SUNDAY READING.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 October 1915, Page 9 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING.

SERMON IHREACHED BY REV. H. A. EAVJ3LL at St. Mary's Church, New Plymouth, on Sunday, October 17. "Eor Demas hath forsaken me . . . only Luke is with me."—ll Tim. 4, 10-11. To-morrow is the festival of St. Luke, and I have chosen a text from the IHpietle for the day that suggests an important lesson. There is no grace harder to acquire, and none more needed in the spiritual life than the grace of perseverance. Again: there is nothing of which many people so soon become tired and impatient as the advice to persevere. It opens out to them a vision of dreariness and drudgery—of the unrelieved monotony of little duties. (C.) 1 would ask you to look with me at ttie Epistle and Gospel for St. Luke's Day. The Gospel is the account of the sending out of tho seventy disciples, amongst whom most probably was St. Luke. It was in tho third year of our Blessed Lord's, ministry, and soon after the conversion of the evangelist. We see him then starting in the race of the Christian life. The Epistle was written (lining St. 'Paul's second imprisonment, and shortly before his death. There are thirty-six years between the (wo events, and the apostle writes: "Only Luke is with me." The example is one of faithful perseverance in tho race that is set before us. We are allowed to see the beginning and ending of the course. St. Paul, converted some years later than St. Luke, becomes his fellow traveller and companion—and now St. Paul, "ready to be offered," testifies "Only Luke is with me." Some, like Demas, have gone back to the things of the world; others, like Crescens and Titus, have been called to a different work. The two aged saints, alone in the prison in Rome, teach eloquently the lesson we so need to learn, the lesson of perseverance.

(II.) I want you to see that it is t>.e lesson our own Mother Church seeks to impress upon our minds from the very beginning of our experience. When a child is 'brought to the font to be admitted in Christ's own appointed way into His Church, the question is asked: "Wilt thou then obediently keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of thy life?'' And the sponsors, in the child's behalf, answer, "I will." At the the sign of the cross was put upon us "in token" that we should continue Christ's faithful soldiers and servants unto our lives' end. The teaching of the catechism is clear: "Dost thou not think that thou art bound to believe and to do as they have promised for thee?'' "Yes, verily; and by God's help bo I will . . . anfl I pray unto God to give me His grace that I may continue in the same unto my life's end." At confirmation, the Bishop prays for each person confirmed: "Defend, 0 Lord, this thy child with thy heavenly grace, that he may continue thine for ever; and daily increase in Thy holy spirit more and more, until he come unto Thy everlasting kingdom." The lesson of perseverance is the lesson our Church strives to teaeh one's whole life through. | (IIT.) And yet again: Perseverance is j a word written over the life of our BlessI ed Lord from tho cradle to the grave, and perseverance still describes His dealings witli us from His place at the right hand of the Father. How He persevered, and in so unpromising an atmosphere, during His earthly life! With His apostles! Who could have borne with them as He did —witli their perverseness; their frequent inability to enter into the meaning of His words; their mistaken conceptions of His kingdom, obstinately held, and never really removed until after His resurrection; with their jealousies of each other? Who would have persevered with them, after that night when "they all forsook Him and fled"? Who would have dealt with St. IPetcr, as He did, after that time when "he denied with an oath"? It is •well for us that our Lord persevered. Or with the multitudes. Think of how at first He was welcomed—made much of. "No man ever spake like this man." And then the gradual growth of hostility and enmity; manifesting itself at last in a thousand subtle and underhand ways. Think of the dreadful scenes at the last—the jeering crowds, hatred, open and undisguised. Would He go on with His work? Would He draw back? Would He persevere? Listen, for the words are His own words: "The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it ?'' Through all manner of trials and difficulties the Son of God persevered. He knew the difficulties would increase rather than diminish. He saw for a long time the shadow of the cross. But He gives us the example of perseverance—the one perfect example. And so, in this duty of perseverance, as in all other duties, He is our example. We may he able to follow only, as it were, afar off, and with great difficulty; but still, the call is to follow. The example is for our instruction, our inspiration and encouragement; not merely and only for our admiration. We know quite well how important the lesson is in other occupations. It is of even greater importance in the occupation and calling of a Christian. If wo look back upon our own experience in spiritual things, it would be true for most of us that there was a time when we had no doubts or misgivings as to our own intention and purpose and ability to persevere. There was a time when we meant to go right on—with our prayers, otf'r Bible reading, our Communion, our worship, our regular habit, as it was then, of church attendance, with our little bit of work undertaken for God and His Church. We had no doubts about the future: no fear of.,difficulties; no thought of becoming discouraged, despondent or doubtful. No dark sins, secret or open, had disfigured our lives. The strength and power of temptations, since revealed, were unknown and. undreamed of. Difficulties, such as we thought of, and thought ourselves capable of overcoming, caused us no uneasiness; but rather added romance to our vision.

But, as wo look back from the reality of to-day to the ideals of that day, what a difference there is! What a difference between what I meant to become and what I am! Recall to your mind the picture that was there once before, when you saw yourself—a regular communicant, just because the Lord said, "Do this"—a consistent Christian, a worker for Christ, a helper of the needy: put by the side of that picture what you are to-day. You alone can do that among men. Do it; and then can you say that the comparison is altogether pleasing? Or does the comparison reveal a lack of perseverance, perhaps almost a total absence of any effort to persevere? What are the difficulties? (T.) There is the difficulty that perseverance is concerned with such little things. It is the old, old difficulty. "If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it?" If we were concerned with some great work —and 'by great we mean something that men and women can observe and remark upon. But perseverance is concerned with secret things—like prayer aud self-exam-kation and jenltencej with things like

keeping one's tempev, keeping strictly to the truth; being pure, honest and miselfish. (II.) Then, for many people, thero is a difficulty about temptation. .Some imagine that once the surrender ol tflc will is made, temptations will lose their power, and perhaps cease to be altogether. If they look for a struggle at all they look for a short one, and then freedom. But temptation was a prominent thing in the life of our Blessed Lord: it lasted all through His life. And His was a life absolutely surrendered, entirely at one with the will of the Father. Temptation, the same temptation recurring again and again, will often mark the life of a Christian. The struggle against temptation is a life struggle. The tight is till death. Remember, Cod nowhere promises to conquer all our temptations for us —only to help us overcome them. (III.) And then there is the difficulty sometimes about motive. Perseverance is bound to he lacking some time or other when -the motive is a mistaken one. If the motive is to he, in any sort of way, what the apostle calls '"inenpleasers," we are hound to fail. We must be quite clear that it is the service of God to which we are pledged: that our interest is in the whole Kingdom of God. and is not confined to the local and small circumstances of any particular place or parish. Otherwise we shall find that altered circumstances—unfamiliar surroundings, changing personsmean that the motive, which perhaps wo never suspected was there, is removed, and perseverance fails. Work if} given up; energy and enthusiasm arc given to criticism instead of to co-opera-tion; or a general slackness sets in. We must keep the real vision ever before us—that this is God's world to bo won for Him; fiod's Church to win the world; God's service to be rendered by us all—if we would really persevere. We have the example. We have the assurance of His help. We know His power. We can avail ourselves of that power. We can, if we will, continue unto our lives' end.