The northern Advocate Daily THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1937. THE LESSON OF EASTER

Northern Advocate, 25 March 1937, Page 6

The northern Advocate Daily

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1937. THE LESSON OF EASTER

Registered (or transmission through the post as a Newspaper.

The recurrence of the Easter season should move men and women to give thought to the fundamental principle underlying a festival upon which the Christian Church has been built. We are apt to regard the festival as merely an occasion for holiday-making, forgetting that the holidays are in reality holydays, commemoratyig the death and the resurrection of our Lord. Disregarding theological ; terminology, it may he urged that the great sacrifice made ppon the Cross has for mankind today a lesson more powerful than that addressed to generations in days gone by. The world is smaller than it was nineteen hundred years ago. Aviation has shortened distance, and countries which were once separated by journeys occupying many weeks, can be reached in days, or even hours. Mails, telegraphs, and now the radio, have brought peoples of the world to a common meeting! ground, and it is possible for those dwelling in the uttermost parts of the earth to he within earshot of their fellows in the great metropolises. This means that there is perceptible a common j heart-throb, which may he hastened or slowed by things which are actually happening. Time was when atrocities such as Italy lias committed upon defenceless Ethiopians, for instance, would not' have been known to the nations for many months, by which time the atrocities would not have assumed the same complexion, Today, the whole world was made aware of the Addis Ababa massacre while the blood of the victims was still flowing. That is a very different thing from a months-old report. It is surely

not necessary to labour the difference Shat this gathering together of the people of the world into one small common meetinghouse means. It is clear that the spirit of sacrifice which culminated upon Calvary must be given universal application if the world is to be saved from a tragedy involving civilisation. If it were not for the refusal to make mutual sacrifices for the general wellbeing of nations, there woulcl nof today be that international jealousy, suspicion, and fear which are driving the world to desperation. If it were not for the failure of those wlfo have had it within their power to make the lives of dependent people more comfortable and prosperous, if, in fact, the spirit of sacrifice had been given a larger place, there would not today be the desire for vengeance which is moving masses of people. This failure to put the spirit of sacrifice into operation has not been confined to any one section of the community, but it is obvious that some sections have had greater opportunities than others to make generous gestures. .There has been too great an inclination to demand the letter, rather than the spirit, of bonds, and, as a consequence, the harmonious drawing together of contending parties' has ,not occurred. Matters of this kind are now international in their implication, as it is no longer possible for the people of one nation to suffer or to triumph without that fact being known immediately to jhe people of every nation. This suggests the need for the universal adoption of the spirit of saeri-| fiee for the benefit of others which is the lesson of Good Friday. So long as self-interest and selfishness are dominating influences, so long will the nations continue to build up . the things which will sooner or later destroy them, and seetipns of the nations hamper, rather than assist, other sections. The cynic derides the suggestion that altruism should guide the leaders and the units of nations, but when he is disposed to voice this belief, he should sit down and solemnly recall the lessons of Easter, even if he does not regard the death and resurrection of the Saviour in the light that theologians survey it. Unless the spirit of sacrifice is to be given the place it should he given, the relationship of individual and individual, of employer and worker, of nation and nation, will remain as it is, and the- greatest thing in the world will be missed.