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Presentation, Rembrandt

"And his father and mother were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning him. And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted." 
— Luke ii, 33, 34.

Some people tell us that truth prevails only when it succumbs. Nothing in the world encounters so much opposition as truth. Falsehood is more to the world's taste, and meets therefore with less antagonism, whilst it more readily finds admirers and adherents ; but truth has always aroused hostility, and no one ever aroused such bitter enmity as did He who is Truth itself — our Lord Jesus Christ. In today's gospel we have a true account of the antagonism that He was to encounter.

There is in my possession a very beautiful picture, copied from a work of one of the greatest modern painters. It represents our Saviour surrounded by women, and His holy Mother kneeling at the foot of her Son's Cross. From His sacred Body a ray of light  falls upon her face, revealing her expression of profound love and sorrow. She was His Mother, and therefore loved Him more in tensely than any other human being could do ; and for this very season she also suffered more intensely, and was indeed the Mater dolorosa. Grief pierced her heart like a sword when Christ hung dying in token of the violent hostility provoked against Him, who was the Truth. Well might aged Simeon have called Him "a  sign that shall be contradicted !"

Have those who contradicted Him secured a final triumph ? The Jews crucified Him, but have they retained the victory? Are they not scattered over the whole world as an unhappy nation, that can call no country its own? Have the pagans gained the day, who shared in the most horrible crime ever committed, the murder of the Son of God? No, we all know that paganism did not conquer.

It arrayed all its forces against our Lord and His few followers, and against the gospel which it treated with scorn and contempt; but ever since that time paganism has been decaying, and it is destined to vanish altogether before the victorious advance of Christianity.

It is true that Christ is still a sign which is contradicted, even among Christian nations, and in the world there are many who profess to be Christians whilst they actually deny God and Christ. The wicked prosper, but it benefits them little that their blossom appears good if their fruit is evil, for the latter is far more important than the former. If agnosticism and the denial of Christianity are ultimately to triumph, their fruit must be good, and their opposition to Christ must have power to render men happy in life and in death — otherwise it would not really prevail. At the same

time, and for the same reason, it must be able to make men better ; but can anyone honestly and conscientiously assert that agnosticism makes its adherents better men and women than Christians are?

No! Of course I do not mean to say that every agnostic is a wicked or vicious person; he may not only have a good side, but possess great qualities, and be a most respectable member of society. We are not called upon to judge individuals, for that is not our affair but God's, who alone can penetrate the heart and read the inner thoughts and intentions of man. The question with which we are concerned is : "Can agnosticism make men better ? Are agnostics as a rule better than other people?" Certainly agnosticism as such is incapable of rendering us better. There are several kinds of agnostics, but we may say of them all that they either deny the existence of God, or say that, if there is a God, He cannot be in communication with us, nor speak with us, nor give us any definite commandments and precepts. Most agnostics hold that they are bound to lead moral lives, but must impose upon themselves the commandments of morality, since no Divine authority capable of imposing them can be proved to exist. Therefore, in their opinion, we have in ourselves all moral authority, and there is no absolute supreme Judge, to whom we shall have to give an account; every one is responsible only to his own conscience. Hence many modern agnostics deny all responsibility for evil, and regard it as a disease which we cannot avoid. Can such a doctrine have any moral weight? Is it likely to make men better? It denies the existence of our supreme Lawgiver and Judge, and destroys all sense of responsibility either to God or to ourselves. We need not hesitate to say that agnosticism can never improve us.

But, we may be told that the experience of life sometimes proves men to have become better in consequence of adopting agnosticism. We are not concerned with individuals, but may ask in general terms: Are Christians inferior to the crowds who never enter a church, and who devote Sunday either to work or to worldly amusements? They live for earthly riches, earthly joys and earthly honors; they fancy that they can think, speak and act as they will, without Incurring any responsibility to almighty God, and without any prospect of a judgment to decide their lot in the future life.

We need not condemn individuals, but every Christian is aware that, in order to be truly good, a man must know that there is a God, to whom he must one day give account for his actions, and who will eventually be his Judge.

If agnosticism, the denial of Christianity, is to prevail in the end, it must have power to make men happy, happier than they were when they believed in Christ. Is this possible? If happiness consisted in money, honors, luxury, art and science, we might be told that agnosticism could rival Christianity in teaching men how to acquire it. But all these things are powerless to give happiness unless

they are accompanied by peace of heart. What does it profit a man to possess the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul? True happiness consists in peace of heart, and agnosticism cannot give us this in life, still less in death. It cannot enable us to face death with the peaceful anticipation and joyful hope displayed by the two aged people in today's gospel. No peace is possible for

one who does not know where to find forgiveness for his sins. Here we have the great defect of agnosticism; it points out no way of peace, because it recognizes no way to forgiveness ; it knows nothing of the Saviour of sinners or of the God of mercy.

How, then, can contradiction and opposition triumph over Jesus Christ if it cannot make us better, nor give us real happiness in life and in death? It's victory is purely imaginary, or rather it is the outcome of a great and fatal falsehood.

II. The token of victory. — "Thou hast triumphed, O Galilean!" These are said to have been the last words uttered by Julian the Apostate, after the failure of his attempt to revive paganism. They express the involuntary testimony borne by the ancient world to the fact that the sign of contradiction has become the token of victory even in this world.

In proof of this assertion we may refer to the triumph of the Cross in every age; first under the Roman Empire, when, in spite of furious persecutions, the Church arose victorious after apparent defeat. We may refer to the benefits that have invariably followed the preaching of the gospel; Christianity delivered slaves from bondage, and women from their position of inferiority; it dispelled the darkness of sin and ignorance, and spread abroad light, civilization and knowledge. It inspired artists to produce their finest works ; it gave freedom to the human intellect, and afforded a solid moral foundation for legislation and civil order. In fact, it would be true to say that all that is good, strong, and noble in our present civilized existence, is due to the spirit of Christianity. This is weighty evidence in support of our assertion that the sign of contradiction has become the token of victory. Yet let me rather refer to something quite different, viz., to the two aged persons of whom we read in today's gospel. How good they were ! Simeon was just and God-fearing, whilst Anna served God day and night. They were good because they were so pious, and therefore they were happy. Anna "confessed to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all that looked for the redemption of Israel" — no doubt she spoke out of the fullness of her heart, and was very happy. And Simeon said: "My eyes have seen Thy salvation." Hence he enjoyed happiness during his earthly life, and spoke of his approaching death in terms very unlike those used by worldlings : "Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word In peace." The prospect of death was to him a source of happiness. But why were they so glad? Because they believed in Him for whom they had longed as the Redemption and glory of Israel — though the world would speak against Him.

Surely this is evidence enough to prove that the sign of contradiction became the token of victory; for Simeon and Anna represent a vast host of men, women and children who have triumphed through their faith in Jesus Christ, overcoming sin, death and Satan. Their faith has made them good and happy in this life, and has enabled them to depart hence in peace. Therefore cease to contradict your Saviour, and have faith in Him, if you would be happy in life and in death.