Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1908-09-24
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR., c. s. MCFARLAND.
Theme: Jesus Imperial Spirit.

Theme: Jesus Imperial Spirit.
Brooklyn, N. Yin the Park Con-
gregational Church, Eighth avenue
and Second street. Sunday morning,
the Rev. Charles s. Mcfarland. Ph:
D., of the Congregational Church OF
South Norwalk. Conn.,, author OF
"The Infinite Affection" and other
works, preached on "The Imperial
Shirt of Jesus" The texts were
from John 1927: "Peace I leave
with you: My peace give unto you;
not as the world giveth, give unto
you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid" John 1888:
an the world We shall have tribula-
ton; but be of good cheer. l have
overcome the world" Matthew
1924: think not that I am come
to send peace on earth; came
not to send peace, but sword" DR..
Macfarland said:
Jesus is reassuring His disciples.
He says to them: Be courageous, he
bold, overcome the world. By the
world He means the temporal life.
let your spirits overcome it.
What a sublime picture! There
He is, awaiting the end. He Is going
down to apparent defeat. to human
eyes. His life seems nought. The
cross awaits Him, a cross between
the crosses of two thieves. Baraobas
Is to be chosen instead OF Himself.
He no longer has any followers, ex-
cept those faithful few. and even they
are trembling, fearful and ready to
fee. Yet He utters these strangely
contradictory words. II am the Mas
ter of the world"
We see here also the moral gran
deur Of Jesus, the translation Of His
personality and His inner life into
terms Of moral power. AS He was
the great thinker, so He was the
noble liver of the race. AS He gains
the mastery of lofty minds, so He Is
the sovereign Of all noble lives.
His splendid life is now centering
in the cross toward which 1t has been
leading. From the beginning He has
seen the end. Behind Him Is long
trail of moral strength. From Him
goes the impression Of sovereign
personality. He is the supreme ex-
ample of noble living. for the man
hood of our day, with its alternating
bravery ard cowardice. with its noble
resolve and weak compliance. Jesus
becomes, first. the shamer and then
the inspirer of human living.
Having In some measure appre-
nended the splendid mind OF the Mas
ter and gathered something Of the
moral grandeur Of His life, we seek
to discover the hiooer secret Of His
outward splendor. Let US try to look
into His soul ard discover the mean
Ing of this majestic. brave. strong,
Impellingly attractive manhood.
Look again at our text. recall the sit.
uation under which 1t was uttered.
remember that He is facing a cross,
listen to His words: "Peece I leave
unto you," "Be full OF confidence. I"
II have conquered the world"
Another strange thing is the con.
tradictoriness Of the Master. For
vpon another occasion did He not
lay, think not that I am come to
send peace on the earth; / came not
to send peace. but a sword?"
How are we to explain the paradox
Of these two contradictory texts?
Shall we avail ourselves of the liberty
Of criticism and say that one appears
In the Synoptic Gospels and Is his.
torical, while the other appears in the
Fourth Gospel and Is unhlstorlcal?
Shall we decided that one of them
Is an Interpolation? This Is alto.
gether too easy and ready a method,
Let us wait and see II we may not
bring them into harmony.
First Of all let us look at the sec.
ond text and see how true it is. He
sent those disciples forth into the
world. Did rot they find the sword ?
Their story is continuous one OF
persecution. Imprisonment, death. II
there was the one thing they did not
find it was peace. Peter and John
began at Jerusalem. They were told
that they must not speak or teach in
the name of Jesus They went out,
prayed for courage and went to
preaching again. For 1t they were
beaten with stripes. They received
their hundredfold reward with per.
secutions."
What mockery are Jesus words to
Him! Peace I leave with you.
How fortunate If the Fourth Gospel
were written very late and is unrelia.
BILE! Does it not make our Lord
guilty of false prophecy?
The story goes on through succeed.
Ing ages. The successors of these
disciples live and die in Roman cata.
combs and caves. They are hunted,
hungered, despised, prosecuted. suf.
fering unto death. How it must have
Knocked them: Peace / leave with
you" Jesus bequest was broken, or
at least this codicil revoked.
But even all this is less perplexing
than the utterance coming from the
lips of the man who spoke it. Was
1t mistaken prophecy of Jesus? Be.
cause His own life was SO calm and
peaceful did He suppose that His
disciples would be also? Look fol-
moment at the life Of the man from
whose lips these words come. Fol.
low Him in His WEAKNESS, in His re.
| lection, in His disputes with carping
critics. with His misunderstanding
/ and quarreling disciples. Not place
to lay His head, Go with Him on the
mountainside at night. Witness Him
! In the Garden, where He sweat. as II
were. great drops Of blood, Behold
Him on Calvary between thieves
Wasch Him crowned with thorns.
buffetsd. spat upon. Knocked In dis
dain. What q contrast and contra,
diction are His words; Peace
leave with you; My peace I give unto
YOU" Evidently we must accept the
prophecy of our second text and deny
the truth of the first.
Before doing so let US 60 back and
look at those disciples again and be-
hold another aspect Of their life
Peter is there, it is true. In prison
But we read about the presence Of
an angel of the Lord and Of light IL
the midst of the darkness. Think OIL
some of those little gatherings in the