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THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
FOR THE NEW DAY
~The Master’s Message:
for the New Day
RY OF PRIND SS.
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SEP 13 1994
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BY ee
VINCENT GODFREY BURNS
ASSOCIATION PRESS
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1926
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To
Tue BLesseED MEMoRY
of my father,
JAMES Howarp Burns,
who showed in his own life
a noble expression of the
religion of Jesus Christ.
PREFACE
On a quiet evening in June, 1925, I walked the shores of
beautiful Silver Bay with a friend. We talked of our hopes,
our lives, the miracle of existence, the needs of the world,
the blessings of friendship. In the love and sympathy of that.
friend I saw Jesus. This young prophet of God’s kingdom,
opening up dazzling visions to his friends, suggested very
much the Jesus of the Sermon on the Mount. “If only all
-men and women,” thought I, “had in them the good-will, the
beauty, the peace of this friend, our problems would vanish!’”
Here was a life that was done with lip service! Here was.
a man with courage enough to live the religion we all have
been talking about!
While my friend shows the world what God does through.
a truly loyal child, I hope this book may bear a few thoughts
of helpfulness in the spirit of this great friend. Life is glad.
and good; but fear and selfishness ruin it. The shackles of
- fear and self can be thrown aside only as we go out to answer
_ the call of the ‘Master. Some think he never lived; some say
the recorded words are untrustworthy; some are sure his
_ teaching is impractical. In the New Testament we know we
find a real Life; in the Sermon on the Mount we are sure we
have his best words; in the life of this wonderful friend one
surely sees the proof of religion’s power. |
The church, the mission field, the younger generation, the
_ schools, the crowded cities, the changing industrial life—the
_whole creation cries out for real light and help. We are all
the Mount?
sick of confusion and controversy. The world wants a real
message; the world wants to see actual personalities who have
lived beliefs and proved them good! If we want to hear and
see the real Jesus where else shall we go but to the Sermon or
“VEL
PREFACE
To Henry Van Dusen, who guided the group leaders at
Silver Bay, during the 1925 College Conference of the YM CA,
in a rare week of Bible exploration, my thanks are due. To
my prayer circle at the South Congregational Church, and to
my Bible groups at the Pittsfield Y M C A, both of which
shared in the discussions which form the background of this
work, my cordial appreciation is extended. Lastly, to Dr. .
H. E. Fosdick, who has guided my ministry continually, my
debt is unpayable in various ways. Many varieties of litera-
ture, poetry, and experience have entered into the warp and
woof of my thought, and for all these helps I express my
sincere gratitude. Space limitations have restricted — this
volume to the first half of the Sermon on the Mount. It is
hoped that another volume will be forthcoming to complete
the study.
All the scripture selections for the daily readings are taken
from either the words of the Master or bits of his biography -
as given in the four gospels. To some the old King James
version may be out of date but it is used here because its
words are like old flowers full of forgotten fragrance, or old
friends who in life’s journey wear best.
The prayer with which this book goes out is that others
may catch here something of the passion for truth, something
of the spiritual vigor, something of that fresh, daring, and —
fearless joy which the world sees in my friend, and which the
multitude must have seen in Jesus that memorable day on the
Palestinian Mount.
VINCENT GopFREY Burns.
Pittsfield, Mass.,
Nov. I, 1926.
Vill
CONTENTS
RERA CE er aut eee SUR! Ps oes
CHAPTER
]. THe TEMPLE ON THE Hitt-Torp . . . eee
II. Secrets or HAPPINESS IN THE New Day. .
III. WuHoLesoMe LiviING IN THE New Day. . .
IV. ApvENTURING WITH Gop IN THE NEw Day . .
‘VV... BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEw Day. ..°. ~~.
Netter meiNEW- (VL ARRIAGE)S .* ts-o2. SL kee
al epeeder ieee NEW. LIONESTY 245 uc feo oh ee a Signs
VIII. CongurEst or Evi. IN tHE New Day... .
fom oven THE ONEW DAY) foo se ke a
CoNCERNING THE SOURCES OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
120
149
192
214
245
’
é
CHAPTER I
The Temple on the Hill-top
DAILY READINGS
The Sermon on the Mount, as we find it recorded in the
gospel of Matthew, probably enshrines the earliest and most
authentic record of a discourse delivered by the Master. A
second-century historian, Eusebius by name (quoting another
man, Papias), has told us that it was well known that the
disciple Matthew had written down in Aramaic (the very
language Jesus spoke) some of the speeches of Jesus, and had
assembled them in a little papyrus volume, called “The
Logia.” When we combine this extraordinary news with the
significant fact that’ Matthew was the only member of the
Master’s intimate circle who could write (he was keeping his
books at the seat of custom when Jesus called him), we come
to the fascinating and almost certain conclusion that portions
of Matthew’s gospel (and especially the Sermon on the
Mount) contain Jesus’ message, recorded for us by an eye-
witness almost word for word! For the gospel of Matthew,
as we have it, is an expanded edition of the original Logia, or
‘Teachings, actually written down by a member of the dis-
ciples’ band! May it not be due to this fact that Renan, the
great French scholar, should have called the gospel of Mat-
thew “the most important book in Christendom’?
It is, therefore, with renewed assurance that. we can come
to a study of the message of the Master as we find it in the
Sermon on the Mount. We can look between the lines of this
sermon and feel sure that we are seeing an authentic and
genuine reflection of the greatest personality of the ages. We
£an listen to the accents which we hear in these words, feeling
rx
[I-r] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
sure that this is the actual, enchanting voice of the noblest
teacher humanity has known. “In one sentence of his words,”
‘says Albert Schweitzer, “the glow of his life is held.”
But we shall find more than a man and his message. We
shall come face to face with the most flaming and revolution-
ary teaching ever pronounced. If we are in dead earnest about
life, we shall be able to look Jesus right in the eyes here and
know what he really means! If we are honest with ourselves
we shall see clearly here the tremendous consequences which
would follow a fair application of this message to the society
of our times! This Sermon on the Mount is nothing else but
religion's dynamite for the reconstruction of the old social
order into the brighter and happier new day! Lord Morley
saw the dynamic in the Sermon on the Mount when he said:
“There are more secret elements of social volcano slumbering -
in it than in any other pronouncement ever recorded!” If
some folk really knew what lies deep under the surface of
this sermon, it would be prohibited from fashionable pulpits, -
it would be put on the Index, it would be burned as Red and
Radical literature, and certainly most men would not say of
it what Henry Ward Beecher said: “. . . acclaimed by uni-
versal consent the greatest truths and the noblest utterances
of earth.”
In order that we shall fully understand the message of the
sermon, we shall trace in the daily readings of this chapter
the main events which led Jesus to the preaching of this great
manifesto. As we see the sermon in its place in Jesus’ min-
istry, we shall notice how natural and appropriate and in-
evitable were the words of the sermon.
First Week, First Day
And when they had performed all things according to the
law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their cwn
city Nazareth. And the child grew, and waxed strong in
spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon
him.—Luke 2:39-40.
One of the amazing things about the gospels as we find them
is the almost complete silence concerning the early years of
Jesus’ life. For the first thirty years of his life, the veil
oP
7
THE TEMPLE ON THE HILL-TOP [1-1]
is lifted only once or twice. Even then we are not sure that
we have seen truly. How easy it would have been for the
writers and editors of the gospels to fabricate a few interest-
ing facts about the Master’s early life! Perhaps there is no
stronger point than this to. recommend the honesty and fidelity
of the recorders. Here and there the historians of Jesus’ life
included a few stories of the birth and the early days, but a
devout modesty restrained them from statements of fact not
well authenticated! .
We can, however, be tolerably sure about certain general
facts with regard to the youth of Jesus. -After the birth in
Bethlehem, which took place about 5 B.c., the father and
mother and baby boy sojourned for a short period in Egypt
(almost certainly a historical event), and then returned to the
home in Nazareth. We can imagine the developing baby find-
ing his world, as all babies do, in his mother’s arms, in the
cradle where he was rocked, and in the arms of friends who
carried him to and fro in the little village to show him off
to all the interested mothers of the town. Francis Thompson
has a very revealing little verse which makes Jesus a real baby
for us:
“Didst thou kneel at night to pray,
And didst thou join thy hands, this way?
And did they tire sometimes, being young,
And make the prayers seem very long?
And did thy mother at the night
Kiss thee, and fold the clothes in right?
And didst thou feel quite good in bed,
Kissed, and sweet, and thy prayers said?”
Surely, when he was grown, he took his bar-mitzvah as
every loyal Jewish child would, and probably entered the little
bare school room at the synagogue where at the feet of the
rabbi he learned to read the holy writings of his forefathers.
In the woodcraft shop, in the market place, at the village well,
at the knee of a loving mother, in the presence of the stern
village fathers, he must have heard of life with its problems,
its perplexities, its joys, its sorrows. Among the quiet hills
of the Galilean countryside, on many a knoll, and in many a
vale, he must have brooded, as boys do, upon the meaning of
3
=> = - ia — ne > . ae Sa “ee
[I-2] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
\
things. The caravans that moved along the coastal plain, the
sails that gleamed on the bright sea a few miles away, the
companies of soldiers that passed through the little town, the
toll gatherers and merchants who occasionally made their un-
welcome visits to the village, these must have excited the deep
wonder of the boy’s heart, must have awakened a keen interest
in the wide and mysterious world which lay beyond the bor-
ders of his own little province. Thus he grew robust of body,
keen of mind, tender of heart, and deep of spirit. The boy
was promising the man! Tabb’s lines may well reflect a true
picture of Jesus at this time:
“Once, measuring his height, he stood
Beneath a cypress tree,
And, leaning back against the wood,
Stretched wide his arms for me;
Whereat a brooding mother-dove
Fled fluttering from her nest above.
“At evening he loved to walk
Among the shadowy hills and talk
Of Bethlehem;
But if perchance there passed us by
The paschal lambs, he’d look at them
In silence, long and tenderly ;
And when again he'd try to speak,
I’ve seen the tears upon his cheek!”
First Week, Second Day
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass,
that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was
opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape
like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which
said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
And Jesus began to be about thirty years of age.—Luke
3221-23.
And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from
Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.—
Luke 4:1.
When Jesus came down to John at the Jordan for baptism,
he was just thirty years of age, as Luke tells us. For eighteen
4
—
THE TEMPELE-ON-THE HILE-T OP [I-2]
years, from the time we see him in the temple until he stands
before John, we have neither seen nor heard of him. But we
may rest assured that they were years filled with the finest
preparations for a great mission ever man made: creative
labor in the carpenter shop, earnest study of the holy book
of his native religion, daily profound meditation and prayer,
a noble and filial and perfect obedience to his heavenly Father.
How straight and strong and beautiful he must have looked!
“Erect in youthful grace and radiant
With spirit forces, all imparadised
In a divine compassion, down the slant
_ Of these remembering hills He came, the Christ,”
sings Katherine Bates, and it is true description. For John
himself, rugged old prophet as he is, stands in awe before
this divine expression of perfect manhood: “I have need to
be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?”
The scene of Jesus’ baptism was probably Bethany beyond
Jordan, now Bethabara. The sacred rite, which was accom-
panied by a vision that sealed in his consciousness the convic-
tion that God had for him some unusual and unexampled
mission, probably took place on the eastern bank of the river,
about five miles north of its emptying into the Dead Sea. The
scene of the solitary retirement is almost certainly the wilder-
ness west of the Dead Sea and southeast of the city of Jerusa-
lem. Here Jesus stayed for a short period (the exact time is
unknown) struggling with the great issues of his day, and
settling in his mind the general method of his ministry. The
prophets before him had set this precedent of the desert
visitation. It was the period when deep down in his own soul
Jesus must have formed the profound convictions of spiritual
- truth which later he declared with such authority. In these
days he gathered the will power and the determination to live
with unwavering fidelity the sublime ideal of perfect sonship
toward God. Perhaps he did not then know that the living of
it would mean certain death! ‘The picture is word-painted
truly by Caroline Hazard:
“Up from the Jordan straight His way He took |
To that lone wilderness, where rocks are hurled,
And strewn, and piled,—as if the ancient world
5
[I-3] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
In strong convulsions seethed and writhed and shook,
Which heaved the valleys up, and sunk each brook,
And flung the molten rock like ribbons curled
In mists of gray around the mountain whirled :—
A grim land, of a fierce, foreboding look.
The wild beasts haunt its barren, stony heights,
And wilder visions came to tempt Him there;
For forty days and forty nights,
Alone He faced His mortal self and sin,
Chaos without and chaos reigned within,
Subdued and conquered by the might of prayer!”
First Week, Third Day
And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought
up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue
on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there
was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias.
And when he had opened the book, he found the place —
where it was written,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to
the poor;
He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted,
To preach deliverance to the captives,
And recovering of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the min-
ister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in
the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say
unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
And all bare him witness and wondered at the gracious
words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said,
Is not this Joseph’s son? ... and he said unto them, Ye
will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thy-
self: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also
here in thy country.
And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is ac-
cepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many
widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven
was shut up three years and six months, when great famine |
Poe MEP ON Tin HIE lLOP [1-3] |
was throughout the land; but unto none of them was Elias
sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that
was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel at the time
of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed,
saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue,
when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and
rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto
the brow of the hill, whereon the city was built, that they
might cast him down headlong. But he passing through
the midst of them went his way.—Luke 4: 16-30.
In this vivid and startling picture in Luke’s gospel we find
_recorded one of the most accurate incidents in Jesus’ ministry.
The foreshadowing of later tragedy is in this picture. We
catch the note of fearlessness in his words, we hear the deep
thundering, challenging, rebuking tones of the prophet in his
‘voice. In his own home town, in his own home church, he
takes the flaming words of reform from the burning lips of
a great hero of his people, Isaiah, and makes them the starting
point of his ministry of redemption! The neighbors and
friends are startled at the gracious power now throbbing at
its mature pitch in the life of this young prophet. ‘Can this
be the son of the carpenter?” they ask. They are disposed
to praise and commend until they hear the type of message he
dares to proclaim. It is a message that cuts across their
narrdw patriotism and declares the world-wide brotherhood
of humanity. Their provincial pride is stabbed to the heart,
and full of kindled wrath, they drag him from the pulpit and
out of the city to the brow of the hill where they would have
killed him had not some loyal friends interfered. But so he
begins his ministry, rejected and cast out of his own home
town! i
One can readily imagine how troubled Mary, his mother,
must have been. One can almost see her, saying good-bye to
her son, who has disgraced himself in the eyes of the whole
village. She is probably begging him to be careful, urging
him not to say anything which will anger the rulers and the
Pharisees and the Jerusalem scribes who will be less easy on
him than the local reactionaries. We can see him gently take
his: mother in his arms, wiping from her eyes the tears, com-
forting her with words of infinite tenderness and asking her
to trust him and her fully to the great love and will of God.
7
[1-4] THE MASTERS MESSAGE
Katherine Tynan, in her beautiful poem, forecasts for us the
4reatment which now the Master must expect:
“ ‘Sweetest Son, what dost Thou see?
In Thine eyes groweth the shadow.
Dost Thou weary of earth and me
While we wander iin this sweet meadow ?”
“Mother of mine, I look ona place
And men asleep ‘neath a darkling sky;
‘One crieth out with a stricken face,
Oh! Mother, I fear that man Stal be
“Thou dreamest, my ‘Son! Is naught to fear.
Sit and play ’neath the blooming bough.
Here ‘be thine angels, merry and dear,
Thy Father -will send Thee guards enow.’
‘But, Mother, I see a rabble rout,
And one among them is dragged to die.
“Crucifige!” the voices shout.
Oh! Mother, I fear that man is 1.’
“Peace, dear Lordkin; there ‘be Thy birds,
The Kid, Thy sweeting, the lamb, the dove;
Thy Father will send Thee a million swords
Ere any harm Thee, my Baby love!’
‘Oh! Mother, I see a man of grief,
Nailed to a cross on achill-top high;
His head is bowed betwixt thief and thief,
Oh! Mother, I :think that man is I’ ”
‘First Week, Fourth Day
And he came down +o -Capernaum, -a &ity of Galilee, and
taught them qn the sabhath days. And they were aston-
‘ished at his doctrine: for his word was with power. . .
a
And he said to them, I must preach the kingdom of ‘God |
to other cities also, for therefore am I sent. And he
preached in the synagogues 7 Galilee.—Luke 4: 31-32, 43-44
THE TEMPLE ON THE HILL-TOP [I-s}
Following the rejection at Nazareth, we find Jesus at Caper-
naum, that tiny village close to the shores of Galilee. May it
not have been that at this time he brought his mother down
to this little place to make her home? For would it not have
been most unpleasant for her, who was now a widow, to re-
main in Nazareth where her son had been disgraced?
At any rate we find Capernaum the headquarters for a
preaching tour through the Galilean lake country. He goes
out to speak to the people on street corners, in wayside inns,
on sandy shores, beneath twisted olive trees, in quiet homes.
He visits city after city, and in some places finds opportunity
to speak in the synagogues the new message of the “kingdom
of God.’ What was this message? A declaration of the
Fatherhood of God, the world-wide brotherhood of all men,
the supremacy of service, a challenge to a life of sacrificial
helpfulness and healing kindness, a readjustment of life’s
values, a new law of absolute and unfailing Love! This was
the most fruitful period of his life, a time when the good he
- was doing left its impression far and wide!
“Should not the glowing lilies of the field
With keener splendor mark His footprints yet
Prints of those gentle feet whose passing healed
All blight from Tabor unto Olivet?”
First Week, Fifth Day
So much the more went there a fame abroad of him:
and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed
by him of their infirmities.—Luke 5:15.
And he came down with them, and stood in the plain,
and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of
people out of all Judza and Jerusalem, and from the sea
coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to
be healed of their diseases.—Luke 6:17.
And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought
unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases
and torments, and those which were possessed with devils,
and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy:
and he healed them. And there followed him great multi-
tudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from
Jerusalem, and from Judza, and from beyond Jordan.—
Matt. 4:24-25.
iB 9
[1-6] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE t,
The fame of Jesus had spread abroad through all of Galilee,
and crowds of people followed him, some out of curiosity.
others with eager interest in the new gospel, many sick and
despondent and tired and discouraged, looking to the great
Teacher for help and health. All who heard him marveled
at the bright, glowing, happy face. All who listened stood
aghast at the penetrating, revolutionary, dynamic words of
power that poured from those firm lips, unafraid. There was
an electric magnetism about him, an entrancing sweetness in
his voice, a calm and beauty about his features which spoke
unmistakably of the peace of God in his heart. How he healed
a | pe "4
perhaps we shall never be able to tell, He had some secret —
which few men have known. There was a something in that
touch of his, a something in that quiet demeanor, a something
in the very light of his countenance which imparted new life
and new hope and new power to every life he. approached!
John Clare describes him well:
“His presence was a peace to all,
He bade the sorrowful rejoice;
Pain turned to pleasure at his call,
Health lived and issued from his voice.
He healed the sick, and sent abroad
The dumb rejoicing in the Lord.
“The blind met daylight in his eye,
The joys of everlasting day;
The sick found health in his reply;
The cripple threw his crutch away.
Yet he with troubles did remain
And suffered poverty and pain.”
Jesus had now reached the very height of popularity. But ;
3t was not to be for long. He was to know the fate of all —
real prophets. The self-seeking multitude was to disappear —
gn darker days.
‘First Week, Sixth Day
¥ And it came to pass on a certain day when he was teach-
‘ing, there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by,
10
ed)
THE TEMPLE ON: THE: HILL-TOP [1-6]
which were come out of Galilee, and Judza, and Jerusalem.
—Luke 5:17.
And the scribes and Pharisees began to reason, saying,
Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive
sins, but God alone?—Luke 5:21.
But their scribes and Pharisees murmured, saying, Why
do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?—Luke
5°30. -
And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye
mee which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days?—
uke 6:2.
The growing popularity of Jesus with the crowd has had
one very noticeable result: the rulers, the Pharisees, the
scribes, the elders, the chief priests have grown envious and
jealous and hostile! This period of the gospel narrative is
characterized by one very marked and recurring fact: the
growing hostility of the “powers that be!”
This was just what one should expect. Wherever the vivid
- color of the real Jesus comes to light in the fourfold portrait
of the gospels, we get the vision of an immensely radical and
challenging figure, utterly at variance with the thought, the
religion, and the contemporary patriotism of his day. We see
a teacher whose message ruthlessly smashed the shams of the
current orthodoxy to smithereens, whose rapier-like thrusts
of keen truth cut the hypocritical religion of the day to the
very heart, whose tremendous sincerity and fearless righteous-
ness so challenged the selfish and worldly and conventional
life of the Jewish church and nation that the name of the
bold Nazareth radical became a byword from one end of
Palestine to the other.
But he who dares defy the strongholds of the “status quo,”
even though truth and justice and right be on his side, takes
his life in his hands and flirts with death and destruction.
‘Jesus had healed on the sabbath, had taken grain for his
friends from the fields on the sabbath, had supped with pub-
licans and sinners, had preached doctrines of brotherhood and
God’s character which were at variance with the current
teaching, had told a poor despondent soul that he might
consider his sins forgiven! These things in the eyes of the ~
blind Pharisees were hideous crimes against social and re-
ligious orthodox standards. So they set up a spy system to
II
{I-7] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE F
catch him. We are told that Pharisees and doctors of the
Jaw sat by to listen for evidence of blasphemy. We hear that
scribes and Pharisees watched him, that they might find an
accusation against him, We learn that they were filled with
madness because of his disregard for their sabbath laws, and ~
they communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
Thus was the stage prepared for that terrific drama where
God's great Son of Love was to be set in his struggle with
the gathering forces of a vicious and reactionary group of
selfish and worldly politicians! William Cowper gives us a
good description of the enemies of Jesus:
“He judged them with as terrible a frown
As if not love, but wrath, had brought him down;
Yet he was gentle as soft summer airs,
Had grace for others’ sins, but none for theirs. ...
The astonished vulgar trembled while he tore
The mask from faces never seen before;
He stripped the imposters in the noonday sun,
Showed that they followed all they seemed to shun;
Their prayers made public, their excesses kept
As private as the chambers where they slept ;
The temple and its holy rites profaned
By mummeries He that dwelt in it disdained ;
Uplifted hands, that at convenient times
Could act extortion and the worst of crimes,
Washed with a neatness scrupulously nice,
And free from every taint but that of vice.”
‘First Week, Seventh Day
And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples:
and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles:
Simon (whom he also named Peter) and Andrew his
‘brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew
‘and Thomas, James the Son of Alpheus, and Simon called
Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot,
-which also was the traitor—Luke 6:13-16.
It was almost certainly at the time of the appointing of the
twelve that the Sermon on the Mount was delivered. We shall
ainderstand the sermon best when we recall the circumstances
12
:
j
2
7
q
"
THE TEMPLE ON THE HILL-TOP [1-7]
of Jesus’ youth, the divine revelation at his baptism and the’
quiet weeks of preparation in the wilderness, the violent ex-
pulsion from Nazareth, the wide preaching and healing in
Galilee, the immense popularity of the young prophet who
had attracted crowds from all the country round about, the
rapidly increasing bitterness of the hostile leaders of the com-
‘munity and nation, and the growing feeling in Jesus’ mind that-
he might have to go to an early death, thus making it neces-
sary for him to have trained representatives to carry on the
message.
Out of the crowd who followed him, therefore, the Master’
now selects twelve men. Peter, Andrew, James, John, and-
Matthew had already met Jesus and had been invited to share’
the cause (see Luke 5). Twelve was perhaps the number of
intimate disciples which most of the prophets had had. At-
any rate Jesus feels that to face the terrific spiritual experi-
ences in store for him in the days ahead he needs must have
near him a small group of intimate and sympathetic friends-.-
It was a wayfaring, self-sacrificing, homeless, penniless life
of missionary ministry to which he called them. It is sur-
prising that these men responded so quickly. And there must:
have been hundreds besides in the multitude who gladly and
eagerly would have followed him had they been chosen. It
was a precious privilege to be in that group of the Master’s
first brotherhood, but all who were chosen were of the
humbler class of life. The twelve entrusted with his cause
were of the poor (with the possible exception of Matthew),-
who found it comparatively easy to leave all and follow him.
“Not chance, but choice, did first apostles make;
Christ did not them at all adventures take;
But as his heavenly wisdom thought most fit
E For his won purpose, so he ordered it.
He raised not an army for to fight
And force religion, but did men invite
By gentle means. Twelve of the simpler sort
Served to make up his train, and kept his court.”
13
[I-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
MEDITATION FOR THE WEEK
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain:
and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and he
opened his mouth, and taught them.—Matt. 5:1-2.
I
For days Jesus had been teaching and preaching and healing
continually. The tide of public favor was running high. The .
sick and the leprous and the blind had hobbled their way to
him in yearning hope of healing. The cripples had been
carried by friends to be laid by the wayside for his touch as
he passed by. The beggars and the outcasts had heard of the
new messenger of God, and they had come seeking a new life
of hope. The bereaved, the troubled, the distressed had ~
learned of a face bright with a divine and unquenchable joy,
and they too had arrived within the borders of Galilee with
all confidence that some angel from the other world might
tell them of an immortal promise. Pharisees, scribes, elders,
and doctors of the law, hearing of the impulsive young heretic,
had come thither with but one dire purpose: to gain some
evidence which might deliver him into their hateful hands.
For they were filled with jealousy at his popularity with the
people, and with a terrible anger because of his fearless re-
bukes of the accepted customs in religion and society. It was
a vast assemblage and there was no place within the village
where the crowd could comfortably congregate. Jesus, there-
fore, wisely led them out from the narrow streets up a slight
incline to an ample hill where in the open beneath God’s sky |
was plenty of room for all who would come to hear him.
Behind the mists of the centuries the actual site of the
sermon is hidden. An early western tradition identifies it as
the Horns of Hattin, twin peaks west of the shores of Galilee.
Jerome mentions Mount Tabor, which is southwest of the
Sea of Galilee. The site is certainly among the many hills
just west of the Galilean lake, and very probably in that
region close to the thickly populated shore between Magdala —
and Capernaum.
At any rate it is not hard for us to reconstruct the ex-
traordinary scene of that momentous sermon. Jesus has been
all night in prayer on the brow of the hill. At dawn he
14
THE TEMPLE ON THE HILL-TOP [I-m]
selects from among his most intimate friends twelve men
who are to share his most personal comradeship within the
inner circle of brotherhood. The events that follow are some-
thing in the nature of an ordination service. The Master no
doubt is seated on or near a bowlder. Among Orientals one
never stands when he can be seated. The sitting position is
the one universally assumed by the public teacher. It is a
position of ease and comfort and informality. Near the feet
of Jesus sit also the newly appointed twelve. Around the
circle of the hillside, some sitting, some lying, a few standing,
are the multitudes of people who have come to listen. Mostly
poor and humble folk they are, a goodly number in rags, a
great number sickly and pale and diseased, many quite desti-
tute, some starving. In the foreground there are fishermen
and mechanics and artisans. Here are the laborers and the
ever-present shepherds. Here are mothers nursing their chil-
dren, or even young boys and girls with their younger sisters
and brothers. On one side one may see a little group of
whispering scribes and Pharisees. Here are the Roman
soldiers, sent by the tetrarch to verify fears of sedition.
Probably on the fringe of the crowd one perceives strangers, ©
foreigners, travelers, stopping for a moment to see what it
is all about. Sinners and saints they are, diseased and dis-
tressed, callous and cold, humble and proud, a few in silk
but most in homespun or tattered remnants; they represent
a pretty good cross-section of the humanity of that ancient
world. And if we knew their hearts, we should see a fair
cross-section of what human nature is like in our own day.
Here speaks the Master then; he who in later days will meet
many of this same multitude and have his ardent, young, and
beautiful life crushed out upon their bloody cross! Let us
look again through the eyes of Caroline Hazard at that hill-
top temple:
“An upland hill, with sandy soil and bare;
Tall tufts of grass start from the barren ground
And branching bushes; scattered all around
Are jagged rocks to form a shelter where
The foxes still have holes and make their lair;
While birds of prey up in the still profound
Of lambent sky are circling o’er the mound
15
[I-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
Twin-crested, basking’ in the springtime air.
- It was upon that sun-crowned little hill.
» Béneath the Syrian sky the Master spoke
Such blessed words that they are living still!”
II
It is scarcely possible for us to imagine all the exquisite
contrasts of that Oriental spring morning. Brilliant hues of
springtime mountain flowerets must have filled the crannies
‘and nooks of the rocky hillsides. Soft, rich green foliage
of bending olive trees must have lifted welcome shade for a
fortunate few from the bright, streaming sun of the glaring
astern sky. Bright-colored costumes, here and there, touched
the company with starry brightness. Singing birds wheeled
overhead in the blue of heaven. Sheep browsed lazily in the
scarce grass of the lower pastures, adding an element of peace ~ 3
and carefree nature to a scene which otherwise spoke of sick-
ness and sin and heart-hungry humanity. To the north the
gleaming white peak of Hermon reflected the brilliance of
the morning sun. While to the south Tabor’s green sides
made marvelous contrast against the prevailing stone-gray of
the Palestinian landscape.
What a glorious day it was for the Master! It was not
only the high-day of his popularity. It was not only the :
spiritual birthday of twelve of his friends. But it was the
day upon which he was to pronounce in unmistakable accents
those truths which were to stand before men as teaching for
eternity!’ But even more: the very ground upon which he
sat, in memory of his mighty life of love, was to be named
forever Holy Land! This day he had called confused and _
perplexed and needy souls to a service in Nature’s temple.
And all the world seemed to conspire to add beauty to the
divine scene. For sweet incense the flowers offered their —
fragrant perfume. For text the lilies lifted their snow-white —
chalices filled with golden dew. For anthem the larks chanted
their exquisite music. For altar the greensward gave its bril-
liant sheen. For pulpit a mighty boulder was prepared. The
cathedral: naves were even Hermon on the north and Tabor
on the south, and over all was the arched ceiling of royal
blue. How many’an inspiring vista did the congregation see
16
THE TEMPLE ON THE HILL-TOP [I-m]
from the mountain height that glorious morning! What
pleasing, healing prospects stretched before their view! They
did not realize, however, that before them was the highest
mountain peak of human character, the divinest man that ever
breathed!
As again we vision in our thought that unique occasion,
something of the same spell of wonder and inspiration comes
~ over us even as it overwhelmed those first disciples. We feel
emotions moving over our hearts too profound to explain,
calling forth from our lips the same words of adoration
which were uttered by George Matheson: ;
“Son of Man before whose portrait I stand today,
Thou art still unique, alone... .
Others have stood on the same Mount with Thee,
But Thou alone hast caught the glory.
To me Thou speakest ever, not on the Mount but from the
Mount.
Thy voice is from aloft; I am always below it.
I may have seen the painted rainbow in the sky,
Yet the rainbow in the sky remains original.
So it is with my sight of Thee.
Thy face gives new meaning to the instincts of my soul.
Old words on Thy lips become winged.
Plain chords on Thy harp become melody.
Truths spoken long ago become discoveries in Thee.
The trite terms of endearment that man utters to man thrill
With the surprise of pathos when they are uttered by Thee.
The language is from Galilee, but the accent is from
Heaven!”
III
He who would climb the steep ascent of the soul’s great
adventure and stand with Jesus on the mountain top of vision
must pay the price Jesus paid. He who would understand ‘to
the full the holy truth of this charter of Christian faith,
called the Sermon on the Mount, must enter its spirit through
the same door of fearless, unequivocal consecration to God’s
will for humanity. For thirty years he husbanded his
strength for this transcendent hour. To the occasion he came
in full possession of all his energies and powers, physical,
: 17
{I-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
mental, moral, and spiritual. All night we see him in silent
communion with the great All-Father that in the morning
all the hidden recesses of his spirit may be ready with in-
spiration and instinct with magnetic force. The responsibility
is great but he is ready!
His theme is determined by his audience. With masterful
skill he pictures the Ideal Life as a spiritual condition, not a
worldly possession. He depicts the only reliable bases for a
worthy human society. He shows how a corrupt and con-
fused, how an unjust and cruel and disordered world has
emerged from the faultiness of the current social and religious
ideals. He contrasts the empty formalism of the old religion
with the serene peace and abiding satisfaction of the new.
With keen ethical insight and penetrating spiritual under-
standing he points out the true treasures of life as not out-
ward abundance but inward contentment, not the accumulation
of riches but atonement with God. He shows with remorse-
less logic that the secret of a good life is not correct ortho-
doxy but worthy character. Through the sermon runs an
undercurrent of direct address as if he were talking pointedly
to the newly ordained men in the front row. But at the
same time words leap out to rebuke the cold formalism of the
Pharisees, to convert the worldly from the futile mammon
pursuit, and to comfort the sorrowing and the broken-hearted.
While the Master was adjusting this message to the hearts
of the multitude before him, at the same time he was speaking
to the world unlimited by time or space. He was aiming to
state the fundamental principles of living so that they would
be universally intelligible. He was deducing personal and
social laws for humanity’s guidance, laws as real and as abid-
ing as evolution or gravitation or chemical affinity or elec-
tricity. Every bit of his profound intellectual genius, every
ounce of physical energy, and every resource of his magnificent
spiritual capacity were called into play that he might set forth
here a real word of God for the guidance of the Father's
earthly children.
[I-q] - THE MASTER’S MESSAGE — ae
3. “The first thing Jesus did as a teacher was to make men
re-think God... .”
Make a list of the attributes of God referred to by Jesus
in the sermon. Was the vision of God in Jesus’ eyes different
in any vital respects from that of the prophets’ vision of
Jehovah?
4. Re-read Matthew 5-7, and list the common customs of
the religion of the day, the ordinary standards of morals, the
impulses that influenced personal and social behavior.
5. Some scholars say the sermon is a ‘mere compilation of
collected sayings, and never was delivered as an actual dis-
course. Judging from internal evidence of the sermon itself
what would you say as to this?
6. Can you find in the sermon passages which suggest the —
events which immediately preceded its preaching, such as his
immense popularity with the common =people, the growing —
hostility of the Pharisees and their group, the rejection at —
Nazareth, the vision at the Baptism, the experience in the
Wilderness, the calling of the twelve?
7, The Ten Commandments announced by Moses from —
Mount Sinai had been the law of the Jews. In what way does —
Jesus alter them? Does he fail to mention any one of these
laws?
8. Why does Jesus fail to mention in this greatest sermon ©
the Christian doctrines which loom so large in the creeds?
9. Make a list of little windows in this sermon through ~
which we may look at the common life of Jesus’ day, at some —_
of his own experiences, at the inmost struggles of his own —
heart. :
10. What is the secret of Jesus’ method as a teacher?
What is his purpose? Define the kingdom of God as taught
by Jesus.
CHAPTER II
Secrets of Happiness in the
New Day
DAILY READINGS
All the world is concerned with the quest of happiness.
Different folks may call it different names, but if the heart
could define its yearnings it would phrase them in terms of
joy. The artist, the student, the man of business, the athlete,
even the monk and the nun in the monastery, and all the rest
of us are consciously or unconsciously engaged in the same
eternal quest. But few of us are finding what we seek. May
not this failure be due to the fact that we lack a clear idea
of what happiness really is? May it not come about that
happiness eludes us because we seek her in the wrong way?
In our daily readings, let us see what Jesus can teli us about
this questing for happiness which absorbs the interest of us all.
Second Week, First Day
Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now
shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that sum-
mer is nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these
things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is
nigh at hand.—Luke 21:29-31.
Let us recognize, at the outset, that the discovery of the
secret of happiness may mean a seeing of God’s wondrous
beauty all about us in earth’s commonest things. Not a blade
of grass, not a leaf-dripping bough, not a pebble on the shore,
25
[II-1] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ,
not a piece of board, not one of those humblest things right
near us but is full of beauty and wonder if we have eyes to
see it. The kingdom of God is nigh us in the plainest tasks,
in the commonest places, and in ways which we least expect.
Rupert Brooke, the beloved soldier-poet of Britain, had
this insight which sees joy in common things, when he sang:
“These I have loved, white plates and cups, clean- gleaming,
Ringed with blue lines; and feathery, fairy dust;
Wet roofs, beneath the lamplight; and_the strong crust
Of friendly bread!”
In bird and bee and flower and tree, when summer comes
back again, we seé God coming in his kingdom of Nature.
In treasures of bird-song, in lovely vistas of bright gardens,
we too shall know and see that heaven is nigh at hand. We
shall find happiness like the Psalmist who saw God in the dew
of Hermon descending in fresh glory, in the springs sending
their waters through the valleys, in the rich green grass and
the delicate flower. Let the joy-seeker learn his lesson from
that beautiful poem of Mary Thayer’s, “To a Tourist”:
“Ts it beauty that you seek,
O traveler?
Is it beauty you would find?
But beauty lives within the mind
And heart of man. Forbear to peer
Down distant roads. Beauty is near.
“Do you think that in strange lands,
On tropic seas—
She is more fair? More real?
O wanderer, when will you feel
The breath of beauty in the air,
And touch her garment everywhere?
“O restless feet, O tired eyes,
Seeking afar
That which slumbers in the grass
Beneath your footsteps as you pass;
That which to an instant clings,
And dwells in little common things!”
26
SECRETS OF HAPPINESS IN THE NEW DAY [11-31
Second Week, Second Day
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.—John 3:3.
Finding the secret of happiness may involve, for some at
least, a radical change in personal conduct and habit of life.
There may be certain habits ingrained in our lives which
must be absolutely cast out before we can know real happi-
ness. ‘Many a man must be born again before he can enter
the kingdom of God’s happiness.
When Higgins went among the lumber-jacks of the Minne-
sota woods he found them hilariously in pursuit of what they
called pleasure, but which was really their own ruin. It was
his problem to win to real happiness such men as “Jimmie
the Beast,” a low, notorious brute who actually emerged one
day drunk and hungry from a Deer River Saloon to rob a
bulldog of his bone and gnaw it himself. He had.to rescue
to real living such men as “Damned Soul Jenkins,’ who after
his weekly spree would go moaning into the forest, conceiv-
ing himself condemned to roast forever in hell, and beyond
the power of his mother’s prayers to save him. Such men
have no hope of happiness unless they pass before the con-
quering power of Jesus to be born anew into a finer life.
That Jesus can personally capture a man ruined by bad
habits and bless him with new life is not mere theory. It
has been done, many times. One of the happiest men J know
today is a friend whom I had the joy to Help through to
victory in a hard struggle with drink and poverty and dis-
couragement; he was born again on his knees in the presence
of Jesus. I have seen men at the old Water ‘Street Mission,
with shining faces and beautiful lives, tell of their joy as it
came to them through a transformed life. Verily, except a
man be born again from the old life with its ugly sins to the
new life with its spiritual power, he cannot know the kingdom
of true happiness!
Second Week, Third Day
But Jesus called them unto him and said, Suffer little
children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such
is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever »
27
4
[11-4] THE MASTER'S MESSAGE ae
shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall
in no wise enter therein—Luke 18:16-17.
The releasing of real happiness in our lives may oftentimes
depend on our possessing the childlike spirit. The real sinners
of this world are not always those who give their bodies over
to gross physical sin. But the real sinners are frequently
those who have hearts full of pride and deceit and anger and
all forms of spiritual sin and secret faults. As Marguerite
Wilkinson has so well put it: “Pride in virtue cold and small
may be the foulest sin of all!” The man who sins against his
own body injures no one but himself. But the man who
brings to the world a hardness of heart, an evil disposition, a_ a
spirit of jealousy and pride and ill-will, will spoil not only
his own happiness but the happiness of everyone around him.
The kingdom of God cannot be received, said Jesus, unless we —
have the spirit of little children.
For the little child is teachable. It’s little heart is as open
as the sky is to the sunlight. The child ‘knows not the studied |
stubbornness of the grown-up nor yet the proud ostracism
of the eternally critical Pharisee. It is as natural as breath-
ing for a child to be kind, tenderhearted, frank, honest, sin- -
cere. It learns the opposites of these from its elders. The
rigid ice of many a cold, selfish heart must first be broken
under the hammer of a holy humility before it can stoop with
simplicity to enter that low door which leadeth unto life.
Very meek, very pure, very innocent, very trusting must that
life be which would enter the kingdom Jesus» means. For
whosoever will not receive this kingdom in the spirit of a
little child shall never enter into its joy!
Second Week, Fourth Day
My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.—John 5:17.
Moreover, our happiness may depend upon our seeimy the
world as a workshop and recognizing our main task as the
creation of a personality which will be a work of art, the best
life we know built of the best materials God has given!
One suspects that Jesus was the supreme craftsman in the
realm of character because he first learned the lesson of
28
SECRETS OF HAPPINESS IN THE NEW DAY [II-s]
patience in his father’s carpenter shop. Modeling yokes, con-
structing tables, carving cups and household implements, he
learned the beauty of noble proportion and the joy of a task
perfectly done. He sought to be a worker as patient and as
perfect as his heavenly Father. When, therefore, the more
serious business of building a life confronted him he rose
superbly to the work, and, as in the grueling toil of the shop
at Nazareth he held firmly to the task in hand through pain
and weariness of spirit, so he held to the personal ideal
through every bitter misunderstanding and every temptation
to relax.
Not otherwise shall we find life’s best satisfactions. If we
spurn the vision which every day shines before our eyes, that
vision of our best self, it shall slowly fade and we shall be
left with the unhappiness of an imperfect character. Bishop
- Doane gives us a hint of the glory that comes when per-
sonality is created through conscious coOperation with the
- Father:
“Chisel fn hand stood a sculptor boy,
With his marble block before him,
And his face lit up with a smile of joy
As an angel dream passed o’er him,
He carved that dream on that shapeless stone
With many a sharp incision;
With Heaven’s own light the sculpture shone—
He had caught that angel vision.”
Second Week, Fifth Day
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might
remain in you, and that your joy might be full—John 15:11.
Finding permanent happiness may also mean that we have
the capacity for the enjoyment of life the way Jesus did.
_ The joy of Jesus was not based on carnal pleasures. The
world of his day was full of opportunities to gratify the
passions of the flesh. Many there were who took that road
to what they thought was joy but which turned to dust and
ashes in their hands. Many stood amazed in the presence of
that serene happiness which he carried with him always even
29
[11-6], THE MASTER'S MESSAGE +3
unto death. “My joy,’ he said he would give them, and that
joy was a deep thing of the spirit, an unquenchable flame of
holy happiness which never burned low.
A little street girl once taught a nurse the meaning of
happiness, Injured in a street accident she was taken to a
hospital, where she seemed to enjoy herself immensely, despite
her injury. One day she said to the nurse, “Say, ’'m havin’
real good times here. Didje ever hear about Jesus bein’
born?”
“Yes,” replied the nurse, and added, “Sh-sh-sh! Don’t talk
any more!”
Then said the child, “I thought you looked as if you didn’t
and I was going to tell you.”
“Why, how do I look?” asked the nurse.
“QO, just like most o’ folks—kind o’ glum!” replied the
child. And that is a pretty good description of Christians -
filling our churches, and folks filling our world today, they
mostly look “kind o’ glum.”
This characteristic atmosphere of depression which glooms
the life of so many people, supposedly living with the religion
of Jesus, arises from a failure fully to appreciate the mean-
ing of Jesus’ joy. Our joy will be transitory, never brimming
over in undiminished gladness, until we learn in his way to
derive life’s best enjoyment from the high realm of the spirit!
Second Week, Sixth Day
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as
the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid.—John 14:27.
These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might
have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be
of good cheer; I have overcome the world.—John 16:33.
As we go this world’s pilgrim way, we must not forget that
along the road many distractions, many disappointments, many
heart-breaking experiences may be in store for us. How can
we keep joy through this? Possessing happiness in the
presence of the world’s unideal situations may involve a
‘divine contentment. While one may wisely be. dissatisfied
with things as they are among men, the petty strifes, the
30
SECRETS OF HAPPINESS IN THE NEW DAY [II-7]
mean spirits, the human errors that cry out for redemption,
the social wrongs that crush human beings beneath cruel in-
justices, and while one may well engage with his brothers in
all efforts to save, nevertheless, through it all one must still
be a contented crusader.
“Who is wise?” asks Ben Franklin. “He that learns from
every one. Who is powerful? He that governs his passions.
Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that?) Nobody!”
How can we be continually rich with the happiness that faileth
not unless we learn a peaceful contentment so deep the im-
perfections of the world cannot reach it? “I have learned,”
testifies that radiant apostle Paul, “in every state to be con-
tent!” If the world be troubled around you, says Jesus, let
not your heart be. There you can know my contentment and
_my peace. If the world seems to give you only tribulation,
fare forward without fear. Take unto your spirits my un-
dimmed good cheer which can overcome the world’s troubles,
every one! In the world we will have tribulation, we will
have sorrow and suffering, but still can we keep Christ's
peace! Burns shows us the spirit:
“Hope not sunshine every hour,
Fear not clouds will always lower.
Happiness is but a name,
Make content and ease thy aim.”
Second Week, Seventh Day
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven.—Matt. 16:19.
Our realizing of life’s joy may in the final analysis involve
our ability and our willingness to bring our religion into vital
and living relation to our everyday life!
After the benediction churchgoers pass out of the pews and
through the church door, frequently saying in their hearts
something like this, “Good-bye, Religion. I’ll be back next
Sunday.” Of what value is a religion which can be put on
like a coat on Sunday and then hung up in the closet of
31
-[II-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ‘
forgetfulness the rest of the week? The religion of Jesus.
selects no special Sabbath out of life’s days when piety and_
holiness and quickening joy are found and then forgotten on
ordinary days. He wants every day as vitally full of strength-
giving and joy-giving religion as we can make it.
Carlyle said that the man who sings at his work is the hope
of the world. It may be so. It suggests, however, that —
society will be redeemed when men and women carry to every —
endeavor of ordinary life the joyful spirit and the holy God- —
consciousness of Jesus. We must unlock heaven with the —
golden key of Jesus’ faith and let it free in the actual world.
“Yesterday,” wrote Ruskin, “I went for a walk. As I came F.
down a quiet hillside, a mile or two out of town, I passed a ~
house where women were at work spinning silk. There was
a whirring sound as in an English mill; but at intervals they
sang a Idw, sweet, chant, all together, lasting about two :
minutes, then pausing a minute, and then beginning again. —
It was good and tender music, and the multitude of voices
prevented any sense of failure, so that it was very lovely —
and sweet, and like the things I mean to try to bring to pass!” —
When we all carry into our everyday living the sweet, vital —
joy of Jesus’ faith, we shall begin to understand that prayer —
we have so often prayed without real thought of its meaning,
“Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven!”
MEDITATION ON THE MASTER’S THOUGHT
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of 3
heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteous- ©
ness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’
sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute
you, and shail say all manner of evil against you falsely, —
for my sake.
32
_ SECRETS OF HAPPINESS IN THE NEW DAY [II-m]
Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were
before youu—Matt. 5:3-12.
I
To the Scientist we go for knowledge, to the Philosopher
for insight, but to the Poet for knowledge and insight added
to inspiration. That fair soul, Shelley, defined a poem as
“the very image of life expressed in its external truth,” and
of poetry he said that it was “the record of the best and
happiest moments of the happiest and best minds.’ What-
ever we may think of Shelley’s definitions, this at least we
know: there is a penetrating clearness about poetry which is
not always present in the statements of science; there is an
emotional element connected with it which the dry definitions
of philosophers always lack; and, above all, in true poetry,
there is an exalted inspiration which we feel is as truly the
warmth of the poet’s own soul as fragrance is the aroma of
the flower.
