God's Gentlemen.

Waiapu Church Gazette, 1 October 1910, Page 5

God's Gentlemen.

Sermon preached by the Bishop of Waiapu on Sunday, September 4th, m the Cathedral, Napier. Ephesians v., 14: "Awake, thou that sleepesfc, and Christ shall give thee light." In a recent number of the Hibbert Journal appears an article which has not only created some stir m England, but has also led to action ; it is called "An Open Letter to English Gentlemen." It is an appeal to the well-to-do and leisured classes, the younger members especially, to do something for their country. It is a reminder of the great privileges of birth, education, social position, environment, and wealth, and the burden of the article is : " And what are you doing m return for it; all 1" " What are you doing for England which has done so much for you V " What use are you making of the talents and opportunities entrusted to you V The writer addresses himself "to men of gentle birth, of an inherited courtesy and courage, good sports*

men, incapable of dishonesty, lying with difficulty, unassuming, undemonstrative, plain, blunt, loyal." " It is roughly estimated," he writes, " that there are m Great Britain 1£ millions who can be classed as rich, 3^ millions who are comfortably off, 38 millions of poor, of whom some 12 or 13 millions are m constant need." Again he says : "The true course of English patriotism should take a line contrary to the material interests of the more fortunate of the patriots. I am sure, and it is the heart of my stumbling message to you gentlemen, that no man can at this crisis serve his country m the truest sense except m a spirit of service or of readiness to sacrifice self. Not what to get, or what to escape, but what to give — that is the spirit that shall re-create England." Once again : " Vitally important though it be, it is less important to defend England than to have an England that is worth defending. Gentlemen, if a picked hundred of your breed, if a score, if a dozen, made it the work of your lives to face this problem ; if you entered upon this work, not for the sake of what you could make out of it, but of what you could put into it ; not for what you could get, but for what you could give — you would take rank as builders of Empire beyond your highest dreams." A leading article m one of our New Zealand papers, commenting on this particular article m the Hibbert Journal, concludes with the words : " Well would it be for the Dominion were her people to realise that not what to get, or what' to escape, but what to give — that is the spirit that will re-create New Zealand." Dear friends, the writer of the article has touched, and touched with admirable taste, upon one of the most serious features m the modern life, not only of England, but of every part of the Empire. We are well aware that there are many men and women m all parts of the world who will turn a deaf ear to every appeal made to them to realise the responsibilities of their position, and will soothe their consciences with the feeble and ill-mannered excuse, that it is only another attempt on the part of the " have-nots " to plunder the "haves." To-day, I appeal to you, not from the standpoint of the writer of the article exactly, but from the standpoint of the same underlying principle

m its even deeper signification. What are the spiritually rich doing for the spiritually poor ? What are we who have been brought up m Christian homes, and nurtured and sheltered by Christian parents, and have realised something of tke meaning and blessing of religion — what are we doing to really help those who have had no such opportunities, no such environment, no such education? Religion is a trust just as wealth is a trust, and we have no more right to enjoy the luxuries of religion whilst men are starving for want of real spiritual help, than we have to revel m the material luxuries of life whilst men and women are starving for food.

We need to awake from our slumbers and allow Christ to enlighten our souls ; we need to face, far more than we do, our sacred responsibilities. We occupy too much time m fighting for our rights, and too little m facing our duties. No honest man can reregard the present state of religion or moral's as satisfactory — m many cases it is deplorable, and will continue to be deplorable unless our present standard of religion is raised. Too much of our religion is perfunctory and Christless, and unless we are prepared and willing to come back to first principles, the real power of religion m our midst is gone.

I appeal to you as "God's gentlemen," as the aristocracy of Jesus. "A Christian," says Hare m his suggestive book, "Guesses at Truth," "is God Almighty's gentleman," and perhaps what we sorely need m these days and m our Church life is more of the manners and courtesy and sense of honour of the true gentleman. Mr. Welsh m his book entitled "God's Gentlemen" says: "Christ has set the fashion for a perfect manhood and for a perfect manner of life. What calm dignity, springing from a heart tranquil and btrong ! What self-restraint when baited by unmannerly opponents ! What tender regard, even up to His last moments on the Cross, for womanhood and motherhood ! What delicacy of feeling when unblushing men dragged before Him a frail sister and her impure life, at which He could but stoop m modest shame \ What considerate regard for the lonely widow whose only son was being carried to his grave! How ready to 'lose' Himself and serve, even unto washing the Disciples' feet ! How deeply was He troubled when at a dinner He saw

the guests pushing and contending for the best seats ! When He went into the house of wealthy Simon the Pharisee, and His host failed to show Him the usual courtesies of Oriental life, and when the woman who was a sinner stole m, and with her tears and hair and ointment performed the omitted service upon His feet and head, how graciously He honoured her modest devotion, and how deftly He rebuked His host's lack of courtesy !" Dear friends, how mujh we Christians need to remodel our lives upon the pattern of Christ, the perfect gentleman ! How far many of us have drifted from real courtesy, true forbearance, th^ regard for the feelings of others, the realisation that what is lawful is not always right or expedient, and the claims of service ! How many of us are falling short of the standard of conduct which befits the aristocracy of God ! As Christian gentlemen, we have a high standard to maintain, a noble example to exhibit, and a pure and chivalrous life to live. We have an honoured name, we profess to be followers of the Perfect Gentleman, and the world judges of the value of His religion by the lives and conduct of those who profess and call themselves Christians. It may be that the modern idea of Christianity is not worth preserving ; it may be that only a gr^at spiritual revolution can save vital religion and separate it from the formal and nominal and mechanical, but m the meantime I appeal to you to face the question honestly : "Am I really living as God's gentleman 1 " Am i helping niy household, my fellowchurchmen, my fellow-countrymen by my own example, by my words, by the way m which I speak of sacred things, by my own deeds 1 Am I manly enough, courageous enough, to stand up. for the honour of my God ia the face of worldly opposition 1 Supposing that I can persuade my conscience that there is no harm m gambling, m turning the Lord's Day into a day of pleasure, and so on, am I prepared to accept the canon of true gentlemanly conduct which compels me to consider the feelings of others, even the prejudices of others, and to forego my own rights for the sake of others 1 I can understand the vulgar -worldling flaunting his own .wishes m the face of others, but J

cannot understand how a Christian gentleman can do so. God grant that the Mission will help to lead us back of nearer to the Master who pleased not Himself, who came with the blue blood of the Jewish aristocracy m His veins to live amongst us as one that serveth, to suffer and die for us, and to show us the true ideal of life, the true ideal of Christian conduct, the true ideal of Christian courtesy ! Dear friends, the Missioners come to us as our invited guests, the Missioners are sent to bring to us a message from God, and the very least that we can do is to welcome them by our presence when they deliver that message, and try to assimilate and act upon that message. If the Mission helps us to see more clearly what God expects from His own gentlemen, it will be a Mission indeed. "Awake thou that sleepest, and Christ shall give thee light."