Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-11-12

possible to man without the interven-
ton of n miracle, and that in eXcrciS'
ing il with person after person He was
not so much treading solitary path Of
His own as blazing a trail for His fol-
lowers.
One hears great deal about psyche
analysis these days: physicians resort
TO It. with neurotic patients. lawyers use
II in their examinations, teachers utilize
its methods with their scholars. 1t is
being parodcd on the stage and is woven
into the plots of popular novels.
II seems 10 me somewhat clumsy
and involved imitation of Il method Of
| clearing the minds Of persons Of trou-
| blcd or unwhOlesome thoughts that has
always been used by the Church in
imitation of its Founder. OF course,
, like all great masters of technique. the
processes of Christ were so swift AS to
be almost indiStinguishablc from the re-
suit, and IN that He has never been
cqualcd. let alone surpassed. by His
tmitators, But study Of His way OF
, meeting people and by few approaches
arriving at the inner selves Of their in
dividualitieS does give even an ordinary
observer some clues GS TO Ills processes.
COME divisions of the Church more
~ than others have laid stress on the
adviSability of mastering the motives
ard the shades Of susceptibility uf tho
human mind some indeed have pushed
this study 50 far as to create n reaction
in an oppoaitc direction. So that there
is Il school Of practice that frOwns on
the analysis Of the human mind MS being
both dangerous and unwHTrantrd.
| remember one pastor very severe
-
account from George Eliot down 20
Henry James. He he'd that TO enter tho
mind and dissect the motives of any
human being was to enter holy of
holios TO which God and the individual
himself only should possess the pass.
key.
Between this extreme view on the one
hand and the school Of hccklcrs Of n
theological sort on the other, there are
the great majority of kindly and skill
ful physicians of the soul who, from
long experience of human necessities
and human suffering, have learned:
"ltow to minister TO a mind diseased |
Pluck from the memory n rooted sor-
row.
CERMONS are we'll enough, church |
~ services are good, presiding at the
of this good enterprise or
that is Il civic duty but the real life
of n minister is not in the pulpit. it !
is with the individual in his hour OF
trouble or his hour of JOY. on the real
occasions of life, on the days when the
soul Is having it's anniversaries of sor-
row or happiness.
And no school of prNnaratlon that
omits what my friend the college boy
called a study of good manners has ac-
tuRlly fitted the student clergyman for
the real task that lies before him.
II is easy enough to be at case and
20 be equal TO company consisting OF
persons who have one $ own code Of be-
havior and Of morals, but 1t is not so
easy to be natural and unaffected and
helpful in n company that is bclliGrrent
or skeptiCal or amused at one 5 stand
ards.
ITO LOSE dignity by taking off the
L color of ones surroundings. or to
lose friends by being stiff and unyleld-
ing in ones surroundings is to fail. The
shyncss that does not know what is
expected of it and the sclf-nssurancp
that IS patronizing are equally unfor-
tNnate in persons whose business in
life it is TO minister to the needs Of
their fellows.
My friend tho college hoy was right.
Tho intrinsic thing about man spo.
ciHlly dedicated to the service of tho
church - that he should be a gentle.
man ready to meet NIL men simply and
with n mind on their cIigcncieS and
heart at leisure from itself"
And rs 7 write this I wonder why
this should be. a necessity for the clergy
and not for the rest of us.