The farmer and mechanic., 1912-07-30

1edCHef. sitting under 90 tree at |
Jaipur in India. surrounded by cir |
Gle Of eager listeners. men woman |
and children, recur. TO me as | take |
uD this story Of the great out-of- |
doors Teacher. The eagerneSs of |
these Indian listeners must have +,
been akin to that Of the crowd who
gathered on the shore Of the north
ern border of the Lake of Galilee
and listened TO the Teacher who sat
in boat and taught them, not as
the scribes and the pharisees. their
conventional teachers, but as one
having authority.
1t was the rule for religious tea ach-
ers to draw their lessons from the
accepted books, but this unconven-
tional rabbi. who was derided by His
enemies as only a journeyman car
penter. told stories about the common
life which had been familiar to all
His hearers from earliest childhood.
He clothed His loftiest teaching in
the figures Of every day. The pro-
foundest wisdom may be expressed
in the plainest speech. A new sane
tity to the things of the ordinary
days was impaired by Jesus. 1t was
in His spirit that one Of His modern
disciples wrote.
"One stone the more swings to its
place
In that dread temple Of Thy worth.
1t is enough that by Thy grace
| saw naughJ common in Thy earth
The Inexpressible Kingdom.
-Four of the stories or parable
told that day, to the music of the
soft tapping Of Gahlee's waves
gainst the sides of the boat and the
Debbly beach. make up the present
| a.
| the para bles Of the treasure hidden
in the field Of the pearl of great
price. Of the net and the householder.
| All have TO do with the one major
| theme of the Master at this time,
i the Kingdom of Heaven-a truth so
/ rich and many sided that it needed
many figures and forms for its ex-
preston. AS a lover ikens his
| sweetheart to a star, to flower, to
his knowledge to find parallels and
parallels for the Incompatible and
inexpressible Kingdom Of Heaven
AS we enter upon the study Of the
parallels themselves. let it be by q
contem plation of the greatness and
glory Of this kingdom which en-
crossed the thought Of Jesus. The
search for it has been the greatest
quest Of the ages. We read its mean
ing to the first centuries in the cata-
combs at Rome. in the magnificent
ruins at Ephesus, in the ancient
manuscripts from the Nile. AL
through the centuries the kingdom
passion has burned more or les
brightly in the hearts Of the bes
men and women. Never did 1t GLOW
so brilliantly as today. The suprem,
passion Of this twentieth century
whether men realize it as such O.
not. is the endeavor to bring to pas
the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
Orientals and "Anukas."
, II More than once in the villages O
Mesopotamia l have wandered abou
; without an Interpreter. pronouncinj
, only the magic word. anuka. hop
5 ing to find some treasure Of archeol
I ogy-a coin, seal. or cuneiforn
, inscription. 70 this. in good par
$ owe a collection of anaiouities. 70
the ancient passion Of the orienta
+ to seek for hid treasure still abide
inunabated ardor. Indeed, il ha
, been increased by the value whic
4 civilization has placed upon antlqui
! ties The dweller in the Levant
allured by the consciousness that n
may be walking over priceless treas
urea sarcophagus like that {
Alexander which was dug up .
: 6idon, or a pot of gold, or a preciou U
. inscription. secured scores {
D coins, none later than the Crusade
= from the villages Of Syria and Meso
s QOtamla.
e So this parable Of the huSbandma
: who found a treasure hidden IN n
: field and then sold all that he ha
: that he might buy the field, seen
h very natural to one who possesses eve
). a superficial knowledge CT the Orien
: Mother Earth has been the gres
/, banker of Asia Even to this d.
:. some of the native Indian prime
q bury their treasure.
: The point Of the parable, is tn:
a the kiugdom Of Heaven is a treaSu1
beyond measure, and that it may D
come upon Unexpectedly. The farm
er thought only 70 get grain, Whe
he suddenly found gold. The trea
lie ure was more than he had eN
dreamed of Fortunately. he had Il
.e wisdom 10 see its value and TO s
cure it. 1t is always a good inves
l. ment to find the Kingdom at al