Evening star., 1932-12-25
Again and Again.

Again and AGAIN.
The Saviour of Mankind was born
into a world Of trouble. Christians be-
lieve that it was because Of the dis
traught condition Of the children OF
earth, the godlessness, the sinfulness,
the unhappiness Of men, that He was
sent to preach and teach and die IN
Judsa.
The Divine Nativity occurred at Beth
lehem, the City of David. "in the days
of Herod the King" about or BIC.
The exact date is unknown. But that
detail does not matter. The important
fact is the state of the human race al
the moment OF His appearance.
The Emperor Augustus dominated the
Roman Empire in the constitution OF
which Judea was conquered fragment.
He had made the senate a mere shadow
Of his will, and the provincial admins
tration, OF which Herod was a member,
was a cruel bureaucracy, grinding the
enslaved peoples into poverty and deg
radiation. The mocking shadow OF
liberty still existed, but 1t served only
to emphasize the absence OF Its sub
stance. Augustus, rebuilding his capital,
needed revenues, and his subjects were
taxed to the limit Of endurance to pro-
vide them.
War and disease worked consistent
havoc over the known map OF Europe
and Asia. An artificial prosperity gave
place to widespread depression and dis
order. suffering and distress. Many an
ticipated the destruction Of the world.
There were numerous indications that
prevailing troubles would increase In
complexity unless there were some
drastic constructive change In social Or
ganization, government and economics.
What was needed was spiritual leader,
q great teacher to summon men back
to humane ideals and to a better code
OF personal conduct. At the crisis
the Nazarene. the humble carpenter
who had not where to rest His head yet
was Of the royal seed Of David, o1ered
Himself for His people. For few brlef
months the white light Of fame beat
upon Him. Then followed the betrayal.
the trial and Calvary. The greatest
drama in the annals of mankind had
been played. To its effects modern
scholars trace a major portion OF such
civilization as tho world enjoys today.
But again and again similar eras OF
trouble have occurred, and the nations
at this present Christmastide md
themselves involved in economic and
social disorder not altogether unlike
that Of nineteen hundred years ago.
Now, as then, q convincing teacher Is
needed. The pendulum Of time has
swung back to a repetition OF the
epoch Of the unworthy successors OF
Augustus -Tiberius. Caligula. Claudius,
Nero and the rest. It might be sup
posed that dark centuries Lie ahead.
However, that such q pessimistic out
look is unjustihed Is made manifest IN
the fact that while humanity may suf-
fer, it does not fell. The lessons OF
Christ have not bccn ignored. Ten
thousand noble men and women have
carried His message of fellowship and
love down the years and into the far
corners of the earth. Theyhave not lived
and died In vain. Deep in the human
heart Is the fruit OF their labors. Strug-
gle and stress, pain and sorrow, the
race may know, but 1t possesses q fun
damental faith that saves 1t from de-
spair. The Saviour, commanding men
to love one another, endowed them
With the consciousness Of their brother
hood. That is the rock upon which all
that Is worth while must be built.
The spirit Of unselfshness, OF huml-
ity and tolerance, Of fellowship. under
standing, sympathy and cooperation is
born anew into the world each day
Christlike personalities are developed
under the influence OF His great ex-
ample Among the unpretending rank
and file OF the eerth'S vast population
their touch is felt, so that the least
courageous bravely goes on to the un-
seen goal And the net result. in good
times and Ill, Is the thing called spirit
ual progress. One Christmas follows
another, and again and again Christ
lives, labors and dies in the lives Of
His faithful disciples. There is no end.
there can be no end. but there are
gains. and man grows in spiritual
stature year by year.