As they were going out of the house the patient called Philip back. He
went in again and the man said, "Mr. Strong, I wish you would tell Mr.
Winter all about it."
"Would you feel easier?" Philip asked gently.
"Yes."
"All right; I'll tell him--don't worry. Brother Man, take good care of
him. I shall not be back until late." He kissed his wife and joined Mr.
Winter, and together they made the round of the district.
As they were going through the court near by the place where Philip had
been attacked, he told the mill-owner the story. It affected him
greatly; but as they went on through the tenements the sights that met
him there wiped out the recollection of everything else.
It was all familiar to Philip; but it always looked to him just as
terrible. The heartache for humanity was just as deep in him at sight of
suffering and injustice as if it was the first instead of the hundredth
time he had ever seen them. But to the mill-owner the whole thing came
like a revelation. He had not dreamed of such a condition possible.
"How many people are there in our church that know anything about this
plague spot from personal knowledge, Mr. Winter?" Philip asked after
they had been out about two hours.
"I don't know. Very few, I presume."
"And yet they ought to know about it. How else shall all this sin and
misery be done away?"
"I suppose the law could do something," replied Mr. Winter, feebly.
"The law!" Philip said the two words and then stopped. They stumbled
over a heap of refuse thrown out into the doorway of a miserable
structure. "Oh, what this place needs is not law and ordinances and
statutes so much as live, loving Christian men and women who will give
themselves and a large part of their means to cleanse the souls and
bodies and houses of this wretched district. We have reached a crisis in
Milton when Christians must give themselves to humanity! Mr. Winter, I
am going to tell Calvary Church so next Sunday."
Mr. Winter was silent. They had come out of the district and were
walking along together toward the upper part of the city. The houses
kept growing larger and better. Finally they came up to the avenue where
the churches were situated--a broad, clean, well-paved street with
magnificent elms and elegant houses on either side and the seven large,
beautiful church-buildings with their spires pointing upward, almost all
of them visible from where the two men stood. They paused there a
moment. The contrast, the physical contrast was overwhelming to Philip,
and to Mr. Winter, coming from the unusual sights of the lower town, it
must have come with a new meaning.
A door in one of the houses near opened. A group of people passed in.
The glimpse caught by the two men was a glimpse of bright,
flower-decorated rooms, beautiful dresses, glittering jewels, and a
table heaped with luxuries of food. It was the Paradise of Society, the
display of its ease, its soft enjoyment of pretty things, its careless
indifference to humanity's pain in the lower town. The group of
new-comers went in, a strain of music and the echo of a dancing laugh
floated out into the street, and then the door closed.
The two men went on. Philip had his own reason for accompanying the
other home, and Mr. Winter was secretly glad of his presence, for he was
timid at night alone in Milton. He broke a long silence by saying:
"Mr. Strong, if you preach to the people to leave such pleasure as that
we have just glanced at to view or suffer such things as are found in
the tenements, you must expect opposition. I doubt if they will
understand your meaning. I know they will not do any such thing. It is
asking too much."
"And yet the Lord Jesus Christ 'although He was rich, for our sakes
became poor, that we, through His poverty, might be rich.' Mr. Winter,
what this town needs is that kind of Christianity--the kind that will
give up the physical pleasures of life to show the love of Christ to
perishing men. I believe it is just as true now as when Christ lived,
that unless they are willing to renounce all that they have they cannot
be his disciples."
"Do you mean literally, Mr. Strong?" asked the rich man after a little.
"Yes, literally, sometimes. I believe the awful condition of things and
souls we have witnessed to-night will not be any better until many, many
of the professing Christians in this town and in Calvary Church are
willing to leave, actually to leave their beautiful homes and spend the
money they now spend in luxuries for the good of the weak and poor and
sinful."
"Do you think Christ would preach that if he was in Milton?"
"I do. It has been burned into me that He would. I believe He would say
to the members of Calvary Church, 'If any man love houses and money and
society and power and position more than Me, he cannot be My disciple.
