December 27, 2004
"Strangers and Angels"
"Strangers and Angels"
Dear Friends,
Please forgive my lapse the last couple of weeks in not sending an article. Much has been going on here (as I'm sure it has, through the sometimes hectic holidays this time of year, where you are ). Travis is home now from his tenth trip to the Philippines, and things are beginning to settle down a bit here. On this most recent trip (after Br. Gus had enlisted Travis's help with aiding our Filipino pastors regarding self-sustaining income projects) Travis had nine pastors apply for the not-for-profit short-term loans from the support given primarily by Primitive Baptists for this endeavor. Travis's research into pig production yielded some interesting information regarding organic pig farming introduced by the Koreans (much cleaner than the usual pig-farming techniques), and this Korean method of pig-farming (with pigs being bought with money from the loans) is being used by these preachers/pastors to help support their families while they preach and pastor in the economically-distressed areas of the Philippines.
Now that Travis is back home, we are resuming work on our library. Travis has built about half of the shelves so far, and I am trying to get the books organized in some easily accessible manner on the shelves. (We have a LOT of books!) While working on this project yesterday, I came across a book I hadn't seen in awhile. It is by Gordon A. Cotton, and is entitled "Of Primitive Faith and Order". This book is an outgrowth of Gordon's Master's thesis (Master of Arts in History) at Mississippi College. His thesis was a "History of the Mississippi Primitive Baptists". As I was glancing through the book, I found the following very interesting story (titled "Be Not Forgetful To Entertain Strangers") in Appendix II. I talked with Gordon earlier this evening, and he gave permission for me to reprint this story (originally printed in the Vicksburg Sunday Post, Vicksburg, Mississippi, August 12, 1973, and later reprinted in The Baptist Witness).
After graduation from Mississippi College, and earning his master's degree, Gordon taught school for several years, then worked as a reporter and feature editor for the Vicksburg Evening Post; he has for several years now been the Curator at the Old Court House Museum in Vicksburg, Mississippi (www.oldcourthouse.org), and is the author of several history books. The article below includes information concerning Elder John Leland's influence on our constitution ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."). The article, however, is primarily about "hospitality", and about judging by appearances -- relying on "what seems to be" rather than what is, in fact, true.
Grace and Peace,
Elaine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Be Not Forgetful To Entertain Strangers"
"Old man, what do you want here?" the fashionably-dressed young widow asked.
Dusty and hot from a long walk, his white hair matted and damp from perspiration, the elderly gentleman stood with hat in hand at the door of a columned Virginia mansion in the early 1800s. He was tired and thirsty, he told the pretty mistress of the house. He had walked a great distance--was there possibly a place where he could freshen up a bit and rest until the next morning, for it was nearly dark.
Viewing him hastily, the lady told him no--that she was expecting the great minister--"the Rev. Mr. John Leland"--and couldn't be bothered with strangers. Then, after reflecting a moment, she suggested that he could stay in the slave quarters if he wished.
Who was the man she was expecting, this man named John Leland? Little is known about the man considered responsible for the sacred principle embodied in the first amendment to the Constitution--"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Elder John Leland was born in 1754 in Grafton, Mass., but spent most of his life in Virginia, dying at the age of 67 in 1821.
At Orange, Virginia, there is a small park commemorating the work done by this early Primitive Baptist preacher, and a plaque there notes that in 1788 Elder Leland and James Madison met to discuss the adoption of the Constitution of the United States; only with the addition of a Bill of Rights would Leland and his followers support it. Madison concurred, and as a member of Congress he presented the First Amendment to the Constitution for ratification.
During the last years of his life, Leland traveled a great deal over the country preaching, and his fame was wide-spread in Virginia and Maryland. Leland accepted no salary, and he walked almost everwhere he went. He was known for his wisdom and knowledge plus his ability as a speaker.
