be the public policy of the country! If such and such a clergyman were only a Bishop, how different would be the circumstances of the Church! St. Stephen was not in a position of influence—at least, of commanding influence. He was only a Deacon, whose main business for the time it was to attend to the equitable distribution of alms. Above him were the sacred Twelve, chosen by our Lord Himself; eleven of them during His earthly Life, and one since His Ascension. In the eyes of all true Christians they held a foremost place; they corresponded to the twelve Patriarchs of Israel; upon them, as upon the twelve Prophets, as upon a foundation, was built, says St. Paul," the Church of God. But the Deacons were of no especial consideration. The Church had existed without them, and their humble but useful labours were not indispensable to her existence or progress. And yet St. Stephen does a work which is greater than that of any, except the three leading Apostles and St. Paul; so far as we can gather from the report in the New Testament. For awhile, in the narrative of the Acts, we lose sight of St. Peter altogether, while St. Paul has not yet come upon the Christian scene. The one dominant figure, full of interest-of moral, spiritual, tragic interest -is the Deacon Stephen. His labours, his teaching, his last agonies, his tranquil and sublime triumph over death, eclipse for the time being all besides. No, brethren; this habit of thinking that you could do great good if you were something else than you are, is fatal to doing what you might do where you are. As a rule, men who do little in a lower position would do less in a higher. The man who wasted the one talent made the one talent an excuse for his failure. But he would a Eph. ii. 20. b St. Matt. xxv. 24, 25. have wasted five. A life which is spent in dreaming of what might be in other circumstances, cannot act for the best in present circumstances. If Stephen had said, "If I only were in Peter's place I would dispute with the Hellenists, and address the Sanhedrin, and die, if need be, as a martyr for Christ," he never would have done any one of these things. He did what he could where he was, and his real greatness was altogether independent of his position. 3. Lastly, men have asked why Christmas Day, of all days in the year, should be followed by the Festival of the first Christian Martyr-the Birthday of the world's True King, by the anniversary of a tragedy. The answer, surely, is not far to seek—at least, for a practical Christian. Yesterday proclaimed the great Christian Truth ; to-day points the moral. The Incarnation of the Son of God is not a speculation of the understanding; it is a fact in history which has lessons for the heart. It is incomparably the greatest fact in the whole history of our race. And as such it imposes on us men corresponding moral duties. If the Everlasting and the Almighty laid aside His glory, to enter into conditions of time, and to robe Himself in our frail human nature, that He might, by His Atoning Death, and by His supernatural gift of a new nature unite us to God through our union with Himself, surely it is no exaggeration to say, that "Were the whole realm of nature mine, Demands my soul, my life, my all." And Stephen, shedding his blood thus freely and joyfully for the Master Who had redeemed him, shows what faith in an Incarnate God should mean for Christians. If He has done so much for me, what can I do for Him? is the question which a Christian life should answer. He may ask little or much. He may demand heroic sacrifices, or He may require only punctual attention to daily and prosaic duty. But He has a right to make any demands He will, and it should be a point of honour with every Christian to satisfy Him. It is this simple self-surrender, in a spirit of love for God and for the souls of men, which makes life strong and noble, as was the life of St. Stephen. It is this self-surrender which makes death, whenever or wherever it may come, a "falling asleep" in Christ. Pray we the Divine Child, born as at this time for us, that we being regenerate, and made His brethren, and the Father's children "by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by the Holy Spirit;" so that for us, as for Stephen, and for Stephen's greater disciple, to live may be "Christ," and to die endless "gain." a a Phil. i. 21. SERMON XI. GOOD OUT OF EVIL. (SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS: FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN.) ACTS VIII, 2-4. & And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the Church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word. THUS THUS the curtain falls upon the scene of the first tragedy in the annals of the Church of Christ. The first drops have fallen of that shower of blood which Christians were to shed for their Master's Name through so many succeeding centuries. St. Stephen, the first martyr, has passed through his trial, and has won his crown. I. This event must have meant a great deal-more than we can easily understand at once-for the infant Church. at Jerusalem. Consider its importance as the first occurrence that broke in upon the quiet, unnoticed life of the little band of Apostolic Christians. The year had not yet expired which had witnessed what we know to have been the greatest events in human history; the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension of our Lord. But on the hill of Zion, hard by the tomb of David, the Christian Church had been inspired by the descent of the Holy Spirit with a Divine power and life. On that memorable Day of Pentecost and afterwards it had received not a few additions to its ranks. But it was still a small community, attracting little notice in a city like Jerusalem; the capital of the old religion, the seat of the local Roman government. There the first Church of Christ lived a private, secluded existence, rejoicing in its possession of its unseen Redeemer, Crucified, Risen, Ascended, yet intimately present with it, the secret of its joy and of its strength. Every day those first Christians passed the spots which a few months before had been the scenes of the Passion and the Resurrection of the Son of God. Through their constant communion with Him, and with each other in Him, they became more and more crucified to the world around them; more indifferent to its proceedings, almost forgetful of its existence. They were "hidden privily in God's Presence from the provoking of all men, and kept secretly in His tabernacle from the strife of tongues." a To this tranquil period, a sudden and violent stop was put by St. Stephen's death. That event meant that the infant Church had entered in good earnest into conflict with the power of a hostile world. If the Church might say with the Psalmist, "Though an host of men were laid against me, yet shall not my heart be afraid; and though there rose up war against me, yet will I put my trust in Him," yet there was no mistaking the significance of the change. Those first days of tranquillity b |