,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,small capital text has been replaced with all capitals4 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 cover ,nine ,o',clock ,talks by the ,,rev4 ,,frederic ,b4 ,,kellogg ,chaplain to ,episcopal ,students in ,cambridge1 ,massachusetts ,christ ,church ,cambridge1 ,massachusetts ,,foreword ,these short sermons by the ,chaplain to ,episcopalian ,students in ,cambridge are collected here for their interest to ,christians of all ages and as a reminder of the important religious work being carried on in colleges4 ,it is a truism that the years of college are crucial for students2 it is then that their interests become clear and the direction of their life's work takes shape4 ,but for ,christians1 education involves more than the training of the mind and the acquisition of knowledge2 it involves1 like every other phase of life1 enlistment of the will and dedication of the spirit4 ,awareness of this fact has given rise increasingly in recent years to questions concerning the proper place of religious teaching in the secular modern college and university4 ,without entering on that question here1 one may be quite certain that a chief force in the religious life of students will always be associations for devotion and discussion such as those conducted by ,mr4 ,kellogg under the auspices of the ,bishop ,rhinelander ,memorial for ,student ,work4 ,during his nearly ten years of service he has influenced by precept and example literally thousands of students4 ,these sermons thus carry a double meaning4 ,in addition to their own high value as ,christian interpretations1 they are tokens of a necessary work to be done4 ,,john ,h4 ,,finley1 ,,jr4 ,eliot ,house ,harvard ,university ,in the beginning ,god created the heaven and the earth4 ,so the ,bible opens1 so the world began4 ,the historian1 ,arnold ,toynbee1 has shown us how many beginnings there have been since that time1 how kingdoms rise and fall1 one civilization succeeding another as new life and inspiration take the place of death and complacency4 ,there never will be an end of beginnings or of ends so long as the world endures4 ,a study of this historical cycle shows that mankind has never lost its hope for a deus ex machina1 a ,god who will save men at the last moment from the effects of their own bad beginnings4 ,it makes a good story to tell how the ,gods from ,olympus intervened on the behalf of their favorites on the plains of ,troy but it is disastrous when men mistake this day-dream for reality4 ,yet at the end of each age there is to be seen a frantic scrambling for divine favor1 a scurrying to the churches when the ,goths threatened the ,roman ,empire1 for example1 or a bull market for indulgences as the ,renaissance replaced medieval society4 ,men are forever trying to substitute faith in a last resort ,god for faith in the beginning ,god4 ,but seldom if ever has the substitution been successful4 ,once an avalanche of events has been loosed by the criminality or carelessness of men1 ,god will not intervene until the tumult and the shouting have died down1 and his still small voice can once more be heard4 ,no one can mistake the fact that we are at the beginning of a new era now1 an era in which events will happen more quickly and more drastically than in any period in history4 ,and these events may be either for good or for evil depending upon whether we decide now to follow the beginning ,god rather than to postpone our faith until fear impels a grasping for a ,god of last resort1 a deus ex machina which does not exist4 ,to follow the true ,god1 however1 the ,god who is in the beginning1 means a sharp change in policy2 it means junking our old habits of procrastination and reliance upon self while the going is good1 for then is the time that inexorable events pile up to avalanche proportions4 ,it means starting right now to refer our decisions to him for advice with confidence in his universal judgment and never-ceasing care4 ,a great opportunity is open to us1 for ,i do not doubt that the first really successful age will take place when ,god is invited to enter the human scene at the very outset and thereby to form the pattern for the years that follow4 ,it is a crucial opportunity1 for the neighborliness and love that proceed from him are no longer optional courses but are the very conditions of survival4 ,why not therefore make up our minds now that we will do everything in our power this year1 this month1 today1 to introduce the ,god of the beginning to the problems of the now8 ,,christmas ,,and ,,new ,,year',s ,if you ever examine the early ,chinese vases in the ,fogg ,museum or elsewhere1 you will note that many of them have little cracks in the glaze which run every whichway4 ,you might conclude that these were caused by antique methods of firing the pottery1 or are just the result of old age4 ,actually these cracks1 which are known as crackle in the glaze1 were made on purpose4 ,for it seems that these vases were often given as ,new ,year's presents1 and since ,new ,year's is celebrated by the ,chinese in the spring1 the crackle was made to represent the breaking-up of the ice on the rivers and lakes1 the change from the hard and fastness of winter to the movement of spring4 ,we miss something important in our symbolic thinking by not celebrating ,christmas and ,new ,year's at a time when nature herself takes a new lease on life4 ,it is more difficult for us to realize the possibility of the breaking up of the old and the forming of the new when the ice is thickening on the ponds and the snow is driving deeper on the hills4 ,it is hard enough as it is to become renewed in the spirit of our minds4 ,we try instead to capture newness by thinking of a child1 a symbolic child that appears on the covers of the ,saturday ,evening ,post and the ,ladies' ,home ,journal4 ,dressed in the scantiest of clothing1 his chubby face covered with a broad grin1 the spirit of the ,new ,year ushers us into a new calendar4 ,and in the hurry and excitement of the time it may have slipped our minds that only a week before we recalled a real child1 a child that once was born in fact and ever since has been reborn in the souls of men4 ,i wonder if we ever associate these two children and ponder the meaning of each1 for in a way they have a joint significance4 ,the child of ,new ,year's means new opportunities1 new openings for a world of men sick and tired of the old4 ,those who would live by this child alone1 however1 soon run into depressing frustration for they have forgotten that new things do not come easily to old men--men that are old in spirit of whatever age4 ,they find that new opportunities can only be met and made use of by people who have a spring of newness within them2 they realize that here is where