Zurich Herald, 1938-02-03, Page 31 Sunday School
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Lessen
♦. ... p44. ,
LESSON VI
CHALLENGING THE SOCIAL
ORDER — Mark 2:13.22
Golden Text -- "I came not to call
the righteous, but sinners."
Mark 2:17.
The Lesson in Its Setting
'.pima — Carly summer, A.D. 28.
Place — The teaching recorded in
valise 13 and the call of Matthew took
place along the shore of Galilee, pre -
suitably near the city of Capernaum;
the feast given by Matthew in honor
of Jesus took place in Matthew's home
in the city of Capernaum, at the north-
ern end of the Sea of Galilee.
"And he went forth again by the sea
to the sower, the lily, the bird. He
custom, when teaching, was to point
to: the sower, the liliy, the bird. He
is no pale recluse emerging from a
library to instruct. "And all the muti-
tuti'e resorted unto him, and he then
taught them."
A Follower of Jesus •
"And as the passed by, he saw Levi,
the son of Alphaeus." This man is cer-
tainly to be identified with Matthew,
whtctih is the name he uses in his own
Gos'pei in referring to himself (9:9). A
number of wren in the New Testament
hail two names; generally one was
used in speaking of their life before
Christ found them, and the other of
their life after they became disciples
of Christ, though not exclusively so.
"Sitting at the place of toll." Matt-
hew was a tax -collector, located in a
city through which passed a great
deal of traffic, long caravans carrying.
the rich goods of the Orient down into
Egypt, and returning to Mesopotamia
laden with Egypt's treasures and agri-
culttPal products, There was a tax
and duty upon all imports and exports
and on all that was bought and sold,
bridge -phoney, road -money, harbour -
dues, town -dues, etc. The taxes of Ju-
daea were levied by publicans in. Ju-
daea, and paid directly to the govern-
ment, the officials being appointed by
the provincials themselves. The publi-
cans were chosen from the native pop-
ulation bee fuse they would know the
ways of the people better. For this
positien they ltacl .to pay their super-
iors a certain sum, and everything
else they could squeeze out of the
people would go into their pockets.
Jesus rt' Nazareth, the carpenter's
son, knew Matthew the publican quite
well. Perhaps only too well. He had
often been in Mathew's•tollbooth with
his mother's taxes and with other
poor people's taxes. "And he saith
unto him, Follow me." Possibly Matt-
hew bud come to loathe the life of dis-
honesty and blackgthardism in which
he lived, He had long heard of Jesus
and had seen the mighty works he
did, He hacl caught sight of a higher
and nobler life, and that vision had
created such a . disgust with his pre-
sent existence, that, he loathed him-
self. Jesus' standard of life was one
of honesty, purity, a life free from all
hypocrisy and insincerity, empty of
graft, marked by kindness and unsel-
fishness. Now Matthew, himself,
mends to know that, if he should ever
accept this invitation, it would mean
walking out of the tollbooth never to
come hack again, and giving up at
once the profession which was his liv-
ing. "And he arose and followed him." •
From this simple • statement we see
that Matthew had absolute confidence
in the Lord Jesus Christ; he believed
that the ideals and principles of Jesus
were, though he was not living them,
absolutely right, the very truth of God
and he was a man of quick decision;
lie knew that there were things more
important in life than money.
Sitting At a Feast
"And it came to pass, that he was
sitting at meat in his house." From
•Luke's account we know that this
feast was not in Jesus' house, but In
Matthew's house. "And many publi-
cans and sinners sat down with Jesus
and his disciples; for there were a
great many, and they followed him."
Publicant' is a Latin word meaning
the groat officers who formed the Ro-
man revenue and paid into the public
treasury the sum agreed upon by con-
tract with the government. They
sublet the tax -gathering to agents, and
these agents engaged local officers,
the publicans of Scripture to collect
the clues. The sinners who were here
were citizens of Capernaum who pro-
bably kept away from the synagogue
more or less of the rabble of the
town. A 'disciple' was fundamentally
a learner, one who especially attach-
' ed himself to a teached and became
one of his ardent pupils.
