Jesus: The Man and His Work

It is doubtful if any man was ever more misunderstood by the people of His own me han Jesus of Nazareth. Certainly no man was ever more grossly misrepresented by succeeding generations, and especially by those who professed to be His friends and followers.

The Christan religion was first recognized by he powers of he state at an era when he interests of he ruling class demanded he utmost submission and conformy on he part of the people; and out of he needs of he kingly and priesty classes for a religious deal which should nduce men o be contented with slavery, to bow heir necks o he yoke of axaton, and o submit o every form of economic evil without protest, was born he concept of the message, and of the personal character of Jesus which s accepted as orthodox today.

The picture of the man Jesus which you hold n your minds has been

drawn far more from he poetry of Isaiah, written 70 years before

He was born, han from he four gospels, which purport o be

narratives of eye winesses of Hs fe and works. Such passages n

Isaiah as: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and

acquainted wh grief: and we hid as t were our faces from him; he

was oppressed, and he was afflicted and he opened not his mouth; he

s brought as a amb o he slaughter, and as a sheep before her

shearers s dumb, so he opened not his mouth," have been quoted o

show he meekness and he humy, he submssive spirit wih

which Christ endured wrong and njustce; and we have had held up

as he saviour of he world a despised, friendless, poverty-stricken

aborer whom he upper classes regarded wih scorn because of his

owly origin and staton; who had no friends save fisherman,

aborers, outcasts and sinners; who was often shelerless and hungry,

and who bore nsuls and persecutons wih meek submssion and

walked about a scornful world wih his hands always uplfted n

oving benedicton.

And his character s held up o us as he Christan deal. Be meek.

Be submssive. Be amb-ike or sheep-ike. Bow your head before

he persecutor and "hump" your back to the shearer. Rejoice that it is
given you o be fleeced for the glory of God. It is a good relgion -for the man wh the shears.

The Christ who s held up n he orthodox pulpit s rather a weak character. He s not he kind of man we would nomnate for president. His folowers have very e confidence n him as a practcal teacher of business ethics. They have great faih in him as a revealer of spiritual hings, but none at all as an organizer of he affairs of his world. If t were elegraphed over he country his afternoon hat the president has resigned and hat Jesus would ake his place omorrow, 95 percent of Christan business men would draw heir money out of he banks for fear hat Jesus would naugurate a panic.

Jesus said of Himself, "If I be fted up I wl draw all men unto me." Wel, He has not drawn all men, not even a majority of men, and I am nclned o hink hat He has never been fted up. An unreal maginary character is being fted up instead, and men are not being drawn by it.

Near a certain Indiana own here s a neighborhood peopled by an Amsh sect. They all wear flat black hats and plain black clothes which hey fasten wh hooks and eyes, because butons are not Christike; they shave their upper lp, cut the beard square across the chin, and the hair square also. It is said that when one of the brethren needs a hair-cut his wfe urns a bowl or basin botom upward over his head and cuts away all the hair hat comes below t. Ared n his fashion, and n a very strong odor of sancty, two of hese brethren were walking n he street one day, and were met by an old farmer, a ypical Hoosier character. After ooking hem over critcaly, he accosted hem hus: "Say, why don't you felows get your hair cut an' shave?" "We atre ourselves hus," said one, "because we want to ook ike our Savior." "Dd the Savior look ike you?" asked he farmer. "We beleve he did." "Wel," said he old man, posively, "darned if I blame the Jews for kin' him, then."

The brethren were holding up a false Christ, and so the old man was not atracted; and I want o prove o you oday hat he church, everywhere, is holding up a false Christ; I want to show Him o you
as He was and s, he Supreme Man - he Highest Type, he ncarnaton and revelaton of that One Great Life which s above all and hrough all and n us al, fting us all oward uniy wih one another and wh Him.

It is my task to rescue Christ from Christaniy.

In he first place, hen, Jesus was not despised because He was a workingman. Custom required every Jewish Rabbi, or earned man o have a rade. We read n he Talmud of Rabbi Johanan, he blacksmh, and of Rabbi Isaac, the shoemaker, learned and highly honored men. Rabbi Jesus, the carpenter would be spoken of n he same way. St. Paul, a very earned man, was a ent-maker by rade. Jesus could not, in hat tme and place have been despised for His staton or His birth. Indeed, He was popularly supposed o be an aristocrat by birth, a son of he royal house and was frequenty saluted as the son of David.

