The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1910-06-02
ADDRESS TO CLASS
Rev. j. o. Fisher Delivers Baccalau-
reate Sermon to High School
Graduating Class Of 10
A Masterful Discourse Which Was
Listened to by a Large and
Appreciative Audience.

"AOAA ssA~A eouNASO uUU0Iou ny Gu0
reverend gentleman and the sermon
was duly appreciated. It was a
sermon from which all should derive
benefit, whether they were the young
pupils about to graduate or people of
more mature years. The vocal selec-
tions, rendered by large chorus and
soloists under the direction of Mrs.
81. c. Cooney, we're of high class
and the organ accompaniment, by
Mrs. Benz. Soule, added greatly to
the impressiveness of the numbers.
Decorations of flowers and foliage in
great profusion, intermingled with the
class colors, gave an enchanting effect
to the interior of the church. Rev.
Fishers address, in synoptic form,
was as follows:
Theme, ''The Influence of Charac-
ter" text, Matt. -, 80: "The king
dom of heaven is like unto leaven,
which woman took, and hid in three
measures of meal, till the whole was
leavened."
No apology need be offered for
bringing you word from the great
teacher "who spake as never man
spake.' When Jesus Christ came the
mind of man was looked upon as a
cistern into which the knowledge and
wisdom of the past was to be poured.
Jesus proved himself on par with
our modern ideas of education when
he said to the woman at the we'll:
HE that drinketh of the water that I
shall give shall never thirst but shall
have we'll of water springing up
from within him unto eternal life.
For by the touch of this divine man,
mans latent possibilities sprang into
being. This personality and his
teaching have stimulated man to his
greatest achievements. The great
works of art are but the effort of man
to give back to the world the vision
which He has given them. All the
great achievements and advancement
of this twentieth century have come
because of the stimulating and enlarg-
ing effect of His personality and
teachings upon the world. Let US now
strive to find the divine truth in this
parable of the leaven and apply it's
teaching to our lives and our ideals.
The educational ideals of most men
would find fitting type in the gold
or the diamond. Jesus never EMPLOYS
them for figures. His chosen symbols
OF Christian character are salt, light,
leaven. Do you see the difference?
The human ideal emphasizes value or
beauty; the divine ideal lays the
stress upon power. Gold, what is it?
A standard of value; an emblem of
purity and worth; the most precious
of metals, sought with equal per-
sistence for coinage and for orna-
ment. What is the diamond? A gem
of priceless worth and unrivaled
beauty. The gold and the diamond
are thus fitting symbols of purity and
value; but they also are types of sell
fshness and want of power. For ages
untold diamonds have lain buried in
the mines of Brazil and South Africa,
and the sparkling grains of gold have
mingled in the sands of California
and the Yukon valley; yet in all these
ages no smallest particle of sand has
felt any influence from the metal or
the gem to transform it's nature or IN
crease its value. Age after age they
lie there, precious metal and WORTH
less sand, priceless jewel and profit
less rock, side by side, the sand and
the rock no whit better for the fellow
ship. Does not that we'll represent
much of the education that has claim
ed the attention of men? Does it not
represent too truthuflly much of the
education that passes current under
the name of Christian? Have we not
educated people as pure as the gold,
priceless as the diamond, beautiful
people that are absolutely without in
fuence in the world, as cold and ex-
elusive as they are pure and refined?
Not such was Jesus ideal of life and
character. He says, 'The kingdom
of heaven is like unto leaven which
woman took and hid in three measures
of meal, till it was all leavened."
There is picture of the influence of
character. The effect which it pro-
duces is the one matter of Importance.
1t is a Transforming force. What the
substance is we do not know. We
only know it's effect. The leaven was
hidden in three measures of meal till
the meal was all-what? Leaven?
No. Till it was all leavened. The
noun gives place to verb. Matter is
made subordinate to force. The
worker is for the time overshadowed
by it's work. All our thought is CEN
tered upon the one simple idea, influ-
ence. Let us look at the educationa,