The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-04-15

81. LIKE IL At, III is WfltleH'
MY house is the house OF pray
er: but We have made il den
of thieves
These words of the Masters record
a most tragic, II most deplorabe and
sad failure, the degeneration OF a
house of prayer into a den OF thieves
Jesus is speaking of the temple at
Jerusalem. 1t stood there, in all it,
wonderful beauty of structure, with
rich appointments and splendid ser
vices; the embodiment in stone and
costly fabric of the great truth that
Jehovah dwelt among his people. To
the Jews it was the House of God
Thther they came from all over the
world tn offer their sacrifices in pray
er and praise TO Jehovah. 1t was the
center of their religious lift.
In our Lords times part of the
temple were crowded with the stalls
of those who sold animals for the
sacrifices to the worshippers and with
was often inconvenient and impossible
especially for those who came from
far, to bring the sacrifice animals with
them and so this temple market had
been established where suitable vie
Tins might be bought. 1t was also
required that the temple tax be paid
in a certain Jewish coin Roman
Greek and other coins which were III
cepted and therefore in the temple
market there were tables where money
could he changed. IA fee being charged
for the service.
in the hands of the family of the higf
priest and prices were often so ad
vanced that the poor people were be
ing robbed
So when Jesus went up To the tenn
pie that day he found its courts fnl
of the noise of the market invade,
by the spirit of greed, selfishness anC
oppression. With blazing eyes He
drove them ont, saying, 1t is written
nv house shall be il house of prayer
but We have made it a den OF thieves
If Christ should come today 10 pas.
Judgment upon our churches wha
would he find-always houses of pray
er where men and women come will
reverence to worship God and find he'll
and strength and comforter wha
would He find?
Churches sometimes fall very fa
short of what they should be.
Sometimes ii is because the parisl
is not united. there is the spirit o
dissension and strife, Il lack of Chris
tian love and forbearance, of willing
ness to give up for the good OF IN
whole. If you should 90 To such
church expecting To find Il house q
prayer. expecting to be helped an
inspired yon would be Disappointed
The minister and the people with thei
littleness and their vindictivenes
have spoiled ii. made it Il failure.
Some times churches are robbed q
their spirit of prayer by sectarian bit
terness. The whole life of som
churches speaks of narrowness, concei
and criticism OF other religion
bodies.
/ | believe man ought to be Il goo
churchman He ought to be loyal [
the church to which he belongs
man who is not such a good curcl
man is generally an inefficient Chris
tian.
believe in the Episcopal churel
that it is the most catholic an
i apostolic church in the country tOda,
Il believe it has a great future befol
it. that it has an important missio
to fulfill
But ] believe i'm Jesus Christ frs
and the Episcopal church second, {
a means, and | think the best mean
for extending the kingdom of Chris
The attitude of every church t.
ward other churches and denomini
lions should be that attitude whiC
Jesus recommended to st. Peter, whe
after forgiving Peter for denying hir
he said. ''FollOw me- and Peter, SEER
John near, said, But what of tn
other disciple?" and Jesus anSwere