The Alaska citizen., 1916-06-05
BY TIRE REV. C. G BRUCE


 erence to duty fell upon deaf ears. Philosophers talked themselves dumb about the crime of expressing the weak We all know that thc path of duty is he way to glory, but duty is a cold word. and holds no allurement to the senses. IL takes a brave man to front d blazing can. non but what fortitude it requires to face social scorn, Lord Tenny- son understood Jesus assault upon the spirit of caste, whether mani fest in India or elsewhere. On the Sunday after the queen had be slowed the title. Tennyson went to given signal all the people stood until he had taken his seat. But the great poet asked the rector 10 make the working people, the pea sants and the gardeners understand that they had given him much dis tresS, and that when they met llIu OIl liIt SlltSl VI Ill iilt iltlAlsN, there must be no barrier between them and him and that he stood on no sand grain higher than oth- CTS, and that first of all he was q brother man. But Lord Tennyson borrowed that spirit of antagonism to caste from the One who would 2 l.
 ". Jesus assaulted cruelty, vice caste and also the wretched condi, tions that existed among the poor. Strictly speaking, Jesus never talked about poverty or wealth. He talked about Dives and Lazarus. In itself property is neither good nor bad :. it is simply force like wind, or electricity, or fire, and it's moral qualities come from the way it is used. Strictly speaking there is no such thing as tainted money; it IS tainted men. Jesus was not concerned so much with the outward trappings as the inner life In gen eraI, God trains men in the school of work and makes them strong by making them earn their own livelihood Some are coming down to the end of life with honors and office of high order. If they could start life over again with wealth and luxury, exempt from bur den bearing. they would with in stant decision refuse the gifts and choose instead the school of h1rI knocks. the nights of deep thinl; ing, and would welcome the fierce winds that often assailed their Trail out their own destiny and winning their own place. Men hold up their heads with great joy when they have won their places by dint of an honest struggle. A the begin ming Jesus made proof of His di- vine ministry by saying that He had come to preach the Gospel to the poor. He identified Himself with the weary multitudeS, because they needed His services and be- cause they were in the majority. Jesus talked neither about the wealth of the poor who had succeeded nor of the wealth of the rich. He the poor man who is struggling, and the spirit of the rich man who has succeeded To the rich man He said, GO give to the poor and come and follow Me" But selfish wealth controlled the man and made him continue to choose misery. Je- called men to be like Him. Jesus always reckons men by character. not coin.
 Embedded in the life of Jesus as foundation stones were the words, brotherhood and humanity. These words started endless revolutions They were to nave a great force In molding the future welfare of the ages With the word Brother hood Jesus assaulted the spirit of caste in all who capitalized the in tellect culture, position, greed, gold. With the word humanity Jesus as saulted all those who had made slaves of men who sowed the seed, built the shirJ erected the houses of business and pleasure, carried on the comr1erce of the day and were not permitted to share the profits The people of that day were quite right when they recog- nizcd that Jesus would have to be put to death and the plans He pro claimed throttled, or the old regime would soon be hopeless wreck. Upon the hearts of the slaves and the poor the new words fell like sweet music. Humanity, Brother hood What possibilities of joy and happiness these display. These thoughts born in Bethlehem were to go like warm words itto the regions of a cold world, and from that hour old social institutions were doomed and the ancient cru cities and vices would be no more
 Now just in proportion as mon