If any man renounceth not all that he hath he cannot be My disciple.'
And then he would test the entire church by its willingness to renounce
all these physical things. And if He found the members willing, if He
found that they loved Him more than the money or the power, He might not
demand a literal giving up. But he would say to them, 'Take My money and
My power, for it is all Mine, and use them for the building up of my
kingdom.' He would not then perhaps command them to leave literally
their beautiful surroundings. But, then, in some cases, I believe He
would. Oh, yes!--sacrifice! sacrifice! What does the Church in America
in this age of the world know about it? How much do church-members give
of themselves nowadays to the Master? That is what we need--self, the
souls of men and women, the living sacrifices for these lost children
down yonder! Oh, God!--to think of what Christ gave up! And then to
think of how little His Church is doing to obey His last command to go
and disciple the nations!"
Philip strode through the night almost forgetful of his companion. By
this time they had reached Mr. Winter's house. Very little was said by
the mill-owner. A few brief words of good-night, and Philip started for
home. He went back through the avenue on which the churches stood. When
he reached Calvary Church he went up on the steps, and obeying an
instant impulse he kneeled down on the upper step and prayed. Great sobs
shook him. They were sobs without tears--sobs that were articulate here
and there with groans of anguish and desire. He prayed for his loved
church, for the wretched beings in the hell of torment, without God and
without hope in the world, for the spirit of Christ to come again into
the heart of the church and teach it the meaning and extent of
sacrifice.
When he finally arose and came down the steps it was very late. The
night was cold, but he did not feel it. He went home. He was utterly
exhausted. He felt as if the burden of the place was wearing him out and
crushing him into the earth. He wondered if he was beginning to know
ever so little what a tremendous invitation that was: "Come unto me all
ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." All! The
weary, sinful souls in Milton were more than he could carry. He shrank
back before the amazing spectacle of the mighty Burden-Bearer of the sin
of all the world, and fell down at his feet and breathed out the words,
"My Lord and my God!" before he sank into a heavy sleep.
When the eventful Sunday came he faced the usual immense concourse. He
did not come out of the little room until the last moment. When he
finally appeared his face bore marks of tears. At last they had flowed
as a relief to his burden, and he gave the people his message with a
courage and a peace and a love born of direct communion with the Spirit
of Truth.
As he went on, people began to listen in amazement. He had begun by
giving them a statement of facts concerning the sinful, needy, desperate
condition of life in the place. He then rapidly sketched the contrast
between the surroundings of the Christian and the non-Christian people,
between the working-men and the church-members. He stated what was the
fact in regard to the unemployed and the vicious and the ignorant and
the suffering. And then with his heart flinging itself out among the
people, he spoke the words which aroused the most intense astonishment:
"Disciples of Jesus," he exclaimed, "the time has come when our Master
demands of us some token of our discipleship greater than the giving of
a little money or the giving of a little work and time to the salvation
of the great problem of modern society and of our own city. The time has
come when we must give ourselves. The time has come when we must
renounce, if it is best, if Christ asks it, the things we have so long
counted dear, the money, the luxury, the houses, and go down into the
tenement district to live there and work there with the people. I do not
wish to be misunderstood here. I do not believe our modern civilization
is an absurdity. I do not believe Christ if he were here to-day would
demand of us foolish things. But this I do believe He would
require--ourselves. We must give ourselves in some way that will mean
real, genuine, downright and decided self-sacrifice. If Christ were here
He would say to some of you, as He said to the young man, 'Sell all you
have and give to the poor, and come, follow me.' And if you were
unwilling to do it He would say you could not be His disciples. The test
of discipleship is the same now as then; the price is no less on account
of the lapse of two thousand years. Eternal life is something which has
only one price, and that is the same always.
"What less can we do than give ourselves and all we have to the
salvation of souls in this city? Have we not enjoyed our pleasant things
long enough? What less would Christ demand of the church to-day than the
giving up of its unnecessary luxuries, the consecration of every dollar
to His glory and the throwing of ourselves on the altar of His service?
