The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-10-29
(BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS

(BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.)
0NE marked difference between
W + I: n; $: s:
- thusiasm of the former ana
the conservatism of the latter. me
older nations, especially the oriental,
are careful, calculating, discriminating
and SOPHISTICATED. They have learned
the rule of number one. They nave
carefully measured politeness ana
punctiliousness that the Westerner
does not always possess, but they lack
his spontaniety. The generous hearteu
impulsive American is a strange crea-
tIIre in their eyes. That this very art
- lessness of genuineness, TINS unrelneu
sentiment, may be a virtue is hard for
them to realize. By the highest stano-
ards we know that warm, upsprlnglhg
sincerity is the highest expression OF
The notable instance is that of Mary
of Bethany, who poured an alabaster
flask of previous ointment upon the rect
of her friend and teacher, the Master
who had restored her brother Lazarus
TO life. Her act scandalized the be-
holders. 1t, was extravagant beyond
their thinking. Like practical" minds
in all time, they were utterly unable TO
weigh their worth of sentiment. Inc
judgment of the worlds wisest philoso-
pher who was a participant IN the
scene, was that the act merited uni
versal fame-and 10, the centuries
have been telling the story OF MARY
members of the worlds sunday
schools who this week are studying the
incident, are but few of the nyrlads
who have echoed the Saviour's praise
of Mary's self forgetting, uncaIculauns
devotion.
The Pictures Dark Background.
The incident is painted with sharp
contrasts. Like one Of rembrandt
n~Ir n
The foes of Jesus, who had doomed
him to death, were lurking IN the rear.
We are given glimpse of the maleVo-
lence of the Jewish eccleslast1cs ana
merchants who plotted his downfall.
If Mary's act was the extreme of spon-
taneous devotion, here is the opposite
extreme of measured self interest.
They conned all the poss1o1lltles IN
volved in the arrest of Jesus; "A
stealthy arrest a swift and unadVer-
tised death, were their program. But
always they were counting their own
chances Their devotion to a cause
was not the self forgetting kind: tney
were -shrewd men of the world. Plot-
ting murder, they yet planned to en-
compass it without any danger to
themselves. So encrusted with selnsh-
ness had their hearts become that
thew simply were unable to compre-
bend the nobility of Mary, much less
that of Jesus himself. Pity all whose
capacity for hero worship has become
trophied.
In the modern lingo of half-bake;d
psychologists, Jesus was a psychic
That is, his nature was one peculiarly
sensitive to all influences, especially
spiritual. He was attuned to the nner
forces His spirit was keenly develop
ed. Hostility srnote him as a blow. An
unfriendly atmosphere was as real TO
him as the sunlight. The enmity of the
religious leaders of his countryrnen bore
down upon his soul like cross. Equal
To- lnE n n 4 o.
hension and sympathy acted as tonic
to him. Amid adverse surroundings,
he sought the haven of the Bethany
home and the succor of the family's IN
telligeDt ministry.
Food for Hungry Heart.
Hungry hearts are fed by tokens of
love. There is nothing in all creation
which so ministers to a mans nobler
nature as the evidence that he is loved
with a deep, pure and unfathomable
love- This is a phase of the Bethany
story that can scarcely be oVerstreSsed.
It is true to life as we know 1t. what
keeps the wheels of industry reVolV-
ing the world around, and makes men
sacrifice and labor and suffer grandly.
Is it not the love of dependent dear
ones. In all ages men have been forti-
fed for the hardest experiences ana the
highest heroisms by the knowledge that
women trusted them and loved them
and honored them. This has been one
of the sustaining motives in the human
breast.
This pale Gallilean'' going forth to
contumely and crucifixion, fed on the
act of Mary as famished man FEEDS
on bread. Amid so much hate ana
faithlessness. he needed Just this en-
Couragement. 1t was as the kiss OF a
wife to a man starting forth to battle
Those feet that Mary anointed with
small fortunes worth of pure nard-
how her woman wit must have plan
G,z~1 h
.offering-had a long fiinty journey i'm
mediately before, and greatly they
needed this fortifying, and that head
was to wear thorny crown.
A Woman's Insight.
A woman's insight goes farther and
faster than a mans reasoning. In all
Jerusalem and it's environs there seems
to have been only one person who per-
ceived the real Messiahship of Jesus.
The doctors of the law were too blind
ed by offended pride and bigotry to
read their prophets Alright. The disci-
pies were occupied with personal am
billions and strangely blind to the mean
ing of what their Leader had tried re-
peatedly to make plain to them. The
crucifxion was only a few hours dis
tant and yet nobody seemed to under
stand, except the heavy hearted victim
himself.
And Mary. She was the type of spir-
itually-minded woman to whom the
deep things OF LIE and religion appear
to open easily. All women have a ca
pacity for religion and when this ca
pacity is neglected the essential wo-
manliness of character suffers an ire
parable loss. 1t is the divine mission OF
womanhood to keep alight the fires ot
religion on the affairs of the race
Some in a peculiar degree find theil
supreme engrossment in religion. Mary
was one such. Her highest joy was tc
sit in rapt attention at the feet of Hin
hnnnrPd l
its guest. There she had learned whal
the others had missed, that the Master
must go to his kingdom by way of hui
initiation and death. Most delicately
and appropriately she commemorate
the approaching hour by this priceless