The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-01-17

the Grace of Christ not to manufac-
ture panacea for human ills. Your
are laid. 1t Is the nature
Of the problem that you cannot relay
them. You are pledged to bear wit
ness to the doctrines of this church
which are embodied in The Holy Scrip
lures and the ancient formularies Of
the church.
las to the facts of Christian faith
you are bound to be witness, which
means that you will testify to these
facts. For one to deny these facts
while clad in the livery of the church
and receiving emoluments therefrom
Is to lack perception of what is honest
is to regard the Bible and your
signed statements as scraps of paper
is to undermine the very constitution
of the organization on which you have
been entrusted to hold office. 1t was
the last warming of Christ to His
apostles-that they should be witness
ses to the faith, not manufacturers of
cult.
Must be Faithful.
Second, it is required in stewards
that man be found faithful. You are
to be an example of apostolic simpli-
city in your life, in your teaching, in
your contracts. your appointments.
There is just one thing to do and that
is to do as You say, even to your hind
rance. TO pirate about this. the rights
OF your office, when you are evading
its responsibilities, is to commit. the
error of those who wear the purple.
There are not rights with which Christ
ever invested men, that did not carry
with them the responsibilities-and
the only charter of your rights is your
sense of your responsibility. Now
this responsibility is to be found in
Christ's courage rather than timidity;
kindness rather than officiousness;
sympathy rather than conventional au-
thority. To avoid ostentation in man
ner, not to be known as belonging to a
class, whether it be capital or labor,
for the rich may fail you because of
their meanness and the laborer be-
cause Of his envy We are to proclaim
the gospel of the common blood, of
common prayer, of common interest
and we cannot be common II we belong
to a class.
Third, your business is not to d.
vide mems earthly Inheritance, but to
! inspire mems lives to be just and
merciful, to be fair and unprecedented
to be true and pure. Just as a uni
versity is founded not to deal with poll.
! tics, but with municipalities, nor with
clesses but with the truth so the
church if it attempt many tasks will
fail in ALL but if this one thing ii
does, TO preach Christ and Him cruel
! fed to men-then those who have done
, this thing will not be ashamed OF the
results.
| Be Your own Guide.
| There are those who would per
suade you to undertake many things
hut one thing IS needed, and that one
! thing is to go, into your work deter
mined not to let men minister unto
you, but to minister unto them in the
things that Christ proclaims to 6
world that hates Him and His Gospe
and is at enmity with you-and il
makes no difference how the worlt
takes it-'none of these things move
me neither count my reputation deal
myself, so that I might finish my
course with joy, and the ministry
which | have received of the Lore
Jesus Christ to testify to the Grace OF
/ God
/, "A bishop is a missionary rather
than a potentate: his responsibility
is to go to men with the word ant
touch of Christ,-the word of His
mouth, the touch of His hand, rather
than to impress them with the dignity
! of his office. 1t is stupid interpreta
ton of the Life of Christ. whether i
be English or Italian, which would per
suade a man that he reaches the high
est expression of his Episcopate by be
ing impressive in manner and dress
| A bishop like any other man reache!
the pinnacle of his glory when he SUI
fers little children to come unto him
and when he does his full duty to The
least of these, his brethren.
There is not higher task than tt
know your sheep, to feed them, to bint
up their wounds,sto keep them in the
green pastures beside the waters o
(! life, where the wolf will not deVoul
and hireling will not fleece. 1t IS !;
monstrous task for the sheep are sill.
and those who take care Of them be
come very eccentric, and you, like th'
rest OF us are a. sinful man, entrusted
! with a divine task. In trying to be
! bishop never forget that you are JUS
a man, prone to be fool, and entirel.
| dependent upon the grace of God.
Admonishes New Bishop.
At the close of his sermon, ad
{ dressing Bishop Sage who was stand
ing, Bishop Johnson gave this admo
| milton:
al .