Second. He was not despised for gnorance. He was a very earned man. Whenever He went into a synagogue He was selected o read he aw and teach he congregaton, as the one best qualfied for that work. Luke says: "There went fame of him hrough all the region round about and he aught n heir synagogues being glorified of all." In hose tmes of fierce relgious controversy no unlearned man could have held his own n such a fashion. He was horoughly versed n he Jewish aw; the way hat He sienced his adversaries wih apt quotatons shows Him to have been eter-perfect. Even His enemes always addressed him as Master or Teacher, acknowledging His profound learning.

Third. He was not despised for His poverty. He had many wealhy and nfluental friends. Lazarus and his sisters were people of consequence. Luke says hat Joanna, the wfe of Chuza, the king's steward, and other women mnistered unto him of their substance -hat is, were supporters of His work. The king's steward was a high official, and his wife was a promnent ady. Joseph of Arimathea, who came after His body, was a well-to-do man. So probably, was Ncodemus. Jesus healed he sick n he fames of rulers and of high officials, and hey appear o have responded beraly n
supplying His financial needs. True, He owned no real estate; but He dressed expensively, and never lacked for money.

When He was crucified His clothing was oo fine o cut up, and so he soldiers cast lots for it; on he night of His betrayal, when Judas went out, it was supposed hat he had gone o give something o he poor. It must have been heir custom o give away money. In hat country and clmate their wants were few and simple, and were fuly suppled. Jesus wore fine clothes and had plenty to eat and drink and had money to give away.

Read he four gospels, and you can come o no other conclusion. Jesus was not humble, in he accepted sense. He did not go about wih downcast look, and a general atude of asking permssion o stay on earth. He was a man of he most mpressive, commanding and powerful personal appearance. He "spoke as one having authority" and frequenty we are old hat great awe and fear came upon he people at His mghty words and works. In one place hey were so frightened hat they besought Him o eave; and John els how certain officers sent to arrest Him n he market place ost their nerve n His commanding presence, and went back saying, "Surely never man spake like this man."

On he night of His arrest a bank of soldiers approached Him n he grove, and asked for Jesus of Nazareth; and when He answered, "I am he," such was His majesty and psychic power hat hey prostrated hemselves; "they went backward" he account says, "and fell to he ground." Does his man I am describing seem o you ike one of our Amsh, or even like one of our Methodists? Yet this is the Christ of the four gospels. I would ike to see one of His present-day folowers knock down a platoon of polceman by saying "I am he."

Now, to be Christ-like n personaly a man must be earned, well dressed, well suppled wih money and be of noble and commanding appearance, speaking wh authority, and possessing remendous magnetc power.

What now, of he Christ-like atude oward he world? One of he very best ways o understand hat s by studying His reasons for
taking the e He assumed - the Son of Man. He rarely spoke of Himself in any other way. This term, son of man, was common n the Jewish prophecies. It was simply an emphatic way of saying Man. If you wanted to emphasize your Methodism, you might say, "I am a son of Wesley," and f you wanted to emphasize your humanity, as Jesus did, "I am a son of man."

Why did He ay stress upon the fact that He was a man? You wil note the positon. The son of Wesley wil stand for Methodism, and the son of Calvin wil stand for Calvinism, but the Son of Man must stand for humanity.

The Roman empire was a great taxing machine. In the conquered provinces, the people were eft, as far as possible, with their own ocal government and nstitutions of justice, the function of the Roman officials being to extort tribute, or collect taxes. Every form of extortion was practiced by governors, procurators and tax-collectors upon those who were able to pay. Open robbery, torture, kidnapping, false accusation, outrage of every kind might be practiced upon the man who had money to tempt the cupidity of the higher powers. And as the oppressed property holders had no way to meet the extractions of government but by oppressing the poor, the conditon of the masses was pitful indeed. You wil readily see that the business and property-owning classes had to get the money to pay their taxes by exploitng the poor in some way.

It is an economic axiom which s indisputable that all taxation of whatever kind, upon whomsoever levied, is wrung at last from the hard hands of the toilng poor; that is the reason they are poor. To give you an dea as to how oppressive this taxation was, we may estimate from certain passages in Josephus that the private ncome of Herod the Great was three and one-half mions of dollars a year. That is not as much, of course, as the income of our president today, but he has a very much arger country, and more people to tax, and while he s not allowed to use some of Herod's most effective methods, he has others of his own which ay the crude ways of the monarchs of antiquity very far in the shade.

