The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1914-12-26
SATURDAY. MIGHT
SERMON 3
BY ~, SSS - " -.
REySAMUELM ". puRyIS DID
THE MIRAGE OF LIFE.

THE MIRAGE OF LIFE.
Text. .what is your life: 1t rs oven .
vapor. Jas. iv. II,
Poor fool" A toy balloon was sail
ing near the housetops. A grocer's
boy with basket OF apples saw 1t
from the sidewalk. He stopped open
mouthed. staring eyed. 1t was de-
scending. His basket dropped. Some
one else overturned it. Its contents
scattered. He darted into the street
oblivious to trolleys. trucks, autos. 1t
was nearer. 1t bobbcd up and down in
the hckle breeze. His hand almost
touched 1t. 1t dropped again tnntaliz.
ingly ncar-he almost had it--theu up
again foot beyond his reach. An
other Whit of mir and 1t Is down direct.
ly In front of him. He darts forward,
claps his hands against its sides, and
II bursts. Nanishes into thin air. like
ghost at dawn He stands for a mo.
ment looking Mt the thin rubber tissue
In his hand. then fiings II aside in dis
gust. He looks for his apples. They're
gone. Poor fool.' And yet thou-
sands of others were darting from ths
same sidewalks into the courthouse,
the banks. the shops, the stock market,
the lurid movies" dashng by in big
red touring cars Mt the speed limit,
pursuing something just beyond them.
Have you seen folks when they have
caught up? Have you noted the en-
joyment seeker the moment after?
There is no time when the balloon Is
farther away than when you have
caught it.
The Mirage of Life.
After travelling for hours across a
trackless waste of burning desert
sand. tormented by thirst, the traveller
discovers his supply of water has fail
ed. The last muddy drops are drunk.
His eyes, ears and mouth are gradual
ly filling up with the fine alkali sand,
until he feels cupful OF water would
be worth its weight in gold. At this
moment, when his mind and body are
In such a-state of torment. he sees
TO his delight in the distance large
lake, its banks covered with palms,
its surface with little islands of re-
freshing green. Cheered by the sight
he presses on, eager to quench his
thirst. AS he goes the lake recedes.
At each advance 1t, too. moves. until
at last. tortured by thirst exhausted
by fatigue, he sinks in despair. He
has been chasing the mirage of the
desert. The effects Of mirage are ex-
traordinary. 1t is the very phantas-
magoria of nature; her widest, most
wayward and most fantastic sport.
She creates the illusion of laughing
waves, sparkling lakes. verduous Isl
lands. feathery palms, blooming flow
ers, only to mock the trareler's ravish,
ed eyes. The desert mirage is only
type of life itself. Turing man onward
toward tomorrow.
The Illusion of Life.
Life is an illusion. not deusion.
To paint wood or stone so that it will
be taken for stone or iron is delu-
sion. To paint picture SO that earth
and sky are not mistaken for what
they seem, but produce the emotion OF
earth and sky, this is illusion and is
the painters art. The law of Illusion
is written large in everyday life. Chill
dren live in the world of make believe,
and grown folks hunger for it too.
! We live in a world where our senses
trick us. Our earth seems larger than
any star. the moon is small, sky is
blue, clouds are feecy, the sun re-
wolves about the earth-at least so it
seems. Life lures us on, bangles the
prize before us. making sure to keep
1t just beyond our grasp. IL not our
touch. Youth has the freshness ot
morn to travel in. middle age blaze OF
high noon. old age evening shadows,
twilight-and after that the dark. The
prize lies at the end OF the race,
though Abraham never owned a foot
of ground, and Moses never crossed
the Jordan; he only saw the sweet
fields beyond the swelling food"
standing dressed in living green"
But they reached the great goal. So
we fathers promise a bicycle for the
boy. and a Phi Beta Kappa key bangles
before the man. and both are lured
4 through many a drab school day till
the education is finished
Tho VIII o. the Wisp.
Is the rainbow necessary as the rain2
Are clouds only Gods sprinkling pots,
or are they the canvas Of the sky? Are
apple blossoms only to produce apples.
or are they for bees and lovers eyes?
Should one have vegetable garden and
no flowers? Is truth merely to be
weighed and measured. or is 1t to be
dreamed, felt and imagined? The great
est truths Of life are only apprehended
through illusions. Knowledge is pass
ing from one illusion to another. AS
trology leads to astronomy. alchemy
to chemistry. savagery to civilization
The thousands dying on European bat
uefelds, filed with patriotism--illu
sion? Possibly. but on the way to a
higher patriotism. The heather in his
blindness is on his way to the cross
Of Calvary. Illusion Is the law OF
growth. Who can define the miracle OF
birth and the mystery of death? Who
knows what is health. when the weak.
ling lives through years and the athlete
dies In few sick days? Who can
define wealth save as accumulation of
things? Love is an illusion Many
June bride has most cried her eyes out
| before SeDtember But when the hon-