- But the true poet not only reveals life’s deepest truths to
us, but he helps us to organize them in our own lives. So,
truly speaks our noble Sidney, “Of all sciences the Poet is
_ the Monarch. He dooth not only show the way, but giveth
| so sweete a prospect ... as will entice any man to enter it.
Nay, he dooth as if your journey should lye through a fayre
Vineyard, at the first gives you a cluster of grapes, that full
of that taste you may long to passe further. He beginneth
not with obscure definitions ... but hee commeth to you
with words set in delightful proportion; and with a tale
_ forsooth he commeth unto you: with a tale which holdeth
children from play and old men from the chimney corner.”
Poetry thus powerfully appeals to man because it comes
| to him on a universal plane. For, after all, the harmonies of
the universe are in man as much as they are in the singing
‘spheres. His very heart’s blood beats to a time, and like
the ebb and flow of the eternal tides his very soul seems to
be in tune with a recurring rhythm throughout all creation.
In our materialistic day there is an attempt to divorce man
from his poetic environment, to clip the wings of his imagina-
tion, to drown his dreams in the ocean of reality, to remove
a 33
[II-m] THE MASTER'S MESSAGE if
all his tenderest visions with the magic ward of one word:
sentimentality!
But are not the most priceless treasures of life saturated
from top to bottom with sentiment? To hate poetry as senti-_
ment is to blight the best emotions of the whole race. “What
is it to hate poetry?” asks Lord Dunsany. “It is to have no
little dreams or fancies, no holy memories of golden days, —
to be unmoved by serene midsummer evenings or dawn over
wild lands, singing or sunshine, glowworms or briar roses;
for of all of these things and more is poetry made! It is to
be cut off forever from the fellowship of great men that are
gone; to see men and women without their halos and the —
world without its glory; to miss the meaning lurking behind ~
the common’ things, like elves hiding in flowers; it is to beat —
one’s hands all day against the gates of fairyland and to find
that they are shut and the country empty, and its Kings gone —
1”?
hence!
To neglect poetry means more. It is to lose the most beau-
tiful gems of the Bible, the Psalms, especially the Shepherd
Psalm, the magnificent passages of Isaiah, most of the
Proverbs, book after book in the Old Testament, and page ©
after page in the New Testament. To see no value in poetry
is to deny the beauty of most of the glorious words of
Jesus. For the cadences of his lyrical voice must have been
as sweet as any singing; and when we turn to our Sermon
on the Mount we find it is nothing else but a sublime poem,
the most exalted spiritual poem ever uttered. How those
words must have trembled with a divine sweetness when —
first they fell from the lips of the Master of all poets:
“Consider the lilies how they grow, they toil not neither do
they spin ;
Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat and what ye
shall drink;
Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth ... but lay up
treasures in heaven. ...
Ask and ye shall receive; seek, ye shall find; knock, it will
be opened unto you... .
Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be
1”?
added unto you!
34
SECRETS OF HAPPINESS IN THE NEW DAY [II-m]
Why are these simple words quoted on all tongues, in-
scribed today in countless books, chanted in many cathedrals,
and inscribed, from childhood, upon innumerable hearts?
Because in them we find enshrined the simplest and most
beautiful truth. And because, as a vase filled with old rose
petals keeps its fragrance, these simple words carry with
them as in a chalice the glow and beauty and power of Jesus.
II
At the very beginning of the Sermon on the Mount we find
the most striking words of the whole message. It is as if the
Master were trying to gain the instant attention of the crowd.
It is as if he would say some word of tender hope and loving
faith, at the very outset to relax and uplift their minds. “He
beginneth not with obscure definitions ... but he cometh to
you with words set in delightful proportion ... with a tale
which holdeth children from play and old men from the chim-
ney corner!” And truly these winsome words must have held
every hearer in the grip of an intense interest:
“Happy are ye when your soul is empty unto God that the
kingdom of heaven may fill it;
Happy are ye who have passed through sorrow, for truer and
deeper will be your peace;
Happy are ye who are meek, for you shall win a world of
friendship ;
Happy are ye who long for a good life, your achievements
shall be great;
Happy are ye who are tenderhearted, for you shall know love
and affection;
Happy are ye who have pure hearts, for you shall have
spiritual sight;
Happy are ye who bring peace in the world, ye shall be called
princes of good-will;
Happy are ye who suffer unpopularity and hardship now in
a good cause, the kingdom of joy will come in your
hearts.
Happy are ye who suffer insult and vile treatment and cruel
slander in the service of humanity and truth. The secret
of all true happiness is yours. For all true prophets
have thus suffered before you.”
35
l
[II-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ~— a oe “4
Jesus is here emphasizing the good attitudes (BE-ATTI- —
TUDES) which empower life and bless it with true and
permanent happiness. He classifies these attitudes into —
personal and social groups, as they have influence either —
in our own inward lives or in the lives of other 4
people. :
In the personal group, he places first the attitude of self- a
renunciation. The poor in spirit are those who have utterly —
emptied their hearts to a complete poverty of all self-will, —
all selfishness, all stubbornness of heart. They are those
who have become as limp as clay that the hand of God may ~
mold them as he will. They seek to be as clean as an ©
empty cup to be filled with the living: water of life. They —
seek to be as receptive as a clean, white sheet of paper on ~
which God may inscribe his divine message. They long tosbe ~
as clear as a reed through which the breath of God may ~
make whatever sweet music he will. It is to be poor toward
the pride and satisfaction of self that one may be rich in the
power and peace which cometh from God. And in that con- —
sists the kingdom of heaven.
In the second place, he puts the attitude of subwisitennee mn n
sorrow. Those who mourn are the sinners who are sincerely
repentant, the invalids of earth who have passed through the ~
fire of wracking pain, the troubled of earth who have come ~
through great tribulation. They have washed their robes in ~
the refining experience of sorrow, and they have come through ~
sweeter and stronger and with a deeper peace. We all know
that is true to life. How many saints have crossed our path ©
whose lives were radiant with a sweetness that was born of —
suffering and brought forth in sorrow. They have mourned,
and through their mourning came a comfort like unto the
dawning of a glad new day after the terrors of darkness ae
the night! .
Moreover, there is the attitude of longing for uprightness.
‘Your gaining the good life, Jesus says, depends upon how —
much you want it. A deep ‘and divine hunger must urge on —
your soul; a profound thirsting, for the realization in your
own life of the ideals of the higher life, must possess you. ~
It is not a craving for worldly recognition nor reputation. —
It is a deliberate choosing of the achievement of character as~
life’s worthiest effort. The realest satisfaction life can
36 rig.
7
SECRETS OF HAPPINESS IN THE NEW DAY [II-m] ©
give is prepared for those “who hunger and thirst after
righteousness.”
- Furthermore, Jesus says, another essential personal attitude
is that of purity of heart. In the court of the Israelitish
sanctuary, between the tabernacle and the altar, was a round
brass vessel filled with water. It served for the washing of
the hands and feet of the priests before they went into the
tabernacle, and was called the laver. Jesus was saying that
outward washing was not enough. Men may be clean out-
wardly, but what good is it if inwardly they are foul and
dirty? Hearts that would know God must be washed abso-
lutely and utterly clean of all ill-will, of all lust and pride
and spite and malice and secret fault. How can you expect,
‘said Jesus, to have spiritual sight when the windows of your
soul are unclean—windows that blind with the dirt of sin,
and hamper spiritual vision with the grime of selfishness and
‘falsehood?
In the second group, which deals with social influence,
we find first the attitude of meckness. Meekness is the
gracious humility which “seeketh not its own.” It is that
gentle, yielding virtue which is never aggressive for self.
This quiet courtesy, remaining gentle under all approaches,
is the thing that will inherit the earth, said the Master. That
is exactly what we find to be true in nature. The lowly
earthworm has inherited the earth in a way we least expect.
Not a bit of vegetable mold is ground to fertility, not the
slightest aération of the soil could take place without these
humble creatures. All agriculture waits for their efforts, and
so they are actually the head gardeners of the universe.
Again, an excellent example is afforded by the animal king-
dom. Savage animals, like the lion and the tiger and the
hyena, gradually are exterminated from the earth, while the
'meeker animals, the sheep, the cow, the horse, the dog remain
as domestic friends of man and literally inherit the earth.
Any Hindoo grandee can ride on his elephant and compel his
slaves to cry “Bow the knee!” as the proud man passes. But
no man can ride into the supremacy of the heart, can enthrone
himself in love in the lives of other men, without meekness.
The very stars in their courses fight against a man or a nation
‘which out of pride and aggressiveness seeks to inherit the
earth. The heritage of a universal supremacy awaits those
: 37
~ 3 ” _
“ [II-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAG&Z ;
who walk the way of humility with him who was “meek and
lowly of heart.”
The second social grace is that of mercy. In olden days,
mercy was identical with clemency, that which was offered
to an inferior by one in a position of power. Frequently
hard-heartedness was looked upon not as vice but as virtue.
It was identified with strength and backbone. So we are not
surprised to read in Shakespeare’s Richard III that the gallant —
king addresses his friends, the murderers, in this fashion:
“Your eyes drop millstones, where fools’ eyes drop tears,
I like you lads!”
Perhaps today we cannot match that. Our cruelty today is
expressed largely toward animals and toward so-called crim-_
inals (notably in the form of capital punishment) ; and when —
it is expressed toward our brothers and sisters it is usually —
in the form of mental torture. There is, however, an
elemental sense of tenderness in every heart. A hard-headed
business man once told me the story of his first real grief.
A new air rifle suggested a hunting expedition for birds.
He crept up on a tame sparrow while it was feeding and shot -
it. As he took it in his hands and saw the little, fluttering ©
life ebb away, a pang of sadness stabbed his heart. With
bloody hands he dug a grave for the little bird and buried —
it, and, there alone in the tall grass by the grave, he gave way -
to the sobbing grief he could not withhold. A tenderness of
the same pathetic kind is revealed in Burns’ beautiful picture
of a bird in the storm: ; q
|
“Tlk happing bird, wee helpless thing,
That in the merry months of spring
Delighted me to hear thee sing,
What comes o’ thee?
Where wilt thou cower thy chittering wing
And close thy ee?”
All great minds have this depth of tenderness. Burns, per-
haps because he possessed it to so remarkable a degree, has
become the best beloved of the recent poets. Mercy begets
mercy. Love invites love.
38 ) :
~ SECRETS OF HAPPINESS IN THE NEW DAY [II-m]
The third social attitude is the attitude of the peacemaker.
It is the attitude of the man who is always seeking to carry
with him, not the spirit of strife and dissension, but the
spirit which makes for quietness and understanding and peace.
His is no errand of lies and ugly rumors and bitter gossip.
His is no mission for the stirring up of angry hatreds and
— reckless violence. All his words are truth spoken in love and
all his ways are paths of stillness and peace. Whatsoever
things are good, whatsoever things are honest, pure, just, true,
- and of good report, he strives to think and talk and act on
these things that the God of peace may dwell with men.
Surely such a soul deserves the name: a very child of, the
_ Father!
_ Finally, Jesus emphasizes with two Beatitudes the results
which will come into a man’s soul when he endures persecu-
- tion and ill-treatment in the service of the truth. In all per-
sonal hardship incurred from others by virtue of one’s own
_ fidelity to the highest and best there will come a transcendent
_ sense of joy and victory. It will be the same glorious experi-
~ ence which has flooded the soul of every martyr, which has
- transfigured the life of every true prophet since the world
began. Such noble endurance will make one an eternal part
of the great succession of the saints. It, will reveal the hidden
key to happiness which is only found by those who loyally
endure in a good cause.
These, then, are the beautiful attitudes that lead like a
ladder unto the heavenly life. These are the graces that
bring personal hope and peace, and make society’s life sweeter
and better: self-lessness, soul-comfort refined in sorrow, the
~meek and lowly heart, the strong yearning for goodness, tender
- compassion, the clean and single soul, reconciling good-will,
patient loyalty. These are the shining colors of the soul’s
rainbow, painted by the Master artist of the spirit with words
new and clear and compelling. No wonder little children love
to lisp them and old men spend hours trying to plumb their
depths. They give us the picture of the ideal life!
III
If we see more deeply than the surface, we shall find the
Beatitudes are nothing but the statement of a rigid law
: 39
[II-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ’
which lies at the basis of the world. It is a law which
in its workings is as remorseless as gravitation. “T do not
“believe in the Judgment Day,” says a young questioner, cL
do not see how all our actions, thoughts, words and motives
can be checked up.” But the judgment day is not in the
future; the judgment day is NOW, TODAY, and the stenog-.
rapher who checks up our records in the book of life is not
an angel in the sky, but this abiding and everlasting law of
compensation. God does not punish or reward us at some
future time. Every action registers its blessing or curse upon
the life, now, immediately! “Whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he reap” right now! “He that exalteth himself shall be
humbled, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted”
right now! “They that take the sword shall perish by the_
sword” not in the future but now! “All things are double,”
says Emerson, in his fine essay on Compensation, “one
against another. Tit for tat; an eye for an eye; a tooth for
a tooth; blood for blood; measure for measure; love for love.
Give, and it shall be given you. He that watereth shall be —
watered himself. ‘What will you have?’ quoth God, ‘pay for
it and take it’. Nothing venture, nothing have. Thou shalt
be paid exactly for what thou hast done, no more, no less.
Who doth not work shall not eat. _Harm hatch, harm catch.
Curses always recoil on the head of him who imprecates—
them. Put a chain around the neck of a slave, and the other
end fastens itself around your own. Bad counsel confounds
the adviser. The Devil is an ass!”
Put it in clearer words. Justice is just the way this uni-
verse acts. It gives you what you give. As certainly as if
you should press a button to ring a bell or flash a light so
quickly does this world respond to your every sign. Let us
here state the opposites of Jesus’ Beatitudes, and let us notice -
from our knowledge of human life how inevitable are these
other results:
“Woe to the selfish; the kingdom of darkness is theirs.
Woe to the callous-hearted; comfort cannot be theirs.
Woe to the proud; they shall lose everything at last.
Woe to the indifferent toward uprightness; they shall not
know real joy.
Woe to the hard-hearted; love shall not come to them. |
40
SECRETS OF HAPPINESS IN THE NEW DAY [II-m]J
Woe to the unclean of heart; they are blind to the best.
Woe to the strifemakers; they are called children of the devil.
Woe to those who are flattered and coddled and praised
falsely ; they know they’ve lost. heaven, for that is always.
the fate of the false!”
We have been blaming our misfortune on the world outside,
when all the while it issues from the world inside our hearts.
Underlying the Beatitudes there is this fundamental phi-
losophy: to be loved we must be lovable, to be happy we must
give happiness, to know sunshine it must spread from the
center of our own systems, and to be blessed, in the highest
sense, we must bless the world! No one has ever expressed.
this law in clearer terms than Margaret Sangster:
“This world of ours is an even place,
That, like a mirror, reflects a face
As it really is. So if you will smile
You will find that happiness all the while
Will follow vou. And if you must frown
You'll see the mouth of the world droop down.
“Just what we give we take away,
Whether it’s joy or work or play;
Whether it’s fear or eternal youth;
Whether it’s falsehood or gleaming truth;
Whether it’s gladness or pain and dread; ,
Whether it’s hope or an aching head.
“Just what you plant you will gather in,
And if the harvest you take seems thin,
You’ve most yourself to blame; the earth
Is always ready to give you mirth!
So, smile up into the morning’s face,
And remember, this world is an even place!”
IV
_ A strange fact, however, is connected with this pursuit of
the ideal life. When a man discovers the light and begins:
res
[II-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE "ee
to follow it with all the fidelity and earnestness at his com-
mand, immediately there arises a growing opposition. Often,
the very folk he thought would bid him godspeed are those
who seem bent on loading his path with obstacles. An in-
evitable unpopularity in the world seems to be the fate of
every soul that embarks on-a life of ruthless righteousness.
A prophet and a true Christian are liable to be without-
honor in any country and in any generation. This may be
due to misunderstanding or to jealousy. But usually it is a
because the mass resents a man’s being different; undedicated
lives in the presence of a dynamic, decisive, consecrated life
are conscious of an indirect rebuke! . This Jesus expects for —
himself and for his disciples, for two of his Beatitudes are
concerned with the way to meet this antagonism and oppo-
sition.
Not otherwise has been the continued experience of most
of the heroic men and women who have lived ideally for
humanity and truth. There is Strauss, honestly striving to F
create a true and living likeness of the historical Jesus, and —
~~
adding in his preface these words, “I know very well what
sort of reception I have to expect ...and stand prepared —
for every sort of demonstration of ill-will, from supercilious
silence and scornful disparagement down to accusations of —
blasphemy and sacrilege.’ Here is Woodrow Wilson, offer-—
ing up the best ardor of his fine life in an utterly unselfish —
effort to stem the horrible tide of war, yet struck down
by the hate of his own countrymen and dying with a broken —
heart. Here is William Booth, praying in the streets of
Nottingham while still a boy with the men and women of
the streets who were to be the forerunners of the Salvation
Army, yet pelted with mud and sticks and stones by a rowdy,
jeering mob! Here is our Lincoln assassinated, and here is
our Joan of Arc burned! Here are Hugh Latimer, John Huss
and Savanarola, and thousands of others, who like Peter and ~
Paul, Jeremiah and Jesus were followers of a light that led
unto bitter death.
Live like a prophet, and you will know no primrose path —
of praise and popularity. It is a way of revilement and ~
reproach and bitter persecution; but it is a way which leadeth
through death unto life. Whosoever liveth these Beatitudes —
. must go the way of all the faithful... “stoned, sawn —
42
SECRETS OF HAPPINESS IN THE NEW DAY [II-m]
asunder, tempted, slain with the sword; wandering about in
goatskins—destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world
is not worthy.” Like Jesus, with no place to lay his head,
mocked, rejected, and crucified, the radiant idealist will find
bitter desserts from the world. But in all the anguish of
heart, in the hardest hour of suffering, in the bitterest mo-
*ment of the soul’s scourging there will dawn a gladness, a
heavenly peace, which all the prophets before have known.
“Think not there is one Calvary alone
Nor say the soul of truth but once can die;
_In every age the mob cries ‘Crucify!’
In every age the Pharisees are known.
Who pleads for truth must face the cynic lie,
Must know the martyr’s fiery agony,
In every age till wrong be overthrown!
“There is a Lincoln statue down the way,
And men beside it gather old and gray,
Seeing forgotten years as old men can.
‘In every age,’ says one, ‘God finds His man!’
‘God’s man?’ the other answers, ‘man’s man too!
But how they hated him before they knew!”
V
No one can read these Beatitudes of Jesus without recog-
- nizing that they are a very keen analysis of life. The word
“blessed” is evidently intended to convey the idea of happi-
ness, but a spiritual happiness, a permanent type of happiness!
If Jesus could come into our world today he would not frown
on those who are searching for happiness. He here recog-
nizes the legitimacy of such a quest. He gives us here the
heart of his religion, and it is no gloomy religion. It is a
religion whose very goal is the highest happiness, and whose
very advocate must have smiled joyfully as he spoke. Only
- Jesus is tremendously concerned that men shall not go a-run-
ning after will o’ the wisp pleasures that end in dust and —
ashes, after rosy-hued satisfactions that lead but to death
and destruction,
43
[II-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ae
If he could come back today and stand in our churches,
and on our street corners, and in our homes, he would say
to us this: You are looking for happiness and that is right,
for happiness is of God, and true happiness is life’s noblest
gift. But you are going in the wrong direction; you must
tight-about face. You are ever seeking and seeking and not
finding because you are seeking your joy in things outside -
yourselves; you think of happiness as consisting in the pos-
session of certain things, in the physical enjoyment of certain
pleasures; you think of it as certainly in some far-away place
or some far-away time. But all the while what you seek
is within your own heart. If you base your hope of happi-
ness on things or physical pleasures, or put it off in imagina-
tion to a distant time or place, you will miss it entirely. Joy
is not in questing but in realizing, not in pursuing but in
unfolding. Have the right attitudes and heaven comes in
your own heart now!
Like Simon Paris in Hutchinson’s great novel, “One In-
creasing Purpose,’ we come at last to learn that it is not con-
ditions in the world outside us that are cursing us with
despair and discouragement and unhappiness, but attitudes in —
our own heart of hearts, and that when we come to realize
that contentment and peace and happiness are the result of
a purely spiritual condition, our entire lives are absolutely
transformed! For the kingdom of heaven is here! It is right
here. It is all about us waiting to be welcomed within, All
we need to do is to open up the windows of our spirits and
the sweet air of heaven and the healing sunshine of God will
come in. Deep, deep down in our hearts’ depth will slowly
come a peace, a joy, a love that knows no bounds,
He who possesses heaven in his soul shall have a face as
radiant as the beaming sun, his eyes shall shine like bright
stars in the night, his very body shall give off a luster of light,
and he shall go forth as one possessed with a mighty and -
undying love for all creatures, for enemy and friend alike,
for all God’s creation. It shall be as if again the Christ-soul
dwelt in a man! And he shall show in reality what Mabie
said of Lyman Abbott: “. .. the continuous disclosure of a
beautiful spirit!” He shall go in company with Prince’s
goodly fellowship: 7
44
_ SECRETS OF HAPPINESS IN THE NEW DAY [Iq]
“Who are the blest?
They who have kept their sympathies awake,
And scattered joy for more than custom’s sake,
Steadfast and tender in the hour of need,
Gentle in thought, benevolent in deed,
Whose looks have power to make dissension cease,
Whose smiles are pleasant and whose words are peace;
They who have lived as harmless as the dove,
Teachers of truth and ministers of love: ©
Love for all moral power, all mental grace—
Love for the humblest of the human race—
Love for the tranquil joy that virtue brings—
Love for the Giver of all goodly things ;
3 True followers of that soul-exalting plan
Which Christ laid down to bless and govern man.”
Dear Father, give us the courage and the power to live our
lives with the same sense of enjoyment, the same grace, the
same clean heart, the same loving kindness, and the same
blessed spiritual beauty that Jesus had. Let the kingdom of
heaven come in our lives the way it came in His. Amen.
LIFE QUESTIONS
1. Put the Beatitudes in your own words. Can you think
of any modern people who perfectly illustrate these qualities,
all of them? Do you really believe that Jesus has correctly
pictured for us here the ideal life?
2. Phrase the opposites of the Beatitudes. Write down the
- classes of people who illustrate these Mal-attitudes.
3. Would society be improved very much if all were “poor
in spirit’? How can one be happy and a mourner too, at one
and the same time? Is meekness prominently exemplified in
modern folks? Was Jesus really always meek? Name sev-
eral great men noted for their meekness of spirit. What is
-your definition of righteousness? Is the state merciful when
it electrocutes a murderer? Name some of the things the
pure in heart must give up. Is the pacifist a peacemaker?
What does Jesus actually mean by a “reward in heaven”?
4. Can you word the Beatitudes in such a way as to show
clearly the law of compensation upon which: they are based?
45
(i
a
Sas
.
Fads
”
PME ME
[II-a) THE MASTER'S MESSAGE 7
5. Do you yourself believe in a future or a present Judg- —
ment Day? Are hell and heaven futtre states or present
realities? Do you believe that the Beatitudes can be really
lived? Always? Will the kingdom of God be established
exactly in proportion to our practice of these ideals?
6. “Happiness we never find except we dearly earn it.” Is
happiness a gift or an achievement?
7. “The real saint is* one who makes life happier for |
others.”’. Which is more important: what you do for a friend,
or what you are to him?
8. What is the element in our experience of unjust perse-- r
cution which makes it possible for us to exult as Jesus said
we should? . .
9. “Harmony with your environment is the secret of
happiness.” Has Jesus given us in the Beatitudes a descrip-
tion of the way one comes into harmony with the world and
with God?
10. Why was it that Jesus and many noble martyrs who
lived the Beatitudes should have suffered violent death? Is
the world ready for the living of a thoroughgoing spiritual
ideal?
a ee ee eee ae
CHAPTER III
Wholesome Living in
the New Day
DAILY READINGS
Of ali the inescapable facts life teaches us none is more
clear than this one—the dire importance of influence. There
is at least this truth in the S-R bond theory of the psycholo-
gists that all in the world may be explained by the interaction
of stimulus and response: all which now we see in existence
in the universe is the direct effect of some previous influence.
Influence is utterly immortal. It is in the beginning and it
is in the ending; it is the alpha, and it leads to the omega.
Once influence has been started, you can no more stop it
than you can crush sunlight or confine singing behind bars.
“Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades,” the Lord
asks Job, “or loose the bands of Orion?” (Job 38:31.)
Third Week, First Day
- The field is the world; the good seed are the children of
the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked
one.—Matt. 13:38.
Every man, however humble his station in life, serves or
disserves the cause of the kingdom. We may be utterly un-
conscious of our exerted influence, but it is none the less
real. As the rotten apple spoils its companion, so the bad
life spoils its neighbor. As the rose fills the garden with
47
[III-2] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
perfume, so the good life blesses society. Either lifting or —
pulling down, either injuring or repairing, either souring or
sweetening, either scattering sunshine and happiness or sowing
sorrow and gloom, so goes each person through the streets -
of our world. No shameful sin, no bitter hatred is ever —
entirely eliminated. No kindly deed, no sweet expression of
love is ever quite lost. The common air of humanity must
hold forever some odor of its evil or its good. ;
Should this significant fact not give us pause? Should we
not understand more keenly and respect more earnestly the
warning words of George Eliot? “There is no sort of wrong
deed of which a man can bear the punishment alone; you
can’t isolate yourself, and say that the evil which is in you
shall not spread. Men’s lives are as thoroughly blended as
the air they breathe; evil spreads as necessarily as disease.” -
Our field therefore is the world. We cannot avoid it. Seeds 7
planted today are tomorrow’s harvest. On God’s acres we —
are either good seed springing up to worthy fruitage, or evil
weeds destined for destruction. When we think of the in- ~
evitability of influence, every hour of every day we ought to
be sowing the seeds of blessing. For, as Lowell wisely remarks ql
in his keen poem,
9
. . mankind are one in spirit, and an instinct bears along,
wrong;
Whether conscious or unconscious, yet Humanity’s vast frame _
Through its ocean-sundered fibers feels the gush of joy or 7
shame;
In the gain or loss of one race all the rest have equal claim,”
Third Week, Second Day ;
And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were
come down from the hill, much people met him. And, be- —
hold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I~
beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.
And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth; and it E
teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly —
departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast
him out; and they could not.—Luke 9:37-40.
48
Round the earth’s electric circle, the swift flash of right or
WHOLESOME LIVING IN THE NEW DAY [III-2]
That old hero of modern missions, Dan Crawford, now
recently entered into life indeed, tells of an experience: ‘Near
the end of the year there died a famous old Livingstone Arab
called Ali Masi. He and I have done thirty years together
and only after many years did he confess Christ as the desire
- of nations.... The long lapse of years looked the usual
Arab death or ‘Christ-derision, but one day, standing under
a palm tree (oh! happy day) you might have seen this Arab
and myself clasped in an embrace, sobbing our souls out... .”
What was it? Simply, one life of power had touched another
and won it to a grand ideal!
A life that does not do that is not very valuable. The life
that inspires others is the great life. And in the story of our
study today we see this fact strikingly revealed. The unruly,
epileptic boy the disciples could not seem to help. But the
sorrowing father has wonderful faith in Jesus: “Master,
look upon my son.” He seems sure that if Jesus only looks
upon the boy, he will be healed. We do not know exactly
what was the matter with the boy but we can be very sure
that what he needed was the electric contact with a confidence-
inspiring life. And that Jesus gave!
But our ignorant, unthrilling souls are no more like Jesus’
soul than the stony, rubbish-strewn streets of the lower East
Side of New York are like the daisy-strewn meadows of
Galilee. Some of our gloomy bishops, our dissipated priests,
our noisy ministers, our worldly church people, and haughty
clergy suggest the question: Why are these lives not exhibit-
ing the quickening inspiration, the kindly eyes, the
glowing countenance, the vivid spirit of the Master? Why
are their lives unhealing like the lives of the earlier
disciples?
To the extent that we inspire others the way Jesus inspired
men in his day may it be said that we are living life in the
Christlike way. The words of Father Faber in his striking
poem, “The Three Kings,” are a fine description of the influ-
ence of Jesus:
“One little sight of Jesus was enough for many years,
One look at Him their stay and staff in the dismal vale of
”
tears. 4
49
[III-3] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ————«S,:”
Third Week, Third Day .
And when he came into his own country, he taught them
in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished,
and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these
mighty works?—Matt. 13:54.
There must, however, be an ample preparation for influence.
Our intentions are often good, but our ability is inadequate. —
How many desire to serve before they are prepared for the
work! Sunday-school and day-school teachers trying to teach
with insufficient training, ministers trying to preach out’ of
shallow experience, artists, musicians, artisans working on
defective instruction, may understand their small influence by
discovering that their preparation-capital is low.
For eighteen solid, painstaking years the Master trained.
In shop, field, school, and home-he was preparing his soul
for a magnificent purpose—and then the days of solitude
alone, after weeks of earnest application in the circle of John
the Baptist, crowned his peerless preparation. He paid the
price for power!
Notice too, the lumber of knowledge that fills a college
- graduate’s head was not alone what he possessed. He pos-
sessed knowledge that had kindled into the flame of wisdom
by the spirit of God. His experience, his discernment, his
reading, his praying, his study—all this was in a holy flame
of enthusiasm. He was on fire with the flame of God’s love!
Small wonder his townspeople asked: “Whence hath this
man this wisdom, and these mighty works?”
Frank Gunsaulus pays proper tribute to the right power in.
preparation when he says in his poem, “A Word for Faith”:
“The long-borne fagots ’neath my hard cold will
Lie piled in order—yet are wet with rain.
I looked to Thee, and prayed—am praying still.
Flame of God’s love, wilt thou thy fire restrain?
* * 2 * * * *
“Still I believe my fagot-thoughts are shine—
- Shine of the sun, packed close in warp and woof!
While I am man, this memory divine
Lives in my doubt and of the sun is proof.” e
50
«
WHOLESOME LIVING IN THE NEW DAY [III-s]
Third Week, Fourth Day
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that
which was lost.—Luke 19:9.
“That which was lost’—how many there are today who
still come under the category “lost.” Not “lost” in the
theological sense, but folks lost in the woods of perplexity,
baffled by questions of life too deep for them to answer—how
many such fill our society today! Lost in the ways of sin,
struggling with the tides of evil with the battle going fast
against them, they cry out from every clime for salvation that
is the most real need on this earth.
We also, like Jesus, we, the children of men, are endowed
with life, not to neglect and destroy, but to seek and to save
them that are lost. We must say these words of the Master.
with their original meaning upon our hearts. There is present
need abroad in the world, and one who receives inspiration
and does not give any is a betrayer of the social heritage!
“Have you found the heavenly light?
Pass it on.
Souls are groping in the night,
Daylight gone.
Hold thy lighted lamp on high,
Be a star in someone’s sky,
He may live, who else would die,
Pass it on.”
Third Week, Fifth Day
“Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the
kingdom of their Father.—Matt. 13:43.
There ts no more striking authority in the field of personal
influence than a holy and pure life! George Morrison, of Glas-
gow, phrases this fact in telling words when he says: “I have
no faith in any social service that springs from careless and
unworthy character.” .
This truth needs emphasis because so many of us are trying
to ride the two horses of useful service and careless character.
5I
oo
|) we oe
[III-6] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
On one side of our nature is this clear, earnest desire to be >
of some worthy use in the world. On the other is the most ce
common of human weaknesses, the negligent attitude which _
lets in the little spiritual germs that eat out the core of
personality. The place to begin in preparing for influence is
the center of life’s circle—our own souls. Holiness there will
make for happiness everywhere. When you see one shine —
like a sun in his influence, making thereby a kingdom of —
good wherever he goes, you may be very sure he has won _
the victory of the life of righteousness. S:
No one ever made more plain what this means than Jesus—
for the purity of his inward life was the soul and secret ofa
his service! This is what men refer to when they exclaim: 7
“, .. when my Saviour touched my sight,
My slumbering soul awoke in light,
And since that day I’ve known no night!”
Third Week, Sixth Day
_ And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn —
within us, while he talked with us by the way?—Luke 24:32.
There is a transcendent power in example—that contagion —
of the exalted spirit—which is strikingly illustrated in this a
line from the gospel of Luke. To read these words is as if
one heard the writer saying: Just to talk with the Master was _
an inspiration—his spirit glowed with such divine fire, that —
just to be near him was enough to set aflame the coldest —
or the dullest spirit! Bae:
Great talking and much doing will leave little good influence —
without this subtle force which springs out from the life that —
is rich and beautiful with divine energies. One of the most —
interesting instances of this is related concerning Saint Francis _
of Assisi. Brother Francis said one day to one of the young ~
monks at the Portiuncula, “Let us go down to the town to ia
preach!” The novice, delighted at being singled out to be a
the companion of Francis, obeyed with alacrity. They passed —
through the principal streets, turned down many of the —
byways and alleys, made their way out to the suburbs, and —
at length returned by a circuitous route, to the monastery —
’ 52 2
+.
WHOLESOME LIVING IN THE NEW DAY [III-7]
gate. As they approached it, the younger man. reminded
Francis of his original intention. “You have forgotten,
Father,” he said, “that we went to the town to preach!”
“My son,” Francis replied, “we have preached. We were
preaching while we were walking. We have been seen by
many. Our behavior has been closely watched. It was thus
that we preached our morning sermon. It is of no use, my
son, to walk anywhere to preach unless we preach everywhere
we walk!”
‘Third Week, Seventh Day
_ Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him
shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall
be in him a weil of water springing up into everlasting life.
—John 4:14. -
In our daily readings this week we have seen how impor-
tant and inevitable influence is, how much high influence costs
and how it is exerted. In our closing day for this week, let
us note carefully influence’s immeasurability. The ripples
round a stone thrown in the lake may reach to the uttermost
shore. The song sent out upon the air may, as radio has now
proven, still be sounding through the immeasurable chambers
of space long after the singer has gone.
In like manner one single ministry of kindness toward an-
other life may prove in that life a never-ending benediction.
This is what Jesus meant here in our passage for today:
Let me once make arise m your soul the water of the spiritual
life and it will be unto you and all you know as a spring of
everlasting blessing. Dr. Jowett, the famous preacher, tells
of an experience which well illustrates this. It was his first
appearance before a congregation, and his greatest fear was
‘the prayer: “Seated in the front row was a white-haired old
man, one of the regular worshippers at the branch church.
‘In the prayer with which I opened the service I heard a quiet
response. It was from the old man. That response gave me
confidence. It was like the strengthening breath of the Holy
Spirit. Why not say it was the breath of the Holy Spirit?
I can feel it now across the years. At a moment of great
timidity I entered into the gracious strength of fellowship,
53
[IIJ-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ve
and the expressed spiritual sympathy of an unknown brother
created an influence in the young preacher which I remember
still with thankfulness and joy.’ As we contemplate the .
enormous sway over the English-speaking world which Dr.
Jowett has held for so many years with his peerless voice and
his winsome books, how shall we ever measure the well of
influence which sprang up out of that old man’s heart that day?
MEDITATION ON THE MASTER’S THOUGHT
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his _
savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good ~
for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot
of men. .
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an
hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put
it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light
unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine be-
fore men, that they may see your good works, and glorify 4
your Father which is in heaven.—Matt. 5:13-16.
We have here the explanation of Jesus concerning the way
influence works. In the Beatitudes he has boxed the compass -
of character. There he has painted the portrait of the ideal
leader in human society. Now this life, he is saying, has a
definite influence in this world, and that influence works like
salt and light. The best leadership of human society he.
describes as a preservative, permeative quality like that of salt,
and an outgoing, luminative function like that of light. The
one is the subjective influence, the other the objective. The
one is useful in that it loses its identity, the other in the sense
that it keeps its identity. The ideal person pictured in the |
Beatitudes is a person with saving power and lighting power.
In this keen analysis of the place of ennobled living in the
bringing of the better day, Jesus is careful to drive home the
fact that the good life is by no means neutral, functionless, or
indifferent. It is a life justifying its existence by the fact of
rendering service that is indispensable.
I
To whom is Jesus speaking when he says: “Ye are the salt
of the earth’? To the disciples? Yes. And to all these
54
ye
47” ee) Pas yay
> 7 s wet) / = ae fh
ge ere rs ee
aN a
mA a
as
Soe
ETE
WEEE DERI
WHOLESOME LIVING IN THE NEW DAY [III-m]
who are willing to pay the price to gain the blessed life. He
describes their influence as that of salt and light. Let us see,
then, first of all, what the inherent properties of sali are.
Salt is a compound of two highly poisonous elements,
sodium and chlorine. The balanced compound formed by the
union of these two elements, so dangerous in their pure
state, is one of the most useful and widely disseminated sub-
stances known. It not only exists in abundant deposits in
the earth but exists in solution in the ocean. There its heal-
ing properties are well known to bathers. Salt is of the
-
utmost importance in most forms of chemical manufacture,
finds wide use for cleansing purposes, is an indispensable sea-.
soning for food, and is frequently used in the preserving of
meats. Its uses have been many in mankind’s history. In
extreme functions as a standard of value and as a sacred
substance to be sprinkled on the holy fires of ancient temples
it has been employed. The fact that Homer calls it “divine”
may indicate that to the peoples of antiquity (and of course
in Jesus’ day) it had a significance which we of today have
not bestowed upon it.
For a man, therefore, to be rightly called “the salt of the
earth’ he must provide in society the functions which salt
provides in its everyday uses. As an antiseptic halts the
action of deadly germs, the influence of his life must coun-
teract the decaying evils in society. As a perfume or a sea-
soning permeates all that is close to it, sweetening and cleans-
ing and improving, so must his life give wholesomeness to
all the area of existence about him. As the unit used for a
divinely respected measure of value secures the recognition of
all men, so his life by its unquestionable virtue must present
a standard of honor. As incense fills the sanctuary with its
healing and inspiring odor, so his work is to leaven earth with
‘something of divine sweetness, as Browning says in his poem,
“Of Pacchiarotto”:
“Man’s work is to labor and leaven— |
As best he may—earth here with heaven!”
But what if this salt loses its flavor, becomes insipid, stale,
flat? What if the power that makes wholesome, halts dis-
ease, provides cleansing and a standard of value, should be ©
25
[I1I-m] THE MASTER'S MESSAGE may
lacking? What then? Wherewith shall human society be
salted? Under such conditions, the question answers itself.
Society must become corrupt, decadent, unwholesome, disease
stricken, A society without its saving salt is a good-for-
nothing society, certainly scheduled for a tragic end. As
worthless salt is thrown into the gutter where men walk upon
it and crush it beneath their heels, so worthless social groups
are trampled to inevitable annihilation by advancing, law-
abiding time. Rome, Babylon, Sodom, Gomorrah—one can
name historic proofs. What nation will give us modern
illustration?
Il
Once Henry Drummond in one of his masterful addresses
suggested that life was likened to a mirror receiving reflec-
tions, that when people looked into our faces they saw re-
flected there a precise image composed of every influence
that had entered our lives. If this is true (and who may
deny it?) with what care should we hold up this mirror to
experience. For our mirror is either an asset or a liability in
the world; influences are interchangeably reflected! Each one
of us changes the faces of those nearest for good or for
evil. Character then is important. A ponderous volume
called “The Whole Duty of Man” was, during the last cen-
tury, considered indispensable to a clergyman; but Dr. Henry
Van Dyke said that God condensed the whole duty of man
into just one word: SALT!
If we can prove that the whole duty of man is encom-
passed in that one phrase, the development of character, we
shall be able to meet the world’s most vital present need and
contribute a new meaning to the education of the human race.
That this contribution is now of paramount importance may be
gleaned from the simple fact that for three hundred years one
general theory of education has held the center of the stage,
the theory that education was not an ethical nor a religious
matter, but a matter of science. There have been outstanding
exceptions to this general rule, but, by and large, when
a teacher entered his classroom he had in mind just
one central aim: the teaching of facts, not the impartation
of life.
Now, of course, our theory of education may depend upon
56
, bs
a” aw Oe.
WHOLESOME LIVING IN THE NEW DAY [III-m]
just what we think a school or a college is. It certainly
ought not to be only a lumber yard of learning where students
come to load their minds, or a dreamland of amusement where
boys and girls come to be entertained, or a social ladder where
certain elect individuals get the chance to climb up from their
brothers to a more comfortable position in the sun. The
school may be, perhaps, a place where we learn how to study.
But there is, or ought to be, a still deeper purpose behind it
all: a place to-learn living! Prophets of the new dawn in
education are everywhere seeing the new light. Thus, Pro-
fessor Tassin of Columbia remarks: “It is an old-fashioned
idea that students are sent to college to study. They are
sent to meet the right people.’ And a committee of Dart-
mouth students, organized and appointed to study education
from the viewpoint of the undergraduate, have this to say
of the faculty: “Aside from capability as a teacher and
profundity as a knower, there are those who lack that third
characteristic of the ideal teacher—those elusive yet vital
traits of character which make us say that this man com-
mands our respect.’ Ex-president Hadley of Yale indicates
the way the wind is blowing in both church and school when
he says: “All the moral precepts which are taught are of
little consequence as compared with the personality of these
teachers themselves.”
An illustration of the ideal teacher for the new day might
be offered in the person of Henry Drummond, a thorough-
going scientist in his thinking, yet of the finest moral char-
acter, and possessed of a winsome personality. The quality
of his influence may be gleaned from the words of J. H.
Jowett: “Drummond manifestly sweetened the atmosphere
got
of the university and introduced a deeper and more serious
moral tone. . . . His influence remains in my life as a bright
impulse to purity and truth....I thank God that I ever
met and communed with Henry Drummond.”
There may be a thousand theories of education; there may
be armies of teachers in our schools, faithful even to what
they think their work may be. But there will be little true
teaching unless the spiritual instinct is allowed full play. A
soul diffusing personal power through every movement and
glance of the eye, a soul so true that truth is its breath and
life, that is the “salt of earth” that is needed supremely in
57
(Iltm] << THE-MASTER'S MESSAGE 6 ae ae
teaching; but also, wherever heart meets heart. Horatius
Bona: tells us the way to be salt-providers of society, especially
parents, preachers, teachers:
“Thou must be true thyself,
If thou the truth wouldst teach;
Thy soul must overflow
If thou another’s soul wouldst reach;
It needs the overflow of heart
To give the lips full speech.”
Iil
The most fascinating and suggestive illustration of the way —
spiritual influence operates, Jesus selects from the example
of light. His ideal followers and friends are, he says, to be
like lights in the world. The beneficial effect of their lives
is to be equivalent to the shining of the sun in the world,
and this shining unto good works will testify of the Spirit A
which is within them.
But just what is light, and how does it work? The
physicist might answer in his formal definition: “. .
dulatory activity produced and propagated in all directions
from a luminous body in the particles of an elastic, impon-
derable medium called the luminiferous ether at a velocity
of about 186,000 miles per second!” But Jesus’ idea of what
light is, while it might not pass muster in a physics quiz in
college, nevertheless, is a truer idea because it is based upon
what light does. And anything is more truly known when £
we see what it does. Jesus’ idea of light is a more satisfying
one than the dry, meaningless definition of the physicist be- —
cause it gets back to first principles, it goes back to the
source of light, the sun.
Now the sun is one of the most glorious realities of our
WHOLESOME LIVING IN THE NEW DAY [ItI-q]
sarily intellectual brilliance, not social brilliance nor business
brilliance, nor any other brilliance so much as_ spiritual
brilliance. Shine, shine, shine—that is a divine command-
ment! Let your life glow with the light that is not of this
world—with the radiance that cometh down from above—
with the brilliance that the soul of Jesus had. For the light
of his countenance as we see it by Galilee and as we see it
on Calvary is none other, than the true and highest light we
know—the light of God shining in a life to illumine this
world! How surely and vividly the lines of G. K. Chesterton
picture the truth:
“A Word came forth in Galilee, a word like to a star;
It climbed and rang and blessed and burnt wherever brave
hearts are;
A word of sudden secret hope, of trial and increase,
Of wrath and pity fused in fire, and passion kissing peace.
A star that o’er the citied world beckoned, a sword of flame;
A star with myriad thunders tongued: a mighty Word there
came!”
Our Father, grant also that our personalities like His may
possess a quality so fine that our influence will be as wholesome
as salt and as beneficial as light. Our prayer ts for the sake
of His cause who was the best Example of that Light which
lighteth every man coming into the world, Amen.
LIFE QUESTIONS
I. State some synonyms for salt suggested to you by the
discussion in this chapter. Some synonyms for light.
2. What is the meaning of losing our “savour”? Of hiding
our “light”?
3. “What’s the use of going to prayer meeting—you don’t
get a thing?” Discuss this statement in relation to what the
Master has to say about light and its uses. “Church gives
me a pain—besides, I don’t like the minister. So I spend my
Sundays in recreation, having a good time!” Discuss this
attitude with relation to what Jesus said about salt.
4. “I’m not cut out to be a teacher—never could teach
anyway!” You’ve heard this excuse before. Can you help
67
[III-q] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ;
the person who says this by a reference to some of the sug-
gestions, as to what education really is, which are offered in
this chapter? Name the best teacher you ever had, and try
to analyze the reason for his or her effectiveness.
5. How is God’s purpose most effectively released in your
life? -
6. Name life’s highest form of creativity.
7. How important is example in the training of children?
Why?
8. What is the matter with a faith that leaves people sour
and solemn?
9. Study the references to light in the New Testament.
What is the precise meaning of the following passages:
John 1:0, 12:36; Rom:..2:19; Eph. 5:14; 1. Thessengesse
I Peter 2:9; and Rev. 21: 24?
10. “There is nothing more useful than salt and sunshine”
(Pliny, “Natural History,” xxxi).
This interesting parallel in the writings of a man who lived
during the first century might be explained how?
11. Thirty-five hundred feet above the Galilee Lake on a
prominent hill was the city of Safed. Cities on hill-tops were
rare in Galilee but common in Judea. Jesus pointed probably
to this hill-top city when he spoke of “a city that is set on a
hill.”
But does this counsel not sound like a command to display
one’s egoism? How can you reconcile the “doing of good
works before men” with the opposite counsels found in the
first part of the sixth chapter of Matthew?
68
CHAPTER IV
’ Adventuring With God in
| the New Day
DAILY READINGS
A French philosopher has stated for us a significant truth:
“My dear friend, it is not art, science, nor life that is com-
plex; it is the ideas that we form for ourselves in regard
to them. Whoever grasps a principle, grasps all its applica-
tions. But the very diversity, multiplicity, perversity, and
apparent contradictions of these applications, prevent us from
seeing the principle.” The world outside us is harmonious,
whole, simple. The thought we have of it, scientifically,
theologically, may be partially true or entirely wrong. Notice
how the conceptions of the cosmos have changed: the Baby-
lonian system of a flat earth and a static world, the Ptolmaic
astronomy with its stationary earth, the Copernican idea
with planets revolving around a common center, the wonders
of the new astronomy with its stellar spaces, relativity
with its idea of a spherical universe. Notice, too, how, in
the Old Testament, conceptions of Deity rapidly change:
first, the primitive polytheism of the old Hebrews whose
deities populated the storm, the lightning, the fountain, the
tree, the wind, and catastrophic Nature; then, the observance
of a God called Jehovah, the tribal Deity of the Hebrew
tribes; then, the Jehovah of Canaan, a blend with Baal, the
god of the land; and later, the beautiful ideal of the prophets, ©
especially Deutero-Isaiah, a God of all the earth, who de-
manded justice, mercy and righteousness. In both these cases
69 ,
[IV-1] THE MASTER'S MESSAGE ——s
we have proof of Brunetiére’s statement: A principle has @
multiplicity of applications; and as sure as we live in a grow-
ing world, new statements will continually be made about the
truth behind reality.
