A Great Field

Jesús ('lirisl carne to this world, to bring the world into harmony wltta heaven. He carne to convert the world into the Kkigdom of God. He, (.'inif to save the world. He cainc ncit tn wivt' men alter death, in anothcr state of bcriog. He carne to save men here, in thelr presen) liío. He claimcd the world for God. He demled iii.it the devil had any viuht liere ; and lii-s mlsBlon to the earth uas to drive out tiiat usurper and gel ii] God'a rule in Ilie world. Men were God's cliildron. The earth was God'a earth. Here Ood'8 ivin.u:doin maat be eBtabUabed. Men were cii-olied'ient cliildreii ; the world was relK'llious. J'.iit ('hri.M dil not come to eondenm the world. He carne to i-all it hack to God. He carne to let ilnwn upnn the earth the li.irht of hcaven. tn uiake the world B part l! heavcn, to drive away froni off the fací' of the earth all wrong and báseseos, and ïill t wlth holiness and l'ivc. This wae the purpose of Christ 's mission to the worlil, and for the nccomplishment of this purpoce, he estabUahed liis church. The agent that was tO nat lier the nations into the divine Kinicdom wa.s ;i society of meo and woinen who had themselven antered tbe Kiniidoin. Cbrlst'a direct work conelsted in torming t ii.-it society. He did mu expect the world to be oonverted to God by u book, by phlloeophy, by abstract trnth. Whet the world needed was the lanoweldge oí GK)d, vraa the li.t;lit of Ufe. Only tu living men conld lii.it Ugbi be fflven. Only by men who had received that light could that Li.ü'lit be Bfaown. To f tt uil ChrJt'i mission, therefore, to oorry nu Hie work whlcb he begaa, to extend it and complete it, thcre was necdcd a BHCCe88ton OÍ men wlio ahonU hand on the light (rom generatioo to generation. If tho world was lo become the Ktogdom of God, tlie Kiogdom must be formed in the world, formeil of men, if only of twelve. These should be as tlii' k'avcn in tlio lump ; their life aad llght should spread and extend ; the Kingdom should grow and expand, UU at last all peoples and loiiüucs KlKmld le gathered wlthin its embrace. 'Ye are the light of the world." It h generaUy acknowledged that it Is the office of the church to proclaim the Gospel of BalvatáOJL I!ut very aften the salvation wliieh is proclaimed ie a future ealvatkm, a salvation in aaother world. The message of peace on earth and good wi:l towards men is interpreted as a dcclaration of pardon and deliverance and blesfednese af ter death. Tliere Is no suggestioa of siilvation in the world, Btill less of the salvation of the world. The world is viewed as condemned territory, and the Church as the ny of those ivho are preparing to flee out of it, befare heaven's fire tshall íáll upon it and consume it. An opposition is established betweee the world and heaven, as if they were the dominions of two antagonistic poven, Mon's time and meii's affaire are conceived of as beloning to two realms. AVhat beloegs to the thijigs of the world and the present life, is set down us secular ; what la thought of as .concernhof; God anil the life to come, is ii rmed'sacred. As if tlie world was nat Uod's realni as well as heavem ; as if time was not liis as truly a.s eternlty ; as if the present 1 i i ■ and all its affalra did not belong to hiin as fnlly a.s ït is posalble ior the interest and occupations of any lid; nu to bolonj;. On what authority do you Jiold that oertain days are secular and that certain oceupatiuns are wnilar, that is, that they betoog to the world aud you, and not to God ? Whose ia the world? And wlioso are you ? .Name a ínoment of time that i.s not sacred. Specify a woi-k or occupation that any man ha a right to eugage in, that is not sacred. And wJiai lecomes of your oppo-iiiun bet ween Bcience anci revela'tlon? As if all truth was nat God's truth. lid not God make the world a.s well as Inspire his servants to write