The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-12-24
OF
THE CHRIST LIFE
"A Deeper Side Than Fond Fam
cies of Mythology, Says
Rev. Mr.. Eddy.
BELIEVES IN INCARNATION
sELF-SAcRIFICE THE KEYNOTE
OF CHRISTIAN LIVING.

In the First Unitarion church Sunday,
Rev. Frank Fay Eddy discussed the sig
nlflcance of the life of Jesus OF Naza-
reth as typifying the Christ life.
Mr. Eddy introduced his theme by say
ing that he turned away from the myth
ology with which fond fancy has adorh-
ed the nativity to seek the deeper reasons
why Jesus. called the Christ. looms SO
large upon our spiritual horizon.
TO believe the tale of the shepherds.
or OF the three wise men, or of the yir-
gin birth is to retain. against the pro-
tests of reason, the credulity of child
hood" he said. There is no more reason
for believing the folklore clustering
around the birth of Jesus. in the calm
judgment of adult years. than there is in
believing in the stories about good st.
ITO the Unitarian the significance of
| this life does not lie in the wonders with
which it is ushered in or in the mythical
and magical portents surrounding its end
upon the cross Where then does its sig
nlflcanee lie? The answer is found in
a rational Interpretation of the incarna-
ton and the TRANSPORTATION.
Believes in Incarnation.
Il believe in the incarnation. So do
| you, and / think most of you who are
| here this morning believe in it as I do.
we believe an active principle of riente-
ONSACSSr tAFTtSStO III nODle luealS OF OutN.
in surging tides of the spirit carrying us
| onward toward service, in the pure un-
| seltlshness OF love and the mythical ties
/ OF faith uniting US to an over-soul, whose
| lace ana form are ShrOuded in the lniStS
/ of infinity.
These diviner appeals play upon our
humanity. We respond to the greater or
| less degree 1t is quite the most won
derful thing in the universe that We fu-
mans have this capacity of spiritual I'M
Outstanding, fashioned as we are, still in
| the clay of the brute There is q mystery
in the incarnation. but it is universal
mystery, applying no more to Jesus than
to one of us
1.-The difference between Jesus and enc
j Of his disciples, a Peter or John. for
/ instance. was not unreasonable with the
| human yard-stick. All lived On the hui
man plane, Jesus as much as the rest.
But Jesus climbed to the spiritual heights
| Of life. In him We find righteous incar-
nate to the supreme degree possible To
man, or at least so 1t seems to US row.
Hence his life has a meaning to US; it is
| the life of one of our own kind.
New Meaning Found.
I'VE no longer think of pIacating God
with blood sacrifice. A newer meaning
is being given to Christ's life even in
i the expressions of the nominally ortho-
/ doX. The meaning is found in what if
! incarnated. Right here we who have
/ long fought on the lonely outposts extend
cordial greeting to those who come tar
/ Oily enough to our support We say with
them, Yes. God requires of a great soul
/ that before it shall give forth It's gospel
it must inearnate that gospel. must give
/ its very life into its possession.
| ut is sacrifice, self-sacrifice. Tie
world and all it holds is as nothing in
| the balance against the compelling eos-
pei. This self-sacrifice is joyous and
complete; it is less sacrifice than self
| expression Yet IL must be made by our
| prophet, or the fire of inspiration burns
low and his aspirations flutter with clip
ped wings.
''One curious result OF this self-immo-
lation, this supreme act of incarnation.
| is that an ideal figure takes the place OF
/ the real man. The man gives his name
| to an idea or ideal which sweeps
around the earth and lays generations
! under its spell His dream or his gospel
| lives. while he himself almost in his own
| lifetime becomes unreal and sh2d0Wy.
an idealzed figure. Thus the sacrifice
| Moses, the real Guatauma, the real Mo-
| hammed the real Jesus is exchanged for
! a figure fashioned of our dreams In the
same way and in no less degree are lost
the real Alexander, the real Caesar. the
real Napoleon. Cromwell. Washington
| and a host of others who stalked so
| bravely and with martial tread across the
] pages of history
A Chinese Parable.
"The work of a great spiritual leader
like Jesus is perhaps best illustrated n
parable. his own favorite method. Let
me bring you a parable from book of
wierd STOKES. called Some Chinese
Ghosts by LafcddiO Hearn. 1t is the
| tale called Tine Soul of the Great Bell.
In brief it is this. Some five hundred
| years ago a Chinese emperor commanded
one of his high officials to have bell
cast that might be heard one hundred II.
| and Furthermore commanded that the bell
| should be strengthened with brass and
deepened with gold and sweetened with
| silver. Upon its lips were to be engraved
| the blessed sayings of the sacred books
| and ii Ia he GuSDEndpd IN the center
of the imperial city of Pekfn. The Man.
DARN Kouan Yu assembled all the mas
ter moulders and bellsmiths in the en-
pire and set them at work But the first
bell came forth cracked and ugly; like
| wise the second.
ure deereed that if the third attempt re-
| suited no better. that Kouan Yu should
| be beheaded. Now this mandarin had d
beautiful and pious daughter named 10
| Ngai Alarmed for the safety of her
father she sold her jewels and with the
| gold obtained sought famous astrologist
for advice After consulting the heavenly
he b ea her th that be the una ssas
virgin was fused with them in the fires
of the crucibles. Ko-Ngai told no one of
her secret, but on the day set for the
casting accompanied her father to the
| foundry There from raised platform
she cast herself into the fiery lake of
metal crying as she sprang to death.
| For thy sake father This bell, so
rms the tale is the great bell which still
marks the nour in the great tower of the
ancient city and every child knows that
II sobs for the name of Ko-Ngai, round
and full followed by minor note like
SO Jesus. incarnate righteousness at
feeted the fusion of discordant elements
| In our human life so that today peals
| forth his message of living love: Peace
on earth. good will to man."
Omen the bowels-DeWitt's Little Early
| piSers are recommended and sold by
| rhss. VanDyke, $50 Main.