Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-06-02
FATE OF EUROPE
CARGO OF BOAT
Little Vessel Carrying Dreamy
Eyed Jew in so Held Its
Destiny
The International Sunday School Les
son For June A Is 1.-THE Call of the
West."-Acts 1885 to 1915.
(By William T. Ellisl

Nobody vet knows of a certainty
which of the battles of the world war
will be written down in history as the
greatest-whether the battle of the
Marine. or Verdun, or Erzerum, or
Using Tau. or some other yet unfought.
The Importance of an epochal hour is
seldom seen until that hour is past.
Neither man nor nation can surely
tell when the clock of destiny strikes.
The Grecian navigators who saw
little boat beat its way from Troas to
Neapolis, one Spring day in the year
so A. D., gave no second look to it,
nor dreamed that it held the fate of
Europe as its cargo. The destiny of
the West was wrapped up in the worn
coat of the dreamy eyed little Jew
who was a passenger that day across
the Aegean.
This journey" says Professor
James Stalker, was perhaps the most
momentous recorded in the annals of
the human race. In its issues 1t far
outrivaled the expedition of Alexander
the Great when he carried the arms
and civilization of Greece into the
he landed on the shores of Britain;
or even the great voyage of Columbus
when he discovered new world"
Now that the struggle of empires
is raging over the scenes of Paul's
journey, and when huge warships,
watchful against hidden submarines,
are sailing the very waters covered by
Paul's ship, 1t is of unusual timeliness
and importance for the whole Sunday
School world to contemplate anew the
reality and significance of the great
event when Paul carried Christianity
from Asia across into Europe.
This is lesson to study with out
spread maps; for in these days q little
bit of geography illuminates many a
problem. Perhaps the oldest political
conflict In history has been for the
possession of this junction of Asia and
Europe which Paul won for his Mas
ter. Had the Apostle been making his
crossing in recent months he would
nave heard the guns of Gallipoli roar
ing, and he would have been chal-
lenged by many a naval vessel.
Two Young Men
This climax to Paul's journey-the
carrying of the Cross into Europe
occurred on his second missionary
Journey, when it was proposed that
he and Barnabas visit the churches
them in the faith. There was a spe-
cial reason for going over the ground
once more. because that letter from
the Council at Jerusalem must be
read and eXpounded to the churches.
Right away difficulty arose. Barna-
oas wanted his cousin, John Mark, to
go with them. Paul took an attitude
something like this: mo, that cannot
be. Mark deserted us on the previous
journey. He failed in loyalty. He has
disqualified himself for this kind of
work"
But Barnabas, whose emotional ma
ture was stronger than his judgment,
STOOD up for Mark, even to the point
OF clashing with Paul. There was a
serious disagreement between the two
great missionaries. Neither would
give tn-and we are rather glad that
they both believed in their convictions
TO the sticking point. So Barnabas
TOOK Mark and went off to Cyprus.
And as Sir William Ramsey saws, he
passes out of history We part from
the honorable and gracious personal
ity of Barnabas with deep regret; but
history marches with Paul" Later
on, after Mark had proved himself.
Paul again gave him his friendship
and confidence.
pas, Paul chose Silas, about whom we
know little, except that he was the
sort of man who could sing songs
in the night in prison cell. We do
not need to know much more about
him. The first quality of a good trav-
ellng companio mis- that he can en-
cure without complaining the diff
eiing companion is that he can en-
wise Paul, who understood the i'm
portance of training up leaders.
wanted also a young man to share
the Journey. Mark had failed but at
Lystra Paul found young Timothy.
son OF one of his converts, though with
heathen father. The narrative has
a most casual allusion to the selec-
tlon OF Timothy, yet the vast conse-
quences of that act cannot be meas
ured. We have only to read the two
DOCKS OF the New Testament which
the place in the older mans heart that
TINS youth soon won. If the major
part of this lesson were not of such
no1iLLliandlng ,,oanla Importance, we might