The Omaha guide., 1943-10-02


morning and dwell in the uttermOst
parts of the sea, even there shall
Thy Hand lead me and Thy Right
Hand shall hold me-" We can build
escape mechanisms but we cannot
u away neither can We hide.
Memory will bring wildly before
our eyes every evil deed, every duty
neglected, and goad us to remorse.
The Prodigal Son could not forget.
He tried hard. He lived in the
town of the bright lights. He
wasted his substance with harlOts.
He was tired of his fathers home.
He wanted to see life but many a
day, as he fed the swine, he would
remember his fathers love, the
family table. The power of men,
DRY was so strong he could not re-
sist and he said, Il will arise and
go to my father"
And | think selfishness comes in
and rObs us of a great deal today
and prevents many of us from do
ing what we ian. We are afraid
if we do something we might have
to do more. We are not happy
while we live only for ourselves
but then we cannot make up our
minds to live for others. So we
wear life away and accomplish
nothing for others or ourselves be-
cause we cannot just for once for
get ourselves entirely in some gen.
erOus actiOn-sOme great cause not
u Own-sOme conviction of duty.
| know that your Parish Priest as
every Parish Priest is handicapped
Handicapped because of selfish
ness in the lives of people. Every
Rector has a vision of what the
church ought to do. He is not
mindful Of the needs. He is a
part of the worlds great agony
and longs to do something about
it. But no parish can grow strong,
powerful, and effective unless the
people r strong, powerful, and
effective.
When / call the name of Carne-
gle, there is a response. Why?
Because he was a rich man? Not
at all. Because Carnegie lived not
for himself but for others. He has
made it possible for people thru
out the world to have access to
books and in almost every town
where there is no public library you
will find the gift of a Carnegie
Library.
John d. Rockefeller, a Million
aire? Not that he is a millionaire,
but what is he doing with it?
Think of the Rockefeller Institute
finding cures for incurable disease,
spending thousands upon thou
sands; millions of dollars went in
to a church tower. Why did he
waste such money? Rockefeller
had some sense, some understand
ing about the gift of memory. How
many of us remember but too late
and then we begin to say, What
| could have done" The time is
past. Opportunity has knocked and
we did not realize it would not pass
this way again. But if we could
somehow gather up all of these
things-such as our parish pledge,
memorial gifts to the parish, re-
ceiving the Holy Communion, at
tending church every Sunday, work
ing in the parish guilds-and I'M
derstand the mystical significance,
we would discover that we have
here an Alabaster box of precious
ointment. We are to break it and
anOint Our Lords Feet.
So, this is a day for rejoicing
and also a day of judgment. We
rejoice as we think of those who
broke the Alabaster Box of ONT
ment and we shudder as we think
of what God has given ii us and
what we have done with it.
Because our minds play tricks
on us we need days like this to
call us to duty to refresh our
memories, so We go back to a lit
tie town called Nazareth and Join
the procession with Joseph and
Mary as they move on to Jerusalem
and the Temple. There we find
Simeon, the aged Prophet, who was
waiting to look upon the Lord
Christ, and having looked upon the
Infant Child he said, Lord, now
lettest Thy servant die in Peace
according to what Thou hast pro-
claimed, for / have looked upon
the Salvation of the World which
Thou hast prepared before the Face
of the peOple-a Light to Tighten
the Gentiles and the Glory of Thy
people Israeli" Joseph and The
Mother were impressed at the
words of this old man, and then
Simeon gave them his Blessing and
said to them, This Child is an
unusual Child. Remember Mary,
a sword is going to pierce thru
your SOUL" Mary and Joseph must
have left this religious ceremony
with much to ponder, much to re
member, and as the Child grew
and waxed strong in Spirit and
was filled with Wisdom, with the
Grace of God upon Him. Mary and
Joseph had to live with their mem
ories-always this dagger before
them. And as the years went on
she watched her little Son grow
up and He had to leave home and
she was left only with her men,
Dries until that final day when He
was taken to the Cross and there
under the Cross stood the mourn
tul Mother weeping. Then, l imag-
Inc she remembered the day when
she went to be purified and the old
man said to her, "a dagger shall
pierce Thy Soul"
Seated one day at the organ,
| was weary and i'll at ease
And my fingers wandered idly
Over the noisy keys.