newness counts most1 down at the depths of the soul4 ,and perhaps they discover--,god grant that they do for it is the greatest discovery that a man can make--perhaps they discover that this is the meaning of the child of a week before4 ,those old words about dying to sin and rising to newness of life1 of being born again like ,nicodemus1 or at least the reality within those words1 may of a sudden catch hold of a man and shake him to the core--shake out the old egocentric habits1 break up the shoddy ways of thinking1 that he may be regenerate and born anew of the ,christ within him4 ,we are reminded annually on ,christmas ,day that a new creature is possible1 a new creature with fresh reactions and an unburdened soul4 ,we are reminded of this every time we come to the ,holy ,communion and hear ,christ's words1 ,come unto me all ye that travail and are heavy laden and ,i will refresh you4 ,but response may be withheld and the opportunity passes us by4 ,w4,h4 ,auden states the only too often repeated case in his ,christmas ,oratorio3 ,once again1 ,as in previous years we have seen the actual ,vision and failed ,to do more than entertain it as an agreeable ,possibility1 once again we have sent ,him away1 ,begging though to remain ,his disobedient servant ,the promising child who cannot keep ,his word for long4 ,that is one possibility1 merely to regard the child of ,christmas as a symbol1 like the child of ,new ,year's--two fabulous children who have no meaning once the holiday season is past4 ,or we can see in one ,child the very reality of newness1 a newness that we can have and use for this ,new ,year's and every ,new ,year's to come--the spirit of ,god1 eternally new4 ,for we have seen his star in the ,east and are come to worship him4 ,but stars that lead travellers in a fixed direction and then come and stand over houses cannot be identified astronomically--so might comment a pedestrian critic of the story of the ,three ,wise ,men4 ,furthermore1 the ,magi if they ever did in fact exist were nothing but ,babylonian priests that were versed in astrology4 ,astrology6 we all know that scientific astronomy has long since relegated that superstitious practice to the archives of the fantastic4 ,yet ,i wonder if one of the deepest troubles of our time is that men do not see stars that lead travellers in a fixed direction4 ,is not the ,day of the ,lord long overdue when1 as he said through the prophet ,joel1 ,it shall come to pass that ,i will pour out my spirit upon all flesh1 and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy1 your old men shall dream dreams1 your young men shall see visions4 ,visions of peace and a world made new--what greater need today has the strife-ridden world than this8 ,it may be just poetic fancy in the ,epiphany season that points to a striking resemblance between the ,three ,wise ,men following a star to the birthplace of the ,prince of ,peace and the delegates to the assembly of the ,united ,nations coming from distant lands to try and make their dream of peace come true4 ,they have seen the star at last1 they have followed it to the resting place--so far all is well4 ,but will they go through with the whole story8 ,have they come primarily to get or to give8 ,will the actions of each nation be governed purely by self-interest1 to gain security1 to insure colonial possessions1 to learn new secrets of power for national aggrandizement8 or will they instead1 open their treasures and present unto him who is none other than the spirit of world brotherhood their gifts--one gold1 another frankincense1 another myrrh8 ,for they have much to offer1 ancient culture1 glorious traditions1 scientific knowledge1 vast resources both material and spiritual1 all things that can be used for the unlimited good of all if shared1 but which if hoarded1 and thus envied1 can work their utter destruction4 ,will they come in a spirit of humility or will they come with pride in their own might and sovereignty8 ,the ,magi were wise enough to fall down and worship the ,prince of ,peace even though he was only just born4 ,are the nations equally wise to recognize the presence of embryonic peace and see in it greater import1 greater worth1 than in anything each one singly has to offer8 ,have they the courage of their convictions8 ,it will be so today as it was before3 ,when ,herod the ,king had heard these things he was troubled and all ,jerusalem with him4 ,the powers of isolationism1 in all its forms of non-cooperation1 suspicion1 financial reaction1 will be sorely troubled by the ,prince of ,peace and will do all in their power to kill him while still a child4 ,and they will use all the deception that ,herod employed3 ,go and search diligently for the young child and when you have found him bring me word again that ,i may come and worship him also4 ,go and find out all you can about the intents and operations of the other nations so that we can use them to our advantage4 ,go and expose the futility of cooperation4 ,go make mistakes so that we can repudiate our delegates and once more return to reliance upon self and national security4 ,finally1 will they depart into their own country another way or will they return to ,herod8 ,nor will it be of any more use than it was with the old ,league of ,nations if when they return they do not lead the fight at home to mobilize the forces for peace in their own countries rather than compromise with ,herod4 ,this of course they cannot do unless they have the determined support of every one of us4 ,we must not only be ready to receive them with eagerness but we must meanwhile be following the same star as best we can1 seeing the same visions1 learning how to give and not just to get1 practicing the same humility1 exerting the same courage of our convictions4 ,world peace cannot be accomplished merely by delegates any more than the ,prince of ,peace could reign with the help of three wise men alone4 ,then was ,jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil4 ,let no one think for a moment that the devil is a fool4 ,he used the same ingenuity with our ,lord that he has shown from the day that ,adam fell to the present time4 ,and one of his favorite methods of attack reveals itself here--he waits until a man is in a spiritual wilderness before he presents the greatest temptation1 for he knows that it is in loneliness that most people succumb4 ,the temptation may be the one which our ,lord faced--to try to achieve spiritual ends by worldly means4 ,or it may be less subtle--to give in to degrading thoughts or actions4 ,in whichever one of the infinite forms the enticement of the devil may appear1 we are most vulnerable when cut off from companionship4 ,it is possible to be a romantic about temptation1 to take the attitude of ,kipling's poem ,if1 to glory in your own