Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1911-06-29

And then. here, this side Of the sea. ir
| Our own land. our boast is a Christian
country where scholar. poet. statesman,
! philosopher. and toiler lift up sadd.ncd
faces toward some far-om celestial cline
&c sing with a dying president Nearer.
my Cod to Thee Nearer to Thee, en-
/ though It be a cross that raiseth me-"
Russia, Greece, Italy. France. Belgium,
/ Holland, Germany, Great Britain Amer
! ica-how much of the world have we left,
| ard what is It worth after these have an
swered to the roll call of nations? It
matters little that some are of Paul and
some Of Apollos; that some acknowledge
the Pope and others have pride in the
Reformation. The important fact Is that
despite different forms OF worship and
disputes as to apostolic succession, all
swear allegiance to the belief In a cruel
fed, dead and eternally risen Savior. We
cannot believe that all the way from ST.
/ Paul TO Gladstone and Lincoln, those in
! tcllects which men have called towering
we're, after all, but fatuous. They, with
| countless thousands dead and millions liv-
| ing, because of faith in a risen Christ
| have said. with reverent confidence. Il
believe in the resurrection of the body"
I'VE. having the same spirit of faith, ac-
! oording as it Is written, l believed, and
| therefore have l spoken We also believe,
and therefore speak; knowing that He
which raised up the Lord Jesus, shall
raise up US also by Jesus. and shall pre-
sent us with you" Beloved, now
are we the sons Of God. and It doth not
yet appear what We shall be; but we know
that when He shall appear we shall be
| like Him. for we shall see Him as He Is
| II is this promise which gives US the def
mite assurance of immortality and the
confidence of JOY in eternal reunion with
loved ones In the homeland.
Bishop Hendrix voices the sober juds-
ment of all Thoughtful people when ne
says, Heaven is surer and more real
than earth. Its relations remain moro
| unbroken. 10 contingencies disturb that
life as they DO our life here. for there Is
no sin nor death there. With Christs
word for it we know more about heaven
than we do about earth. Who knows what
tomorrow may he on earth2 What
! crowns may he thrown into the gutter
before morning! The explosion of
single bomb might change the history
Of the planet. one mighty tidal wave
might make all humanity weep. But their
eyes and there shall be no moro sea-
The everlasting homeland! humanity
longs for 1t. Christ has promised it; u
bcIjeve in the resurrection Of the body"
Let us grant. though for the moment,
that all Christcndom has been deceived,
and IS still deceiving itself Doubt the
immortality of the SOUL If you must
Denv the resurrection of the body II you
will Let those giant intellects which in
slst that Saint Paul was misled. that
Gladstone was weak-miuded, that Ahra-
ham Lincoln was ilitcrate, and that
William Mckinley was sentimental have
their way Let them put Jesus Of
Nazareth into the catalogue Of myths
along with jupiter and Wooden and when
all this IS done, they are still left face
to face with the certaint" of an I'M
mortality which they dare not question,
and which they cannot escape 1t Is
the Immortality Of which Longfelow
sings '+s the Immortality Of influence.
No life humble or exalted, is ever lost.
You and will lose consciousness in the
hour of death, hut we shall still be alive
on the earth after the grave has covered
+ us forever. Whether We live above the
skies, or no. it Is beyond 4 peradventure
| that our personalities are continued here
in the thoughts we have entertained, III
the words we have spoken ana in the
deeds we have done. ! sometimes think
the Immortality of earth is more glorious
than that Of heaven. I am quite sure II
may be more terrible than that OF hell.
Some men are fortunate enough 10 be-
/ come immortal in name inc hrtiStS'
poets, warriors, scientists, ana statesmen
vho ACCOMPLISHED something worth while
in their own century are remembered b.
name in all the centuries. Phidias,
Homer. Alexander. Calico and Moses are
orr fnmiliars to-day as they have been
IN our forcfathcrs in all the yesterdays
since they died. and rs they will he
10 our children and chlldren's children
I'm all the to-morrows, and who would
deny them this glory? They We're placed
In positions Of opportunity and they
measured up. They are not dead-they
have only emigratel.
There Is only here and there, though
an immortal man or woman whom we
can coll by name There are other un-
known millions whose names are for
ever lost but who are as certainly alive
to-day as they were when they walked
| the earth and talked with men and work
ed for men Christ in the Temple looked
; up and saw the rich men casting their
gifts into the treasury" And he also saw
a, certain poor widow casting thither two
mites And he said "of truth, | say
unto YOU that this poor widow hath cast
in more than they all; for all these have,
Of their abundance, cast In unto the
5 offerings of God, but she, of her penuTy,
hath cast in all the living that she hath"
Who was she? What was her name? "A
l certain poor widow" . that is all we
know. Somewhere under the shadows
! OF the Jerusalem walls she has been sleep
4 ing In an unmarked grave for now neal
4 two thousand years, "A certain poor
e widow" whose name is unknown Is never
0 the-less alive to-day as the immortal type
! OF one who, because she could not dc