The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-04-17

The interest of the temptations in
the desert lies chiefly in this: They
show how the Kingdom of God is in
the mind of Jesus essentially bound
up with Himself. He calls men sum-
marily to be His disciples. He imparts
to them the same Divine Spirit which
descended upon Him in the baptism.
He bids them do works in His name,
preach His kingdom, which is the
Kingdom of God, suffer for His sake,
confess Him before men, love Him
more than father or mother or life.
To be worthy of Him they must be
prepared to lose their life for His sake.
In the sermon on the Mount, He con-
fronts us as the Supreme LaWgiver
and Final Judge. The final destiny Of
men is determined by their attitude
to Him.
These and like sayings and claims
open to us the mind OF Jesus.
They are words and attitudes which
identify absolutely the actions and
cause of God with His own cause
and actions. They show conclusively
that He made Himself out to be Cod,
and this claim of Jesus Christ must
be interpreted in the light of His char
aeter and conduct.
The hottest men of our race have
bowed down before Him in supreme
reverence The Roman Judge could
| find no fault in Him after hearing
all that His enemies could say. Even
unbelievers yield to Him place apart
in their pantheon of great men
Straus and Renan recognize in Him a
moral ascendency which is absolutely
inapproachable. Justly then does He
rest His claim to be believed on His
absolute sinlessness. Which Of you
convinceth me Of sin, and if I say the
truth why do We not believe Me-" If
He is not God the universal estimate
of His character is wrong, and the
most stupendous spiritual and moral
effect is the work of an imposter.
His wonderful works and deeds of
power are in keeping with this char
acter. Everywhere there is evident a
calmness, sense of security, a dig
nifty, a reserve of power, which forces
the inference that He is Lord of all.
This claim which is borne out by the
miracles to which He appealed, is vim
Dictated by His resurrection. The pre-
| diction and promise of this resurrec.
ton was His answer to the challenge
of those who would not accept His
testimony of Himself. It startled them
and they waited and watched with the
guard at the tomb to make sure of
His defeat. The records show that the
belief in the Resurrection was due not
to the invention of the credulbus, but
to the conviction of the incredulous.
After appearances of Christ to the
Disciples were not through any CO.
operation of their faith, but precisely
where that faith had failed. The fact
of the resurrection was believed,
preached, propagated before any of
the books of the New Testament was
written. The life which breathes forth
upon us from the pages of the New
Testament now is the life which the
risen Saviour qufekened in Christian
souls before the New Testament or
any instrument of conquest for Him
was thought of. The Church, too, wit.
nesses to the Divinity of its Founder
It's creed is, in the circumstances OF
human life, unpopular. It is an obedi.
ence. The obedience of faith, demand.
ing the submission of intellect to mys
teries which cannot be comprehended
Its moral law, with its insistence upon
purity, love and self-denial antagon
ICES the strongest natural impulses
It's motives. the promise of future re
ward, rest not upon sight or sense, but
upon faith. The instrument of con
quest is what st. Paul calls "the fool
ishness of preaching"
Yet that Church, His creation &c
which He promised undying life, has
prevailed and prevails. Theories and
forces which have been opposed to il
for two thousand years have never
consistently gained ground against it
have never disturbed the conviction
concerning Christ of the great body
of Christian thinkers, and have never
prevented the progress of the Chris
tan life in the world.
| He babe man love Him, love Him
more than father, mother, wife, child
or life. Few men are loved by many
and no man is loved long by any. We
may respect and reverence the mem.
ory of great men, but no one of them
inspires impassioned love. Jesus
Christ is loved. He alone inspires the
hearts of men today with love which
hesitates at no sacrifice, and SO acts
nightly upon mans moral and spir
itual being, even as He did when Paul
cried out, Nothing can separate me
from the love of God in Christ Jesus. .
Jesus Christ is God.