Question His Conduct
"And the scribes of the Pharisees."
The Pharisees were the sect that ad-
hered not only to the law, but to the
rabbinical interpretation of the law,
which gradually formed a traditional
code by the side of the unwritten law.
Their scribes, therefore, would be the
rabbis of the party that specially be-
lieved in the rabbis, "When they saw
that he was eating with the sinners
and the publicans, said unto his die-
" pies, How is it that he eateth and
"
rinketh withpublicansand inner
sinners?"
the Orient, if
t .. wo men vei-
1 tartly broke bread with each other,
viding, say, a loaf between them,
on they became, Ai it were, united,
e with another•, in friendship, 'Con-
B—,D
sequently when Jesus sat down and
actually ate with publicans and sin-
ners, the significance of it all was
that he was willing to make them his
friends. The Pharisees refused even
to come in contact with the type of
then gathered around Matthew's table
that day, and for Jesus not only to
have contact with them, but to actual-
ty sit down and eat with them, in-
stantly marked him, in their sight, as
one outside the law, unworthy of
their confidence.
"And when Jesus heard it." The
criticism of the Pharisees was not
spoken to Jesus, but to his disciples,
but their words were uttered in a tone
loud enough for Jesus to hear them.
"He saith unto them, They that are
whole have no need of a physician,
but they that are sick; I came not to
call the righteous, but sinners." Je-
sus admits that the people with whom
that day he is eating and drinking
are 'sick; i.e. they are 'sinners.' The
Pharisees never lifted a finger to heal
sinners of their•s'.ns; for this purpose
had Jesus come, and by his so doing
these Pharisees themselves would
have to acknowledge that his right-
eousness was far above theirs.
Why They Fasted
"And John's disciples and the Phar-
isees were fasting; and they come and
say unto him, Why do John's disciples
and the disciples of the Pharisees
fast, but they disciples do not?" The
Pharisees fasted of their own accord
twice in the week in their pretense
of holiness. In not asking his disciples
to fast Jesus of course in no way con-
tradicts the law. From Matt. 6:17 we
see that Jesus was not opposed to
fasting as such, when done for the
proper purpose and in the proper way.
The disciples of John really asked for
enlightenment. The Pharisees wanted
to discredit Jesus.
"And Jesus said unto them, Can the
sons of the bridechamher fast, while
the bridegroom is with them? as long
as they have the bridegroom with
them, they cannot fast." John the Bap-
tist himself (John 3:29) said that he
was the friend of the bridegroom, and
by saying this he designated Christ
as the bridegroom himself. The bride-
groom was now with them. It was no
time for the disciples to mourn and to
manifest their spirit of mourning.
"But the days will come, when the
bridgegroom shall be taken away from
them. And then they will fast in that
day." The, Greelc word here translated
'taken away' implies. a violent death.
Jesus had previously hinted at his
death and here he directly points to
it, though it will yet be two years
before he shall die on the cross.
"No man seweth a piece of undress-
ed cloth on an old garment; else that
which should fill it up taketh from it,
the new from the old, and a worse
rent is made." Discard the old entire-
ly, and accept not merely a bit of the
new, but all the new in its complete-
ness. Not a new patch, but a new robe.
The old robe is the Judaism of that
period. It was useless to try to patch
this up with a bit of the teaching or
practice of Jesus.
"And no man putteth new wine into
old wine -skins; else the wine will
burst the skins, and the wine perish-
eth, and the skins; but they put new
wine into fresh wine -skins." The con-
tainers referred to were made of the
skin of the goat. When these were
new, they were elastic, but the old
skins were dry and hard; hence the
folly of putting wine which would fer-
ment into skins which did not expand.
The patch illustration gives the out-
ward aspect of the truth that Christ-
ianity cannot be tacked on to the old
law.
Where Christ conies, there comes
change; old forms and ceremonies
will not suit. Old things pass away
and all things become new. Even
man becomes a new creature, Life
must be different where Christ is
found, The new faith, the new attitude
to God, will require new forms. To
confine the new in the bonds of the
old is curtain to mean trouble, per-
haps disaster and loss.
