The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-11-30
Large Audience Greets Rev. a.
l.. Whitaker Who Delivers
Eloquent Address at Union
Service i'm Baptist Church.
"REVIVAL RELIGION NEEDED"-"MosT US STILL HAVE
TIME TO SAY THANK YOU GIN HoNEsDALE)- NEW
HELL WORSE

Honesdale put Thanksgiving Day
into practice last Thursday by turn
ing out in large numbers and filling
the spacious auditorium of the First
Baptist church where union services
were held in the morning. The ser
mon was delivered by the Rev. A. L..
Whitaker, rector Grace Episcopal
church, and was a mastery effort
Seated within the chancel rail, and
taking part in the service, were Revs
w. H. Swift, D. D., George S. Wen
dell, VIII H. Hitler. Rev. A. C.. Oliver
pronounced the benediction. Rev.
Whitaker spoke as follows:
And Jesus answering said, Were
there not ten cleansed? but where
are the nine?-Luke 1917.
l do not think that gratitude is a
leading characteristic of the Ameri-
can people, although it is only in
America, so far as l am aware, that
there is general observation of a
public Day of Thanksgiving.
think it well that there should be
such day. l think we as a nation
especially and emphatically need it,
We need it to counterbalance our
national defects of character. 1t is
one of the good Gods compensatory
dispensations, that a nation singu-
larly in need of such a day should
have it.
We are certainly not alone in the
possession of this grave defect.
Nineteen centuries ago men had this
deadly vice of ingratitude, this muir
derer of the finer qualities of the
soul. Men of the most religious
race under heaven had it, race
that prided itself upon the accuracy
with its members kept their accounts
with one another. IAN eye for an
eye, a tooth for a tooth" was their
rule. But favors and blessings were
not always so promptly acknowl-
edged. One day the kindly Jesus
met ten men who were afflicted with
the terrible disease of leprosy. How
terrible it was and is we who have
never seen it can only guess. But
we know that it is a living death
The deadly virus propagates within
the putrid flesh until the poison
strikes into some vital part and takes
the victim to his welcome fate
Such were the men who met Jesus
on the road that day-helpless, hope
less, so far as this world was con,
cerned, damned. The rotten flesh
hung from their limbs, the wild
look of despair was in their eyes
Here before them was the man with
a reputation for curing people. They
were ready to clutch at any straw
e.. and they lifted up their voices
saying Jesus, Master, have mercy or
US" And the pity compassion of the
Son of God healed them every one
And when He saw them, He saiC
unto them, go and show yourselve.
unto the priests. And it came t
pass, as they went, they were
| cleansed. And one of them, when hi
saw that he was healed, turned bach
with a loud voice glorifying God
| and he fell upon his face at Hit
feet, giving Him thanks: and he wa!
Samaritan. And Jesus answer
ing said, Were there not ter
| cleansed? but where are the miner
If in the entire record of histor!
| there be a baser instance of in
| gratitude, except for those rar,
| cases where men bereft of most ele
mentary human feeling have killeC
their benefactors, l know ii not
These men had been worse thar
dead. They had been decayin,
alive, vainly wishing for the merci
| full hand of Death. Because of tn
kindliness of heart of a fellow-trav
eler they had been healed; thei
flesh had come to them again lik