The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1909-03-05
THE PULPIT.
AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON sY
The REV EDWARD NILES.
Theme: Johns Second Epistle.

10
preached from text in Acts 2:46:
With one accord in the temple. and
breaking bread, as illustrated by
Johns Second Epistle. Mr.. Niles
said:
We read aloud this entire book of
the Bible in four minutes. Shortest
of all the siXty-siX, il is easily written
on three pages of lady's note paper.
The most precious goods comes In
small parcels. vest pocket full Of
gold buys coal enough 10 heat and
light this church for years. The thir-
teen verses Of Second John are more
precious than the thirty-six chapters
of Second Chronicles.
Especially interesting is this letter
10 every woman--and 20 every man
whose dearest friend is woman.
Few are outside one or the other cate,
CORY. While nine OF the twenty-five
New Testament letters are directed to
churches. four 10 Christians in gem
eral, two 10 the Jews and five 10 in
dividual men, this is the only one sent
10 a woman.
The writer was John the aged. her
spiritual adviser and intimate friend.
often entertained at her home in
Ephesus, he often thought OF her
when out of the city.
| believe We are right in giving her
name. The word translated lady"
In the English text, I'm the margin is
"Cyria. Like Martha" i'm the He
brew, "Cyria" means lady" but was
just as much girls name among the
Greeks as "Flora" with the Romans
or Grace" with us.
Cyria, then, WAS well known
Christian with no ess than four chill
dren. At least two were young men
! whom John had just found 10 be
steadfast disciples in the town where
he was holding eVangelistic services
| There, too, was the home of Cyria $
married sister as we'll as of some
nieces and nephews. With them the
apostle probably stayed. Cyria was a
widow of means, leisure and inclina-
ton for good works
Not long before this time. Petron-
ius. NerO's "arbiter OF elegance" a
prominent character in Quo Vadis. ="
published his "Ephesian Widow" IL
is a satire upon silly women, living
for pleasure, devoted TO dress, so evil
minded and foul mouthed that its
translation is prohibited our mails.
The contrast between that typical
heathen widow of Ephesus and this
typical Christian widow of Ephesus
speaks most eloquently OF how the
Gospel transforms womankind.
The motive OF Johns letter is two
fold: To commend the widows chill
dren whom he has seen and to warn
the widow lest the children still at
home be contaminated.
Only a pastor fully understands
Johns delight at writing with a clear
conscience, only mother fully under
stands Cyria's delight at reading with
beating heart, Il rejoiced greatly that
| have found some Of your children
walking in truth. Archimedes
leaped out OF his bath shouting
Eureka | have found It," when he
there discovered the long sought
proof Of his pet theory. John cries
out "Eureka," with even more joyful
intensity when he finds in Cyria's
children proof Of his and Peters the
ory propounded at Pentecost, "the
promise is unto you and your chill
dren. When boys could go away
from a Christian home and, in the
midst Of paganism, live pure, Christ
like lives, Johns preaching had
passed beyond the experimental
stage.
A shadow falls over even this Joy.
"Some of your children" indicates
that the cup of happiness was not full
to running over
Rumors had reached John that
Cyria's hospitality was being abused
by plausible cOunterfeits Of Christian
ministers who were circulating ths
blasphemy that Christ did not really
live on earth i'm flesh and blood Il
was only an appearance. So these
men were later known as "DOcetists.
Those children were in imminent dan
ger Of beinl led into perditiOn by tie
heresy which ass Tted that only Jesus
OF Nazareth was crucihed. not the
Messiah at ali. Divinity. tuCy
claimed, could not be subject 20 hui
mani'y. Matter is essentially evil
All sin comes from the body. The
passion story is drama, not history.
Nothing is real but mind. They
called themselves advanced think
ers, because they wanted Christian
ity 20 keep pace with the times and
infuse itself with the popular Oriental
mysticism Progress was their
watchword IN reality, says John. it
is retrOgresS. for they go onward by
not abiding ia the teaching OF Christ"
The glamour we are inclined 10
cast about the early churcn is not
justified. It's members had the same
failings as ours. It's yagaTics are
strikingly duplicated now and here
Theosophy, Free Thinking. Christian
Science flOurished in Ephesus. The
teaching OF the Twelve Apostles, a
church manual probably written be-
fore John died, warns believers
against many who went into evangel- /
ism for what they could make out OF
II. II lays down this very practical |
test Of genuineness: "If he stays
more than two days he Is false. n he 4
teaches the truth and doeth Il not, he I,
is false. Whatsoever shall say in the |
spirit, Give me silver or anything /.
else, ye shall not listen 20 him. n he I
tell you TO give for others who are /.
in want, let no man Judge him
Let us apply this test on the pres f.
ent-day prOfesscd improvements uDOn I.