SUNDAY READING.

Shannon News, 15 April 1925, Page 4

SUNDAY READING.

"THE REStiRBECTION"

By Rev. W. Russell tMaltby It is hot altogether to be regretted that the event which gave Day and the Easter message has; bee? who have never found any difficulty ig the story of the Resurrection have probably found little- mining » .f Those who once found it almost incredible are those- who come to find it most wonderful. For the fact, of the Resurrection is a fact of such _size that we have to rebuild our world to contain it, and the last word must be God anything is possible —if it is good enough. It is clear that not many days after the Crucifixion something revolufaoaary and transforming happened which re-made the men who were called ;H« disciples, re-furnished their minds, and armed them mentaay and spiritually for the evangelisation of tne world. They have, left their account of what happened. They say it was the return of Jesus after his death, and the Pentecost that followed, and Q the -iiut u*o sxq stju; todsoQ oiH 30 aoAOI mate reasons for trusting what they say. The Jesus of history as _H6 g is pictured in the Gospels is a P erSO " clean beyond ,the reach of invention, we see there the workings of _ a Master mind handling every situation with incomparable efficiency, with & strength that' is never rough, gentleness that is never weak. we confess at every stage that His way as •so much better than our way. After the' Crucifixion we turn to see what these Evangelists will make of a situation still'more difficult and delicate, and we see the same unfaumg mind revealing the us by;the very way it is handled. The final test is 'not really, whether the Gospels can- be dated or their witness corroborated. It is the test of significance. These accounts disclose to us -grander and deeper meanings than those wrote them suspected; if they harmonise in unintended ways with with the'uniqueness of Jesus, and give us a world more coherent, more intelligible and more wonderful than we had thought—that is their great verification. ',_.*.■+„ It has been made an objection to •the accounts of the Resurrection that Jesus is reported to have appeared, not to His enemies who most needed *to be convinced, but only to His friends who were ready ,to be con'vinced, but, of course, our way would have been to have confronted Caiaphas and Pilate with the Risen Jesus and confound them with the sight of His person. Those who think that Jesus should have done this do not seem to have asked themselves why, if it was to have been done that way at last, it should not have been done ' that way at first. If it can do anyone any good to be overwhelmed with proofs and driven pell-mell into "faith," why be so slow about it A little consideration would convince us that this would be the way to make maniacs, but not to make believers. If we are to believe we must have room to disbelieve. If we are to be allowed freedom'to love Him we must be allowed freedom to forge,t Him. So "faith is always an opition." It is as He told us, "Behold I stand at the door and knock." He built the house and framed the door, and no doubt He' could break "it in and terrify ,the poor rebel within. But this is the way to destroy us, not to save us. So though the power of His Resurrection became the glory and inspiration 'of the Church, it was, a power that never forced an unwilling door, or drove unbelief into a corner, or extorted submission by the ultimatum of omnipotence. Mighty as He was, He came with infinite delicacy and did no manner of wrong to the frailest of'the minds that He entered. He would not be too sudden with Mary Magdalene; He ; gave warning to Peter; He took time and gave explanations to Cleopas. Indeed, He came to none without some token to quicken, hope, some messenger to , prepare the mind for so solemn a'a encounter. i He had begun a friendship with these disciples which only needed one thing more to make it an immortal fellowship, independent of time or space, not needing the help of eyes or ears to turn it in fact into communnion with God. And we,can watch Him giving that last help in His own perfect way—now coming, now going, standing among .them quiet and tranquil, scattering their fears, and then vanishing, again; hovering on the border of the seen and the unseen, in or-

der that they might feel 1 sure of botii | So they learn first that though they j. cannot find Him, He can always find * ( them, next .hat He cannot be far , away at any time, and next that He '* is never away at all. And this fa why 91 alter all these years we can still sayj f , "We have fellowship with God and * f with His Son Jesus Christ."