The Tupelo journal., 1910-01-21
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The Glory of
the NaZarene
Rev. William E. Tibroe. d. D..
McCabe Memorial Church. CHICAGO

LID was a iIC VI eAoAyt -
~ the thing that is here said.
Other things are said, but
u matter of talk Is this. 1t Is not a
theological vision, but a plain ecord
The Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us and we beheld his glory"
Not that to the son of Zebedee theo-
logical vision was wanting. To him
the historic Jesus of his generation
was an eternal, ineffable something
known as the Word of God. "In the
beginning was the Word and the
Word was with God and the Word was
Cod" and 1.-THE Word was made flesh
and dwelt among U.s." AS speech is a
revealing, a message from the soul In
visible. so the Christ was a word from
God. Further. this Christ was with
John the potent universal Creator.
"A1l things were made by him and
without him was not made anything
that was made" This same Creator
and Word was also Life and Light.
"In him was life and the life was the
light of men" There may be exist
ence without light, but existence with
out life there is not, and that new
thrilling thing, the key of being, the
light of the world, and the secret or
destiny, Is in the Christ. Surely the
invisible and overriding Jesus shone
zenith high in the eyes of John and
there was theological vision in plenty.
But 1t was this vision become flesh
and dwelling among us that was the
Immediate concern. One too poor for
where to lay his head; barren OF So
cial prestige, without culture of the
schools, writing no books, showing
scant regard for organism or inst1tu-
tons. setting the sword into It's
sheath, beggaring himself deliberately
of every arm of power in honor with
the ages, and yet SO mighty as to
bend and rock the earth with his
tread, making men suspect him moth
ing less than God was a spectacle un-
speakable for a Galilean fisherman.
Fifty years and more he remembers
what his eyes have seen and only he
greatest words under the sun and
stars are able to tell his tale. And
we beheld his glory"
Christ Supreme.
The glory of the Christ life may be
seen earliest. possibly, in that it Is the
only one of its kind. 1t was a unique
life. Jesus Christ was one, 'only be-
gotten" In all the ages he has no
fellow. When Napoleon said, mo one
is like him. he had this vision. 1t is
of the genius of greatness to carve a
niche for itself, to fly in its own or
bit, to evermore walk lonely. Moses.
Aristotle, Caesar, Shakespeare are
memories of the forgotten and live
mons the dead. So there was never
another like the Son of Mary. Rev
erence is born of respect and worship
of the Christ may well begin by find
ing him among the solitary few. His
tory can neither be written nor read
without mention of his name. Jesus
of Nazareth is even now Jesus of the
planet.
But the glory of the Christ Is
unique, especially in being such a
glory to the mind Of God. Jesus is
the only begotten "of the father" A
compliment of benediction gathers its
music and fragrance from its source.
The great of earth must read their
glory. always, in a revised version.
The MONDAY light of M generation
fades in another to a smoking taper.
"Call no man happy until he is dead"
is an ancient epitaph. Only the judg-
. +bo irmortal stand That
the life of the Christ is q glory with
the Eternal is at once a patent of
worth and a call to prayer. That wor-
ship of the historic Jesus is not rank
idolatry finds it's one reason here: he
is in time a veritable manifestation of
the eternal God. Forevermore the AL
mighty Father exists in some fashion
as a Revealer and in this fashion
never repeats himself. "In the begin
ming was the Word and the Word was
with God and the Word was God"
''The same was in the beginning with
Cod Like the shock of earthquake
or the rising of the sun this divine
Word breaks into human history as
Jesus of Nazareth and passes on, and
very rightly men tarry in reverence at
hi~ feet. That human soul which sees
In Christ a unique, solitary, unshar-
able revealing of God alone may wor-
ship him. He may arise, respect. fol
low. but to bend the knee and say
PRAYERS he must see God. That there
is none other name under heaven or
given among men: that there is but
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, we
adore the Christ. "And we beheld his
glory"
Must Accept Divinity.
This leads me naturally to say that
the glory of the Christ life is seen
also in its transcendence. It is a BIZ
ography evermore parting from men
and carried out Of their vision. 1.-THE
darkness comprehended it not" 1.-THE
wnrld knew him not" "His own re-
ceiyed him not" Men face the Christ
not only with moral opposition but
with mental collapse. They reject him
ms surely that are little as that they
are wicked. Their logic falls in a
bean. They walk by faith or stagger
to the dust. Unless they believe on
his name, receive him, are given right
and power to be sons of God, are
vertically born again, they never catch
the glory Of the Christ. A simply hui
man Christ, a Christ who is not tran
scendent, turns every Christian
church into a heather temple, bap-
tism to an empty. wicked farce, the
bread and wine to symbols of a gigan-
tic lie and Christian people every
where into the most miserable OF
AT the mere SUGGESTION that an