Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1919-04-19
Easter Always Anniversary of De-
Iverance of Wonderful
Message of Hope.
Joy of the Christian Soul Expressed
in Volume of Song and
Prayer.
Message Easter Brings Has Direct
Bearing Upon the Life
of Man.
GREAT DAY FOR THE WORLD

The joy of the Christian soul is
expressed at Easter in such a vol
ume of song as rises upon no other
day of the year. In the wealth of
flowers that adorn affairs, in the
music of choirs and the praise of
the children in their exercises are
found the manifestation of the joy
of hearts overlooking with the
happiness of renewed hope of life.
1t is the anniversary of the deliv-
erance of the greatest message of
hope the world has ever received,
summed up in the three little
words: HE Is Risen" 1t is the
Christian victory day"-Easter.
Most men everywhere at all
times have had some sort of idea
of immortality. 1t seems to be an
inherent quality in humankind. The
doctrine of the resurrection is not
an entirely new one. Even the
pagan before us had a glimpse OF
the truth and was moved TO recog-
nize it in his own way. Nature
herself proclaims the doctrine and
in every bursting bud of spring
time and the new songs of the
birds we read a confirmation of our
belief in a future life. Nature re-
joices along with men in a realiza-
ton of the glory of life, for that
which was dead is alive again.
But while we see in nature the
symbols of the great truth Of the
resurrection and delight in the
pleasing processes of the breaking
forth of new life in the natural
world, the Christian has something
deeper and more firm than nature
upon which to base his belief of
Immortality The materialist may
seek to read his future in the
natural world, but the Christian de-
ripes- his chief hope FROM difterz
ent source, source no less than
the message from God himself.
When Jesus broke the bonds of
death and became "the first fruits
of them that slept" He at the same
time became the hope of all hu-
mainly. Before Him, the way was
dark and shrouded in mystery, but
on that first Easter morning He
threw a flood of light upon the
gates of eternity, which illumined
the way for all and settled the ques-
ton of Immortality forever.
1t is but natural that the ami
versary of such a day should be
celebrated with various manifesto
tons of joy. but amid the songs
and the flowers and the pageantry
of our celebrations the great motive
of the day should not be lost sight
of. Things that minister to the
esthetic sense should not be al
lowed to overshadow the appeal to
the spiritual. If Easter brings no
message to a soul wear
led with worldly carse, no new in
spiration to take hold of the
things worth while with a firmer
grip, no new feeling of citizenship
in the eternal, our songs and flow
ers and pomp and pageantry, how
ever beautiful, are of momentary
value.
The message that Easter brings
to the individual has a very direct
bearing upon his life, for what one
believes about the future life may
largely determine his character, and
even his eternal destiny. One may
even go further and say what a
nation believes about the hereafter
determines the character of its gov
eminent in its practical dealing at
home and abroad, and the character
of the national life. The man or
nation that is not restrained by the
feeling that there is another world
IN which there will be a higher JUS
tice and a continued life of some
sort is dangerous.
Passing over the strictly religious
element in the resurrection OF
Christ momentarily, let us remem-
Der that history was made ON that
first Easter morning. When the
devoted women went down to the
tomb Of the Lord upon their mis-
sion OF love, 1t was given to them
10 hear the announcement from an
angel that was to turn the tide of
history and to give impetus to the
movement of unlifting men that is
still gathering force today. Jesus
was a great teacher and He gave TO
the world its best principles and
precepts. But there have been other
good teachers of morals and relig-
ion, and who knows but that his
teachings would not have persisted
with Him If He had not risen from
the dead and become the living in
spiration for the millions who were
to come after him. Herein lies the
distinctive difference between Christ
and other teachers and between
Christianity and other codes Of
morals and religion. Christian wor-
ship is directed toward a person
and does not consist in veneration
of q dead leader and slavish adher-
enee to a rule of life or set OF
regulations. Above all Christianity
is not a philosophy, but life,
drawing its inspiration from liv-
ing Christ, and having a universal
appeal because it speaks the Ian
guage of love.
Such religion can not be
beaten" 1t has all the qualities
of the imperishable, and so long as
the church maintains steadfast its
belief in the resurrection it can not