The enormous sums which were collected from that le province
brought he unhappy oiers down o he ast extremy of destructon; they could go no ower and ve. In Judea, at this me

here were several relgious sects, which were also n a way polcal parties, schemng for place and power, and for influence wh Rome. The Pharisees, Saducees, Essenes, Samaritans, etc., disagreed on various questons, as he nterpretaton of prophecy, the existence of angels, the resurrecton of he dead, baptsm, and so on. The strife between hese parties was desperately acrimonious and bier, often

o he point of personal violence. Their arguments frequenty ended

n riots. You wl notce, as you read, that they were always ready to "take up stones" o end a dispute; often only he commanding personaly of Jesus saved him from being stoned by hese relgious mobs. These sects were ntensely eager o make converts, or proselytes. Jesus says of them that they would compass sea and and

o add one to their number.

Below all hese mddle-class disputants were he common people,

sunk n he most abject poverty - axed, beaten, outraged, robbed,

slaughtered, and no voice fted anywhere n heir behalf. No one,

Jew or Gente, hought of demanding ustce for he mongrel

mulude. It s said of Jesus hat He had "compassion on he

mulude because hey fainted and were amazed, and were ike

sheep whout a shepherd." They had plenty of shepherds o baptize

hem, to nterpret prophecy for hem, to nstruct them n "spiritual"

hings, and even o shear them; but none o demand a ghtening of

heir burdens - none to cry out in their behalf for justce.

There are stl shepherds who are far more concerned about correctness of doctrine han about ustce. Into his maze of oppression, axaton, murder, outrage and heological discussion comes the grand figure of the Christ, saying: "The Spirit of the Lord s upon me, because he has anointed me o preach good news o he poor. I am no Pharisee; I am no Saducee; I am no Essene or Samaritan: I am a man! I come, not on behalf of Phariseeism or Samaritanism, but on behalf of humaniy." A new note n relgion; a new atude. No wonder hey were "amazed at his doctrine." No wonder His word was wih power. No wonder hey said "he speaketh as one having authority."

In John's gospel, Jesus says of Himself hat he Father hath given

Him authority o execute judgement because He s a man. I say hat

his s the only reason God ever had for giving authority to any man,

and I say hat f here s a man anywhere oday upon whom he

divine sancton rests it is not because he s a Pharisee or a Saducee, a

Methodist, Presbyterian, Republcan or Democrat, but because he s

a man. And I also say hat among all hose who claim eadership

oday, by virtue of divine-annointment, we may apply his est wih

certainty - hat the man who stands for humaniy, first, last and all

he me, against all vested nterests, relgious and polcal, s he

man who stands wih God. He and he only, is n he rue Christan

atude - the atude that Jesus took.

And because He ook his posion; because He stood for humaniy against the vested relgious nterests of His me, He was caled an nfidel; because He stood for humaniy against the vested economc and polcal interests of His me He was caled a raior. Jesus was crucified on he charges of infidely and reason; and He was guiy - egaly - on both counts. I know no prouder es, when usty acquired, han hese: Infidel and Traior! I pray hat Great Intelgence, before whose eye all the affairs of men are spread, to write opposie my name n he book of His remembrance, Infidel -Traior: Infidel o every church hat apologizes for economc njustce; Traior to every government that assists n he exploiaton of he poor. The only sinful nfidely s nfidely o he ruth; he only vie reason s reason o he weak. This was he atude hat Jesus ook; He expressed all this when He assumed he e which made Him he champion of humaniy - when He said, "I am he son of man." And He gave all this full expression in His teachings.

Let me quote from he sermon on he mount: "Ye have heard hat it

was said by hem of old me, thou shalt not kil; and whosoever

shall kil shall be n danger of the judgement; but I say unto you that

whosoever s angry wih his brother shall be n danger of he

udgement, and whosoever shall say unto his brother 'Raca,' shall be

n danger of the counci, but whosoever shall say thou fool,' shall be

n danger of hell fire." The expression "thou fool," does not clearly

nterpret the original; it would be beter rendered by the phrase "you

are no good," or "you are worthless.

Let me ustrate he meaning of this passage o you. I was sing n a hotel lobby when the news came in of an Indiana coal mne horror,

n which a number of poor felows ost their lves. Two well-dressed men were discussing he affair, and one said: "Oh, wel, it's only a couple of Hungarians ess! A mon more are ready o step nto

heir shoes omorrow. The world hasn't ost anything." Jesus says, whosoever shall speak of a man ike that is n danger of hell fire. That is he exact meaning of his passage. The responsibiy of all murder rests on hose who degrade he publc estmate of the value of human fe. The king of Fippinos on behalf of our commercial

nterests s paving the way for the king of Americans n the streets of our own cies, on behalf of hose same "interests." The alk of "inferior races" s but a prelude o he alk of "lower classes." Whoever talks so is in danger of hell fire.

