New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-12-22
BUCKLE down and
DO TASK AT HAND
This Is Essence Of Christmas
Message From Rev. ". F. Cook

Trinity M. E. church, sent the follow
This Christmas cannot be like any
other we have known. 1 need not
tell you why. The minds and hearts
of men are darkened by the shadow
Of world events which no-one bug
the most superficial can push aside.
Even the bright light of past menu
cries. the blessings of good health.
Of good friends, Of loved ones still
near US, and all the good gifts OF .
country far from the maddening
scenes of war, are not sufficient to
drive this shadow of chaotic world
condition from our minds. We cam
not escape it. We do not want to 4
escape 1t. &
When we face a hard task we feel
that we have been slackers II we back
away from it or go round leaving it
for the next to come. On the other
hand we feel a deep sense of satisfac-
ton il we buckle right down and con-
quer the thing at hand. The harder
it Is the more our satisfaction. This
Is the spirit In which we must meet
the present day. Whether our bur-
den is because of personal loss and
misfortune, or whether it comea
through the larger communal issues
of a world at war, or both, let ua
know that there is but one way TO
meet it manfully, and that, in a spirit
Of sound determination, not to allow
it to dampen our spirit of hope and
goodwill or cloud our faith In the ul-
innate triumph of right. ~
These are glorious days! Thefa
were never better days to live in than
these-never such. days Of opportu-g
nifty and challenge. Never were there j
such days before in which to test and
bring out the real stuff Of which men
and women are made. While this
will be sad Christmas for many,
there is sense in which 1t will be
the best Christmas the world has yet
known. We're q bigger, better pe6-
pie than we have been before. We've
decidd to go up our Calvary-and We
shall save a world" We are slowly
putting of our old life, Of. ease and
self Indulgence. and. bit reluctantly
but surely, putting on our new life
OF sacrifice and unselflsh purpose.
which is becoming the garment OF \
the world. We are giving the best we
have and we shall be ready to give
all we have, il necessary. to feed the
fires Of war that those fires may Be-
/ put out forever .1s II Il sS
How shallow and selfish life wasq
growing before this war broke in4upon
US. The deeper meanings Of life were
being lost In the mad rush OF fashion.
fortune and frivo1ity. The world was
losing IT'S soul. And now the world Is
being stirred to It's depths. Mem are
coming back from the trenches who
! will have seen life in all its bare reali-
! ties. Men will have walked through
| the valley and the shadow Of death; if Z
indeed they have not fallen there
| Those who come through alive will be !.
| sobered by these experiences. They
| Will have learned the real from the
superficial. They will have found the
| true worth of human sympathy ana
human Kindness. They will know the
full meaning of human brotherhood.
Others who cannot go, will learn SINH
lar lessons through their labors and
| gifts and losses
And when these men who come
! back, walk our streets again bearing
in their bodies, minds and souls the
marks of the worlds Calvary, we will
catch some of their spirit and live bet
ter, nobler lives. This will be the
worlds reward for its pain and loss
God is blessing us If we but see and
accept it. For the highest meaning
of life Is not found In joy and happir
ness, but in the development Of char.
acter. It is true that joy and happi-
ness come through the development OF
character, but these are incidental re.
wards. If we seek these first we sllalk.
certainly meet with disappointment
and sadness. "He that seeketh his
own happiness shall lose 1t but he that
Il. Lit H. -
ers sake shall indeed find it," We have
long used the expression "a Merry
Christmas" as a Yuletide wish. We
will begin now to wish our friends a
meaningful Christmas-one which wills
be full of blessings whether OF PROS
perity or adversely, of fortune or mis-
fortune. 49, ft5Y
Back of the lines in France is a
ruined cathedral in a ruined village.
but the altar is untouched, and every
Sunday morning the altar lamp Is
lighted, the Host uplifted, the bless
ing Of God invoked. And every Sum
day morning the cathedral is shelled-s
but the altar remains untouched. One
finds in this a symbol-that in the.
very midst of the horror which this
war has created there is a quiet place
where the lamp Of hope and trust Is
kept burning. From the polluted
trenches of Vimy the peoples spring
up, blazoning abroad in vivid scarlet
our lads willing sacrifice. All last .
April, high above the shooting of our
guns, the lark sank joyously.' The
scarlet of the poppies, the song Of the
larks, the lamp shining on the altar,
are but signs of the unconquerable.
righteous faith which lies In the
hearts of men-a faith made right
eous and unconquerable by the very
struggles men undergo.
Assemble, then, in your homes, or
in the homes Of your friends, on.