CHURCH PARADE

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14831, 24 November 1913, Page 7

CHURCH PARADE

SERMON BY CANON BURTON

Divino service was conducted on tho Show Grounds, Addington, yesterday afternoon, by Canon Burton, of St. Michael's. Tho special constables attended in full force, and tho Officer Commanding tho camp, tho Officer Commanding tho dismounted nion, and other camp officials were present. Canon Burton based his remarks on St. Matthew's account of tho preaching of John tho Baptist. Hβ said that in tho scripture just read they had a description of a man who camo into the arona of the- history of the world very suddenly and unexpectedly. Tho man was not an agitator, but ho was undoubtedly a reformer. Hβ camo with a definite purpose in his mind.- Things woro going from bad to worse in* that country, and John tho Baptist was raised up by God to put things right. There was some similarity between tho stato of things then and now. Hero were gathered a great number of men, who havo a stake in this country, for tho purpose of keeping law and order. Not only in this country, but in others there was a great unrest, and it was recognised that matters were movinj? towards some climax—what that climns would bo neither they nor ho could guess. But it behoved them, as far as in them lay, to keep tho rulo of law and ordor. John the Baptist had been intensely successful —ho gathered together all Jerusalem, the greater portion of. tho people went to the Jordan, to hear him preach. They had questions to ask him and these he answered according to law and'order:—"Whatever may be your temptation, and however short your pay may be, you aro not to do violence." Tho publicans— who farmed.the taxes from tho Roman knights—he told not to exact mor© than their due. Ho (the preacher) desired to bring homo to them that they were to havo no feelings outsido tho law, no feelings to do harm to ono of God's creatures, but to see, tho law carried out. He was asked: What is tho Church doing in this matter? ,Tho Church was doing exactly what sho ought to do, and that was pretty well nothing. It was not her business, buy tho busiuess of , those who administer tho law. God forbid that the Church should not take any part. _Her part was to keep people informed of matters, and his own congregation had been kept informed. The Church must, like John tho Baptist, go to tho individual as well as the multitude. Thero was something Wrong, but it was not all on ono side. It was easy to say that the worker was wrong; it was easy to tako tho words of some agitator, who probably did not understand what he was naying ? and say that they represented the position of tho men. On the other hand, it was easy to take some man, richly endowed with this world's goods, and cite him as typical of the employers. But thero were hundreds and hundreds of employers who desired to do what was exactly right and not to harm any single person, and who were more inclined to give than to take. There wero, on the other hand, , hundreds of workers who knew that thero was a desire on all hands to livo and let live, yet they must do as their unions told them. He had been talking to an employer, who had asked what was going to bo done when the present trouble was over. Ho (tho preacher) know* but wanted tho employer to tell him, and tho employer replied: "Thero is only one thing that is going to end this strike in this country—religion." And it was so. They had thrown religion aside. Ho had trekked, during the South African war, with a New Zealander who had spoken of "New Zealand i as "God's own country." Yes, it was God's own country, minus God. They were throwing away God and they were suffering for it. The whole matter was a matter of religion." During the week, whilst they wero engaged in very difficult work, he would pray that God would help and guide them and grant that they might be brought safely through a time that must be fraught with danger. In the midst of passion which, onco aroused, no man could say to what length it might go, he hoped they would remember that their duty was not to show power but to uphold law and order, and prove themselves just men—men who feared God and | therefore regarded humanity, who loved God and therefore loved their neighbour as themselves.