P;,?11; .y Know Sect
Of Keeping Fruit
Ps'. tics Used Ey Winnipeg Man
Dries Not include Chen.icstis
Or Freez_aag
IH'opt' that a retired farmer of Win-
nipeg has bit upon a process of pre-
serving fruits and vegetables so that
they will retain life and freshness for
a period of months, without freezing
or without use of chemicals, was ex-
pressed to the concluding session of
the Fruit and Vegetable Jobbers' As-
sociation convention at London by
Ilarold Smith, Winnipeg. Mr. Smith,
who said he thought this than, Joseph
McCandless, native of the British
Isles "might have something,' point-
ed out that if true this method might
greatly increase the use of Canadian
grown roducts 'tn hor-
n making manyI 1
talions from• ths south unnecessary.
Mr. Smith said he diel not know
what the process was. But he so'cl it
would be investigated and asstred the
convention that if found sound, ••a ef-
fort to keep it out of rise would be
tolerated.
Ski Wedding Party in Switzerland
Having been wed in the snow in` the Engadine, Switzerland, this couple skis through the arch provided by the
Wedding party.
This Ship Has Just Come Up For Air
The crew of the U. S. Submarine I"'erinit'n e the craft for inspection, prior to shore leave. True to their calling,
the "pig boat" men prefer the hardships of the submarine to' other craft.
Radio
By VIRGINIA DALE
These are stirring times in radio,
motion pictures and newsreels for all
three have reached a new high peak
of achievement. With the Toseanini
symphony concerts the National
Broadcasting company have deserved-
ly won the greatest audience response
and the highest tributes from music
critics, composers and musicians. .
In the field of fictional motion pic-
tures "Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs," Walt Dis-
ney's first feature-
length fantasy, is a
glittering and shin-
ing milestone. Any
day now, Dopey, the
little dwarf who ne-
ver learned to talk
because he had no-
thing to say, will
take his 'place in
your hearts along
Walt Disney with Mickey Mouse
and Donald Huck.
Paramount and Werner Brothers
are going to remake sown old pic-
tures of theirs, having failed to find
any new story material as good. Para-
mount has selected "The Letter" es
tho first starring vehicle for isa Mir -
nide, famous Italian actress. This
story, a spine-chillie ;• thriller by So-
merset Maugham, was first filmed
some ten years ago, and was an out-
standing success among early talking
pictures, Warner Brothers. feel that
it is high time to film "Trilby" again.
This time Claude Rains and either An-
ita Louise or Olivia de 11avilland will
play Svenhali and 'Trilby.
When you read that so-and-so made
a film test in New York and was sent
to Hollywood under contract to nial.e
pictures, it 1
may not sound im n'esSive.
1
It should, however, for last year out
of 52,000 applicants, only r6 won con-
tracts. 'Variety, the aniho •ltntive trade
paper of the :1: tr;r.,l world, checked
hist and found that of the 52,000 appli-
r•tnts, only 0,0:A had auclitieiis. r�Inzsng
these "60 were given screen tests. The
moat Elect<aoulcir successes among the
young players sent to Hollywood a
year ago, are Frances Farmer, Don
Aneehe, and Tyrone Power.
Motion -picture producers are now
scurrying around trying to think of a
new formula for making musical pic-
tures, -because they can't go on mak-
ing them bigger. "Rosalie" stretches
the eye of the camera to its utmost
Iimits: It has armies of dancing girls,
platoons of singers, it has airplanes,
boats, football players, it has more of
everything than you have ever seen
crowded into one picture, A lovely
newcomer, Ilona Massey, whom you
have probably heard on the radio,
makes, you want to see and hear more
of her. Nelson Eddy works valiantly
with all his heroic and vocal might.
Infinitely less pretentious, but gen-
erous in the array of public idols it
introduces is Repub-
lic's "Merry Go
Round." Gangsters
led by Leo Carrillo
take over a recording
company, and then.
the fun and noise
begin. Mixed up in
the proceedings are
Joe DiMaggio, base-
ball star, Gene Au-
try and his cowboy
band, Nay Thomp-
son and her radio
chorus, Cab Callo-
way and Ted Lewis and their bands,
singing Phil Regan and Tamara Geva.