the KibLe V And is not the story of the rocka and Uw revelatJoo of the Btari as iruly his mcssa.iic to man, as the liook of Geaesta? You and I may inisrcad boih measages, but if we beHeve that the world ia God'a world and thal the i God'8 book. we c-.uinoi belteve thal there la any oppoaH on bel ween I linu. i The error i thal the church does not inlly realice that tlic world is God'a world. Bhe is se1 here to teach mm that truth. Bhe i.s set here to show men, not liow to die, but how to live. Her buainëas s not to pare inon for entrancc Into God'í Kin-dom licrcHÍicr. Por men upon tlie earUi, the only Kingdom of God iii;it they hare anythJog to do wlth i H J-Ciiiudom in tlie worïd. li la tlu; business o-t the cliuroli to t-t HWO luto ili.it Kiniíddin. lt " is tí lmsincss of the Cluirch to m.-ikc ihat Ktagdom a verlty. lt la the liiisiness ,f tlie Cliurcli tti take the thlmgs of the world, its affairs, Hs occupattone and ts atmg, and brlng tliiem onder the law of rlghteousnesa and ínvc. Bbe must not abandon the World. She miMt not tui-n aside frora the boncern f the preeent Uf mie muot not ignore the lnterects of timo, thcy are neetang. Sh must iy hoid f theee concerne and Interati, and sanctlfy ttoem. She must coiivert them into ministers ol love and nicrcy. She uni.-i consécrate tliem tO the BÖTTlce of God and man. That is the end foe whlch they exist. Tbe office of the (ïnnvh la to transform the world, wlth all that belongs to it, into the Kingdom of God, to makf all bbe labors and OCCUpatlOM ol men, all the lastltutkms ol society, all the concerns and int citsi s ol this present Ufe, the servante ol righteouslicss and bolinees. lier office is to renlize hrist's mission. and brlng the uorld hltO liarmony with heaven. '1 he Cborch ol i'hrist is Öod's Kingdom on earth. Il is an organic whote. As it is Ihe duty oí each nieinber to set his light on a. candlestick, and uut onder a fiushi'l, so 1t is the duty oí tliy choren in her corpora te eapacity to be a city set on a hill. Il is the duty of the Church to exercitie toreslght and energy, to Bleie and hoid every strategie poiat, to take poaBeeeXoa of the hejghts, to set her light on high places. Théré are many prools if wisdom in the administration of the (hun h in this Diocese. In the toylng oí the foundation and in the rearing of the guperstructure of our city oí God, tlire is abundam evidenoe oí thepresence of the spirit of wisdom and undentaading. Bnt in recent years, .is it seenu to me, notbJug t&ai the Cliiirch in Michigan has done giveB foller prooi of the presence of that BpJrli tlian the establisliintc oí the ('hurch Hall and Ctiild in cnnnection with. aar great Dnlverslty at Ann Arbor ; and I cnnsider it my dnty, in view of my personal relation to it, to avail myself of this opportunity to bear teettmony to the Inestimable valué and lmportance of til is institution. In the toonding oí this instrumentality for bftngtng to bear the lnfloence of ilie cimrcli opon the student ciiiiimunity at Anu Arhor, we h.ie. perhaps, the most consptcuous illtistration of that presolence in design and coorage in execntlon for whlch Bishop Ilarris was iirc-i'iiijn'iil ly distlngulshcd. It is not ton niucli to say that the opiKM'tunity for the ('hun-h at the l'niversity oí Michigan is unsiirpaased anywhere in the United State. Uere is a Cnlversity standing in the t'irst rank in respect of every qoattty whlch bclonpi to a preat Lnstltntion of learning : a Dnlversiiy whlch now has within its halls no less than twenty-e%ht hundred students. i;nthered to it from four batee and territorios, and seveoteeo Porejgn countries ; a University ivhk-h haa sent forth, during the fi.fty-six ycirs of its existence, eleven thousand and five hnndred graduatee, and ayIik-Ii haa given instruction to tucnty-tlircc t housand men and women. There is oniy one ottaer UnlverviTsity in