The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1917-12-23
The Herald's Special Sermon
A Man Of Courage.
BY the Rev. J. w. AUSTIN.


The following sermon was written
J. w. Austin, rector Of the Chevy
Chase parish.
Text: Verify, say unto you.
among them that are born of wom-
en-, there hath not risen a greater
than John the Baptist; notwith-
standing, he that is least in the
kingdom Of Heaven is greater than
he" (St. Matthew, hid.
1t was a splendid tribute TO the
character Of a man who had faced
the loss of all things. who had left
his home to live in a wilderness full
of hardships in order to prepare for
the work which he believed God had
sent him to do; and who shall dare
to say that he did not fulfill to the
utmost that duty7 No man ever
had such wonderful chances for self
advancement as he. He came Of a
priestly family at a time when there
was great expectation of the Mes
siah; he was born as Of one out
of due time, and we may be quite
sure that both the sanity Zacharias
and Elizabeth regarded him as a
special trust from the Lord, and
jealousy watched over his career I'M
til he was grown up
I'VE know nothing about his de-
termination to leave home; we are
not told whether his father and moth
er died before he felt the call to
the wilderness; but we may be quite
sure that he regarded hinslf as es-
pecially chosen by God to herald the
way Of Christ; hence his desire to
leave all that would make for his
own temporal prosperity, and by. the
stern discipline demanded of him by
his life in the desert might prove
himself worthy Of this great call of
God.
To know anything Of a man. you
must have some revelation of his
inner life. This inner life is the man
himself. st. John came among his
own people a. Q prophet, stern and
uncompromising; such a man had
not been seen since the days of Eli
JAN, and all men unused in their
hearts whether he were the Christ
or no; then came the great tempta-
tion-Why should he not personals
Christ? He could have all the re-
ng1ous world at his feet! How did
he meet IL? He crushed In as soon
as II came to him. When men asked
Who art thou% he INSTANTLY said
I am not the Christ And when
pressed for q definite answer as to
his mission. he said, I am the voice
or one crying in the wilderness
Make straight the way of the Lord.
as saith the prophet Esaias,"'
the voice; It was this perfect low
atty to Him whose witness he was. n
was his humility; Il was his Integrity.
his answering courage IN rebukine
vice in high places, that made him
great! Herod might do many things
by way Of reform; he might hear John
gladly; but so long as he was living
In adultery he could expect no smooth
tax from John. The burden Of Johns
message to him was: Tt is not law
ful for thee to have thy brothers wife.
And: like his great predecessor, Elijah.
ne incurred the bitter enmity of A
queen, because he interfered with her
political plans, and spoke the truth.
oh, that we had more men of God
with the same unfiincfIing zeal, and
splendid courage today, 90 that
Christs name might be better gIori-
ned. and the honor, and the purity Of
Christianity indicated. Is not this
Wnat We need in our social life7 You
nave deplored the low standard of
morality among people even in the
highest walks OF society; you have, It
may be, pointed the finger Of scorn to
the frivolous woman who can think
81 nofhing but the way TO XIII time
IN every form Of pleasure; but what
about the man accounted great by the
world, who cares nothing for his re-
sponsibflity towards others, by induig-
ing In all kinds of wild speculation at
me expense Of q ciientsf We want