The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-03-23
THE MESSAGE OE EASTER

THE MESSAGE OE EASTER
Hope-that is the message which the first Easter
brought to man. Hope-that is the message which each
recurring Easter has emphasized. And hope is the sus-
tanning force Of all human endeayor-hope Tor better
things in this world and in the world to come.
Ages long had been the cropping of human philosophy
and human reasoning for the message which that first
Easter morning brought to earth and bestowed, a price
less gift, upon mankind. The brightest minds OF pagan
times had sought for this message. Something there was
in the human heart which told them that the message was
there, not yet revealed but waiting to be disclosed.
Not all their keenness OF intellect, not al thelr or,l,
lance of reasoning, not all their depth OF thought couLa
solve other remedies they might discover-but this great
problem baffled them and they could not tind the cure tor
the unrest which struggled within them. SO Paul found
at Athens an altar, erected to "The Unknown God 1t
was the best expression which they could find for that
yearning which could be satisfied only by the message OF
Easter.
They could not receive this Easter message because they
knew not the source from which it must come. Hope is
a divine attribute. But God did not reveal it to His own
people until in His wisdom they we're ready to receive 1t.
And, even then, some of them rejected it and spurned Inc
Messenger.
Glad should we be, this Easter morning and every morn
ing, that this message is ours. We do we'll to bring our
sweetest flowers in celebration of the anniversary which
occurs today. We do we'll to sing our sweetest songs in
commemoration of the Great Event which %transpired upon
that first Easter morning. For the rolling away, OF the
stone from the tomb typified the removal or the last o.
stacle in the way of the reception of the message tor which
mankind had waited and CROPPED and yearned through all
the ages which had gone before.
For this Easter message of hope is for each one OF u.s.
1t is not a message for a chosen few. 1t is tor the poor as
we'll as for the rich; for the young as we'll as TOR the old,i;
for the ignorant as we'll as for the learned; for the weak
as we'll as for the strong. 1t bids us look forward; it sets
for us a new goal; it puts within the grasp OF each one OF
us the attainment of that for which the rich, the powerful
and the wise Of ancient days strove in vain.
Blessed are we beyond measure that this priceless pos
session is ours. The Easter message is what has made pos
sible all of human progress, for it has given a new inspira-
ton tor human effort.
Hope has transfigured the world. 1t has shed new light
upon the earth and its people; Where men dwelt in dark-
knowledge of the morrow, they now labor happily in the
consciousness of sure reward. Hope has illumlned this
life with a brightness of which man had no conception
until it was revealed by the word spoken on the first las
And in the light of hope we are able to see that the world
is becoming better in this radiance and through its lntll-
ence. Each year the battle for the right is waged more
strongly and with greater determination than ever before
The battle is worth fighting because of hope; it is possible
for us to make the struggle because, OF hope; we have con-
fidence in ultimate victory because of hope.
So let us rejoice this Easter morning, because OF the gift
of hope. Let us be glad that this hope is ours and that no
one can take it from us. Let us bring flowers and let us
come with songs. For it is Easter morning. 1t is the most
glorious holiday which we know. 1t is the anniversary of
the greatest gift of God to man.
Now, while the wonderful miracle of spring is being per,
formed all about us; while the life OF earth is shaking or
the letters of winters %blighting touch; while leaves and
grass and flowers are s%pringing into lite; while the BIRDS
renew their singing and the other living creatures Waken
from long silence and stiffness ct us receive anew this
wonderful message and let us find in it a new significance
a deeper fuller meaning than we ever grasped before.
And let US take up the work which has been given us
to do-no matter where or what it may be-with the deter
mination to do it better, to carry out the precept OF the
Golden Rule-the application of the message which Easter
brought. For this is not a once-a-year message; it is a mes
sage for everyday use and application. 1t is hope-hope
for better things in this life and in that life which is tc
come. And, taking this with us into our daily life, let us
believe that the world is better and let us strive to make i
better.
For we have hope-hope, the sustaining power of al
right endeavor.