AND now behold a lawyer rose
With tempting question vain,
And said: "Master, what must I do
Eternal life to gain?"
Jesus addressed His questioner
With manner frank and kind,
And by a parable He taught
His keen and doubting mind;
Told of the good Samaritan
Who succored a poor Jew;
Then, in conclusion, counseled him:
"Go thou and like wise do."
At Bethany.
AND as they went, He and the twelve,
Along the public road,
They entered into Bethany,
Where Martha, kind, abode;
Who hospitably welcomed Him
Into her house to rest,
Then hastened to provide for Him
Refreshments of the best.
Meanwhile her sister Mary,
Who long had wished to meet
The gracious Lord and hear His voice
Sat meekly at His feet.
But Martha, cumbered and perplexed
With anxious, household care,
And wishing for her welcome Guest
A banquet to prepare,
Entered the room where Jesus sat,
And said: "Lord, dost Thou know
My sister lets me serve alone?
Bid her some help bestow."
And Jesus answered in a tone
Of grace yet kind concern,
"O, Martha, Martha, good and true,
Thou something hast to learn.
"Thou careful art, and troubled much
All good things to enjoy,
And that thy friends may feast full well
Thy time and means employ;
"And yet there's but one needful thing,
Worthy thine utmost thought,
And that good part is Mary's choice,
Which from her take thou not."
The Lord's Prayer.
AGAIN, did Jesus journey on,
When, in a certain place,
He lifted up His voice in prayer
With unction, power and grace.
When He had ceased one of the twelve
Said: "Lord, teach us to pray,
As John taught those who followed him,
"We wish to do as they."
He taught them then that form of prayer
Which pure devotion is;
Known as The Lord's Prayer ever since,
Because the words are His.
Then on He went, and preached the truth,
Along each country road,
And taught the people, high and low,
The love and fear of God;
And told them how God answers prayer,
If prayer be warm and true—
With far more loving, swift response
Than earthly parents do.
The Woman with an Infirmity.
NOW, in a synagogue, as He
One Sabbath day did preach,
Behold a woman, quite bowed down
And listening to His speech,
A poor, afflicted sufferer,
Who bore with groans and tears,
A spirit of infirmity
For fully eighteen years.
Upon her Jesus laid His hand,
And, suddenly made straight,
She rose and glorified her God,
Whose mercies are so great.
The ruler of the synagogue,
Indignant that the Lord
Upon the Sabbath day had wrought
This healing by His word,
Unto the people said: "There are
Six days in which you may
Do all your works;—in them be healed—
Not on the Sabbath day."
Then Jesus answered: "Hypocrite,
Doth not each of you think
It right, on Sabbath day, to lead
His beast away to drink?
"And ought not this poor woman, who
Is Abraham's daughter, be
Made loose from pain she bore so long
Through Satan's tyranny?"
And all His adversaries were
Ashamed when thus He chid,
While others wondered and rejoiced
For all the works He did.
FINDING OF THE LOST SHEEP.
St. Matthew 18.12-14; St. Luke 15.3-7
The Man Born Blind.
WHEN, coming near His journey's end,
Jerusalem was nigh,
He, one day, saw a man, born blind,
As He was passing by.
And His disciples questioned Him:
"Master, whose sin hath done
Such evil as is this man's lot—
His parents' or his own?"
And Jesus answered: "Neither hath
His parents sinned nor he,
But that the works of God, in him,
Might be made plain to see.
"I must perform my Father's works
While it is day; the night
Is coming, when no man can work;
But I am the world's light,
"As long as I am in the world."
And when He thus did say
He spat upon the ground, and made
The spittle into clay;
And with it He anointed thick
The eyes that ne'er had seen,
Then said unto the man: "Go wash
In water pure and clean."
Then went the man obediently,
And washed his sightless eyes,
And instantly he saw all round,
With grateful, glad surprise.
The neighbors said: "Is this the man
Who begged, and could not see?"
Said others: "He is like to him."
