The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-06-23

Thwarting Beautiful Plans.
No paper in this country has pub
lished the story of a recent dramatic
and almost incredible incident from
Greece; which L find in a foreign
periodical; and which SO vividly con-
veys the point of the past three
months Sunday school lessons that 1
summarize it here.
In the village of Spilio, in western
Macedonia, dwelt in direst poverty,
a Greek father and mother, with a
boy George emigrated to America,
where he prospered from the first,
sending to his parents a monthly re-
mittance. After fifteen years, the
young man, grown wealthy. decided
to return home, carrying with him a
large amount of money. He arrived
in Macedonia in early April of this
year. and proceeded into the country,
first visiting on the way his sister,
who had married and removed to
village a short distance from the old
home. To her the brother brought
rich gifts.
In their happiness, brother and sis
ter connected a surprise for the par
ents-a story-boo deception that
would prolong Homecoming joys. It
was arranged that the returned exile
should announce himself as a friend of
the son, bearing gift; in order to
test WAGIn6T the 1dlIlST anu 4IOlIlSI
would recognize him after fifteen
years, in which time he had grown
from boyhood to manhood.
The rUse worked. The stranger
went to the old home, saying that the
son in America had commissioned him
drachmae to the father and mother.
As expected, he was not recognized.
but was received for what he pur-
ported to be. The visitor reIished the
~ -n To anil hoA he Cd
to postpone until morning the revela-
ton of his identity. After an evening
of happy talk he retired to sleep.
Such lovely story should have
beautiful ending. But the peasant
father and mother were sordid and
avaricious. They stayed up talking
over the great wealth in the fat wal
let of this exuberant stranger. Why
be content with only twenty thousand
drachmae, when they might possess
themselves of the whole store of this
visitor? So the father and mother.
with Ratchet and an axe, slew the
guest while he slept, and robbed him
of his money-only to find, when the
that they had slain their only son,
who had brought home his all in or
der to make them prosperous and
happyi The remorse-striclen mother
committed suicide. and
the father is in jail, awaiting trial for
As 1t Might Have Been.
Small wonder that the plain people
of Greco are athrill with horror over
this Arabian Nights story enacted in
their midst. Terrible as was the trag-
edy, it really personifies the expert
ence of the ancient kingdom of Judah.
God had promised and planned Won
derful things for His chosen people,
All the lavish bounty of a Fathers
providence was prepared for them.
Unique among the nations of time. the
special object of Divine love and af-
lection, the Jews were to have the full
filment Of their dearest dreams and
desires.
Nevertheless, this migrate people
thwarted all the beautiful plans of Je-
bovah for their welfare. They spurned
His prophets, flouted His word, and
supplanted His worship by heather
idolatries. Everything that could
minister to the profit and pride and
pleasure of the people had been pro-
vided by the loving care of the God of
yet the Jews preferred tho
and Immediate rewards
OF selfishness AMI carnality and the
fashions of their ne:ghbors. Reluc-
family, Jehovah punished the people
and extinguished the self-governing
nation. !
While we muse, as millions have
done for ages past, upon the tragedy |
Of the Jews, who are a people without
: country. we may fairly turn from
heir plight thruout the centuries to a !
of what they might |
have been had they kept faith with |
heir divine King. Judah would haya |
remained great and cody, a mission |
ary nation to save the world The i
ews would have been spared cen |
turtles of misery and obloquy. Instead |
Of being bounded from land to land !
hey would have been honored as the |
spiritual leaders Of the race.
Afraid to Be different"
Nobody has to look deeply into the !
ups and downs, and final collapse. of |
the Jewish nation, which we have been |
,eive an outstanding lesson for our |
own time. There is peril for the ma
ton that goes back on its highest des- |
tiny and mission. To fail to be ones |
as for a person. In this grave hour |
n national history-so much graver |
than most citizens know-it is inn
portant that We learn from ancient |
Judah to hold fast to what is highest |
and hottest in our heritage. This pre-
eminently is a lesson fer Christian |
patriots.
There is nothing obscure or compIi- !
Gated about the case of Judah and /
he cause of its downfall. The Jews /
simply did not have nerve enough or /
sense enough to be their best selves. |
In the face OF temptations quite like |
hose which confront every young per-
son out in the big world, they simply /
fell down" They lacked courage ID /
De loyal to their truest heritage. They
lid not dare to be different from
heir heather neighbors. 1t is the
mmemorial story of a crowd sinking
20 the level of it's lower elements,
-ather than rising to the heights of
is finest members
We have n paralIeNtoday to the de-
1ased paganism that surrounded mon
ltheistic Israel or Judah. A tide of
sordid materIaIism from continental
Europe has swept over the United /
States and Canada since the war. Old
world standards of personal chastity,
If the pursuit OF pleasures. of bust
ness, and of politics have threatened
% inundate US The Anglo-Saxon con-
,eption of the home. of social condi-
inns nP fndfr-idualisrn and of religion |