A Sermon Preached in Holy Trinity Cathedral, Shanghai, by the Rt. Rey. Bishop Molony, D.D., on Sunday, December 11
St. Paul's famous triplet of Christian graces—"Faith Hope and Charity"—and his longer list of the fruits of the spirit in Galatians "Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithful. ness, Meekness, and Self-control may be taken as an epitome of the Christian character. Is the character thus portrayed altogether admirable, and does it meet the practical requirements of our time? Tt has been boldly assailed in reent years. Before the Great War, a well-known German philosopher: had thrown discredit upon the Beatitudes: What the world wanted was not meekness and poverty of spirit, but courage, strength, even selfishness, and the "superman," and this philosophy had permeated the thought of his fellow countrymen and over-shadowed the noble culture of music, literature, and science, for which Germany had been famous.
Bolshevist teachers more recently. have proclaimed that religion is 1¢ opium of the people," preached by missionaries in China in order. to make the rising generation quiet and subservient to the designs imperialistic aggression, What have we to say to such attacks' In the first place the picture the draw of Christian character is distorted, in order to make their arguments impressive. This is a common trick of all controversial lists, Exaggerate the opinions of your adversary and then you easily can discredit them. Draw a one sided picture and then expose it to ridicule, The Full Christian Character Christ and the Apostles preached to a world full of violence and worldly power, containing men like Augustus and' Nero, Herod, Pilate, and Caiaphas, and they preached 4 Gospel of peace, love, and gentleness, which should prevail against might, and pride, and selfishness, but they exhibited other sides of the Christian character also— courage and strength, activity and clear-mindedness. Think of our Lord's calm strength as He stood before Caiaphas, Herod, and Pilat remember St. Paul's years of active labour and his writings, which fare unsurpassed for vigour of thought and for lofty spiritual in-and power. Think of the martyra of the early Christian Church and the preachers who brought Christicnity to our own and other Lauds.
When you get a complete view of character, you at once recognize how distorted is the picture drawn by hostile critics. A Christian is not a feeble, nerveless creature. He is a warrior and 8 worker, who has faith, hope, and Tave as his motives. Christ' has in the past overthrown wickedness: and pride from many high places, and exalted men of low degree, set the captive free and unloosed heavy. burdens, and He will do it yet.
The Christian warriors did not win through human strength or mental power. They won through those qualities which Christ and His Apostles emphasized. Truth conquered error, light darkness: love proved itself more powerful than hatred, and gentleness than force. Have we not seen again and again how that armed force does not win in the end: violent revolutions retaliate upon those who plot. them, and would be world-masters re destroyed by their own pride. "By might shall no man prevail." The proud and deceitful are taken in their own nets, while those who quietly, diligently, and honestly work and wait attain to an established position even in this life, The Christian Virtues 'We may say then, without fear' of contradiction, that Jesus Christ brought into the world a new ideal of character. When He uttered His Bemitudes, He cut clean across the prevalent opinion. He expound. ed a new theory of blessedness, and His Apostles endorsed it in the teaching, and acted upon it in their lives. So have countless millions of His followers from that day to this, and, in measure as they have acted upon His teaching, in such degree have they found it true and valuable.
Love, the highest Christian grace, has proved itself a mighty. cor querer, both in private and in pub-lie life, If is resistless, and eve tually it will dominate the world, Joy is like the sunshine, It is the radiant health of the soul: to dll joy is a crime, where joy is really pure and good for joy is the disinfectant in this world of social corruption. Christian joy is the highest spiritual joy man can know. No one can take it from the Christian: he joys even tribulations. It is one of the points where Christianity far outshines other ethical systems, otherwise virtuous, such as Buddhism and Confucianism, which are essentially sad.
Next take peace. The first message of the angels at the birth of Christ, and almost the last message He gave. At peace with God. At peace with our fellow-men; this is soul rest indeed. Who can ostimate the good done in the world by one person who goes calmly through life with the peace of God manifest in every word and act, "My peace I give unto you, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Only that man or woman can do great things who is pence with self, from. possi envy, bitterness, and all other So one might go on through all the noble virtues. that Christ hi brought to us. We might speak again of faith in God and in our fellow-men, the basis of all good relationships; or of Hope, the stimulater to noble action charity, the sweetener of all life's trials, the cherisher of the poor and needy. Other systems have advocated many noble traits of character; Christ. alone draws us upward to perfec. tion by the magnet of His perfect love.
'A Vision of Heavenly Mansions required here is an It fs said that a rich Christian man once dreamed that he was entering heaven. He could not have entered but that he trusted to the mercy of Christ, but, having entered, he was escorted along the road by an angel and shown the beautiful mansions that were there on cither side, He asked for whom the dwellings were, and pointed out several fine prepared for poor neighbours of his and some for his own ser-. vants. Then he remarked ona mail, mean cottage, and was told that that was his abode. THe was surprised and asked why it was not better. The angel sadly replied:—"It was the best we could do for you; you sent us up such Poor material." He was distressed to live in the sort of house he himself own character formed a bawn _roparing—his the fhooghts and acts and hab a mean and grovelling life here below.
Men: talk of bull but really it is a growth. You can, indeed, artificially build up character by sill power, discipline, ud education, but the true Christian character is a living growth, watered by the rains of adversity and warmed by the sunshine of God's love. There must be the seed divine life seed, roots must spread down into the Soil of experience, drawing up the moisture and the materials there stored by God for one daily spiritual nourishment, and as the soul grows it is' always upward towards God and outward in a broad life that. shelters and blesses others. throws out the leaves of beauty and healing, and the flowers of purity and fragrance, and the fruits of abundance and beneficence and the tree grows, and the fruit matures and ripens, and no one can
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.