In many places it was fashionable to hold religious services in the homes of the plantation aristocracy, and Elder Leland received an invitation from the above-mentioned woman in Southern Virginia to come and preach at her mansion at 10 o'clock on a certain day. Though neither she nor her neighbors had ever seen John Leland, his reputation was known throughout the state.
No expense would be spared in preparing for the event, and all the neighbors would be invited. It would be a social affair, though it would also have an outward appearance of much piety.
It was on the evening preceding the appointment for Elder Leland that the old man approached the mansion where Leland was to speak. He mounted the steps that led to the columned porch, and a butler met him at the door and then called for the "missus."
After being told to go to the quarters, he thanked the lady and walked toward the slave cabins where he met an old couple, too old to work, and they willingly shared their food and cabin with him. In the course of the evening they discussed the Bible, and before retiring for the night the old man prayed.
The next morning all were busy around the mansion as last-minute preparations were made for Elder Leland. Fancy carriages came, transporting the richly-dressed aristocrats. At 10 o'clock, the hour for the service, Elder Leland was not in sight (none in that section of Virginia had ever seen him, but surely a man of his reputation would come in a fine equipage, pulled by the best horses).
The clock struck 10:30, then 11 -- and still no minister. Seeing the predicament her owner was in, the aged slave woman suggested that the old man, who was sitting in the shade of a tree on the edge of the lawn observing the occasion, be asked to pray. He had prayed the night before in the quarters, the slave said, and at least they could have a prayer before the company left.
The lady of the house talked it over with some others, and they agreed to ask the "old tramp" to pray.
He walked to the porch, and standing on the steps, repeated a short hymn from memory and then engaged in prayer. By the time he said "Amen," all eyes were fixed on him in amazement. Never had they heard such eloquence, and coming from an old tramp!
Noting that they had expected a sermon, he told the crowd that he was taking the liberty to say a few words. Carefully choosing his text, he turned to Hebrews 13:2 and read to the stunned audience:
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
Legend says that from that day forward the lives of those who had come to hear Elder Leland were greatly changed, especially that of the young hostess.
It was the most moving sermon that Elder Leland, mistaken for a tramp, ever preached.
Please forgive my lapse the last couple of weeks in not sending an article. Much has been going on here (as I'm sure it has, through the sometimes hectic holidays this time of year, where you are ). Travis is home now from his tenth trip to the Philippines, and things are beginning to settle down a bit here. On this most recent trip (after Br. Gus had enlisted Travis's help with aiding our Filipino pastors regarding self-sustaining income projects) Travis had nine pastors apply for the not-for-profit short-term loans from the support given primarily by Primitive Baptists for this endeavor. Travis's research into pig production yielded some interesting information regarding organic pig farming introduced by the Koreans (much cleaner than the usual pig-farming techniques), and this Korean method of pig-farming (with pigs being bought with money from the loans) is being used by these preachers/pastors to help support their families while they preach and pastor in the economically-distressed areas of the Philippines.
Now that Travis is back home, we are resuming work on our library. Travis has built about half of the shelves so far, and I am trying to get the books organized in some easily accessible manner on the shelves. (We have a LOT of books!) While working on this project yesterday, I came across a book I hadn't seen in awhile. It is by Gordon A. Cotton, and is entitled "Of Primitive Faith and Order". This book is an outgrowth of Gordon's Master's thesis (Master of Arts in History) at Mississippi College. His thesis was a "History of the Mississippi Primitive Baptists". As I was glancing through the book, I found the following very interesting story (titled "Be Not Forgetful To Entertain Strangers") in Appendix II. I talked with Gordon earlier this evening, and he gave permission for me to reprint this story (originally printed in the Vicksburg Sunday Post, Vicksburg, Mississippi, August 12, 1973, and later reprinted in The Baptist Witness).
After graduation from Mississippi College, and earning his master's degree, Gordon taught school for several years, then worked as a reporter and feature editor for the Vicksburg Evening Post; he has for several years now been the Curator at the Old Court House Museum in Vicksburg, Mississippi (www.oldcourthouse.org), and is the author of several history books. The article below includes information concerning Elder John Leland's influence on our constitution ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."). The article, however, is primarily about "hospitality", and about judging by appearances -- relying on "what seems to be" rather than what is, in fact, true.
