The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1895, Page 22

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

22 The Lutheran Pioneer.

highest and most glorious giver of blessings
unto us, and that they all proceed from the
greatest of all virtues.

The fact that anything is given from true
love makes the gift itself greater and more
precious. If therefore we are convinced that
love prompts the bestowal of any gift, we are
well pleased; but when we doubt the existence
of this motive in the giver, we care but little
for his gift. But the words are plain: God
so loved the world. Therefore we ought to
value highly, on account of His love, all His
gifts, especially those which He has ordained
to our salvation and the strengthening of our
faith, as His Word, Holy Baptism, and the
Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ.
These gifts appear not brilliant before the
world, yet unto us they are heaven itself, and
make us glad and cheerful because they flow
from the love of our Father toward us and are
instituted for our benefit. Therefore Christ
in this connection not only teaches us that
God will give us something, but also in what

. manner He will do this, namely, through Di-
vine, fatherly love. Dr. Martin Lutuer.

a heap of trouble. Now, as all of you can’t
come down yourselves to see how rickety-
crickety our ark is, Uncle Bob will tell you.

In the first place, there’s no more paint on
Mount Zion church, and it looks like a great
big ugly bugaboo. Now there, I knew Johnny
would whisper to Jennie and say: ‘‘Uncle Bob
ought to have it painted, surely; and:if every
one of us Lutheran school-children would
bring a cent a-piece, it could be done, and
more.’’. But, Johnny, I tell you that paint
would fall when the building dropped. See
here! Our dear Pastor and Uncle Bob got a
crow-bar last Friday, and pried the weather-
boarding open for about 30 feet along the
sills—those are the thick timbers on which
the building rests. I tell you, children, if the
Lord wasn’t holding up that building by the
gable-ends ail this while, it surely would be
in a big heap now. I guess He wanted us to
pry open the side of it, so we could see some-
thing must be done. The sills were partly
gone, and what was left was nothing else than
a line of dust and splinters. The inside of
the church is as bad as the outside. The plas-
ter is coming down all over. There are some
bare patches as big as your kitchen-table.
When it rains, it comes through the roof in
a stream. That’s the time Uncle Bob gets
put out, for he can’t get to the blackboard
during arithmetic lesson. There’s another
spot where an old rat ate its way through the
rotten floor. I’ye-seen that rat during school-
hours and services. One little mouse comes
out regularly, and runs underneath the organ.
Now, I’m not telling you this for fun, but to
show you that the whole place is rotten, and
unfit for church purposes.

In the last years, many children staid away
from school for various reasons. You know
what I believe? Your parents would have
kept you also on the safe side of that old
building if they were in our places. Really,
it is the shabbiest building in our neighbor-
hood!

Some time ago, we started to save up for
a new church, and though we are poor, yet
we managed to get several hundred dollars
together; but that’s not enough to build a
church. Can’t you help us? All of you,
Uncle Bob would suggest, might talk this
matter over during recess, and see if you
can’t agree to save your coppers for the next
few months. Turn them over to your teachers,
and they will send all contributions to the Mis-
sion Board. Now, dear nephews and nieces,
that’s Uncle Bob’s story. :

One more thing. Remember the Colored
Mission and its laborers in your prayers. Ask
God to bless it and us, and to make you all
willing to sacrifice a little for Jesus’ sake.

It's growing late, and all the little ones
must be off to bed. So Good-night to you all.

With love, 2
Your affectionate uncle,
Bos.

The Fourth Commandment.

An old school-master said one day to the
parish pastor who had come to examine his
school: ‘‘I believe the children know the Cate-
chism word for word.’’

“But do they understand it? That is the
question,’’ said the pastor, and thereupon be-
gan the examination of the children.

A little boy had repeated the commandment:
‘*Honor thy father and thy mother, that it may
be well with thee, and thou mayest live long
on the earth.’’

‘Please explain that,’’ said the pastor.

Instead of trying to do so, the little fellow
said almost in a whisper: ‘‘Yesterday I showed
some strange gentleman over the mountain.
The sharp.stones cut my feet, the gentleman
saw them bleeding, and gave me some money
to buy shoes with. I gave it to my mother,
for she had no shoes either, and I thought
I could go barefoot better than she could.”

Did the little boy understand the meaning
of the commandment, and did he practice its
teachings?

——>-_- ~<a o -

The Broken Pitcher.

—_—_> 0-2 -

(For the LUTHERAN PIONEER.)

Uncle Bob’s Letter.

A man of violent temper was often and
easily overtaken by passion. He repented
every time he had been angry, but afterwards
always found himself guilty of the same of-
fense. He came to this conclusion: ‘‘It is
not good to live in this wicked world. I would
surely be patient, if the people would be peace-
able. I better go into the forest and become
a hermit. When I am not obliged to see, hear,
or suffer any wrong, I will not be angry, but
enjoy perfect peace.’’

He retired from the world, went into the
deepest solitude, selected a place where a
spring was flowing over a rock, and com-
menced building himself a hut. By working;
the hermit soon became heated. He took the
pitcher and placed it under the water. It fell
over. He set it up, and waited until it was
nearly full, when the pitcher again fell over.
Now his violent nature again became excited.
He grasps the pitcher and pushes it against
the stones, saying: ‘‘Will you stand now!”
The pitcher broke to pieces, and only the
handle was left in his hand.

He now regained his self-possession, was
struck with terror, and said to himself: ‘‘O
what a foolI am! I thought wrath came into
myself, but now I see that it comes out of my-
self. Self-possession and patience are neces-
Sary everywhere, whether I be alone, or live
among my fellow-men. I will no longer be
a hermit, but return to my brethren. Possibly
they will give me good advice, and help me
to overcome myself.’’ —7rom the German.

—

““Curist is God’s way home for the lost
child.” Jesus said unto him, ‘‘I am the way;
and the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father but by Me.’’

My pear NerHews AND NIECEs : —

All of you love Jesus; and, of course, it’s
taken for granted that anything pertaining to
His kingdom will certainly interest you all.
To-day Uncle Bob wants to tell you some-
thing about Mount Zion, our oldest station
in New Orleans. Sit down, then, my dear
children, and listen.

Mount Zion is situated on Franklin Ave.,
which is nearly 100 feet wide. An electric
line of cars passes by our doors. Before long,
this wide avenue will be paved, and then we
shall have one of the finest streets in town.
When Mount Zion moved ont this way, no
one anticipated these modern improvements;
for that was more than a dozen years ago,
and New Orleans was ‘‘Sleepy Hollow” then.
Once you got out of the business portion, you
could only see mud streets, and Franklin Ave.
is one of them yet, but not for long. So you
see, we are in a desirable neighborhood. All
about us thousands of colored families are
living. But for all that, we have failed lately
& good deal in our work among the colored
people. Of course, you can not help asking
why. Uncle Bob anticipated the question, and
for that reason will explain the whole matter;
then you all will see what is wanted.

Well, as I was going to say, we bought our

present church property when you all were
babies, and such sweet ones, too. It was then
already 40 or more years old; and if you will
‘add 13 years more to that, you will have its
present age pretty correctly. It is a pretty
“big building, and looks just like an ark. But
that would be all right, only Uncle Bob fears

'# going to tumble down one of these days
kill somebody; then there’s going to be

New Orleans, La., May 6, 795.