The highest aim of education, therefore, is to produce in
men an attitude of openmindedness, ready to receive the new —
revelations of a world which is not static but eternally
growing !
Fourth Week, First Day
God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship
in spirit and in truth.—John 4:24.
“By night,’ said Young, “an atheist half believes in God.”
No one can stand beneath the canopy of stars and, knowing
a little astronomy, fail to be awed by the immensity of this
cosmos where we dwell. Let him look out straight in one —
direction and it may be his gaze covers a trillion miles; let
him turn to the opposite direction and remember again that
his eye has traversed another trillion miles; then let him try
to span in his thought the space between those two stars.
Indeed, an atheist may well take pause in the presence of this
vast grandeur of the heavens!
But, obviously, such a world cannot possibly be fitted to the
old, orthodox view of God, which Matthew Arnold pictures
as “a magnified and non-natural man at the head of man-
kind’s and the world’s affairs.” No such big man up in the —
sky, ruling from a celestial throne, will do now for such a
world as modern science has unfolded for us. For we must
see at once that God is absolutely infinite and fathomless.
He eludes, and will forever elude, any complete or compre-
hensive knowledge of him. He transcends the highest reaches —
of human experience; he is Infinity!
But this fact does not exclude our knowing something of
him. The scientist who studies stars, trees, stones, bacteria,
electrons, or any other particle of existence, is making a
discovery of the truth about God. The hero who sacrifices
for another makes a discovery of God’s nature. The lover,
the worker, the poet enter into the inexhaustible wonder
of the spirit of God. In all our human experiences we are
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ADV ENTURING WITH GODIN THE NEW DAY [IV-3]
entering into a knowledge of the nature of the Great Spirit.
And every bit of creation speaks of love and law. According
to Jesus, they that worship him must worship in the spirit
of love and in the search for truth!
Fourth Week, Second Day
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot
bear them now. Howbeit when he, the spirit of Truth, is
come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak
of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he
speak: and he will shew you things to come.—John 16: 12-13.
At the International ‘Missionary Council of 1923 a great
bishop made a significant statement: “A man must come to
the Council more desirous to learn than to teach, unwilling
to believe that he brings with him the sole and complete
solution of any problem... .” Such a generous spirit would
lead us out of every doctrinal dispute, if we would but follow
it. But truth, to some, is static, settled, solidified in a mass
which must not be altered. When, therefore, anyone suggests
in their presence other possibilities, their spleen comes to the
face, and they grow purple. They get angry because they
lack the moral stamina to engage in reciprocity of thinking.
Like horses when autos first came, they gallop madly away
at the approach of any new truth.
“I do not ask anyone to think in my terms if he prefers
_ others,” says George Santayana, “let him clean better, if
he can, the windows of his mind, that the variety and the
beauty of the prospect may spread more brightly before
him.” We shall not be guided into the larger truth of the
- new day until, toward one another, we have that spirit. If
we speak only for ourselves, how shall we hear the contri-
bution of our brother? How shall we be guided into all truth
unless we agree to think together? The sharing of ideas is,
as Albert Schweitzer has said, the hope of human progress!
' Fourth Week, Third Day
If ye continue in my word, ye are my disciples indeed,
and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were
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[IV-3] THE MASTER'S MESSAGE ‘
never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall
be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the slave of sin. . . .
I know ye are Abraham’s seed, but ye seek to kill me, be-
cause my word hath no place in you.u—John 8:31-37.
The worst slavery of the day is a slavery to ignorance. The
men in the van of humanity’s march have a terrific faith in
truth. They see that sin is a bondage whose chains are ham-
mered out of the iron of obscurantism and welded in the
flame of reaction. When we know the truth, the word of
Jesus will be understood, for we shall find freedom. Nature’s —
display cf electricity at first held men in the grip of fear;
then came the truth-seekers, freeing us. from fear, and open-
ing up for us a hundred blessings from the force we feared.
The vast ocean was a terror to ancient mariners, and of what
was on the other side they trembled to think; then came a
brave Columbus who, guided by a fundamental truth, opened
for mankind a rich and wonderful continent. ~There is no
power in the world greater than understanding truth, for it
leads to larger service, larger life, larger joy. Our responsi-
bility for the overthrow of lies and the discovery of new
truths should be accepted in the spirit of a Bertrand Russell:
“Better the world should perish, than that I, or any other
human being, should believe a lie! That is the religion
of thought, in whose scorching flames the dross of the world
is being burnt away.”
To be truly disciples of the Master of Truth, we must con-
tinue to have faith in his word: It is mere foolishness to
Say we are Abraham’s seed if we have not Abraham’s spirit,
his questing spirit of high adventure in the name of freeing
truth. Whosoever maketh a lie, and becometh a servant of
the works of darkness, will never. know the freedom of the
sons of God!
“Ay,—Truth in very truth would set us free;
But life is shackled, hand and foot, with lies,
And all the fortresses of knavery
Are built and buttressed with foul perjuries. .
If Truth’s white light could pierce Life’s clouded sky,
And let men see things as they trulv are,
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ADVENTURING WITH GODIN THE NEW DAY [IV-4]
Full half the rulers of the world would lie
Prisoners in chains before Life’s Judgment-Bar.
“Father of Lies, and High Diplomacies,
Earth groans beneath the burden of your crimes!
Come Truth, and therewith Peace, and swift release,
And certitude of sweeter, nobler times!”
Fourth Week, Fourth Day
And he spake also a parable unto them: No man putteth
a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then
both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken
out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man
utteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will
urst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are
preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway
desireth new: for he saith: The old is better.—Luke 5: 36-39.
Jesus phrases for us here a fact which needs very much
to be kept in mind by our generation. Just as patching an
outworn garment with new and differing patches is never fully
satisfactory, and just as trying to keep new wine in old con-
tainers will probably result in the loss of both, so trying to
make the new science a patch on the old religion, or pouring
the new wine of man’s spiritual experience into the old
bottles of orthodox theology must only end in failure. The
new science is the new bottle into which the new wine of the
new religion must be poured! For the new renaissance in
the field of the spirit has blessed us with a new faith which
can only be preserved for the new generation in the modern
vessel which the new science affords. The day has arrived
when true science and true religion can be recognized as
completely harmonious!
Old laws, old measures, old traditions are, of course, the
loam out of which the new tree of truth has sprung. Both
science and religion have moved up out of the darkness of
the old ways into the fuller light of the new and brighter
day. No sane man, who has tasted and seen the fruit of the
new thinking, will say, “The old is better.” “Many an ancient
hypothesis has been exploded,” says Charles E. Jefferson,
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[IV-5] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE — f
“by bringing it into contact with a fresh fact, and many a
belief long honored has been relegated to the lumber room
- of the mind. Everything, therefore, must be restudied, and
all the old values must be reappraised. Nothing is too
venerable to go into the melting pot, and nothing is too
sacred to be cross-examined and sifted.” Out of the wreck
of the old, it is our plain duty to help in the building of the
new heaven and the new earth. Lowell’s lines echo the
voices of all earth’s prophets:
“New times demand new measures and new men;
The world advances, and in time outgrows
The laws that in our fathers’ day were best;
And, doubtless, after us, some purer scheme
Will be shaped out by wiser ones than we,
Made wiser by the steady growth of truth.”
Fourth Week, Fifth Day
And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man
should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise —
night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he
knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of
herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn
in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immedi- —
ately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. _
Mark 4:26-29.
When we have observed that worthy worship of God in- |
volves a never-ending search for his truth; that the free —
give and take of thought is part of this search; that to
languish in the dark dungeon of ignorance is a denial of
Jesus’ word; and that the new time must live in its own new —
light, we have already given intimations of the nature of the
Kingdom of God. But in today’s passage in the fourth chap-
ter of Mark, we find squarely facing us in Jesus’ plain words
this fact: the Infinite God is working out his will in the world
by a process of never-ending evolution!
The earth brings forth its fruit by a developing process,
first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the
ear. Evidently Jesus was an evolutionist, for he speaks of
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ADVENTURING WITH GODIN THE NEW DAY [IV-6]
nature’s processes as part of a great development! In this
growth, man is the highest fruit the earth has yet brought
forth. Sleeping and rising, through nights and days of eens
of time, the seed of life has been growing. Up the winding
spiral of ascending life has come man into the light of reason
and conscience and love. So the leisurely plan of God for
his child was worked out—an age for the blade—a hundred
millenniums for the ear—a million years for the full corn in
the ear. So, as Alice Post puts it:
“Came on the outermost verge
To the dust a heavenward urge;
The voice of the living God
Calling to the red-clay clod.
“Out of the depths I clomb,
Seeking a human home,
Through spawn and nest and lair,
Up the long biologic stair,
Fulfilling my Maker’s plan,
Achieving the form of man.
“Came into my nostrils the breath
Of life that outlives death.
At last God made me whole—
I became a living soul!”
Fourth Week, Sixth Day
And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig
tree dried up from the roots. And Peter'calling to remem-
brance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which
_ thou cursedst is withered away. And Jesus answering saith
unto them, Have faith in God.—Mark 11:20-22.
Many, convinced of the vastness of the universe from a
study of astronomy or of the certainty of evolution from a
study of biology, experience change of heart with regard to
: their religious faith which might be expressed in the words
_ of the character in Browning’s poem, “The Worst of It”:
“My faith is torn to a thousand scraps,
And my heart feels ice while my words breathe flame!”
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[IV-7] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE '
But why should the size of the world, or the method by
which man was made, eliminate the Universal Power or the
Benevolent Maker? Indeed, if our faith is not utterly fragile,
instead of being torn to thousands of scraps by these facts
of the new science, it should be enriched, increased and
strengthened. A greater universe needs a greater God. A
more wonderful process of man’s origin requires a more
wonderful Originator. In teaching the new truth of God’s
methods in our world one often hears a reaction like this
from some men: “If I must give up one single thing in the
old theology, I'll give up the church and belief in God en-
tirely.” Their faith withers like the fig tree before any new
truth, What would Jesus say to this? “O ye of little faith,”
he would doubtless say as of old, “root your thinking deeper
in the greatness of God, so no new sun may dry you up.
Have real faith in God!”
He whose life is rooted deep in the spirituality of creation
will keep his triumphant faith though the heavens fall! He
will go on with glad assurance like the seer, Sidney Lanier:
“Ye marshes, how candid and simple and nothing withholding
and free
Ye publish yourselves to the sky and offer yourselves to the
sea!
‘Tolerant plains, that suffer the sea and the rains and the sun,
Ye spread and span like the catholic man, who hath mightily
won
God out of knowledge, and good out of infinite pain,
And sight out of blindness, and purity out of stain.
As the marsh-hen secretly builds on the watery sod,
Behold I will build me a nest on the greatness of God!”
Fourth Week, Seventh Day
And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of
God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is
like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the
earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: but
when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than
all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls
of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.—Mark 4:30-32.
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ADV ENTURING WITH GODIN THE NEW DAY [IV-m]
When we have seen the wonder of evolution as a fact in
all nature and have recognized it as the source, not of skep-
ticism, but of increased faith, we have not yet fully appre-
ciated its deeper significance. If, standing aside for a moment,
we view what has come up out of the earth in the xon-long
arising of life, we see set in the midst of nature’s variegated
glory like a shining jewel in a crown the marvel of man’s
personality. We see one who consciously can chart the heavens
with his telescope, explore the mysteries of life with his
microscope, harness world forces to fly, travel swiftly as the
wind, or speak across great distances. We see one who con-
sciously can love and serve and sacrifice and give ardent
devotion to high causes. We see here what is greater than
all herbs: man’s soul, God’s best incarnation, consciously
aiding in the ongoing of the divine purpose! That purpose
is a kingdom in the earth, an ever-coming kingdom tnade up
by men who, in intelligence, character and good-will, have
grown to be like Jesus, and have gone out upon a thrilling
adventure with the living God!
“God is;
God sees;
God loves;
God knows.
And Right is Right;
And Right is Might.
In the full ripeness of His Time,
All these His vast prepotencies
Shall round their grace-work to the prime
Of full accomplishment,
, And we shall see the plan sublime
Of His beneficent intent.
Live on in hope!
Press on in faith!
Love conquers all things,
Even Death.”
MEDITATION ON THE MASTER’S THOUGHT
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For
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[1V-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE '
verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot
or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these
least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be
called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever
shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in
the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except
your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the
kingdom of heaven.—Matt. 5:17-20.
I
The church and state officials of Jesus’ time were very much
afraid of his new thinking. They saw his original attitude
toward the rigid Sabbath observances, and they whispered
that he would destroy the Sabbath. They listened to his
broad teaching about God, and it was so startlingly original
that they feared the overthrow of their own outworn the-
ologies. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus takes the
opportunity to explain his attitude with regard to the old
law of the Jews, and with regard to the revered teachings
of the nation’s saints, the prophets. He pointed out that he
meant not to annul the past, but to fulfil it in the future by
broadening and enlarging its application in the present. In-
dependent thinking was a new thing to the Pharisees and —
they hated Jesus for his daring. They persecuted him for it.
At last, on account of it, they had him crucified.
The main fault of the Pharisees was that they failed to
see that God can reveal his will in the truth and experience
of every age. As a matter of fact, they could not think for
themselves because their minds were held fast in the rigid
forms of old traditions.
The danger in our own day that our thinking may become
Pharisaical rather than Christlike is illustrated in the true
words of J. H. C. Macaulay: “There is nothing,” he says,
“so uncommon today as independent and original thinking.”
The honest thinker, today, like Jesus must be willing to stand
the scorn and the bitterness of the swarming crowd of scribes
and Pharisees. But no man must forget this clear fact that
is written on every single page of our New Testament:
A man cannot be Christian in his thinking unless he thinks
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ADV ENTURING WITH GODIN THE NEW DAY [IV-m]
for himself, with the mind God gave him, concerning the
problems of life and thought!
While Jesus went out of his way to point out that the old
law was not to be destroyed, no, not one jot or tittle of it,
and while he always took as a basis or starting point for his
thought some great teaching of the prophets, nevertheless, he
was absolutely fearless in the use of his own mind. And not
a thousand Pharisees with their hateful looks and their dire
threats could turn him as much as a cubit from the heroic
path of truth in which he placed his feet. Not otherwise
“must be today the stern ideal of the pioneer thinker. Not
all the shaking of doubtful heads, not all the traditional plead-
ings and disagreements of the majority, nor the ostracisms
of those who enjoy the status quo should so much as turn
him a hair’s breadth from that gleaming Light of God-given
truth which he follows. He will be called a crazy man, as
Jesus was. He will be deserted on every hand by those who
called themselves friends. He will be pelted with epithets
calculated to burn and wound and kill. But through it all,
he will follow the way of the explorer, away from the beaten
track and out into the realms of discovery, for upon his
divine demurring depends the hope of human progress.
Emily Dickinson knew the experience and words it in telling
language:
“Much madness is divinest sense
To a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness.
*Tis the majority
In this, as all, prevails.
Assent, and you are sane;
Demur—you’re straightway dangerous
And handled with a chain!”
The honest thinker, who pioneers for truth in the field of
thought, is so sure of his ground because he knows that
God is a living and not a dead God, and that he speaks to
us today even as he did to Jesus and the prophets. Too long
we have been making the kingdom of God identical with the
past kingdoms, the kingdom of* Greece or of Rome or of
Jerusalem. We have been thinking that God revealed himself
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[IV-m] THE MASTER'S MESSAGE sy
in an unusual way in those ancient days, in a way which we
cannot know now. But “God who at sundry times and in
divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets,” can in our own day speak unto us and reveal
unto us his holy will. Why should there be anything strange
about God’s coming to us now and revealing to us increasingly
his purposes, even to a higher degree than ever before giving
his will for his world? James Russell Lowell understands:
“God is not dumb that He should speak no more;
If thou hast wanderings in the wilderness,
And find’st not Sinai, ’tis thy soul is poor;
There towers the mountain of the voice no less,
Which whoso seeks shall find, but he who bends
Intent on manna still and mortal ends,
Sees it not, neither hears its thundered lore.”
We, too, must come not to destroy but to fulfil. It is our
duty, not to destroy the religion of the past, but to fulfil it
in the present. We too must come with Jesus’ faith which
knows that true believing needs must issue in original thinking
and adventuresome doing!
IT
It was an interesting, yet natural, procedure for Jesus,
who was himself a young man even when he died, to select
for his followers young men, still unenslaved by custom,
still unfettered in mind, and still unpossessed by prejudice.
Jesus knew human nature, and he realized that youth would
be more receptive to his new truth and more sensitive to the
wonder and the hopes and the valors he would awake. It
was the old men who put Jesus to death, the Pilates, the chief
priests, the Sanhedrin counsellors, the Pharisees, the soldiers.
“Nearly all men,’ says Charles Darwin, “past a moderate
age, are incapable of looking at facts under a new point of
view.”
One of the tragedies of our day is that the Church, unlike
her Master, is frowning too often on the spirit of her youth.
Many who control in the Church’s life are unable to look at
facts under a new point of view, the point of view of the
younger generation. Margaret Slattery tells in her book, “You
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ADV ENTURING WITH GODIN THE NEW DAY [IV-m]
Can Learn to Teach,” of a young man who went out from
his home church so discouraged, because of the shackles of
dogma and the fetters of tradition which minister and officials
attempted to foist on all members, that he declared he was
“through with church, religion, and all the rest of it forever!”
At college, however, he came under the influence of a more
liberal atmosphere where trustful freedom and honest think-
ing were combined with a warm friendliness. That boy,
starving for real religion, found it, and entered into such a
profound experience of God that he went from college dedi-
cated to Christian service!
Are we going to drive our splendid youth from the church
with our rigid thinking? Is the church going to shut the
new kingdom of heaven from itself and forbid anyone else
from entering? Will the church be toward its young people
like 7Esop’s dog in the manger, unable to assimilate the new
thought itself and unwilling its younger generation should?
“Can young Jones stay in the church?” asks a contemporary
journalist. “He wants to. By its conception of itself the
church is committed to the ideas of Jesus. And they are
meat and drink to the young man. One has a right to demand
Christ’s standards of the church... . To young Jones’ mind
the church offers the best, the most natural instrument, for .
shaping the world into the kingdom of which he dreams.
But will the church let young Jones stay in? Will the church
frown on a man, give him the cold shoulder, because he trusts
enough in God not to fear to ask every question and drive
the question through until he gets his answer?”
Begbie in his book, “Painted Windows,” has a passage,
which, while not entirely true, illustrates the historic attitude
of religions: “Every religion in history, from the worship
of Osiris, Serapis, and .Mithra, to the loathsome rites prac-
ticed in the darkness of African forests, has been handed down
as unquestionable truth commanding the loyalty of its disciples.
What logic, what magic of holiness, could destroy a false
religion if tradition is sacrosanct and all innovation of the
devil?” I think it is safe to say that no religion ever existed
which was entirely false. Jesus came not to destroy and
we must come not to destroy. But in the growth which fulfils
there will be false traditions sloughed off, and outworn parts
discarded. Youth comes from God, not to destroy the church,
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[IV-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE <
but to fulfil its highest ambitions; the church must come,
not to destroy the glow of youth, but to permit and assist in
its fulfilment. ‘‘We teach them,” says Wiggam, “to experi-
ment fearlessly in chemistry, physics, biology, and even in
psychology, but we begin lying to them about life the moment
they leave the laboratory. Here they are, pouring by the
millions through our schools, brave, wide-eyed, clean, un-
spoiled, ready to do and dare with the universe; their pulses
tumbling with as rich idealisms as ever set the blood of a
happy warrior singing upon a great enterprise. ... Then we
instantly close those open minds and teach them to belong to
parties, to evaluate life in creeds, to express social power in
catchwords, to compress vast ardors into conventional molds,
-to follow whatever spiritual goose-step suits the vested re-
ligious, economic, and political interests of the time.”
This spirit, unfortunately, has been too often the curse of
the church’s work. From her door she has often driven her
best thinkers, and too often stultified and crushed the aspiring
minds of those who were admitted. Not long ago the
moderator of the Presbyterian general assembly told of a
campus of ten thousand students where to maintain connection
with the church, to profess Christianity, “simply wasn’t done.”
That condition, unfortunately widely prevalent, is just the
result of the church’s unsympathetic attitude. A recent con-
versation with a young college man explains it: “Students
are against compulsory chapel and are treating Christianity
with polite scorn, not because they regard it as a relic of
the Middle Ages, but because it has no vital message for the
world today!”
Can one imagine an astronomer, newly called to a chair in
a university, held up by an examining board and only admitted
when he had given his promise to teach only the astronomy
of the second century, and to discover no new stars, and to
advance no new theories as to the origin of the solar system?
And yet that is practically the silly procedure which holds
in some of our churches when they ordain a man to the
ministry or install him in a pulpit. They hold him up at
the point of a mental pistol—the accusation of heresy—and
force him to teach what has always been taught on pain of
expulsion! No wonder Channing says: “It is the tendency
of the increasing civilization and expansion of mind to pro-
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ADV ENTURING WITH GODIN THE NEW DAY [IV-m]
duce a tone of thought and feeling which is unfriendly to the
church which is exclusive in spirit.”
The church which will not mentally grow, and permit its
membership all mental freedom, is absolutely doomed. For
the church is in the position of the chick in the egg. Within
the safe shell, life seems warm, secure. The change of its
expanding life at first fills it with terror. That pressure on
the shell is quite uncomfortable. It is terribly afraid of any
new freedom which will break this separateness from the wide
world. We know that unless the hindering shell is broken
and the chicken comes forth, its life is settled. Jt must come
out of its shell or it will die. That is exactly the fix of the
church. Jt must fulfil its religion or it will destroy it!
Ah! like Jesus the church can trust its youth. Funda-
mentally, their minds and their characters are the equal of
any in the last twenty centuries, or in all time. They are in
revolt, but they do not wish for the destruction of that which
is true and that which is eternally right. They will admit
no divine dictum which is not indorsed by their own indi-
vidual judgment. They believe in their own ‘responsibility. -
They have come not to destroy the hopes of the ages but to
fulfil them in a glorious new day. “I am happy to think,”
said Thomas Hardy, “that this religion without dogmas—in
which, I think, we may see in advance the religion of the
future, and by which all of the modern world that can be
saved will be saved—may find shelter in the churches of
today!” Let all forward-looking men and women hope and
pray and work that the religion of the new day may- find
shelter in the old church. It will come to pass, if the leaders
of the church understand Christ enough to see that his faith
was a faith in the fulfilling power of trustful freedom!
a Ba Se
It is a true sign of progress that the new generation is sick
of cant and falsehood and the perfervid reiterations of old
delusions. But, according to Jesus, the kingdom of heaven
cannot be entered on the wings of new thinking alone. Not
one of the old commandments must be broken. Those who
break them, and teach others to do so, shall be the least in
the kingdom of heaven. A new thinking must issue in a new
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fidelity to life. A new faith must issue in new character.
The achievement of a superior religion must result in the
achievement of a superior character. A religion which ex-
ceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees in genuine faith-
must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in genuine
righteousness!
So the new truth of Jesus was a corrective truth. It set
up new and higher standards of living. It took the old ideals
and exalted them. It took an old and futile and lifeless code
and gave it a new dynamic. It took the old law, encrusted
with hypocrisies and shams, and freed it for a new and
larger life. It took the old law against killing and showed that
the real sin that needed to be removed was deep down in
the heart—anger. It took the old law against committing
adultery and showed that the roots of the evil were deep down
in the heart—foul and lustful thoughts. The ideals of the old
law were not high enough, but he did not destroy them. He
fulfilled them, by widening and deepening their applications.
Did the scribes and Pharisees live up to the old law?
Some of them did, strictly. But most of them did not live
up to the law, even though its requirements were not so high.
They delighted in intellectual arguments, the sharing of
opinions, polite ecclesiastical exercises in *the temple. But
when it came to life their professions were a long way ahead
of their conduct. In the religion of Jesus there was very’
little room for creeds or fancy intellectual philosophies, but
he cared tremendously about the moral obligations of religion.
Faith meant nothing to him unless it was brought forth in a
good life of love, truth, service, holiness, sacrifice. Time ang
time again he rebuked the Pharisees, on account of their wrong
emphasis in religious matters (Matt. 23: 13-33, Mark
12: 38-40).
As we survey our world we feel it needs something of the
same kind of rebuke that Jesus gave the Pharisees. With
our physical science, which has built a world-civilization of
enginery and machinery, we have achieved immense external
wealth. With our new thinking and increased means of
communication we have vastly widened knowledge and pro-
duced a wiser generation. But is it a ‘better generation?
The Athens of Sophocles, Pericles, and Phidias had none of
our modernity but they did wonderfully. The soil that gréw
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ADV ENTURING WITH GOD IN THE NEW DAY [1V-m}
Petrarch and Leonardo da Vinci and Luther and Columbus
was enriched by other influences than we know. What, if
with all our wealth and power in the physical world, we are
left poverty-stricken in the realm of the soul?
The task of the younger generation with its splendid and
courageous new thinking is to create a new world of character.
It is to build in the new day a world-order wherein the per-
sonal and social ideals of Jesus have a real and vital part.
“Lift up your eyes,’ said Roswell Hitchcok, ‘and you may
see another stadium of history advancing. Its aim will be
to realize the Christianity of Christ himself, which is about
to renew its youth by taking to heart the Sermon on the
Mount. He that sitteth on the throne is saying: ‘Behold, I
make all things new. This earth is yet to be redeemed, soul
and body, with all its peoples, occupations and interests.”
Let the church not sit down easily and agreeably beside the
modern man with his scrappy culture, his opulent science,
and his disordered soul. But let the church provide the en-
lightened and inspired leadership that will give that man what
he badly needs: a sane faith brought forth in superior
character!
“What ye want is light—indeed....
God’s light organized
In some high soul, crowned “capable to lead
The conscious people, conscious and advised—
For if we lift a people like mere clay,
It falls the same. We want thee, O unfound
And Sovran teacher! if thy beard be grey
Or black, we bid thee rise up from the ground
And speak the word God giveth thee to say,
Inspiring into all this people round
Instead of passion, thought, which pioneers
All generous passion, purifies from sin,
And strikes the hour for! Rise up, teacher! here’s
A crowd to make a nation—best begin
By making each a man, till all the peers
Of earth’s true patriots and pure martyrs in
Knowing and doing!”
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[IV-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE < oe
IV
There are some people who never get into step with the —
ongoing purposes of God because they are invalided with a
creeping disease called inert pessimism. Worthy enterprises —
beckon but they sit still, undecided and glum. Noble adven- —
tures chailenge their devotion, but theirs is a weak and woeful |
response: “Impossible!” Apparently there are some men SO —
cold and lymphatic in their temperament that they are moved
by nothing. They hate enthusiasm, And they are not con- —
tent with being stragglers in the onward march of human
progress themselves, but seem to carry with them a portable —
fire extinguisher ready always to quench every spark of
enthusiasm that begins to glow in others. They are men like a
the Georgia cracker who sat one day at his shanty door, —
smoking a corncob pipe. Along came a stranger.
“How’s cotton coming?”
“Ain’t none!” said the cracker. ,
“Didn’t you plant any?”
“Nope!” replied the cracker, “’fraid o’ boll weevils!” 4
“Well, how’s your corn?”
“Didn’t plant none, ’fraid o’ drought
“Well,” finally asked the stranger, “how’s your potatoes?”
“Ain’t got none!” said the cracker, “scairt o’ tater bugs 1”
“Well, what did you plant?” .
“Nuthin’,” said the cracker, “just played safe!” :
Too often the oncoming kingdom is blocked by some pes-
simist playing safe. Mussolini may not stand as the ideal
servant of the kingdom but he has given us a splendid motto:
‘Live dangerously!” It is the same ideal uttered one hun-—
dred and fifty years ago by Ben Franklin: “The way to be
safe is never to be secure!” |
All human progress is the result of faith. In the eleventh —
chapter of Hebrews the writer, glowing with a great vision 4
of what faith had done for his people, pictured the heroes —
of Israel, Abraham, Isaac, and the rest, as accomplishing
their deeds by faith. To which we might add these facts of
our own: By faith Jesus adventured to fulfil the religion
of his fathers and brought forth a new and glorious church;
by faith Paul crossed the plains of Asia and the waters of the
7Egean Sea and won the ancient world for his Master; by
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. ADVENTURING WITH GODIN THE NEW DAY [IV-m]
faith missionaries saved Roman civilization and converted the
savage Goths and Vandals to the religion of Jesus; by faith
Columbus crossed the unknown ocean and opened a new
world; by faith Washington established in the new world a
great republic; by faith Livingstone opened up the dark con-
tinent of Africa to the light of a higher civilization; by faith
Lincoln won freedom for the blacks and a greater solidarity
for his nation; by faith Bell invented the telephone and Ford
invented his automobile and Edison illumined the physical
world with the miracle of electricity. So goes the record of
faith; it is nothing but the record of all human achievement!
But the divinest achievers have always worked with God.
Without him our efforts are vain. If we leave him out of
account we have the sense of something lacking, an experience
which Browning truly phrascs:
“Inscribe all human effort with one word,
Artistry’s haunting curse, the Incomplete!”
Man is God’s child and when Father and son work together
what wonders can be accomplished! Truly we are “co-
workers” with the Great Spirit, with God, the eternal Youth,
who is ever questing onward, and calling for His children to
follow. For as Bridges has well said:
“The world is unto God a work of art,
Of which the unaccomplished heavenly plan
Is hid in life within the creature’s heart,
And for perfection looketh unto man!”
Shall we fail God in this new and dangerous day? Shall
we heed the Pharisaic voices which, entrenched in old tradi-
tions, mock the ongoing purposes of the daring faithful?
Shall we be untrue to the example of our Master who poured
out his life in wondrous fidelity for the fulfilment of the
great Kingdom? There is no avoiding the issue: those who
adventure upward with the ongoing God will be inspired and
enheartened by an unshakable faith built on original thinking,
nobler character, and the unfaltering conviction of cooperation
with the Father! They will sing with a brave knight of
another day, Charles Kingsley:
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[IV-q] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
“Gather you, gather you, angels of God—
Freedom, and Mercy, and Truth;
Come! for the Earth is grown coward and old;
Come down, and renew us her youth.
Wisdom, Self-sacrifice, Daring and Love,
Haste to the battlefield, stoop from above—
To the Day of the Lord at hand.
k K * * ** ** *
“Who would sit down and sigh for a lost age of gold,
While the Lord of all ages is here?
True hearts will leap up at the trumpet of God,
And those who can suffer can dare.
Each old age of gold was an iron age too,
And the meekest of saints may find stern work to do,
In the Day of the Lord at hand!”
O Lord, our God, grant unto us the truth, we beseech Thee,
‘im our new day, that we may follow it with unfaltering steps,
that the agelong Kingdom of Thy heart may come nearer in
our world, For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
LIFE QUESTIONS
1. Is adventure in the field of thought a Christian duty?
Is it possible for a man today to be what J. 'M. Scott calls —
“a Columbus of truth’? |
2. Are our ideas about God final? Are those of Jesus?
Name some attributes of God suggested by the words of
Jesus in this part of the Sermon on the Mount.
3. To discover the truth about life and religion is it neces-
sary to give up our preconceived notions, dogmatic prejudices,
-customary cherished opinions? What are the chief sources of
false notions in religion? Did Jesus mean to establish a rigid
creed?
4. Of what did righteousness among the Pharisees and |
scribes consist? How did Jesus seek to improve upon their
‘notions of right and wrong? Did he succeed? How would
“you describe this exalting of old standards in terms of today? —
5. Are Jesus’ standards, as we find them in the Sermon
universal? eternal? applicable today? Will there ever be such
ADVENTURING WITH GOD IN.THE NEW DAY {IV-a]
ea. thing as permanent moral and spiritual standards? Have
we them now?
6. How can mankind best conserve the accumulated achieve-
ments and valuable experiences of the past?
7. What is the more imperative duty, the destruction of the
false or the construction of the true?
8. “The word fulfil is used in the most strict and ordinary
sense: He means that He is come to give that which fills up
the husk of the outward law, its kernel, its substance... .”
(F. D. Maurice.)
Do you agree that the new message of Jesus is a living and
| logical unfolding of the old law of the Jewish code?
9. “The effectiveness of the work of Christianity ... has
been proportioned to the thoroughness with which it has
devoted itself to some higher principle than any which could.
be called worldly.” (E. Lyttelton.)
Are the principles of Christianity’s righteousness too high
to be actually lived in everyday life? How many are truly
living the higher righteousness?
10. Was Jesus’ faith in God an active or passive affair?
What were the vital elements of his faith?
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CHAPTER V
Brotherhood in the New Day
DAILY READINGS
2
In one of our best magazines there appeared recently a
poem by Elizabeth Morrow which exactly describes the prob- —
~ lem with which we shall be dealing in the discussion of this —
chapter :
“My friend and I have built a wall
Between us thick and wide:
The stones of it are laid in scorn
And plastered high with pride.
“We talk across the stubborn stones
So arrogantly tall—
Only we cannot touch our hands
Since we have built the wall.”
This fact we all realize: there are walls in human life which —
frustrate fellowship! There are artificial barriers built by the ~
brutalized hands of men gone blind with pride and hard- —
hearted hate, barriers which successfully obstruct the spread —
of brotherhood. In our daily readings let us see some of
these walls that shut men apart.
Fifth Week, First Day
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on
earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be
done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where
two or three are gathered together in my name, there am
I in the midst of them.—Matt. 18:19-20.
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BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY _ [V-2]
One of the most obvious and insidious forms of intolerance,
barring the way to brotherhood, is bigotry of belief! In our
New Testament passage, selected from the words of Jesus,
we hear him speaking about the way men come together most
effectively. He does not say that they must agree on earth
as touching anything they think; but he says when they
agree to ask together, that seeking shall be rewarded.
_ Uniformity in thinking, therefore, is nowhere required in
the New Testament. Nor will common sense require it. It
is true that each life is in a sense different, each life has
something unique and valuable to contribute. The iron hand
which would compel uniformity would therefore be stultifying
and stupid. To deny any man the right to think for himself
about Reality is to deny what God does not. It is to violate
the first duty man owes to God: the obligation to think
honestly for oneself. “I think my credo is,” said Hugh
Walpole, English novelist, “that I’ believe one of the first
necessities for a human being is an absolute tolerance of the
religious discoveries of every other human being.”
Liberalist and literalist must come together in the name of
Jesus (which means with the spirit of his understanding love)
tolerantly granting each other the right to follow the guiding
of God as it is revealed aglow in a man’s own heart. A
contemporary. seer pictures Jesus face to face with the brag-
ging intolerance of the wise men of today:
“In sorrow spake the Christ: ‘If ye had faith
As a mustard seed, this mountain ’twixt you twain,
Which cleaves your brotherhood, would at your word
Of loving understanding be removed.
War not with one another but with sin;
Talk not of “creeds” or “creedless,” but of faith.
Your greatest heresies are pride of heart
And loveless scorn that wounds and cannot heal.
Your scourge of bitter words falls on my back
And by your strife again I’m crucified.’ ”
Fifth Week, Second Day
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which -
shall believe on me through their word; that they all may
OI
[V2 = THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
‘be one;.as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that
‘they also may be one in us: that the world may believe
‘that Thou hast sent me. And the glory which Thou gavest
‘me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we
are one: I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou
hast sent me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved me.
—John 17:20-23.
This agonizing prayer of Jesus has been ringing in the
rears of Christians for centuries. It is a passionate prayer
for unity and the Master prayed these words a few hours
before he gave his life for the redemption of men. But the
«churches have no more heeded it than if it had never been
spoken. Men have gloried in building exclusive barriers
around God to shut their brothers out!
Thus the Christians of the early centuries of our era
put to death whole tribes who refused to accept the Christian —
God. The Christians of the Middle Ages made the church
a closed corporation and anyone who questioned its infal-
lible authority was at once branded a heretic and condemned
to hell fire (which often became a reality in the form of
burning at the stake or the agony of the torture chamber).
The followers of Mohammed felt it their duty to put to the
sword those who failed to embrace the religion of Allah and
his one true Prophet. Thus through the ages groups have
invented what they called “The One True Church,’ and have
branded their brothers outside with shame! And all because
certain inconsequential forms were exalted as essential: mas-
ses, indulgences, pilgrimages, baptisms, rituals, healings, popes,
holy books, and pious practices of various kinds.
But there is only one true Church the world around and
that is the Church of Humanity. All churches of whatever
ritual are but expressions of the same human desires and
needs. As all these cooperate in one common brotherhood,
recognizing the one common Father, and living in love
together, will the dream of Jesus be realized: “. .. that
they all may be one, as Thou Father art in me... that
. they may be made perfect in one!” As for me let my
church embrace the world; as Burbridge does in his good
_ poem: .
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BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY [V-3};
“All who love God are in my church embraced,
Not that I have no sense of preference—
None deeper! but I rather love to draw,
_ Even here, on earth, on toward the future law,
_And_ Heaven’s fine etiquette, where? who? and whence?
May not be asked: and at the wedding feast,
North shall sit down with south, and west with east.”
Fifth Week, Third Day
And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene,.
Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.—:
Matt. 27:32.
It is interesting to note that the first man who actually
carried the cross of Jesus was a black man, a Cyrenean from
the north of Africa. The men who killed Jesus were white
and the man they made carry the cross was black. And
wherever white men make colored races carry a cross of
shameful exclusion there the Christ of humanity ts crucified
afresh!
It is hard to see how a pigment in the skin can make one
race superior or inferior. But for ages foolish man has se-
parated himself off with pride because his skin was colored.
differently from his fellows. We become suspicious of a.
man whose skin is not the same as ours. We create in our
imaginations all kinds of evil about him. But this is childish-
ness. Dark-skinned races are as much children of God as:
the light-skinned races. “Humanity,” as Theodore Parker
has so well said, “is the son of God!” The negro is the
image of God cut in ebony. The red man is the image of
God cut in mahogany. The yellow man is the image of God
carved in gold. And because the white man is the image of
God carved in ivory, shall he insist that ivory is a superior
vessel to ebony, mahogany, or gold? We must not separate’
natural brothers with walls of color! Burns saw the visior
long ago:
“Then let us pray that come it may
(As come it will for a’ that,)
That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an’ a’ that.
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[V-4] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
It’s coming yet for a’ that,
That man to man, the world o’er,
Shall brothers be for a’ that.”
Fifth Week, Fourth Day
And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, my
house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer?—
Mark 11:17.
National pride has always been one of the most sensitive
elements in human nature. Flags, histories, traditions, heroes
—all these conspire to give a set of mind that is dangerous
to world brotherhood. Patriotism is a noble, wonderful,
beautiful emotion. Every man feels it somewhat, and there
is virtue in it. But when a prophet with the world visior
in his eyes comes to his own people with a message which
touches on universal kinship, the nation rises in indignation
and heaven help the prophet after that. Jeremiah was stoned,
Savonarola was burned, Wilson was beaten into helplessness.
They wanted to kill Jesus, the very members of his home-
town church, as we saw in one of the daily readings in the —
first chapter. Eventually, they did slay him for “betraying the
nation!” ;
And here in our passage today we hear Jesus abruptly —
calling their attention to an old prophetic message which, in —
their national narrowness and pride, they had forgotten. It
was in the holy temple of God that all nations of earth were
to be brought prayerfully together!
The point is that it is literally true that there is no such
thing as a Separate nation! Try to define “nation” and see.
Try to think of a nation on the planet that is actually com-
posed of people of one kind only. Dr. Franz Boas, noted
anthropologist, is right when he says: “Nationality is irrele-
vant. All nations are mongrel.” God not only made man in
his image but he made every man in the same image as every
other. National barriers are largely artificial. Jingoism will
go when Jesus’ purpose of brotherhood throws these barriers
down. An increasing number of people are beginning to feel
like Emma Lazarus: ‘
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BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY _ [V-5]
j “Here was the lofty truth revealed, that each
‘Must feel himself in all, must know where’er
The great soul acts or suffers or enjoys,
His proper soul in kinship there is bound,
Then my life-purpose dawned upon my mind,
Encouraging as morning.”
Fifth Week, Fifth Day
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And
who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering said, A certain
man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among
thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded
him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance
there came down a certain priest that way: and when he
saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a
Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him,
and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan,
as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw
him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound
up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his
own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of
him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out
two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him,
Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when .
I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three,
thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among
thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then
said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.—Luke
10: 29-37.
Christian friendship is the most talked of and least prac-
ticed ideal in the world. Christianity is supposed to teach
us to love our neighbors—but as a matter of fact modern
society recognizes no neighbors. We quarrel with our rela-
tives, gossip about the folks next door, compete savagely
with the man who happens to be in the same business as
ourselves. And as for the stranger within our gates or with-
‘out our gates, he is utterly neglected.
The story of the Good Samaritan is so well known that
we are apt to miss its deepest message, namely this: No man
is a stranger; every soul you meet is your brother; every
soul you meet may need your help! The Samaritan, a hated
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[V-6] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
alien, recognizes a brother in the half-dead Jew lying by the
roadside, more readily than the priest or the choir singer.
It was his treatment of an utter stranger exactly as one would
_ treat a brother that constitutes the heart of the story! On
every modern street (as one can imagine on every street of
old Jerusalem) there are unfortunate strangers needing Good
Samaritans. Bill Simpson’s spirit is nothing else but the
spirit of Christ: “Daily, everywhere they go, they shall find
a dear brother or sister in the eyes of everyone they meet
and shall feel themselves surrounded and accompanied by
them on all their way.”
Ah! Father in heaven, how languishing souls need tender
touch of brotherly hands! One of our best modern poets,
Thomas Clark, gives voice to our hearts:
“The touch of human hands—
Not vain, unthinking words,
Nor that cold charity
Which shuns our misery;
We seek a loyal friend
Who understands,
And the warmth, the pulsing warmth
Of human hands.
“The touch of human hands—
Such care as was in Him
Who welked in Galilee
Beside the silver sea;
We need a patient guide
Who understands, .
And the warmth, the loving warmth
Of human hands.”
Fifth Week, Sixth Day
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his dis-
ciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
—Matt. 9:11.
And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his
right hand and the other on his left.. And the scripture was
fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the trans-
gressors.—Mark 15:27-28.
BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY [V-6]
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on
him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But
the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou
fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And
we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our
deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said
unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy
kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee,
Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.—Luke 23:39-43.
In our daily readings we have been seeking to set forth
the great fact of human brotherhood, a fact stated many
centuries ago by a great Greek, Epictetus, “The universe is
one city full of beloved ones.” We have seen, however, that
various forms of misunderstanding serve to erect walls of
hostility between men: walls of creed, church, color, nation,
and custom. There is still another wall which comes between
men, and perhaps this is one of the most common: the wall
of class. Pride in ancestry, virtue, wealth or position puffs
us up until we commence to look down on our fellow mortals
as wretched or degraded or inferior persons.
If we study Jesus’ life with any appreciation at all we shall
see at once how far from this attitude he was. He frater-
nized with the commonest people until it provoked criticism.
Transgressors, malefactors, and men of low degree he counted
as among his best friends. A common thief on a cross, even
in the night of his death, was not too low to be befriended.
Kingman has placed his finger on one of the most charac-
teristic qualities of the Master’s life when he says of him:
“The face of Jesus was as wistfully kind to the unclean as
to the clean, and to the ignorant as to the learned.
Whatever else was perplexing about his mission, this at least
was clear, that He turned the light of God on the drab life
of the common people, and lo and behold! it was a light
tremulous with the deep colors of pity, and love, and sacri-
fice.” And John T. Roberts understood Jesus too when he
sang:
“Ancestry needn’t disturb my mind; it never is in his thought;
He was born among men, he lived among men; he shares the
common lot.
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[V-7] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
Companions he finds in the places of toil; the homes of the
sick he makes glad.
He is rich in God’s way of being rich; he blesses the good
and the bad.”
Fifth Week, Seventh Day
One is your Master; and all ye are brethren.—Mctt. 23:8. 4
In that breath-taking twenty-third chapter of Matthew
which must have made his hearers gasp (and which still
stabs awake our sleeping consciences), Jesus said that all these E
cruel barriers of blood and color, creed and church, class and
custom and country were built on lies. He said that the true
life of mankind was to be built upon a full and generous
recognition of the fact of universal brotherhood. In the
new dawn the passion of Jesus will sweep away these false
fences of division. Aristocracy, orthodoxy, exclusiveness,
bigotry, rampant nationalism—not one of these serves any use- __
ful purpose in the kingdom of God. Indeed, they are the
prime causes of its estoppage. “Intolerance,” says Dr. Fos-
dick, “is one of the great failures of history!”
The masterhood of Jesus cannot be a reality until we are
all brought together as brothers. We must no longer think
of ourselves as Negroes and whites, respectable and criminal,
High Church and Low Church, modernist and fundamental-
ist, acquaintances and strangers—but as brothers and sisters
under the leadership of the Divine Human. “At that time
ye were without Christ,” said Paul, “being aliens . . . and
strangers ... but now in Christ ye are made nigh by the
blood of Christ. . . . For he is our peace, who hath made both
one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition be-
tween us... .” (Ephesians 2: 12-14.) It is easy to say those
words, but how about living them?
“We are of Thee, the children of Thy love,
The brothers of Thy well-beloved Son;
Descend, O Holy Spirit! like a dove,
Into our hearts, that we may be as one.
“We would be one in hatred of all wrong,
One in our love of all things sweet and fair, :
08
BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY [V-m]
One with the joy that breaketh into song,
One with the grief that trembles into prayer,
One in the power that makes Thy children free
To follow truth and thus to follow Thee.”
MEDITATION ON THE MASTER’S THOUGHT
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou
shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger
of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is
angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger
of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother,
Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall
‘say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there
rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first
be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy
gift.
Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in
the way with him; lest at any time thy adversary deliver
thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer,
and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou
shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the
- uttermost farthing.—Matt. 5:21-26.
In the next five chapter discussions we shall be consider-
ing the new ideals of Jesus for the human family. We shall
see that his spiritual insight is keener, his moral requirements
greater, and his social standards loftier than those taught in
the old law. To men of his time his message seemed bold,
radical, revolutionary. By men of later times his message -
has- been estimated at its true worth—it is thought of as
teaching for eternity. Jesus penetrated to the heart of things —
because he was so human. “He knew what was in man.”
He possessed a profound knowledge of human nature. He
had a marvelous understanding of human life. He knew its
problems; he recognized its capacities. He lived among peo-
ple so intimately that he came to understand their needs bet-
ter than anyone before or since. He made it his daily, prayer-
ful task to relieve human care and sorrow and suffering. He
opened the door of the Father’s Spirit, and the light that
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[V-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE — ee
came through illumined life with new hope, new promise,
new faith. In the illuminating process the law is not lost.
