The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1909-04-12
BEMIDJI CHURCHES HELD
FINE EASTER SERVICES
Continued from First Page

understand now man should en-
dure so much for one who would
endure in like measure tor him.
But the Savior's sacrifice was in
large measure for those who did
not know or treat him as friend
and brother. He gave up His all
IN attestation Of His teachings
and His claims in order that men
might see and believe. Yet men,
blinded by their own selhshness,
would not see. Their ways were
evil, and they loved darkness
rather than light. They would
not come unto Him that they
might have life
Among those who rejected Him
were many of our ancient craft. To
some the way seemed TOO hard and
they were not able to endure it.
Others were bewildered because the
Light, as presented to them, was
so at variance with their precon-
ceived ideas. The Light seemed
but to intensity the darkness that
was abroad in the world and had
crept into mems hearts. Yet this
Light, small at first and thought
to have been extinguished on the
cross, has continued to shine on in
the darkness hath comprehended it
not.
At times it has seemed that the
powers of darkness must come off
victorious, but He, who is our Light,
our Guide, our Shield, our Defence,
has in Himself all power both in
heaven and on earth: and has prom
ised that the powers of He'll shall
never prevail. When the day seemed
darkest and the enemy strongest,
God wrought upon certain men, true
and tried, to band themselves to.
gether for the defence of the Gospel.
These men were Masons who were
true to the standards and teachings
of their Order; too true indeed, not
to have seen, and beheld, and
seized upon, and made their own,
the secret of life for which they had
been searching. They had sought
and found; knocked and it had been
opened unto them; asked and it had
been given them.
"The successors of these men
are with us today, and are known
among us as knights Templar.
AS these men went forth in olden
times with the blessings of the
church upon them-because they
were sons of the church as we'll as
Templars-so we, on occasions
like the present, assemble our
selves in solemn service to pray
that God will bless US in our work
for Him. May He Who has called
us to this special work give us
grace that we may let our light
so shine before men, that they,
seeing our works, may glorify Our
Father Who is in heaven
"But, dear friends, are we
alwaye as careful as we ought to
be to remember the responsibility
that is laid upon us? And what
our brethren and friends have a
right to expect of us? We have
taken our name from HIM Whom
we are sworn to hold up as the
Light of the World
"Perhaps the only view OF the
Saviour that will be vouchsafed to
some man is the view he will get
from us. And, in such a case, 7
ask you to seriously consider
whether the view is such an one as
to attract and hold mis- attention
Not that l would lower our ideals
to the level of realization, but it
should be true of us, that those
with whom we come in contact
might take knowledge of US that
we had been with Jesus
The uniforms we wear are not
peculiar to ourselves except that
they have emblazoned thereon the
cross, the emblem of OUT faith, and
the badge of our Order, which we
are taught to wear as constant
memorial to slim ulate US to initiate
the virtues of the Immaculate Jesus
who died that we might live. Lest
we forget, the hits of our swords
are fashioned in the form of cross
to remind US in the very moment
when we are acting in defence of
the truth, of Him who won the battle
even by seeming to lose it: to warn
US that our swords should be return