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4 1 Il | igj|g||||| j |||| Efl Hwkß I Hwl ' - i' * IflO WBIw WSS lilfflEßSW Patchwork and Purity. “Then came to Him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy dis ciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast. No man putteth a piece of new cloth into an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish; but they put new evine into new bottles, and both are pre served.” Matt. 9:14-17. In our present study we find Jesus in the house of Matthew, sitting at meat. During the progress of the feast the disciples of John came to Him with a very important question: Why do we and th*. Pharisees fast oft, but Thy disciples fast not?” The question is a good one, although it is put as a crit icism upon Jesus. At the beginning of the feast Jesus was criticised by the scribes and Pharisees who made complaint that He was eating with publicans and sinners. Now the criticism is from an entirely different source, one at which we are surprised. It is from the disciples of John the Baptist. There was nothing in common between the disci ples of John and the Pharisees. They both looked with a kind of contempt upon the religion of each other, still they were ready to join in the common criticism of Christ. How often this is the case. I have seen the very same thing in thousands of ways. Men who have nothing in the world in common, yet they can unite in opposition to a common enemy. I must think that John’s disciples were jealous of Jesus. John had a rugged, strong personality which bound his followers to him in a very peculiar manner; and I think they were loathe to leave him and follow Jesus. Certainly this was not John’s fault, for all the time lie insisted that he was not the Christ. Some of his followers, however, refused to believe this, and continued to follow him for a long time. In deed, it is said that there were followers of John all along until about the second century. It was from this element of John’s disciples that the criticism came. How easy it is for the devil of jealousy to work. I believe he is more powerful in this form than in any other. Sometimes it al most seems that he is in this form all-powerful. Nothing seems to satisfy him, or defeat him. He will ruin a home that might otherwise be happy; destroy a Church, and disrupt society. No argu ment will satisfy him; reason he knows nothing about, and cares nothing for. Christian people ought to be careful, how they tamper with this monster. When he enters he ought quickly to be shown the door. If he is allowed to stay at all he will wreck and ruin. Better a thous and times to be blind entirely, than to see things that are not. Better fail to see some things that are, than to go to pieces over things that never will AAA Le n G . Broughton be. Jealousy is truly a hydra-headed monster. He has no regard for rank or station, and when he comes he comes to destroy. The Question of Abstention. There is another sense in which the question of these disciples of John is a good one. It had to do with the matter of abstention which was very vital to these disciples. The fact is, their whole religion was summed up in negatives. Their spiritual hori zon was exceedingly limited. The strongest thing about their religion was its prohibition. Sinai’s “Thou shalt nots” was still the guidepost in the pathway of holiness. May this not be true of many of us? Is not the chief characteristic in the religion of many good peo ple not doing* things? Some will not eat pork; some will not wear feathers; some will not wear jew elry. It is “not! not! not!” their whole life is made up of nots. They are like the South Georgia pines, only not half so valuable. I feel very sorry for such people. They have got ten hold of the wrong conception of Christ. The* have a half truth, which only serves to make them miserable. They will never do anybody any special harm, but will fail to accomplish any great good. Abstinence is a good principle where it relates to things that are positively wrong, or where it re lates to directions that lead to the wrong. But ab stinence is not the Christian’s end: it is the end of the Pharisee. It is very hard for these “riotty” Christians to keep from becoming Pharisaical. They are so strongly convicted themselves that they take the liberty of censuring in terms sometimes very ug ly those who differ with them. Generally such con tentions lead to confusion rather than to good. They are for the most part about things that are small and immaterial. A man, for example, who is bald can easily persuade himself to criticise another man who wears long hair. A woman who has no special fondness for jewelry can easily remark upon another woman who wears it. These things ought always to be taken into account when we are passing judgment upon the religion of other people. The religion of Christ is not expressed in nega tives. It has them, but they do not form the most conspicuous part of our creed of life. Paul’s Creed. Paul had the right conception. His creed was practically summed up in one sentence: “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not 1, but Christ liveth in me.” A great many good people never get any further than the first part of this confession: they are cruci fied. Go to them with an invitation to a feast, and they say, “No, I am crucified.” Suggest a few colors on the dress, something that will make bright er and happier the world, and the answer is “No, I am crucified.” Suggest to such a woman that she wear a rose in her hair, something that might, per haps, brighten her up a good deal, and her answer is, “No, I am crucified.” There are other Christians who live altogether in the second clause of Paul’s creed, without any re gard whatever to the first part of it. Suggest to them anything like abstinence, and they say, “No, I live. My religion is life. I believe in having a good time, and getting all the pleasure out of life I can. ” Now both of these are right as far as they go. There are some things that the Christian must not do. He must not do anything that is in itself wrong; and he must not do anything that takes him in the wrong direction. On the other hand it must be remembered that activity is essential. We have got to do as well as don’t. All the don’t Chris- The Golden Age for March 8, 1906. tians in the world will not make a Church go; there must be workers as well as “won’ters.” Then, like the apostle Paul, we want to unite them by the plus sign of the cross. “Not I, but Christ liveth in me.” This is the secret of a happy and useful Christian life. The man who can adopt this creed and live it will not have to go to some human teacher to get a code for life. He will not have to have somebody lay down a series of rules for him to live by. The Children of the Bridechamber. But Christ has an answer to this question: “Can the children of the bridechamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast.” It will be seen here that Jesus deals with the ob ject of fasting. In the Old Testament dispensation the object of fasting w’as prophetic. The people fasted looking for Him who was to come, just as we in partaking of the Lord’s supper today look for Him to return. The disciples of John incorporated this custom with the same object in view, hence the Master’s reference to the mourning children of the bridechamber. The Bridegroom is now come, why should there be mourning? It was well to mourn for Him during His tarrying, but now that He is here, let mourning cease. Instead of fast, let there be a feast. “But,” He continues, “the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, then shall they fast.” This refers to His departure from Oli vet, following His death and resurrection. It is the first hint that He has given of such plan. Now one asks, “What of the present place of fast ing? Is the Christian Church to observe days of fast ing?” This depends entirely upon the object and spirit of the fast. If it be observed as a kind of penance, a means to gain the sympathy and love of Jesus, then most emphatically I say, “no.” Pity the soul that has not had a clearer vision of Jesus than that! Such an one is in the same catalogue with the monk who shaves one side of his head, or the man who climbs the holy stairway upon his bare knee. I have seen them doing this thing in Rome by the hundreds. I have seen men not only climb ing with the bare knee, but licking every step as they climbed. 'Such practice is an abomination. It is utterly false teaching. Jesus Christ is not to be bought by any such penal servitude. If on the other hand, fasting is observed from physical reasons, to give the soul more freedom in prayer and meditation, then it is well. But even then it is not a set, indispensable fact. Such would make if bind instead of liberate. The fasting that is helpful is that which is spontaneous. I like such a fast. There are times when one feels like he can not enjoy the company of the nearest and dearest friend; when the daintiest meal canot be relished; when books and papers must go; when even prayer is prayerless; such a time is the time for fasting. Oh, soul, dost thou long for such closeness of fellow ship? Hast thou lost the all-mastering sense of His presence? Wouldst thou bring back the days of long ago? Then go to thy place of fasting, and with everything else put out of thy life, feast awhile on Jesus. New Cloth and New Wine. But Jesus has yet another answer, and He gives it in two striking illustrations. They both mean the same thing: “No man putteth a new piece of cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old wine-skins; else they break, and the wine run*