self-sufficiency when all about you are losing their heads4 ,or one can be a ,stoic and grimly bear the vicissitudes of life by oneself1 scorning the assistance of others as a sign of weakness4 ,but the ,christian solution is otherwise4 ,it points out that the fight with temptation is generally a negative affair1 a rear guard action4 ,what we want to discover is the most efficient method of overcoming it in order to be set free for more positive and fruitful work4 ,and the plain fact is that temptation can best be overcome with the help of others4 ,to resist this assistance in time of need is not a virtue but a form of spiritual pride4 ,when we pray ,lead us not into temptation we mean at least in part1 don't let the devil get us off by ourselves1 for he has an easy time picking off stragglers4 ,but he is completely frustrated by men and women who hold together in the bond of fellowship and understanding4 ,the very same thing is true of suffering4 ,indeed there is a close connection between the two4 ,there is acute suffering in resisting temptation4 ,and there is temptation in the endurance of suffering--temptation to wallow in self-pity and despair4 ,it may be that misery loves company for its own sake1 but it is equally the case that suffering can best be dealt with in the companionship of others4 ,why is it that such extraordinary acts of fortitude in plain can take place in wartime8 ,why8--because men are fighting side by side and are upheld by the esprit de corps that is generated by a common struggle4 ,what has all this got to do with us1 you may wonder4 ,we don't have any temptations that seem too great to handle by ourselves1 nor do we have to endure intense suffering4 ,perhaps so1 but the chances are that we won't always be so fortunate and we can never tell when it may happen4 ,if we don't learn how to handle the present smaller trials and temptations we may be overcome by the larger ones when they come4 ,so ,i suggest that you use this ,lent to learn some lessons4 ,and the first lesson is to realize your common humanity--to perceive how valuable people are to you and you to them4 ,in the time of temptation and suffering you will not hesitate to turn to others if you have made a practice of being close to others when the going is good4 ,remember too that by overcoming trouble in your own life you gain new and great powers to help others through their dark periods4 ,you then have sympathy and understanding of a kind which alone comes from suffering and you have the fibre of victory that comes only from the transcending of temptation4 ,finally1 realize the constant presence of ,god4 ,he will be your companion even when all else fails3 ,if ,i climb up into heaven thou art there ,if ,i go down to hell thou are there also4 ,if ,i take the wings of the morning and remain in the uttermost parts of the sea ,even there also shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me4 ,temptation and suffering cannot be avoided but they can be beaten by you and through you in the company of your fellow men and with the upholding presence of ,god4 ,,palm ,,sunday ,when ,jesus rode into ,jerusalem on the first ,palm ,sunday he must have been in great suspense4 ,would he be recognized in his true colors8 ,jesus came as king1 but not the kind of king the people expected4 ,would the real meaning of his entrance into the city be recognized or would he again be misunderstood as he had been so often before1 even by his closest friends8 ,the crucial question was one of recognition4 ,would the real meaning be seen1 would the signs be read aright4 ,that is why ,jesus spoke with such concern about signs and the way they should be read4 ,now learn a parable of the fig tree1 he said1 when his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves you know that summer is nigh4 ,signs like that in nature are unmistakable4 ,but when it comes to sizing up a man and his meaning they are far more complex4 ,then real perception must be used1 for there shall arise false ,christs and false prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect4 ,how many of us spoke enthusiastically of ,mussolini because ,italian trains began running on time and beggars disappeared from the steps of cathedrals8 ,how many good people were duped by ,franco merely because he proclaimed allegiance to the church and ,christianity8 ,how many well meaning people are fooled by the devil in all his guises8 ,and the reverse side of the picture has its equally discouraging aspects4 ,great men live and die1 unrecognized and misunderstood4 ,men of good will are persecuted and put to death4 ,the greatest and best of all men rode into ,jerusalem and in less than a week he was hanging from a cross4 ,the perversity of the human race seems equalled only by its foolishness4 ,the inhabitants of ,jerusalem could at least plead ignorance4 ,the signs of the meaning of ,jesus were not obvious4 ,true1 the prophet had written before in the ,book of ,zechariah to be on the watch for such an event4 ,rejoice greatly1 ,o daughter of ,zion1 shout ,o daughter of ,jerusalem4 ,behold1 thy king cometh unto thee2 he is just and having salvation2 lowly and riding upon an ass1 and upon a colt the foal of an ass4 ,jesus acquiesced in this prophetic symbolism and some did recognize him for what he was--the spiritual ,king1 the ,messiah of ,god4 ,a few but only a few saw the meaning of the signs4 ,but since that time how can man plead ignorance8 ,the gospel has been preached in every nation of the world and has been written in a thousand languages4 ,basilicas1 cathedrals1 and monasteries have glorified him in wood and stone4 ,the greatest artists have painted him1 the greatest authors have written about him4 ,and yet if ,christ came again to one of the modern ,jerusalems would the effects be much different even though we have had two thousand years to learn of him and know his ways8 ,we have proclaimed the magnificence of our reception but have we ever really received him8 ,could he not say the same thing in truth as he beheld the city and wept over it3 if thou hadst known1 even thou at least in this thy day1 the things which belong unto thy peace4 ,he would stand about the same chance of recognition as ,king today as he did then1 for we too are looking in the wrong direction4 ,they looked for a mighty man at the head of an army or a political party4 ,we look for a ,christ in pomp and circumstance in power and great glory4 ,perhaps then on this ,palm ,sunday we should try looking in the place where he was found before1 and will always be found4 ,quietly waiting outside the city of our hearts1 waiting for our recognition and acceptance4 ,behold1 thy king cometh unto thee2 he is just and having salvation2 lowly and riding upon an ass1 and upon a colt the foal of an ass4 ,,easter ,christ the ,lord is risen today4 ,alleluia6 ,the purple veil is lifted from the ,cross1 the ,altar1 bare through ,lent1 is now adorned with flowers1 for the agony of ,good ,friday has given way to the rejoicing of the ,resurrection4 ,joyful people crowd the churches to proclaim the yearly rediscovered fact that ,christ has opened the way through darkness into light and has turned man's sorrow into gladness4 ,christ the ,lord is risen today4 ,alleluia4 ,but for the thoughtful1 ,i wonder if there isn't another theme that runs in a minor key throughout the ,easter music4 ,i wonder if ,easter isn't for many a day of joyous farewells4 ,christ has risen to sit at the right hand of the throne of ,god and we glory in that fact2 but don't we feel like saying with ,thomas1 ,lord1 we know not whither thou goest and how can we know the way4 ,there may be many mansions in the house of ,god but they seem so very remote4 ,even our ,lord's assurance that he is the way1 the truth and the life does not quite fill the place in our hearts left hollow by his departure4 ,for forty days and nights he has been among us sharing our humanity1 its problems and its pains4 ,he has been with us in anxiety1 in sleeplessness1 in sorrow4 ,he has been so human1 indeed1 that we have forgotten his descent4 ,we are not prepared to lose our old familiar friend4 ,it may be that in normal times1 by which we mean in thoughtless times1 his absence is not greatly felt or is soon forgotten4 ,but who is there among us now that does not feel the burden of human war and peace8 ,who is there that has not needed friendship to take the place of loss1 that has not looked for counsel and strength beyond the limits of his own life8 ,and for these1 the ,lord has been a present help in time of trouble4 ,he has been a man among men1 by our side1 to lead us on our way4 ,now ,easter comes1 our ,lord has risen4 ,christ has become ,king1 a ,god of ,gods4 ,yet here we remain1 we haven't changed1 our problems are the same1 our needs the same4 ,love's redeeming work is done1 fought the fight the battle won1 we sing4 ,but there is still the overtone of sadness in the ,easter music which might even become a note of irony4 ,love's work is done8 ,the battle won8 ,not in our world it isn't1 far from it4 ,we'd better postpone ,easter till better times are come4 ,lent has meaning now1 one long unswerving ,lent1 with discipline and hard work4 ,but wait a moment4 ,we see the veil is lifted from the ,cross this ,easter day1 and now the cross stands clear and shadowless upon the ,altar4 ,does that signify the end of suffering1 or is there here an ,easter meaning for these times more potent and impelling than ever ,lent has brought8 ,it is said that ,constantine the ,great1 returning from his victory over ,maxentius1 saw in the sky these words1 ,in hoc signo vinces1 and thereafter he placed the ,cross upon his standard4 ,the cross is brighter still on ,easter for it is an earnest that yet again through its sign we shall conquer4 ,the cross reminds us too that though he is risen1 he is in no way further from us than before4 ,he still bears upon himself the marks of the cross--the marks of ,lent made meaningful by ,easter4 ,the cross has by no means disappeared1 rather it has been vindicated1 death has not vanished but it has been overcome1 suffering will continue but it can be transformed4 ,let us then rejoice and be exceeding glad this ,easter of all ,easters for the way of the cross has proved to be the way of ,life and ,victory4 ,but the comforter1 which is the ,holy ,ghost1 whom the ,father will send in my name1 he shall teach you all things1 and bring all things to your remembrance4 ,canon ,quick of ,durham wrote a most thought-provoking paragraph in his book ,doctrines of the ,creed4 ,one essential paradox of ,christianity1 he wrote1 consists in the fact that1 although when viewed from outside it is one of the religions of the world1 when it is known from within it is not a religion at all1 nor even the true religion only1 but something inherently more than religion2 it is a whole social life of ,communion in ,god among men1 a communion which embraces both sacred and secular activities and is altogether transfigured by the pervading presence of ,god's love4 ,and what gives ,christianity this extraordinary combination of breadth and depth is the event of ,whitsunday--the coming of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,as ,st4 ,john says1 the ,holy ,spirit will teach you all things--that is the breadth--and will bring all things to your remembrance about the earthly life and teaching of ,christ--that is the depth4 ,all through ,christian history1 but particularly today1 two opposing tendencies can be seen at work4 ,one is the desire to liberalize ,christianity and make it more inclusive4 ,some1 noting the good in out of the way places--there is honesty among thieves and there is sincerity among atheists1 would push ,christianity to a point where it would include all good wherever found and in whatever combination4 ,the logical conclusion would be to turn it into a kind of pantheism--a catch-all for all truth1 goodness1 and beauty4 ,a good ,buddhist is really a good ,christian whether he knows it or not1 they would say1 in spite of the fact that he would be considerably annoyed to be told so4 ,in this drive to be comprehensive1 the specific doctrines of the church would have to be scrapped or soft-pedalled and the emphasis be put upon right living1 whatever that is4 ,if you feel at this point like smiling in superior fashion at these liberalizers1 examine your own mind for a moment and see if at least part of you doesn't agree with this4 ,for example1 have you ever felt or said about so-and-so who is an agnostic and never darkens the door of a church1 that he is a better ,christian than you1 since he is more generous1 more courageous1 more generally virtuous8 ,and this you say1 not out of humility1 but from a suspicion that he is in better touch with the source of goodness than you are4 ,and ,i could go on to point out other reasons why we would like to extend the label of ,christianity as far as possible4 ,but the opposite tendency is also strong within us4 ,make ,christianity precise1 define carefully its limits and make membership within it rigorous and single-minded4 ,i heard of a clergyman1 who when asked how his congregation was doing1 replied1 ,fine-thinning 'em out1 thinning 'em out4 ,we are aware of the strength that lies in narrowness and secretly covet the simplification and order of an authoritarian church4 ,however forceful these opposing tendencies may be we know at least that neither one can be allowed to run wild without disaster to ,christianity4 ,there must be an integrating force that holds these together and leads to the productiveness that flows out of the