And no wonder; for at Easter we cannot but feel that our Lord, though triumphant and glorious, and promising us a share in his triumph and glory, still is separated from us. He has passed the portals of death, he has risen from the grave, he has put on immortality. We cannot follow him where he has gone till we have freed ourselves from all the stains of earth, till we have been purified and washed by penance in his Precious Blood. He has passed from mortal to immortal life, and it is the raising of the mortal to the immortal, of earth to heaven, that Easter celebrates. And this, though indeed it is the object of all our hope, is so high that we, sinners that we are, cannot fully make it our present joy. But Christmas is heaven come down to earth. It is the God of heaven condescending to us; taking our weakness upon him, sympathizing with us, and asking us for sympathy and love. He hides his majesty and glory; he veils the splendor of his face; he puts aside all that could distinguish him from ourselves. He invites us to come to him with out fear; he asks only that, sinful though we be, we should try to love him as he loves us. Christmas is the sight of the Creator begging for the love of his creatures, and humbling himself that he may obtain it; that is the reason why it goes to the heart of all who have any heart to give.
Let us then, in this happy season, enter into this joy which is the cause of all the rest which we have, which is so easy for us, which has come to our doors, and only asks that it should be let in. But let the love which goes with it be not a mere passing feeling, to bear no fruit in our lives. Let it bring us indeed to him who has come down to us; let our joy be crowned and perfected by a real return of our hearts to him who has done so much to win them; let us receive him in deed and in truth in his holy sacraments, and never let him go again.
Sermon XIV.
New Year's Eve.
Be sober.
2 Timothy. iv. 5.
Brethren, those two little words of St. Paul in the epistle of to-day contain excellent advice, especially to-day, on the eve of the new year. How much woe it would hinder, how many families it would save from ruin, how many souls from hell, could they be made a common watchword in any large city in this country during the year 1883!
But do you wish me to tell you the easiest way to be sober? It is to take the total abstinence pledge. What does a man do when he takes the pledge? Just what the farmer does who, seeing that his fence is about high enough to keep the cattle out of the grain, makes it just one rail higher; for he knows that there may be one beast wilder than the rest who will leap over an ordinary fence. So a prudent man, seeing the ravages of the vice of intemperance among his friends, dreads some taint of it hidden in his own nature; dreads some moment of weakness during the passing of the convivial glass, or during some depression of spirits or foolish mirth. So he puts all danger out of the question by the pledge. For if there be danger from an inherited appetite or from a convivial disposition, or from prosperity or adversity, there is no mistake about this: the man who does not drink a single drop cannot drink too much.
But again: what does a man do who takes the pledge? Just what the kind mother does who wants to induce her sick child to take the bitter medicine—she tastes it herself. The pledge is taken by a man who may not need it for his own sake, but who loves another who does need it. It is taken in order to give good example. It is not only a preventive for one's self, but for those who may be led by our influence. It is one great means that fathers and mothers use in order to save their children from the demon of drunkenness. Oh! how pleasing to God are those parents who practise total abstinence by way of good example! Oh! how blessed is the home from which intoxicating drink has been utterly banished! How wise are those parents who thus teach their children that intoxicating drink, though it may be used with innocence, must always be used with caution! Children reared in such a home know well enough how to avoid treating, frequenting saloons, and convivial habits of every sort. Such parents not only obey the Apostle's injunction, "Be sober," but do the very best possible thing to induce those whom they love to obey it also.
But once more: what does a man do who takes the pledge? He offers something to God in atonement for the sin of drunkenness. And herein is the best use of the pledge. It combines all the other good purposes of it. It puts the top rail of double safety on the fence that keeps the beast out of the garden of the soul; it sets up the strong inducement of good example; but more than all it consecrates everything to God by uniting it to our Lord's thirst on the cross.