The story never tries to make sense,
just goes jocularly along its way with
blasts of music from crooning to hi-
de -ho. •
Joe `DiMaggio
DON'T LOOK NOW BUT — Jim
Ameche, twenty -two-year-old Grand
Hotel star, once held the high school
debating championship in Kenosha,
Wis Luise Barclay, NBC's "Wom-
511 in White," studied to 1)5 a concert
pianist as did Ruth Bailey, secondary
Iced on the same show Fibber
McGee is an inventor of numerous
household gadgets, including a device
which enables Molly to open the ice-
box door with a foot lever when she
approaches it with loaded platters in
both hands ...,... Frances Carlon, the
leading woman in "Attorney at Law,"
is the granddaughter of John Carlon,
first man ever to print the poems of
James Whitcomb Riley First
rteh'
Ni 1 star,Les Tremayne, isan
gy r
Ir
export modeler i r clay, ay, a crack gw11hi-
mer, a fair swordsman, and a topnotch
golfer .,,...., Harriette Widmer, femin-
ine emcee on "Cabin at the Cross-
roads" On the NBC coast-to-coast net-
work, was recently cOmnplituented on
her negro dialect work by no legs an
authority than Roark Bradford.
PAGO PAGO, Samoa. — Human
bones and a man's shirt were taken
from the stomach of a shark caught
on the north shore of Tutuila Island,
near where the Samoan Clipper ex-
ploded and sank with Captain Edwin
C. Musick and a crew of six.
The shark was caught by a native
named Fuimaono.
There were a man's rib, arm and
thigh bone in the find.
The waters are infested with man-
eating sharks, which grow to a length
of 13 feet, and are among the most
ferocious in any waters.
Witchcraft Caused
100 Years' Wad
Qaoenn EU abeth Was Once Near
try a Victim of the Black
Art
As old as time, witchcraft hat
played an important part in history
and has, indeed, been held responsibl4
for the Hundred Years' War,
In 1833, Robert III of Artois, have
ing quarrelled with Ring Philippe v4
of France, decided to put an end to
his enemy by the practice of witch
craft. Ile made lifelike war images
of the king and queen, the idea beim
that by uttering certain magic word
and at the saline time sticking pins
into the images, he would cause the
persons they represented to die.
Had this pin -sticking been carried
out, and the king heard of it, it isl
quite possible that he would have
died, for so superstitious were people,
in the Middle Ages that the power of
suggestion alone often proved fatal.
However, the plot was discovered.
and Robert fled to England, where
the opportunity occurred for him to
try other methods. He approached
Edward III, persuaded him to claim
the French throne, and the Hundred
Years' War was the result.
Pins Stuck in Wax images
Queen Elizabeth was once nearly
the victim of witchcraft. A waxen
image of herself was found with a
pin stuck through it. So frightened
was she that she took to her bed,
and the services of Dr. Dee, a fa-
mous astrologer and alchemist, were
secured.
He operated a number of charms,
pronounced formulas and spells and
th,e "danger" was happily averted.
The use of waxen images has al-
ways been one of the favourite forms
of killing an enemy by witchcraft,
though the method of sticking a pin
through thein is not the only one.
Another is to place the image before
a fire and allow it to melt a little,
each day.
Persecutions, Burnings
If the spell works successfully, the
victim gradually pines away while the
process is going on, and dies as the
last fragment of wax melts. This'
method is still practised in the un-
civilized depths of Africa end in some
of the Pacific islands. In these places,
the victim, if he knows that, some-
where, someone is bewitching him in
this way, almost invariably dies.
There are, of course, many other
methods. Early in the seventeenth
century, two sisters were burnt at
Lincoln, England, for practising
witchcraft. Servants of the Duke
and Duchess of Rutland, they, to-
gether: with their mother, hated their
employers, and resorted to witch-
craft in order to be revenged upon
then.
