The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-01-03
The Inside Of the Cup
A great serial
OF ROMANCE, MYSTERY, ADVENTURE
un;.a
By Winston Churchill.

) race Of inspirers, prophets, modern
Apostles to whom this GIT was
given, going on their rounds, awak-
ing cities and arousing whole country
sides.
FAITH THE KEYSTONE.
But whence--it might be demand
ed by the cynical-were the proph-
cts TO come? Prophets could not
be produced by training and edu-
cation, prophets must be born. Re-
born-that was the word Let the
Church have faith.
Once her Cause were perceived
once her whole energy were direct
ed towards it's fulfillment. the proph-
cts would arise. out of the East
and out OF the West, to stir man
kind to higher effort to denounce
fearlessly the shortcomings AMI
evils OF the age. They had not
failed in past ages. when the world
had fallen into hopelessness. indif-
ference and darkness. And they
would, not fail now.
Prophets were personalities, and
Phillips Brooks-himself a prophet
had defined personality as n con-
scious relationship with God. "All
truth" he had said. "comes to the
world through personality" And
down the ages had come an Apos-
tolc succession OF personalities-
Paul. Augustine, Francis, Dante,
Luther. Milton-yes. and Abraham
Lincoln, and Phillips Brooks. whose
authority was that OF the spirit
whose light had so shone before
men that they had glorified the
Il. IL l. L.. L.
current of whose power had so
radiated in Overwhelming circles as
to make incandescent countless
other souls
And which among them would
declare that Abraham Lincoln. like
Stephen. had not seen his Master
in the sky?
THE REAL MEANING.
The true prophet, the true apostle,
then, was one inspired and directed
by the spirit, the laying on of hands
was but a symbol--the symbol of
the sublime truth that one person
ality caught fire from another. Let
the church hold fast to that symbol,
as an acknowledgment, a reminder
of supreme mystery.
Tradition had it's value when il
ulu not INTO
ton. into the mechanical. automatic
transmission characteristic of the
medieval church, for the very sug-
gestion of which Peter had rebuked
Simon in Samaria. For it would b..
remembered that Simon had said:
"Give me also this power that on
whomsoever I lay hands he may re-
ceive the Holy Ghost"
The tFle s,IcceSSOr the an0a-
ties must be an apostle himself.
Jesus had seldom spoken liter
ally, and the truths he sought to
impress upon the world had Of
necessity been clothed in figures anc
symbols--for spiritual truths might
be conveyed in no other way. The
supreme proof of his godship, of his
complete knowledge of the meaning
of life, was to be found in his par
ables.
To the literal, material mind,
for example, the parable of the
talents avs merely an unintelli-
gible case of injustice. What was
reilly meant by the talents? They
were opportunities for service.
Experience taught us that when
we embraced one opportunity, one
responsibility, the acceptance Of
it invariably led to another, and
so the servant who had five tall
ents, five opportunities. gained
ten. The servant who had two
gained two more. But the serv-
ant of whom only one little serv-
ice was asked refused that, and
was cast into outer darkness, TO
witness another performing the
task which should have been his.
He'll, here and hereafter, was the
spectacle of wasted opportunity,
and there is no suffering to COM
pare to 1t.
The crime. the cardinal sin was
with those who refused to serve,
who shut their eyes to the ideal
their Lord had held up, who
strove to compromise with Jesus
Christ himself to twist and tor
ture his message to suit their
own notions as to how life should
be led; to please God and Mammon
at the same time, to bind Christs
Church for their comfort and
selfish convenience.
EwN