To be sure, it is filled full with deeper significance ; it becomes
harder to live up to; it pins morality and religion down to
fundamentals. We shall see that he means what he says: “I
am come not to destroy, but to fulfil!”
I
One of the most ancient of all laws in the society of man
Jesus first mentions: Thou shalt not kill. When man emerged
from the jungle he brought with him vestiges of the old,
savage, barbaric animal life. In the dim, dark ages before
law, cannibalism, infant sacrifice, and other forms of homi-
cide were practiced without qualm. But when man’s social
conscience developed to the point where he recognized obliga-
tion toward his fellow-man, blood-letting came as the curse
of Cain: a brutal, barbaric deed of unbridled selfishness and
fury. Though Moses announced the divine law against kill-
ing from Sinai the Israelites went down to the valley of
Canaan and gloried in killing the Canaanites. Theré seems
to be an instinct in human nature which tends to overthrow
the conscience in the face of expediency, explaining slaying
as an adventurous necessity. Thus George Bernard Shaw
with his usual keenness describes the first murderer:
“Cain (to Adam): Still digging? Always dig, dig} dig.
Sticking in the old furrow. No progress! no advanced ideas!
no adventures! What should I be if I had stuck to the
digging you taught me?
Adam: What are you now, with your shield and spear,
and your brother’s blood crying from the ground against you?
Cain: I am the first murderer: you are only the first man.
Anybody could be the first man: it is as easy as to be the
first cabbage. To be the first murderer one must be a man
of spirit!” Sas
(“Back to Methuselah,” Part I, Act II.)
Thus it is by clever, yet obviously false, reasoning that we
explain away the hideous crime of murder. Ancient wars
with their wholesale slayings, Indian massacres with the hor-
ror of the tomahawk, and the stories of ferocious cannibal
tribes seem terrible to us. We read of the leopard-men of
100
BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY. [V-m]
Africa, described by Albert Schweitzer, the missionary doc-
tor, organist, and theologian, and we can scarcely believe,
They go on all fours, real leopard claws bound to hands and
feet, and tear open the arteries of the throat as the leopard
does. A magic potion is made from a murdered man’s blood
and mixed in a human skull. Secretly it is poured into a man’s
drink; then he is told he is a member of the dread brother-
hood, and he goes out to lure a brother or sister into the
hands of the leopard-men who attack and slay. We think
these things are awful, but right at home in our own so-
called high civilization we make human life just as cheap.
The fact that there are thousands of murders in America
every year, and tens of thousands of lives destroyed by faul-
ty machinery, careless motor-car driving, and neglect of the
laborer at his work, shows how little we heed the divine com-
mand: Thou shalt not kill!
But more disheartening still are the legalized forms of
killing! Thus policemen carry guns and clubs and have the
right to shoot and beat and often slay those who fall into
their hands. Thus the state has its electric chairs, its gal-
lows, its lethal chambers where human lives are sacrificed
on the altar of heathen stupidity. One of the most amazing
inconsistencies in modern life is the spectacle of the state
taking the life of a murderer: committing the same crime
for which it has convicted the criminal! And the arrant
nonsense which poses for argument in defense of this bar-
barity is so silly that one can hardly believe it is sincere.
Thus a recent newspaper editorial says: “Our chief concern
is with crimes of violence and we shall have a speedy reduc-
tion in these if we send all murderers to the chair. If the
chair were inescapable in all murder cases we should vir-
tually abolish murder, as it has been abolished in Europe.”
The vaporous quality of such argument is quickly seen when
it is asked: Since when does killing one murderer prevent
another man from killing? The deliberate falsity of such
a proposition is revealed when we find that the general ex-
perience has been that the number of murders is reduced
in those states where capital punishment has been abolished!
Murder has not been abolished, of course, in Europe (as the
article seems to imply), but wherever it has been almost
abolished we find that capital punishment has been eliminated.
a IOI
[Vin] <. | «THE MASTER'S MESSAGE= Gag
In other words the mention of Europe in this connection
proves exactly the opposite proposition from the one the
editorial writer desired to prove, since three out of every
four European states have already abolished the electric
chair and the gallows, and have placed them in the museum
where they belong, with all the other torture paraphernalia
of ancient heathenism.
The attitude of the average man of society toward killing
done by the state is well illustrated by an acquaintance, active
in church work, and a man of good sense and fine character.
He told me of going to the Charlestown prison in Massa-
chusetts with a group of boys. When they came to the
death house the warden would not let the boys see the
dreaded chair. Speaking to me about his experience later he
said: “I went into the death house alone. It was a grue-
some feeling that came over me. I certainly would not want
the job of the electrocutioner, but I believe in capital punish-
ment!” A room the very sight of which may pervert the
minds of boys has no place in our civilization. And a deed
too terrible for the average citizen to do should not be done
by anybody. The words, Thou shalt not kill, mean just
what they say. No “ifs” or “ands” or “buts” are permis-
sible. Man has no right to destroy another human life under
any circumstances!
The truth about war is seen when we consider it in the
light of this divine law. It is the same old curse of Cain,
pure murder, explained away with specious excuses. The
instruments of modern warfare are infinitely worse than ever ~
before: science has devised them for maximum wholesale
killing. Aérial bombs, torpedoes, long-range guns firing high-
explosive shells and shrapnel, mustard-gas and chlorine, rapid-
fire and machine guns—these clever instruments of modern —
warfare make ancient slaughter-stories sound like mere
child’s play. The invention of gunpowder, making possible
all forms of destructive weapons from six-shooters to huge
siege guns, has proved mankind’s curse.
“Is it, O man, with such discordant noises,
With such accursed instruments as these,
Thou drownest Nature’s sweet and kindly voices,
And jarrest the celestial harmonies? ;
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BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY _ [V-m]
“Were half the power that fills the world with terror,
Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts,
Given to redeem the human mind from error,
There were no need of arsenals or forts.
“The warrior’s name should be a name abhorred!
And every nation that should lift again
Its hand against a brother, on its forehead
Would wear forevermore the curse of Cain!”
Jesus repeats here in the Sermon on the Mount, with his
supreme indorsement that it shall never be abrogated, the
great law that man must not kill. It implies that all life is
sacred; it declares the fact that man is wisest when he kills
the least; that nothing must be killed except it minister to
man’s need of food or clothing or condition of body. Hunt-
ing for sport that cruelly deprives the dumb beast of life
unnecessarily, the destruction of anything that breathes,
wantonly or without cause, is a direct sin against the natural
law written in the book of life. All nature is a brotherhood,
and its fundamental sign is, Thou shalt not kill! W. F., in
the Christian Science Monitor, gives us wholesome philosophy
which many might well heed: “Lying among the heather in the
ceilings of a summer night, wi’ the stars blinking overhead
and the hushing sound of the darkness all aboot ye, wi’ the
eerie cry of the peewit coming through, the hoot of an owl,
or maybe the rustle of a rabbit among the whins, scurrying
from a reavin’ stoat, it’s then I seem to realize best what
I am and where my true place is. Lonesome? No’ me! All
nature is whispering to me; the stars aboon, the trees, the
purlin’ burns. The rough steers in the pasture, the friendly
horses at the fence, breathe to me the spirit of a brotherhood >
of which man is but a part.”
II
The old law, according to Jesus, is perfectly: right. Killing
is wrong, and when a man kills he becomes liable to the
“Gudgment.”’ Killing is a dire evil and when a man does it -
he must suffer certain penalties of divine justice. The word
in the Greek is xplots, which may mean “the local court,’ but
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[V-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
f
which usually refers to a higher justice, or the judgment of
God. But the old law does not go deep enough. The laws
of the nation may stop with the actual killing, but the Great
All-seeing Father looks upon the heart. Malicious ill-will
toward a brother has its penalties of divine justice just the
same as killing. There is a maligntty, says Jesus, which
murders men as surely as the sword can slay them! There
is a scorn, a contempt, a disdainful hatred, which injures a
brother as truly as the thrust of a spear. 7 .
The very fact that these subtle sins cannot be punished. by
national law is a clear indication that his meaning 1s spiritual |
here. The inordinately angry soul is liable to the xpiovs (local
court) which symbolizes inevitable spiritual punishment. The
contemptuous soul which cries, Raca (Good-for-nothing), is
ljable to the ovvyndpeov (sanhedrin) which symbolizes the
High Court of the Universe. The scornful soul which says,
Thou Fool, is liable to burial in the yéevva tov mupos, the valley
of Hinnom (Gehenna) which symbolizes a spiritual hell of
destruction. The laws of the nation, he is saying, may over-
look these spiritual misdemeanors of uncalled-for anger, un- 7
fair contempt, and unbridled scorn but the laws of God do
not. These sins violate God’s spiritual plan for his children, —
and they have their unavoidable penalties!
Just as in Jesus’ day men took attitudes toward one an-
other which destroyed life, so in our day brotherhood iS
spoiled by anger, contempt, and scorn. There is a story, bear-
ing the ear-marks of truth, about a church of the west called —
“The Church of God,” which would be amusing in this con-
nection, were it not so tragically reminiscent of the spirit —
of hostility and division which exists within the fold of —
Christianity. There happened to be in the congregation two
factions, which not being able to get along together, finally
split, and the group which started a new church called them-
selves “The True Church of God.” This group also quar-
relled among themselves, and another split followed, with a
new congregation formed, called “The Only True Church of
God.’ Thus, with veiled scorn of each other the three hun-
dred sects of Christianity go their divided way. We see ;
religion then, not a unifying force, but the world’s worst
divisive influence, splitting whole communities and whole na-
tions in twain with angry conflict and scornful hostility. It
104
Ee ee oe Pe ee) re oe ere 2 eee
BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY [V-m]
is Protestant against Roman Catholic, Jew against Gentile,.
Christian against Mohammedan, Buddhist against Confucian--
ist, Moslem against Hindu. For this stirring up of anger
we shall be in danger of divine justice.
Particularly in the field of race relations we see the blast-
ing of brotherhood by anger without a cause, and the con-
tempt and scorn which spring from ignorance. Thus the
Negro has been a notorious sufferer of racial madness. In
Florida a woman screamed, Nordic feet came running, a
Negro was captured, dragged through the streets, and hung..
When he was dead the woman calmly explained that all the
Negro did was to ask her for a glass of water! Behind that
black injustice is a long trail of race hysteria, the kind for
which our South is now too famous. But in both North and
South a Negro is constantly the object of insult. A cultured
physician buys a home in Detroit and a mob storms his house.
A refined Negro buys a home in White Plains or Montclair
and the injured feelings of the community make him feel as
if he were guilty of murder. A colored minister steps into.
an elevator in the Senate house at Washington, and he is
promptly informed that Negroes are not permitted to ride.
In New Orleans, the pavement ends where the Negro quar-
ters begin, streets hole-filled and miry, narrow, and ill-smell-
ing, and dwellings not a bit better than hovels. In Washing-
ton, Methodist bishops of the North meet for a banquet. They
are considering missions for that noble church. Three bishops:
are uninvited—they happen to be black. The explanation
is that a banquet with Negroes in attendance could not be:
held in Washington. An international Sunday School Con-
vention is on in Birmingham. The color line is drawn in the
- convention hall. The Negroes boycott the meeting. Why did
it happen? Answer: A big Klan demonstration the day be-
- fore the conference! “The white man,” said a prominent
colored leader of the South after the Birmingham fiasco, “is:
a good teacher of the theory of Christianity, but he is a hell
of a demonstrator!”
Christian brotherhood is a Breath theory, but we have
certainly made a miserable mess of demonstrating it. The
great so-called Christian nations have just completed a war
which put ten million bodies in early graves. And we still
go our way of blind, bigoted racial intolerance and hatred..
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[V-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
Not only the Negroes suffer. Take the Orientals. We mock —
them as inferiors. Thus a dying Chinaman in one of our
hospitals was denied a nurse because none would serve him.
A Filipino is ejected from a barber-shop. A Japanese is
asked if he*is a Christian. “I was,” he replies, “before I —
came to America!” Two Chinese laundrymen open a shop —
in downtown New York. East Side rowdies make life |
wretched for them by calling them names, stealing things —
from the shop. One morning a lady comes to leave some ~
~ laundry and notices but one man left in the shop. “Good —
morning, John,” says the lady, “where is the other John?” —
“He no come any more,” is the reply, “some Clistian gentl-
mens hit him on the head with a blick.” There are, of course, —
Christian gentlemen more worthy of the name! But wherever ~
we shamefully treat men as “dagoes,” “kikes,’ “hunkies,’ —
“chinks,” “niggers,” instead of brothers, we are violators of
a divine law and we are in danger of divine justice. 4
The problem of brotherhood, of course, is a real problem —
because there are real root causes for racial prejudice. For —
one thing, many races actually do know how to make them- —
selves most obnoxious. The hordes of immigrants who have —
overrun New York City in recent years, materially degrad- —
ing living conditions and vastly complicating the crime prob- —
lem, are a case in point. All of us have known grasping
Hebrews, overbold Negroes, treacherous Italians. And no ~
race has added more to the brotherhood problem than the —
English with their notorious conceit. Two illustrations are —
enough. We quote St. John Ervine, English novelist: “We
English are a more individual people than the Americans.
... We cannot be stunned into accepting things because —
they are incessantly repeated to us.” And the braying Ches-—
terton is always typical: “Exactly in so far as America ~
seems to be leading the world, or supposes that it is leading —
the world, or is in any sense pressing upon or changing the ©
world, it is the pressure of an inferior upon a superior; and —
it is simply, solely and utterly to be resisted.’ There are —
some things in the world which are real causes for the loss
of brotherhood. Even we Americans must have our bold —
braggadocio, our swaggering, mammonistic pride, our blatant —
nationalism which disturbs our friends in other nations. Our —
Christian theories have been grand; our demonstration of —
106
BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY _ [V-m]
tolerant brotherhood has been woefully weak; if this weak-
ness continues we shall be in danger of the hell fires of de-
struction.
Iil
Brotherhood is not only marred by religious and racial
attitudes, but more obviously, in most communities, by unfair
industrial situations, which make life miserable for millions.
Degrading poverty is a tragic fact, but for hundreds of years
the rich, the fashionable, the well-to-do have been dismissing
it all with a wave of the hand, saying that the masses are
what they are by virtue of their own laziness, their intemper-
ance, their lack of thrift. What is this but the old contemptu-
ous phrase which Jesus so strongly condemns, ‘“Raca—good-
_for-nothing—worthless—poor trash!’ As a matter of fact
one of the truest tests of the spirit of Christian brotherhood
is whether or not we care for men, women, and children
without regard to geographical or class lines!
If Jesus could stand at a vantage-point today near any of
the great cities, what would be his feeling as he saw the
great, weltering, squalid slums, rotten with the foul air of
many hovels? Would he say what the Rev. Dr. Guthrie once
said as he viewed Edinburgh’s “East Side’: “A beautiful
field—a beautiful field for demonstrating the power of the
gospel!” ? No! he would say: “A festering sore on the
face of society!” and he would set about in some sane way to
redeem the depravity of those in the “submerged tenth.” He
would go to Passaic and demand fair wages for the foreign
_mill-workers, many of whom are struggling along with their
families on something like twenty dollars a week or less.
He would go to the great steel mills and see to it that the
fat and false philanthropists, who press their wine of life
from the crushed, weary, exhausted bodies of mill-laborers,
pay more attention to the human needs and less to the fin-
ancial gains. He would see the young men in the hazardous
coal mines of Pennsylvania, getting -for their vital work
less than 63 cents a ton on the coal they bring out of the
black hole of the earth, and his rebuking indignation would
rise. He would stand at the factory gate to watch girls and
children going to work at seven o’clock in the morning, young-
sters who should be in school or at home or out in the fields
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[V-m] > THE MASTER’S MESSAGE '
at play, and his great soul would groan with compassion and
sympathy.
It is the injustice of the job situation which works its havoc
so terribly among the poor. They must work to live. But
they cannot ‘work where or how they please. Their job
(which ought to be permanent and of such a nature as to
bring the joy and satisfaction of work well done, and leave
leisure enough for health and home) is at the mercy of
scheming capitalists who care nothing for the worker but
only for the keeping down of wages and the perfecting of
profit efficiency. Walter Wyckoff gives a Chicago experience
which reflects truthfully the condition of all too many of the
workers: “Many of the men were so weakened by the want
and hardship of the winter that they were no longer in con-
dition for effective labor. Some of the bosses who were in
need of added hands were obliged to turn men away because
‘of physical incapacity. One instance of this I shall not soon
forget. It was when I overheard, early one morning at a
factory gate, an interview between a would-be laborer and
a boss. I knew the applicant for a Russian Jew, who had at
home an old mother and a wife and two children to support.
He had had intermittent employment throughout the winter e
in a sweater’s den, barely enough to keep them all alive, and
after the hardships of the cold season, he was again in des-
perate straits for work. The boss had all but agreed to take
him on for some sort of unskilled labor, when, struck by the
cadaverous look of the man, he told him to bare his arm.
Up went the sleeve of his coat and his ragged flannel shirt,
exposing a naked arm with the muscles nearly gone, and the
blue-white transparent skin stretched over sinews and the
outlines of the bones. Pitiful beyond words was his effort
to give a semblance of strength to the biceps which rose
faintly to the upward movement of the forearm. But the _
boss sent him off with an oath and a contemptuous laugh;
and I watched the fellow as he turned down the street, fac-
ing the fact of his starving family with a despair at his
heart which only a mortal can feel and no mortal tongue can
speak.” Another tells how these wretched live: “In a room
twelve by eight, and five and a half feet high, nine persons
slept and prepared their food. . . . In another room, lo-
‘cated in a dark cellar, without screens or partitions, were
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BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY _ [V-m]
“together two men with their wives and a girl of fourteen, two
single men and a boy of seventeen, two women and four boys.
—nine, ten, eleven, and fifteen years old—fourteen persons.
in all.’ Thus one part of humanity rots while the other
grows rich. And it is wicked employment conditions which.
push these folk deep, deep down to the slimy pit of the war-
rens of the poor!
We go on our easy way, wondering why the Kingdom of
God isn’t here, wondering why peace and brotherhood are so
far from realization, when all about us is the sorrow and.
suffering of the hosts in the shadow. Woolman, in his
“Journal,” tells how we are all caught in the great river of
wrong: “Being then desirous to know who I was, I saw
a mass of matter of a dull gloomy color between the south
and the east, and was informed that this mass was human
beings in as great misery as they could be and live; and that
I was mixed with them, and that henceforth I might not con-
sider myself as a distinct or separate being.” The false op-
timists of Satan may not be able to say F. C. Boden’s lines,
but those who have the heart of the Christ will find them
congenial :
“How can I sing while others. weep
And groan beneath their travailing,
And cry a God who’s fast asleep
. And hears them not—how can [ sing?
“How can I sing when I’ve no salve
For putrid sore and deadly sting?
And people sleep in rags, and starve,
And will not wake—how can I sing?”
Does not the attitude of Romain Rolland sound very much
like that of the Master?: “The edifice of glory and wealth
which mounts to the skies has been built up on a basis of
crime. . . . At a fated hour, which may sound a little sooner
or a little later, moral retribution arrives—implacable. .
The punishment is pitiless as was the crime. ... The op-
pressors have so closely entwined their fate with that of the
oppressed that it is no longer possible for them to disengage
it without destruction. . . . White civilization as a whole
is heading toward catastrophe.”
3 100:
[V-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ie
Let us glance back at the final punishment which Jesus re-
ferred to. It is to be cast into the yéeva tov mupés. In all
Jewish literature this phrase indicates the type of punish-
ment which will be the reward of the wicked and godless.
But it stands for an actual, historic, geographical place. And
when we know what the place was like the symbolism is
much clearer. It was a place called in Jesus’ day “Gehenna,” a
(originally “ge ben hinnom’—Aramaic, “gehinom’) a deep
cavity or valley southwest of Jerusalem. There, during the
reigns of Ahaz, Manasseh, Jehoiakim, and others, human
beings were burned alive. The same ill-fated spot was
cursed by the prophet Jeremiah and called “the valley of
slaughter.” The refuse of the city of Jerusalem was there
deposited for many years together with the lifeless bodies
of the friendless or condemned criminals. There fires con-
stantly burned amongst the rubbish; there foul odors arose
from the decay of many bodies; there skulls and bones and ~
the scoria of centuries were piled in one smouldering mass. —
This terrible symbol of Gehenna, then, Jesus uses to de-
scribe what awful spiritual retribution will overtake the man
or nation which persists in killing brothers with contempt, a
murdering men with malice, and slaying them with scorn.
It is a frightful prediction. But the centuries have, and will,
prove it true. The words of James Alvord reflect the opera-
tion of this inevitable spiritual law: z
“He tramples out the wine-press of his wrath;
He puts the mighty down from their high seat;
Time-rotted tyrannies topple at his feet;
Gaunt, discrowned specters flit before his path.
Their doom was in his word
When first Judea heard
Of brotherhood. Kings scuttle at his nod,
Blown down black battles by the breath of God!
“The night brims up with hate and misery;
As from the ground, at each thin blast of fire,
Gleam dead phosphoric eyes in deathless ire.
The hosts snatch freedom from their butchery.
. Dead—no lords they fear,
Dead—their blue lips jeer. ;
110
BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY [V-m]
Their cross, and his, drives on the smash of things.
The Carpenter builds scaffolds for the Kings!”
IV
From a lost document, called the Gospel According to the
siebrews, translated by Jerome and attributed to Matthew by
the sect of the Nazarenes, some of the Fathers quote a splen-
did little fragment which might easily be a true word of the
Master: “Never,” he is reported as saying, “be glad, but
when you have looked upon your brother in love.’ If some
of us, kept that saying literally, we should probably very sel-
dom be glad. And if, as we should, we took Jesus seriously
here in this Sermon on the Mount, some of us might sel-
dom go to church. For what Jesus says about those who
come to church to worship God while all the time in their
hearts they are hating someone else is a cutting and deep
challenge to real brotherhood. If you come to the altar of
the church with your gifts of money or prayer or worship,
knowing that somewhere there is a brother whose love you
have failed to win, go your way at once and be reconciled
to him before you do business with God! We think that
our church “piosity” will cover our multitude of sins. Never!
If we steal and slander and scold and oppress and fight dur-
ing the week and then go to church on Sunday, thinking that
rose-water theology will take care of it all, we are hopelessly
fooled. A man can’t love God at all unless he loves his
neighbor first, because the best he knows of God is right
there in his neighbor. “You shall not,” said Joseph (and
we can imagine God as saying exactly the same thing) “you
shall not see my face except your brother be with you!”
(aeons 45 °4.).
One of the most pathetic pictures in the New Testament
is that found in the story of the Prodigal Son. The prodigal
was returning from debauchery; the elder son was returning
from work well-done in the fields. The prodigal had been
disobedient ; the elder son was the image of diligent obedience.
The prodigal came back with a stained character; the elder
brother could assert that he had a perfectly clear conscience.
The prodigal had wandered far from the father; the elder
brother had stayed close to the father. Yet how differently
III
[V-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE "
the story ends from what we should expect. The prodigal
has come home, truly repentant, with no hate in his heart
for anybody, and when the curtain goes down he reposes in e
the very center of the father’s love. The elder brother
is precise but not brotherly, shrewd but not generous, good
but not noble, diligent but hard. One exquisite touch makes
plain his real character: the word “brother” is never on his
lips. “He was angry and he would not go in”’ And when
the curtain goes down he is standing in the outer darkness,
estranged from the happy throng in his father’s house, em-
bittered, repelling the tenderest affection of his father, and
at the last, by his own hardness of heart, ‘lost!
A delegate returning from a world conference of nations
in Europe gives us a hint as to how God wants us to work
out the spirit of brotherhood in our modern world. “The
meeting in England was a great privilege,’ he wrote. “We
caught a glimpse of the thought and spirit of nearly forty
nations. There was wide divergence of opinion along theo-
logical lines, but we were united in our eagerness to find
and do God’s will. . . . All were agreed that complete equality
between races, nationalities, and religions is a fact arising
from the Fatherhood of God!” What can Jesus mean but
this: All the nations must come in before any nation can
come to God. All the races must come in before any race
can know God. All the religions must join hands before any
one can know God fully. For each carries a stone that will
fit into the temple of brotherhood. Before Christ can make
known to the children of men his world-wide plan for human-
ity’s redemption, each and every soul must be brought to-
gether with a brother, each and every nation must be recon-
ciled to its estranged brother nation!
Vv
The law upon which all successful communities are based
is the law of cooperation. The highest flower in d.: plant
kingdom is that found in the order, Composite, and its fu-
ture is assured in nature’s world because its flowers have
learned to live in groups. The future of human society is
assured only as the fundamental principle of reciprocity is
more and mcre incorporated in our common life. The co-
LT2
BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY [V-m]
operative commonwealth makes for the highest level of life
for all. Ignorance is balanced by wisdom; weakness is bal-
‘anced by strength; falsehood is leavened by truth; ugliness
is eliminated by besuty. As Edgar Guest has said:
“He who is wise is the strength of the fool, the strong is the
guide to the weak;
As a man and his wife we are bound in our race, and one
common glory we seek;
And the law is our tie, and who laughs at the bond or shrinks
from the duty it asks, .
Shall find with the morning the men of the field unwilling
to go to their tasks.”
The indispensability of cooperation in any form of civiliza-
tion is a fact. Cooperation or starvation is a fact: twenty
thousand men must join their forces to put the loaf upon
our table; thousands more are needed to bring our meat,
our vegetables, fruit, sugar, coffee, tea, spices, milk, butter,
eggs and other edibles. Cooperation or poverty is a fact:
houses, property, money, possessions, all of the things which
go to make up modern life are but the sweat and blood of
cooperative labor, and wherever you see degrading poverty
or want, be very sure someone has failed to cooperate as they
should. Cooperation or anarchy is a fact: far-reaching in
our day is the fraternity-habit, Odd Fellows, Masons, Elks,
Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, American Legion, I. W. W., K. K. K.,
Knights of Columbus, Indians, Royal Arcanum, Foresters,
and so on; but when these societies, founded for the frater-
nity of man, become clannish, narrow, self-satisfied, thinking
of themselves as over against some other body, stirring up
antagonism and evil rivalries, and deriding full cooperation,
they are sowing to the wind of anarchy and they will reap
the whirlwind! Cooperation or chaos is a fact: nations are
as much parts of divine order as electrons are parts of an
atom or as planets are parts of the solar system; they must
take their surrendered autonomy as a part of the higher law of
harmony; when nations go off on a tangent of self-desire,
failing to consider the law of the whole, they are sure to dis-
turb the order of the world, and a chaos such as the world
saw in the years 1914-1918 is the result.
113
[V-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE . ~ et
Jesus is speaking, therefore, of a universal law, when he
advises us to agree with the adversary as quickly as possible.
For if we insist on refusing reconciliation we shall get con-
flict and not cooperation, a contest and not a contract, a bat-
tle and not a brotherhood. A lawsuit is always a dangerous —
process as many can testify, like old John Pomfret:
“Lawsuits ’d shun, with as much studious care,
As I would dens where hungry lions are;
And rather put-up injuries, than be
A plague to him who’d be a plague to me.
I yalue quiet at a price too great
To give for my revenge so dear a rate;
For what do we by all our bustle gain,
But counterfeit delight for real pain?”
But getting into a jam with the law courts of earth is as
nothing compared with getting into a smash with the holy,
ordained law processes of the Universe. If you persist in
making the universe judge your foolish, intractable rebellion, —
it will go hard with you. Verily, says Jesus, if you will not
be reconciled, if you will not cooperate in time, then there
is no escape but for you to pay with the last, uttermost farthing
for your folly! How true the lines of Edwin ‘Markham:
“The crest and crowning of all good,
Life’s final star, is Brotherhood;
For it will bring again to Earth
Her long-lost Poesy and Mirth;
Will send new light on every face,
A kingly power upon the race.
And till it come, we men are slaves,
And travel downward to the dust of graves.’
VI
The way that points toward peace and the brotherhovd of a
the new and better day is the way of Jesus. It is the way
that will not kill, that will not stoop to scornful anger, thar
will not falsely worship while woe is in the heart of a brother,
and that will not resort to the court of strife to try to settle
differences. It is the way that will dissolve disagreements
in the universal solvent of mutual understanding, mutual
114 .
BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY _ [V-m]
sympathy, and mutual appreciation. It is the way that is
built not on the shifting sands of private opinion (which
never will permit of uniformity) but upon the firmer founda-
tion of brotherly tolerance, brotherly service. Society needs
no sudden shock of selfish communism to solve the increas-
ing problem of capital vs. labor (which Whiting Williams
says is worse than at any time in history) but only brother-
hood in the way of Jesus. -Society needs no purging of re-
ligion to stop the conflict of the churches, but more real re-
ligion, the gentle, tolerant spirit of the master. Society needs
not some super-state to make the hideous warring to cease
on our fair earth, only the reciprocal recognition of the na-
_-tion’s right to live and let live.
And one of the noblest illustrations of this saving spirit
of tolerance is afforded, not by a Christian, but by a Moslem
emperor of the sixteenth century, Akbar, ruler of Hindustan,
and builder of the famous mosque of Futehpur-Sikir. Mem-
ber of the fold of Mohammed, as he was, this noble man saw
the vision of international brotherhood back there four cen-
turies ago. He admitted the imperfections of his own religion
and freely recognized the excellencies of others. He sum-
moned a Portuguese missionary, Padre Rodolpho of Goa, to
expound Christianity to him, and all his life he strove to
establish in his empire a universal brotherhood where pagans,
Moslems, and Christians might dwell in perfect understand-
ing. Indeed, the spirit of our Lord appears often in unex-
pected spots. No wonder Tennyson wrote in ‘“Akbar’s
Dream” :
“TI cull from every faith and race the best
And bravest soul for counsellor and friend.
I loathe the very name of infidel.
I stagger at the Koran and the sword;
I shudder at the Christian and the stake;
Yet ‘Alla,’ says their sacred book, ‘is love,’
And when the Goan Padre quoting Him,
Issa Ben Mariam, his own prophet, cried,
‘Love one another, little ones’ and ‘bless’
Whom? even ‘your persecutors’! there methought
The cloud was rifted by a purer gleam
Than glances from the sun of our Islam.”
+ ~- -
i :
~/
[V-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
When that spirit gleams from the life of man, there indeed
is a purer light of hope than man has ever seen! It is the
gleam that comes from the lips of a Paul Harrison when in
loving sympathy he understands the Arab: ‘The world needs
the Arab. Perhaps no race has a richer contribution to make
than he.” It is the gleam of generous understanding that
comes from the heart of a Cadman: “The most surprising
national transformation since the World War is the recon-
struction of Turkey. . . . The Angora government has
abolished the Caliphate, declared itself against polygamy, made
civil marriage obligatory, adopted the Swiss civil code, done
away with the rule of Moslem theologians, and mapped out a
program of general reform which brings the Turkish people
within the pale of civilization.” It is the sensitive, discrimi-
nating insight of a Hubert Herring: “The good American
boy must know how the Mexican boy feels about things. |
He must know what that ‘Mexican boy thinks about his flag,
his language, his customs, his people. He must know how
that Mexican boy thinks about America, about American at-
tempts to secure Mexican land and oil, about the war between
the United States and Mexico eighty years ago. . .. It
means that the American boy must. find some way of under-
standing how the Japanese boy feels about things. This is
difficult. We must shift the emphasis in education. It is
vastly more to be desired that we should know and appre-
ciate the culture and viewpoint of Japan than that we should
know all about ancient Rome. Caesar is dead. Japan isn’t.”
It is the spirit of a Lucius Porter, seeking earnestly to appre-
ciate fully our Chinese brothers: “In the intimate friendships
of the Christian circle there should be a truer and deeper
understanding of alien cultures. . . . The Christian spirit
should be more ready to discern the strong characteristics
of brother races. . . . There is a contribution to be ex-
pected from the Chinese. Not only a contribution to world
humanity, but a real contribution to the human understanding
of Christ and of God. We must believe that China’s long
training in family ethics under the inspiration of her great
_ prophet Confucius has been a preparation intended by God
to make possible a special interpretation of Him whom all
men call Father.”
When the evangel-song of human comradeship begins to
11h
BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY [V-m]
sing in a human heart, it quickens a flaming ecstasy of ad-
venturous friendship in whosoever hears. Out of such has
come the Fellowship of Youth for Peace, the Fellowship of
Reconciliation, the World-Council of Churches, The World
Student Christian Federation. It sings in the heart of an
Elbert Hubbard, and we read over the doorway of the Roy-
crofters of East Aurora: “The Institution of the Dear Love
of Comrades.” It sings in the heart of Stevenson, and we
find the Samoan savages rewarding his kindly friendship
by building to his house the road they called “The Way of
the Grateful Heart.” It sings in the sympathetic soul of a
Walt Whitman, and we get a hymn of understanding:
“This moment yearning and thoughtful, sitting alone,
It seems to me there are other men in other lands yearning
and thoughtful;
It seems to me I can look over and behold them in Germany,
Italy, France, Spain,
Or far, far away, in China, or in Russia or Japan, talking
other dialects ;
And it seems to me if I could know those men
I should become attached to them as I do to men in my own
lands;
O! I know we should be brethren and lovers,
I know I should be happy with them!”
Some day there will be an open road across the world, built
of loving hearts laid bare and close together until their warm
blood beats in unison—welded close in indissoluble bonds of
true brotherhood, which is made of tender-heartedness, mutual
helpfulness, unfailing sympathy, understanding like that of
Jesus ! ay ;
“IT am not an Athenian,” said the great Socrates, “nor even
a Greek, but I am a citizen of the world!” And standing in
Athens, the home city of Socrates, the great Apostle said:
“God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell
on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26); and at another
time Paul said: “There is neither Greek nor Jew, circumci-
sion nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free;
Diltecutist, is all, -and_in all!” (Col.:3:11)s “And ait
was the Master himself who sounded the great keynote of
117
[V-q] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
‘
world brotherhood when he exclaimed: “And I, if I be lifted —
up, will draw all men unto me!” (John 12:32). As citizens
of the world, then, brothers of the blood of God, bearing in
our very bodies the spirit of the great Brother, and drawn —
together by the majesty of his sacrifice at the foot of his |
Cross, let the children of men be bound in that undying fel- —
lowship which is the world’s supreme, yea, and only, hope! ~
Elizabeth Barrett Browning has the beautiful vision: “3
“No more Jew or Greek then—taunting
Nor taunted; no more England nor France! Pr
But one confederate brotherhood planting 3
One flag only, to mark the advance ;
Onward and upward, of all humanity.
For civilization perfected
Is fully developed Christianity !”
God, we thank Thee that where human hands touch in
brotherhood there is heaven. Save us from every anger and —
every evil thought and word and act which would harm our
friendship. Soon, O, soon, dear Father, bring all Thy chil- |
dren closer in the fraternity of mutual understanding, in the
spirit of our elder Brother, Amen.
LIFE QUESTIONS
1. In what respects was the circle of Jesus and his friends
like a college fraternity? a mill-workers’ union? a lodge of
Masons? a Christian Endeavor Society? In what respects
unlike these?
2. What good, if any, does capital punishment accom-
plish? ¥
3. “We hunt down a murderer like a rat, while we let go
entirely free the big bankers and capitalists who are really
murdering thousands by depriving them of wages, leisure, and
health.” What truth, if any, lies behind such a statement?
4. “If you take 10,000 working girls picked at random
and 10,000 girls from the college campuses, you will find the
alert minds and brave hearts in the factory girls.” (Lillian
Herstein, Instructor, City College of Chicago). Do you be-
lieve it? If so, explain why; if not, why not? |
118
BROTHERHOOD IN THE NEW DAY _ [V-q]
5. “He is beneath my contempt; he has played the ass
and the fool; I will have nothing to do with him.” Can this
ever be a right Christian attitude to take?
6. “That church is heretical, it is split off from the only
true church, and all in it are lost. Only those under the pope
(only those who have been immersed and who believe in the
whole Book) can be saved. All other religions are evil, de-
graded, untrue. There is but one true religion and that is
ours!” Point out the fallacies in such statements.
7. Usher: . “We reserve these back seats'in the corner for
strangers.”
_ Frock-coated Plutocrat: “We reduced our stenographers
to twelve dollars a week yesterday. Our dividends are up
to twenty, now!”
Fat, silk-gloved Lady: “I gave her a good piece of my
mind. She won’t get over it for a while either!”
Sleek Business. Man: “I put over a fine deal the other
day. Sold a nice fool that bungalow I had on my hands so
dong!” (Overheard in the First Church of Christ, Jonesville,
ae)
How .much of the Holy Spirit might you find in a congrega-
tion made up of Christians such as these?
8. Name God’s custodians who take care of those who
break the law of brotherhood.
g. Is the greed of a profiteer or a wage-slave driver as bad
a sin as that of adultery or deliberate burglary?
10, Analyze the cause of racial intolerance, and note some
ways world brotherhood may be brought about.
119
CHAPTER VI
The New Marriage
DAILY READINGS
One of the holiest words in our language has come to be
used in a rather free way so that its meaning is not definite _
but diffuse. It is necessary for us, therefore, to make clear |
at the outset of this chapter the area of thought compassed ee:
by the word “love.” This word is commonly used in a purely {-
spiritual sense, denoting an attitude of unlimited good-will |
which one has toward his fellow men. But when used in a
physico-spiritual sense the word has another and quite dif- ; :
ferent meaning, namely that of the affection existing between _ 4
a man and a woman. Notice that in both cases thé word has ~
deep spiritual connotations, the chief difference being that
in the physico-spiritual sense of the word, sex attraction plays’
a prominent part. In the rest of this book (primarily Chap-
ters V, VIII, and IX) where “love” is mentioned, divine good-
will is meant; in this chapter we shall think of it as divine
good-will plus sex affection.
The two great poles of being, according to Anatole France,
are love and hunger. If this be true then it is not hard for
us to understand why the two most insistent problems of life
are the economic problem and the sex problem. In olden
days sex problems slept restlessty under a hard, cold, cruel,
rigid crust of ignorance, suppression, and intolerance. The
dawn of a brighter, freer day upon the world has melted the
frigid sod of the colder Puritanism until a new and beautiful
spirit is rising in the hearts of the new generation. The in-
crease in the number of divorces, the changing home life,
the unusual frankness on matters of sex among the youth
120
THE NEW MARRIAGE [VI-1]
of our day may not be, as many seem to think, signs of a
retrogressing world, but rather incidental tokens of a fresh
springtime in social progress when high and noble and true
ideals are replacing the old false and ignoble ones.
Sixth Week, First Day
From the beginning of the creation God made them male
and female.—Mark 10:6.
All creation from top to bottom and from beginning to end
seems to be characterized by an inner urge which perpetuates
and propagates life and its environment. As the electron with
its electrically charged particles rotating about a central axis
seems to be the fundamental principle upon which the struc-
ture of matter is based, so sex attraction, a truly electrical
process, seems to be the device by which the continuing cycle
of life is secured. It is true that all of the bacteria, most
of the lower algz, and the protozoa possess simple methods
of reproduction wherein sex plays no part. But as life-forms
mount higher and higher on the scale of being we find that
sex comes to play a larger and larger part. The differentia-
tion of living units, therefore, into separate male and female
forms represents a high stage in God’s creative program!
The seed, which is the product of the union of male and
female cells, is the wonderful device by which practically all
of life’s higher forms are perpetuated. Parthenogenesis and
vegetative reproduction occur in many of the higher plants
and animals, but it is notable that in the highest living form
of creation, man, the only means of perpetuation is the union
of male and female forms.
~ That man should be attracted to woman and woman to man
is as inevitable as the rising of the sun, the visit of the bee
to the flower, the singing of the lark, or the spark that leaps
between the positive and negative poles of an electromagnet.
They are drawn together through all creation, male to fe-
male, and it seems to be as much a-part of God’s way of
working in the world as anything we can well imagine. “From
the very beginning,’ says Jesus, “God made them male and
female.” And man accepting God’s arrangements cannot
help but see behind them the purpose of the Infinite Will.
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[VI-2] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE t
Charlotte Eaton gives us in noble words the operation of this
divine law:
“Happiness—that word conveys no idea of the joy that each
senses in the presence of the other,
It is more—it is the fulfilment of that which God saw when
he created Man and Woman,
A Power that is as strong as the law of gravitation,
As resistless as the coming in of the tide,
As necessary as the turning of the earth on its axis,—
It is the perfection of that harmony in which is enfolded all
the harmonies of the life of the Universe,
That Law of Love—that is its own SINE ETS and that
rules all Infinity, °
Before which every human substitute has no weight or
reality.”
Sixth Week, Second Day
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother,
and cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh’:
so then they are no more twain, but one flesh— Mark
10: 7-8.
We have seen the sex relation as a God-ordained biological
method to perpetuate and develop life on our earth. We now —
move on to a logical and vital deduction from this fact:
if the Almighty Power which orders the constellations has
provided this necessary function of sex its exercise is not the =
commission of sin but the natural and inevitable performance a
’
‘
Pe Ae eel OF en ee wt
of divine duty! e
In many minds, however, the old superstition of the un- ~~
qualified sinfulness of sex lingers. To primitive ideas, per-
haps, inherited from our past, this unfortunate attitude may
be due. Even in our Bible we find remnants of an old view
of love between man and woman, which, in our modern day,
no longer can be considered sane. .
We read of the first parents, Adam and Eve, who before
sex knowledge are naked and unashamed, while after sex —
knowledge they are cursed and driven from the garden; and —
the general impression we gather is that their children are
the product of their sinfulness (Gen. 2:4). We read the
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“s 9 ee es ol,
THE NEW MARRIAGE [VI-2]
Psalms, and we hear the Psalmist reflecting accurately the
accepted attitude of his day: “In sin “did my mother con-
ceive me!” (Psalm 51:5). We turn to the New Testament
and there too we find recorded the current belief that natural
generation is somehow unclean, unholy, and soiled with the
taint of sin. Paul certainly gives us this impression (I Cor.
7); and the beautiful but legendary story of the Virgin Birth
is clearly an effort to separate the sublime divinity of Jesus’
character from the taint of natural birth.
On earth or in heaven there is nothing more beautiful or
holy than the consummation of awakened love. No blossom
more fair, no fragrance more sweet, no witchery of art more
exquisite, no inventive genius more marvelous than the dawn-
ing of a new and infinite human soul out of the bosom of
holy wedlock.
To be ashamed of sex is to pervert God’s own gift. To
distort, misuse, minimize, or depreciate this divine relation is
to ruin the most pure, the most harmonious, and the most
wonderful function the Creator has given his children. Ser
love, rightly used, is the keynote of the heart’s highest happt-
ness, What more perfectly can picture the divinity of man’s
love for woman than Longfellow’s exquisite conclusion of
“The Courtship of Miles Standish”:
“Onward the bridal procession now moved to their new habita-
tion,
Happy husband and wife, and friends conversing together.
Pleasantly murmured the brook, as they crossed the ford in
the forest,
Pleased with the image that passed, like a dream of love
through its bosom, .
Tremulous, floating in air, o’er the depths of the azure
abysses.
Down through the golden leaves the sun was pouring his
splendors,
Gleaming on purple grapes, that, from branches above them
suspended,
-Mingled their odorous breath with the balm of the pine and
the fir-tree,
Wild and sweet as the clusters that grew in the valley of
Eshcol.
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[VI-3] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE 4
Like a picture it seemed of the primitive, pastoral ages,
Fresh with the youth of the world, and recalling Rebecca
and Isaac,
Old and yet ever new, and simple and beautiful always,
Love immortal and young im the endless succession of lovers.
So through the Plymouth woods passed onward the bridal
procession.”
Sixth Week, Third Day
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man
put asunder.—Mark 10: 9.
At a fashionable wedding I once heard an audience twitter
with amusement over an unfortunate but curious mistake
made by the officiating clergyman. He raised his hand and
said over the blushing bride and smiling bridegroom: “Whom
God hath put asunder, let no man join together!” Behind
that unintended mistake there lies a wealth of truth. By
their very nature God hath ordained that man and woman
shall come together and be one flesh; but there are people
in this world who are constitutionally unfitted to be man and
wife. The “priest” or the “church” may put them together
by going through the motions of a ceremony, but if God has
produced them as incompatible personalities, then they should
not be united: “Whom God hath put asunder, let no man
join together!” For not one couple in a hundred, racially,
physically, and temperamentally unfitted for one another, can
surmount the obstacles and win through to a contented married
life, let alone a radiantly happy one!
We often hear the marriage system of Europe and the Far
East criticized, because there parents frequently pick mates
for their children. But quite often this system works out
better than the haphazard marrying of the West. Parents,
ministers, and society let young people rush into ill-considered
and sudden marriages which frequently end disastrously.
Little serious consideration is given to the vital question: Are
they truly and divinely fitted for one another? It is difficult to
lay down hard and fast rules, but generally speaking it is safe
to say that a lifetime of disagreement may result if two hot-
tempered people marry, if the inborn conservative marries the
124
athe
7
THE NEW MARRIAGE [VI-3]
inborn progressive, if the temperamentally nervous marries the
temperamentally nervous, if the naturally selfish marries the
naturally selfish, There are some lives which naturally
produce, when brought together, the torch of discord. The
engagement should be a testing time when the man and
woman should frankly face together the question whether or
not they have it in them to make a concordant household.
Natural aftinity should be the basis for marriage!
The perfect congeniality of true love is, of course, a rare
gem, But it is unquestionably the finest and best gift of life,
and all pains should be taken to approximate it. They are
true lovers where every faculty in the one finds a responsive
faculty in the other, where the moral sense of the one is
enriched by the answering moral sense of the other, where
the thoughts, tendencies, and tastes of the one are in tune
with the thoughts, tendencies, and tastes of the other, where
the spiritual hopes, aims, and purposes are mutual, where
the sweet and pure social affections of the one are fed and
supplemented and satisfied by the soul of the other. They
are truly lovers “whose concordant, concurrent beings are like
two parts of music, rising, and floating, and twining, and
mingling to make one harmonious whole!” What earthly
bliss can compare with the beautiful and superbly happy
unions of the Brownings, the Rossettis, the Hawthornes,
General and Mrs. Booth, and M. and Mme. Curie? In gen-
eral it has seemed, but this is only a guess, that perfect
harmony was more nearly reached when physical opposites
and spiritual similarities were united. Certain it is that
_ somewhere in the world there is one woman for one man, and
happy, wondrously happy, are those God-destined partners
when they find each other. ?
“Two shall be born the whole wide world apart,
And speak in different tongues, and have no thought
Each of the other’s being, and no heed;
And these o’er unknown seas to unknown lands
Shall cross, escaping wreck, defying death;
And all unconsciously shape every act
And bend each wandering step to this one end—
That one day out of darkness they shall meet
And read life’s meaning in each other’s eyes!”
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[VI-4] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
Sixth Week, Fourth Day
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of
Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: and both Jesus
was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.—John 2: 1-2.