But he said: "I am he."
They asked him how he gained his sight,
And he, with thankful voice,
Told all about the wondrous work
That made his heart rejoice.
And now unto the Pharisees
The happy man they brought;
And it was on the Sabbath day
This miracle was wrought.
Questioned by doubting Pharisees,
He did to them relate
The way by which he was relieved
From his unhappy state.
They said the man who gave him sight
A sinner, sure must be
Or He would not, on such a day,
Make a blind man to see.
Yet others said: "How can a man
Who is a sinner do
Such miracles?" The healed man said:
"He is a prophet true."
The Jews would not believe the man
Was ever blind at all;
And, to find out if it were so,
They did his parents call,
And asked them: "Is this man your son,
Who without sight was born?
How, then, doth he now see so well,
Yet blind until this morn?"
The parents said: "He is our son,
And was born blind, we know;
But know not how he gained his sight;
Himself the truth must show."
The Jews straightway recalled the man,
And said: "Give God the praise,
We know this man's a sinner, by
His Sabbath-breaking ways."
He answered them: "I know not if
This man a sinner be;
One thing I know, that whereas I
Was blind, yet now I see.
"We know that God regardeth not
A sinful man's appeal;
But to obedient worshippers
He will Himself reveal.
"Since first the world began can ye
Such wondrous power find
As that a mortal man could heal
The eyes of one born blind?
"And if this man were not of God,
Nor down from heaven came,
He could do nothing in my case—
All glory to His name!"
And then they answered, wrathfully:
"Thou, who believest thus,
Wast altogether born in sin,
And art thou teaching us?"
They cast him out; which Jesus heard,
And found him, when alone:
"Believ'st thou on the Son of God?"
He asked in gentle tone.
The man said: "Lord who is He, that
My faith to Him might bow?"
Said Jesus: "Thou beholdest Him,
He talketh with thee now."
Then he said: "Lord, I do believe,"
With fervent voice, and loud,
And bending forward to the earth,
In reverent worship bowed.
RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON.
St. Luke 15.15-32
The Raising of Lazarus.
OF Martha you've already heard,
Who entertained the Lord
When once He passed through Bethany,
And Mary heard His word.
They had a brother, Lazarus,
And Jesus loved the three,
And now the young man was brought low,
And very ill was he.
And his sisters sent a message
Unto the Lord, in haste:
"Behold, he whom Thou lovest well
Is sick and failing fast."
But Jesus said: "This sickness
Comes not that he must die,
But for God's glory, that His Son
Be glorified thereby.
"Our friend, Lazarus, sleepeth,"
Were the next words He spake:
"And I go hence that I may him
Out of his sleep awake."
Then said they: "Lord, if Laz'rus sleep
He surely shall do well"—
Thinking that it was natural rest
That o'er his eyelids fell.
Then He said, plainly: "Lazarus
Is cold and still in death.
But well, for your sakes, 'tis that I
Went not while he had breath.
"For so your faith shall be made bright,
That may be somewhat dim;
But now arise and leave this place,
That we may go to him."
Then Thomas said—called Didymus—
To the disciples all,
"Let's go, that we may die with Him,
If death should Him befall."
And now all hearts are sad and still,
And many throb with fear,
As Jesus and His followers
To Bethany draw near.
And those who meet Him tell the news
Of sorrow and of gloom,
That Lazarus has already lain
Three days within his tomb.
Now Bethany was very near
Unto Jerusalem;
And many to the sisters came,
To see, and comfort them.
And as they sat in silence,
Their hearts with grief bowed down,
The word was brought that Jesus
Was coming into town.
Then Martha went to meet the Christ,
And said unto Him: "Lord,
If Thou hadst been here, my brother
Had recovered by Thy word."
"Thy brother," thus the answer came,
"Shall rise again, I say."
"Yea, in the resurrection morn,"
She said, "at the last day."
"I am the resurrection, and
The Life," the Lord replied.
"He that upon my name believes
Shall live, though he had died."
