Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-12-27
DIR. MONTGOMERY DELIVERS SERMON
AT FUNERAL SERVICE OF l. S. PEPPER

u
and the glory of the terrestrial is an
other So also Is the resurrection of
the dead: 1t Is sown in corruption; it
is raised in interruption; it is sown in
dishonor; it is raised in glory; 1t is
sown in weakness; it is raised in
power; it is sown natural body. it is
raised a spiritual body. And as we
have borne the image of the earthly We
shall also bear the image of the heav.
emily"
All, Paul, that's fine rhetoric, but
how do you know" How do know?
Jesus Christ, crucified, dead and buried
Is risen again from the dead and has
become the first fruits of them that
sleep. We may not all sleep but we
shall all be changed in a moment in the
twinhing of an eye; for this corrupt
able must put on interruption and this
mortal shall put on immortality. And
when this corruptible,. through Jesus
Christ shall have put on interruption,
and this mortal shall have put on i'm
morality then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, death Is
wallowed up in victory.
Men, this Is a Christian nation. That
is to say, the teachings of Christianity
are at the heart Of our history and in
situations; they create and regulate
and measure the motives and conduct
CT our national activity. And as this
Christian faith is at the heart of our
civilization so Is this fact and doc.
trine Of the resurrection at the heart
of our faith. do not say that all our
citizens accept 1t, nor that all are able
to understand and comprehend it. But
/ can say, no man who denies and be-
Titles 1t can get a hearing among US
to overthrow 1t. This fact has brought
to us the consciousness Of the dignity
and obligation Of life in such a meas
ure it has lifted us high above the
attachments of other civilizations in
our efforts for the masses, far above
them In the persistent jealousy of our
claims for justice, far above them in
the vitality Of our moral consciousness,
far above them in the worship Of our
shrines and sanctuaries.
What a season Is this in which to
| face, the sorrow and bereavements of
death! When all the passions Of the
heart that warm and cheer and bless
the soul are being lavished in gifts
and tokens of love, when memories
are filled with the blessedness of child
hood, when little children have filled
the world with their laughter and
song, what season is this for death
to stalk in and fill cur hearts and
homes with crying and tears. What
a fiasco Christmas would be without a
resurrection! What tragedy the
| srfh nf hoh rri ", On%l l1l, Al
the risen triumphant Lord! Men, let
1T sink deep into your hearts, what a
fatality has beset us, If we have NO
word of hope touching life to come
no sure word Of prophecy which we
can shout in the face of death!
Here we are not only at Christmas
tide but in celebration of a life that
had just reached the splendor of high
noon when the darkness fell. Think
of the struggle and the combat that
marked the day, think Of the high
hopes and the noble spirit that must
have been enshrined in a life like this
think of the unfulfilled purposes laid
out for the ensuing years. think of the
sad catastrophe for all of us signified
In all occasion like this, if we nave
no victory over death All, how pool
and meager do all our triumphs in bust
ness and professions and politics be
come in face of death; how poor oul
lives thus occupied with the baubles
Of day. No one of us able to redeem
! his brother or give to God ransom
for him. Is it possible we have beer
thus deceived? Or Is it possible that
the world made better by beauti
full story Of babe in Bethlehem, and
Of a lowly Nazarene who went about
doing good, who invited us, who labor
and are heavy laden, to come unto him
who taught us how to pray and who
told us of mansions in the fathers
house, is it possible that we have Der
deceived about his death and resurrec
| ton and that the world has been made
better by mistake-made better anG
built up a great civilization on the
i basis of a lie?
| All, no, no, my friend, you have
reached the depth Of absurdity if yor
have come to that. We stand today
with the shout Of victory on our lips
Thanks be unto God who giveth us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ
because we stand on the solid grount
of fact.
What do I care what science MAJ
or may not have to say:
II trust we are not wholly clay,
Let science prove we are, and them
What matters science unto men,"
/ I care not what the scholars ma,
! say about the sources and authorities
and about punctuation and para
, oraphs-as though the hope of immor