for Constitu- | tions are man made. you know. There | Is nothing divine about them. There | fore; only as we infuse and translate l @ test thought and life of today into | justice, into constitutions, can they 1 nossibly be resurrected and so forth | into the natioo.s ite to defend and | maintain for all alike the eternal and | ,mmutable principles of liberty ana righteousness. .s. l We are only too proud to seek the l living among the dead. as for instance l l1VlnR All NSNN SNoNS'@-~' - | the living present in the dead past. | Too frequently clinging to the dead past utterly unfit us for present duty | and work. For example, at afiiction | in human life. In some cases 1t de-
 velops the best that is in people, renn- ing out the dross. disclosing the rich gold of invincible faith and unselhsh cheerfudness lying hidden deep in the heart. In other cases. affiiction leaves behind 1t a life which seems nerveless,
 without aim or purpose, paralyzed and
 useless. We speak of the sadness Of afiietion, but the saddest thing about afiiction is when 1t Is selfshly wor-
 shipped, pampered and coddled. which | is only too often the case. If this
 be the attitude of any of us towards
 our special af1iction then are we just l as surely seeking our living among the | dead as were the women of the first I Easter morning seeking the living | Christ among the dead around His empty tomb. Nay. we should think of our dead as safe and blessed with the
 Risen Christ and go forth ourselves. ehastened and purified by sorrow. go forth into the walks of life to serve | our fellow men, even as we are serv- | ing a living Christ. in a living present. l and not a dead Christ in a dead past. Yes. we should look forward not back
 ward. Only so can there be for us | any genuine progress in Christ. only
 so can we obey the imperious injunc-