"Oh, Lord," she answered fervently,
"I truly do believe
Thou art the Christ, the Son of God,
Whom this world should receive."
When Jesus saw the sisters' tears,
And tears of those around,
He groaned in spirit and was sad,
With troubled thoughts profound.
He said to them: "Where have ye laid
Your friend and mine to sleep?"
They say to Him: "Lord, come and see,"
Then all beheld Him weep.
And then they took away the stone
From where the dead was laid,
And Jesus lifted up His eyes,
And solemnly He said:
"Father I thank Thee that Thou hast
Heard my heart's secret prayer,
And I know that Thou dost always
Bow down to me Thine ear."
And when He thus had spoken,
He cried in accents loud:
"Lazarus, come forth," and the dead
Came forth, bound in his shroud,
And his face bound with a napkin;
His movements thus were slow;
But Jesus called out, with command:
"Loose him and let him go."
Then O, what deep and solemn joy
The sisters' hearts conceived!
While many of the Jews around
On Jesus Christ believed.
They Brought Little Children to Him.
ONE day the mothers, who believed,
Their little children brought,
And from the Master's gentle hand
A gracious blessing sought.
But the disciples, in their zeal,
Said: "Take these children home,
They're in the way of older ones,
Who for some good have come."
But Jesus loved the little lambs,
And much displeased was He,
Saying: "Suffer little children,
That they may come to me.
"For 'tis such innocents as these
That God's high kingdom win;
And all must have as simple hearts
Who gain a place therein."
Then gently lifting in His arms,
And folding to His breast,
He put His hands upon their heads,
And every infant blest.
The Young Ruler.
NOW, as He went forth in the way,
A certain ruler came;
"What shall I do," he frankly asked,
"That I may heaven claim?"
"Why callest thou me good?" the Lord
Enquired in gentle tone.
"There is none good in earth or heaven
But God, and God alone.
"Thou knowest the Commandments;
Keep them in deed and truth,
He answered and said: "Master, I've
Observed them from my youth."
Then Jesus looked at the young man,
And loved him in His heart,
And said: "One thing thou lackest yet,
Thou with thy wealth must part.
"Go sell, and give all to the poor,
And stored in heaven 'twill be,
Then come and cheerfully take up
The cross and follow me."
But the young man was sad at heart,
Unwilling to obey;
His riches he would not give up,
So, grieved, he went away.
And then to His disciples
The Lord said, grave but kind:
"How hardly shall the rich their way
Into God's kingdom find?
"It is easier for a camel
Through a needle's eye to go
Than he who loves his worldly goods
The bliss of heaven should know."
CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN
ST. MATTHEW 19:13-15; ST. MARK 10:13-16; ST. LUKE 18.15, 16.
Peter Questions Him.
AND Peter then began to say:
"Lo! we have given up all,
And followed and believed on Thee;
What shall to us befall?"
And Jesus answered, "Verily,
I say, no man hath left
Parents or brethren, wife or child,
Of home or lands bereft,
"To suffer for the Gospel's sake,
Who shall not find much more,
Both in this world and that to come,
Laid up for him in store.
"But they who will be first on earth
Shall be the last in heaven;
And they who here take lowest seats
Shall then have highest given."
Parable of the Laborers.
AND Jesus taught them as they walked,
By pointed parable,
That all shall have an equal right
Who serve the Master well.
He told them of a man who hired
Some laborers to work,
And promised each a penny, for
The day, from morn to dark.
Again at noon, and later still,
He others idle found,
And sent them into his vineyard
To work upon the ground.
And then again, and just before
The closing of the day,
He hired others who should get
A penny for their pay.
But when the eventide had come,
And the day's work was done,
The men were called, that each might get
Whatever was his own.
The last come were paid first, and each
A pleased expression wore.
But when the first were paid they thought
That they should get still more.
And when a penny each received,
They murmured at the pay,
Which was the same for one hour's work
As for the long, warm day.