When in the army I recall conversing with a young “buddy”
who was engaged to be married. In marriage he could see
nothing but the physical satisfactions it brought. Such is the
unfortunate attitude of many. The structure of marriage is,
in many cases, erected on a very low plane. Sometimes in
meadows one sees larks and other birds building their nests
in the low-lying grass where soon the mower comes with his
sharp scythe and the nests are utterly destroyed together
with their young. How often men and women build the nest
of their love in the dust of physical passion, where eventually
it is crushed and broken and annihilated! Love must be built
above passion. Unless the higher elements of faith and hope
and spiritual love control, love cannot last! Like Alfred Noyes
we must see something of the angel in each other:
“But I never went to heaven,
There was right good reason why,
For they sent a shining angel to me there.
An angel down in Devon,
(Clad in muslin, by the bye)
With the halo of the sunshine on her hair!”
True manhood and true womanhood cannot develop in wed-
lock so long as we make the marriage relation a mere excuse.
for animal indulgence. It must be a means of high, spiritual
advancement. Physical love is only the seed beneath the
earth, earthy; its noblest possibilities are not realized until
it lifts its branches high in response to heavenly sunshine
from above. .
One would have liked to have been in Cana at the wedding
Jesus attended. He came with no prudish attitude which
_ hindered wholesome fun. But there must have been something
about his presence there that put all thinking on a high plane.
Hearts must have been awakened to new visions of what true
love can do in a life. The living Christ can still come to
126
THE NEW MARRIAGE [VI-5]
our wedding ceremonies, adding to them the sanctity of a true
sacrament.
- Many, many couples might say with W. J. Dawson that
Christ had purified and exalted their love-life:
“One there was with face divine
Who softly came when day was spent,
And turned our water into wine,
And made our life a sacrament.”
Sixth Week, Fifth Day |
And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany;
and he ledged there.—Matt. 21: 17.
One might wonder why Jesus was so often in Bethany,
that little village three miles southeast of Jerusalem. The
explanation is, of course, that there Lazarus, Martha, and
Mary lived. He counted them among his dearest friends;
and we find him in today’s passage lodging there for a fare-
well visit before the trying days of that last terrific week
of his life. But one has the feeling that it was something
‘more than mere friendship which drew the Master to the
Bethany home when the shadow of death was already falling
upon his life. That there was in his heart a deep love, and
an affectionate love for Mary, which perhaps no one else
shared, seems at least hinted in several gospel passages: she
had the same name as his mother; if we may suppose that the
woman, mentioned in Matthew 26: 6-13, Mark 14: 3-9, John
11:2, and John 12:3, was Mary, she was one of his most
loyal friends; she loved to sit at his feet and hear his voice
(Luke 10: 38-42) ; and she was last at the cross and first to
meet him in the garden (John 19: 25 and 20:16). We cannot,
of course, be sure. But may it not have been (judging from
the numerous visits to Bethany and the numerous examples of
her discipleship) that Mary’s friendship was one of the chief
treasures and inspirations of his life?
Indeed, it may be said that no life attains to the heights of
achievement and power and vision without this electric
inspiration of love. In the humblest example of modern life
one can see something of the glory that comes from this
ey]
- £ =a
[VI-5] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ye:
power. Brann has put into words a familiar experience:
“The young man goeth forth in the early evening and his
patent leathers. His coat-tail pockets bulge with caramels
and his one silk handkerchief, perfumed with attar of roses,
reposeth with» studied negligence m his bosom... . He
calleth upon the innocent damosel with soft eyes and lips
like unto a cleft cherry when purple with its own sweetness, —
and she singeth unto him with a voice that hath the low sweet ¢
melody of an zolian harp. ... When the gay young man ~
doth stagger down the doorsteps of her dear father’s domi-
cile, he is drunken with the sweetness of it all and glad of
it!” When this divine spirit of love rolls across the ocean —
of life to break in splendor upon the heart’s shore, what
tongue can utter, what words can express the strange and
enchanting mystery of it? It is as if the gates of heaven had a
been opened and the wonders of God had been revealed. The o
whole universe takes on new colors, and life is a new thing.
The deepest joys, the highest hopes, the richest powers spring
out of this heavenly bond between man and woman. A =~
soul’s noblest living may date from the day. when in love |
came that bright experience, whose empowering influence is
so well expressed by Elizabeth Browning: “T felt so young, —
$0 strong, so sure of God!” Joseph Camp has given us a
poem which tells how much love means to life: me
“The love of Man for Woman,
The love of her for him,
Has been the song of ages,
Of heroes, kings and sages,
Of poets, queens and pages
From times remote and dim,
The song divine and human!
“The world has always striven—
And it is striving still—
The song of songs to render,
The song of soul and splendor,
The song of ‘hearts made tender
By Love’s delicious thrill
That turns the world to Heaven!” :
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THE NEW MARRI.
Sixth Week, Sixth Diva
Another said, I have married a wife, a
not come.—Luke 14: 20.
Love is certainly a wonderful experience—.
soon dries up and withers, leaving only a broi
was once a fragrant flower. Before marriagy
young people have! How forgetful of self are the.
seems too much to bring that girl of your heart.
seems too sweet to tell that lad of your dreams. Wha.
vows and murmured promises for the future before
wedding, but “after the honeymoon” too frequently there .v-
another story!
“O! who but can recall the eve they met,
To breathe in some green walk their first young vow?
While summer flowers with moonlight dews were wet,
And winds sighed soft around the mountain’s brow,
. How all was rapture then... but now!”
Love is like an oil lamp which soon will burn out unless
replenished. We seem to think that these glorious ecstasies
of perfect love are perpetual and that we need not take pre-
cautions for their preservation. But the flame of love can be
very transitory; nothing needs renourishing so much. The
way to keep the love-light burning is to replenish the flame
every day with the oil of patience and thoughtfulness and
gentleness and praise.
How many young men and women have gone bravely into
the state of marriage only to discover one sad day that they
are suddenly destitute of love and understanding, unable to
realize the home they dreamed. The glad adventure of their
visions has faded to a listless, boring nullity! They ex-
perience that strange winter of discontent which comes to
every married pair who awake to the fact that their partner
is not a saint after all but a very human being:
“You set your heart on Nancy,
You won your fancy, lad.
But love had never taught you
What other names she had,
Or what gay Naiad lent her grace,
What shining Oread....
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[ASTER’S MESSAGE
on your pretty Nancy,
_€ was all you had.
starry woman vanished.
snely lass and lad
.utely upon each other gaze
Nor know why they are sad... .”
-ous aftermath of wedding days can only be
.d overcome by adequate reserves of understanding
aradeship. In the parable of the banquet, which is the -
ag for our thought here, the Master tells of a man who
vas kept from the Lord’s table of Life because he was mar-
ried. Thus, for many, marriages are obstacles not privileges,
weights not wings, scenes of conflict not doors to Eden. How
sad is the fallen nest where highest hopes and interwoven
memories lie all crushed and broken!
Sixth Week, Seventh Day
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and
mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters,
yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple—Luke
14: 26.
This is one of the most baffling lines from the lips of Jesus.
It seems to cut straight across the most treasured bonds of
human life, to sever such dear relationships as parental love,
brotherly and sisterly love, wedded love, and regard for
one’s own life. One notices, however, in thinking upon these
strange words, that Jesus is not here rejecting or depreciating
family life but actually exalting it, because he is stating the
price of discipleship in terms of the most precious things on
earth. To truly understand this piercing passage we must see
it as one of those Oriental apothegms which shrines some
hidden truth. In another connection Jesus spoke of saving
life by losing it. Something of the same paradox is behind
his saying here. It is when you turn from the love of your
own self-centered life to my challenging cause, he is saying,
that you are really having the highest regard for your own
soul. It is when you turn from a too self-centered and self-
satisfied family circle to me and my holy human service that
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THE NEW MARRIAGE [VI-m]
you realize the highest possibilities of family life itself. You
love your loved. ones best; he says, when you serve me most!
It is not so hard to see why this should be true. The Gulf
Stream which has felt the warmth of the tropical climate
makes .cold shores bloom where it flows. So the life that
has first given itself completely to the warm purity and sun-
shine of Christ comes to mortal loved ones bearing a love
more fruitful than ever would be possible otherwise. That
wife or husband, brother or sister, father or mother, whose
life has been sun-brightened by the Christward, Godward,
heavenward look blesses loved ones nearby with far more
power than the one who has a direct but unspiritualized love.
A remarkable example of this fact is furnished by the lives
of Dr. and Mrs. Francis Clark of Christian Endeavor, who
- announced upon the occasion of their fiftieth wedding anni-
versary that they were “fifty times happier than the day they
were married.” Was not the explanation of so beautiful a
married life the significant fact that through all those years
they had been forgetting themselves so much in the service
of their Master that at last they found themselves with a love
more devoted and more rich than ever they could have found
apart from discipleship to Christ? That ship of married life
sails safe when steered by the star of God’s will and not
by the uncertain shore lights of earthly purposes. Because
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s love grew up out of the
deepest devotion to her Lord, it could bloom in most fruitful
ways for her husband:
“God’s will devotes
Thine to such ends, and mine to wait on thine!
How, Dearest, wilt thou have me for most use?
_
A hope, to sing by gladly . . . or a fine, sad memory,
With thy songs to interfuse? . . . a shade in which to sing
Of palm or pine? .. . a grave on which to rest from singing?
. . « Choose!”
MEDITATION ON THE MASTER’S THOUGHT
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou
shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whoso-
ever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed
adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye
offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is
13I
[VI-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ‘
profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish,
and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And
if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from
thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members
should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast
into hell.
It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife,
let him give her a writing of divorcement: but I say unto
you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for
the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery:
and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth
adultery.—Matt. 5: 27-32.
I
A newspaper article, which reported the rather interesting
fact that archeologists had discovered a love letter among
the ruins of Babylon, inspired Don Marquis to write a notable
poem called “News from Babylon’: .
“The world hath just one tale to tell, and it is very old,
A little tale—a simple tale—a tale that’s easy told: .
‘There was a youth in Babylon who greatly loved a maid!’
“The dust of forty centuries has buried Babylon,
And out of all her lovers dead rises only one;
Rises with a song to sing and laughter in his eyes,
The old song—the only song—for all the rest are lies!
For, oh! the world has just one dream, and it is very old—
‘Tis youth’s dream—a silly dream—but it is flushed with
gold!”
Of course, what Marquis is saying is perfectly true: love is
the most intense, the most creative, and the most universal
emotion of the human heart. From it comes all the finest
in poetry, in music, in literature, and in art. But as love is
the source of most of human happiness so it is the reason
for most of human tragedy. Blessings perverted become the
worst curses; and love is no exception to that rule!
In our day, too, the noble impulse of love has been reduced
to lust. We debase the heavenly gift of love when we make
it the means of self-gratification. This wrong-heartedness is
what Jesus rebukes in his Sermon on the Mount. Today his ©
holy indignation ought still to pierce to the black depths of
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our low, current standards, revealing to us the need and the
way to the recovery of one of God’s choicest blessings.
Man will be delivered from the evil train that follows in the
wake of misused love when he achieves three steps forward
and upward: Firstly, Just must be replaced by a noble love
wherein man and woman are considered equals.
Woman, for ages, has had nothing but the status of a
chattel, and the home was nothing but a place where a man
kept his sex property under lock and key. Beginning with
the Decalogue, where a man’s wife is put in the same category
with his ox and his ass, the belongings which a neighbor
must not covet, down to modern times when in the marriage
ceremony the father of the bride still answers the ancient
question: “Who giveth this woman away?” with the “I do!”
of the owner of property, the deplorable inequality of woman
has existed. In India she was burnt on the funeral pyre;
under the crescent of Mohammed her life was one of com-
plete servitude; the ancient Greeks spoke of ruling their
slaves as a despot, their children as a king, and their wives
as a magistrate! Early Christian anchorites fled from woman
as from life’s greatest temptation, and she, by many abnormal
monks, was spoken of with unpleasant epithets. Emancipation
of woman has steadily progressea until today she has practi-
cally reached an equality with man, although still in some
countries she bears the brunt of the heavy labor, owns no
property, and receives careless consideration. When man
makes woman his honored and equal mate then love begins to
have its high and rightful estate. ;
“As a woman ranks in the esteem of man,
So in his heart is love unclean or pure;
So much, too, he esteemeth honor, or
So little, and so himself is honored.
Who not esteems himself, ne’er honors woman,
Who honors woman not—doth he know love?
Who knows not love, is honor known to him?
Who knoweth honor not, what hath he left?
Again, lust must be replaced by a noble love wherein
the partners respect each other as spiritual personalities. The
love of Jesus was always a love for the person which grew
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[VI-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ,
out of a longing to be of service, and a complete control of
selfish desires. The secret of a right and happy love-life is
found by reproducing in our own lives that spirit of Jesus,
which seeking nothing for itself, desires but to honor and —
please and bless the partner-personality. But how truly does
a French poet, Paul Geraldy, describe the attitude of many,
many people in their love-life:
“You said, ‘All day I think of you!’
*Twas not true.
’Tis love you think of endlessly,
*Tis not me.
“‘Nightly as I lie in bed,
All my thoughts are yours,’ you said,
‘Never o’er my weeping eyes
Slumber slips.’
But love to you is not a flame,
*Tis a game,
And it is the kiss you prize,
Not the lips.
“Any hint of pain you smother.
*Tis a truth you’ve always known
That our joys are all our own...
But love is a necessity.
Would you care much less for me
If I were another?”
Self-controlled love is the secret of real happiness. Through —
mastery the joys of love are enhanced. No wickedness de- —
stroys the beauty and the wonder of love more quickly than —
the selfishness which prizes only the love and not the loved ©
one. No man really begins to love highly and nobly until he
has thoroughly hated the lust which would make a mockery
of his loving. Browning, in a rare line in “One Word More,”
pays a worthy tribute to Dante because he was a true lover: —
“Dante, who loved well because he hated,
Hated wickedness that hinders loving!”
4
Tie ea
And with what attractive humility and self-evident grace
does Robert Louis Stevenson enter the sacred portals of
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THE NEW MARRIAGE [ VI-m]
married life: “I ...who have hitherto made so poor a
business of my own life, am now about to embrace the re-
sponsibility of another’s. Henceforth there shall be two to
suffer for my faults. ... Marriage is the last act of com-
mittal. After that there is no way left, not even suicide, but
to be a good man!”
Once more, lust must be replaced by a noble love
wherein all sex thinking is purified and refined! He who
entertains unholy, unworthy, impure thoughts is sowing the
seeds of future ruin. He who goes in thought where he
knows he dare not go in body is contaminating the soul.
That man grows just as foul and evil as the obscene pictures
which he hangs upon the walls of his imagination. It is a
literal law of the spiritual life that a man becomes what he
is in his thoughts (Prov. 23:7). The tragedy of the evil
thought is pictured perfectly for us in the life of David,
where one evil thought made a man a traitor, an adulterer,
and a murderer. It is unfolded in the downfall of a Samson
who with a mighty body, nevertheless, had a weak head.
History has no more certainly provable lesson than this: clean
thinking makes for clean living.
“Think and be careful what thou art within;
For there is sin in the desire of sin.
Think, and be thankful, in a different case;
For there is grace in the desire of grace!”
The disease of the great social evil will be cured only when
men’s hearts are made holy within. This does not mean
suppression of sex, but suppression of lust in every form. In
our current, passage Jesus commands everyone not to lust,
and this applies as much to the married as to the unmarried.
The solution of the sex problem is not celibacy but affection;
not unnatural repression but holy love inspired by thinking |
as clean as the thinking of Jesus. The achievement of this
type of noble love is one of the best buttresses of all character,
Carlyle has well expressed it: ‘Chastity, in the true form of
it, is probably the most beautiful of virtues—essential to all
noble creatures. A lewd being has fatally lost the aroma of
existence, and become caput mortuum in regard to the higher
functions of intelligence and morality.” Upon that day when
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[VI-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE 3 ‘
a man drives from the cellar of his soul all mental vermin
does he become spiritually whole. How healthy, how
fearless, how noble is he who knows his mind is clean! How
our prayer ought to be every morning of our days that great
prayer of the Psalmist: “Create in me a clean heart, O
God. ... All that is within me, bless his holy name!”
(Psalms 51:10; 103: 1.)
The man who looks lustfully on any woman, says Jesus,
has already committed gross sin. The agency of that lust,
whether eye or hand, must be rooted out of life lest it ruin
all. We have seen that the agencies that contribute to the
lustful spirit in man are the inequality which makes of woman
a piece of physical merchandise, the disrespect that fails to
see the soul of woman as a holy temple of Godlike personality,
and the evil imagination which creates from the holy relation
of love a mental orgy of lewdness. The toleration of these
obvious evils either personally or socially means death to the
nobler joys in individual lives and a certain hell in human
society. Unbridled passion which is lust makes hell; dis-
ciplined, spiritualized love makes heaven. Thomas Gray has
a wise word of direction for that .home-or that social group
which longs for the kingdom of heaven:
“Heaven lifts its everlasting portals high,
And bids the pure in heart behold their God!’
II
Social and natural law have combined to create what we
know- as the institution of marriage. Around this institution
twine the happiest and noblest experiences of the human soul.
But all too frequently domestic joy is not achieved and the
home becomes not the center of spiritual uplift and power
but the source of some of the most complex agonies and the
most bitter sorrows which the: world can give. Many a girl
has gone out from her father’s house, borne on the seraphic
experience of love, her feet scarcely touching the ground,
only to find that the flowers of today turn to the thorns of
tomorrow. Many a boy has gone gladly into the marriage
relation with happy hopes, to discover that the angel-face he
loved has turned to a devil-face, that the bubbling stream of
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THE NEW MARRIAGE [VI-m]
flowing love into which he once looked has dried up leaving
but a bed of gravel*and sand. Thousands there are who
entered life with the choicest aspirations, hungering and
_thirsting for a real home. In the morning of wedlock every
pane of glass had its candle, every meal was a feast, and every
day a honeymoon holiday. But times of selfishness and
jealousy and suspicion and disappointment and _afflictive
sorrow have blighted affection until the glowing candles have
burned to their sockets, and married life has become a yoke
and a burden, and husband and wife cry day and night:
“Who will deliver us from the body of this death?”
“Oh! but Fate plays us many a sorry jest!
Dry dust and ashes crown our fondest quest!”
Now it is easy for society to point at such an unhappy
situation with the finger of scorn and shame, thus adding to
the bitter misery of the hapless couple. More helpful would
it be to consider the causes and the remedies for our domestic
tragedies. There are just three types of marriages: first, the
perfect union of ideal soul mates, second, the average up-and-
down match which gets by fairly well because culture,
’ education, convention, and religious beliefs buttress it, and
third, the unfit union of utter incompatibles who never could
make a go of married life though they should live until dooms-
day. Any sane person, unprejudiced and well-balanced, would
say that, in the third case, the right thing for the couple to do
would be to separate quietly and go their way to some happier
and more congenial union. But unfortunate customs intervene.
When the church could help most by wise sympathy, the in-
- stitution representing Jesus has only added to the miseries of
the unhappy pair by the decree that divorce is utterly unap-
proved and even sinful. No matter if they have found it
impossible to realize a loving comradeship, no matter if their
marital unhappiness has made of one an incorrigible shrew ~°
and the other an inveterate drunkard, society ordains that
_ they must perpetuate the impossible arrangement or be branded
with the iron of public disgrace. Like Socrates and Xantippe
or Rip Van Winkle and his ruthless spouse, many couples still
live together with constant quarrelling, because of their own
unfortunate mistake and their dread of what church and
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a Sp es en PER A re eae
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[VI-m] THE MASTER'S MESSAGE
society would say if they separated. Under such conditions,
is not marriage a black nightmare? Is it not the cruel keeping
up of an unfair contract under compulsion of the police?
A rigid divorce law has several unfortunate results. Here
we shall note but three. First of all, a rigid divorce law may
result in the forcing of two people to live together when they
do not really love each other at all. God only sanctions the
holy rite of wedlock where true love exists. Secondly, a rigid
divorce law may result in court trials that provide oppor-
tunity for the airing of events which would be better kept
quiet. In many states divorce will not be granted until certain
first-hand evidence is produced. Detectives are therefore hired
and when they come to court with their stories, a mass of sala-
cious tid-bits are offered for a gaping audience and the pages
of yellow journals. Thirdly, a rigid divorce law may result
in nervous breakdowns by the thousands. A reputable physi-
cian, who makes his specialty the mental and nervous dis-
orders of men and women, once told me that nine out of ten of
his patients are nervous wrecks because of an incompatible
sex life.
Of course no one will defend the frivolous, unserious per-
sons who fly easily into marriage and out of it impelled by
only one consideration and that a mighty low one. But the
majority of unfortunate marriages, these unholy misalliances:
which cause so much hardship and unhappiness in our world,
are not due to the weakness of the characters of the prin-
cipals involved. They are the result of an inevitable unfitted-
ness of certain personalities for each other, and when divorce
as sought under these conditions, it is not a sinful but
a Christian procedure. Many a luckless pair, honestly and
courageously facing the fact of their unsuitableness for each
other, have suffered the grossest indignities and vilest op-
probrium in their efforts to secure a separation which would
pass muster before church and state. The guilty ones, in
such a case, are not the unfortunate people whose home has
gone on the rocks. They are in a predicament which deserves
only our deepest sympathy. The real guilt rests with the
relatives who should have prevented the marriage in the first
place, or minded their own business after the wedding; with”
the state which has held a club of compulsion over the heads
of the pair; and with those, who either by gossip or false
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THE NEW MARRIAGE [VI-m]
advice, have made matters even more complex for the unhappy
persons involved. Truly it is a social law: Woe to them who
have blundered into an ill-mated, unfortunate marriage! For
them it were better by far that they were divorced and re-
married !
“But,” ask some, “is it not the law of Christ that divorce
is a sin? Has not Holy* Writ clearly stated to us that the
man who puts away his wife and marries another commits
adultery? Has not Holy Church pronounced in tones of un-
answerable authority the strict duty of those who enter the
bonds of holy wedlock?” And one, of course, will answer
readily, Yes! what Jesus has stated, what Holy Scripture says,
and what the Church through the ages has held dear, these
demand the respect and consideration of every fair man. But
God has also given us a conscience, a heart, and a mind. May
it not be that these will help too in the solving of this complex
problem?
As a matter of fact, what Jesus says about this problem of
‘divorce, is, as we might expect, on the side of sound sense,
broad-minded human sympathy, and the highest purity. If
we turn to the passages where Jesus discusses the question
(Matt. 5: 27-32—19: 3-12; Luke 16:18; and Mark 10: 2-12),
we shall find that he is not laying down a rigid law, but ex-
pressing a general spirit. We shall understand him best if
we remember that his words in these passages are his reaction
to two situations in his own day: the bill of divorcement
custom by which any man at any time could simply give his
wife a scrap of paper and get rid of her, and the lustful
hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes. Rather than be classed
with the low people who use the device of the unfair bill of
divorcement, he meant, make the best of your married life.
Rather than live in a painted hell like the Pharisees, posing
outwardly as pious perfectionists, yet inwardly impure and
vicious of heart, make yourselves celibate for the sake of the
kingdom of God. Jesus, therefore, is not here giving us a
static social standard which through all history must remain
the same; but he is giving a rebuke to the hypocrites and a
challenge to the disciples; he is putting the entire sex relation
upon the highest possible plane!
Were Jesus here today he would not be speaking of “an
inexorable law” which at all costs must keep married couples
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[VI-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
together when they are unfitted for one another. Nor would
he be a partner in any “back to nature’ movement. His
weight would be thrown on the side of good judgment and
self-control both before and after the wedding day. -He
would not insist on holiness through celibacy, but happier
sex adjustment under the spell of moral idealism. Our day
is longing for the new marriage. Wnder the régime of the old
marriage illicit love relations, waste of good fathering and
mothering material, the exaltation of hypocritical celibacy,
the breaking of hearts, the reveling in slander, and ecclesi-
astical bigotry thrived. With the sharp plows of the newer
and more honest thinking we must plow up these old fields
of ill-smelling weeds, and sow the good seed of a happier
and more rational love-life. The economic independence and
equality of women, the light of the new psychology, the new
freedom in divorce are battering rams before which the old
feudal stronghold of an inhuman marriage system is crum-
bling. It ought to crumble! In the new day when men and
women have a nobler and finer and more spiritual view of
love, they will not need the compulsion of church or state
to keep them together. They will make their happy home on
earth, not because they are forced to, but because they want
to. That, after all, is the only way a happy home can come.
III
When one considers the precarious foundations upon which
many homes are reared, one wonders why there are not more
divorces, separations, and disagreements than there are. In
how many homes are children reared in the cold, stultifying
atmosphere of unhappy criticism and conflict. From how
many family circles are children going out to the serious busi-
ness of matrimony with no knowledge of their sex nature,
and no preparedness for the towering problems which will
meet them at every turn. With no counsel from mother and
father they mistake the tiniest spark of physical attraction
for the genuine flame of love; they plunge into misalliances
when only a word of guidance would show them the folly
of it. Often their wedding, which might be made into a
beautiful and impressive and sacred ceremony, with elements
powerful enough spiritually to give them a good start toward
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THE NEW MARRIAGE [VI-m]
a wedlock “till death do us part,” is a shallow, meaningless
affair, drooled by some unsympathetic clergyman, and fol-
lowed by a hilarious party. The wedding day ought to be
made one of the most sacred days in all life's history.
From it a benediction should fall upon every day to the end
of life. In the calendar of memory it should stand out like
a star with the brightness of honored vows, plighted troth,
radiant love.
The bridal gate, however, does not essentially open into the
finished garden of Eden. On no undeserved silver platter is
the perfect bliss of married life presented! Noble and happy
married life is a thing to be achteved. The steps to that
glorious and delicate peak of ideal wedlock lead up through
the years and the stepping stones are purity and patience,
nobility and sympathy, truth and wisdom, gentleness and
forgiveness, unselfishness and glad self-sacrifice! How beau-
tifully Emily Dickinson phrases for us the spirit of noble
renunciation which lies behind all happy homes:
“Fach bound the other’s crucifix,
We gave no other bond.
Sufficient troth that we shall rise—
Deposed, at length, the grave—
To that new marriage, justified
Through Calvaries of Love!”
The new marriage, rising through Calvaries of Love, makes
earth’s most beautiful spot, the true home. Years ago in the
old Castle Garden twenty thousand people gathered to hear
Jennie Lind sing.. After singing a few classical numbers she
began “Home, Sweet Home.” The audience could not stand
it. An uproar of applause stopped the music. Tears gushed
from thousands like rain. That word “home” had touched
the springs of every heart. A Japanese boy, coming to Amer-
ica for the first time, was eager to see the sacred mountain
which held the place in the hearts of Americans which
Fujiyama holds in Japanese hearts. Disappointed, he said at
last: “I think I have found your Fujiyama. It is your
American home. Around that all your holiest ideals, all your
best hopes and purposes gather!”
What are the elements out of which the glorious place
I4I
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[VIl-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE _
called home is made? What is the framework upon which
the vine of happiness is twined? Jt is the house itself, in the
first place. Though it be but a tiny cottage you can see
character in a home, from the pansies and lilies and graceful
shrubs in the front yard to the neat, well-kept attic. In a
real home you feel cozy the minute you enter the door. The
walls and the interior finish are friendly. The hearth has a
look of welcome, there are pictures that inspire, the furni-
ture may not be up-to-date but it is comfortable and homey.
Days of gracious living have woven golden threads at every
turn, and the fabric that has come from the weaving is full
of beauty. It is the children, in the second place. Not until
walls have heard the shouts of merry laughter, not until the
stairs have felt the patter of little feet rioting through the
house in happy play, not until the chastening sight of the
cradle has bestowed its providential mysteries upon mother
and father, does the house become a home, the household a
heaven. The golden eagle, spreading its wings over its little
ones in the storm, tenderly feeding the little birds and de-
fending them from many dangers, is the symbol of that paren-
tal love which is in every heart. When children come to any
home, mother and father are brought closer than ever, their
best and noblest qualities are elicited.
In the third place, the home is made out of that mutual’
growth into noble companionship and creative love between —
husband and wife. There is nothing sadder than a lonely
woman pining her life away in some tenement room when
with the right man she might have found her place as an
ideal wife. There is nothing more pitiful than a homeless
man, eking out the selfish existence of bachelordom when
he might have made with the right woman an ideal husband.
There is an incompleteness in the unmarried state. Man is
woman’s supplement; woman is man’s complement. The
gentle, kind, generous, large-hearted, affectionate, virtuous ~
man is a castle of refuge and hope to tender woman. She
looks up into his face with confiding heart, knowing that he
will keep safe all the sacred interests of her soul and life.
He is her knight to whom she has entrusted her all. He is
her hero going out to the world in courageous. achievement
both for her sake and her children’s sake, and if he is a good
man, her life twines about his stronger life as the ivy clings
142
eee
THE NEW MARRIAGE [VI-m]
to the sunlit wall. He is her stay and staff in life, and all
the nobler wifely qualities rise in her in response to his no-
bility. The husband and father plays a vital role in the
circle of the home, but in many ways it is the wife and
mother who holds the key to the home’s highest happiness.
A man is like a watch; he is helpless, useless, if you take
the spring out; and the spring in every man’s heart is his
home. A man is like a tree; there never was a man yet
who grew great in character and ability who did not have the
roots of his spirit deep in the fruitful soil of some good
home. A man is like potter’s clay; he is very easily molded
by his environment; and a good wife is like a guardian angel
who transforms the brute in him into the divine. What Otway
says, many an honest man-would echo:
“OQ woman, lovely woman, nature made thee
To temper man: we had been brutes without you,
Angels are painted fair to look like you!”
So the true wife makes a man’s life nobler, stronger,
grander by the omnipotence of her spiritual love, turning all
’ the energies of his life into heavenward channels. What
diamonds of literature and experience fill the fields of man’s
memory when one thinks of that precious boon, the loving
woman of the home. We hear Mazzini saying: “Woman
is the angel of the family! ‘Mother, wife, or sister—woman
is the caress of life, the sdothing sweetness of affection shed
over its toils; a reflection for the individual of the loving
providence which watches over humanity. In her there is
treasure enough of consoling tenderness to allay every pain.
, . The mother’s first kiss teaches the child love; the first
holy kiss of the woman he loves teaches man faith and hope
in life, creates in him a desire for perfection and gives the
power of reaching toward it step by step. . . . Through her
the Family, with its divine mystery of reproduction, points
to Eternity!” We see the courageous Danton going to the
guillotine, yet at the foot of the scaffold, remembering the
noblest blessing of his life, lifting his drooping head to cry —
out: “O my Wife, my well-beloved, I shall never see thee
more!” We sense that glowing heart of gratitude for wifely
143
[VI-m] THE MASTER'S MESSAGE —
; nih
love in Robert Louis Stevenson when we listen to one of the
sweetest of all his poems:
“Trusty, dusky, vivid, true,
With eyes of gold and bramble-dew,
Steel true and blade straight *
The great Artificer made my mate.
“Honor, anger, valor, fire,
A love that life could never tire,
Death quench, or evil stir,
The mighty Master gave to her,
“Teacher, tender comrade, wife,
A fellow-farer true through life,
Heart-whole and soul-free,
The August Father gave to me.”
What a pity that so many men should fail to see in their
loving wives such treasures as these men saw! How much
is lost by nagging impatience, by selfish unsympathy, by hot-
tempered blindness, by sour and glum dispositions, by neg-
lectful carelessness. Our wives are round about us like angels
of mercy and ministry and magnanimity, only like Jacob, we
do not see them ascending and descending except in a dream.
Many a man if his spiritual eyes were only opened would
see that his tender wife was to him the very messenger of
God and his home the very gate of heaven. But too many
husbands are like old William Pynchon, founder of Spring-
field, who proved to his own satisfaction that Adam and Eve
were created in the morning of the sixth day, that in the
early afternoon of the same day they sinned, were sentenced,
and banished, that, on the following day, they instituted the
Church. “And if you ask,” he said, “who was the congrega-
tion and who the preacher, I answer, Adam was the preacher,
and discoursed to Eve upon the wretched state into which
she had brought them and their posterity!” So, according
to Pynchon, the Bible instituted the ancient and time-honored
custom that husbands shall preach and wives listen. But the
home where husband (or wife) assumes dictatorship is a
“house divided against itself.” Mutuality, equality, harmony,
144
THE NEW MURRIAGE [VI-m]
—these are the great stones in the foundations of the home.
The achievement of a divine unity—that is the great goal of
married life!
“Yes! we go gently down the hill of life,
And thank our God at every step we go,
The husband-lover and the sweetheart-wife.
Of creeping age what do we care or know?
Each says to each, ‘Our fourscore years, thrice told,
Would leave us young—the soul is never old!’
“What is the grave to us? Can it divide
The destiny of two by God made one?
We step across and reach the other side,
To know our blessed life is but begun.
These fading faculties are sent to say
Heaven is more near today than yesterday!”
There are homes into which you go where one almost
feels the disharmony, the conflict, the suspicions, the hates
and the quarrels. Then there are other homes where one
feels the higher influences of life everywhere present. It is
a divine atmosphere and one can sense it. You pass by a gar-
den wall and the sweet odor of the honeysuckle fills your
nostrils. You cannot see it, but you know it is near. So in
some houses there is an inescapable fragrance which says:
“There is honeysuckle here!” And perhaps if you should
search for the source of that divine aroma of love, which
blesses all within that house, and goes out through the com-
munity in healing and health and happiness, you would find
a family altar, where, as in Burns’ “Cotter’s Saturday’ Night,”
the home congregation joins in kneeling humility before the
heavenly throne. There, in tender, beseeching prayer, in
happy hymns, in the reading of the sacred page the holy influ-
ences of God’s spirit are invited and generated. Thus the
- incense of God’s love penetrates and blesses every hope and
heart of that fortunate home. “If I stay another day in
your home,” said Lord Peterborough to Fénelon, “I shall
become a Christian despite myself!” Is our home life filled
with Christian influence?
The light that shines from that noble home in Nazareth
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[VI-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
is the secret of the solution of all our problems connected —
with family life. A more liberal divorce law, a finer appre-
ciation of the sanctity and beauty and nobility of the human —
body and its normal functions, the transformation of the —
home from an autocracy into a democracy, the more honest
and frank facing of the whole sex question—these are dis-
tinct blessings in the program for the new day. But they are 7
also dangers. And lest they be carried to extravagant ex- :
tremes we need now as never before the holy chastening —
which comes from a consideration of that home where Jesus ‘
lived. The sweet purity of that noble mother, Mary, the —
sturdy, manly, fatherly qualities of Joseph, the obedience and
freedom of the children, and the gentle, reverential atmos-
“phere of that humble house of the carpenter teach us the —
way humanity’s highest life comes. A place which could —
produce a Jesus is a place the world needs. An institution —
which could form the majesty of a life like Christ’s is an —
institution indispensable for our day. Jesus Christ could not a
have become Jesus Christ without the wonderful influence —
breathed into his life from the bosom of that lowly Nazarene —
family. Here then is life’s crown and glory, that palace of
peace, that haven of hope, that sanctuary of love, that little
bit of heaven on earth, called “home.” ie
*
“The robin is the one,
That speechless from her nest,
Submits that home and certainty
And sanctity are best!”
O, our Father in heaven, we thank Thee for the precious gift
of manhood and womanhood. We thank Thee that it is Thy —
holy will that we should come together in love to make a
home, where little children, Thy little messengers of peace,
should come and grow and brighten our days. Lead us once —
again beside that holy manger in Bethlehem, to that heavenly
home in Nazareth where we may catch the gleam of the
higher hopes and nobler purposes of life. In all our living
may we be inspired by him whose love is named as a sacred
bond among the whole family of humanity in heaven and
earth, Amen.
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THE NEW MARRIAGE [VI-q]
LIFE QUESTIONS
1. Why is the lustful look as bad as the deed?
2. Is the modern, frank attitude toward sex a good or a
bad sign? Why is marriage such a vital problem?
3. “Petting is all right, provided it is carried on between
two people of equal age, who have sense enough not to carry
it too far. It acts as nature’s safety valve.’ (A _ noted
physician. )
Analyze this statement from your own viewpoint. Is the
widespread habit of petting an indication of some natural law
which operates to develop the sex nature? What does Na-
ture have to say in a guiding way as to the sex problem?
4. Name the most indispensable elements in a happy mar-
riage. Name the noblest and most effective force which
will keep a man clean and straight and pure.
5. “The heart needs not for its heaven much space, nor
‘many stars therein, if only the star of love has arisen.”
(Richter. )
How vital a part does love play in creative achievement?
What would you say was the most empowering inspiration
of your life?
6. “Chastity is a preparation for love; and if you forbid
love, whether by law, or by social convention, or by economic
strangling, you at once make chastity a Utopian dream.”
(Upton Sinclair.)
Does suppression get us anywhere in anything? Is chas-
tity the result of suppression of sex or intelligent, natural
growth into maturity?
7. “In not a few cases the real reason for the divorce is
a desire to marry someone else.” (Bishop William T.
Manning. )
Admitting the truth of this statement, analyze it by
answering these questions:
Is this desire always prompted by evil intentions?
May it not be that the second marriage is more holy in
God’s sight than the first?
What right has the church or the state to prevent the honest ©
choice of two people who have decided they are for each
other?
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[VI-q] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
f
8. What contributes most to making home a happy place?
What causes trouble most often in the home?
Name some practical obstacles which prevent young people
from realizing the home of their dreams?
9. If the home should be eliminated as a social institution
what blessings would humanity miss?
10. Can religion help to stabilize home life?
Can the Christian idea of God as a holy, loving Father offer
any contribution to the government of the home?
Would the unhappy home be saved if the members of the
family lived in the unselfish spirit of Christ? i
148
CHAPTER VII
The New Honesty
DAILY READINGS
One finds today among many a profound and passionate
seeking for reality. Not only our youth but many mature
men and women are sorely disillusioned. They have found
the conventional honesty and pious morality .of society and
the church absolutely unchristian. Not only do they discover
that current ideas of right and wrong, popular standards of
truth and falsehood are far away from those of Jesus, but
_ they see, too, that few know what Jesus’ real ideals are. For
many years there has been a vagueness about the church’s
-teaching which has clouded the issues. Sometimes the church
has called the biggest villains honest and has put the stigma
of its condemnation upon those who were really close to
Christ. When men have truly been taught the lofty mes-
sage of the Master they have laughed at his ideals as too
impractical to be taken literally. So, caught in a deceptive
scheme of things in a world which frankly follows false
values and adopts lower standards than Jesus, Christians
have resigned themselves to a position obviously hypocritical:
professing one thing and living another.
With pitiless candor Emily Dickinson reveals her own re-
action to society’s state when she sings of the only occasion
when she can be sure of sincerity:
“T like a look of agony
Because I know it’s true,
Men do not sham convulsion
Nor simulate a throe.”
149
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[VII-r] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE ee ise
And the writer of “Painted Windows” picks Bishop Gore as
the spiritual leader of England, not because of outstanding
scholarship or ability, but because of the “grave sincerity
of his soul.” .
Let us try to discover in our daily readings the Jesus
standard of honesty. In this chapter let us examine certain
aspects of contemporary civilization to see how sham honesties
and subtle hypocrisies are robbing us of the life that is open
and honest and truly sincere.
Seventh Week, First Day
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of
Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tra-
dition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when —
they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why
do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your
tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy
father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother,
let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to
his father or mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou might-
est be profited by me; and honour not his father or his
mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the command- —
ment of God of none effect by your tradition. 3
Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, —
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and
honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from
me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines —
the commandments of men.— Matt. 15: 1-9. a
There is a tradition among us called “going to church.”
It is a Sunday habit. We put on religion like our Sunday
clothes. That is the day to think of God and of Jesus. That
is the day for the Bible. So we tune psalms and sing songs and
look especially pious. So we go through the motions of the false |
religion which is little more than an ancient custom. On
Monday we-are back to normal. So the encrusted traditions —
of men cover over the powers of God. So men praise him
with their lips, but their hearts are cold and unmoved. So
religion becomes a thin veneer of pretty words and polite
conventions. Jt is a black fraud—underneath there 1s no
concern or willingness whatsoever for the real ends and
cause of Christ! ‘
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Pee eT eT ee ee ee ae a eee ee ge:
THE NEW HONESTY [VII-2]
Is it then strange that many of us have had experiences
with these lip-Christians like that of H. G. Wells: “I never
yet met a man who talked proudly of his honor who did not
end by cheating me’? Is it then so strange that our whole
Christian society should have a kind of sham courtesy or
customary etiquette with rigid rules that are followed by
the “best people’ who, underneath in their hearts, have little
honest grace or love or courtoisie de ceur?
As the scribes and Pharisees temporized with the law of
God, twisting and turning it to fit the easy-going standards
of contemporary morality, we, in our day, are content to
take the mighty truths Jesus died for and to make them of
none effect, toning them down to suit a materialistic civiliza-
tion. So we draw nigh to him with our mouths and honor
him with our lips but our hearts are far from him. Our
lip-worship is vain until we really try to take his teaching
and make it regnant in our hearts and central in our lives!
Our complacent neglect continues to crucify him, as Wat-
tles says:
“T bide my time, I keep my peace, I bind, I loose, I winnow,
I bear no wounds as witnesses in hands and feet and side;
I wear instead upon my brow the thorns of your compla-
cence,
And through earth’s generations my heart is crucified.
“If you were brave, if you were kind, if you had faith sufficient, |
If you believed the things you say, and died to make them
true,
I should not need to come again, returning and returning
Through all the lonely centuries and Golgothas for you.”
Seventh Week, Second Day
Then the Pharisees took counsel how they might entangle
him in his talk.
And they sent out unto him their disciples with the
Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and
teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for
any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell
us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give
tribute unto Cesar, or not?
. I5I
[VII-2] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why
‘tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money.
And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto
them, Whose.is this image and superscription? They say
unto him, Czsar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render there-
fore unto Czsar the things which are Cesar’s; and unto God
the things that are God’s.
When they heard these words, they marvelled and left
him, and went their way.—Matt. 22: 16-22.
Disloyal church folk, however, are not the only ones who
crucify Jesus afresh. The worldly wise men, the Herodians
of the day, are always seeking how they might entangle his
‘teaching and bring it to naught. Shamed by the challenging
‘morality of Jesus, they seek to prove him false! The pas-
sage selected is a cogent example of much modern mockery
of Jesus.
The inquisitors have come with a tricky question to trap
him into a seditious utterance. “Is it lawful to give tribute
to Cesar?” was a query filled with impertinent irony and
sarcasm. He asked for a denarius, and when they brought
it, he asked: ‘Whose is this image and superscription?”’ (As .
if he did not know!) ‘Cesar’s,” they reply. And then
the wisdom of his answer makes them marvel: “Very well,
this coin is stamped with Cesar’s image; then it is no more
than right that you should give it to Cesar; but your soul
is stamped with God’s image, so it is no more than right
that you should give it to him!”
Giving our soul to God means most of all giving it to the
search for truth. Unwittingly the enemies of Jesus here pre-
serve for us one of the finest statements of his magnificent
honesty and ‘transparent sincerity. “Master,” they said (and
the tones of bitter mockery were in the voice) “we know
that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth,
neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the
‘person of men.” That was plainly true! Jesus felt it his
divine duty to state the truth without regard to whom it in-
jured or what hoary Tie it exploded. He was there to teach
the way to God, and he did it with the most relentless sin-
‘cerity. Worldly wise men who laugh at Jesus’ religion as
‘superstition should consider this testimony of his enemies.
As a matter of ‘plain fact all truly religious men, seatening
152
THE NEW HONESTY [VII-3]
for their God through their loyalty to truth have had the:
experience of the writer of “The Magic Flute’: “Where all
else is doubtful this one thing is sure—the impulse that drives
me on to truth. Though I deny all else, I cannot deny that.
I may never find, but I must always seek. To that bottom
my wanderings have brought me, and it is firm.’ And Robert.
Collyer hints at the suffering which all prophets must en-
dure who would follow Jesus in the struggle for a truth-
ful religion: “TI tell you it is no matter what you may come
to be, as the result of your true and honest life. Men may
revile you and cast you out; but through it all, if you are
true to God, you shall feel that there is a life of the soul
that pales all others in its exceeding glory.” The proper
tribute to God is a fearless search for all his truth. This.
spirit of dedication to God through truth has been beauti-
fully phrased in a recent popular song, written by Maude
Louise Ray:
“To follow truth as blind men long for light,
To do my best from dawn of day till night,
To keep my heart fit for his holy sight,
And answer when he calls: this is my task
p?*
Seventh Week, Third Day
%
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye
neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are
entering to goin....
Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever
shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever
shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the
temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall
swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth
by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind:
for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth
the gift?
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted |
the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith;
these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other
undone.
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[VII-3] THE MASTER'S MESSAGE
he blind guides, which strain at a gnat and swallow a
camel.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but
within they are full of extortion and excess; Thou blind
Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and
platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beau-
tiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and ~
of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear
righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy
and iniquity.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because
ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepul-
chres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days
of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them
in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses
unto yourselves, that ye be the children of them which killed
the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape
the damnation of hell?—Matt. 23: part of 13-33.
Never was there a more tremendous denunciation than this.
Let any one read the entire twenty-third chapter of Matthew
meditatively, and he will be convinced that here, as nowhere
-else, is the naked soul of Christ aflame against the worst
sinning of all! And obviously it is the sin of falseness, of
perfidious iniquity posing as respectability.
We need not think that Pharisees are the only ones in his-
story deserving such denunciation. Human society, over and
over again, has beea guilty of exactly the same sin. The —
church, bearing the very name of Christ, has repeatedly done
the very things which Jesus here analyzes with such scorch-
ing censure. Shutting folk from the kingdom of the spirit —
and not going in herself—the church has done that. Swear- —
ing by gold and gifts and not the holy temple and the sacred —
altar—the church has done that. Confining attention to tithes
and neglecting justice, mercy, truth—the church has done
that. Straining at little gnats of sins like intemperance and
irreligion, and swallowing great big evils like slander, in-
dustrial injustice, and mammon-worship—the church has done —
that. Making a polished outward appearance of eminent re-
spectability, yet within full of bitter quarrels, meannesses, ac- —
154 .
THE NEW HONESTY [VII-4]
rid animosities, and hatreds—the church has done that. Burn-
ing prophets at the stake, stretching .them on the rack, or
breaking the hearts of heretics with persecution—certainly the
church has done that.
This terrific indictment by Jesus of the wily hypocrites of
his day is a cutting challenge to modern church and society
to make imward righteousness conform to outward respecta-
bility! The simple, pure Savior must chasten our sins again:
“Not through the empty mazes of old theology,
Hiding thy simple message in intricate words,
Throning thee in the heavens, turning your life to a creed,
You who knew as a brother the call of a brother’s need,
Who knew the glory of serving, of facing with fearless eyes
The shame of a dead religion’s charneled hypocrisies,
And drove in thy flaming anger with a whip of knotted cord
The shrinking slaves from the Temple, who buy and sell
their Lord.
Come to us, O Jesus, come as you came of yore
When you walked with Andrew and Peter by the Galilean
shore,
And called to the young men fishing, as I to the hearts of
men,
Is it strange that the loving Jesus should wander his world
again?”
Seventh Week, Fourth Day
Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes,
and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high
priest, who was called Caiaphas, and consulted that they
might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him. But they said,
Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the
people.— Matt. 26: 3-5.
