Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-08-22
In The Religious World;
tREv1nw OF SUNDAY SCHOOL LEssoN)

those who have known him longest
One day in the little town of West
minister, Vermont, went to the vii
lage church and asked to be shown
to the pew of my friend, DR.. Charles
A. Dickinson, great preacher, poet
and social servant. I called him CDR
dickinson" you mean Charlie
Dickinson?" said the bearded man
at the door, with something like a
contemptuous snort 1t was re.
vised version of mo prophet is &C.
ceptable in his own country" One
of the strangest traits of human ma.
ture is that which says concerning
a distinguished person, ooh, he's not
so much; knew him as a boy
as If the speakers own association
with the person in childhood forever
doomed one to mediocrity.
The Nazareth villagers thought they
had a complete answer to the claims OF
Jesus when they said, is not this JOS
eph's son?' "No man is a hero to his
valet''-the reason being as one has
wisely supplemented, that the valet
himself is not hepe. 1t takes like to
understand like. These eager eyed vii
layers, alert for every sign Of egotism
on the part of visitor whom they
would not have vary one iota from
their little standards, were ready to
fume against him, as later they would
be eager to fawn upon him.
Tho Scorners Seorned.
The hostile atmosphere of the syna-
gogue was felt most keenly by the SEN
sitive Christ. He feared not to deal
bravely with the situation, and to shock
his neighbors into a consciousness Of
their condition. So in words of scorn,
whose bite was scarcely realized, he
pointed out by scripture parallels that
Nazareth could not have great works
like unto Capernaum because of its un-
belief. He cited to them the heather
who had been elected in old testament
times for divine ministry rather than
Israel.
1t was as If to say that they were
less worthy than the gentiles whom
they considered beyond the pale. The
words were brave and audacious. Jesus
always dared tell the truth. He sought
to help men rather than to please them.
This episode Is commended to the study
OF those gelatinous saints who think
that Christian speech should always be
sugar and never salt.
A Riotine Church.
The elemental passions Of the self
satisfied and prideful villagers were
aroused. They made the answer of
the small boy who says in reply to an
argument, But I can lick you, any
way" The resort to force is primitive
and instructive We can all understand
why riot should have been produced
by such statement as Jesus made to
these Nazarenes. Like Incidents are
happening every day. Losing control of
themselves, the shrieking, gesticulat-
ing congregation, now become mad
densd mob, hustled the teacher from
his place, out into the open and up to
one of the precipitous hills that girdle
the town.
They meant murder, It seems hor-
rible to contemplate. Yet we remember
that only year ago this month, in the
peaceful, church-going town Of Coats
vile. Pa, men-whose defense when
they were arrested was that they were
members Of bible classes and church
goers-went forth to lynching that
was more atrocious than any other in
this land. These pious Jews intended to
slay the man who had done nothing
worse than to point out the truth con-
corning their own littleness and spir-
ttual blindness. They gave ocular evi-
dence, even as Gainesville has since
done, that the spirit of the small town
was more dominant with them than the
spirit of their scriptures.
Their fell purpose was never con-
summated. The hour Of the Gnriour
had not yet come. Perhaps b.. mir
aculous Intervention, more prot i. by
sudden assertion Of his own majesty,
the people fell back before Jesus, even
as the soldiers in the garden later did
when he acknowled ged his identity.
For, after all, they were only little
villagers, and he was the greatest man
who ever brought mighty message Of
large truth to the world. They rejected
him; and by that act put themselves
into the pillory Of eternal infamy.