The good man answered one of them:
"Friend, I do thee no wrong;
A penny I agreed to give—
That doth to thee belong.
"Take that thine is and go thy way,
I will to this last one
Give just the same as unto thee—
Is it not all my own?
"So shall the last be as the first,
And first as last to view;
For many be the called of God,
And yet, the chosen, few."
Foretells His Death.
THEN Jesus took the twelve apart,
And gravely said to them:
"Behold, we now are on our way
Up to Jerusalem,
"And all things that the prophets wrote
About the Son of Man,
Shall be accomplished in that place,
True to the ancient plan.
"And He shall be betrayed unto
The chief priests and the scribes,
Delivered up to the Gentiles,
And mocked with taunts and jibes;
"And they shall scourge and spit upon,
And crucify your Lord;
The third day He shall rise again,
According to His Word."
The apostles listened, yet these things
They could not realize;
The meaning of the truths they heard
Was hidden from their eyes.
The Request of James and John.
THEN came, as they were walking on,
The wife of Zebedee,
Who said: "Lord, what I most desire
Wilt Thou grant unto me?"
He said unto her: "What wilt thou?"
She answered: "That my sons
May at Thy right and left sit down,
Thy kingdom's greatest ones."
Then Jesus to the young men said:
"Ye know not what ye ask.
To drink my cup, my baptism bear,
Would be too hard a task."
They answered: "We are strong enough.'
Then He said: "Ye shall try
To drink my cup, my baptism bear,
While grace shall strength supply.
"But to sit at my right and left
I cannot give to you;
My Father doth reserve those seats
For whom He deems them due.
"Be not such lords as Gentiles are,
And who would highest be
Let him be servant to the rest,
And take a low degree.
"E'en as the Son of Man came not
To take a lofty place,
But to be minister, and give
His life to save the race."
Blind Bartimeus.
AND now the Lord His way must take
Through ancient Jericho.
The people crowd around Him there,
And make His progress slow.
And Bartimeus, blind and poor,
Was sitting by the way;
Another beggar, sad and blind,
Sat by his side that day.
And when they heard the tramping crowd,
And asked the reason why,
They learned that Christ of Nazareth
Was just then passing by.
Then each man cried aloud at once,
In tones of earnest plea:
"Jesus, Thou Son of David,
Have mercy upon me."
And Jesus had compassion on
Their dark and helpless plight,
And gently touched their eyes and said:
"Your faith doth give you sight."
Immediately their eyes were healed,
And both with joyful mind,
Followed the Master, praising God,
And all the people joined.
Zaccheus.
AND now, as Jesus passed along,
A rich man hasting came—
A chief among the publicans,
And Zaccheus by name.
Jesus he sought to see, as did
The people, one and all,
But could not overlook the crowd,
His stature was so small.
So he ran on before, and climbed
Into a sycamore tree;
That, perched above the surging throng,
He might the better see.
And when the Lord came near, He raised
His eyes, saw him, and said:
"Zaccheus, in thy house, to-day,
I will take rest and bread."
And then in haste the man came down,
And joyfully received
Into his house, which stood near by,
The Lord, whom He believed.
And when the crowd saw what was done,
To murmur they began,
That Jesus was content to be
Guest with a sinful man.
Yet Zaccheus heeded not, but stood,
And said unto the Lord:
"Behold, Lord, half of all my goods
I to the poor afford.
"And if I aught have taken,
Through falsehood to me told,
More than is right from any man,
I give it back fourfold."
And Jesus said: "Salvation is
To this house come to-day;
For this man is of Abraham's line,
Though having gone astray.
"For I, the Son of Man have come
Into this world below,
To seek the straying and the lost,
And save from guilt and woe."
Parable of the Pounds.
AND as the people all around
Attentively did hear,
Believing that God's kingdom would
Without delay appear;
He taught the listening company,
By parable profound,
How God expects His faithful ones
To occupy His ground.
And as He does commit to them
Ten pounds, or five, or one,
He will reward them, at the last,
By what they each have done.
