Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1922-06-16

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we know that our only source for this
was Jesus Himself, and that the para
bolic method of teaching was the one
He most commonly employed.
There are various ways Of looking at
the temptations of Jesus. We may,
as we have said, view it as supernatu-
raj and then it holds small interest
Tor us and is at best not inspiring and
rather unConvinCing, and as such it
would always seem to us a little thea
trlcal and unreal Or you may look
upon 1t as we are now, as spiritual
struggle intense, prolonged, real,
passing from phase to phase, through
gradual and shifting appeals which
could not have been clear cut to Tesu,
Himself, but rather shading from one
extreme to another.
There is a sense, of course, in which
we are bound to look upon this temp
tation as peculiar to Christ, and as
quite apart and above the temptations
which assail US But to consider it so
alone, is to do an injustice both to the
narrative and to Him Clearly we are
told this story, not alone to enhance
our Lord or to eXemplify His strength,
but to make us feel that which is COM
mon to us ALL that we may be stirred
| by His example and strengthened by
the assurance of His knowledge, and
understanding OF our own hearts
II we place Christ upon a pedestal
it is an honor which removes Him
from us He wants our fellowship and
love more than our worship and our
praise The truest way OF looking up
on the temptation is to consider the
experience typical to man True we
are not tempted to such an extent, not
alone because we could not bear it,
but also because we must always re-
member that Christ wa, unique
We have asked your consideration of
this story today because We feel that
it has a certain appropriateness for
days like this Some of you who are
listening to this story are also stand
ing with your period of preparation
complete, or, If not complete, in full,
at any rate at the turning point, fac
ing a new chapter in life Wh1J is to
be your guiding principle
If you have strong wills, dominant
personalities, clear conceptions Of what
this world needs and what service YOU
can render, the temptation will come
to you to turn stones into bread. to
Surmount obstacles which are in your
path to dominate over life There is
nothing necessarily wrong in this. Per
SonaltieS and wills are no; given to
us from below, but from above They
have a use Why should we not assert
ourselves2
We have seen OF late some very out
and out apostles Of thi, doctrine. Il
is the gospel OF strength of might, of
the forcing Of our will and way upon
reluctant nature or human nature. To
turn stones into bread may he thought
Of as the equivalent for making waste
places into fields OF waving grain, and
we have long commended the man who
makes two blades grow where nature
had designed but one to grow.
Moreover in this world We must as
sert ourselves. We canup. turn our
backs upon the sacred rights of person
atty But should life he lived in this
spirit; We may recoil from it when
stated in its ugliest forms by Nietzsche
Treitschhe, or in its most brutal form
by Bernhardi And in this very recoh
we may swing to the opposite extreme,
feeling that it is better finally to pass
through life with that quiet faith in
God which permits us to leave every
thing in His hands, to take the ar
mOur off and cast it away. to be con
tent with life as we find it, to preach
to ourselves and to all we meet sub
mission
We recognize this frame of mind in
what is a comparatively new cult Of
paCiicism. or passive resistance But
it is a fatal attitude of mind And .
we should avoid it among other things
because it is apt to be recoil from
the other position.
The story is told of Henry of Ger
many visiting monastery at Verdun
The quiet of the cloisters, the benign
life of the monks, the simplicity of the
problem made an almost irresistible /
appeal to the head weary with the .
crown He cried out that this was the
life which he wanted. The old story
goes that the abbot of the monastery
allowed him to renOunCe his crown
and to take the triple vow OF poverty,
chastity and obedience, which made
him monk. But having accepted his |
allegiance the abbot sent Henry back
to sit upon the throne he would have
no longer as king, but as a monk
1t is not right for us who are Charg-
ed with personality and will to seek
to evade our responsibilities of these
things, or to presume upon the care
and providence of God by casting our
selves headlong
If we are able to turn from the ap-
peal on the right and upon the left,
we may say to ourselves that the mid
die Of the road IS the place for us, that
life must be a series Of compromises /.
This is precisely, we believe, what the
third phase of the temptation meant
to be opportunists, to refuse to commit
ourselves, to adopt neither the martial
garb Of the soldier cutting his way
through foes to his object, or the
cowled priest praying his way through, |.
but to he a hybrid OF the two, polite, |.
adaptable, recognizing since life is +.
compromise, that it must he met in a /
compromising spirit For behind the
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