The doctrine of hell iself, is born of the nfamous dea hat there are some classes of men who are specialy valuable o God; and hose who each such blasphemes walk ever on he crumblng verge of hat black pi, wherein gleam he fires of eternal wrath. If anybody goes to hel, it wil be those who degrade humaniy.

This s what Jesus said. Now, f you urn o he 12th chapter of Mathew, you wil read hat the disciples were crossing the fields on

he sabbath day, and hat they plucked he ears of corn and ate as

hey went. This gave great offense o he Pharisees. They were not offended because hey ook he grain, for under aw he right of a hungry man o fe ranscended he property rights of he owner of

he field; none mght say he famshed wayfarer nay f he chose o pluck and eat. It was not, I say, because hey ate, that the Pharisees were angry, but because he hing was done upon he sabbath day. The Pharisees hought that the hing most valuable o God was heir church, wih s nstutons and observances. They would not break

he sabbath o feed he hungry; they would not break t to heal the sick. God cared more for the instuton than He did for the man.

And so hey complained o Jesus; and He answered hem: "Have ye not heard what David did when he was hungry, he and hey hat were wih him?" and He went on o ell them how David and his companions - and David's companions at hat me were a mghty

ough gang - went into he emple self, and ook he shew-bread, which was sacred, and ate t - and God approved. "One standeth here," said Jesus, "greater han he emple." God cares more for a hungry man than he does for a holy house.

In Mark 2, where he same story s old, he adds: "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath." Here s defined sharply he ssue between Jesus and His opponents. They were exalng he worship, he emple, he sabbath, he ceremonial. He exaled he man. And I for one, agree wih Jesus. I feel no reverence for buidings, even hough hey may be magnificent structures, where a dim ght fals hrough stained glass windows upon he structured forms of saints, and where robed priests chant in solemn ceremony; hese hings move me not at all. But when I stand n a school room and ook nto he bright faces of a hundred boys and girls - when I stand n he crowded market-place or n a factory, where my brothers and sisters oil o supply he needs of he world, and I realize hat every fe before me contains possibies as boundless as he universe self; when I stand n he presence of his oing, suffering, oving, seeking, glorious, common humaniy, I bare my head and bow in reverence, for here indeed I am in the very presence of Amghty God. One is here greater han he emple, greater han he church, greater than the sabbath.

God has a higher call for men han he observaton of certain days, or the keeping of certain places holy. This whole earth is a most holy place because t s consecrated by he ove of God o fulfill His purpose in the high destny of man.

Is not this the only ratonal interpretaton of these sayings of Christ? Have you ever heard it so in church? Theirs s a metaphysical Christ a false Christ. This Christ I hold up today is the real Saviour.

The rouble wih he churches s hat they are all too much ike one n Washington. It was a Calvanistc church - a very solemn place. Washington s a solemn place anyway, for people who beleve n hell - hey are so near heir finish. A good old Methodist woman strayed nto this church one Sunday and sat down. The preacher was eloquent, and presenty he old ady, greaty moved, shouted
heartiy, "Amen!" An usher touched her genty on he shoulder and whispered: "Madam, you wil please keep stl." She subsided, but under he nfluence of he eloquent sermon, she ost herself again directy, and shouted: "Gory o God!". Again came he usher wih his whispered reproof. "But sir," she said, "I've got relgion." "Oh, wel, madam," he answered, "this s no place o have relgion." You augh. Perhaps you know of churches where anything s more welcome than relgion.

"And Jesus ook a e chid, and set him n he mdst and said: Whosoever shall humble himself as his e chid shall be great in he kingdom of heaven." You have, no doubt, seen a great many pictures of Jesus as he blessed he e chidren, and you have always seen Him surrounded by prety dressed adies, who were bringing nice, clean babies - he kind of chidren t is easy o ove; he kind you cannot help blessing. The gentemen who draw hese pictures cater more o he artistc sense han o a desire o represent accurately the facts in the case.

That was undoubtedly a slave chid; a chid of the abyss; unwashed, uncombed, covered wih vermn; human n His suffering, n His capaciy for pain, but wih he beter portion of His humaniy ying dormant n His soul visible o God but not o men. And He said, "Whoso receiveth one such le chid, receiveth me."

