Omaha daily bee., 1896-04-05
REV. NEWTON VI. MANN,
Unitarian.

Easter IL the festival OF reviving life. In
this wide significance, 1t includes the annual
spring-time awakening and the NEUROLOGICAL
incident of the Masters resurrection. AS
this incident, in the uatural course of events,
40 far as IL has been made to cover a phys
ical fact, is passing out of credence, the ten
dency is to recur to the original idea OF
Easter as the spring festival. The very
word Easter" we should remember Is the
name of the Saxon goddess of spring, whose
festival was kept at this season with great
rejoicing by our ancestors, before they be-
came Christians. The name and something
of the spirit Of the old festivities have been
preserved, the occasion lending itself with a
certain fitness to the dogmatic IDEA OF
resurrection impaired by Christianity.
For practical lessons, however, we find our
selves going back to the original import of
the day. the fact Of great awakening in
nature of which we are every year the wit
uessest-we Of the northern lands, that Is;
Teutonic mythology overlooked the people
south of the equator, who are now In the
midst OF their harvest In Chill. in South
Africa N Australia, Easter, to preserve It's
proper significance, ought to come six months
later. HDwever, the date suits the great
bulk of the earth's population, and by It's
eprng-time recurrence aptly appeals to GER
tain sentiments which open with the earliest
flowers In these days, when earth is stir
ring with an irrepressible life, we too, are
stirred and even invountarily partake OF the
general exaltation. The sun has not climbed
70 the euuinoctial without stimulating life
in us, as well as around us, and, whether we
will or no, we are in the movement, revived
with the revving life, gladdened with re-
joicng world. The spirit OF new enter
prise awakens; the farmer adventures to
plant again the seed; fresh hopes of a favor
ing oeason are born; schemes OF various I'M
provement take shape. Each spring we
seem to be entering upon a new-made world,
at least a world revived from the sleep of
death, and respring the freshly impaired
breath of life. Nature annually sloughs the
old habiliments, and after the night of win
ter, comes forth to the spring morning, in
her new and daintiest garments; seeming to
say to all her creatures Follow my exam
pie. Put off the stained robes of last year;
forget the ills received and the ills done; let
bygones be bygones; start afresh, and try
to do better"
Nature shows signs Of age The forests
been ages in process of deposition; the stars,
when did they begin to shine? But the
dame loves to hide her age And, indeed,
who shall say that she Is not as young as
ever she was? Did sun star ever emit a
fresher light than now? Did the green
earth ever look greener, newer, than in these
last few springs that we have seen it? 1t
is not a mimicry of youth that nature makes
in these days, 1t is a veritable youth she
shows US, an actual renewal of life. Last
years leaf and bud and blossom withered
in her hand, but she kept the type, the
ideal, and through all years will reproduce
the forms. These fade but that abides in
immortal youth.
What is excellent,
AS God lives, Is permanent"
NEWTON M. MANN,
Pastor Unity Church.