And having finished His discourse,
Wisely instructing them,
He went before them, in the way,
Up to Jerusalem.
The Anointing at Bethany.
SIX days before the Passover
The Lord appeared again
In Bethany, where Lazarus dwelt,
And his good sisters twain.
There, by a supper in the house,
Their welcome was expressed,
And Martha served, but Lazarus sat
At table with the guest.
Then Mary came and took her place
Down at the Master's feet,
And broke an alabaster box,
Of odor very sweet.
And tenderly she did anoint
The feet of Jesus there;
And wiped them with the flowing locks
Of her luxuriant hair.
Then Judas, called Iscariot,
His sullen silence broke,
And of the woman's costly gift
Thus, with a sneer, he spoke:
"For three hundred pence, in money,
This ointment would have sold,
And that would feed and clothe the poor,
Who hungry are, and cold."
He said this, though he had no care
Or pity for the poor;
But was a thief, and had the bag,
And coveted the store.
Then Jesus said: "Let her alone;
Against my burial day
She poured this ointment on my feet,
Her last regards to pay.
"The humble poor ye always have
With you, to help their needs;
But me ye cannot always have
To show me loving deeds."
Now many people of the Jews
Soon knew that He was there,
And crowded in, that they might see,
And His discourse might hear.
Yet not for Jesus' sake alone
Had they the visit made,
But to see Lazarus, whom He
Had raised up from the dead.
Entry into Jerusalem.
THE morning rose with peaceful skies,
The first day of the week,
And Jesus forthwith went His way,
Jerusalem to seek.
He knew what waited Him—the thought
His lofty spirit thrilled—
That all His Father's' work be done,
And Scripture be fulfilled.
Along the road towards Olive's mount—
That oft-trod road—He went,
Then two of His disciples
Into Bethphage He sent;
And said: "Into the village go,
Where straightway ye shall see
An ass tied, and a colt with her;
Loose them and bring to me.
"If any may say aught to you,
This shall be your reply:
'The Lord hath need of them,' then he
Will cheerfully comply."
Then the disciples went their way,
And found, as they were bidden,
An ass tied, and a colt, whereon
No man had ever ridden.
And their owners, as they loosed them,
Enquired: "Why do ye so?"
They said: "The Lord hath need of them."
And then they let them go.
And they brought them unto Jesus,
And put on them their clothes;
And Jesus rode upon the colt,
While loud Hosannahs rose.
And multitudes of people spread
Their garments in the way,
While others strewed palm branches where
The Master rode that day.
And "Hosannah, Son of David!"
They cried with one accord,
"Blessed is He that cometh thus
In the name of the Lord!"
But the Pharisees said: "Master,
Rebuke this noisy shout."
Said Jesus: "Should they hold their peace,
The stones would then cry out."
Now they descend fair Olive's Mount,
Jerusalem appears,
And Jesus beholds the city,
And over it sheds tears,
Saying: "Hadst thou but known the things
Which belong to thy peace:
But now from thine eyes they are hid;
Thy day of hope shall cease."
The city's gate they enter now;
Much moved, the people say:
"Who is this?" Some answer: "Jesus,
Prophet of Galilee."
Then to the temple went the Lord,
To clear its spacious courts
Of those who bought and sold within
Its sanctified resorts.
And when the chief priests and scribes saw
His wondrous works and ways,
And children in the temple courts
Shouting these words of praise:
"Hosannah to great David's Son!"
They very angry were,
And said to Him: "These babbling cries
Around, dost thou not hear?"
And Jesus saith unto them: "Yea,
Have ye not read the Word:
'The mouths of babes and sucklings doth
Thy perfect praise accord?'"
The Pharisees, among themselves,
Said: "Do ye not perceive
That ye prevail naught while the world
Doth on this man believe?"
The Barren Fig-Tree.
BUT now the eventide was come,
And Jesus turned away,
And with His twelve disciples went
And lodged in Bethany.
