Evening star., 1914-10-05
Christ Refuge in War Storm,
Theme of Rev. DR.. McKim
at Church of the Epiphany

|
at Church of the Epiphany
Christ, Our Refuge in the Storm Of
War;" was the subject of yesterday
mornings sermon by Rev. Randolph H.
McKim of the Church of the Epiphany,
his text being the thirty-seventh, thirty
i eighth and thirty-ninth verses Of the
fourth chapter of the Gospel according
| to st. Mark. In the course of his sermon,
| Rev. McKim said:
| "Overtaken by great storm Of wind
| on the lake of Genesaret, the waves beat
| ing into their frail boat SO that it was
| filling with water, the disciples are des-
perately alarmed; they see no hope Of es-
cape from watery grave. One resource
only remains; Jesus is in the boat, asleep
on pillow in the stern, exhausted and
weary with his labors. To Him they
| make appeal Master. carest Thou not
! that we perish?' They do not appeal In
vain. He arose and rebuked the wind
| and said unto the sea peace. be still. And
| the wind ceased, and there was great
calm
my brethren, we meet today. under
circumstances not dissimilar to those in
which the disciples found themselves on
| the stormy lake. A great storm of war
| has arisen in the world which threatens
to ingulf civilization itself. It's de-
structive tide has already swept over the
whole of Europe, and not only Europe,
but Africa and Asia as well are feeling
| its destructive force. Even our own con :.
tinent is not exempt; even the isles OF
the sea are involved.
1.-The far-fiung battle line stretches In
France over a front Of more than two
hundred miles. oaa and t,va in hAndrda Austria
nna mfes hnss,a more at ater this two very hour.
perhaps. five millions of men are locked
in deadly strife in the eastern and west
ern part of the theater OF war, and mil
IN tn a
gaps made daily in the ranks by the
deadly strife. On one Of these vast bat
| tlefields alone we are toi0 that nve
| thousand pieces Of artillery are engageo-
| waged oftentimes with such unnecessary
cruelty and even barbarity-it may well
seem that the very fabric Of our civiliza-
tion is in danger of being ingulfed.
Strong, Brave Voice.
| is heard above the storm. 1t is the
| voice of the President of the United
States calling our people on this day to
PRAYER and supplication. He recog-
nizes, as did the imperiled disciples,
that there is only one recourse-not
| to the wisdom of men, not to the might
of nations, not to the skill OF great
| commanders. but to Jesus Christ, to
Him who, at the anxious cry of the dis
| ciples-"Master, carest Thou not that
we perish h?'-"arose and rebuked the
wind and said unto the sea peace, be
| still. And the wind ceased ana there
was a great calm"
| 1--WE know not how or when or by
what means this fearful storm of war
can be stilled. The President makes
the whole American people to make ap::
| peal today to the Divine wisdom and
the Divine Power.
''This proclamation by the President
] II kI4 h tsk ~ %
tions. The President calls the Amer
! lean people to prayer, not for the
| United tSates. but for Europe. for the
| great nations who are at war one with
| another. 1t is on his part an act of
! supreme altruism, it Is a recognition OF
our relations to the whole world. He
| seems to say in this proclamation that
we are part of the human race and
| perity, to the happiness, to the welfare
of mankind is foreign to us.
| 'The President calls US to the confes-
sion of our sins. to the acknowledg-
will; of our willfulness. also, and many
errors. It is we'll that this confession
Of our shortcomings as a people should
be made at this time. We are all hap
PLY separated by great ocean from
the principal theater of this great con-
| f1ict, and our circumstances as ma
ton permit u.s. in the ~ 9e
! neutrality. But the President rightly
recognizes that the American people.
, though not sharing in the guilt OF this
! awful war, have sins enough OF their
own to acknowledge and confess before
His Divine Majesty with contrition and
humility of heart.
observe another feature in this Ut =
terance of our President. 1t is an ut
terance of supreme faith in the power
of Almighty God to still the storm of
war that is ingulfing the world today.
1t is our privilege and our duty. he
Almighty God. humbling ourselves be-
fore Him, confessing our weakness and
our lack of any wisdom equal to these
titions that God will vouchsafe his
children healing peace and restore
concord among men and nations, that
neither happiness nor true friendship
nor any healing peace or fruitful toll
in the world.
Only Calls to Prayer.
"He offers no counsel; he does not
profess to see any remedy whereby
this cruel war can be stopped. He
simply calls US to prayer and to sup
plication in our places Of worship to-
day. He simply bids us unite our Pc
titions to Almighty God that He will
overruie the counsel OF men. that He
will set straight the things that men
cannot govern or will, that He will
take pity on the nations now in the
throes of conflict, that He will in His
mercy and, goodness. show a way
where men can see none, a way
of peace and of deliverance.
Our whole heart and soul should
) answer the summons, grateful for our
exemption from the awful sufferings
the other side Of the sea. We should
: PROSTATE ourselves in deep humility
| before Almighty God and supplicate
Him to arise In His infinite power and
His infinite wisdom and bring de-
liverance to the nations"
An experiment in female emigration