tension between them4 ,that force is the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the ,holy ,spirit proceeds from the ,father1 through the ,son4 ,he always refers back to ,christ as the incarnate center of ,christian life1 and thence to ,god who is the source of the love that binds men into one communion and fellowship4 ,confusion exists because there are many spirits in the world--spirits of a nation1 of humanity1 of progress4 ,but these are never to be identified with the ,holy ,spirit1 who always brings to remembrance ,christ himself1 who must become the corner stone of all life everywhere4 ,to be apart from him is to be apart from ,god4 ,to forget this is the danger of liberalism4 ,but on the other hand1 the ,holy ,spirit will teach you all things1 and as ,canon ,quick says1 is the moving spirit in the ,communion in ,god among men1 a ,communion which embraces all things both sacred and secular and cannot be confined to man-made limitations4 ,in forgetting this lies the danger of sectarianism4 ,the work of the ,holy ,spirit begins with ,christ and continues to the end of the earth4 ,that is the spirit we pray for and can expect to receive on ,whitsunday4 ,don't be content with anything less4 ,,the ,,blind ,,can ,,lead ,,the ,,blind ,the story is told of a blind man who wanted to free himself from the restrictions of his handicap by going about without his usual guide4 ,with the use of a stick1 he found he could leave his house and walk down the street well enough1 but when he came to the crossing where the cars drove by in unending stream he could not get himself to start across1 although he knew that the drivers would almost certainly stop when they saw him leave the curb4 ,he didn't quite have the confidence and was turning back discouraged with himself1 when he felt a hand on his arm1 and a voice said1 ,may ,i go across with you8 ,reassured1 he and his companion stepped out into the street1 the cars came to a halt1 and they proceeded across safely4 ,when they got to the far side he was about to thank his friend1 but before he could do so the other said1 ,i'm much obliged to you for your assistance in crossing the street1 for1 you see1 ,i'm blind4 ,a passage from the ,bible comes immediately to mind1 does it not8 ,and he spoke a parable unto them1 ,can the blind lead the blind1 shall they not both fall into the ditch8 ,the answer is no1 not necessarily4 ,blind men may be excellent guides2 it all depends on where the blindness lies4 ,our ,lord was warning us of men who are blind in the eyes of the mind and spirit4 ,as ,marianne ,moore wrote in her poem ,in ,distrust of ,merits3 ,job disheartened by false comfort1 knew that nothing can be so defeating as a blind man who can see4 ,o alive who are dead1 who are proud not to see4 ,o small dust of the earth that walks so arrogantly4 ,these are the people to guard against1 the blind who can see4 ,on the other hand1 many men are coming back from the war who have lost the sight of their eyes1 but it would be fatal for the world to imagine them all blind4 ,they have seen and known what most of us have escaped1 the horrors of war1 and it is their compelling experience that we need to help fight against the seeds of another war4 ,blind men may be excellent guides1 7and in the last analysis aren't we all blind87 but they also need faith--they must have faith in the insights of each other1 they must have confidence that together they can reach their destination4 ,the men in the story could not accomplish what they wanted by themselves but when they joined forces they got the necessary confidence to go ahead4 ,but that's what faith entails4 ,joining forces with men who rely primarily on the eye of the mind and spirit4 ,and that's the faith we all need so desperately in the days to come4 ,how far do you think you can get without the insights and understanding of others8 ,look at the past4 ,how much wisdom have you acquired all by yourself apart from the experiences of humanity that you have met in books or face to face8 ,we are embarked on a highly cooperative adventure in this life4 ,let no man pride himself on his own ability to reach his destination alone2 nor let him feel a coward for needing the assistance of others4 ,most of us know this well enough at least in large sections of our living--our culture1 our business1 our enjoyments are clearly mutual enterprises4 ,neither conceit nor ignominy are apt to enter these1 for it is only too obvious how much we depend upon our fellow humans4 ,but oddly enough1 when it comes to our religion1 where mutual faith becomes the clearest necessity1 that is the point at which we frequently leave our fellow blind men and plunge off by ourselves4 ,why people suppose that they can find ,god1 their ultimate destination1 by themselves1 is a unique mystery4 ,why1 to put it more concretely1 a man can claim to have his own religion and not need the corporate advice and encouragement of the church can only be understood if he is content with a fragmentary faith1 content to leave his house1 walk down the sidewalk1 but never cross the street to the other side4 ,that kind of blind man would indeed fall into the ditch and all who followed him blindly would end there too4 ,it all depends upon mutual faith1 mutual confidence in each other4 ,one of the great pictures by ,pieter ,breughel the ,elder shows a procession of blind men entering a river4 ,the casual observer would suppose that they were all about to be drowned2 that is if he observed in a superficial way4 ,but the subtlety and greatness of the picture lies in the fact that that is not the only possible conclusion4 ,they may be making their way across4 ,it all depends upon what is in their minds4 ,they may be blind1 but they may not be following blindly4 ,they may have the same faith of the two men in the story that will bring them safely across4 ,and when ,jesus departed thence1 two blind men followed him1 crying1 and saying1 ,thou ,son of ,david1 have mercy on us4 ,and when he was come into the house1 the blind men came to him3 and ,jesus saith unto them1 ,believe ye that ,i am able to do this8 ,they said unto him1 ,yea1 ,lord4 ,then touched he their eyes1 saying1 ,according to your faith be it unto you4 ,and their eyes were opened4 ,is it just a coincidence that there were two blind men in this story and not just one8 ,two men who had faith in ,god and in each other1 and faith that together they could reach their final destination4 ,if ,satan also be divided against himself how shall his kingdom stand8 ,the answer1 of course1 is that it won't stand any more than any other house4 ,but unfortunately the forces of evil seem to recognize this fact more clearly than do the forces of good4 ,satan and his followers cling together so tenaciously because they know what they want and