The simplicity of this picture gives us an insight into the
subtle craftiness and unscrupulous cunning of Jesus’s en-
emies. They hold a consultation to plan his ruin. But he
must be taken and killed diplomatically, “not on a feast day.
lest there be an uproar among the people.” The shrewd, evil
motives of their hearts are not hidden; they are playing poli-
tics; they are afraid of this man, and he must be gotten out
of the way.
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[VII-5] THE MASTER’S- MESSAGE ae
In our churches, our businesses, our communities we find
today, also, the foxy politicians. They are always thinking
of how they can best further their own ends without any
regard for mercy or honesty. They will do anything to win,
anything from slandering a brother to groveling at the feet
of a bishop or a man of wealth. They consent that stealing
a horse is stealing; they punish the culprit and condemn the
fault. But. often in the church, in the government, Lord
help you! swindling, stealing, crucifying is called by some
fine name and grandiloquently passed for “policy.”
The Brother of peace and tenderness and love they made
the cause of half the wars in history, and called it “policy.”
The Rejecter of earthly goods, the wayfaring preacher in
sandals and girdle they made the cause for the pomp of pontiff
and prince and cardinal and bishop, with robes of purple and
_ palaces of marble and gold, and called it “policy.” . The humble
Friend of the slave, the poor, and the outcast they made the
cause for stretching the masses on a cross of mdustrial ex-
ploitation, and called it “policy.” The Man of truth and
fearless honesty they made the bearer of - superstitious SyS-
tems of theology with which they poisoned the minds of
children, and called it “policy.”
Now as never before we need to know this fact: Jesus
never surrendered honesty to diplomacy, and the knave who
does can be no follower of his! Whittier sounds the note
of true Christian idealism in his poem, “For Righteousness’
Sake,” when he says: : .
“God’s ways seem dark, but, soon or late,
They touch the shining hills of day;
The evil cannot brook delay,
The good can well afford to wait.
Give ermined knaves their hour of crime;
Ye have the future grand and great,
The safe appeal of Truth to Time!”
Seventh Week, Fifth Day
Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came
unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But
he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou
Sayest. And when he was Bone out into the porch, another
15
THE NEW HONESTY [VII-s]}
maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This.
fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he
denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a
while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter,
Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth.
thee. Then began he to curse and swear, saying, I know
not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter
remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before
the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went.
out and wept bitterly.—Matt. 26: 69-75.
Insincerity results not alone from lip service without heart.
loyalty, the squeamishness which makes men disloyal to God,
inward vileness which belies outward estimability, and the
diplomacy which puts policy first and honesty last, but also
from dangerous circumstances which cause the surrender of
high loyalties in the face of great fears.
We can sympathize with Peter. He was confused, shocked,
terrified by the sudden disaster which had overtaken Jesus.
It seemed every one had turned against the Master. Petrified.
with fear, lest he too be dragged before Pilate for sedition
and crucified, and carried along by the wave of popular hos-
tility to Jesus, Peter three times disavowed his Lord, the:
third time even cursing and swearing against his Master..
Afterward, overcome with his utter failure, we see him weep-
ing bitterly.
Let us not criticize Peter. If there is any common ailment:
of Christians today it is the old trouble: disavowing Jesus
when the world makes it hard for us to take a stand for the
Master's convictions! We too become petrified, heart-hardened.
In the office, in the shop, on the street, in the home, when
the chance comes for us to stand for Jesus Christ and his.
pure ideals how often we deny the Savior and his way. We
lack moral backbone. We are even ashamed to mention his
name, to say we go to his church, to avow that he is our
spiritual leader. Js it honorable to join his church, take his
holy name on our lips, and then go out before the world and
in every moral crisis, repudiate him?
“If I had been in Palestine
A poor disciple I had been.
‘ I had not risked or purse or limb
All to forsake and follow Him.
157
. 4 — = = ~~ ee ee ol a OS
[VII-6] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE eee a,
“With the glad crowd that sang the psalm,
I too had sung, and strewed the palm;
Then slunk away in dastard shame
When the High Priest denounced His name.
“Beside the cross when Mary prayed, |
A great way off I too had stayed;
Not even in that hour had dared, ji
And for my dying Lord declared.
“But beat upon my craven breast,
And loathed my coward heart, at least, : .
To think my life I dared not stake
And beard the Romans for His sake!”
Seventh Week, Sixth Day
And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, ;
came, and with him a great multitude with swords and
staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whom-
soever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. And
forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master; and
kissed him.—Matt. 26: 47-49.
Ga halal ¥\ 0
There is much to make us believe Judas was a good and
able man. Jesus himself selected him as one of the twelve.
Because of his financial ability he was appointed custodian
of the funds of the little company. A creeping leprosy of
the soul, however, must have been growing upon him for
weeks before it was revealed in the doing of the dastardly
deed of betrayal. It was an ingrowing selfishness which in
the end came to the point where a few pieces of silver meant
more to him than his Master.
The brothers of Judas are still with us. Simulating affec- -
tion they go up to temples, and feigning allegiance they caress
him with words, and speaking through their creeds, they say:
“Hail, Master!” Then, when they get to the factory, the
financial district, or the shop, they forthwith forget their pious
protestations in the selfish pursuit of shekels. They are ready
to sell their own soul, their Christs, and their brothers, for
the sake of profits: W hen we take any money under circum-
158
eS
ma.
THE NEW HONESTY [VIt=7] =,
stances which outrage the high ideals of Jesus, which we hold
in trust, we betray him as truly as did Judas!
“Hear them on Sundays with a pious bliss
Saying ‘Hail, Master’ with the Judas kiss,
Droning in churches from their perfumed pews
Empty hosannas on the Christmas morn,
When in vile brothels and in shameless stews
Some unacknowledged, birth-cursed Christ is born
Of some sad madonna whom the good folk’scorn.
“Not by the walls of dead Jerusalems
Breaks the brave heart before betraying friends,
But here, each day, in hands that clasp and cling,
With faces stained by foul disease and shame,
With bodies bowed beneath the cross they bring,
Walk the sad Christs, hungering and lame!”
Seventh Week, Seventh Day :
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blas-
phemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy
against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men,
And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man,
it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the
Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this
world, neither in the world to come.—Matt. 12: 31-32.
The Holy Ghost is nothing else but the Holy Spirit in the
human heart. Call it conscience if you choose; call it the
inner voice of Almighty God; call it the Christ-spirit in man.
Whatever the name, it is a reality. It is the light in every
man which is born into the world.
Flinching here is fatal. Man must recognize this light,
heed it, follow it, be ever terribly true to it, or he will die,
spiritually, mentally and even physically. By this star of the
soul the son of man must steer with a merciless sincerity.
In following the guiding of this Holy Ghost of conscience
it may be necessary to steer straight across all cherished or-
thodoxies, conventions, and accepted ways of men. Every
departure, every turning, every deviating from the following.
of this light will lead man deeper into a darkness and blind-
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[VII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
?
ness of the soul which is worse than death. Every loyalty
to this light will help others to find their way to God through
that sincerity. Every welcoming of the Holy Ghost will bring ©
deeper peace and joy, will be used of God for one’s fellow-
men. The clear bright honesty of that life will become as a
candle in some lonely spot, as a beacon for storm-tossed
mariners, or as a star set high for multitudes to follow.
But let that light be denied, and God himself cannot pre-
vent the moral destruction which must follow. This Holy
Ghost in man, as in Jesus, is the divinest thing we know on
earth. The desecration of it by deliberate falseness is unfor,
_givable!
“This is the sin against the Holy Ghost:
To speak of bloody power as right divine, <
And call on God to guard each vile chief’s house,
And for such chiefs turn men to wolves and swine.
“This is the sin against the Holy Ghost:
This is the sin no purging can atone:
To send forth rapine in the name of Christ:
To set the face and make the heart a stone.”
MEDITATION ON THE MASTER’S THOUGHT
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of
old time,- Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform
unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not
at all; neither by. heaven; for it is God’s throne: nor ‘by the
earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is
the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy
head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for
whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.—Matt.
5! 33-37. :
I
When we first read these words of Jesus we may suppose
that they refer to that quite common abnormality, in the
past and still today, of using the holiest names of the race
in vulgar oath or curse. This habit of profanity has been
defined as the mental disease that results from a starved vo-
cabulary. But the more we ponder these words of the Master
160
THE NEW HONESTY [VII-m]
_the more do we discover that they go deeper; they penetrate
‘to the roots of one of. the most serious problems in human
life, the problem of dishonesty. The substance of the old
law regarding honesty is stated by Jesus: Thou shalt not
forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine
oaths (see Num. 30:2). This meant that if a man swore
before the Lord to do a thing, he was morally obligated to
do it; if he bound his soul with an oath he was not to break
his word. Now, obviously the reverse of this law was taken
for granted: If you do not swear before the lord you are
not morally obligated; if you do not bind your soul with an
oath you may break your word! We may well believe that
such a precarious custom as this made it possible for in-
numerable tricksters to take advantage of the people. Jesus
spurns such unworthy standards. He says: “This law is
not enough, you are not to swear at all, neither by the heaven
nor the earth, neither by Jerusalem nor the hairs of your
head, but let your plain word be as good as your bond. Stoop
to no trickery, no subterfuge; but let the transparent honesty
of your life speak for you. You should not need to go into
long-winded evasions; simplify your conversation and your
life by sincerity. Yes and no is enough to tell the truth.
Whatever is more than the truth is evil and will work evil.”
We can see that Jesus is pleading here for one of the fun-
damental virtues. He is pleading for the unembellished charm
of a simple sincerity. There is no quality quite like it, for
when we see it in a man or a woman, it is as if the very breath
of heaven had come to our hearts. It is a life as chaste
‘and fragrant as the lilies of the field, as the flowers of the
meadows. It is such a life as radiates toward others nothing
but love and light. It is to be as simple as a little child,
to be as innocent and true as that utter undesigning frank-
ness which characterizes the face of a little child. It is to
have a life in which there is nothing to hide, transparent as
_ daylight, as free from deceit and all deception as the sky is
free from pollution. Matthew Arnold describes how fair is
such artless simplicity:
“Plainness and clearness without shadow of stain!
Clearness divine!
Ye heavens, whose pure dark regions have no sign
161
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[VII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
Of languor, though so calm, and though so great
Are yet untroubled and unpassionate!
Who, though so noble, share in the world’s toil,
And, though so task’d, keep free from dust and soil!
“How vast, yet of what clear transparency !
How it were good to live there, and breathe free!
How fair a lot to fill
Is left to each man still!”
Surely Longfellow was right when he said: “In character, in
manners, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is
simplicity !”
. Diogenes, searching in vain in Athens of old for an honest
man, is the prototype of many a soul today. For reliable men,
men who can be counted upon through thick and thin, men
who make their word as good as their bond, how rare they
are in our day, too! An unfortunate and unhappy English
poet, on trial in a sordid London courtroom, hopelessly in
the wrong, could yet force cheers from the floor by his simple,
frank replies to the tricky lawyers who cross-examined. How
attractive is sincerity even in strange places! No finer com- ~
pliment could be paid to anyone than that which Shakespeare
gives to one of his characters:
“His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles ;
His love sincere, his thoughts immaculate;
His tears pure messengers sent from his heart;
His heart as far from fraud as heaven from earth.”
Above all other virtues we are to cultivate “the simplicity
that is in Christ.” (2 Cor. 11:13.)
IT
But as beautiful and attractive and worthy as we may rec-
ognize the virtue of sincerity to be, there are barriers against
our possessing it which often seem insurmountable. There
are elements in human nature, acquisitiveness and rivalry and
trickery, which urge us on to get the better of our neighbors
without regard to right and wrong. And in the scheme of
our society there are situations which seem to make sincerity
162
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re Pee ee ee ee ae
ee eee eee ee ee Pe ee es
THE NEW HONESTY — [VII-m]
and absolute frankness and honesty unusually difficult, if not
absolutely impossible. But chief among the causes of dis-
honesty in our day is a weakmindedness which likes to lie.
Perhaps the author of “The Pleasures of Lying,” Clemence
Dane, is chiefly in a playful mood when she says such things
as: “Kit, the blessed baby, is also experimenting with the
pleasures of lying. Why not? Lie for the love of it, and
the lie becomes a work of art. . . . The lie is the gilt on
life’s gingerbread!” It may be that it is only a gentle twist-
ing of the word “lie’ to cover harmless fairy tales told in
fun. At least this is sure: The article in question is good
proof that the line between the innocent legend and the tricky,
deliberate lie is becoming very misty in our minds. A few
years ago men used to debate the question: Is a lie ever
justifiable? A few years hence we shall be hearing lectures
on “How to Make your Lying Enjoyable.” The pendulum
has swung so far over in reaction to the rigid, false code
of honesty of the Puritan that the cheerful, unblushing liar
is not at all unfashionable. There are other root causes, of
course, for a crime wave, but a truly important one is the
general light, careless, popular insincerity which makes all
forms of cheating easy.
A journalist tells us of a suave modern swindler who had
no trouble swindling the secretary of the Society for the
Suppression of Swindling. Whether the rib-tickling tale is
true or not we cannot tell, but the story indicates, at least,
‘one of the commonest characteristics of our educated age:
More folk than ever before are making a living by a suave
cleverness in the art of deception! One only needs to call
to mind the charlatans who sell patent medicines, the fakers
who advertise books which will help you do anything from
grow hair to preach a peppier sermon, the smirking fortune
tellers, and fifty-seven varieties of quacks, spiritual, mental,
and medicinal. The growing acclimation of banditry as a
profession is reflected in. the testimony of a prominent city
magistrate, William McAdoo of New York City, “When I
was a boy, you could spot a bad character at once when you
looked at him, But to-day the gunmen, murderers, and rob-
bers are stave, well-dressed young men who look like fashion.
plates.” Civilization should not be startled if some fine day
the morning’s paper tells of the praying burglar who says
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[VII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
f
his prayers before he goes to work. Scott was writing a
good many years ago but he describes for us many a modern
young man:
“Not serve two masters! Here’s a youth will try it—
Would fain serve God and yet give the devil his due,
Says grace before he does a deed of villainy,
And returns thanks devoutly when ’tis acted!” 7
The poisoning power of the increasing dishonesty is very
great. Imagine a great city lying before you; from thousands
of chimneys you see rising clouds. of black smoke. Soor a
heavy, hazy pall, like a shroud, darkens the sun and blots out
the stars. Thus up from the chimneys of society our insin-
cerities and lies rise like sooty smoke to settle down on our
common spiritual life in a palling smut of dark deceit and
immorality. Every breath of insincerity: and untruth we
breathe upon the world adds just so much to the common
spiritual darkness and oppressiveness.
Two little girls once conversed in my hearing:
“Do you know Tommy Jones?” said one. “Well, yesterday
in school he tried to copy from my arithmetic paper; you
know what I did? I wrote the wrong answer down, and
after he'd got it, I rubbed it out and put the right one down,
Served him right for copying!” ; |
“O, Mary!” warned the other, “you shouldn’t have done .
that. Don’t you know it’s wrong to deceive!”
So very innocently the experience of cheating begins. So
begins the practice of deception which may end in something
far worse. Contemporary dishonesty is a condition of the
popular mind which makes defection easy for everybody! The
attention which a man attracts to himself by being deliberate-
ly honest is disclosed by the incident of the Civil War veteran
who wrote to the pension bureau in Washington to have his
name dropped from the list. He had been suffering from a
supposedly incurable disease, contracted in the army, but
had fully recovered. The authorities were so astonished at
such unheard of honesty that they sent an investigator to
interview the man, supposing him to be insane.
In the new day of Jesus when men have taken his ideals
and lived them, when brother will meet with brother knowing
164
THE NEW HONESTY [VII-m]
that each comes with simple, unalloyed sincerity, as frank
as the day, like Jesus himself, our witness, our bond, and
our testimony will be as good as our life and will not need
to be written or oathed over or sworn to. Notary publics
will not need to sign for us; there will be no swearing over
sacred books to establish our word as true; there will be no
contracts, no courts, no lawsuits. And strange as it may seem,
there is a place in our own time which comes very near em-
bodying that lofty ideal. An African missionary tells of a
tribe in central Africa where no officials are necessary, no
courts, no judges, no lawyers. Extraordinary happiness and
peace reign in the village. Stealing is almost unknown, as
well as marital quarrels. The secret is a strong public opinion
against all forms of corruption. If a man is discovered in
dishonesty, the village adults meet in the evening and a
spokesman for the tribe solemnly warns the offender. Follow-
ing a second offense, the tribe is called together and the same
warning is given. After a third offense (which practically
never happens) the culprit is called to the village group again,
and after a solemn farewell, sent from the village out into
the forest. It works. That black tribe in the depths of the
jungle can teach civilization lessons in peace, social happiness,
and high morality!
In the very last chapter in the Bible the writer has some-
thing to say about those who, by virtue of their own be-
havior, have qualified or disqualified themselves for entry
into the heavenly kingdom. “I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the ending, the first and the last. Blessed are
they that do his commandments that they have the right to
the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates of the
city. But without are dogs and sorcerers and whoremongers
and idolaters and murderers and whosoever loveth and maketh
a lie!” (Revelation 22: 13-15.)
Ill
We sometimes have a shock in life, when we discover that
some people are not really as good as we thought they were.
They prove themselves not as fine as they look. They are
untrue to their educational advantages. They have failed to
fulfil the promise of their youth. Their character does not
165
[VII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE Ms
seem to match their personality. Their fruits do not match
their faith. If we will but take time to think more deeply
upon the matter, however, I think we shall come to the con-
clusion that instead of appearing better than they are, by
far the majority of people are better, far better than they
appear to be. There is, therefore, a kind of insincerity more
common than that of deliberate dishonesty: the insincerity
of smothering our own goodness.
Fundamentally, deep down, practically every man has a heart
of gold, but he is actually ashamed to be thought of as good.
He goes through the world living an inconsistent life, not
living up to the best that is in him, not expressing his best,
deliberately making people think of him as a grouch, an ig-
noramus, a sinner, when we know of golden possibilities in
him which belie the impression he makes. A man once re-
fused to unite with the congregation I was serving because
he insisted that his life was so unworthy he was not a fit
candidate for any church. I happened to know that he was
one of the best-hearted men in the state. Of course we ad-
mire humility, but here was a case where a man was carrying
humility too far. He was inconsistent. Actually he was
living a good life; in his own mind he was a “miserable
sinner.’ He was smothering a beautiful light of character
under a depressing bushel of personal depreciation.
One of the commonest forms of that insincerity which
smothers potential goodness is the fear of independent think- |
ing! We are actually afraid to express ourselves because —
we think the statements of others are more likely to be true
than our own. So our heads become patchwork quilts of —
other people’s thoughts. A glass eye, a wooden leg, false |
teeth, a waxen nose, a wig—these artificialities we shrink ©
from. But our reason becomes disastrously debilitated by —
atrophy so often that we needs must prop it with the glass
eyes, wooden legs, false teeth, wigs, and waxen noses of
ideas which we borrow from others. In our minds are divine
and original powers. There is a charm in the natural, un-
affected spontaneity of our own thinking which is one of
the truest ways God has of expressing his life in us. Instead
of tying the flowers on we ought to be letting the natural
buds unfold. Naturalness is the soul of sincerity, and
natural things are always best. The most beautiful artificial
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THE NEW HONESTY. [VII-m]
flowers cannot compare with the humblest violet by the road-
way. The most beautiful pictures ever painted are no match
for the ordinary landscape colored with the beauties of na-
ture. The most expensive rouge ever put on a girl’s cheek
is ugly beside the beauty of natural color. We spoil our
lives by failing to be our natural selves; we ruin our minds
by neglecting to think for ourselves. “I had a teacher once,”
said Henry van Dyke, “who helped me to think for myself—
the first of my real teachers; and what the others gave me
came through the door that he opened.” Thinking is the
starting-place of character and no life is true and strong
which lacks the honesty of original thought! Victor E. South-
worth has expressed better than I can the gist of the matter
in his keen poem:
@
““Follow me not,’ the wise man said,
‘But go the way of your heart instead.
““The power divine in you has wrought—
Follow the way of your honest thought.
““Follow the light within your breast
For it alone gives strength and rest.’
“This was the word of the man divine:
‘Follow your heart as I do mine!”
A patient in a school of occupational therapy was given
two work-beskets, one on each side of her, and was required
to work with left and right hands alternately. “Why,” said
the woman, who tried it for a few days, “I never knew I had
a left hand before.” There are in our bodies, minds, and
souls smothered capacities, all unused and undreamed of. We
are using nowhere near all of ourselves. Within us are capa-
cities for sympathizing and. working for others that we have
not realized. We have, locked away, wisdom for life’s prob-
lems, glad-hearted tenderness for lonely, bruised souls, burden-
bearing powers, hidden treasures of spirituality, lying all
unused within us. Visions of God, experiences of his good-
ness, blessings from his hand have been ours, and we have
not thought of sharing them with others. Until we com-
mence to cultivate with use the neglected powers of our hid-
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{VI-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
;
den life we cannot be honest with God, with our neighbors,
or ourselves.
“Use all your hidden forces. Do not miss
The purpose of this life and do not wait
For circumstance to mold or change your fate.
In your own self lies destiny. Let this
Vast truth cast out all fear, all prejudice,
All hesitation. . . .
* * * * * * *
‘Once let the spiritual laws be understood,
Material things must answer and obey.”
: IV
Character is what we are. Reputation is only what men —
think we are. Our own heart and not other men’s opinions
about us is the test of our honor. It is, I think, almost
‘universally true that all men begin by wanting to be true
and right in their own hearts. They see that to be right
‘in the heart is one of life’s chiefest glories. No one, however,
strives long to keep his heart right and true without eventually
coming to this discovery: To know the truth and speak it, to
know what is right and do it, that is one of the most dificult
things in the world! For just what is truth? » Pilate asked
the. question long ago and we are still trying to answer it.
Just how shall we encompass a right life? The young man
‘who came to Jesus asked the question and he went away sor-
‘rowing because he was unwilling to pay the price to find out.
Many men come to this crucial- question of life with the
cynicism of Huxley: “I protest that if some great Power
would agree to make me always think what is true and do
what is right, on condition of being turned into a sort of
clock and wound up every mcrning, I should instantly close
with the offer!” Scientists, giving their life-blood to capture ©
-truth, find in the end but fragments in their hands. Saints, —
-striving continually to plumb the depths of duty and to climb
the heights of honor, find themselves at last only a little on the —
way. Trueness and rightness men want but often they find
4t all too hard.
A timidity in the presence of facts is one common source
168 F
THE NEW HONESTY [VII-m]
of our spiritual difficulties. If we faced facts fearlessly and’
resolutely our problems would be cut in two. Here is a
man who knows his teeth need attention. There are evidences:
of decay in bad breath and the throbbing irritation of tooth-
ache. But he dodges the dentist by telling himself all will
_ be well. He ends with a continual array of tooth and body
troubles, because in the first place he wouldn’t face facts.
Or, here is a woman whose doctor tells her the truth about
her condition—she should have an operation at once. Fear
makes her practice deception upon herself—she keeps telling
herself she will be better. The end of such failure to face
facts is death. But there are even deeper, subtler forms of
this type of insincerity. Psychiatrists in the study of nervous:
and mental ailments find it difficult to get at the root of these.
troubles because people will cleverly evade moral issues which
center in themselves. There are favorite temptations, secret.
faults, little hidden sins which they will not drag to day-
light and destroy. That sad insincerity which looks in the
mirror of life, perceives blemishes, yet goes away leaving
them all unredeemed is well expressed in the New Testa-
ment: “But be ye,doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving your’ own selves. For if any be a hearer of the
word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his |
natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth
his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he
was.” (James 1 :22-24.)
To face facts fearlessly with the faith of Jesus is the first
step on the road to a right life. To be positively honest with
ourselves as we view our own lives in the mirror of the
Master’s scale of values is the solution of the spiritual prob-
lem of being true. He is the way, the truth, and the life
because in his presence we see incarnate the highest sincerity,
the noblest righteousness which man’s mind can conceive. It
is a perfectly marvelous fact to realize that here in this mam
was such a life as would redeem the world if all followed it.
To be a Christian means to be as courageously strict with
ourselves as Christ was with himself. It means surrendering
the finest show for the poorest reality. It implies frequently
' surrendering the confidence of others that we may go the way’
of truth. It means standing squarely up to the social conse-
quences of our own actions. It implies the courage to cross-
169
[VII-m] THE MASTER'S MESSAGE
examine our own souls to discover and correct faults: “My
conscience, I want to ask you a question. If the whole world
was to be guided by you, would it be a better world? Would
deceit and falsehood be banished altogether? Would malice,
selfishness and lust be entirely eliminated? Tell me truly, if
every other conscience worked like yours, would the world be a
good place in which to live?”
“If all of the things in your dreams had come true,
Would the earth have been very much better for you?
“If you'd got what you asked for whenever you prayed,
What sort of a place would your prayers have made?
“Tf creating the world had been left in your care,
How would you have furnished the everywhere? |
“As it is don’t you think things are nicely arranged,
With only yourself that needs to be changed?”
A serene, deep-founded sincerity, then, a sincerity which
rings true, not based on the dissimulation which seeks applause
of others, must always be based, as it was in the case of
Jesus, on the unflinching courage which looks life squarely
in the face and keeps true, no matter what the world offers
as prizes for deviating, no matter what wordly people choose
to think. To achieve this authentic Christian veracity re-
quires courageous constancy like a Christ who goes to his
bloody cross rather than prove false to his deepest convic-
tions. Any honesty which does not go so deep is but painted
falsehood. It cannot be genuine becatise it does not face all
the facts. “I should say sincerity,” said Carlyle, “a deep,
great, genuine sincerity is the-first great characteristic of all
men in any way heroic!” The same truth an anonymous poet
has stated in flaming words that burn across our deceitful
modern life like red hot irons:
“To be sincere! To look«life in the eyes
With calm, undrooping gaze! Always to mean
The high and truthful thing! Never to screen
Behind the unmeant word the sharp surprise
Of cunning, never to tell the little lies
170
THE NEW HONESTY [ VII-m]
Of look or thought; always to choose
Between the true and large, the true and small, serene
And. high above life’s cheap dishonesties !
The soul that steers by this unfading star
Needs never other compass! All the far
Wide waste shall blaze with guiding light, though rocks
And sirens meet and mock its straining gaze,
Secure from storms and all life’s battle Shocks,
It shall not veer from any righteous ways.”
V
We have seen how insincerity arises: from the weakminded-
ness of deliberate lying, out of the sin of smothered good-
ness, and from the dread of facing facts. We now come to
the most subtle insincerity of all: dodging life’s vital issues
by clever compromise. There is, for example, the compro-
mise of false modesty. There are those who make splendid
pretensions about their own morals and frown furiously upon
others whom they deem shameless and indecent. They speak
of the perfect morality of the good old days and wax elo-
quent in denouncing the members of the adventurous younger
generation. They do this, knowing perfectly well that the
transgressions of today are not new at all, that whereas of
old they were committed under cover, today there is a frank-
ness and aboveboard attitude which shocks but which is all
on the side of honesty. This bubble of compromising pre-
tension is punctured by the keen mind of Ella Wheeler Wil-
cox!
“True modesty dwells
In the same breast with knowledge, and takes no offense,
Truth never harmed anything yet but pretense.
There are fashions in modesty; what in your time
Had been deemed little less than an absolute crime
In matters of dress, or behavior, today
Is the custom. And however daring you may
Deem our manners and modes, yet, were facts fully known,
Our morals compare very well with your own!”
Another common type of compromise is the false faith
which claims to be free of all doubt. It is characterized by
the crass generalizations which speak of the dogmas of re-
v7
{VII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
Se
ligion as “being established beyond the possibility of doubt.”
And it is not unusual to hear devotees of this particular com-
promise saying that they have never had one single doubt
-about anything in their faith in all their lives! The fdlsity of —
these assertions is revealed when we pin these folk down to
andividual aspects of their faith; they reveal then that they
shave no deep-rooted certainty at all, but are hiding behind a —
smoke screen of secondhand religion and doubting all the time.
See some folk at funerals when loved ones go, and how their —
faith collapses under the strain. . “The most celebrated of
charlatans and the boldest of tyrants,” said Volney, speaking —
of Mohammed, “begins his extraordinary tissue of lies with
these words: ‘There is no doubt in this book!’” Real faith
begins with honest doubt, and no amount of false compro-
mising with truth can be compared with the fearless, frank
questioning of every aspect of religion.
Again, there is the compromise of gambling. A gambler is
one who wants to get without giving. He wants to win life’s
struggle by luck and not by pluck. He expects gain by the
‘turn of a wheel instead of the hard road of work. Many a
‘man who is noble and true in every other way goes down to
‘a deep hole of trouble and moral destruction because he com-
Promises with one of the many forms of gambling: specula-
tion in stocks, cards for money, roulette wheel, etc, etc. The
evil behind the gambling compromise is the violation of a
fundamental prineiple of honesty: Life’s values are most
Aonorably received, not on a basis of accident, but on a basis
of service rendered.
Moreover, there is the compromise of half-honesty. How ?
pleasant it is to let our tongues slip easily and plausibly over
little. half-truths, not deliberately deceiving, but just turning
the truth enough to fit our purpose. We satisfy our easy-
‘going consciences by just telling enough of the truth to make
our story reasonable. We defend our spiritual disobedience —
by showing only the white side of the shield. Tennyson re-
veals his usual spiritual discernment when he puts the matter
thus:
“A lie which is half a truth is ever the greatest of lies,
Since a lie which is all a lie may be met and fought outright, _
But a lie which is part a truth is a harder matter to fight.”
172 :
alt at Oe ee i
ane ae eS ee ee ee BE ON eer re Ta oe ae on eee
le ee Sar ‘ S a
3
a
THE NEW HONESTY © [VII-m]
The youth movement so universal in our day is nothing else’
but a mighty protest against the obvious compromises with.
truth which undermine modern life. It is the rebellion of
an intensely honest generation against the false modesty which.
parades as virtue, against the untruthful attitude which de-
nounces doubt as sin, against the gambling spirit which seeks’
to gain life’s good things by chance, and against that crowd
of plausible half-truths, abroad in our world, masquerading’
as sacred verities. Max Miiller is not far from the spirit of
these adventurous young people when he says: ‘With real
faith I believe one can pass.through this life without let or
hindrance. What I dread are compromises. There are false
notes in them always, and a false note goes on forever.”
VI
Up to now we have been noticing in this chapter certain’
elements in personal honesty. We have been following fairly
closely the well-beaten track of the traditional code. This
standard of honor may be limited by a few well-placed rules:
do not lie, pay your bills, do not steal, keep yourself within
the well-fenced area of the accepted morality of respectable
society. A little knowledge of the world and its ways, a little’
insight into the realities of life, however, will serve to remind
us that one who lives up to the letter of the traditional
code, indeed, a very paragon of virtue in the eyes of the “best
people,” may still be very far from the standard of Jesus.
For he may be lacking in another kind of honor which we
- may term for lack of a better name: social honesty. He may
be guilty before God of one of the most mischievous and
diabolical forms of dishonesty which now infect our social
system. George Bernard Shaw in his usual penetrating style
pulls the mask from this popular scheme of insincerity when
he says: “A great deal of the morality which is taught at
the present time, and which children are taught to regard as
very sacred, and as being the quintessence of honesty, you
must remember, is nothing but picking pockets and trying to
cover up the fact with fine phrases.”
This insight is based on the clear recognition that there is.
more than one kind of theft for which God will hold mew
173
-
[VII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE °
guilty. There is the theft of acquiring that which is not! our
personal property. There is also another, that of defrauding
others by retaining that which we owe them. Parents may
rob their children of tender affection and religious training.
We may rob our employers of the time for which they pay
us. Families may be robbed of peace and happiness by the
sons and daughters who recognize no obligation to the home.
God may be robbed of that which is properly due him: our
reverence, our loyalty, our communion. This type of stealing,
which retains unfairly, has many expressions, but the form
concerning which we are most interested now, and which is
the most common and most dangerous, is this: the industrial
imperialism which steals opportunity, health, and wage from
the helpless worker.
The biggest lies, the vilest shams, the most hideous hypoc-
risies spring not out of our own personal problems, but surge
up from that great, black, festering mass in modern life
which we call our economic system. There truth is pros-
tituted in the temple of the Holy Alliance of World Capitalism,
there humanity is crushed in the great, mad, selfish rush of
big business, where the only slogans heard are: “Dog eat
dog!” and “What is there in it for me?” As examples of
burglary and oppression, labeled “honesty” and “respectability,”
in our modern life, let us see several very typical cases. In
my own home town the mill workers were on strike. I per-
sonally attended their first meeting in an open lot. They
were like sheep without a shepherd. Everyone bore that
haggard look that comes from overwork. Many were pale
and consumptive. The company had just cut their wages ten
per cent, and they struck in protest. I asked them what their
wages were: married men with large families, faithful
workers, were getting then in some cases less than twenty
dollars a week, a few not much more; some girls were getting
as low as five dollars a week, many of them below ten. The
operators claimed they had to cut because of hard times. But
all of the mill owners were living in luxury, buying new
houses, new cars, new jewelry; they were prosperous, opulent, —
on the wages they had stolen from the workers when times
were good. Their policy was to dodge taxes and keep prices
high by underproduction when times were bad. Because the
workers had been faithful in good times they had to suffer in
174
THE NEW HONESTY [VII-m]
bad times. And such thievery and tyranny by insolent “busi-
ness men” are blessed and sanctified by city and church alike.
Another example of the brazen dishonesty upon which
industrial life is reared is afforded by the twenty-fifth anni-
versary report of the United States Steel Corporation, under
the direction of that past master of industrial injustice, Judge
Gary. “A campaign was started,’ says this report, “to abolish
the twelve-hour day in the steel mills....It met with
vigorous opposition from many sources, principally from the
workers themselves.’ A disingenuous lie, of course. “The
United States Steel Corporation,’ goes on the report, “is not
an eleemosynary institution. ... All activities for the good
of the worker have been amply justified for business reasons
... the first object of any company is to make money for
its stockholders.” Probably this is the ethic these men learn
at church. Does it sound like Jesus? In one deliciously
revealing sentence, the steel report gives the big corporation
away. Not opportunity, health, leisure, larger freedom for
the workers—but profit-burglary for stockholders.
One of the best illustrations of industrial injustice posing
as honesty is that of four great stores selling articles at a
cheap price, which in 1925 had a combined profit of over
fifty million dollars. A report of these stores shows that
eighty per cent of the workers receive less than twelve dollars
a week. What do you think Jesus would say of a business
which paid its stockholders thirty-five per cent of the value
of the stock in one year while the majority of the employes
were receiving less than twelve dollars a week? Is it honesty, .
is it Christian principle? No. It is downright robbery!
How our dishonest industrial situation works out for the
masses is shown by the Passaic strike. In October, 1925, the
small wages of the workers were cut in two ways: ten per:
cent, and work days to four a week. A strike, which even-
tually spread to all the neighboring mills until eleven thousand
souls were out, was organized by a young Harvard graduate.
The strike was entirely orderly so far as the workers were
concerned, despite the fact that families were destitute for a
period of six months. But following one daily conference a
procession of strikers homeward bound was stopped by the
police. A crowd gathered. The chief of police ordered the
cops to charge. On horses and motorcycles they rode into
175
[Vil-m] ~ THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
*
the mass of men and women. Clubs, gas-bombs, and firehose
were used indiscriminately with the result that many were
hurt, including women. To suppress the truth about this
uncalled-for violence the police smashed the cameras of the
newspapermen. So do “the powers that be” support the rich
and add to the misery and hopelessness of the children of
poverty.
So might we go on ad infinitum; for examples of this one
great dishonesty lie thick everywhere in our economic sys-
tem like sands on the seashore. But covering it is a crust
of false propaganda carried on by newspapers and capitalist-
controlled sheets. The camouflaging of this gross influence
in modern life is a marvel of clever deception. Bolshevism,
ghastly pictures of revolution, weird tales of bewhiskered
socialists, bloodthirsty proletariats have scared folk so that
the slightest mention of some new system by which Christian
justice might be a reality almost sends them out of their
wits. Speak to the average man who looks at life in the
average way about the lot of the industrial worker, and, if
he does not call you a dirty pessimist or a Bolshevik, he will
put his hand over his mouth, swallow his yawn and walk
away. It is hard to present the facts of the situation so
that they will give the average man a chance to do something
about it. We need new idealists who will dramatize for us
in telling ways the injustices of modern industrial life.
Even more unconcerned about the lot of the underdog are
the state and the church. The church condemns the little
thief and the state promptly puts him in jail. The church
praises the big thief and the state sets him on a throne of
honor. There seems to be a blind and blundering conspiracy
between church and state for the avowed purpose of strain-
ing out the gnats and swallowing the camels. Thus banks
that shoot down poor, depraved, half-witted victims of pov-
erty are commended, while the bankers themselves grow sleek
and rich on the purloined profits derived from foreclosed
mortgages and other clever little underhanded business deals.
Thus the big trusts in oil and coal and steel and meat hire
armored cars and gunmen to shoot down offenders, and call
out the militia to kill strikers, while all the time they plunder
the public’s pocketbook, and rob their employes. I know of
a case where a poor tramp, penniless and starving in a small
176
% ine
f
THE NEW HONESTY [VII-m]
New England town, was shot in the act of stealing a loaf
of bread, and died in jail. The man who used his gun with
such deadly aim in defense of his property happened to be
one of the town’s “first citizens,’ an individual who had
grown rich on the ill-gotten gains of wage-slavery. The
tramp died in disgrace, the rich man went scot-free. ‘Which
of them twain was more in accord with the will of the
Father?” The answer is suggested in an old couplet from
an old song:
“Why prosecute the man or woman
Who steals a goose from off the common,
And let the greater felon loose
Who steals the common from the goose?”
It is hard to believe that the average wealthy, corporation
man is fully conscious of what modern industrialism is doing
to folks. He is frequently placidly and blissfully unaware
of the sufferings of the masses. Your typical Mr. Muchmoney
is an office-bearer in the church, where he probably ushers
and passes the ‘plate on Sunday. He provides a luxurious
home for wife and children, has two or three cars, is very
keen on golf, and is a member of an expensive club, is sur-
rounded by servants and fawning friends, has been mayor
once or twice, and is a prominent citizen in the community.
He leads a fairly decent and regular life. Monday morning
you see him drive up to his factory or office in a limousine.
In busy days he sticks pretty closely to work; in summer he
is usually at the links or the ball park. Practically the only
contact he has with the lower classes is through the hired men
and women in his office. Frequently he prevents even this
by seclusion in a private office. His eyes are focused on his
own selfish pursuits, the profits of the business, and the
pleasures of leisure hours; he has no time to consider the
humanity problems, the slum conditions, which cry to high
heaven for reform. When these things are called to his
attention he blithely speaks of the beauties and blessings of
poverty; he tells of the poor boys who have become great;
he says that sickness and disease and degradation and squalor
are due to carelessness, vice, bad management, and drunken-
ness; and as a sop to conscience he gives a few dollars to
L7/
[VII-m] ‘THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
'
charity. If he is the proprietor of a huge newspaper, he
hires some slick editorial writer to pen a pean of praise to
poverty like that which appeared in the New York Times:
“Perverted thus as we are in our natures, how unwelcome
at the door of life is the presence of poverty. ... Yet pov-
erty is not a curse but a blessing. So if some day Lady
Poverty stand at the door . . . fling back the creaking hinges
and let her in. Make room for her gracious presence-in the
wide guest chambers of your heart.” When our “honest”
big business man undergoes rough experiences in the profit-
hunting campaign, he motors about town in a jaunty style with
an expensive cigar in his mouth, thus lulling the suspicions
of creditors. When he is jubilantly gathering in the shekels
he goes afoot in.a shabby suit, talks of “hard times,” so as
to attract as little attention as possible from the treasurer of
the local hospital and similar annoying people, such as tax-
gathering and donation-gathering officials. He also wishes
to be able to plead poverty when his employes demand fairer
wages. He worships at the shrine of Industrial Efficiency,
where the golden text is “More profits, less overhead,” and
whose patron saint is Henry Ford. To him the words of a
Garvin are especially soothing: “Karl Marx, the mid-Vic-
torian Calvin of economics, is dead as a dodo. The practical,
original Henry Ford, as the symbol of high wages and profit
sharing, is the real spirit of the morning!” He fails to see
that neither the Ford scheme nor the ‘Marx socialism nor the
present industrial tyranny can be a worthy or permanent
system for an enlightened humanity. It never enters his
head to bring the dynamic of the spirit of Jesus into the
factory and the office and the mine.
Once in a while, in an unguarded moment, a capitalist sees
the truth and speaks out. “I have resolved,’ said the late
Cleveland H. Dodge during the war when he was selling
copper to the government at a big profit, “that not one red
cent of this blood money shall stick to these fingers!” He
felt that the dollars he gained from copper sold to make
bullets to kill men was blood money. But is it not equally
true that money made from the enslavement and the oppres-
sion of millions of lives, profits built up on the prostrated
and destitute bodies of men and women is blood money? The.
crushed and exhausted millions who feed the modern indus-
178 , ‘
THE NEW HONESTY [VII-m]
trial wine-press are as truly pouring out their life blood for
the fattening of rich plutocrats as if their bodies were actual-
ly devoured in cannibalistic style. In the rayless, sordid,
horrible, industrial city slum we see, also, the utterly de-
structive results of an economic system, which is the source,
as William Dean Howells truly said, “of almost all the sins
and shames that ever were.” “In the body ofthis death,”
he confesses, “they fester and corrupt forever.” As long
as we tolerate a wage system which is unfair, an exploita-
tion system ‘by which private persons greedily exhaust natural
resources for personal profit, a ruthless system of com-
petition by which smaller businesses are put out of com-
mission—as long as we have the dishonesty which prates of
honor with one breath and burglarized profits with the next,
we shall have the conditions which warrant thé statement
that “modern wage slaves in their tenement hovels are worse
off than chattel slaves on their quiet farms.” We shall have
human beings, as Robert Browning says,
+
. born slaves, bred slaves,
Branded in the blood and bone slaves!”
And we shall have a country, not the land of the free and
the home of the brave, but the land of the cheat and the home
of the slave. Lowell was not telling fairy stories when he
penned these prophetic lines:
“Slavery, the earth-born Cyclops, fellest of the giant brood,
Son of brutish Force and/ Darkness, who have drenched the
earth with blood,
Famished in his self-made desert, blinded by our purer day,
Gropes in yet unblasted regions for his miserable prey;
Shall we guide his gory fingers where our helpless children
play?”
VII
We hear much these days about crime and the checking
of it. Make the punishments severe, say some. Cut out the
maudlin sentimentality, say others. Even the Chief Justice
deplores the fact that “the sentimentality of many develops
into an obstructing sympathy for bloody-handed murderers
179
[VII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
who are brought to justice, leading to efforts to prevent the
execution of sentences.” But in all this silly talk about check-
ing crime one rarely hears a single clear statement about the
root reasons for criminality. To try to stop the petty crimes
of individuals while the hideous social crime of industrial
slavery lasts is the grossest kind of hypocrisy. It is like trying
to dam Niagara with a sheet of paper. The origin of ninety
per cent of crime may be described in three steps:
I. Society creates the city slum and the wage struggle for
existence,
2. A child is born in a dirty hovel of the slum and faces
the hopeless struggle.
3. Deformed from birth and despair-stricken by economic
conditions the child grows to be a criminal. Whose fault?
We deny human beings moral rights; then demand they be
morally right. We build society on the backs of crushed hu-
manity; then tell them to get up. The economic order grinds
out multitudes morally and mentally and physically exhausted;
we then condemn. this social grist for being what they are.
The repulsive mob with its crimes and horrors is not the
product of itself, but the normal product of that ruthless in-
dustrial war waged for property at the expense of humanity.
“From possessions,” said Richard Wagner, “which have be-
come private property, and which now, strangely enough, are —
regarded as the very foundation of good order spring all the
crimes of myth and history!”
When anyone attempts to point out these facts about in-
dustrial injustice, which, to a truly honest man, cry to high
heaven for attention, the safe, satisfied rich begin their call-
ing names: “Radical! Bolshevik! Pessimist!” They say,
“Peace, peace, all is well!” And one will be willing to grant
the statement of Charles Stelzle that “in every human re- |
lationship standards of practice have been definitely lifted
higher.” But the fact is that they are nowhere near high
enough. The real pessimist is the man who thinks no re-
form is possible because things are as good as they ever can
be. Where would we be today were it not for the great re-
formers of the past who laid their martyred lives upon the
altar of progress? False optimism is not only real pessimism,
but the most mischievous and cowardly betrayal of human ©
destiny anyone can imagine. For it paralyzes the power and
180
‘THE NEW HONESTY [VII-m]
‘enthusiasm of social amelioration at its very source. The
spirit of revolt against the hypocritical social crimes of our
day is not pessimism, but militant optimism, the source of all
radical reform. Let Ernest Crosby speak to us of its mean-
ing:
“Hail, spirit of revolt! Thou spirit of life,
Child of eternal love—.
- Love, rebelling against lovelessness—life rebelling against
death ;
Rise at last to the full measure of thy birthright,
Spurn the puny weapons of hate and oppression.
Fix rather thy calm, burning protesting eyes on all the myriad
shams of man and they will fade away in thinnest air.
Gaze upon thy gainsayers until they see and feel the truth
and love that begat and bore thee.
Thus and thus only give form and body to the noblest aspira-
tions.
And we shall then see done on earth as it is in heaven
God’s ever-living, growing, ripening will.”
Vill
As we contemplate, then, this vast social hypocrisy, whereby
wolves of selfishness masquerade as honest citizens, covering
their brutal, arrogant, wholly unashamed sin with the sheep’s
cloak of public approval, reaping their wealth from the pros-
trate bodies of brother-men and displaying the offending
tokens of their iniquity in infuriating luxuries, even at a
- time when little children die like flies of pestilence and starva-
tion, and while men tramp the streets, hungry and bitter-
hearted and tired, looking for work, this conviction grows
upon us that it is only as the radically honest and intensely
humane spirit of Jesus Christ permeates the hearts of all
men shall we arrive at a solution! But in this crisis what is
his church doing? Precious little! There are prophets who
take their lives and reputations in their hands and dare to
condemn wickedness in high places. But the church as a
whole has shown a marked reluctance to face the facts of
industrial despotism. This is partly due to a remote and
nebulous notion as to what Jesus really wants. But the fal-
181
[VII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
’
tering hesitation of the church, in the presence of gross social
iniquity, in applying to the situation the dynamic of Jesus’
gospel, is due not so much to ignorance but to deceitful
Pharisaism which caresses social sinners to keep the money-
bags full.
The disrepute of the church among the laborers, and the
defection of multitudes of the working people from its folds,
is due primarily to this prostitution of the truth of Chris-
tianity by the moneyed groups which wield the controlling
influence in the institution supposedly founded by a Nazarene
peasant carpenter, “I was them carried in spirit to the mines,”
says John Woolman in a passage which penetrates to the
heart of this hypocrisy, “where poor oppressed people were
digging rich treasures for those called Christians, and heard
them blaspheme the name of Christ, at which I was grieved
for his name to me was precious. I was then informed that
these heathens were told that those who oppressed them were
the followers of Christ, and they said among themselves, ‘Tf
Christ directed them to use us in this sort, then Christ is a_
cruel tyrant!”
