Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-10-17
THE PERSON OUTSIDE
The International Sunday School Les
son for October 20, Is mission
to the Gentiies," Mark 1924.
30; Matt. 9:15-t3
BY William T. Ellis.

BY William T. Ellis.
At the close of the midweek prayer
meeting in Philadelphia church,
the members were grouped about
chatting socially together. The door
opened and roughly dressed man
covered with dust, entered. lmmedl-
ately there was a cessation of con-
and drawing together OF
the groups. who eyed the stranses
suspiciously. In a moment one VI
the officers went up to him 70 IN
uuire his errand. Upon MS return
he reported that the man was
prosperous contractor who had STOP
ped in to buy some tickets LOT an
approaching lecture course IN tne
church. At once everybody present
felt ashamed Of himself for his IN
toward the stranger
whom he had regarded as tramp.
That the man should be well-'o-do
citizen In his working clothes put
new face on the question entirely.
This deep-rooted sense of our own
crowd and our instructive tendency
to turn our backs upon the outsider,
If he seems an inferior, Is
a fundamental fact in human nature.
No matter how much we talk ABOUT
it is difficult for even
the most tolerant of us to realize that
every man Is a brother and a pos
sible equal That Is why democracy
Is the highest attainment Of humanity.
The exclusive attitude In pol1tlcs ana
society and in religion is easy and
natural, The democratic, brotherly at
titude can only be achieved by con-
scious effort, or by a new spirit.
Religious snobbery crops out IN
this Sunday school lesson, which is
the story OF two persons whom tne
orthodox called heather. We flnd
them, however, the objects OF tne
Masters solicitude, and subsequently
members Of his fellowship and re-
cipients OF his praise.
A Foreign Mission Journey.
One OF the vivid travel experiences
is a trip down along the Med1ter'
ranean coast to the region OF Tyre
and Sidon. The ruins Of old Phoe-
nicia, overlaid with crusader castles,
are frequent. Rock Tombs, rifled by
succeeding centuries OF vandals, meet
one at every turn. The city OF Sidon
one OF the most distinctive and PIC
turesque on earth, carries the imagl-
nation back to unchronicled an
tiuuity. The tour, so full OF incident
and interest, recalls the visit OF Jesus
over that same road when he broke
over the boundaries Of Israel and
went into the heather parts OF Phoe-
nicia.
Like a prince travelling incognito,
Jesus wanted to go quietly and with
out public recognition. "But ne
could not be hid" runs the signifi-
cent record. OF course not! Such
life of ministry as his cannot be con-
cealed. Wherever there Is human
need and spirit hunger 1t will hunt
him out. Let anyone do real
work and live a real life, and The
world will discover him. Our trouble
is that we are trying to inform the
world of ourselves. rather than to
live the life and do the work. Be-
cause Jesus was himself, 1t was in
evitable that he should be known Of
men. The very radiance of his be-
nign face would mark him off from
the mob of men.
An OutIander's Need and Daring.
This western world of ours, which
is by no means lacking in racial and
religious antipathies, can yet show
nothing like the spirit which per-
vaded the east in Jesus time, and
which is today characteristic Of this
identical region. 1t was in Sidon
that group of educated Christians
poured out to me their bitter plant
against the injustices and indigni-
ties and outrages they suffer at the
hands OF the Moslems. The simple
fact that a man is nonMoslem
marks him for possible massacre.
Then, as now, racial and religious
lines were high barriers.
Jesus, be 1t remembered was a
Jew, who had come to the lost sheep