the country equal to it in magnitude, while in reepeci of the oxtent oí the tcrritory from wliicli It drawa its atnde&ta and to whicn It scikLs forth it graduates, it stands DioeqaaUed in the world. In tliis l'nivei-Pity our Church is nobly representad. In its various fatulties tliere are twenty-five professors and instructora who are atteched to the Churcli, and among its studeets there are upwards of four lmndred who are regular ittendants ujxui tlie Bervlcefl of the Church in Ann Arbor. Tlife number is equal to the ewnbined nnmber of students in attendanoe at Trinity, Hobart, Kenyon, and the tniversity of the South, the four largest church colleges in the country. The importance of the Harris Hall and of the üaldwin and Slocum lectureships connected wlth it can ly be over-estimated ; and it would be lmpoesiblo to speak in too high pralM of the men and women through whose generous benefactions this Hall and these Lectureships have been founded. Durlng t past year, as yon are all aware, the splendid bequest of $10.000 waa made to the e-ndowment fund of the Hall by the late Mis. ESUcabeth Davie; and a few of the friiends of the institution, who had before lilK'rally contributed to its establishment and maintenance, raiaed among tbemeivee the sum of $800 tor needed repairs apon the building and tbs fnller equlpment oí the gymnasium, it is greatty to be deslred that citlior churchmen and chureh women ahould avail themselvee of the rare opportumtty here offered of renderJng the moal sigma] service to the Chnrch by maklog further gift, or bequeete to the permanent endowmi'iii of the Hall. The Church In this Diocese owes i to liishop Harria, owee i to iiseiï. and owee it to the ('hurcli in Anicrici, to place Harria Hall apon an Independent and ampie foundation. To thie end its general endowment fund needfl to be Inereased by at ïcnsi $25,000. In the Tinversity of Miehlgan there is iiiiiiislinl tu the Chnrcli in this Diocese a Beid for work and an avenue of infiuenee Buen as the Diocese Itaetf, wit li tlie eombined wealth of all its pavishes, ennld not créate in a hnndred years. 'J'his magnificent opportunity is here, ready made. within onr border. The ('hurch has only to embrace it and uee it. It was ia thought of Bishop Harria to mak liarger use of this opportualty than eau be made by Harris Hall and the agencies ïmw conDected with it. lu ble visión he wnv eetabUshed at .nn Arbor a scimni of the prophete. Wiil the Chureh fulfi] that vislim? Already ooe Cliristian body has graspd the sltuation, a.nd win opea ts theologioal school iji the coming autumn. Bhall the CShurch wliich was the fit-st tn discover thN Held rlpe for the harveel have otheiw to gather the ehoicest grain ? For mysrlf. I belteve 1hat a ■vcllmanned and weU-equápped theologicej school at the seat of the great ÜBlty of Michigan would be an agency wbich would Lmmeasurably knoreaee the Btrength and eztead the infiuenee of the Gburch, not only in thfe tiit. but throughout the whole north-wost. I have. Kaid that it is the office of tlie chureh 1o traosform the world into the Kingdom of cod. The fact t.hat ou 1'niversity is a state Instituí ion. and, therefore, not under the aucptoea oí the Church, is not a reason why the church should st and aloof ■rom it, or refuse to send her children to it. It is tlie befst possible reax.n why the Church should do cisely the reverse, why Bhe should liriiiK to bear upon t lie Iniver.-it . constltuted as it is, evecy ïitch and holy Influence wllleta -hu has wlthla lier keeping. It is the duty of the (hiirch to put herself hito relation wlth ovory toetltatlon of human boetety, in order iiiat abe may Infuse intn tliciu her spirit : luit it is pre-emluciiily Incumbeni upon her to see to it tliat lier light burns strong and clear wbere the leaders of the coming geaeratioas are trained and prepared toe their work.