The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-06-07
INTERNATIONAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON
For June Is Jesus Faces Betrayal
and Denial."-Mark 14:1O-72
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS
When Treason Sat With Heroism.

ana Denlal.'-Mark 14:1O-72.
When Treason Sat With Heroism.
These are trying times for persons
| who cannot see things in the large.
They behold pettiness and strife and
self-seeking. and real treason.
abroad in the land. and forget the
glory and grandeur of the patriot
ism and self-sacrifce that are really
regnant. Some minds are so consti-
tuted that they dwell upon Judas and
forget Jesus. They are familiar with
the traitor, but ignorant of the Sa-
viour.
| Now comes the old Bible story for
present study. reminding US that,
even as at the present time. treason
ity in history's supreme hour. There
was a Judas for a Jesus. Black dis
| loyalty and avarice were able to re-
sist even the influence of the personal
presence of Christ himself. How can
any one be a traitor to his country in
such an hour as the present? Look
at Judas. AS it was, SO it is. and will
be. Perfidy-black, inexcusable per-
| fidy-is one of the facts of life Only
| the existence of an arch-enemy OF
| light and truth can account for its ex-
istence Before there could be a
| Judas there had to be devil.
There Is a brighter side which needs
to be stirred today. 1t is that despite
the worst that Judas and his allies
could do-despite all the vested and
leagued might of worldly wisdom and
influence and power and wealth
Jesus triumphed, as truth always tri-
umphs. Victory is still with the right.
For right Is right, since God is God,
| And right the day must win,
| To doubt would be disloyalty,
| To falter would be sim"
Ministry and Memorial.
How often, as I went to. and fro
| with the army. did recall that scene
| in the upper room. where the King
of Heaven. the Son of God himself.
took a towel and a basin and did the
mental work of a slave! For religion
! amid the troops is expressed in terms
of ministry. This magnificent en-
terprise of the Y. NJ. C. A. which
goes with the men from training
camp to trench. is almost wholly an
| accumulation of lowly ministry. The
| humblest of services are done for the
men. Preachers and professors. and
men of affairs spend themselves in
merely providing the soldiers conn
| forts and conveniences and entertain-
| ments. They have discovered what
Jesus taught. at the apex of His mis-
sion, that religion consists in min
| istry.
| A vital part of His ministry is the
| providing of facilities for correspon-
dence. The soldiers keep home in
their hearts, and want to be kept in
| the memory of loved ones. This pas
sion to be remembered and to be
| loved, is one of the basic instincts of
| life. 1t has reared the pyramids and
| countless other monuments. And 1t
| has given the church the sacrament
| which means far more to the soldiers
| than 1t ever did to them as civilians.
| There is one memorial. the most
| widely known and observed in tho
| world, which has persisted thru two
thousand years, and is better under
stood today. and more generally rec
| ognized, than ever before. This is
| that monument which is called the
| Lords Supper, or the Holy Commun-
| ion, or the Eucharist or the Holy Sac
rament. Many significances has this
ceremony, but II is primarily me-
mortal to its founder. Jesus wanted
the faithful and fadeless affection of
His friends. Having loved His own
which were in the world. He loved
| them unto the end And He wanted
them SO to love Him. The thought of
passing away and being forgotten is
the last assertion of our identity as
individuals--we want to be remem-
| bered.
A Worldwide Celebration.
| No man knows another's heart; but
| in His own words we have the evil
dence that Jesus shrank from being
forgotten. He was the prince of
than to others. Therefore He priced.
with a passion which baser spirits
cannot comprehend, the constancy of
this little band of disciples. Therein
is the point of This do in remem-
touching sentence, with desire have
desired to eat this passover with
you" Jesus yearned for a friendship
that would last.
The way this tryst has been kept
inspires the imagination. Thru long
centuries, many of them dark, con-
slant friends, whose hearts have re-
sponded to the soul-cry Of the Man of
Nazareth as He was about to go forth
to His death, have met with Him at
the sacramento table, showing forth
their remembrance of Him. The
mystic significance of this simple feast
to lives which never reveal their deep
err emotions may be inferred from
their actions. Consider the COM
munion services to which each of us
has knowledge. personal or indirect.
Before my mind as I write. is a pic
ture of a company Of boyish soldiers,
looking forward to the battlefield, ris-
ing at dawn and kneeling on a rough
pine board before an improvised altar
to receive from their chaplain the
token of their Masters dying thought
of them. Again recall the scene far
away in the mountains of the New
West, distant from a railroad, in a
little chapel which could not afford
communion vessels. where the Master
himself seemed to sit as a guest at the
table when the missionary broke the
bread. Still again there is before me
a picture of a gathering of Christians
in the remote interior of Japan, and
as the bread and wine were being
passed, saw the wondering, curious
faces of dark-skinned heather" chill
dren and men and women peeping in
thru doors and windows. All around
the earth loyal hearts are keeping this
memorial of an unforgotten Lord.
i The Threefold Meaning.
This simple supper.-simpler il
could not be-which Jesus instituted
on this epochal occasion when His
little band Of disciples gathered about
| Him in a room where the hate.filled