THE FAMILY ALTAR

May 11.

These were dark, mysterious words to the disciples of our

Lord when they heard them from their Master's lips in that sad

and solemn night in which He began His great suffering. We

hear them questioning among themselves what these words could

mean, and declaring: "We cannot tell what He saith!" But

they soon learned to understand the mysterious saying. In a little

while, sooner than they had dreamed, their beloved Master was

taken from them, and nailed to the cross, and laid in His grave,

and their joy and hope was buried with Him. Then they did

not see Him. But in a few short days, "in a little while," He

returns to them in triumph from the grave, and their sorrow is

turned into inexpressible joy. Now they understood the words,

"A little while," and, "I go to the Father." But does not this

experience of the first disciples repeat itself in the life of every

Christian soul? There are times when a Christian does not see

His loving Lord, when he sees nothing but his great guilt and

sin, and is filled with fear of death and the judgment to come,

and it seems as if Jesus, his Savior, had given him up to despair

and condemnation. Like weeping Mary at the tomb of her risen

Lord, we do not see Him then, though He stand before us in

His blessed Word. But "in a little while" our eyes are opened,

and our risen Lord shows us His wounded hands and feet, that is,

we again joyfully recognize Him as our Eedeemer, who has gone

through suffering and death for our sake and saved us from sin,

and now is gone to the Father to prepare a place for us. Then

we cry out with Mary in ecstasy of soul: "Eabboni," which is

to say, Master; and grace and peace and heavenly joy again fill

our sorrowing hearts.

Why should sorrow ever-grieve me;

Christ is near, What can here

E'er of Him deprive me?

Who can rob me of my heaven

That God's Son As my own

To my faith hath given