There are a good many chidren n whom you find t hard o see he Christ, are here not? Let me do for you, my friends, what Jesus did for His hearers; et me bring a e chid, and set Him here before you.

I went nto a enement buiding n he ciy of Chicago, one hot afternoon n he season when hose buidings become great superheated ovens, wih a doctor, to see some chidren who were sick. In one room we found a e boy - a very e boy ndeed -who was dying wih a fever. The room was squald and ntensely hot; here were hree other chidren, dirty and uncared for. The mother was giving all her tme o her sick baby, wetng his parched and bleeding ps, and rying by every poor device at her command o essen his suffering. The doctor said o me hat day: "I can go where grown people are dying, or dead, without being overmuch moved; I can go where children are dead, and thank God; but when I go n where these children are sick, and see what they have to bear, and how they bear it, it breaks me down and unmans me quite. I cannot bear to see it."

Poor le boy, with his bright eyes and flushed cheeks, he lay quite patiently, and only the restless movement of the wasted e hands upon the quilt betrayed his suffering. He spoke to his mother: "Mamma," he said, "it is tme for papa to come in." The father was a stationary engineer, who worked near by, and t seemed that it was his custom to eave his work, now and again to run n and see his child. "Yes, honey," the mother answered, "papa wil be here pretty soon." "Mamma," the child said, "when papa comes he'll say 'how s my le man' and I'll say 'all right,' so he wil be glad. Don't tell him I am dying, but I think I am."

He was thinking, you see, not of himself, even n the hour of his extremity, but of his father. Well, presently the father came into the room. He was a rough, wid ooking man, with uncombed hair and beard, clad only in a shirt and overalls, his face and bare arms black with coal. I have no doubt he was an gnorant man, as books go. I have no doubt he was a bad man from the orthodox and conventional standpoint; I presume he sometimes swore, and played cards for the beer, and did other dreadful things.

As he came in, he glanced anxiously at his wife, and then at us, and read the worst of tdings in our faces. His own face quivered, and his bearded ps twisted strangely; then, for the child's sake, he forced a cheerful sme and came across the room toward the bed; and as he came, upon his coal-grimed features shone with transfiguring ght a father-love as holy as the love of God Himself.

The father bent above the cot. "How s my e man?" he asked. And the feeble voice piped bravely, while the parched ps writhed n a pitful attempt to smie: "I'm all right, papa; I'm all right." It broke the man down. He burst out sobbing, and springing to his feet rushed out upon the landing to struggle for self-control. The mother, also sobbing bitterly, bent over her child again; and down the poor
child's cheek rolled just one tear - of pity - for his father. That was a "cheap" child; one of the "lower" classes. Not one of the "fittest" to survive - and so he died.

Jesus took a e child and set him n the midst of them, and said: "Whosoever shall offend one of these e ones it is better that a mistone were hanged around his neck, and he were cast into the sea." Yes, any man, or woman, or railroad system, or financial system or industrial order that stands between the child and fe, is under the curse of God. I say, with Jesus, that it is more important that justice be done to one such e child than that all the corn crops of a thousand years be saved.

"Whoso shall humble himself as this le child, the same shall be great in the kingdom of heaven." How can you humble yourself as such a child? Does t mean to be childlike n spirit, teachable, credulous? No; there is only one way. Stand beside that child of the abyss and say, "Before God he s as good as I. He s entied to everything I claim for myself and for my children, and I wil never rest until all I claim for myself and mine s assured for him also." Then you wil begin to be great in the Kingdom of God.

How can I love my neighbor as myself? How can I love that child as I do my own children?

One day Jesus was talking to the folks and He said: "Why are you worried about things to eat and wear? Seek a ust and righteous order of things and you wil have plenty." I am here to testify that Jesus told the truth. This world would produce food for ten tmes its population. It would clothe ten tmes its population more richly than Solomon was arrayed n all his glory. It would furnish building material to erect a palace larger than Rockefella mansions for every famiy that lves on t. Our Father has provided the raw material for the things essential to lfe a thousandfold more than we can use. The race is rich, abundantly rich, as a whole. The satisfaction of human needs s a problem of machinery and organization. We have the machinery pretty well perfected. It is now a problem of organization.

