The Sabbath Hour

Northern Advocate, 22 July 1939, Page 4 (Supplement)

The Sabbath Hour

(Sermon written by Rev. H. J. Tnzer, M.A., Methodist Minister ol Whangarsi) Reading: Matthew 5. I-I3 I suppose there is, no section of the teaching of Jesus so well known to us as those first few versos of tflc fifth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, where in a few brief sentences, knclwn to us as the “Beatitudes," Jesus tolls His hearers what He has Himself discovered to be the secret of true and lasting happiness in life. For a scries of addresses I have been trying to expound the inner meaning of these verses to the people of my own Church, and now I take this opportunity of passing on to others some of these thoughts. g The Master’s first statement goes to the very heart of the .problem; He

The Secret ,of True Happiness JL JL

says that true and lasting happiness can bo found only by the man who has faced up to the matter of “self," and made a tremendous adjustment at that very point. He infers that we are by nature self-centred, and prone to live according to our own selfish inclinations, but that if we are to find true happiness in life, this will need to bo changed. “Self." and all its train of attendants will need to be dethroned, and relegated to a subordinate position (where they will have less controlling influences, and disrupting power; it is only when a man who is “haughty and proud” in spirit comes to this point, and in an act of selfdethronement, becomes humble and poor in spirit, that he can be said to have made the first step towards the finding of true joy. But Jesus made it clear that only by becoming poor in spirit can a man become rich in spiritual happiness; this first step could be expressed in the words: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself.”

The next step along the road to real joy is to counteract this renunciation of self by a positive and rather reckless throwing of oneself into the life of the world in order to exercise a redemptive influence upon it; this work can only be done effectively by those who have so forsaken self that they can sincerely and genuinely enter Into the sorrow's and sufferings of others and take them upon themselves; they become true burden-bearers with the purpose of lightening their load so that they can enter into the joy that they have found.

To be a “mourner” in his way is something far bigger and loftier than simply to share the sorrow of those who are sad. It may mean the buying of a house 'in the slum area in order to transform the people, of consciously penetrating your neighbour’s domestic life in order to straighten out a family problem, or even a selling of all that cue has in order to help those who are poor. But of such a man whose one objective in life is to enter into the lives of others in order to redeem them can it be said that he has taken the second step along _ the Christian, road.

When a man has definitely ventured out upon this redemptive way of living he .will soon find that it calls

for all the patience and forebearance that he can command. The test of his continuation will be in his original re! ’-surrender; if this has been complete. net only will ho continue in spifa of opposition, but the vci> disappointments themselves twill have a reflex action upon his own life and character. Self-denying though he may have been, even to the extent of leaving everything that once he held dear, yet he will make the great discovery that like a discount there will grew up within his soul those qualities of meekness and humility that wili render his Christlike service even more acceptable to God and effective among men. Such p man. because of his meekness, will have inherited three Kingdoms—the Kingdom above, for God will rule his life —the Kingdom within, lor God will give him strength —and the Kingdom without, for he will have power among men. He will be in possession of all things because he has come to terms with life himself, his fellows and his God.

Such a man, says the Master, will have but one point of dissatisfaction—he will long to become more perfect himself, and this will issue in a passion for inner righteousness, a righteousness that God alone can impart. And what a world of difference there is between this God-given righteousness lwhich results in humility, and meekness, and the self-righteousness of those who seem to venerate it by an act of wili; the one leads to mercy, the other leads to pride. It is an infallible., sign of true righteousness that it results in an attitude of compassion towards those who fall; the passion becomes compassion, and the sinner is redeemed. This completes the circle of redemptive witness and such a life can be said to be co-ordinated by one dynamic principle, which will be like a golden thread running right through life. This oneness of aim and objective, and singleness of plan and purpose, can be likened to a man whose heart is pure—he will always be conscious of the presence of daily life; and he twill always have a sure sense of His abiding presence.

It remains only to be said that the' man who by the grace of God attained to this level of Christian living is privileged to serve God in a unique way, for he has qualified to be a bringer of peace into the strained relationships of men in both private and corporate life. Such a man will be recognised by the world as a Child of God and through him God will work to bring peace to the world. Jesus finally forewarned those who ■would tread this way that from the world it would earn misunderstanding and persecution, but that this should call not for remorse on their part but fer rejoicing and exultation, for it was a sure indication of the real effectiveness of their witness. “Sin” said Jesus, “always hits back in this way”; such seif-justification only indicates to us its final overthrow —so be exceedingly glad when persecution comes.”