THE SABBATH HOUR

Northern Advocate, 20 July 1935, Page 6

THE SABBATH HOUR

TEXT FOR TODAY. THE PATH OF THE JUST. The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.—Proverbs 4:18. HUMAN SUFFERING AND THE DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE. Notes of a sermon preached by Rev. L. Gordon Hanna, of Hikurangi. Text:John 9:3. The" Facts of Human Suffering. Suffering is universal in the history of humanity. What is of greater concern is the very apparent inequable manner of its distribution. If only the guilty suffered we might possibly fi’ame a philosophy of life which would be inadequate to the observed facts. But we find that both guilty and innocent are on a common level in this respect. If it*were so that only the strong suffered we might find reason for rejoicing in the smiles of little children and the sounds of their happiness. Yet the frail and weak and helpless share, too, in this heritage of suffering. It is therefore impossible, surely, to dwell on this aspect of human experience and remain unmoved. Our first reaction to it all is the question, “What of God’s love?” How many lives have been wrecked upon the rbck of the mystery of pain? From the tender sorrows of childhood to the stony griefs of old age, suffering has stood between man and his God.

Some Inadequate Explanations,

Some thinkers have sought a solution to the problem in the theory of the Law of Retribution. A man reaps what he sows. This, indeed, may be true of much suffering. We may see men and,women reaping a harvest of suffering and pain for deeds committed in earlier days'or even as the consequence of the deeds of parents and ancestors. 'But, let us observe, here no real problem exists. We can see the inexorable law of Cause and Effect working, itself out on the level of human experience. This class of suffering, then, is not incapable of rational explanation. But we still must find some further answer to much suffering which cannot be regarded as due to the Law of Retribution, for this theory cannot be fairly applied to all suffering.' Others have sought to escape the difficulty in the thought that pain is not without a measure of disciplinary value. Pain may have a moral value, but it is entirely relative to the sufferer’s attitude. Its value is not inevitably present—in fact, it may be quite the reverse. Moreover, let it be noted that Christ never taught that suffering is a positive agency in the development of good, or in other \vords, we can find no valid Scriptural authority in the New Testament for a basis for believing that God sends suffering for the pux’pose of promoting moral excellence in mankind. The logical consequences of such a belief postulate the opposition of medical science and all philanthropic work to the purposes of God. But, more than all this, both these theories prove totally inadequate when we arc confronted with what appears to us to be meaningless pain. What of the instances which each one of us could well multiply from experience where moral good has not resulted from suffering? Where deepened spirituality has not followed intense seasons of pain? Where it is ut-tex-ly impossible to attribute suffering to either retribution or for the purpose of promoting moral excellence? I have in mind that wide range of suffei'ing which, to the best of our judgment. does not produce beneficial results in character, but rather has le many a soul to bitter atheism and biting cynicism.

Though reason can take us some of the way, and has assisted us thus far in that it has narrowed down the issue and clax’ilied our thoughts, still, until we admit the inadequacy of reason to lead us all the way, little further progress can be made. Consequently, if we limit ourselves to evidence gathered solely from the apparent facts of life and the immediate consequences of suffering, a very strong indictment can. be made out against the providence of God. „ Therefore, let us realise that the inter-relationships of human affairs—that is—the affairs, of daily ixxdividual and national or rather, community life are much too complicated and their ultimate consequences too remote to allow a rational explanation on the level of pure reason. Again, life is too vast and the cosmic movement of which we are a part too slow to enable us in our limited space of three score yeai's and ten or so to see things in true perspective. But, where Reason fails, Faith can lead us on.

We turn then, to our Faith in God. The thought which throws the greatest light upon the subject for the present writer is this —that the Life which x-evealed God as a God of Love also revealed the greatest depth of suffering. That is to say—l look at the Cross of Christ and I see that the greatest moment of agony was at the same time the moment of the supreme revelation of the heart of God. What

appear so incompatible to us were made one on the Cross. The Cross symbolises for us the medium God used to reveal Himself.

