Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-06-01
Unless a need there be that
should pray. ...

I Unless a need there be that
| should pray.
TOO hurried oft we are to spare tn,
thought,
For days together, of some friends
Perhaps God does it for US, and we
To read His signal as a call tc
pray.
Perhaps, just then, my friend ha:
fiercer fight,
And more appalling weakness
and decay
OF courage, darkness, some lost
sense of right;
And so. in case he needs my
prayer, l pray.
Friend, do the same for me. If
intrude
Unasked upon you. on some
crowded day,
Give me moments prayer as inter
lude;
Be very sure I need it, therefore
pray"
Following a Great Leader
All voices that come back from
the trenches of Europe declare that
the United States has as yet no con-
ception of what 1t really means to
enter the war. The people as a
whole are unaware of the signifi-
canoe of their great decision. Only
a great baptism of blood will ade-
quately consecrate the nation to its
solemn task. Then the true nature
of this mighty self-dedication will
appear.
In contrast, we see Jesus going
forth to His sacrifice open-eyed and
deliberate. Here we have a central
word of the Lesson: Jesus, there
fore knowing all the things that
were coming upon him, went forth.
He assumed full responsibility before
the crowd that had come after Him
and before the law. He lodged
squarely to the load of obligation.
No Stacker" He. Here we have a
portrait of the bravest soldier and
finest gentleman who ever faced a
reckless foe. Jesus was Man, after
the best pattern.
Like all great leaders, His first
concern was for His friends and fol-
lowers. Let these go their way"
was His first thought when arrested.
That is the eternal difference be-
tween a statesman and a politician.
The former is concerned about the
welfare of his people and of the
world; the politician is primarily in
terested in his own prospects of re-
election. A Chinese friend in eX-
planning present conditions in Pc
king, said to me recently, There
are two kinds of officials in our gov
ernment; first. the scholars, who
have ideals and patriotism; and
second, the men who have bought
/, ,NtV. nfR az 20
graft" That is, one sort of leader
looks out for himself; the other sort
looks out for his people.
That Kiss
AS every mountain has its valley,
so Jesus had His Judas. The sublim-
ity of the one throws into contrast
the perfidity of the other. What an
infamy has been that of Judas-to
stand throughout all the centuries as
the type of the traitor and false
friend. No wonder Dante put him in
the lowest pit of his inferno. He is
the only man in the Bible of whom
it is written that he went to his
own place"
When black disloyalty reached its
lowest depth, and an intimate friend
and comrade betrayed his sublime
Leader to an unmerited death, the
signal he gave to the enemy was a
kiss. This seems the final touch oi
horror Crying, Hail. MASTER" he
kissed Him.
Worse yet. That kiss was no per-
functory salute such as orientals
give. 1t was. as the Greek word
shows, a passionate, repeated, ardent
kiss. The original may be rendered
He kissed Him again and again,
and as the prodigal sons father kiss
ed the wanderer, and as the woman
once kissed the feet of the Master
All, Judas, you were indeed a very
devil. Only hell could brew such
blackness.
But stay. Judas was the most
orthodox" disciple, the only one
from Judea. He has companied with
Christ for three years. Nevertheless
beneath all His Journalism there grew
this treason. Does it not give pause
to every disciple of Jesus? Let him
that standeth take heed lest he fall
There are Judas possibilities in the
best of us. We. too. may prove false
to our best Friend and dear Re-
deemer.
Every Judas makes a Gethsemane
for his betrayed friend. For it was
sin that caused the Savior's agony in
the Garden-the sin of Judas and OF
all the rest of us. That wrung the
soul which is carnated love. That
forced the bloody sweat. With bowed
hearts we contemplate the scene in
the Garden of Grief.
"'Tis midnight; and on olives brow
The star is dimmed that lately
shone:
'Tis midnight; in the garden, now
The suffering Saviour prays
alone.
"'Tis midnight; and. from all re.
moved,
Emmanuel wrestles lone with
fears:
Fen the disciple that He loved
Heeds not his Masters grief and
tears.
"'Tis midnight; and for others
guilt,
The Man of Sorrows weeps in
blood:
Yet He that hath in anguish knelt
Is not forsaken by His God.
"'Tis midnight; from the heavenly
plains
Is borne the song that angels
know;
Unheard by mortals are the strains
That sweetly soothe the Saviour S
woe.
RAMa Az RAFA