THE SUNDAY CIRCLE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21214, 20 December 1930, Page 5

THE SUNDAY CIRCLE.

religious reading for the HOME. A CHRISTMAS GREETING. Welcome, fairest Child of Heaven Dove a sweet token set apart Domuig as a human baby ’ To a human mother’s heart! teet, a brow unsullied, Hands like rosebuds softly curled. Yet beneath Thme infant frailness bleeps the Saviour of the, world, Child of song and vision, Substance of the Father's dreamf .though a manner-bed contain Thee, t,,,. , u a world shalt save, redeem. Rudely sheltered in a stable. Deft with oxen low to lie, Stars acclaim Thee King of Heaven Angela sing Thy lullaby. Welcome, long-expected, lovely Bearer of a new-born grace, ibough we may not press sweet kisses On the dawn-rose of Thy face, m “it 7 , the heart’s door open _ Toi the homeless and defiled. Bee Thy sacredness reflected In each little human child. —Frances. Lockwood Green. A PRAYER FOR CHRISTMAS EVE. God, bestow upon us, we beseech Thee, such love and cnarity as were DLia, to whom it waa more blessed to give than to receive, and Who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. May r nind b ?-i n u s which was also JJf S.rist Jesus. while we keep the festival 18 Thvine humility, consecrating our--Ber7lce of all who are in S Amen. 8 6 ° f JeBUS CW our A PRAYER FOR CHRISTMAS DAY. Thv Imlv ( r° d ’ h 7 th « birth of + d Jesus > bas given us a great t° dawn upon our darkness, grant. see P lioiit T flf e +i, that j n Eis Light we may . Jl ßht to the end of our days: and bestow upon us, we beseech Thee, that 8« f t of ckar% mn tbe likeness of Thy hAv^+L be fori ? ed ™ us, and that we may fctfnv hope of evei> Lord? Amen. Christ ° ur A TEXT FOR MBDITArtf- 1 * 1 ® laS t days ®hall come to /j .mountain of the house of The people tlj at walked in .have seen a great light: they Iwk dwell of rn shadow o! Isaiah 2 ttem bath 4118 lisht shined,— , n J“ ea^f y: With righteousness shall he lnr S +ho be P T >or 'e ?? d reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. . . . righteousness _ shall be the girdle of hie loins, and faithfulness the girdle of hie Xe ™ •7~ Tsa , lahzi - 4 and 5. t;3 e T nea^ y J Behold God is my aalva+Vl V I ? n l - L trus ?' and not be afraid; for «nL.TT J ®hovah is my strength and my Isafah'xf; 2 18 b ec °mo my salvation.— Thursday:’ Behold, I bring you good tidings of jereat joy, which shall be to all ? eo ß! e - .For unto you is born this day J?. tjh® of David a Saviour, which is Clmist the Lord.—Luke n, 10 and 11. ay-~G°d . , . hath jn these i® 3 t days spoken nnto ug by His Son, whom Hehath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds/ —Hebrews i, 1 and 2. Saturday; How shall we escape, if wo neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto u s by them that tUard him. —Hebrews ii, 3. THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION. We all need to ascend the Mount of transfiguration if we are to be faithful in tne common and obscure ways of daily •life. We all need to ascend, the mountam sometimes to be made conscious of our soul’s high destiny. We need to bamsh the suggestion that this divine vision is just religious sentiment; we must not. turn aside impatiently and say that it is only for saints and seers—and we .are neither. Believe me, whoever you may be, if you have no bird singing in your breast, no secret vision which explains your problems and makes bearable ;tne meanness, and oft-times the cruelty, the common day, then you are poor indeed. This vision is not mere religious sentiment, it makes all the difference in the world to everyday life, because, in the last resort it is the communion ox man’s soul with God. ; WHERE THERE IS NO VISION. ..The things we live by are not the ihmgs that we touch and taste and see. ■ Where there is no divine vision, no vision ’ splendid, where there is no setting forth of the will of God to the mind and soul ,°f the people, then is inevitable. It is a very significant word which the old writer uses; the word which is translated “perish” originally signified a throwing off of restraint. Where there is no vision the issue is crude nakedness, the people throw off restraint, they break loose from the guiding hand of God. Where there is no recognition and appreciation of spiritual authority we do find, as a matter of fact, that the people cast off restraint and, become spiritually naked. The spiritual nakedness of our day is a reality. THE CHURCH TIMES THANKS THE METHODIST REVIVAL. “In England the Church's influence,” said the Church Times recently in a leading article, “was at its lowest ebb durJUR the period succeeding the death of Queen Caroline in 1737, the witticism of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, that a Bill ■was being prepared *to have not ” taken out of tiie Commandments and; inserted in the Creed/ illustrating the ‘prevailing conditions in Hanoverian times. . “I* was against the spiritual destitution of the a<*e that Wesley arose in' revolt, like St. Francis of Assisi and Savonarola before him, and we have to thank the Methodist revival mainly for such relics of Christian morality as survived, and were further re-established at the hands of the Evangelicals/’ YOU MUST PAY. . Sometimes a light surprises a Christian while he sings, and sometimes while he toils-and sweats, and sometimes while he is reading a book, or walking in the street, or out on the hills, but oftenest when he is in church. The discovery of the truth and the value is, however, only the first thing. He will lose it again if he does not go and pay the price. The man in the parable gave all that he had in order to possess it. That was the only ay. MR WINSTON CHURCHILL ON RELIGION, “I epuld not feel,” writes Mr Winston Churchill in a chapter on what he believes in “My Early Life,” “that the Supreme Creator who gave us our minds as well as our souls would be offended if they did not always run smoothly together in double harness. After all. He must have foreseen this from the beginning, and, of course. He would understand it all.” , Acordingly,” says Mr Churchill, “ I have always been surprised to see some of our bishops and clergy making such heavy weather about reconciling the Bible story with modern scientific and historical knowledge. Why do they want to reconcile them? If you are the recipient °f a message which cheers your heart and fortifies your soul, which promises you reunion with those you have loved in a world of larger opportunity and wider sympathies’ why should you worry about the shape or colour of the travel-stained envelope, whether it is duly stamped, whether the date on the postmark is right or wrong? These matters may be puzz- . ling, but they are certainly not important.” 1 IF I HAD . If I had but one more sermon to preach it would be about the biggest thing I know, the wonderful love of Christ. It is beyond our understanding, and defies all efforts to express in words; it is not something to be argued about, but, as Darlow put it, “ a mystery for tears.” But to meditate upon it enables one to reach the highest levels of character, and -gives to life the passion for service, and sustains one in that service, as notinug else can.