Grace and Peace,
Elaine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Be Not Forgetful To Entertain Strangers"
"Old man, what do you want here?" the fashionably-dressed young widow asked.
Dusty and hot from a long walk, his white hair matted and damp from perspiration, the elderly gentleman stood with hat in hand at the door of a columned Virginia mansion in the early 1800s. He was tired and thirsty, he told the pretty mistress of the house. He had walked a great distance--was there possibly a place where he could freshen up a bit and rest until the next morning, for it was nearly dark.
Viewing him hastily, the lady told him no--that she was expecting the great minister--"the Rev. Mr. John Leland"--and couldn't be bothered with strangers. Then, after reflecting a moment, she suggested that he could stay in the slave quarters if he wished.
Who was the man she was expecting, this man named John Leland? Little is known about the man considered responsible for the sacred principle embodied in the first amendment to the Constitution--"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Elder John Leland was born in 1754 in Grafton, Mass., but spent most of his life in Virginia, dying at the age of 67 in 1821.
At Orange, Virginia, there is a small park commemorating the work done by this early Primitive Baptist preacher, and a plaque there notes that in 1788 Elder Leland and James Madison met to discuss the adoption of the Constitution of the United States; only with the addition of a Bill of Rights would Leland and his followers support it. Madison concurred, and as a member of Congress he presented the First Amendment to the Constitution for ratification.
During the last years of his life, Leland traveled a great deal over the country preaching, and his fame was wide-spread in Virginia and Maryland. Leland accepted no salary, and he walked almost everwhere he went. He was known for his wisdom and knowledge plus his ability as a speaker.
In many places it was fashionable to hold religious services in the homes of the plantation aristocracy, and Elder Leland received an invitation from the above-mentioned woman in Southern Virginia to come and preach at her mansion at 10 o'clock on a certain day. Though neither she nor her neighbors had ever seen John Leland, his reputation was known throughout the state.
No expense would be spared in preparing for the event, and all the neighbors would be invited. It would be a social affair, though it would also have an outward appearance of much piety.
It was on the evening preceding the appointment for Elder Leland that the old man approached the mansion where Leland was to speak. He mounted the steps that led to the columned porch, and a butler met him at the door and then called for the "missus."
After being told to go to the quarters, he thanked the lady and walked toward the slave cabins where he met an old couple, too old to work, and they willingly shared their food and cabin with him. In the course of the evening they discussed the Bible, and before retiring for the night the old man prayed.
The next morning all were busy around the mansion as last-minute preparations were made for Elder Leland. Fancy carriages came, transporting the richly-dressed aristocrats. At 10 o'clock, the hour for the service, Elder Leland was not in sight (none in that section of Virginia had ever seen him, but surely a man of his reputation would come in a fine equipage, pulled by the best horses).
The clock struck 10:30, then 11 -- and still no minister. Seeing the predicament her owner was in, the aged slave woman suggested that the old man, who was sitting in the shade of a tree on the edge of the lawn observing the occasion, be asked to pray. He had prayed the night before in the quarters, the slave said, and at least they could have a prayer before the company left.
The lady of the house talked it over with some others, and they agreed to ask the "old tramp" to pray.
He walked to the porch, and standing on the steps, repeated a short hymn from memory and then engaged in prayer. By the time he said "Amen," all eyes were fixed on him in amazement. Never had they heard such eloquence, and coming from an old tramp!
Noting that they had expected a sermon, he told the crowd that he was taking the liberty to say a few words. Carefully choosing his text, he turned to Hebrews 13:2 and read to the stunned audience:
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
Legend says that from that day forward the lives of those who had come to hear Elder Leland were greatly changed, especially that of the young hostess.
It was the most moving sermon that Elder Leland, mistaken for a tramp, ever preached.
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