Seek the Father's kingdom, says Jesus, and you solve the bread and
butter problem. What is a father's kingdom ike? A yonder comrade, et us say, is the father of a famiy, and he sees his children gather about a table where he has provided bountifully for them all, as our Father has for us. Well, the biggest boy gets to the table first, and he gathers all the good things around his plate, and gets his arms around them; his le sister reaches for a piece and he slaps her; he strikes back the outstretched hands of the others and says: "Get away! Our father put this here and I've got here first and t's mine! Get away," (strike, push, shove), and ooking up to the father he says, "Our father (strike), thy kingdom come (biff), thy wil be done" (bang). Would not that father say, "My wil wil not be done until your brothers and sisters have an equal chance." ? And f the big boy should say "Well then, father, I wil hold t as your trustee, and I wil give the others what they need, if I can spare it." Would not the father say, "My kingdom does not consist in benevolence or charity, or self-denial, or sacrifice, or worship, or Sabbath observance, but injustice for all."

Jesus pointed out that the birds are not worried about gettng something to eat. They ve n the kingdom of God. We ve n the kingdom of Caesar. If the tme ever comes when some of the smart birds get a corner on bugs or organize a worm trust, there wil be worry among them also.

Now, so far as nature s concerned there s nothing to prevent me from oving my neighbor as myself. There is plenty for him and me, too. And ust what does t mean this oving ones neighbor as himself? Suppose my wife and I sat down at the table and we had nothing to eat but a crust of bread and a piece of pie. And suppose I reach out and get the pie and say, "My dear wife, how I love you! I do wish you had some pie!" and I swallow t and eave her to gnaw the crust. Which do I ove best, myself or her? If I ove her as myself, wil I consent to hog the pie? If I love her as myself what I try to get for myself I wil try to get for her. If I love you as myself, what I try to get for myself I wil try to get for you, and what I try to get for my children, I wil try to get for yours and I wil no more rest under an njustice done to your children than f it were done to my children.

Now can you imagine a state of society in which the good thing I do for myself shall be done for you also? I spoke one night in Chicago and at the close I got on a street car and stood beside a girl who had been one of the lsteners, and she spoke to me. "Mster," she said, "I heard your speech and I liked it very much. I'm only a poor, ignorant girl but I've thought of these things, and the world as it is reminds me of one of these big jack screws they lft buildings with - you turn a handle round and round and the center part is fted up. So, it seems as though we poor folks are at the handle. We go round forever and never get any higher. We are always in the same place. We go round to ft somebody else. And I thought it might be fixed ike one of those winding stair-cases so that as we all went round we all might go up together, and the work we all do would help us all and f a few people didn't get quite so high, some day we would all come to the top together and that would be better for us all." And I thought that f I had the power I would make all the colege professors and preachers and the teachers go and sit at that poor girl's feet and learn a le polical economy.

These things are hidden from the wise and prudent and revealed unto babes. The pure in heart shall see God. The average man s so wedded to the idea of the divine origin of the present order that he cannot conceive of the possibilty of a change. He wil not nvestigate, he wil not consider; he simply says, "It can't be done." He s ike the old Tennesseean who did not believe n railroads. They buit a railroad through his vicinity and the neighbors got him to go down one day to ook at the track. They had aid the track down to the river bank and had tunneled on the opposite side under a hil, but had not commenced to build the bridge. The old man took one ook - that was enough. He didn't stop to ask questions. He threw up his hands and said: "Oh, by thunder, you needn't tell me that you can make an engine that wil jump that river and hit that hole in the hill! It can't be did."

Have you ever thought, oh ye of le faith, that there s a way to bridge this chasm between ndividual effort and united effort? Consider for a moment our public school system. We are educating our children by unitng our effort. We hold the school property n common. You are a proprietor in the school property of Marion, Ind.
I am a part owner of the school property n Cncinnati. So far as that work s concerned we are all one famy, are we not? It s our father's kingdom, n part, establshed n he mdst of Caesar's kingdom, isn't it?

Suppose, in my ove for my chidren, I devise a new ext book or a more convenient desk or a more comfortable seat, anything hat makes heir work easier or beters he school service - hen I get it adopted, and I have helped my own chidren, I have helped your chidren, I have helped every chid from Maine o Calfornia. I have brightened every fe and added o he happiness of every home, I have oved all as well as my own. This s he spiral stair-way plan. I ike it beter myself than the jack screw method.

Industry s on he other plan. If I invent a new aborsaving machine, I cause hundreds of my brothers o ose heir chance o make a

ving, and make he problem more ntense for all. Suppose he factory were ike the school, an instuton set apart for the supplying of a common need by unied effort, would t be so? If I could, by some device, ghten my own ask I would bring rest o al, and

here, again, I would love my neighbor as myself.