Members of Calvary Church, I solemnly believe the time has come when it
is our duty to go into the tenement district and redeem it by the power
of personal sacrifice and personal presence. Nothing less will answer.
To accomplish this great task, to bring back to God this great part of
His kingdom, I believe we ought to spend our time, our money, ourselves.
It is a sin for us to live at our pleasant ease, in enjoyment of all
good things, while men and women and children by the thousand are dying,
body and soul, before our very eyes in need of the blessings of
Christian civilization in our power to share with them. We cannot say it
is not our business. We cannot excuse ourselves on the plea of our own
business. This is our first business, to love God and man with all our
might. This problem before us calls for all our Christian discipleship.
Every heart in this church should cry out this day, 'Lord, what wilt
Thou have me to do?' And each soul must follow the commands that he
honestly hears. Out of the depths of the black abyss of human want and
sin and despair and anguish and rebellion in this place and over the
world rings in my ear a cry for help that by the grace of God I truly
believe cannot be answered by the Church of Christ on earth until the
members of that Church are willing in great numbers to give all their
money and all their time and all their homes and all their luxuries and
all their accomplishments and all their artistic tastes and all
themselves to satisfy the needs of the generation as it looks for the
heart of the bleeding Christ in the members of the Church of Christ.
Yea, truly, except a man is willing to renounce all that he hath, he
cannot be His disciple. Does Christ ask any member of Calvary Church to
renounce all and go down into the tenement district to live Christ
there? Yes, all.
"My beloved, if Christ speaks so to you to-day, listen and obey.
Service! Self! That is what He wants. And if He asks for all, when all
is needed, what then? Can we sing that hymn with any Christian honesty
of heart unless we interpret it literally?--
"'Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all!'"
It would partly describe the effect of this sermon on Calvary Church to
say what was a fact that when Philip ended and then kneeled down by the
side of the desk to pray, the silence was painful and the intense
feeling provoked by his remarkable statements was felt in the appearance
of the audience as it remained seated after the benediction. But the
final result was yet to show itself; that result was not visible in the
Sunday audience.
The next day Philip was unexpectedly summoned out of Milton to the
parish of his old college chum. His old friend was thought to be dying.
He had sent for Philip. Philip, whose affection for him was second only
to that which he gave his wife, went at once. His friend was almost
gone. He rallied when Philip came, and then for two weeks his life
swung back and forth between this world and the next. Philip stayed on
and so was gone one Sunday from his pulpit in Milton. Then the week
following, as Alfred gradually came back from the shore of that other
world, Philip, assured that he would live, returned home.
During that ten days' absence serious events had taken place in Calvary
Church. Philip reached home on Wednesday. He at once went to the house
and greeted his wife and the Brother Man, and William, who was now
sitting up in the large room.
He had not been home more than an hour when the greatest dizziness came
over him. He sat up so much with his chum that he was entirely worn out.
He went upstairs to lie down on his couch in his small study. He
instantly fell asleep and dreamed that he was standing on the platform
of Calvary Church, preaching. It was the first Sunday of a month. He
thought he said something the people did not like. Suddenly a man in the
audience raised a revolver and fired at him. At once, from over the
house, people aimed revolvers at him and began to fire. The noise was
terrible, and in the midst of it he awoke to feel to his amazement that
his wife was kneeling at the side of his couch, sobbing with a heartache
that was terrible to him; he was instantly wide awake and her dear head
clasped in his arms. And when he prayed her to tell him the matter, she
sobbed out the news to him which her faithful, loving heart had
concealed from him while he was at the bedside of his friend. And even
when the news of what the church had done in his absence had come to him
fully through her broken recital of it, he did not realize it until she
placed in his hands the letter which the church had voted to be written,
asking him to resign his pastorate of Calvary Church. Even then he
fingered the envelope in an absent way, and for an instant his eyes left
the bowed form of his wife and looked out beyond the sheds over to the
tenements. Then he opened the letter and read it.