God entered the human race and chose as the chief instrument of selfrevelation the principle of vicarious suffering. That was the underlying theme of the Incarnation itself—God revealing Himself in terms of suffering. The principle of vicarious suffering runs throughout all the various stages of animated life, and God in His wisdom chose it for His great purpose of world redemption. The presence of infirmity and suffering did not constitute any great difficulty to Jesus. He did not stand dumbfounded before the spectacle of suffering nor did He enter into profound discussion about the subject, but His attitude was one of compassionate concern for its alleviation. He used every .opportunity to transform the fact of suffering into a medium for the revelation of the love of God and on the Cross He took the final step. For Christ’s suffering was opportunity. For the sufferer it was opportunity to reveal God’s grace in Divine vicariousness—as Christ Him self revealed it on the Cross. For the spectator it was opportunity to reveal compassionate love as Christ revealed it in His ministry. God entered humanity and became one with the race. He called us in Christ to become co-workers with Him, and the method He chose to redeem His world was the method of what is to the sceptic and atheist meaningless pain. To the Christian believer it is something more profound. I want to suggest to you that in suffering we are nearest Christ—■ at any rate, we are in deepest fellowship with Him. ’Twas in the contemplation of this thought that Paul glor fed—fellowship in the sufferings of Christ His Master. THE MIGHTY ATOM. By Silent Peter. Dear People, There would appear to be ma'gic as well as.safety in numbers! The modern discovery that the constituent parts of any atom are identical in nature and that an atom is varied only in so far as its constituent parts vary in number and in numerical arrangement, rolls back the veil of time and discloses Pythagoras, the illustrious Samian, ' he who first enunciated the Law of Numbers as being the principle upon which the inner harmony of the universe is based. Pythagoras was the first scientist to hold officially the title of Philosopher, or friend of wisdom. He was outstanding among his fellows by reason of the beauty and the dignity of his person as well as by the brilliancy of his understanding. He surpassed all living men in music, medicine, geometry, astronomy, poetry, mathematics and natural philosophy. It is to him that the world is indebted for the demonstration of the 47th proposition of the first book- of Euclid’s elements, the theorem of the square of the hypothenuse. His system of the universe, in which he placed the sun in the centre and all. the planets moving in elliptical orbits around it, was deemed for long ages chimerical and improbable, until in the sixteenth century it was at last proved to be incontestably true. Pythagoras was as outspoken and as fearless as was the Christ Himself some 500 years later in his dehunciations of the debauchery j and the effeminacy of the wealthy classes of his day; .and, as has invariably been the case with advanced thinkers and scientists of all races and | of all ages, his own sober and religious behaviour was a powerful influence among his followers and disciple*. There is nothing new under the sun. Pythagoras founded a society in Lower Italy whose members were pledged to the living of a pure and devout life with a view to helping to bring about the political and moral regeneration of thgir country, the social and economic life of which had been ruined by the strife of parties. As was the case with the Great Master Who later followed in Judea, Pythagoras left not a single line of writing in regard to his teachings; and with the passing of the centuries a mass of legend and miracle grew up around his name. Modern scientists are at one with the theories of Pythagoras, as they are with the teachings of Christ, in perceiving in the universe evidences of regularity, correspondence, beauty, proportion, order and harmony, as intentionally produced by the Creator. It was in the time of Pythagoras (some 2500 years ago) that the atomistic theory was first evolved, although he personally was not pf the atomistic school of thought. Although knowledge of the atom has so ancient a lineage, it is not so very long ago that the furthest extent of scientific knowledge led to the supposition that the atom was a simple, indivisible particle, incapable of further analysis. As one great scientist phrased it, atoms were looked upon as the infinitesimal and eternally enduring bricks with which the Creator built the ma- j ferial universe. It was believed that atoms had existed unbroken and unworn since first they were shaped and moulded by the hand of God and that they would continue to exist without change or wear, for ever and for ever. It is now known, of course, that the atom is not eternally unchanging, but that all atoms change from age to age with the numerical rearrangement of their constituent electrons. It is the electron which is now the unchanging primary particle of scientific research, j and physicists concur in their conclusions that the electron is eternally and vitally active in its work of forming and reforming those little “bricks" with which God continually creates the unity in diversity of the universe. Yours sincerely. (To be continued.) I