The apostes understood t so. They started out to buid a unified and harmonious world. Read he second and fourth chapters of the Acts of Apostes, and read he writngs of the early Christan fathers, and you wil see hat the dea of Jesus and he apostes was not to buid an instuton for worship in a bad world, but to buid the world iself nto a unied, harmonious, orderly and scientfic society. To make society a spiral stairway, up which a redeemed humaniy should march ogether nto uniy wih God. They had all things common. There was no poverty among hem hat was not shared by all. The early churches were e commonwealhs, and he purpose which hey held wih ntense enthusiasm was the buiding of the world nto one great commonwealh.

The Apostes were communist organizers. The purpose of Jesus, as understood by hem, was he establshment of a scientfic society, which he caled by s rue name - he Kngdom of God; a world of unified effort, centering n the development of the e chid. It was
his glorious vision which gave virily and power o he preaching of the early church, and the church of today has no power because t has no purpose and no hope.

Dr. Quayle, of Indianapols, has writen a le pamphlet in which he argues hat the Apostes were mstaken n heir sociology. He holds

hat they were all right n heir heology - nspired and nfalble -but hey were poor business men. I would suppose hat he same Holy Spirit who gave hem heir heology must have given hem

heir social ideas also. The communistc regime was as much a part of he fe of he church as he Lord's Supper, and was far more clearly drawn from the teachings of the Master. Dr. Quayle's atude

s equivalent o saying hat he Holy Ghost s an excelent old personage, very correct on doctrinal maters, but a e off when we come to the practcal affairs of lfe.

That is exacty he atude of the church oday oward Jesus. Every modern preacher, wih few exceptons, denies his Master whenever he speaks of social problems. I am not going o rail at the church; but he church charges us wh nfidely, wih atheism and mmoraly, and I am going to reply wih a statement of the case and wih a counter charge.

Those of you who have read Elbert Hubbard's article on he coton

ms of South Carolna, wil never forget that realstc descripton of

he awful condions. How the thousands of baby slaves are gathered

n by fraud, msrepresentaton and by emptng he cupidiy of their

fathers; how the ong hours, the close applcaton, and he flying nt

combine o break down heir feeble bodies so certainly and so

speediy hat the average fe of a chid condemned o one of hese

hels s only four years. It is organized murder on a wholesale scale;

t is cruely beyond words; outrage so nfinie as to be nexpressible.

And near many of hese slaughter- houses you wil find a church,

buit by he chid-king corporaton, and here s a preacher whose

salary s paid from he piful stpend of the dying chidren. In some

cases t is even reported hat a regular percentage s deducted from

he weekly wages for he support of he gospel of hat Christ who

said, "Forasmuch as ye have done t unto he east of these, ye have

done it unto me."

I suppose we all agree that that church s supported by the organized exploiaton, even unto death, of le chidren? I suppose that we all agree hat a business which works he ves of e chidren nto dividends s wrong, and hat a church which s supported by he fruis of such a crime s wrong, and hat he spiritual fe of any church cannot rise very far above he source from which t draws s financial nourishment? A church which ves by chid murder can not have much divine power in is mnistratons, can it?

What is he difference, in principle, between a business n he South which akes all a chid's fe n four years, and a business n he North which akes a man's or woman's fe n twenty years? What is he difference n principle between he business of Ohio and hat of South Carolna? What s he difference n principle n competon anywhere? What is he difference n principle between he source of nourishment of the church here and the church there?

Let my brethren of he pulpit charge me wh heresy and wh nfidely f hey wl; I answer wh his counter charge: I say hat he same power which corrupts great corporatons and bribes awmakers, which suborns perjury and spots wh foul stains he robe of justce, which plants he and wh brothels and saloons, and makes ciy government a stench n he nostrils of God, is he power hat feeds the church. Organized business!

And I charge hat down he no-horoughfares of commercialsm oday, organized business and he church which bears he name of

Jesus Christ, bound ogether ike he Siamese twns, nourished by he same blood, fed from he same source, hinking he same houghts, and loving the same loves, are walking side by side; and of he exploiaton of men and he degradaton of women, and he

murder of chidren, equaly guiy before God.

If that be nfidely, let the church make he most of it. If it be false, et the church disprove t. If t be rue, let her cleanse her robes of he nnocent blood, atre herself in sack cloth and wh he ashes of

repentance on her head, cry for mercy to Amghty God.

