Henderson daily dispatch., 1936-09-07
OTHERS VIEWS
MIR. WRIGHTS SERMON
To the Editor:

In John 1877, we find these words
::What do thou knowest not now
but thou shalt know hereafter"
The scripture I quote here was
brought to my mind this morning as
I beheld a tree that stands just back
of the Postoffice. I have watched
it for many years. 1t is large cyp-
ress, and is the more interesting be-
cause not many of it's kind are in
these parts. Some few years ago ice
and storm stripped it of all it's many
long graceful branches except three.
All it's beauty and grandeur, thought
l. was gone forever. But not so, for
today it is more beautiful than it
ever was. One can easily see it has
not been fashioned by the clumsy
hand of the human artist, but by the
deft fingers of the Master Craftsman
Little wonder my mind went back,
this morning as I beheld the beauty
of this tree, and thought how I'M
slightly it was just few months ago,
TO the words of Jesus when He said;
What I do thou knowest not now;
but thou shalt know hertafter."
The words of JESUS quoted here
my favorite of the disciples, for he
was so human. He, like am, was
a doctor Jerkle and Mr.. Hyde His
reverence for the master, at this time
was too great to meekly submit to
have jesuse do for hi mso mental a
thing as wash his feet Yet not many
hours passed before he denied that
he knew Jesus, But for that denial
Peter wept perhaps the most bitter
and CALLING tears that ever flowed
from human eyes. He lived in after
years a useful life for his Master,
even though it was fretted through
out with many hardships end perse-
cutions when he was crucified, for
preaching Christ's doctrine, he mani
tested again his great reverence for
his Master when he was nailed to the
cross head downward, at his request.
But back to our text: what do
thou knowest not now; but thou shalt
know hereafter" Many are the dark
hours through which we have passed
that would have not been so dark
had we believed these words of Jesus.
Life is largely lived on faith. God it
seems has not made us big enough
yet to know much. We toll through
the day planting seed with the hope
of a harvest, and at night we go tc
sleep with the hope of tomorrow No
one knows what the next day, or even
the next hour will bring, and I believe
we should be so busy with the pres
ent-the aweful now-tnat we would
not try to- look into the future. I do
not believe we should prepare for
death more than to have things fixed
so that, the cremating or burying of
our bodies will not be a burden on
our loved ones when we go. We should
feel at our hour of death like one
who has toiled all day at some honest
labor when night comes. God looks
after our dying; our business is liv-
ing. Bigotry and superstition have
made great bogy of death, which is
only the end of life, and to me not
near so mysterious as birth. Bryant
in his poem; Thanatopsis, expresses
what to me should be our idea of
death when he says.
$50 live, that when thy summons
comes to join
The innumerable caravan which
moves
To that Mysterious realm, where
each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of
death,
Thou go not like the quarry-s!ave at
night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but. gu
stained and soothed
BY an unfaltering trust, approach thy
grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of
his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant
dreams"
In the 18th verse of the chapter in
which our text is found, Jesus tells
Peter and the other disciples why He
washed their feet. In this verse He
| showed them the great lesson He
sought to teach by that act. So in
life we often marvel at some act of
God and in a few hours perhaps see
the goodness in it, That ought to
strengthen of faith in all His doings
regardless of their magnitude. Jesus
in this verse says: If / then your
Lord and Master have washed your
feet; We also ought to wash one
another's feet" That brings us back
to that grand rule which Christ laid
down when H said: whatsoever we
would that men should do to YOU, do