Evening star., 1940-03-23

mechanism and Is conquests? Or
the Crusades? Or the Reformation?
Or the discovery of America? Or
Napoleon's imperialism? Or the
utilization of steam and electricity,
with the consequent mastery of
civilization by the machine?
To ask these questions is to answer
them. Greater by far, in manifold
significance to the progress of man.
kind, was the death and resurrection
OF Jesus Christ. He gave new date
to calendars. His victory over the
grave changed all the course of his
tory, and Is still changing it. New
standards of life, and a new purpose
in living, have steadily flown from
Joseph OF Arimathea's new tomb,
opened by the power of the resurrec-
ton. Hope eternal for all men came
into the world for all men on that
first Easter morn.
Not only was the whole outlook
and objective of civilization altered
by the death and raising of Christ,
and thus by the creation of a new
force and standards for all nations
and men, but also a new outlook
upon existence after death was i'm
parted. Mans vague and inextin-
guishable belief that the human
spirit was not born to die was clari-
fed and made definite by Jesus, who
brought life and Immortality to
light" No longer are hopeless tears
of grief shed upon the biers of the
dear dead. He is not here; He is
risen" is the Easter message that
has made life new for uncounted
bereaved.
In the ultimate experience, all Of
us turn to the immortal words OF
hope, found in the New Testament.
No matter how man has lived, his
dear ones seek for him a Christian
burial. A certain famous New York
agnostic philosopher, whose teach
ings have upset the faith of many,
was bereaved of his wife. Did he lay
her away with some beautiful ritual
of atheism? No; he called for the
services of a Christian minister, and
had sung the old Christian hymns
that had been his wife's favorites.
Stripped to stark reality by grief. we
turn to the resurrection of the Cruel
Gifted as our only comfort.
Where Is the Actual Grave.
We recall that huge, glorious, mad
adventure of the CruSadeS, which
sought to rescue the actual tomb of
Jesus from the Moslems. Yet the
Holy Sepulcher's identity is uncer-
tain. Tradition. to which archeol-
ogy has of late added authority,
places it in the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher. That tdifice is so crowd
ed with superstition and ecclesias-
tical strife, so tawdry and repellant,
that many devout spirits shrink from
it, and its accumulated sites" The
tomb within the crypt which tourists
see, an oblong structure of white
marble, merely covers the location
of what most of Christendom be-
lieves to be the actual grave. 1t is
surrounded by silver lamps perpetu-
ally burning, and an attendant
Greek monk sprinkles holy water
upon the worshipers.
| Outside the city wall, near the Da-
mascus Gate, is what is called Cor
don's Calvary; and beneath it is the
Garden Tomb. owned by Protestants.
This strikingly fulfllls the conditions
Of the Gospel narrative. and many
persons fervently acclaim it as the
veritable grave Of Christ. But the
historical evidence. and especially
the location of the old walls, as
studied by the archeologists, seems
to favor the Holy Sepulcher Church,
rather than the Garden Tomb.
What matter? Not the exact place
of burial. but the stupendous truth
that Jesus broke deaths bonds, and
forever lives, is the really important
! truth.
The Great Surprise.
AS one reads over and over again
the detailed accounts of the Resur-
rection-and an interviewer Gospel,
or Harmony of the Gospels, is
great help in this study-one is
struck by the significance of the fact
that every appearance of the risen
Lord was a surprise to the persons
witnessing it.
In spite of the Masters many pre-
paratory utterances, His friends
were utterly unprepared for His res
direction. They thought His life
oil Eic
only thing that remained was to
carry spices to His tomb. That is
the completest possible answer to
the Jewish charge that the disciples
had removed the Leaders body from
the Tomb. The unexpectedness of
the resurrection is the greatest evi-
dence for its reality.
Without tears I stood recently by
the bier of my best friend-God's
man, If ever there was one. Some
thing like exultation filled my heart
as l looked down on his face, strong
| and serene even in death. He had
lived a great life and once done a
great work and had entered into the
JOY OF his Lord. 1 as firmly believe
that he is today with Christ, as l
believe that I sit at this table writ
ing.
Some persons look for ghostly con-
ISOLATION to the unseen presence of
their departed dear enes. While no
man can tell upon what errands God
sends His ministering spirits, we do
know, on the sure and repeated
words of Scripture. that Christ's
friends are with Him in heaven. Be-
cause He lives, they live also. He
conquered mans oldest enemy.
death. His friends who depart are
with Him, sharers In the Easter
triumph of the Resurrection.
The Sunday School Lesson for
March "a Is "The SepuIcher:
Triumph Over Death" Matthew
xxvii.57-xxviii.15.