The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-23
SERMON ON
 SUFFERING Rev. Stewart Mcqueen Explains Purpose. RAM ENNOBLEs OUR LIFE Character is Made Perfect By
 Adyersity. hector of Holy Comforter Episcopal ChsrcA Advises CoaEreEation Not n Ignore of Rebel Against
 sunering.
PIN ENNOBLEs OUR LIFE

Rev. Stewart Mcqueen. rector of the Holy Comforter Episcopal Church. de- nysred most interesting sermon to his cougregation yesterday morning, the topic being: Pain and Suffering; Their Meaning and Purpose in Human Life"
 The text of tue sermon was taken from Hebrews. Though He were Son, yet He learned obedience py ths things which He suffered"
 The sermon follows:
 It iz taken for granted that all sane persons admit the existence CT pain ana suffering. in one form ar aLothef, whe- ther physical or mental. as common factors in human life. They are mat ters of every day experience. From dime to time, all of us feel them more or less acuteiy. They are intensely real. Further. they often cause us grave. perpIexity and tempt us even to doubt the goodness of our Heavenly Father. Now, we cannot ignore their presence in our daily lives and In the lives Of others. They must be recog- nized and faced. Shutting our eyes to facts. does not make them cease to be facts. any more than the ostrich is hidden because he thrusts nts head in.l to the desert sands and fancies him. self unseen. This being so, common sense teaches us to make the best of pain and suffering. This we do. not
 
 ing to escape them, not by railing out against them as cruel and needless not by bearing them in sulien despair but by uaing them wisely--as we are given grace and strength.-to ennoble our lives, so that like the Captain of our Salvation I've shall at length bs made perfect through suffeffngs."
 First. let us ask. why are pain and suffering ailowedT Mark you. I do not say. why does God infiict them7 Docs heg Not being in the counsels of the Almighty--as so many people seem to be- for 1t Is a common thing to hear persons say. with glib tongue and aif of absolute certainty. God does this and God does that"--not being, I re- peat. in the counseIs of the Almighty. dare not affirm that He does inffict pain and suffering. I see no warrant in the Gospel for any such cruel as' sertton, nor have I received private Di' vine revelation to that effect. I do know, however, as indeed all of us know, that He can and does use them for our good, If we will but cooper ate with His means Of grace. More over, it Is with that we should chiefly concern ourselves. In order to account for them, it is not at all necessary to accuse God of iniiicting them. study and reflection upon the facts of human life will disclose to us tho causes of ordinary pain and suffering. For in- stance, what large proportion of suf- 1ering, whether in ourselves or in others. is due to sin. directly or indi- pectIy. By this mean our wilful viO- laIion of physical and moral laws which roason--t0 cay nothing of the Gospel--teaches us are essential to our well-being. Hence we cannot trans gress them without paying the penal " If we eat or drink to excess we suffer in our bodies. If we make unfort- unate investments in business, if we Five way to our evil tempers, we suf- fer in our minds. If we break the laws of purity, whether in thought of deed. we suffer in our souls. Thus we have physical, mental and spiritual pain. and which we have brought upon our selves. Holding God responsible. or blaming Him, is cowardly and unwor- thy. Again, the innocent often suffer through the wrong doing of others, sc intimately are we bound together as members one of another. We see, for example, instances of poverty resulting from the evil conduct of others, disease that is due to others indulgence and grief caused by others unkindness. Yes vicarious suffering is law of life. in fnitely sad and pathetic as 1t is. Seem- ingly, It is bound up In the very nature of things Why 1t Is so. we may not presume to say. That 1t is so, we can not deny.
 Next. let us consider what should ba the effect upon us of pain and suf- fering. Surely. 1t is plain that suf- ferinR. Of one kind or another. serves as a discipline, a training, and that thereby we should grow in grace, grow into stronger Christian man. hood and womanhood. It begets vir- tues. both in those who suffer and in those who bear with the sufferers. Be- reavement. sickness. hardships of va rious kinds. afford opportunity for the making and exercising of such vIr- tues as: fortitude. self-forgetfulness. patience and meekness; virtues which seem to come only from that source: virtues that are among the sublimest of which human nature Is capable On the other hand, pain and suffering. in