In he me of Jesus hey were very prone o compare hemselves
wih one another, and hank God hat they were not like other men. In he 13th chapter of Luke, you wil read how Jesus said o hem "Think ye hat hose on whom he ower fell he other day were sinners above all the other people n Jerusalem, because such a thing befell hem? I ell ye nay, but except ye repent ye shall ikewise perish!"

Do you think, my friends, that in he day when Capialsm stands up for judgement, and the blood of is slaughtered mons cries to God for ustce, t wl avail a man o say, "I was a Methodist: I was sound on ustficaton," "I was a Baptst, I was put clear under water," "I was a Catholc, I said prayers wih perfect regularity every day." I tell you no but except we repent we shall all likewse perish.

Ah, how I ong o give my brethren of he pulpit this vision of he Christaniy of Jesus and he Apostes; his concept of he real Christ. How I ong for adequate words o convey His call to hem and to you!

The call of Christ! What is t and where s t? Where do we hear it? Look and sten at the pageant of your civiizaton; see he gorgeous shows, the display of wealh, the wonders of color, the hings of art: Hear the mghty uproar of the great world of commerce, the clamor of the market, the screamng of the whistes, the ringing of the bels, he puffing of engines, the crash and rate of machinery, the clangor of music, he cheering of excied crowds - and now sten closer, bend down and keep stl and hrough t all you hear another note, a mnor strain growng ouder and stronger day by day - he groans of despairing men, he sobs of outraged women, he feeble cries of dying chidren. The cry of he sorrowing for relef, the pleading of he disinherited for justce.

That, oh men and women, is he call of Christ to you. What does t mean o a mnister of he gospel n he present day o answer hat call? It means to stand, not for charity, but for justce; not for reform but for revoluton. It means o close he doors of hese splendid emples, rather than ve another day by aking the gold of organized oppression. It means to go again upon the highways and the byways, saying, "The spirit of the Lord s upon us because he hath anointed

us o preach good news o he poor." It means o work, not for

nstutons of worship, but for a commonwealh. It means o break at once and forever wih he vested nterests of Capialsm: o be

nfidel to s relgion, traior o s government: o cry wh Isaiah: "Thy princes are rebelous and companions of hieves; every one

oveth gifts and foloweth after rewards; they judge not the widow neiher doth he cause of the fatherless come unto hem; the spoil of

he poor s n heir houses, their hands are full of blood! Bring no more ncense, sing no more songs, pray no more vain prayers; observe no more ceremonies. I wl have ustce, before worship, saih the Lord of Hosts!"

Yes, the call of Christ to the mnister is to break once and for all and absolutely wih Capialsm. Render unto Caesar he hings hat are Caesar's and unto God he hings hat are God's means hat all s God's: n a redeemed world here s no room for Caesar. And my brother, sister, the call is the same to you.

Mathew els us hat when Jesus hung upon he cross he Pharisees mocked Him saying, "If thou be the son of God come down from the cross." They wanted to be ed by a Son of God but they wanted to be ed n easy ways, o glory, place and power. They wanted a competve Christ, who would ead hem o competve victory. They wanted a kingdom of God, but hey wanted t o be on he general plan of this world's kingdoms. They wanted o give he poor charity not ustce; o give he slave kindness not berty. They would be good o he poor but they would not abolsh poverty; they wanted o ride easiy on he backs of others, not to bear others as a burden on heir own shoulders. "If hou be he Son of God, come down!"

And current Christaniy stands before he cross n he same atude saying he same words, "Not that way, Master! Not to be crucified on behalf of humaniy! Lead us he other way! Come down off he cross!"

My friends, the call of Christ is as t was 20 years ago, and has ever been o bear he burdens of weak, wronged, outraged, robbed, oppressed and disinherited humaniy. To join your ves o hose of

he poor. To feel their pains, to share their sufferings, to lve for their delverance - o bow beneath heir sorrows n dark Gethsemane; to walk, horn-crowned, wih staggering feet up he steep way o Calvary; sustained because beyond he cross we see he river sepulcher, and hrough t shines he glory of a resurrected humaniy. Lift up your heads! The day of your redempton draweth nigh; the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Compare this cal, my friends, wh what you hear from the orthodox pulpi, he appeal o selfishness, he exhortaton o save yourself; compare t wih he appeal of orthodox polcs to the appete alone, and see f t does not move you more. Is not this Christ worthy of your folowng, this cause ented o your highest service? Let us consecrate ourselves o t oday. To he service of Christ n humaniy, o he bringing n of he redeemed world, et us n emulaton of our fathers pledge our ves, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.