But the real Jesus is the best friend the working people
have. He is conscious of their sufferings—he will find hands
and hearts to bring hope and release, as Margaret Sangster
so truly sings:
“He sees though we make Him unseeing,
He knows when the factory wheels
Grind down the life-blood of children;
When the poor little bond-servant kneels
In the pang of its frightful abasement ;
Though all are deaf to its prayer,
There is coming a dark day of judgment,
And the Lord of the child will be there.”
A newer and truer evangelism is calling for servants of
Jesus, the Lord of justice and humanity. It is the divine
ardor of a new enthusiasm which seeks to change the sys-
tem of things and rescue thousands of lives where the old
evangelism saved one. It is an evangelism inspired by a
genuine solicitude for the welfare of human beings. It seeks
to lay the axe at the root of the evil economic tree upon which
182
be
THE NEW HONESTY [VII-m]
all manner of immoralities grow as natural fruits. Moses’
first step in leading the Israelites into the disciplines of the
New Covenant was the demand upon Pharaoh to free them
from slavery. Paul’s first clarion call of Christian liberty
was the deliverance of a whole people from bondage to the
Jewish law. The Pilgrim’s first move in the adventure for
the new freedom was to go out from under the yoke of a
religious despotism. Lincoln’s first step in the development
of the African Negro was emancipation from chattel slavery.
The new social evangelism is based on the earnest conviction
that the spiritual salvation of the individual begins with the
liberation of the whole people from the curse of economic
servitude. This is the supreme task of the modern church
and no pious subterfuge proposing to save individuals in
miraculous manner or by pious mysticism can take its place.
This vision, this ardor, this enthusiasm for social justice
will work out into detail as the spirit of it permeates the
fabric of all social life. Broadly speaking, prophets can now
perceive that the solution of the problem lies in such a spir-
- itualization of individuals and organizations as to make the
world a place where every soul born into the world will be
equally secure in the material means and social resources
- needful for a complete life. Upon this new spiritual plane
of society natural resources will be considered as the property
of the whole community to be administered for the wel- |
fare of all alike. The necessities of life, coal and iron and
lumber and meat and food, will not be exploited by a few
for personal profit any more than select individuals bottle and
sell sunshine and fresh air now. Municipal control of in-
dustry will prevail, and merit will be rewarded at its true .
value. In all industrial production the main business will not
be the article produced, although that will have its impor-
tance, but the bodily welfare, liberty, and spiritual education
of men and women. And the crowning goal of the new
evangelism will be the carrying of the spirit of the Chris-
tian Cross into the market square, the enthronement of the
Christian Heart in the commercial world. This is what
Jesus means by the leaven of the Kingdom of Heaven: the
influence of his truth, honesty, mercy, and love amidst the
perplexity and strife of the present world system. His day
is coming; help it come!
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[VII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
IX
One other battle on the side of sincerity must be fought,
and that is the struggle to make the Christianity of the
churches more truly the religion of Jesus. At the decadent
condition of the churches many people are filled with a deep
and depressing gloom. Like Joshua they feel that God has
failed his people and they cry out: “Alas, O Lord Jehovah,
wherefore hast Thou at all brought this people over the Jor-
dan, to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, to cause
us to perish? O Lord, what shall I say . . . and what wilt
Thou do for Thy great name?” (Josh. 7:7-9.) But God’s
answer to Joshua is a good warning in our present plight:
“Get thee up! the fault is your own! You have sinned; there-
fore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies!
In obedience you have failed, you have not been loyal to my
truth, your inconsistencies and hypocrisies have come before
me, and I promise you no success until these are remedied!”
One serious matter of insincerity which has crippled the _
church everywhere is that of money. Most churches are woe-
fully weak financially because so-called Christians do not
take their church financial responsibilities seriously at all.
Where men do give liberally to the church life, as is the case
in many aristocratic churches, it is found that an even more
profound element of dishonesty enters in: men imagine they
can buy the Christian life, and that when they have. dis-
charged certain moneyed debts the salvation of the Holy
Spirit is upon them.. The mere paying of money into the
coffers of the church is no substitute for a full-orbed, right
serviceable life, as an incident in the early church bears out:
“Simon saw that the holy Spirit was imparted through the
laying on of hands, so he offered them money, saying, ‘Give
me also this power to communicate the holy Spirit to anyone.
I place my hands upon.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Go to de-
struction with your money, for thinking you could buy God’s
gift with it! You have no share or part in this movement,
for your heart-is not honest in the sight of God. So repent
of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord, to see
if you may not be forgiven for thinking of such a thing. For
TI see that you are a bitter poison and a bundle of iniquity!”
(Goodspeed’s Translation, Acts 8:18-23.)
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Not only are the people of the churches guilty of financial
disloyalty, but they have taken the wonderful religion of
Jesus with its life-giving power, its naturalness and reality
and everyday livability, and out of it they have made an
artificial, unreal, archaic cult of deadly formalism. Within
the close walls and arid atmosphere of the modern church
the dynamic energies of the great spirituai Christ have been
smothered until we have in many cases, instead of a power-
house for radiant, heroic, soulful adventure, a quiet, digni-
fied museum of credal and ritual antiquities. No wonder J.
R. Lowell characterized the restlessness within the church
in such startling language: “. . a struggle for fresh air,
in which, if the windows could not be opened, there was
danger that panes would be broken, though painted with
images of saints and martyrs. Light, coloured by these rev-
erend effigies, was none the more respirable for being pic-
turesque.”
That the gulf between religion and reality has worked harm
to the cause of Christianity may be seen in several quarters.
For example, we hear John Baillie, reporting on the religion
of the Armies in the War, saying: “Some eighty per cent of
the prime manhood of Great Britain and America stand in
little or no living relation to organized Christianity, and be-
hind their indifference there is a strong and rising tide of
feeling that religion, as it is presented to them in the Chris-
tian Church, is out of touch with reality and with the real
business of life. They do possess faith; faith at least in
duty and in the rightness of doing the right thing. . . . But
they do not know how essentially Christian are such faith
and loyalty, nor do they think of these things as having much
connection with what is commonly known as religion.” And
Francis Miller, speaking for the students of America, says
in words which sound strangely similar: ‘What college men
need is a faith which sees all the facts, fears no scientific
discovery, takes into account every natural law and in the face
of the sternest conclusions which these facts may necessitate,
can turn to Jesus on the Cross and find in him God actively
at work redeeming human life. . . . They are hungering for
greater reality!” Are we going to give it to them? Are we
going to achieve in our day a religion which at all costs
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[VII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
eliminates the hypocrisy of theological subterfuge and’ gets
down to the realities of human need and scientific truth?
We must make Christianity itself remorselessly and totally
honest. If we do not do this, we shall be raising up-a genera-
tion of youth who inevitably will come to think like Nietzsche:
“T call Christianity the one great curse, the one great intrinsic
depravity, the one great instinct of revenge, for which ne
expedient is sufficiently poisonous, secret, subterranean, mean
—I call it the one immortal blemish of mankind.’ Whether
Nietzsche rants against Christianity because he has seen its
perverted counterpart in churches or because he is violently
opposed to the message of Jesus itself, one finds it hard to
say. But this at least is sure: the future Christianity will
be open to just such bitter Nietzschean criticism if the Church
continues on down the road to superstition which leads to
Endor. It is the road leading back to old magical beliefs,
supernatural theologies, dead creeds. That backward road is
the way to confusion. .
“Oh, the road to Endor is the oldest road,
But the craziest road of all!
Straight it runs to the Witch’s abode,
As it did in the days of Saul;
And nothing has changed of the sorrow in store
For such as go down on the road to Endor!”
The church needs now as never before a tremendous trust
in the power of truth. Church leaders must be possessed of
a dogged veracity, a remorseless fidelity to truth which will
put to rest the fears of the younger generation that the
church is primarily a club of dishonest thinkers. Men like
Dean Inge, Prof. L. P. Jacks, and Dr. Fosdick are contribut-
ing mightily to the salvation of Christianity through their
refreshing honesty in religious thinking. “Candour, moral
courage, intellectual honesty, scrupulous accuracy, chivalrous
fairness, endless docility to facts, disinterested collaboration,
unconquerable hopefulness and perseverance, manly renun-
ciation of popularity and easy honours, . . . these and many
other cognate qualities,” says Baron von Hugel, “bear upon
them the impress of God and His Christ.” The more the
mists of pious credalism disappear, the more real and won-
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PUI ESNEWCTLONES TY [VII-m]
derful and bea ,tiful shines forth the lovely Face of the living
Christ. The nearer we come to his Truth, the more earnestly
do we set about the living of it. And the only thing that can
make Christianity thoroughly honest is for us who are pro-
fessing Christians to place the Master’s message seriously in
the center of our living. ‘One of the greatest hours in Chris-
tian history,’ says Dr. Fosdick, “will have struck when once
more the religion of Jesus takes the center of the scene!”
x
We have seen, in the discussion of this chapter, that Jesus’
solution for many of life’s most difficult problems is a pure
amd unalloyed frankness, a transparent simplicity, a deep
and searching standard of honesty. In the last analysis,
however, we must see clearly that the fight for a true life
is no child’s play. The man who sets out to fight the battle
of truth must expect hardship, grim opposition, possibly mar-
tyrdom. Being through and through an honest man makes
playing safe out of the question. The man who keeps the bark
of his life steered straight according to the polestar of the
ideal must often beat right into the teeth of the wind, right
through the fiercest storms. History’s roll-call of heroic ideal-
ists is nothing but a list of martyrs who died in disgrace
rather than be found false. Such was Woodrow Wilson:
“Condemn him if you will! “His is the place
Of honor in our land, due every man
Whose soul has glimpsed ideals and whose heart
Has fought to prove them true!
He was lone out-post for that world-old hope
Humanity can never quite release;
He gave his heart, his life, his soul, to hold
Our eyes upon the gleam of lasting peace.
If he was right (God knows he may have been!)
Come, bring heart-laurel for his sleeping head!
If he was wrong, still true his heart and brave
His fight; his place is with our soldier dead.”
When we look, however, for a pure example of perfect
sincerity, for one who lived for truth, who made the will
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[VII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
of God his meat and drink, we pass by the Napoleons,’ the
_ Alexanders, the mighty captains of earth to a humble Gali-
lean. Here was a true life, like a perfect star, shining with
glorious constancy . . . and still shining! The poor he loved,
but with no patronizing air of superiority. The heavy doors
of base prejudice and gross unbelief were closed against him,
but with infinite patience he beat his bruised and bleeding
knuckles upon them until all marveled at his loyalty. He
_ smote with all the acid of his keen tongue the wily hypo-
crite who sheltered under his robe of sanctimonious piety
a false and selfish heart. He tore from life’s shams the mask
of pretense and showed the world the hidden shame and all
deceit. He went down to the outcasts and distressed of life,
and redeemed them with a simple and wonderful faith. In
his soul there throbbed a divine melody of God’s spirit which
was transmitted to other hearts until the same holy vibra-
tions of faith and hope and love were set going there. He
followed his light, never faltering in suffering, in doubt or in
death!
_ We have the chance to be as true as Jesus was, to achieve
the same magnificent freedom he achieved. But we manacle
ourselves with falsehood. We shackle ourselves. with dis-
honesty and insincerity. We shrink from the tremendous
demands of facing the whole truth. Too many of us desert
the Christ, the Captain of Truth, to become prisoners in the
land of sham! To seek truth is to find freedom. To achieve
trueness is the best contribution we make to life: true to our
fellowmen, that is the best citizenship; true to God, that is —
the best religion; true to the best in ourselves, that is the
best manhood or womanhood!
“Who are the free?
They who have scorned the tyrant and his rod,
And bowed in worship unto none but God;
They who have made the conqueror’s glory dim, —
Unchained in soul, though manacled in limb,
Unwarped by prejudice, unawed by wrong,
Friend to the weak and fearless to the strong;
They who would change not with the changing hour,
The selfsame men in peril and in power,
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THE NEW HONESTY [VIL-q]
True to the law of right, as warmly prone
To grant another’s as maintain their own,
Foes of dishonesty, wheresoe’er it be,
These are the proudly free!”
O God, our Father, Source of Truth and Light, forgive, we
pray Thee, the conspiracy of unworthy living which confuses
our complex world. Deliver us from all blood-guiltiness, all
trickery and dishonesty and deceit, by which we betray our
brother-man. Help us, we beseech Thee, to achieve the beauty
of a true life. -Create in us a clean heart, O God! And may
the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts
and the deeds of our days be always acceptable in Thy sight,
O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer, Amen.
LIFE QUESTIONS
1. “God is everywhere and all words are uttered in his
presence; therefore truth is of universal obligation.” (Bishop
Gore.) In the light of this fact, give your opinion of swearing
on oath, of profanity, of perjury.
2. “To me it seems that the history of civilization is made
up of a mass of repetitions of one never-ending truth: The
intellect discovers error and treasures it; the eye discovers
all the truth that later ages will endorse.’ (Henshaw Ward.)
Is this statement true? What does it suggest as to the way
we arrive at reality?
3. What do you consider the one outstanding insincerity
in modern life?
4. “Why is it that a concern which does not render service
enough to make profits is permitted to use. our ‘labor of
which we have not too great a supply, or our capital, which
is always difficult to get?” (Owen D. Young.)
Notice carefully this question of a great corporation leader.
Can you discover any fallacious assumptions behind it?
Is making profits the measure of service? What does the
speaking of capital and labor in terms of use and_ supply
suggest as to the attitude of big business toward the labor-
ing man? Is it Christian to think of the masses as things
to be used, a supply to be dipped out like water or dug up
like dirt?
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[VII-q] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
s. “It is organized industry that has brought abont the
present unprecedented development in this country... .”
(Andrew W. Mellon.)
Analyze the truth or falsity of this statement by asking
yourself these questions: What element in the industrial ma-
chine is indispensable in all production? Is this boasting of
big industrial activity based on benefits to all the people or
a privileged few? Can you think of anything that would be
better for a country than “unprecedented industrial develop-
ment”?
6. “It is our duty to fight against this religion of imperial-
istic civilization. Since the invasion of Christianity in China
thousands of men-of-war and guns have followed on the
heels of the missionaries who come to us clad in black gowns
and carrying banners of evangelistic volunteers. Many ports
have been yielded, concessions have been granted and mil-
lions of dollars of indemnity have been paid.” (Chinese Anti-
Christian Poster.)
What is the most serious handicap Christianity has?
7. “It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be
mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in
believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to be-
lieve what he does not believe.” (Thomas Paine.) ;
Can a man be honest with himself if he publicly professes
something which he does not believe? if he believes something
which he does_not live?
8. “For many hereditary Christians certain types of sins
are practically impossible . . . by an inhibition which is more
a matter of etiquette and taste than of conscience. But at
the same time you know that the most appalling sins of the
disposition—jealousy, malicious gossip, resentment at the prec-
edence of another, irreverence, misconstruction of motives,
parochialism, the itch for human recognition, reprehensible
ignorance, pride—that sins like these are rampant in our
church life and almost unchecked.” (Johnston Ross.)
Has the church been honestly and earnestly trying to know
God’s will and to do it?
9. “Is corn to grow by method, and character by caprice?
If we cannot calculate to a certainty that the forces of re-
ligion will do their work, then is religion vain. And if we
cannot express the law of these forces in simple words, then
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THE NEW HONESTY [VII-q]
is Christianity not the world’s religion, but the world’s conun-
drum!” (Henry Drummond.)
Has Christianity proved itself a reliable religion in meet-
ing and solving the world’s problems?
10. Did Jesus ever play safe? Did he ever play politics?
Did he ever trim the truth to suit the members of the syna-
gogue? Did he ever hedge and dodge issues to satisfy the
leading men of Jerusalem, the church and its rich men?
What is your definition of a martyr?
IOI
CHAPTER VIII
Conquest of Evil in the
New Day
DAILY READINGS
The Great War was an ulcer on the body politic, a reveal-
ing symptom of an underlying disease. The blood of the
nations was poisoned with the old virus of a faith in force.
The catastrophe was the natural result of an unhealthy re-
liance upon physical power, invented in laboratories, produced
in munition factories, stored in arsenals, and resident in ar-
mies. A combination of scientific discovery, military effi-
ciency, and political ambition, with the “reeking tube and
iron shard” philosophy, conspired to leave Europe demolished
and the world shaken. Since the war Fascism in Italy, Sov-
ietism in Russia, dictatorships in Spain, Poland, Greece, and
Turkey seem to suggest that the nations did not learn any
lesson concerning the futility of force. While international
friendship seems to be increasing, the nations never were
more frankly putting their trust in the rule of the iron arm.
Under these conditions is human government safe?
In the daily readings and discussion of this chapter we
shall study the safest way, in the long run, for nations as well
as individuals. Our thesis might be put in the five words of
John Bright: “Force is not a remedy!” Or, better yet, in the
words of an earlier prophet: “Not by might, nor by power,
but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Zech. 4: 6:)
Eighth Week, First Day
Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into
his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with
the sword.—Matt. 26: 52. ;
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CONQUEST OF EVIL IN THE NEW DAY [VIII-2]
Strange, isn’t it, that these words have been known for
nineteen centuries,~ yet the principle enshrined scarcely ap-
plied? Nation after nation, group after group, however, has
taken the sword and perished by it. Even Christians have
backed their ambitions with the instruments of brute force
only to find that the very stars in their courses fight against
- him who tries to overthrow by physical might. For a long
time we have been praising our theological Christ and dis-
obeying our teaching Christ. And here is one of his teach-
ings which the modern world needs tremendously to learn:
Violence is self-destructive; he that lifts the sword shall
perish by it!
Why should this be true? One might as well ask why gravi-
tation should be true. It is the way our world is constructed.
It is a God-ordained law that when a man employs force
to destroy another he sets going a series of events which
may eventually destroy him. In the long run it always works
out that when a man sows violence a man reaps violence. But
the employment of physical violence is never justifiable, not
only because it destroys both violator and violated, but also
because it is futile to overcome evil or to accomplish any
good intention.
The complete elimination of the necessity for arms was
Jesus’ method. It is impossible to imagine him, under any
conditions, taking a heavy sword and cutting off a man’s
head. An extract from Raymond’s travels in the Pyrenees
reflects the spirit of the Master: “These smugglers are
familiarized at all times with peril, and would be a subject
of dread to most travelers. . . . As for myself, alone and
unarmed, 1 have met them without anxiety, and have ac-
companied them without fear. Armed I should have been ©
their enemy, unarmed they have respected me. . . . I have
long since laid aside all menacing apparatus whatever. The
man of peace among mankind has a much more sacred de-
fence—his character!”
Eighth Week, Second Day
“When Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his
wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her
hand and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered
unto them.—Matt. 8: 14-15.
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[VIll-3} .° THE MASTER'S MESSAGE
With a few exquisite strokes the writer here gives us a
little window through which we can see one of the’ most
beautiful characteristics of the Master’s character—his gentle-
ness, With infinite tenderness he ministers to the mother of
Peter’s wife and the vibrant touch of that gentle hand so re-
vives her spirit that she can rise and serve the guests. ‘The
first true gentleman that ever breathed” sang a poet about
him. And if there was ever a man supremely gentle, it was
he. He was a gentle man, but he was not a weak man. The
self-control of quiet patience 1s a greater power than the
brutal might which gives blow for blow. More strength is
required to keep. the calm way of love than to express the
impulse of unguarded hatefulness. The sensitive soul of
Jesus shrank instinctively from lifting the fist to give in-
jury. He shunned with abhorrence the coarse, crude, re-
vengeful spirit of the hardened man of the world. _He was
constantly on his guard lest he be guilty of giving pain. Here
- was an extremist, if you will, an extremist in the art of gentle-
NESS.
Concerning no virtue is the New Testament more unani-
mous. The servant of the Lord must be gentle (II Tim.
2:24); the characterististic of the apostles is that they are as
gentle as a nurse (I Thess. 2:7); gentleness is declared to
be one of the chief fruits of spirituality (Gal. 5:22); gentle
meekness is the required attitude toward all men (Titus_3:2) ;
and violent men are exhorted to turn from their evil in the
very name of the gentleness of the Christ (II Cor. 10:1).
“Oh! let the ungentle spirit learn from hence,
A small unkindness is a great offence.
Large bounties to restore we ‘wish in vain,
But all may shun the guilt of giving pain!
So trifles make the sum of human things,’
And half our misery from this weakness springs:
We learn not life’s best gifts of help and strength
Proceed from peaceful gentleness at length!”
Eighth Week, Third Day
This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as
your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of
this bread shall live forever. These things said he in the
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CONQUEST OF EVIL IN THE NEW DAY [VIII-3]
synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of
his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard
saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself
that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth
this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man
ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that
quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I
speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there
are some of you that believe not. . From that time many
of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.—
John 6: 58-66.
The opposing powers of the world are not personalities
but thought values; therefore the warfare is located in the’
realm of the mind and spirit. The real struggle is a spiritual
one: low ideals vs. high ideals, evil powers vs. noble powers.
The powers that move, control, and determine the world are
primarily subjective. Matter is passive; mind is active. Mat-
ter is ruled and flesh is shaped by the sovereign spirit. Paul
described this fact when he said: “We wrestle not against
flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places!” (Eph. 6:12.) And Jesus
put his finger on the real dynamic of life when he said: “The
flesh profiteth nothing; these words of truth which I speak
to you, they are spirit and they are life!” Not strong right
arms, nor bullets, nor knives, nor clubs, nor votes, nor mighty
organizations, nor anything else on earth but these noble
ideals of justice and truth and love, these are the leaven
which will undermine and topple every evil kingdom to set
up the sway of the righteousness of the one true God!
Some of Christ's followers had no faith in this kind of
thing. They did not believe in anything but material forces;
they were not thoroughly spiritual, therefore they turned
and walked no more with the Master (just exactly what many
do today). At last he hung dying on a cross and the last
thing his eyes saw was the great, foul, reeking city of Jeru-
salem, emblematic of the sordidness of all the Roman Empire.
When he had walked with them, they pleaded with him to
organize an army and strike the iniquitous social order and
the oppressive system of organized slavery. Because he would
not work with the point of the sword, they turned and left
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[VIII-4] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
him. But he smiled, and planted in the minds of a few
fishermen his flaming ideals of justice. Peacefully he totiched
the hearts of a few peasants with a glowing and wondrous
love. Quietly he imparted to the souls of his friends mighty
truths. Then nothing seemed to happen, until these ideals began
to work from heart to heart and slowly but surely through
the centuries these things have transformed the structure of
the world. Truly the ways of the flesh profit nothing, but
it is the spirit which quickeneth powerfully. All great seers
have seen this, and W. L. Garrison has nobly repeated the
method of Jesus in modern words: “I believe in the spirit
of peace, and in sole and absolute reliance on truth and the
application of it to the hearts and consciences of people. I
do not believe that the weapons of liberty ever have been,
or can be, the weapons of despotism. The sword, the re-
volver, the cannon, the bomb-shell are weapons to which ty-
rants cling and they are not the weapons for me as a friend
of liberty!”
Kighth Week, Fourth Day
But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up
to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and
ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake,
for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be
published among all nations. But when they shail lead
you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what
ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever
shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not
ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Now the brother shall
betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and ©
children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause
them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men
for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end,
the same shall be saved.—Mark 13: 9-13.
Jesus promises that the path of the patient Christian will
not be safe in the worldly sense at all. He prophesies in the
following of truth a steep cliff all stony with terrible tests and
hardships. Delivered up to savage councils, brutally beaten
in misunderstanding churches, dragged before austere rulers
and cruel kings—these are the tests. It is as the holy spirit —
of patient endurance speaks through his saints under such
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CONQUEST OF EVIL IN THE NEW DAY [VIII-5]
circumstances that Christ’s gospel of love will be testified to.
We bear witness by suffering joyfully for his name’s sake,
by enduring unto the end.
A little insight will show us that every unreasonable de-
mand is a stepping stone to greatness! Every excessive and
unnatural outrage against us borne patiently and cheerfully
and forgivingly so much exalts our own characters. Like
the martyrs of the ages we can make golden opportunities
out of monstrous inhumanities! For a brother to suffer be-
trayal by his own brother, for a father to suffer injury at
the hands of his own son, for a parent to suffer death at the
hands of one’s own child, seems almost too much to bear.
But even here the unresisting submission of a disciple of the
meek King will win the crown. Not safe always, in the
physical sense, but saved in the spiritual sense will they be
who suffer unto to the end to gain the quiet victory of re-
proachless courage. Henry Taylor’s poem perfectly describes
the spirit of the hero of non-resistance:
“What makes a hero?—an heroic mind
Expressed in action, in endurance proved.
And if there be preeminence of right,
Derived through pain well suffered, to the height
Of rank heroic, ’tis to bear unmoved
Not toil, not risk, not rage of sea or wind,
Not the brute fury of barbarians blind,
But worse—ingratitude and poisonous darts,
~Launched by the people he had served and loved:
This, with a free, unclouded spirit pure,
This, in the strength of silence to endure,
_A dignity to noble deeds imparts,
Beyond_the gauds and trappings of renown.
This is the hero’s compliment and crown;
This missed, one struggle had been wanting still—
One glorious triumph of the heroic will,
_ One self-approval in his heart of hearts!”
Eighth Week, Fifth Day
But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding
cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from
the field, Go and sit down to meat? and will not rather say
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[VIII-5] “THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird
thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and
afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that
servant because he did the things that were commanded
him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done
all those things which are commanded you, say, We are
unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our
duty to do.—Luke 17: 7-10. .
A noble martyred nurse of the World War, Edith Cavell,
gave us an immortal line of truth when she said: “I see
now that patriotism is not enough, I must die without hatred
toward anyone!” Anyone who aims at the heights of life
will soon come to see that duty is not enough, that it is only
as we serve “over and beyond the line of the duty” that we
win the service cross of life. In our parable for today we
read of a servant who did his duty. He ploughed the field,
fed the cattle, prepared supper for his master and probably
cleared the table off and washed and dried the dishes. But
at the close of the parable he is spoken of as an unprofitable
servant, because he had done his duty and no more.
The profitable servant is the man who does more than his
duty. He never shrinks from a burden laid upon him, but
with yielding spirit and meek submission he will do twice or
thrice what anyone expects of him. He dves double duty on
every task because he sees it as another opporunity in God’s’
Providence for deeper and deeper inward joy. Like Nanak,
the sixteenth century Hindu, he says: “If people ill-use me
and take advantage of me, I will still bear it all meekly!” His
is the spirit of the slaves of the south emerging from the
burdens and duress of slavery days patient and humble, and
untainted by bitterness. In this yielding, second-mile spirit,
which fights not against force but submits, surrenders, labors
beyond what is to be expected, there is something eminently
and uniquely Christian. Are we unprofitable servants who
have done our duty and no more, or are we on the double-
duty honor roll?
“Yield a little to a brother!
Sometimes yielding is a grace;
If it smooths life for another,
Yield a point with smiling face.
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CONQUEST OF EVIL IN THE NEW DAY [VIII-6]
“Yield your way—if it be better,
Prove it by the yielding test;
It will leave someone your debtor
When he finds your way is best.
“Yield your comfort to some other
Whom but few have thought to please—
Find your comfort in the brother
Whose sad load you help to ease.”
Eighth Week, Sixth Day
When they therefore were come together, they asked of
him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the
kingdom of Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for
you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father
hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power,
after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall
be witnesses unto me both in’ Jerusalem, and in all Judea,
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth —
Acts 1: 6-8.
The disciples were impatient. They could not wait. They
were wondering if God was going to do His part and they
were forgetting their own part. Besides, they were anxious
to have the new kingdom set up as soon as possible so they
might have lucrative and comfortable positions. But Jesus
corrected their impatient spirit. “Trust in God and do your
own part,” he advised. “Be witnesses of the holy spirit’s
“power in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts
ot the earth, and through you the Father will work His
will in His own good time!”
One of the main reasons why we use brute force to accom-
plish our desires is that we do not trust God enough. We
would need no mortal defense, no overt violence if we trusted
completely in him. And this trust is no blind belief in an
absentee God. It is a wise, discriminating confidence that
the supreme secret of the universe ts the power and pre-
dominancy of Spirit. It is a belief that love in the long run
works better than anything else. It is an assurance that truth
is ultimately triumphant, that the scales of justice are in-
1990
{VIII-7] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
evitably righted by the strong right arm of God. Secure is
he alone that trusteth in the power of the heavenly spirit!
“O clothe us with thy heavenly armour, Lord,
Thy trusty shield, Thy sword of love divine;
Our inspiration be Thy constant word;
We ask no victories that are not Thine:
Give or ‘withhold, let pain or pleasure be,
Enough to know that we are serving Thee!”
Eighth Week, Seventh Day
And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders,
-he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest
thou not how many things they witness against thee? And
he answered him never a word.—Matt. 27: 12-14.
_ And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and
to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the serv-
ants did strike him with the palms of their hands.—Mark
14: 65.
And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put
it on his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed
the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King
of the Jews. And they spit upon him, and took the reed,
and smote him on the head. And after they had mocked
him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own
raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.—Matt.
273 29-31.
The meek, unresisting, uncomplaining fortitude with which
Jesus faced the cruelties of the trial and crucifixion are the
surest signs of his greatness. Perhaps the best name we
‘can think up for him is the Hefo of Longsuffering. Yet
‘how wondrously strong his meekness appears now beside the
brutalities of his oppressors. While there was but the con-
fusion of hatred and the tempest of anger in the hearts of
his enemies, through it all in his great soul was the quiet
‘peace and profound calm of the heart of a little child. You
may talk of armies, money, horses, cities, but you will name
nothing so strong, so enduring, so powerful as this noble for-
titude of the Master. They spat on him and struck him, they
buffetted and bruised him, they mocked and scourged him,
‘but through it all he never gave one sign of reproach or re- 4
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CONQUEST OF EVIL IN THE NEW DAY [VIII-m]
sistance—not one word did he utter in protest, “He answered
nothing!” There is a beautiful negro spiritual which tells
the story in striking lines: “They crucified my Lord, they
crowned his head with thorns, they nailed him to a tree,
but he never said a mumbalin’ word!”
When Paul speaks of sharing his sufferings (Phil. 3:10),
and when Peter speaks of witnessing his sufferings (1 Peter.
5:1), what do they mean? Not some mystical appropriation
of virtue through the passion of the Savior but a real and
practical part in the purposes which prompted his patient
submission and fidelity. In the ordeal through which he
passed he was simply teaching the generations to come the
nobility and power of uncomplaining patience. He was giving
himself as an example of the way goodness must triumph.
The future of our world may depend upon the number of
men and women who see this and understand it and suffer
ignominy as he did for the great cause of truth in the world!
““VYe tired old olive trees, rigid, as if in agony,
Distorted and so greyly wrinkled, why?’
‘Save for ourselves, He was alone in His Gethsemane,
We were His comrades in the strife and victory!”
MEDITATION ON THE MASTER’S THOUGHT
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye,
and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist
not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,
turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee
at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke
also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go
with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him
that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.—Matt.
5: 38-42.
{
- Here again we find the noble mind of Jesus penetrating
through the shallow shams of the orthodox standards of the
day, revealing their baseness and inadequacy, and setting up
new and lofty ideals of the greatest generosity and most
lofty requirements. A blow in the face was a common form
of insult in first-century Palestine. Jesus says to take it
201 .
{VIII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE !
‘peacefully, yes—and turn the other side of your face for
another blow if your enemy wishes to give it! The personal
injury of such a blow was usually not great but it was con- —
sidered very humiliating. Even a slave, says Seneca, would
rather be scourged than to suffer the insulting buffet in the
face. A creditor according to law had a right to take a
‘debtor’s coat but not his cloak. Keep nothing that some one
else wants, says Jesus; give your enemy your cloak too.
Throughout the Roman Provinces there was a system of
compelled service, by which any Roman soldier had the right
to commandeer to bear his burden both beasts and men whom
he might meet on the road. The proud Jews bitterly re-
sented the enforcement of this system, and rebelled against
it at every opportunity. But there was no petty spirit of
grudging resentment in the heart of Jesus: When service
is forced upon you, no matter by whom, respond cheerfully —
and generously; give “good measure, pressed down, shaken
together, and running over” (Luke 6:38); do twice as much
as any one could possibly expect. To insulters, extortioners,
tyrants, beggars, and borrowers one uniform, yielding re-
sponse was to be given; the Christian’s conduct was to be
characterized always, not by pride and thought of self, but
by undefending meekness and thought only of others.
But these amazing ideals are rejected by our modern world. —
Wordly-wise men laugh them out of court, and pretending
Christians explain them away with plausible logic. Like
Augustine, who was so steeped in the Roman theory of auto-
cratic power that he was poles asunder from the meek simplic-
ity of the Christ, we of today, who wish to dodge the plain
meaning of Jesus’ words, still use fourth-century reasoning:
“These precepts pertain more to the preparation of the heart
within than to the work without. . . . Who would suffer
aught to be taken away from himself by an enemy, or would —
not wish to requite their mischief to the spoilers of a Roman
province by the right of war?” A typical modern author —
gasps at the very thought of applying ideals which might |
abolish the magistrate’s office and the soldier’s profession. —
To deprive a nation or an individual of their proper legal
redress seems to him the most awful situation imaginable!
When will we be honest enough to see with Saint Francis
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CONQUEST OF EVIL IN THE NEW DAY [VIII-m]
and George Fox and Leo Tolstoy and Bill Simpson that com-
plete and absolute non-resistance is the very essence of the
religion of Jesus? If Jesus did not mean these plain words
to be taken literally, directly, frankly, the way he spoke them,
then Christianity is a hodgepodge conundrum, for every
deed of Jesus’ life was an application of the teaching of this
passage! There are, of course, times when the Master does
use figurative language, when what he says cannot possibly
be applied in our lives literally. But there are two tests
which will help us to know when he is speaking literally or
not: first, did he consistently live the teaching literally in his
own experience, and second, is the living of this passage liter-
ally in accord with the will and character of God? In the
case of our present passage, the answer to these test ques-
tions is in the affirmative unquestionably. Jesus rejected the
theory of private ownership, counted nothing as his to hold
back, and went out into the world as a simple servant, a lowly
minister of all who commanded his assistance or his aid. That
is the root-principle of this passage: God is the only owner.
Not only the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof, but
man and all his works have come from God, belong to him,
and some day will go back to him. Yielding submission of
anything we are or have is therefore not unreasonable but
perfectly natural. By the very nature of life we ought to be
willing to surrender body and all property, time and energy
and all personal ability to God’s children whenever they com-
mand it. In his béautiful poem, “Where is the real Non-
resistant?” Vachel Lindsay gives us the spirit which ought
to be the outstanding virtue of every Christian on earth:
“Who can surrender to Christ, dividing his best with the
stranger,
_ Giving to each what he asks, braving the uttermost danger,
All for the enemy man? Who can surrender till death
His words and his works, his house and his lands,
His eyes and his heart and his breath?
“Who can surrender to Christ? Many have yearned toward
it daily,
Yet they surrender to passion, wildly or grimly or gaily;
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[VIII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
Yet they surrender to pride, counting her precious and
queenly ; ’
Yet they surrender to knowledge, preening their feathers
serenely.
“Who can surrender to Christ? Where is the man so trans-
cendent,
So heated with love of his kind, so filled with spirit re-
splendent
That all the hours of his day his song is thrilling and tender,
And all of his thoughts to our white cause of peace
Surrender, surrender, surrender ?”
II
One day I heard two lads talking. One said: “Do you
remember that Big War?”
“Yep,” replied the other, “that was a good war. I like big
ones like that.” ‘
“Huh!” came the answer, “you wouldn’t like it if ya’ got.
killed. There was my uncle—he got killed!”
“Did he, how?”
“Well, ya see, he was bringin’ German prisoners in and
one of ’em pulled a knife and stabbed him.”
“What did they do to the German?”
“Oh, he got his—they threw him under a locomotive!”
There is no telling if the story is accurate. It is certain,
however, that incidents like it occurred during the War.
What was the Christian thing for the German to do? To go
the second mile of submission; instead he pulled a murderous
knife! What was the Christian thing, then, for the Americans
to do? To go the second mile of forgiveness; instead they
practiced the murderous spirit of revenge. War is full of
just such cruel examples of the old law: An eye for an eye,
and a tooth for a tooth. It has always been so. Go back
to the time when pious preachers spoke of General Amherst
as “that renowned general, worthy of the most honorable of
titles, ‘the Christian hero’,” and then learn the truth about
Amherst by reading a few lines from one of his letters
where he speaks of the Indians with great contempt: “You
will do well to inoculate the Indians with smallpox by means
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CONQUEST OF EVIL IN THE NEW DAY [VIII-m]
of blankets, as well as to try every other method that can
serve to extirpate this execrable race.”
Not only in wars, ancient, medieval and modern, however,
do we find the hateful, retaliative spirit. Another humble
recollection from real life will give us reality in this matter:
another lad overheard saying something like this: “Just let.
him touch me. I'll give him (showing his muscle) some-
thing he won’t forget in a hurry!” Right down through so-
ciety today that spirit 1s everywhere. In most of us the
animal is still largely dominant. Illustrations are legion here.
A newspaper article tells of one man who spent his whole
life in one unrelenting purpose, that of getting revenge. An
article in a current, capitalistic journal urges a return to the
cruelest kind of prison conditions and wholesale execution
of criminals. Another suggests arming all the army reserve
officers with revolvers to hunt them down. An austere judge —
sentences a youth less than twenty to life-imprisonment for
burglary. One clergyman says of the bandits: ‘String ’em
up where you catch ’em!” and another says of the socialists:
“Shoot ’em down like dogs!” Imagine Christians praying
in church “Father, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
them that trespass against us!” and then going out to wreak
vicious and unChristian revenge at every chance they get.
Imagine Christians coming into the presence of a Lord who
prayed, dying, from a cross “Father, forgive them for they
know not what they do!” and then going forth with any such
principle as this: “If they slap you, slap them back twice
as hard. Be proud, and if any one injures you, get even with
him double!” No such Christianity will ever save the .world.
Indeed, such barbarous slap-back, tit-for-tat behavior, when.
carried to its logical conclusion, will make of society a dog
kennel full of snapping, barking, back-biting human bulldogs.
An anonymous writer of the sixteenth century truly dis-
criminates between the baser and nobler elements in human
society:
“Like as the gentle heart itself bewrays
In doing gentle deeds with frank delight,
Even so the baser mind itself displays
In cankered malice and revengeful spite.”
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[VIII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE —
Does the policy of prideful retaliation get anybody any-
where? As a matter of fact it is the most disappointing
process one can imagine, for never yet has any victory been
won by revenge. Never yet has anything worth while been
achieved by retaliative punishment. The patience that leaves
punishment to God—the patience that leaves readjustments —
to the inevitable, automatic processes of the universal law
which is above and beyond man’s control—that is the spirit
that always, always wins. Aisop was a wise old owl, and
he has told no more telling tale than the one of the oak and
the reed. A furious storm had uprooted the oak and left it
thrown across a stream. “I wonder how you,” says the oak
to the reed, “so light and so weak, are not entirely crushed
by these tempests.” “You fight and contend with the wind,”
replied the reed, “and so you are destroyed; while we, bend-
ing with the least breath of air, remain unbroken,” That
Washington reporter, who, beaten over the head with a
congressman’s crutch, offered no vengeful blow in return but
kept his temper in calm restraint, was, by reason of his
humility, the victor. That friend of mine, who, attacked by
a burglar in the streets of Cleveland late at night, genially
and meekly offered the bandit watch and money and friend-
ship, had the joy of seeing his meekness rewarded by the
reformation of that same midnight pickpocket. Even Musso-
lini wins our admiration, dictator and autocrat as he is, when
he says, after being shot through the nose by an assassin:
“T want no reprisals. It is my will!’ Sir James M. Barrie
has said many good things, but none better than this: “Life,”
he said in his beautiful story, “The Little Minister,” “life
is one long lesson in humility!”
ITI
Why is it that we continually learn that humility is the
best? Why does the patience of non-resistance work better
than the violent force of anger? There is a perfectly good
reason—spiritual law. Two evils never make a good—two
wrongs never make a right. But good always prevails over
evil, like the acorn rising through weeds and briars to become
king of the forest. Good always conquers evil, like the sun
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CONQUEST OF EVIL IN THE NEW DAY [VIII-m]
which dispels the mists. The bad perishes before the in-
fluence of the pure, the true, the loving, as
“Discords, quenched by meeting harmonies,
Die in the large and charitable air.”
Kindness is irresistible, if only there be enough of it. Good-
ness is unimpeachable, if there be but true faith behind it.
No brutalisms can overthrow the man who abides in the
panoply of prayer. No enemy can conquer the man who
loves him as a friend. Can man bayonet brotherliness? Can
man bombard love? Shooting at the stars to stop them from
shining is no less effectual than the attempt to conquer the
prayerful, faithful, loving heart with force. One nation some
day is going to realize this, and giving up all arms, will put
its trust solely in patience and love. It will commit itself to
the higher forces, trusting that good will prevail. When a
nation really makes this experiment a new stage of progress
+ will open up for the human race. And what if an under-
developed nation does then take advantage of that nation’s
good-will! Are not J. Brierley’s words a prophecy of the
result: “If the faith-people suffered for a time the extremi-
ties of violence, could that experience be other than a Calvary
out of which a world’s redemption would flow? Could we pity
the sufferers? Would not theirs be the greatest place in his-
tory?” There is only one safe and permanent and rational
way for truth and goodness to triumph and that is not by the
power of brute force but by the marvelous overcoming power
of good-will. Edwin Arnold saw it:
“T think that good must come of good, and ill of evil—
Surely unto all in every place or time, seeing sweet fruit
Groweth from wholesome roots, or bitter things
From poison stocks: yea, seeing, too, how spite
Breeds hate—and kindness friends—or patience peace!”
In unmistakable accents the New Testament has been saying
the same thing! “Recompense to no man evil for evil.”
(Rom. 12:17.) “Follow after faith, love, patience, meek-
ness.” (1 Tim. 6:11.) “See that no man render evil for
evil.” (1 Thess. 5:15.) “Provide things honest in the sight
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[VIII-m] THE MASTER'S MESSAGE
of all men... live peaceably with all men... dearly be-
loved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath
_ if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him
drink. : .. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with
good!” (Rom. 12: 17-21.)
In unnumbered examples history has been saying it too!
A small town in the Tyrol was founded by Christian settlers
who lived their faith, A regiment once marched to capture
it. That they might not be unprepared a friend from a neigh-
boring village ran to warn them. “Troops are coming!” he
cried. “Arm yourselves quickly or they will take the town.”
“We believe in Christ,’ replied the people, “not in arms.
If they will take it, they must.”
The soldiers came riding in, colors flying. They looked
for the enemy, but saw instead the blacksmith at his anvil,
the farmer at his plough, and the women at their spinning
wheels. The boys ran out to see the horses, the babies danced
with delight.
“Where are your soldiers?” asked the intruders.
“We have none.”
“But we have come to take the town.”
“No one will stop you.” In the military school the com-
mander had not learned how to deal with such an emergency.
“Tt is impossible to take a town like this,” he said, and the
soldiers rode out of the village. Bullets cannot touch nor
sword conquer such resistance.
Wherever we see one meeting the savagery of force with
the gentleness of good-will we see the same victory. William
Penn goes out to the American Indians. They are accustomed
to treachery and hatred; they are used to the sword and the
bullet; their territories have been stolen by selfish and un-
scrupulous adventurers. But the gentle Quaker comes to
them unarmed, with justice and mercy, and finds the savage
ready to understand love. Like answers to like. In the
breasts of those wild, untutored children of the Great Father
is a nobleness which rises to meet the noble heart of a human
brother. Paton goes to the New Hebrides and is greeted
with a shower of spears. He says to them: ‘We come to
you without weapons of war! We come only to tell you
about Jesus,” and village after village of habitual warriors,
overawed by this brave, undaunted Christian who trusts only
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CONQUEST OF EVIL IN THE NEW DAY [VII-m]
in God, surrender to this extraordinary conquest of good-will
and become happy Christians. Mary Slessor goes into the
African bush, passing from place to place amid drink-
maddened, debauched savages, unarmed and alone, sleeping
in huts and on lake shores, in weariness and many dangers,
settling disputes, casting out sorcery, onward she goes in her
peaceful victory, fearless and with perfect faith. Her con-
quest for Christ among the slum dwellers of Negroland was
based not on force but on an utter reliance upon an unfailing
power. “A _ spiritual force,’ wrote a friend, “seemed to
radiate from her when in danger.”
In all the great countries of the world today leaders are
saying the same thing! We hear Lloyd George of England
saying: ‘Europe has been drinking of armaments until it
has gotten delirium tremens and it is drinking secretly now.
We must rid ourselves of the idea that anything can be settled
by force. Whether guns or cannon, strikes or lockouts, they
belong to the barbarism of the past.” We hear the Mahatma
Gandhi of India saying: “A truthful man cannot long re-
main violent. He will perceive ... that so long as there is
the trace of violence in him, he will fail to find the truth
for which he is searching. ... The attainment of freedom,
whether for a man, a nation, or the world, must be in exact
proportion to the attainment of non-violence by each... .
Let those who believe in non-violence keep the light burning
in the present impenetrable gloom. The truth of a few will
count, the untruth of millions will vanish even like the chaff
before a whiff of wind!’ We hear President Coolidge say-
ing: “We need to substitute the method of understanding
for the method of compulsion, the method of love for the
method of force!” The whole world will come to see at
last what a great Christlike denomination, the Quakers
(Friends) have seen and lived for years, that where violence
begins Christianity and humanity ceases. All mature minds
now must understand that nations never will come to their
orbits of order except around this central sun of undying
good-will. The holy land of peace never can be captured by
force of arms. Jericho’s walls will fall and God’s people will
enter at the triumph of tears and prayers and love. For those
of us who want to travel heavenward there is but one way, and
Grenville Kleiser well maps it:
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[VIII-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
“To be strong and true;
To be generous in praise and appreciation of others;
To impute worthy motives even to enemies ;
To give without expectation of return;
To practice humility, tolerance, and self-restraint ;
To make the best use of time and opportunity ;
To keep the mind pure and the judgment charitable;
To extend intelligent sympathy to those in distress;
To cultivate quietness and non-resistance;
To seek truth and righteousness ; E
To work, love, pray and serve daily;
To aspire greatly, labor cheerfully, and take God at His
word; 4
This is to travel heavenward !”
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LOVE IN THE NEW: DAY [1X-7]
“And tell them what they ought to do:
‘Love other folk,’ he pleaded,
‘As you love me and I love you!’
But almost no one heeded.
“A poet died in Galilee,
They stared at him and slew him .
What would they do to you and me
If we could say we knew him?”
Ninth Week, Seventh Day
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends. Ye are my friends if ye do what-
soever I command you. ... These things I command you
that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know
that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the
world, the world would love his own. If they have perse-
cuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept
my saying, they will keep yours also. ... All these things
will they do unto you for my name’s sake. ... And ye
shall also bear witness, because ye have been with me from
the beginning.—John 15:13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 27.
~ Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved
‘them unto the end.—John 13:1.
Perfect love goes through to the end; it loves through thick
and thin; it loves to the uttermost! Just as the sun keeps on
shining, giving out its warm beams, its healing rays, even
when the earth is clothed in clouds and wrapped in mists
and fogs, so love keeps on loving through hate, through
persecution, through misunderstanding, even unto death!