they realize that they must be unified in order to get it4 ,just compare ,germany and ,france at the beginning of the war4 ,the ,nazis had one all-consuming aim behind their actions--to conquer the world--and because of this unity of purpose they came within a hair's breadth of succeeding4 ,indeed they would have done so had it not been for a unity of desperation forged at the last moment between vastly stronger nations4 ,on the other hand1 ,france didn't begin to know her own mind until it was too late4 ,conflicting interests and internal antagonisms made her a pathetically easy prey for the invader4 ,the fact is that the natural tendency among humans is to differ rather than to agree4 ,centrifugal force seems to be stronger in society than centripetal1 and this is why so many houses are brought to desolation4 ,but just because divisiveness is natural1 it does not follow that nothing can be done to keep men together4 ,it merely means that unity has constantly to be made or it will not come about4 ,the drift is not in that direction4 ,here is a place where man must use his freedom of choice and will1 to transcend his inclinations4 ,fatalism and unity do not mix4 ,this being the case1 where are man's unifying efforts particularly needed today8 ,the area where politics rises above itself is one of the most crucial for future world welfare4 ,there are many elements in politics which are of necessity partisan and controversial4 ,in fact1 ,his ,majesty's loyal opposition or the equivalent is essential to progressive government4 ,but the fundamentals which all should have in common must not therefore be neglected4 ,no politician in this country ever rose to such heights of community understanding as did ,abraham ,lincoln1 and the great words he used1 government of the people1 by the people1 and for the people1 states clearly that underlying unity without which democracy becomes anarchy4 ,but it is not merely coincidental that this famous phrase appeared first in the preface that ,john ,wyclif wrote to his translation of the ,bible4 ,unity comes from ,god in the sense that ,he wills men to achieve it4 ,on a national scale partisanship must not allow another post-war fiasco1 and it is appalling to hear that certain people are still firmly opposed to a world organization4 ,on the local scene1 religious1 racial and social antagonisms have brought about a shameful state in the educational systems of our cities4 ,can't the welfare of our children be a matter of united action8 ,it must become so4 ,our heritage from the reformation is another value which we are in the process of losing because of disunity4 ,at a public hearing in ,new ,york ,city recently the question came up why certain individuals had received no attention4 ,a social worker remarked1 ,oh1 they are only ,p4,p4,p4s ,when asked what this meant he replied1 ,poor1 powerless protestants4 ,protestant unity is the first step toward ,christian unity and world-wide religious cooperation4 ,and it takes only a moment of sober1 realistic thought to see that all ,christians have vastly more in common than they have in particular4 ,why not spend more time and thought rejoicing in and applying the unity that already exists instead of magnifying our differences8 ,what it all comes down to is an attitude of mind4 ,do we try and cultivate our ability to agree when we can1 to see the scope of our common aims1 or are we consistently developing our divergences8 ,take the time to analyze yourself in this regard4 ,if we take pride in our contrariness we are playing straight into the hands of the devil1 for he is not making the mistake of a divided house himself--rather he is waiting for us to fall into that desolation4 ,but if we hold steadfastly to the implications of the ,christian doctrine of one ,god and all men as his equally valuable children1 we are headed for a final victory in world brotherhood1 the place where victory counts most4 ,put on the whole armour of ,god4 ,very few passages in the ,bible are as well known or as highly esteemed as this exhortation to stand against the wiles of the devil4 ,and certainly it has an immediate bearing today when the outcome of the battle between good and evil is crucial for the very existence of civilization4 ,but this passage has a potentially misleading character about it which may have a disastrous effect upon the waging of the battle4 ,much of it sounds purely defensive4 ,to withstand in the evil day1 to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked--the word armour even has the connotation of protection4 ,all this can easily play into the hands of those who have the notion that the main duty of a ,christian is to keep himself unspotted from the world4 ,like the three famous monkeys of the ,east1 who see no evil1 hear no evil1 and speak no evil1 it is thought that evil itself will somehow cease to exist if it is merely avoided4 ,of course there is some truth in this point of view in as much as the ,christian must have adequate defensive equipment1 but it must be forever emphasized that the vital element in the armour of ,god is the last one that ,st4 ,paul mentions1 namely1 the sword of the ,spirit which is the word of ,god4 ,for we can be sure that all the breastplates1 helmets1 and shields ever made will be of little effect by themselves in defeating the principalities1 the powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world4 ,that is like building a tank of the most shell-proof armour but not putting in a powerful engine and a hard hitting gun4 ,it just won't win battles4 ,indeed1 the most alarming sign of these times is the tendency to go onto the defensive1 to try to side-step problems which appear to be too great to solve4 ,it is a sign that the end of our era may be at hand4 ,when the ,french ,army came to the ,marne in its retreat on ,paris in the first world war1 defeat seemed imminent4 ,at that moment ,general ,foch made his memorable decision4 ,my center is giving way1 my right is pushed back--excellent6 ,i'll attack4 ,as we know1 that attack saved ,france4 ,and as we also know1 the lack of attack in this last war brought ,france's downfall4 ,without the sword of the ,spirit1 which is the spirit of the offensive1 the most that can be hoped for is that defeat may be delayed4 ,but it will surely come4 ,and defeat will surely come to this nation unless we take the offensive in solving the titanic problem of power that we have suddenly found in our hands4 ,it cannot be hid under a bushel1 it cannot be evaded1 it cannot be kept to ourselves4 ,it must be shared1 for that is what the offensive means in this case--the exploration and achievement of new methods of cooperation which have never yet been tried4 ,small-minded and fearful men think only of retreat--retreat into self-protection4 ,but the alternative