Next morning, as the Lord returned,
Quite early in the day,
He wanted bread, and looking, saw
A fig-tree in the way.
Without delay He went to it,
To get some figs to eat;
But He found only leaves thereon,
Which are not good for meat.
And then the Master spoke to it—
Spoke to the useless tree—
And said: "Henceforth, forevermore
Let no fruit grow on thee."
Into the city then He went,
And in the temple taught,
And preached to all who thronged around
And His instructions sought.
But the chief priests and elders came,
And asked Him: "Who gave thee
Authority to do these things
That we both hear and see?"
And Jesus answered: "I, also,
Will ask one thing of you,
Which, if you tell me, I will tell
Who prompts the things I do.
"The baptism of John, whence was it,
From heaven, or of men?"
This question, which He asked of them,
They could not answer then.
For thus they reasoned with themselves:
"If we shall say from heaven,
He will say: 'Why not, then, to him
Was your attention given?'
"But yet, if we shall say of men,
The people's wrath we fear;
For all hold John a prophet true,
And his name they revere."
And so they said: "We cannot tell."
He answered: "Nor to thee
Tell I by what authority
I do the things you see."
And then, as evening fell, the Lord
With His disciples went
Unto the mount of Olives, where
The night they often spent.
And in the morning they returned,
And lo! as they passed by,
They saw the fig-tree in the way,
All withered up and dry.
And Peter then remembered well:
"Master, behold," he said,
"The fruitless tree which Thou didst curse
Is withered all and dead."
And Jesus, answering, said to them:
"Verily, I say to you,
Have faith in God and doubt Him not,
And ye shall such things do.
"And who shall to this mountain say,
In firm, believing faith,
'Be thou cast forth into the sea,'
It shall be as he saith.
"And whatsoever ye desire
And ask for when ye pray,
Believe that ye receive the gift;
It shall be yours straightway.
"And when you pray forgive all those
Who have offended you,
That so your Heavenly Father may
Forgive the wrongs you do."
The Law of Love.
NOW, "Master," said a Pharisee,
Thus tempting Him again:
"Which commandment is the greatest
That the law doth contain?"
Jesus said: "Thou shalt love the Lord
Thy God with all thy heart,
And all thy soul and all thy mind—
This is the first great part.
"And the second is like to it:
Thou shalt thy neighbor love
In the same way thou lov'st thyself;
By deeds this new law prove.
"Upon these two commandments—
Within the spirit wrought—
Hang all the law that Moses wrote,
And all the prophets taught."
The Widow's Mites.
AND now the Lord was sitting where
He could the people see
As they cast their gifts of money
Into the treasury.
And many rich cast in large sums;
Then came a widow, poor,
And she threw in two mites, which make
One farthing, and no more.
Then the Lord called His disciples
And said to them: "Verily,
This poor widow has cast the most
Into the treasury.
"For all they, of their abundance,
Offered, some less, some more,
But she, of want and penury,
Did cast in all her store."
THE WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS.
St. Matthew 25:1-13
The Hypocrites.
JESUS spoke to the multitude,
That gathered at His feet:
"The scribes and Pharisees do sit
In Moses' sacred seat.
"Do, therefore, what they bid you do,
But follow not their way;
For they, themselves, keep not the law,
Nor do they what they say.
"For they bind heavy burdens
For other men to bear;
But will not give a helping hand
To ease another's care.
"And all they do is to be seen
Of men they daily meet;
Their outward garments they adorn,
Down to their very feet;
"And love the upper rooms at feasts,
And greetings in the crowd;
And the chief seats in synagogues
And titles make them proud.
"But be not ye called 'Rabbi,' for
To Christ that name is given;
And call no man father on earth;
Your Father is in heaven.
"Nor be ye masters called, for One,
Even Christ, your Master is,
And he that would be greatest, let
The servant's place be his.
"And whoso shall exalt himself
Shall be low and abased,
And he that humbles himself shall
To lofty seat be raised."