Sermon Preached by the Rev. A. N, Rowland in Union Church, Shanghai, on Sunday, February 1, 1925
"And Pharaoh's daughter said unto the Hebrew woman, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages." Exod. 2. 7.
'There are several ironical ele- motherhood, and as for maternity ments in this situation which would nurses two' generations back, they be the making of a drama. To begin|were disreputable and despised. with, a child marked for destruction Even husbands have often failed to by the government grows up to be ive mothers their rights. No human thorn in its side.
Still" more task has been. worse rewarded. Striking is the fact that the man [Warriors end statesmen had Who was the favoured of Egypt was nee "of praise, attd reared by the daughter And what they" cit met with full Of its Pharaoh. "But the subilest yy Wee serie of woman's days stroke of all is this that the princess Passed on without © thought, without fecepts the child's mother for' its word burse nnd pays her as if she were] Yet in spite of the unrewarded 'a professional, It is this third point travail motherhood went on, bearing we are taking for our theme, the the main burden of Nation, Empire entirely pleasant and even amusing and" Race. like Caryatids of the fact that the. princess satisfies her Temple, There was, another kind little whim without knowing of the of recompense in the large fulfilment deeper satisfaction she is giving to of life, in the deep satisfaction of fan oppressed Woman, and pays love. Besides what is paid to" the, For wages into the bargain. Truly pocket there is that which Is paid it is'n Divine Comedy. the heart.
Those wages did not weigh very; And what is true in the realm of heavy in the balances of a mother's love is also true in the realms of heart, She had her child, given up truth and of beauty-—the real wages for lost, back in her arms again.'are spiritual. An artist is paid What more did she want?" The twice for his picture, a builder "for princess might keep her wages but his house, an inventor (let us hope)
one" thing. the first for his design-—paid. both in cash opportunity of "spoiling the Egyp- "and in conscience. The purchaser Only a week before life had pays for what he receives, but it been blank and dark to the young not the equivalent of what was mother Jocabed, but her exceeding given.
For that the worker has to love dared God to a miracle.
In the get his so ction out of the work she itself," Does isfy his cons-put her little one, doomed to death dence?
Tt may easily happen that by Pharaoh, near' the path of the for princess where it led to the waters God's workmen will risk the chance Of the Nile, and God, in whose hand lof not being paid at all. I call to fre the hearts of Kings, made this mind the best known dramatic critic high Indy surrender her own of this day. (What, is he to. be maternal instincts and become counted among the workmen of God? captive to her captive. answer is "By their fruits Confounding the Mighty eral nw they): Sole: een bed Thus even at the dawn of history,!s"temuue interview that he deprived ween gon would have said valence mult of Sooo a year, wil IIS" atta tridges at the wockarce [Pag ome az, agen" cats he that pay thee thy wages" cried the thei baby's ery, a sister's care, a lady's came from another source—the truth instinct and a mother's love, in one he was serving. And let us not supbenutial conspiracy to confound the pose this is a privilege reserved for mighty, Yes, these—weakest of the rich, it ix often the treasure of forees from the for wages" world actually rolled a from Israel's grave, and initiated tone of the greatest' movements in igstone through the forest to history. The watchword of evolution may be "the survival of the the coast." No, but they were refittest," but so far as history is human the inheritance seems to have Life Its Gwn Reward come in the long run to the meek.
On the other hand the wages paid Anyhow the young mother of Moses by the Pharaohs of the world are came into her inheritance that day, notoriously inequitable and uncer-and when she heard the good tain, In literature £5 was paid for princess talking of wages, she had while £5,000 veep her ayeliin lowered leet thay Foul "betray the laughter. in hat, Neon frandert poem, while offered for, the Jottings them, "in pubic fe, Posts of rer seem to be highly re-neb at tu Peete ain age a a principles. (1) First every one ought jyincelt himself solely with the satisfaction solely. {o pay for what he receives—to use gr" having served her well, br enjoy, through. the labours of °F pMtine served her well thers, If thee axiom is accepted satisfying w itvsetiles several things." Por one) totstting, Wage, to live so that thie lat all forme of slavery (1, sft a6 pombe, may hut'et court. "Woe unto him that V's reward, in the complete, neighbour's ave vice wih. ("2SS,0f,00" anewer tothe vision, we Sat ages" and yeth him not teer vel, Mths ire" (Jer. 22.18). Or take the tack, in the thought that others no! question of casual labour at the /nresent have had their work finished flocks. It is a convenience and even rvs caster be what we have 4 necessity to the shipper that such one, That is our uneconomic "but tabour should be available, Te should [Gone That is o bead fos then even is no call for it.
Lathan Gi aka tine ten ose hay atin thi (2) "Another principle of payment|ike"ceount. "Wer are hidden 19 has been agreed upon of late, that drop the use of wages as a spiritual the omi alto sould services by which it profits. Labours ¢ 1," ish homo el ae for from the common purse."-More Z Meuven as abore all things] find more are coming into this come [Pisce of reward. Misled by " the Intinal service—parkekeepers as welt;7bolitm of the Apocalypse and rel as tram conductors. And why '237s We have dusealetor, acho teachers 88mm we have li ery of popular not investigators and inventors also a \dreudbart ask, plomay one. lad stress on
Tu. doe, pesaent tence, It is an unworthy motive.
Motherhood Unpaid The soul of piety." wrote Robert But the greatest services to the Louis Stevenson, "was killed long: community fe ni bela, Phare 2 by the cal of Q'None mare, important than the assam "To. as ome tru bineing Of chi linen to Birth and to of our endeavour is but a trans: toyed "Bat what wages "have cenfental way of serving for Te-bean given to mothers, bot neglect, ward." doubt this protest has and disenfranchisement? wholesome effect, but if it Only a generation ago government, wi both ational sind monicipaly ignored fen said T think Ht will disclose
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.