Norwich bulletin., 1910-11-21

| Ana rom thence he arose and went l into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and | entered into a house and would have no man know it. But he could not be hid.''
 1 In the opening sentence of his ser
 mon, Rev: MT. Carey referred to Our 1 Lord while doing his work in upper 1 Gallilee and his sudden going into 1 Tyre, where he took houses and would 1 have no man know it, but it was im- possible that his example, his life, his | teaching and his steadfast faith should | be forgotten or without faith upon his fellow men, Do what he would, he l where he might, he could not be hid. Striking and Significant Truth. There is a most striking and signifi-
 cant truth here in these words for us, my friends. It is the truth of the per- sistent power and influence of good ness, the permanent effect of character, be the surroundings of life, or environ ment t., of things what they may It is an illustration of the fact that the strongest and the most lasting force in the world today is not the obvious. prominent ambitious energy which l holds itself up before mems attention by every form of advertising device
 but the quiet obscure faithful beauty of holiness which even though it be hid in a corner, cannot in the long run be without it's effect upon the world. Character Counts.
 In his scientific illustration of the spiritual truth. he said Let the light rays represent mans ambitions achievements fame, wealth and world ly triumphs. Placed in the midst of cer- tain circumstances, they are defeated cut short, cease their influence But let the X-ray stand for that myterious obscure, spiritual force we call char acter. and in spite of obstacles cir culnstances, their influence is felt far and wide stretching out into reaches far beyond the calculation of mans judgment. Let Christ in his humility hide himself in a foreign country, shut himself within the walls of a. house yet his truth and doctrine his gracious works and lofty eternal principles of faith and conduct could not thereby be hid. And even in our mortal weaker lives, let a man of faithfulnesS and courage of honor and loyalty, be hid den apart from the ordinary walk of his fellow men, by any result of cir cumstance or environment and yet his influence for righteousness shall be felt coloring and persuading the lives of his brothers.
 The resolution and strength of spirit by which trouble and disaster are borne with fortitude suffering with patience and faith, defeat with cour- age, obscurity with trust and confi- dence, are never lost or wasted forces. TEey cannot be hid and they go down throughout the ages of the world, augmenting those froceS which enno- ble, raise LID and fortify humanity in it's journey towards the kingdom of God. Is there not comfort and inspi- ration for you and me, my friends in the contemplation of this truth so oft en forgotten or ignored in these busy modern times?
 False Perspective of Values.
 We are apt, al lof us, to be dazzled by the passing judgments of the world and to think those things of most per manent and deepest worth concerning which most is talked about We get a false perspective of values in our l eager striving for the praises of men and the notice of the world about us And we grow to deSpise the life which 1 is led hidden in some corner. or the 1 duty of which no one knows or hears, i or of the name which is recognized by only a few. And then there comes to us the solemn lesson of our Lord, hum bling himself, working in quiet, re- tiring apart from men into house in a strange city and a foreign land, and yet even there exercising an influence and a power which could not be hid and which has outlasted all the fame and position which those of his day possessed and which was reckoned to count for so much in value upon the world.
 smallest infiuenCe IS Feit.
 The lives of most of us who are here this morning are what the world would call obscure lives. We have our small round of duties and problems and sometimes the very obscurity of it all seems to make it of little diff ference how we do the duties or meet the problems. If this be our thought, it Is well to remind ourselves that in the eyes of God there is nothing in the ybnla world nf more ir11nortaOra than that we should do what is given us and work out what is set before us in loyalty, faithfulness and patience. knowing that the judgments of the nal iuG Sments of God, and that work no matter how insignificant as we count inssignificance, nor how hidden as we picture remoteneSS if well done is ever wasted, and that the influence of even the smallest act of our lives cannot be hid, but may have results so far reaching that we cannot esti-, mate their termination. And we are again reminded that if we would gain a true perspective as to what is of la sting worth to the world, We must look at things not as man sees them but with the eyes of God and learn to know that character is the one thing in the world which is strongest and against which defeat and failure, sin and oppression and all those unworthy
  ruin, beat their forces upon in vain ,, In spite of them it cannot be hid. Driven into an obscure corner. it still shines out to light and gladden. the world Apart from the noise of the busy highways, it's influences are felt ma alling the world of human souls bet ter forever.
 4 Shining Example.
 It must before this have become ap- parent to you my friends that I am speaking of this particular truth this morning because of the shining eX- ample of if which we have had in our own parish. If anything were needed to enforce and bring homo to us this much neglected belief in the power nI q strong Christian character to over : come obscuritv. banishment from the businesses and ways of men, physical weakness. limited resources. every i thing that We are ant to count as val uable and telling in life. that lesson has been brought homo today. There will be carried this afternoon from this his church, which he loved and served so faithfully. to his last resting place. the earthly form of one who for number of years past had filled. and filled with cJnspicuousaa the ex acting office of treasurer of our parish. threshold of a life which promised to be filled with active work and busy at tainment among men, he was called to go across the border of the native land of ordinary occupation and com