to one world now is one ,hell1 or even more accurately one complete annihilation4 ,it may seem like an anti-climax to say that your own personal defeat will come in the same way if you put your faith in defensive armour and fail to acquire and use the sword of the spirit4 ,it may have been possible in years gone by to live blandly in the ,puritan house on the hill where all questionable literature was carefully banned1 where temptation was kept at a minimum2 where the turmoil1 poverty and disease of the factory-filled valley could not be seen4 ,but that is no longer possible because the ways of the valley and the hill have met4 ,it never was ,christian1 it was merely rationalized egotism1 to escape the problems of evil and call it purity4 ,the ,christian paradox must never be forgotten that dirty water washes clean when used in the service of ,god4 ,the time has come both personally and nationally to put on the whole armour of ,god in order to take the offensive against the powers of darkness of this world4 ,how oft shall my brother sin against me1 and ,i forgive him8 ,till seven times8 ,when ,peter asked this leading question he may have been trying to seem magnanimous4 ,for ,jewish law required only a threefold forgiveness1 after which1 apparently1 you were free to take revenge4 ,our ,lord rejected this whole legalistic approach by his reply and penetrated1 as he always did1 to the inner spirit of the matter4 ,until seventy times seven was a traditional way of saying without limit4 ,he was trying to make ,peter realize that to attach numbers to an action of this kind prevents your heart from being in it4 ,even if there were no chance of your brother sinning against you more than seven times1 you were not really forgiving him the first time as long as you had a limit set to the extent of your forgiveness4 ,the forgiving love of ,god1 which is the pattern for the same spirit in man1 has no boundaries1 no qualifications4 ,but hasn't it8 you may well ask4 ,doesn't the ,lord's prayer set a condition to his forgiveness of trespasses that we forgive those who trespass against us8 ,doesn't the parable of the unmerciful servant which follows ,peter's question end with the stern ,so likewise shall my heavenly ,father do also unto you if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses4 ,no1 to regard this as a condition to ,god's forgiveness is to misunderstand radically the way ,god works1 to mistake his very nature4 ,to regard him as a bargainer1 an exchanger of favors1 is to descend to the really false kind of anthropomorphism which is to impute to him our weaknesses rather than to find in us his strength4 ,god's forgiveness flows from him continuously4 ,when we do not experience it1 it is because we fail to allow it to operate4 ,to put the situation in its real terms1 unless we learn to apply the spirit of forgiveness toward others we can never expect to discover the meaning of ,god's forgiveness in our own lives--we can never forgive ourselves2 for that is one step more difficult than forgiving others4 ,this may sound like nonsense at first4 ,difficult to forgive ourselves8 ,why that's easy1 we reply4 ,we are always coating over our mistakes1 rationalizing our errors4 ,but don't you see8 ,in the very use of the words coating over and rationalizing1 we admit that there is a core of guilt there somewhere that has not been forgiven but just covered up temporarily--and if the truth were known1 allowed to fester and grow till its effect becomes deadly indeed4 ,if you don't believe this1 explore the inner recesses of your mind and look for a minute at the gallery of thoughts and actions you are trying to forget because they hurt4 ,they hurt you still because they have never been touched by ,god's forgiveness4 ,you have not learned the spirit of forgiveness toward others sufficiently to apply it to yourself4 ,but suppose you have tried to be forgiving and found it difficult or well-nigh impossible4 ,it actually is not an easy thing to learn4 ,and it cannot be accomplished merely by saying to oneself in a stern voice1 ,forgive others and forgive yourself4 ,much could be said on how to learn1 but one point stands out above the rest as wise counsel4 ,look at others and yourself with a sense of perspective4 ,our brother sins against us1 the magnifying glass is brought out and focussed upon that sin1 and our brother appears entirely sinful4 ,we ourselves commit a sin1 the microscope is turned upon that spot in us1 and all our good seems evil in its darkness4 ,learn to take away the magnification as soon as the trouble is sufficiently examined4 ,see again the good which greatly outweighs the evil1 for that good is the light in which forgiveness thrives4 ,how oft shall ,i or my brother sin against me1 and ,i forgive him8 ,i hope you know by now4 ,for our citizenship is in ,heaven4 ,one of the greatest works on the philosophy of history is ,st4 ,augustine's ,city of ,god4 ,though written in the dark days after the sack of ,rome by the ,goths1 it has perhaps an even more immediate bearing upon these brighter times because it is now that we are in the greatest danger of taking a nationally self-sufficient view of history4 ,st4 ,augustine saw that a ,christian is a citizen of two worlds--the ,earthly ,city and the ,city of ,god4 ,these two cities have been formed by two loves3 the earthly1 by love of self even to the contempt of ,god2 the ,heavenly1 by the love of ,god even to the contempt of self4 ,the earthly city is the state1 and although it is a relative good1 it must exist to maintain civil order in a sinful world4 ,the city of ,god is the ultimate good where man's highest loyalty must reside1 for as ,st4 ,paul pointed out1 our true citizenship is in ,heaven4 ,our ,lord himself recognized this double responsibility of man when he told the ,pharisees to render unto ,caesar the things which are ,caesar's and unto ,god the things which are ,god's4 ,this shouldn't be too hard to comprehend1 and yet history reveals the repeated error and tragedy of man's desire to be a citizen of one world or the other1 but not both4 ,perhaps the difficulty lies in the fact that citizenship itself is a two-fold affair4 ,it involves one's allegiance to a state and it also entitles the citizen to the protection of that state4 ,it may be1 therefore1 that a double allegiance is too much for most men to bear1 or it may be that the protection of the earthly state seems so much more tangible4 ,in any event1 the either-or-ness has been most unfortunate in its consequences4 ,to be a citizen of ,heaven alone is more difficult for the average ,american to understand4 ,few men these days are tempted to go off into the desert and live an other-worldly life in prayer and contemplation with the sole desire of saving their own souls4 ,and yet a more subtle