An American aviation mechanic
who says his name is "just Alabam",
because that's where he came from,
tells how Japanese bombers have
been destroying so many "Chinese
prones" lately.
"They're keeping- a Chinese car-
penter busy at the airdrome making
wooden dummy planes," Alabam'
said. "The Ch'nese go out at night
and put them in fields that look like
airfields, then the Japanese come
along tate next day and blow them
up. They must have blown up an
awful lot of them."
�( ►04
OU r1
io4 By A. R. WEIR i++4
'++
i,4 WHAT THE STARS FORETELL FOR THOSE BORN ON V
r; FEBRUARY 4, 5, 6, 7,5,9and 10 A
At. 4 • •1` 1� X64
%4 Aquarius is the sign under which those whose birthdays are listed F++
tat above were born. These people have kind, sweet dispositions, are ,0°4
V very flexible, and have even, well -governed tempers and natures. 'they 04•
)4FO are easy to live with and make good friends since they have high ideals. '04
I44 AThey usually make good business associates dna are generally sue-
A cessfui in their undertakings. +,
�4
YOUR OWN BIRTHDATE: a+
►++
N+4 •T7 13RUAIlY 4—You make a long and steadfast friend. You have i+4
►,r',.t little difficulty in getting along with others. haven relatives and in- r44
04'+4 laws like you and respect your opinion. On the whole, the coming ;
4'4 year should be a successful and prosperous period for you4., '+.4
4.
>+4
V FEBRUARY 6—You are a trifle too self-opinionated for your own
M•
good. Be more receptive to suggestions made by others. Contact '♦+
i+4 with others is one of our greatest sources of knowledge. 'You will >+
►f., 4
visit many places of amusement this year and find happiness in do- p°,+
►+ mestic affairs. ►+
►04 ►8+
X4;4 F.E]3RUARY 6 --The coming year should be a very successful period VI
►�� torb dge hYoulas is to be will do this best mixing
also difficult periods ►a4
►+ by 1, with older people and pay- ►++
,0+ ing strict attention 'to all matters dealing with property. Your lucky ►44
►♦4 day is Saturday. ►a
•
t;4 FEBRUARY 7—Important changes are indicated for you this year +4
A, also a pleasant holiday by water. Your health should be good and >++
you should enjoy a period of real happiness and prosperity. You love V
41• peace and harmony. X4 I+FEBRUARY 8 --Your lucky number is two. You wish always to do •+
A good and never plan to hurt or harm anyone. 11 you work hard and ;+4
►+++ wisely this year you should experience real progress and gain through ogt
t.♦4 influential people. ►+a
►♦+
%4 FEBRUARY 9—This is an excellent year for business affairs, for your i♦i.
'44 health, for social affairs and for love. There should be nothing what1.1
oi
-
►+4 soever for you to worry about. You are artistic and deeply inter- 1:4++ ested in music, art and literature. 4,�
►/
►+
++ FEBRUARY 10—Unless you rely more upon your Own efforts your t
K.
financial nancial status mayalways lack stability. You have the abilityt0♦+
►+ stabilize your life but it depends entirely upon you. Prospects for ►++
0 the immediate future are good for you. It is a good time for you to ►+i
+4 push your affairs to their utmost. hl►+ ;+4
►++ if yon birth date is not listed above and you would like a horoscope
►+4 for any birth date in the yeas', ex if ou would like a tom 0,
♦ycomplete personal ►+
►+4 horoscope for any date listed above, send 100 to A. R. Weir, 78 Adelaide ►e�
►++ St: W,, 'Toronto, Please print your mune, address wild birth date plainly. i+4
►'b'w .r. vt,•,•v+i t•Tr�i�'e •r +'�•rT tirw�ti4 •�. ��'�'.r•.rv•►r. .►Vv.wv�i• •r r.r.vrdes
�O, Xed + .O..Oxb 1. +. a! +ae gel'e * •rg. :40..,.r ela..i.♦.+,,,.X..n,+�.0a+w+. +w+n'tw+w+w+. �;+n..+10w`,1eX