Patience is one of the most exquisite characteristics of the
Christian man or woman. When a life becomes spiritualized,
the place where you will most quickly observe the trans-
formation is at the point of patience. Where before the per-
son was quickly out of sorts, easily disturbed and provoked,
swift to anger and plenteous in hate, now one sees the pa-
tience of the Christ revealed in calm, kindly steadfastness.
There is an absence of pettiness, of suspicion, of vindictive-
ness. It is hard to see how one can be further away from
the spirit of the Master, no matter what his orthodox beliefs,
than a man irascible of temper, testy, peevish, and irritable.
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[IX-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
We are to bear witness that we have been with Jesus by
our long-suffering endurance, in spite of everything, keeping
the love that loves through to the very end. “Let patience,”
says Jesus’ brother, “have her perfect work, that ye may be
perfect and entire, wanting nothing!” (James 1:4) Long-
fellow voices the highest ideal of Christian living when he
sings:
“Patience, accomplish thy labor; accomplish thy work of
affection !
Sorrow and silence are strong, and patient endurance is god-
like ;
Therefore accomplish thy labor of love, till the heart is made
godlike,
Purified, strengthened, perfected, and rendered more worthy
of heaven!”
MEDITATION ON THE MASTER’S THOUGHT
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love
your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and —
on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have —
ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute
your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not —
even the publicans so?
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in
heaven is perfect.—Matt. 5: 43-48.
I
As you go out into the world, Jesus says, you may meet _
good and generous and magnanimous people who will pre-
sent no problem. But occasionally you will find others: —
hateful people who will curse you, malicious people who will
hate you, mean people who will despitefully use you, ill- "4
natured people who will persecute you. One of your biggest —
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LOVE IN THE NEW DAY [IX-m]
problems in life will be in knowing how to deal with folk
of this type. Now in Jesus’ time the customary solution of
this problem was for the Jew thoroughly to hate his ene-
mies. Everywhere in the Old Testament one finds this the
ordinary attitude. Thus the Psalmist prays for evil to come
down upon his enemies (Psalms 54:5) ; he begs that they shall
be vexed and put to shame (Psalms 6: 10); he beseeches God
to cut them off and annihilate them (Psalms 143:12); he
deliberately expresses his bitter hate for them (Psalms
139: 22); and cursing his foes, he implores God to dash their
little children to death against the stones (Psalms 137: 9).
The advice of Jesus is in striking contrast to this attitude.
He states clearly and decisively a principle of living which
lies very close to the roots of all happiness in human society.
It is a magnificent rule for everyday life. When others, he
says, are showing their enmity and spite, you show your love.
When others are cursing, you bless them. When others are
hateful and vengeful, you reveal your loving kindness. When
others are spiteful, you pray for them. When others persecute
you, you display your good-will. That is the easiest way, in
the long run, to face the problem which people of ill-will
present.
In the long run this handling of the situation Jesus sug-
gests may be easiest, but at first it is one of the most diffi-
cult things in life to do. With a little analysis, however, it will
not be hard for us to see why love always works out better
in the end than hate. For one thing, the man of hateful
anger discloses a pitiful smallness of character. Hate usually
springs from envy, that corrosive of the soul. For the hate
we bear a man is usually the result of our love for some
good which we imagine he possesses, or which, being in our
possession now, we fear he has attacked. Envy slew Abel
and crucified Jesus. History has no single exception to this
rule; the small man was the man of hate, the big man was
the man of love. The ideal man keeps his head and his
temper while other people are losing theirs. The ideal man
is big-hearted, generous, magnanimous, while others are nar-
row, small, mean. The ideal man gives beauty for ashes,
roses for thorns, perfume of love for poison of hatred. To
recompense injury with kindness is the very law of his life.
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[IX-m] THE MASTER'S MESSAGE one 1am
“Humanity is the peculiar characteristic,” said Lord Chester-
field, “of great minds. Little, vicious minds abound with
anger and revenge, and are incapable of feeling the exact
pleasure of forgiving their enemies” Arthur Guiterman has
a verse which ought to give us pause when we start upon
one of our impetuous leaps of hating:
“When I .am dead, what I have felt so long,
My soul shall know in clearer, purer light;
That where I loathed and hated, I was wrong;
That where I loved and pitied, I was right.”
The penalties of hate are many. An angry word will raise
the pulse of ‘a horse and often highly excite him. Its effect
upon a sensitive child or a nervous older person is often
disastrous. But the most distressing effects are felt in the
hater’s own heart. There his anger has set up confusion and
disharmony; he has lost the chance to make a friend; he has —
narrowed his own soul; he has embittered his own spirit;
he has taken a step backward and downward spiritually;
his hate has inflicted an inward penalty on all the powers —
of his life. When we permit ourselves to stoop for one mo-
ment to hatred we must remember it is nothing but sheer
waste, and that the folly of it is irretrievable. John Ken-
drick Bangs voices my own deepest feelings: .
“To hate an enemy I hold to be an idle whim
That hurts me more, all said and done, than e’er it hurteth
him. a
It clutters up my heart with wrath, and fills my soul with — 4-
gloom, ’
And wastes a lot of useful time on bitter thoughts of doom!”
That man only is progressing in life whose heart is void of i
hate, whose spirit knows more and more of “the depth and __
height and length and breadth of the love of Christ which
passeth knowledge.” (Eph. 3:18-10.) a
The fact is that love is a beautiful, joyful, creative power _
which never works so well as it does under the fiery test of
another’s malevolence. An instance of this power comes to
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LOVE IN THE NEW DAY [IX-m]
us from a missionary. in India. A savage Moslem tribe had
brutally slain a young American missionary who had just
arrived in the field with his wife and child. The shock for
the young mother was very great, but her Christian spirit
won in her struggle with hate. With the money, every last
cent, which she received in insurance following her husband’s
death, a hospital was erected for the care of the sick of the
very tribe which had so savagely killed her loved one. Need-
less to say that act of charitable magnanimity went a long
way in presenting Christ’s message to that tribe; in the end
they surrendered to the love of Christ as it had come to them
through the heart of a brave little Christian woman. The
lover is the freer of the deeper, better self in others. The lover
is the creator of love in other hearts. Hate is one of the most
dire negations of experience: it makes men hateful, homely,
gloomy, lonesome, sorrowful, weak, impotent, disagreeable,
disliked. Hate is completely destructive; while love is com-
pletely constructive. Love builds, inspires, uplifts, heals,
cheers, comforts, beautifies, attracts, empowers. Truly Paul
- mounted to the very summit of Christian vision when he
wrote that marvelous psalm:
“Love suffereth long, and is kind;
Love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own,
Is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Beareth all things, believeth all things,
Hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Love never faileth!”’ (1 Cor. 13:4-8)
I think that is one of the most beautiful elements in our
Christian faith: Love will not fail! And Charles Mackay
has expressed it for us in arresting lines:
“What might be done if men were wise—
What glorious deeds, my suffering brother,
Would they unite
In love and right,
And cease their scorn of one another?
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» [IX-m] | THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
“Oppression’s heart might be imbued
With kindling drops of loving kindness;
And knowledge pour,
From shore to shore,
Light on the eyes of mental blindness.
“The meanest wretch that ever trod,
The deepest sunk in guilt and sorrow,
Might stand erect
In self-respect ;
And share the teeming world tomorrow.”
IT
In ordinary moments the big test of love doesn’t come,
We go our way and no occasion of choice arises. Then comes
a crisis. Perhaps the start is a slight difference of opinion.
Most probably a difference in rearing, a hereditary leaning,
a divergence in traditions, race, habits or customs provokes
a clash of feeling. There is a definite disagreement; then a
quarrel; then hot words and a display of temper; and the
crisis confronts us. What will be the outcome? That de-
pends upon our preparation. The test of the strength of a
steel beam comes when it is’ put into the bridge; when the
heavy strain comes it will give way if its structure is marred
by a flaw. The test of a man’s vitality comes in the crisis
of an illness or physical strain; the outcome then depends
‘upon the reserve supply of strength. Just so in a soul crisis.
At the right time we fall back upon our spiritual resources.
If they are adequate the fight is averted; peace comes be-
cause at least one person has prepared the Christ-heart. The
most attractive gift which love bestows is the Christ-power
to forgive.
The fact that full and complete forgiveness is love’s highest
achievement places the power to pardon at the peak of the
Christian virtues. Few of us attain, of course, to the per-
fection of forgiveness. To suffer deliberate injury or loss
at the hands of another, to know someone despises us, even
hates us, and yet to empty from the mind all sense of anger
or hostility and consistently to love and bless, that is a most
exacting requirement. Peter was troubled about it and on
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LOVE INTHE NEW DAY __‘[IX-m]
one occasion he came to Jesus perplexed and questioning:
“Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I for-
give him? till seven times?” Jesus saith unto him, “I say
not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times
seven!” (Matt. 18:21-22.) The process of pardon is a “giving
for’ another, not once, not twice, not even seven times, but
seventy times seven, which really means without limit. Jesus
says the loving heart must forgive endlessly! And the for-
giving is to be no weak toleration, grudgingly given, but a
wholehearted erasing of the wrong from the memory, a
complete obliteration of all antagonism or ill-feeling, an en-
tire and absolute cancelling of prejudice or punishment. For
forgiveness is truly the greatest giving—it gives back that
which is hardest of all to restore, faith and confidence and
trust! John Oxenham has stated for us this power of love
in a lovely poem:
“Love ever gives—
Forgives—outlives,
And ever stands
With open hands.
And while it lives,
It gives.
For this is Love’s prerogative,
To give, and give, and give!”
Is mother-love not the symbol of love which is stronger
than death because it can suffer and forgive and still trust?
Is Christ-love not the symbol of redemption because it can
bear all manner of iniquities and still be patient and enduring
and forgiving? “Surely he hath borne our griefs . . . he
was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him;
and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isa. 53:4-5.)
While most of us do not succeed in achieving perfect for-
giveness, we at least try. But the most repulsive and un-
Christian attitude one can imagine is that of the man who
deliberately refuses to forgive, who recognizes the fact that
he himself will some day need to be forgiven, and still re-
tains a hard immovability of heart. No man is a good man
who has not learned the grace of forgiving. The man who
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[IX-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
prays “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors,’ who
~reads in his New Testament “Forgive and ye shall be for- —
given” (Luke 6:37), who has prayed in the presence of his
own mistakes “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” and yet
goes his obdurate, unrelenting way of stony-hearted unfor-
giveness is one of the most unattractive and despicable char-
acters one can well imagine. Robert Burns, who to his sad-
ness and bitter disappointment had met many such, turns back
to God in his poem, “Prayer in the Prospect of Death,” with
tender confidence that the character of God is quite other-
wise: *
“But, Thou art good! and goodness still
Delighteth to forgive!”
To forgive sin in others becomes easier when we are con-
scious of our own shortcomings. So Paul, in one of the most
touching passages in all his brilliant epistles, urges the mem-
bers of the Ephesian church to forgiveness as they recall their
own need for it: “Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you”
(Eph. 4:32.) The power to forgive, however, usually dimin-
ishes with the innocence of one’s own heart. Who has not
known folks, pure, saintly, noble in their own lives, whose _
one besetting sin was their cold, unforgiving attitude toward® —
the sinner? Their very pride in their own innocence bound
their hearts with unyielding fetters. Their very virtue was
the factor which made their spirits sensitive to wounds; and
wrongs rankle in the heart long after they should have been
forgotten. If this be true, how much more amazing then is —
the extraordinary forgiveness of the Master? Here was a life
singularly innocent, a soul of matchless purity and refinement,
a heart transcendently true to all that was best, but even after
the most cruel injuries, the most extreme and barbaric injus-
tices, he could look down from his cross of agony with eyes of
wonderful pity and pray: “Father, forgive them. ie
The most sublime spectacle of human record is this vision —
of the utterly innocent Jesus, not only forgiving his enemies,
but loving them and praying for them! It is his own doctrine
demonstrated! The beautiful words of Edmeston delineate
admirably the spirit of Christian forgiveness: :
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LOVE IN THE NEW DAY [IX-m]
‘When on the fragrant sandal tree
The woodman’s axe descends,
And she, who bloomed so beauteously,
Beneath the weapon bends—
E’en on the edge that wrought her death,
Dying she breathes her sweetest breath,
As if to token in her fall
Peace to her foes, and love to all.
“How hardly man this lesson learns,
To smile, and bless the hand that spurns;
To see the blow, to feel the pain,
And render only love again!
One had it—but he came from heaven,
Reviled, rejected, and betrayed;
No curse He breathed, no plaint He made,
But when in death’s dark pang He sighed,
Prayed for His murderers and died!”
III
The main trouble with our handling of this high Christian
standard of unfailing love is that we are all caught in the
omnipresent whirlpool of popular habit. To drift with the
crowd is almost irresistible. The pull of social custom is
very great and the man who tries to swim against it in the
direction of the Christ-ideal finds the going hard indeed. It
would be strange if the man who really and truly tries to
“live as Christ would have him live, to carry on with uncom-
plaining and prayerful forgiveness in spite of everything, did
not hear himself spoken of in terms such as these: “ninny,”
“crazy fool,’ “lets people walk all over him.” It is in the
face of just such misunderstanding as this, Jesus says, that
we are to stand out against the crowd. If you love them
that love you, what virtue is there in that? Even the pub-
licans, who represent the lowest average of popular morality,
do that. And if you only salute your own friends, what
good is there in that? These easy-going publicans do that
also. Are you living above the average? What do you
more than others? Are you able to rise above the malice
~ and impatience and hatred around you into the holy atmosphere
229
- [IX-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE .
of God’s great love? These are the key-questions of Jesus
to men today as they were of old; they constitute a chal-
lenge to those who conform to the crowd.
One of the noblest figures in the New Testament was a man
who caught the vision and dared to come out from: the crowd.
When we read the seventh chapter of Acts we are utterly
amazed at his daring in denouncing the false ideals of his
day. Stephen, the first of the martyrs, reveals the loftiness
of his life and his closeness to the Christ-ideal, not so much
in his brilliant denunciation of the falseness of the contem-
porary orthodoxy as in the unusually noble way in which he
accepted his death: “They cast him out of the city .
stoned him . . . and he kneeled down, and cried, Lord, tay
not this sin to their charge. And wher he had said this, he
fell asleep.” (Acts 7:58-60.) For us, like Stephen, to take
higher ground in our thinking and our attitude toward others
may involve martyrdom, not perhaps to be slain with boulders,
but to be bruised with the stones of misunderstanding, SUS
picion, ostracism, and bitter enmity. How much easier it is
to be contented with existing standards and conditions. How
many, many people are fooled in self-ignorance as they sit
cushioned upon the low standards of modern moral judg-
ment. A lamb looks tolerably white against the greenness
of the summer grass; but when snow falls in virgin purity
upon the hillside, how black! Paul was proud once as he
lifted his haughty head among the Pharisees; but when
Christ shone in brightness upon him, how humble! Against
the background of our current conceptions of truth and mo-
rality and love our lives may appear fairly white. But let
us set these lives of ours against the background of truth
and morality and love in Christ, and what a difference!
Judged as to that bright hackeroundd we can no longer fool
ourselves about our own perfection, the perfection of modern
society or the perfection of modern society’s standards. Be-
side Christ we are as black as can be! Upon that day when
a man is convinced of the sinfulness of his own average
respectability does he really begin struggle for the Christ-life
against the deadly down-drag of surrounding self-satisfaction!
“Easier to rest on pillows
Filled with sweet, soft lies,
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LOVE IN THE NEW DAY [IX-m]
Than gird on Love
And contend with the crowd!
“Easier, smooth sophistries, silk
Proppings, coverings—peace—
Than Stephen’s stones
To fall asleep among!
‘But who stood there to say
To Stephen, bloody,
Torn and shining-faced:
‘Welcome—well done?’ ”
IV
The philosophy of indomitable love which Jesus gives us
in the message on the Mount is the key to the great problem
of war. Decoration days are usually the occasion for much
elaborate oratory, but the people hear very little discussion
and suggestion as to the elimination of the Monster which
has devoured the mourned dead. The greatest goal on God’s
earth for servants of Jesus at this stage is to make war im-
possible. But while a few Christian leaders are struggling
to get the spirit of Jesus into the war question, many well-
meaning but misguided citizens are setting up in public
squares cannon and monuments which frequently give the pub-
lic the impression that war is a glorious achievement, a kind of
glorified Sunday school picnic. So the solidified spirit of na-
tionalism, the old curse of selfishness, and the stumps of
traditional hatreds persist in the hearts of people. They can
be rooted out only by the dynamite of Jesus’ love. Despite
the foolish jingoism which sees in every other race a po-
tential enemy and conceives of war as a necessity in the econo-
my of nations, the real Christian bases his attitude on this
fundamental conviction: War is as unnecessary as disease
and if the love of Jesus was regnant in all hearts it would
be utterly impossible!
While the people of the world have ever been badly fooled
and betrayed by their leaders, one may certainly be sure now
that the great majority of the peoples of the earth want
peace, are praying and hoping for it as never before. The
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[IX-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
_ love in the people’s hearts has been thwarted, however, be-
cause those who make war, the militarists, have been stubborn —
and wilful in refusing to subnut the differences of nations to
the arbitrament of reason! The military group squanders
time, energy, thought, and money on the organization of a
vast and intricate military machine when the same expendi-
ture of effort ‘in the direction of peace would be a far more
reasonable and satisfactory procedure. Man is, of course,
no longer a rational or moral being when under the power
of great passions. But before the typhoon of racial madness
sweeps over the nations man is a rational and moral being,
and it is then that he should build the cyclone cellar of mutual
understanding and confidence. What wars of folly and what
conflicts of unbridled hatred, what fearful international crimes
might be averted if before the crisis came men had estab-
lished sympathetic relations and mutual confidence around
a common table of reason and friendship! The time has at
last come when man can no longer leave the solution of the
question of war to luck or chance; we must think the thing
through; we must put reason above passion, understanding —
above compulsion, intelligent love above violence; the brain
of man has now developed to the point where rationality can
enter the control of war! Hermann Hagedorn in “The Boy
in Armor” voices the feeling of an increasing multitude:
“You cried across the worlds, and called us sons!
We came as sons, but what you made of us
Were bleeding shapes upon an altar, slain
To appease your god INERTIA where he sits
Muttering dead words and chewing at old bones.
Because you would not think, we had to die!
* * * * * * *
Bow down and hear! You have more sons than these;
And they have fancies and imaginings
And dauntless spirits and hearts made for love,
And clean hands and clean eyes and high desires.
They will go forth and die, if you command,
As we have died, since they love liberty
Even as we loved her, and would give her cause
The only gift they are aware is theirs.
Wake, dreaming World!. Think, oh gray world bewitched!
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LOVE IN THE NEW DAY [IX-m]
Out through untraveled spaces where no mind
Has dared to venture, let your sails be spread!
O, world, there is another way to serve
Justice and liberty, than thus to fling
The glory and the wonder of young lives
Beneath the hoofs of horses! Send your soul
Into the earth and through the clouds to find it!
And now you others who must live
Shall do a harder thing than dying is—
For you shall think! And ghosts will drive you on!”
The love in the hearts of the people has been thwarted,
also, because those who make war, the industrialists, have
always supported a propaganda praising the benefits of war!
It seems hardly possible that men in their right minds would
actually see any good in the holocaust of modern warfare.
But by taking occasional psychological somersaults we all have
the art of believing that which we want to believe. Men who
make money out of war naturally search about for argu-
ments which will keep the war business going. Thus, on
the peg of patriotism, it is possible to hang a glittering array
of reasons for war. Other less interested people are com-
pletely fooled and they too take up the cry. So the benefits
of war are listed for the increased gayety of nations: courage,
discipline, heroism, “preserving sovereignty,’ “defending
liberty,’ “protecting national honor,’ advancing the “cause
of Christ,” saving the nation from degeneration to “a pack
of weaklings”! An interesting illustration of just how peo-
ple are deceiving themselves about war is furnished by a re-
viewer writing in a notable magazine on Ellen Key’s “War,
_ Peace and the Future.” After describing the book as one more
plea for peace, he adds sarcastically: “One does not find, how-
ever, any plea for justice, liberty, or human rights!” The im-
plication is that these come by war. Can any one longer believe
that justice, liberty, and human rights are obtained by whole-
sale slaughter which destroys twenty million lives, wrecks half
a continent, wastes billions in treasure, and leaves a trail of
broken hearts around the earth? And even clergymen, blinded
by the war-spirit, distribute their silly lies about war bringing
Christ closer to men. International conflict is the chief devil
that actuaily drives out the spirit of Jesus. “I never can
233 ,
{1X-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
think,” says Thomas Hardy in one of his wise interviews,
published in Les Nouvelles Litteraires, “without astonishment,
that there are some people in different countries who talk
about the benefits of war. What nonsense! War is an evil
4, eee
thing, and can only breed evil... . . War is a fatality, having .—
nothing to do with reason and intelligence. It is a kind of
devilish determinism. . . . The Great War weighs upon the
world like a curse, and it has not yet borne its bitterest
fruit!”
Any one who knows war at first hand—what it does to-
men, what its results are in suffering and heartbreak and
immorality, its shattered bones and minds and souls, its pus-
swollen bodies and germ-infected limbs and gas-rotted lungs, |
its viperous brood of suspicion, lust, hate, fear, and revolting
cruelty—is guilty of the grossest imbecility in talking of its
benefits. There are no benefits from war. It is not in accord
with God’s will for men, nor does it further in any way the
program of Christ for human society. The love of Jesus is
the way to abundant life. The curse of war is the way to
abundant death. Alfred Noyes has pictured its results ac- 4
curately :
“Through the purple thunders there are silent shadows creep-
ing
With murderous gleams of light, and then—a mighty leap-
ing roar if
Where foe and foe are met;.and then—a long low sound of
weeping ;
As Death laughs out from sea to sea. .
“Count up, count up the stricken homes that wail the first-
born son,
Count by your starved and fatherless the tale of what hath s
perished ;
Then gather with your foes and ask if you—or I—have
won!”
Morevoer, the love in the hearts of the people has been 4
thwarted because those who make-war, the diplomats, have
stupidly and shortsightedly disregarded the human factor im
war! A trifling violation of a treaty, the dismissal of a minis-
234
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Baa Sree ee
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LOVE IN THE NEW DAY - [IX-m]
ter, an imagined insult to “national honor,’ a slight racial
antipathy and the leaders call the people to arms, involving
the destruction of lives and property, when the calamity
might have been averted by men with a modicum of humanity
in their hearts. The conscientious objector who has caught
the spirit of Christ and refuses to imbrue his hand in the
blood of his brother is then called a traitor and a “slacker”
by the wily politician who has had war declared. The honest
Christian who despises war and killing receives also the
indignant and savage scorn of the military party, who,
like a late Secretary of War in the United States, say: “I
cannot appreciate such consciences and such scruples!” The
fact is that the great affairs of the world are often directed
‘by men who either have no idea of the sufferings of the com-
mon man in war or shut their minds to all thought of it so
as to spare their consciences. Benjamin Franklin was a keen
observer. Here is a very significant line from his pen: “Ob-
servations on my reading history, in Library, May 19, 1731
. that the great affairs of the world, wars, revolutions,
etc., are carried on and effected by parties. That the view
of these parties is their present personal interest. . . . That
few in public affairs act upon a mere view of the good of
their country. . . . That fewer still, in public affairs, act
~with a view to the good of mankind!” Ten thousand men
murdered on a distant battlefield disturbs nét the peace of a
statesman who is grinding his ax on the outcome of a war;
a flotilla of battleships beneath the waves of the ocean is
hardly more than “a news item”. for the average minister
of war, and a city in flames means less than the fire in the |
‘furnace to the “leaders of affairs.” A poem written during
the Great War illustrates the relation of the makers of war
to the actual bloodshed itself:
“Fach was honest after his way,
Lukewarm in faith, and old;
And blood, to them, was only a word,
And the point of a phrase their only sword,
And the cost of war, they reckoned it
In little disks of gold.”
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[IX-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
V
Se. xt ‘
Have the diplomats, the senators, the ministers of war, the —
cabinets any love for the men they send into the melstrom? —
Have they a heart for humanity? Do the leaders of nations —
forgive seventy times seven to avert a war? Do they bless —
_ or hate, curse or pray, as they think of their supposed enemy- —
nation? It is almost»silly to ask the questions! Of course, E
the nations do not act according to the Jesus’ philosophy of —
love, nor do they even pretend to do so. They act according —
to the philosophy of power! There is no other obstacle in the —
way of peace which can compare with this one. It is the —
taproot out of which the whole war-system springs. The
philosophy of power is a natural rationalization of industrial
expansion; in its rampant patriotic form it means a haughty
intolerant nationalism seeking for a “divine” mission which —
leads through blood and tears; it is the inevitable result of —
education that teaches material success and religion that —
preaches an institutional God who measures virtue by money,
organization, buildings, and ecclesiastical magnificence. This —
doctrine of power values life in terms of aggressive achieve- ~
ment. It has been nourished at the very breast of fierce rival- —
ry and competition until its thought always centers around ~
winning—lording it over a competitor, making a bigger and |
better impression than the other fellow, than any other busi-— 4
ness, than any other nation! Germany, from 1870 to 1918,
affords an excellent example of a nation obsessed with this
power-philosophy (although in the nineteenth century Eng- .
tae de SNS ih
conclusion of such a program:
“He is known to you all, he is known to you all,
He crouches behind the dark gray flood,
Full of envy, of rage, of craft, of gall,
Cut off by waves that are thicker than blood.
Come let us stand at the Judgment place,
An oath to swear to, face to face,
An oath of bronze no wind can shake,
An oath for our sons and their sons to take.
236
LOVE IN THE NEW DAY _ [I X-m]
Come hear the word, repeat the word,
Throughout the Fatherland make it heard.
We will never forego our hate,
We have all but a single hate,
We love as one, we hate as one,
We have one foe and one alone—
ENGLAND!”
The philosophy of power not only has its influence in the
making of wars but it also operates to obstruct effective or-
ganization for peace. It is obvious to any thinking man that
some simple orderly form of fraternity among the nations
must be effected before peaceful conciliation can be substi-
tuted for war’s carnage. In the League of Nations the world
has such a working organization; true, it possesses the limi-
tations of any new and previously untried experiment, espe-
cially the limitations which arise from racial suspicion and
misunderstanding; but it 7s a beginning. Right here is where
America’s shame comes in;-we have a philosophy of power;
we are afraid that national power may be abridged by en-
trance into the League! “History shows no irony more glar-
ing,’ says Edwin Mead. “Every consideration of national
pride and international obligation commanded us to first
place in the League of Nations . . . instead with our base
suspicions, our partisan rivalries, and financial dialectics we
have made the sublimest cause of our epoch the football of
petty politics, and have become the drag and damper upon the
world in its great struggle onward and upward. .
But League of Nations or no League of Nations ae philo-
‘sophy of power which is blowing through our modern world
like a whirlwind is the real danger. For wherever it touches
a human life it turns spiritual devotion to cruel, selfish ambi-
tion. No matter what organization we have, nothing on earth
is really safe until we have filled the hearts of people every-
where with love. A man and a woman may dwell in the
finest home, they may have a supposedly perfect system for
keeping peace, but if there is hate or selfishness in their
hearts, the system cannot keep the peace long. In the state
we may have the best laws men can devise, police power un-
excelled, but if there is a lawless spirit abroad among the
_ people, crime will abound for it comes out of the heart. The
237
{1X-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
same is true among the nations; no system will keep the
peace so long as the people themselves are controlled by the
philosophy of power rather than the philosophy of love. The
world waits in agony for that day when this love of Jesus,
this all-forgiving love, shall. be taken out of the realm
of words into the realm of deeds. We had better do
it soon. “I was at Stettin on the Baltic in the summer
of 1920,” says Francis Miller, “Prisoners of war were
being repatriated out of Siberia. A boatload of some seven
or eight hundred came in. Of these some two hundred
and fifty had lost their reason. These were the dregs of war.
As I looked into their dull, witless eyes I knew better what
war was, ant J also learned something of what the Cross_
meant. These men, as in every age, had been crucified be- —
cause the society into which they were born had missed God’s
will for it. They were degraded into cattle because of the
stupidity and sin of college-trained makers of ‘statecraft in
America, France, England, and Germany. Our father’s sins
produced that and our sins will erect for our descendants a
myriad crosses on many a far-flung battlefield unless we, by
God’s grace, make less a botch of reading his will and display
more energy in fulfilling it!” Forged on the anvil of hard.
reason, melted and welded in the fierce furnace of a Great
Wat’s experience, this mighty conviction has bound the think- Bs
ers of earth in one resounding unity: War must stop or the
race 1s doomed! And deep, deep down in our hearts we are
sure that the only way to the world of the peaceful new day
is that of Jove!
“Your dreamers may dream it,
The shadow of a dream,
Your sages may deem it
A bubble on the stream;
Yet our kingdom draweth nigher
With each dawn and every day,
Through the earthquake and the fire
‘Love will find out the way!”
VI
We have seen how love as a response to personal hate helps
us in our own adjustment to human society, love gives us the
238
<
ree
LOVE IN THE NEW DAY [IX-m]
great power of forgiveness which is a blessing to other lives,
and love as a factor in problems between nations serves as.
the only sure road out of the morass and swamps of interna-
tional war. The philosophy of love has, also, deeper implica-
tions. Love is the most complete and devastating answer to
the disgusting animalism and gross materiahsm of many
modern scientists.
As an aftermath of the wide scientific researches of modern
times, there has grown up the mechanistic theory that the
higher categories—life, mind, and God—are not intrinsic to
reality. This mechanistic interpretation of life presents the
cosmos as an utterly unconscious machine of ruthless, pur-
poseless force—an inexorable, tragic, capricious physico-
chemical clutter of meaningless atoms. The whole universe,.
from star-dust to Christ-heart, is just a purposeless heap of
unconscious matter, in which man is as insignificant as an
amoeba, a “bag of salts and a pail of water.” And the ad-
jective that describes most perfectly the whole existence is
“accidental.” Light, stars, flowers, solar systems, intellect,
poetry, happiness, trees, all are the result of accident! The
God of the mechanists is spelled “chance’’!
Can the whole of life, the actual sum total of existence be
compassed and tabulated on the neat, red-dotted graph charts
of a Jacques Loeb or a W. J. V. Osterhout? Can we pour
every drop of the experience of life into the shallow vessels
of the quantitative work of physicists, chemists, and biologists ?
The rea! scientists (by this we mean impartial observers who
face all the facts), even against their will, admit that when
the telescope of curiosity is turned to the wider field of real-
ity and when the miscroscope of detection is trained to the
deeper, underlying centers of life-structure, qualitative as
well as quantitative facts appear. The spiritual seeing ap-
paratus, of course, in many material-minded men is so dulled
to the point of atrophy that they no longer see the wonder
in. the world; the real scientists are the see-ers like Bliss
Carman:
“Over the shoulders and slopes of the dune
I saw the white daisies go down to the sea,
A host in the sunshine, an army in June,
The people God sends us to set our heart free.
239
[IX-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE es
“The bobolinks rallied them up from the dell,
The orioles whistled them out of the wood; :
And all of their singing was, ‘Earth, it is well!’ :
And all of their dancing was, ‘Life, thou art good!” 4
a
2
In our keenest hours, when we are most truly ourselves
physically, mentally, and spiritually, no cynical, pessimistic,
dry-as-desert mechanism can, for one moment, satisfy us as
truth. For when man once remorselessly fronts the ultimate
meaning of a mechanistic philosophy, honestly tabulates the —
real issues of such thinking, there comes over him the same —
feeling as that which Dreiser experienced after spending a ~
while amidst the hissings and poundings of the engine room
of a transatlantic liner: “I shouldn’t like that, I think .
life is better than rigidity and fixed motion, I hope. I trust
the universe is not mechanical . . . we know it is beautiful.
It must be so!” While one, in the solitude and vastness of
our world, needs must feel a certain awe, it is an awe tinged
with radiant faith, an indomitable knowledge based upon actual —
experience, like that of Alfred Noyes:
“Nor shall these
Appal me with immensity ;
I know they carry one heart of flame
More precious than the sun!”
-
ral? is 4ys
jan eS ee, fel '
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Fi ee et sd bea
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rue
Man is not a hopeless creature of accidental atoms caught
in the horrible, impersonal, grinding cruelty of a hell-ma- —
chine! Man is a living, thinking, loving expression of the In-
finite Mind, Heart, and Body of a purposeful Creator who is
the God of Love! “There is none like unto the God who —
rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency in _
the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath ag ;
the everlasting arms!” Deut. 33 :26-27.) 3
*
Py
ry
“In heaven’s starred pavement at the midnight hour,
In roseate hues that come at morning dawn,
In the bright bow athwart the falling shower,
In woods and waters, hills and velvet lawn,
One truth is written, all conspire to prove,
What grace of old revealed, that ‘God is Love’! ee
240
eee ne Pee) FY os
LOVE IN. THE NEW DAY {[I1X-m]
Vil
The perfection of love is revealed in God, says Jesus. His
rain and sunshine, his fresh air and cool water, his flowers
and trees are for all. He is not partial, he does not dis-
criminate, he is no respecter of persons. His bestowal is
free, without money and without price, upon the just and
upon the unjust alike. Just here Jesus gives us a pretty hard
spiritual job. When he says: “Be ye therefore perfect as
your Father in heaven!” he means this: If you want to be
counted brothers and sisters of mine and children of the
highest, you must cultivate that perfection which was in me
and which is the most notable characteristic of God, namely,
the perfection of love. You can be a son of the devil by
hating. But to be kith and kin of God, that means love. “For
God is Love; and every one that loveth is born of God, and
knoweth God. . . . If a man say, I love God, and hateth his
brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom
he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
(1 John 4: 7, 8, 20.)
Man cannot attain the perfection of omnipotent mind, nor
can he encompass the experiences of a cosmic soul, but in
his own heart he ran have the same perfect quality of cosmic
love. In this it is fair for Jesus to expect of us perfection
like unto that of the great Father himself! And this per-
fect love of the Father welling up in imperfect men is his
truest token of divine sonship, his veritable birthmark as a
son of God. It is the badge and bond of that wide fraternity
of humankind which passes all barriers of religion or race
or thought to make of mortals, in spite of artificial divisions,
truly one great unity. “Men are tattooed with their special
beliefs,” said Oliver Wendell Holmes, “like so many South
Sea Islanders; -but a real human heart with divine love in
it beats with the same glow under all the patterns of all
earth’s thousand tribes!” Whether in Jew, Japanese, or Ger-
man, whether in Pole, Portuguese, or Persian, Egyptian,
Hindu, or Korean, Armenian, Russian, or American, Turk,
Frenchman, or Filipino, Italian, Englishman, or Norwegian,
Swede, Siamese, or South American, Spaniard, African, or
_ Austrian, no matter of what tribe or color or race, wherever
241
[IX-m] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE eh
we see this revealing quality of true love we know we see
a child of God! . '
This gentle, magnanimous quality of human love which one
finds universally around the world in all classes and among
all creeds is proof of the towering fact that often our be-
having is not consistent with our believing. There are Funda-
mentalists who belie their hard and fast thinking about God
and his relation to man by living lives of radiant and con-
secrated and broadminded love like Charles R. Erdman,
Robert E. Speer, and Robert P. Wilder. And there are
atheistic-leaning scientists whose love-filled lives are clear
revealings of the fact that there are realities in this world
better than the inexorable mechanics to which their thinking
would reduce the universe. No one can meet Fernald of
Harvard, Davenport of Cold Spring Harbor, J. Ben Hill of
Penn State College, and J. C. Arthur of Purdue. without
realizing that here in these gentle, humble, humane lives dwells
the God of very God im which these men themselves will not
believe! What De Kruif says of Jacques Loeb might be said
of any number of research-devoted thinkers: “Strangest of
all things about him, his heart belied the cold deterministic
faiths that nature put into his head. Despite this tongue of
his, that was sometimes a rapier and at others a dreadful
bludgeon, Loeb face to face with his victims was gentle and
so kind and generous!”
All of which reminds me that a poem, clipped from a local
news-sheet, and brought to me by a sweet and saintly old
lady, describes those, who, whether believing in God or not,
knowing of Christ or not, are revealing him in every moment
of their loving response to the experience we call living:
“A son of God, and, like his brother, Christ,
A messenger of love, good-will and peace—
To those who sit in darkness bringing light,
To those in sorrow, comfort. With the glad
Does he rejoice, and weeps with those who weep—
A man of God—a man of men—humane,
Unselfish, patient, tender, tolerant, wise;
Of talents humble, but of virtue, proud;
Gentle with sinners; steadfast against sin;
Teaching by word and deed that God is love,
242
LOVE IN THE.NEW DAY [1X-m]
And life is good, and immortality
Is sure to noble living. For this man,
Made in thine image, we do thank Thee, God!”
Men often say Jesus’ message is not applicable in the twen-
tieth century because he said nothing definite about our very
real problems: the family, modern economic and industrial
conditions, commercial issues, art, democratic government, the
new education, modern science, politics, music, and modern
amusements and recreation. These are the great areas of
life in which we live and move and have our being; some
think the thought of Jesus does not touch them. Suppose,
however, that the supreme need of human society is a love
like Jesus had! Suppose he lived his life with the deep con-
viction that when men learned that the Heart of the World
was love and when they lived with that holy love of the
Father in their own hearts and homes and businesses all their
problems would be solved! “Think what it would mean,”
says Henry Kingman, “to our generation, struggling des-
perately in the world-wide network of selfish ‘interests, to
catch the vision of this reality!” The truth is that Jesus
gave us the one elemental rule that is indispensable in any
realm of life: the law of love! Christianity as a law of love
can never be destroyed. No philosophy, no skepticism, no
mechanistic science can ever overthrow that. But we have
been afraid of the dynamic of love in Christ; we have not
had enough faith in it; we have not given it enough practice.
For love as yet has little to do in the organization of our
social order. “The power of love,” says Thoreau, “has been
‘but meanly and sparingly applied; it has patented only such
machines as the almshouse, the hospital, and the Bible
Society, while its infinite wind is still blowing, and blowing
down those very structures, too, from time to time!”
We must bring the love of the humble, patient, forgiving
Christ back into history. We must trust in no religion, how-
ever holy and however sacrosanct, which does not base its
creative power upon the simple, beautiful law of love. We
must close the chasms which creed and class, competition and
selfishness, blood and belief have made, with the binding
affection which shines from the life of the Master. Deep
down in our heart of hearts we know that the great inherit-
243
[IX-q] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
ance of the ages is this sublime human sympathy, affection,
and love. We know that to be enemies, classes, guardians of
selfish interests, to resort to strife over pieces of paper and
disks of gold is to destroy our most precious birthright. But
to be comrades, friends, lovers—that is to rise to our noblest
destiny, that is to fulfill God’s best hopes for his children!
O God, our Father, deliver us, we pray, from the tragic
folly and chaos of loveless living! Grant us insight to under-
stand, patience to forgive, kindness to bless, and courage to
pray for those who call themselves our enemies. May we
love all with the love wherewith Thou hast loved us. By our
undying efforts prepare, we beseech Thee, a highway of
mutual love along which the confused nations may travel to
a kingdom of concord and peace. Hear us for the sake of ©
him who loved us and gave his whole self for us. Amen.
LIFE QUESTIONS
1. Why is the law of love placed at the climax of the new
law of Jesus as given in five restatements of the older
idealism?
2. Could love be evolved as a reality in our world if no
such thing as love is involved in the originating Force of all
that exists?
3. What difference does it make whether the cosmos is
controlled by a kind Father or the blind accident of impersonal
Nature? To love men as God loves them means what in
terms of everyday personal living?
, hl
4. “Forgive! Fiddlesticks! This man has injured me be- _
yond all forgiveness. So long as I breathe I will hate and
loathe and despise him!” What will you say to this person in
attempting to change the viewpoint to that of. Christ?
5. “Love these foreigners? These dirty beggars of the =
street? Well, I should say not! I love my own family, and —
that is as far as my duty goes.” Is it possible that such
duty is enough in the eyes of Christ?
6. “We believe that it is Jesus Christ, the Son of the
Eternal Father and the Son of the Virgin ‘Mary, who, in a
short while, when the little bell tinkles, will come down from
244 :
a“,
a.
4 Co at;
gel ae ES et
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i Te
sith
LOVE tN THE NEW DAY [1X-s]
Heaven at the wonder-working words of the consecrating
prelate.” (Cardinal Mundelein. )
Can Jesus reform men’s hearts and men’s society through
magical rites in his name or through personalities love-
imbued in his spirit?
7, “A loving heart will hit upon the method needed in a
particular case.” (T. R. Glover.) How far will this go
in solving life’s social needs? How far will prepared intel-
ligence be necessary to supplement “a loving heart’?
8 Does war do any good? What are its root causes?
- Judge of the relative value of the following suggestions for
the elimination of war: outlawry of war, League of Nations,
World Court, Disarmament, the reign of law, mutual racial
understanding through education, cultivation of the will for
peace through religion, Christlike good-will among men.
9. “The universe is great and splendid beyond our imagina-
tions. Let us not take a pitiful, mean outlook. Nothing is
too great or too good to be true.” (Sir Oliver Lodge.) Do
you agree? Why are biologists, chemists, physicists usually
likely to have a pessimistic view of the universe?
to. “The capital of a Church is a faith that works by
love, because it is a faith in love.” (P. T. Forsyth.) Has
the Church really given large enough room in its creed for
love? Why do not church-folk live the love of Jesus more?
CONCERNING THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Time—Spring of 27 A.D.
Place—A small hill west of the sea of Galilee, probably lo-
cated between Magdala and Capernaum.
Speaker—Jesus Christ, the Prophet of Nazareth.
Hearers—A multitude of people, chiefly folks from Galilee,
but also many from more remote points of Palestine:
poor and rich, women and children, soldiers, artisans and
laborers, shepherds, lawyers and priests, scribes, lepers,
blind and outcasts.
When recorded—27. .D., notes taken down by the disciple
Matthew.
50 AD. records of Jesus’ principal dis-
courses assembled in a papyrus roll,
245
[IX-s] THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
called the Logia, by the disciple |
Matthew. :
75 A.D. the gospel of Matthew written by
an unknown scribe, using the Logia
and the gospel of Mark as the chief
sources.
397. A.D., the Council of Carthage adopts
the complete canon of the New Tes-
tament as we now know it.
I61I A.pD., the Authorized Version of the
Bible completed in translation in
English and published.
Where recorded—The gospel of Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7.
The passage in Luke 6: 20-49 is not the
same sermon:
(1) Luke records a different place:
“He came down and stood in a
plain.”
(2) Luke records a different time:
Jesus had prayed on the mountain
during the night, had chosen the
twelve early in the morning, and in
the afternoon had come down from
the mountain to preach again.
(3) Luke’s record is different:
‘Matthew has 111 verses, Luke only
30; 10 of Luke’s verses are not in
Matthew; less than one-fifth of
Matthew’s sermon is found in Luke.
(4) A great personality with a vital mes-
sage often repeats himself. Doesn’t
this explain the similarity of
Luke’s sermon?
Is it authentic?—The Sermon on the Mount is not a fic-
titious concoction of stray phrases of
Jesus, but a marvelously accurate outline
of a sermon actually preached:
(1) Matthew, the tax-collector, could
write. The first time we see him
he is at the customs desk, making
notations. As a new disciple he
246 .
~ CONCERNING THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT [IX-s]
was deeply impressed by the Sermon
on the Mount. Its cutting truth
left a deep furrow in his memory.
Would it not be. natural for him
also to use the writing materials he
carried with him for a general out-
line of the sermon?
(2) Jesus spoke in Aramaic, a Hebrew
dialect.. In all ancient literature we
have but one statement that an eye-
witness wrote Jesus’ words in the
actual language of the Master. In
the third book of the historian
Eusebius, the thirty-ninth chapter,
we find the statement of a reporter,
Papias by name: “Matthew wrote
down (stenographically) the words
of Jesus (Logia) in the Hebrew
dialect.”
(3) The editor of our gospel of Matthew
is unknown. He based his story of
the life and message of Jesus upon
~ the following:
a Greek manuscript of the gospel of
Mark
a Greek translation of the Aramaic
Logia
a Greek translation of Old Testa-
ment prophecies £4
a series of documents of stories and
sayings common to Luke and
Matthew, called, for lack of
knowledge, Q1,°Q2, and Q3
a document of Palestinian traditions
about the birth and infancy of
Jesus, and parts of the Galilean
ministry
(4) The priceless document, the Aramaic
Logia, containing the eye-witness
records of the disciple Matthew, is
now lost. But at least two-fifths of
247
[IX-s]
THE MASTER’S MESSAGE
(6) One can read the Sermon on the
(7) The more one gets under the Ser-
our gospel Matthew is derived from
this most precious of all the records
of the life of our Lord. Scholars
agree that the Sermon on the Mount
is taken from the Logia. There are
five discourses which were probably
incorporated in the gospel by the
editor just as he found them in the
Logia. We find them ending with
an identical formula: 7:28, 11:1,
13:53, 19: I,.and 26: I.
(5) Scholars agree that the text of the
Sermon on the Mount has been less
tampered with than any other pas-
sage in the Bible. It is almost cer-
tain that we have a practically pure
copy of the original Logian record,
written by Matthew. This is a
wonderful fact, when we consider
that it has been passed down to us
through more than nineteen cen-
turies.
Mount aloud in less than eight
minutes. It is almost certain that
Jesus took longer than this to speak
to the people, possibly preaching ~
over an hour. What we have then
is a brief summary of the original
message. In the face of this fact
the theory that the Sermon is a
compilation of many different dis- —
courses appears ridiculous.
mon’s surface the more one feels
the strong current of a great unity.
On the basis of guesswork some
scholars have attempted to pick out
parts as extraneous and ungenuine.
A little careful study will reveal
that this dismembers a body of x
248 3
CONCERNING THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT [IX-s]
profoundly unified thought. The
condensation process has eliminated
transitional details, so that the
golden thread of continuity in pur-
pose and idea is only discovered
when the Sermon is explored in-
tensely as a whole.
(8) The internal evidence is almost con-
clusive. The words of Jesus dis-
close a definite situation:
5: 3-16—the ordination of new fol-
lowers who have very recently come
to the Master.
5: 17-48, 6:1-18—the reply to the
hostile leaders of the current re-
ligion.
6: 24-34——the frank condemnation of
a mammon-controlled church and
state.
7:1-6—an answer to some bitter
criticisms recently received.
7:7-27—four great principles of
reform:
(a) for the new followers.
(b) for the sick and needy.
(c) for the scribes.
(d) for the Pharisees.
Is the Sermon applicable now?—The Sermon on the Mount is
a summary of moral and spiritual truth which cannot
_change from century to century. Jesus is not concerned
___ with the details of personal or social life. He is con-
- cerned with the setting forth of vital principles of living,
laws for the governing of human conduct no matter when
‘or where. This message of the ‘Master contains the spir-
itual energies and dynamics for the building of a new and
better day in the world. -It is teaching for etermty, not
because of any superimposed ecclesiastical authority, but
because these words incarnate his own spirit, which must
rest in every breast before the new society shall come!
—_—
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