form of this escapism is the chief object of the attack made by politically liberal and radical groups upon ,christianity4 ,socialists and ,communists have with good reason charged that much of every man's ,christianity is a ,sunday escapism with little or no effect upon his daily living1 unrelated to his civic responsibilities and to existing evils4 ,bad as this may be1 the opposite form of single statism would seem to be more devastating in our present situation4 ,when ,stephen ,decatur made his famous toast to ,our ,country1 in her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right1 but our country1 right or wrong1 he revealed the stupid tragedy of all the many forms of the ,american ,first principle4 ,but he incidentally admitted the existence and necessity of a superior standard of judgment by which the nation is seen to be either right or wrong4 ,unless our citizenship is in ,heaven we cannot be effective and reliable citizens of this country or any country on earth4 ,all we are fitted for without it is to be slaves to a ,fascist state1 saluting and goose-stepping moronically at the command of a self-appointed leader4 ,we must have a basis for judging even our own country and our most honored institutions4 ,this nation is in the midst of the most important decisions any people on earth have ever faced4 ,if we make them as members of the ,earthly ,city alone1 which as ,st4 ,augustine said is formed by love of self even to the contempt of ,god1 we or our descendants will witness the final form of uncritical patriotism3 the end of our state in the end of all civilization4 ,but if those in authority1 pressed on by us1 will recognize their ultimate allegiance to the ,city of ,god which transcends all national sovereignty and boundaries there is good hope that the decision will be made for the good of all mankind and not simply for our destruction4 ,if they or we are fearful in this fatal moment1 we might remember the other side of citizenship--as members of the ,city of ,god we are also entitled to its protection and its power4 ,remember the experience of ,elisha and his servant4 ,and ,elisha prayed and said1 ,lord1 ,i pray thee open his eyes that he may see4 ,and then the ,lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw1 ,and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about ,elisha4 ,forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before4 ,one might well assume that these words of ,st4 ,paul are an accepted part of all theories of progress2 looking forward instead of backward4 ,but ,lewis ,mumford in his book ,the ,condition of ,man points out that this has unfortunately not always been the case1 to the confusion and sidetracking of mankind's efforts4 ,progress1 he says1 may be considered in either of two ways--getting closer to a goal1 or getting farther away from a starting point4 ,and it was in the latter sense that the exponents of progress in the era of ,romanticism2 ,hume1 ,voltaire1 and the others1 preached it--the casting loose from a past crippled by evils3 brutality1 superstition1 ignorance1 misery4 ,but have these curses disappeared from the earth8 ,have they not in many respects grown worse8 ,i am afraid so1 and ,i think it is due in large part to this negative theory of progress which has possessed man since the ,renaissance4 ,the intended cures of evils have been too often sought purely as an escape from the evil itself and not with a view to ultimate good4 ,serfdom and slavery were evil1 so men broke away and became free2 but free for what8 ,that was of little consequence as long as they were free4 ,the ,germans felt the pressure of other nations around them so they needs must make more ,lebensraum--room in which to be free4 ,and what nation has ever become so enslaved in the process8 ,we didn't want war1 and so with the mounting fear of war before our eyes1 we temporized until the greatest war in history came upon us4 ,an individual realizes how great is his own selfishness and so to overcome it1 he concentrates upon self-centered cure and becomes even more entangled4 ,no1 this kind of progress is no progress at all1 but rather a circle back into greater evil4 ,man was not made to run with his eyes turned backward4 ,he will inevitably fall into the same or deeper pit4 ,the only true and effective kind of progress is progress toward a goal with that goal clearly and constantly before our eyes4 ,we want peace4 ,what then is peace8 ,it certainly is not the mere avoidance of war4 ,it is rather the achievement of those conditions which allow for men's dependance upon each other with greater mutual respect and affection4 ,we want internal national harmony4 ,does that come from the suppression of the demands of labor or the abolition of the guidance of management8 ,certainly not4 ,it comes from a joint appreciation of the values of living without which there is no possible common ground4 ,do you as an individual want to grow in wisdom and stature8 ,yes1 certainly4 ,but that will not come from mere reaction to your past2 although that is a delusion under which many men labor4 ,this frequently reveals itself in their attitude toward religion4 ,almost everyone goes through a period of reaction against religion and all that it stands for4 ,it usually happens about ,sophomore year in college4 ,actually it is a reaction against the authority of our parents1 our school teachers and our unthinking past in general4 ,it is necessary for each one to think out his purposes and goals1 his religion for himself1 or else it will never have his whole hearted support4 ,but because of this confusion between authority and religion many people reject both together and forever after are motivated by reactions and not by any real positive ideal4 ,they are the followers of the illusory theory of progress and are forever in frustration4 ,no1 if you would make real progress you must start as soon as possible disentangling your ultimate ends from your reaction to your beginnings2 keeping what is true for you and discarding what is false4 ,once this process is begun1 it must be continued and developed until you have a religion that really pulls you on1 until you are reaching forth unto those things which are before1 until you have found the ,god who is your ,god and in whom you live and move and have your being4 ,twelve hundred copies printed by ,harvard ,university ,printing ,office4 ,designed by ,philip ,hofer1 ,department of ,printing and ,graphic ,arts of the ,harvard ,library1 with ,charles ,grassinger of the ,harvard ,printing ,office4 ,additional copies of ,nine ,o',clock ,talks may be obtained for 4#ge each from the ,bishop ,rhinelander ,memorial1 ,christ ,church1 ,cambridge1 ,mass4 ,proceeds from the sale of these books will go to the ,chaplain's fund for work with students in ,cambridge4