Norwich bulletin., 1919-12-26

also learn from history that that very will to power, these very self asser- tive qualities, imbridled and turned against his feIlowmen, have brought him nought but discord and incessant warfare; and that no civilization built upon these qualities has ever stood the test of time.
 What wonder that those ancient en- pires are now but memory and name. What wonder that, with their conceptions of deity. they failed to. have any regard for love and good will. What wonder that their voices submerged and overwhelmed thern- Over against all this turmoil and con- fusion, then, the message of Christ. the Christians message. puts the spirit of love, peace, good will.
 You will note that have taken my text from the Revised Version. and that it reads not Peace on Earth. goodwill to men," but, And on earth peace among men of good pleasure, 7 ] or goodwill. That is the way the ence is noteworthy. Doubtless. 1t is ! true that because of Christ's birth at Bethlehem, all human life has been en- riched: that thousands who have never followed Christ, nor even ackrowledg- ed Him, have found life easier and more peaceful because of Christian de- votion and philanthropy. But the text would have us see that the angels message proclaimed a peace that was to be among men of goodwill or pleas ure only. That is to say, our peace
 with God, our peace with our fellow men, peace between nations, de- bends largely upon ourselves.
 l For tf9e will to power Christ sub | eli +t,. r.1 | through our goodwill, our willingness to serve God through the service o1 one another. The lesson of Christmas S
 then has force for us only as we dc our part, only as we respond to its ! conditions. God cannot bestow His peace upon man or nation who is ir the midst of rebelling against Him For Gods peace can find no place 1T the heart of him who is filled with the spirit of ennuity or i'll will. The J spirit of Christmas, again is the spirit of love and brotherhood It i. the will to goodwill. That means tha the will to power which leads cass tt
 fight class and nation to fight na,
 tion rules out of the peace of God The two things are precisely contra , dictory. If one be chosen the othe is then and thereby rejected. Whel
 
 you see that the Germans were strict | ly logical in practicing frightfulnes and refusing to be humane toward , their foes. From the fundamenta : viewpoint that might is right and tha , the will to power is the supreme dut, of a state, their whole course follow ed naturally and inevitably. o , course, it all meant a deliberate rejec | tion of Christianity because 1t was con ; ceived in i'll will rather than good vii And it never could have hoped fo l. Gods peace as defined and reveale f by Christ.
 3 The same is true of class warfare ' The only peace worth having, the onl
 enduring peace is the peace of Cox
 Which comes to us in proportion a ! we submit to His cause and follow tn z example of His Son. In a word, z will come to us only in so far as W l. cultivate in our hearts and lives tn 2 spirit of brotherhood, of good vii
 The will to power so emphatically il
 frustrated by the Germans and in ou
 class struggles is simply return t conditions which the world, all that i
 highest and best in the world hai l outgrown and discarded. It is a retur ! to state of things which, when it pre- F vailed in the world, was the caus
 of incessant conflict.
 f Yes. the verdict of history ampl f vindicates the. angels message, tha
 Gods peace is for those men, an f those only. whether individuals or na 9 tions, who are men of goodwill, wh
 are filled by the spirit of brother hood. Not the will to power. bu f the will to brotherhood and service v the lesson alike of Christ and of tn { greatest event of our times.