The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-05-10
"MEN AND THE MAN JESUS"
 SERMON BY DIR. MACSPORRAN

At the First Presbyterian Church yesterday morning Dr. J. A. MacSpor- ran preached from the text, And they went every man to h:s own place; but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives
 In the introduction pr. MacSporran spoke of the scene from which the text was taken. Tt was at period when Christ's earthly ministry had reached its height, when, with the city crowded with pilgrims, Jesus takes His stand and makes His amazing chal- lenge. It was one of those supremely great hours in human destiny when the future course of the world hangs in the balance. But His followers proved they had not the moral cour- age for definite action, nor the vision, nor unity of purpose. So, what did they do on this memorable day when the city was stirred to its depths ? They did the most natural thing in the world. And they went, every man to his own place. They all went home, that's all. No, not quite all, for we read, But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives See the contrast between men and the Man. The men went to the comforts and privileges of home where they could take their ease and forget | The homeless Christ climbed up the hill in the darkness. where. in the soli = tude of the night he could pray and gather inspiration from His Father.
 Our Lord was a man of the noun tain. He preached His sermon on the mount, was transfigured on the mount. He was crucified on the mount. He as- cended from the mount. All the great acts in the human drama of the Son of God took place on high ground
 6n rxyn hn1 Tc >lo, ,a with the crowds down below, each in his own comfortable nest or on the mount with the Christ?
 "The enlightened opinion of man. kind is practically unanimous now upon two points. First that the statesmen who gathered in Paris as representa- tives of the victorious nations in the greatest war of all times faced the greatest opportunity that the old world has ever presented to any body of men. Second, that what was actually done has brought disillusionment. despair and failure. Why was it so? The real cause was something that happened in the souls of the people. In the hour of Ieril they were united in living brotherhood, comrades in mighty crusade. But in the hour of victory the bonds that held them together snapped And they went every man to his own place.
 What is tEe matter with us now Don't blame politics or labor or capital on the mythical bogey man, The Red. These are merely skin eruptions os a disease that is deep seated in the soul of man. The trouble is We came down from the mount. ran back home. shut the door and turned the key. We want rest and comfort, and chance to feather our own nest.
 You can septi,nentalize about home and convince yourself that it is the biggest thing te live for. You can do that on one conditnon--if you can forget the man Jesus on the Mount, the Solitary Christ who sees the starved and dying little children, who sees the beaten and broken, who hears the cries of the desolate and despairing For Christ came to redeem the world from sin and ignorance. I see Him standing on the mountain above our beautiful homes trying to penetrate plaicency. l hear Him calling, Friends, come up higher, come out of your soft nests and live with me on the heights When many lives come to be writ ten up you can put their whole history in line. They went to their own house.. God made you and me for bet ter things. He has set eternity in our hearts. He has made us for the Mount of Vision. Will we go every man to his own house, or will we not rather choose to climb the mountain and stand with olr lord