New Ulm review., 1912-12-25

mater, tho awful fact that thers 10 nc
peace on earth even among tho nation
OF Christendom, nor good will anon
men; that few indeed are they wh
love their neiRhbor rs themselves, an
80 fulfill the second great command
ment, seldshness is not the except'o
but the rule; and by no stretch OF th
imagination can our civilization b
called aitruistic nor Christlike.
s.Good Will to Menu" Go to th
great cities OF our civilized nations
acqusint yourself with the lives of tn
people. What Is the picture there re
forced upon your vision? Fierce com
petition for wealth, fame, abundance
selfish luxury, grinding poverty white
slavery; stunted children and tiret
mothers working 10 the mills ant
sweat shops: increasing insanity
crime and suicide; judicial murder o
criminals; thousands OF dumb snimal'
yearly tortured by vivisecttou! Dsr'
We say, Peace, Good Will, in th'
presence OF these?
Yet we call ourselves civilized, en-
liehteued; and because you and l.
(let 10 assume 1t 10 true) do mol
directly encourage, or take part 10, OF
share in the profits OF these enor'
mites, We, aye, with hardly ono ab-
solutely sincere exception 10 million
We say, or ve think, or We act,
"Lord, thank Thee, am not ~
other men, extortioners, unjust"
Csu We then say % = race or .
nation, can We even say - individuals,
that We have taken the Christmas
message to heart aud made it part
OF our lite2 Yet the very fact that We
do feel the Christmas thrill OF Joy for
one brief moment of time has ito
Significance and its promise. In spite
Of the facts OF life, it is q sign and
symbol OF what does lie In our hearts,
however covered over and forgotten.
Let US ask further then. What is
its significance sud origin? Is il q
message Of Christendom only, or does
it spring from some far more ancient,
some pr.meval source? Was the event
of two thousand years ago, the birth
Of The Child, destined TO be q Savior
Of men, whose name and worship was
70 sway the destiny OF the world,
merely an historical event, however
it's Significance. or was it
me recurring symbol born from the
divine heart of the Universe,
and therefore not less, but more grand
more stupendous, more sublime by
ar?
When we study the legends, the
and the sacred writings of
.nt:ouity. and ind the same symbolic
lrama universally enacted; the same
story, in its essentials, universally
old, We can come to 20 other con
,lusion than this that the story of
Jesus was the story OF the re-enac,ment
If the world drama, and that all the
I'D nations, Egypt, India, China,
Persia, Scandinavia. Greece, Mexico,
lad their Divine Teachers, proclaim
ng the same message, pointing the
me way, the way from darkness to
light.
And it is not by chance that We
celebrate this festival AZ This season
# the year altho History does not tell
IS definitely when the Christ was born.
rhe sun iu its yearly course thru the
heavens fixes the date, and gives the
ley to its meaning. It Is for this
eason that our hearts feel for q |
moment the peculiar glow s:d thrill OF
rood will and peace at Christina slide:
t is because this festival has warranty |
q the eternal order OF the Universe,
q the very nature Of man, and in the
ife history OF humanity, which is the
lie history of ourselves.
We're We to look only at the outer
picture of the world, We might we'll be
appalled,, We might we'll proclaim the
of peace and good will .
allure and q mockery; but there is an
nner fact in human nature, forgotten,
let at naught, profaned, deiled, de-
lied, yet unconquerabie, reasserting
tself though rebu fed ten million
lines. It is this fact, the central,
most stupendous fact and reality in
ife. that at the very heart of things is
Itself, that at the very core
md root of our being is the Divine
Essence, Immortal, Interchangeable,
'uu-bright, Glorious, Pure: 1t is this
act that all unknowing We celebrate
10 Christmas morning; il is this !