CHRISTMAS DAY

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1929, Page 1 (Supplement)

CHRISTMAS DAY

THE EVIDENTIAL VALUE.

(By

“Beta Delta.”)

There is an evidential value m the ever recurring Christmas Feast. With the coming of the Son of Mary the calendar was changed. All civilisation counts its time from the birth of a Jewish peasant who left nothing in writing, who made no achievements in discovery or invention, who advanced nothing which was not at the time opposed, a peasant who died ere he reached his prime, and died the death of a criminal. Yet, as a famous Australian writer puts it, the centuries carry his signature, andthe years of the modern world are labelled! by universal consent the “years of our Lord.” To-day we find ourselves readjusting our dates to his birth, and each new year as it arrives is baptised with his name. We neither print a newspaper, nOr write a letter, nor issue a cheque, nor pass an Act of Parliament without unconsciously honouring his cradle. The Person in whose honour the day is observed has surely wrought a marvel-, lous achievement. “Caesar has not done it, nor Shakespeare, nor Newton,” wrote the late Dr. Fitchett, in reference to this performance. “Genius is vain to accomplish such a task; the sword is vain; wealth is vain. But this Jew has done it. How does it come to pass that not by accident, not by some conspiracy of fanatics, not by the force of any imperial edict, but by a convergence of silent, unrecognised, almost unconscious forces, all civilised time is baptised into the name of Jesus Christ?”

Some few years ago, as may be remembered, there was a proposal to erect a statue of Buddha in Central Park, New York. One of the many opponents of the scheme said: “If we put up a monument to Buddha in a public place, why not erect one of the Nazarene teacher.” Concerning this two statements may safely be made: First, the public of New York did not desire a statue of Buddha; second, the public did not need a monument in honoitr of Jesus. When people propose to build a statue of a long lost hero, it may be taken as a sign that such leader is in peril of being forgotten, and that memory is in need of a little assistance. ■ A glance at the work of the Son of Mary, as represented in, the social life of the peoples who esteem him most highly to-day, shows that he has his monuments, and why he is worthy of remembrance. The fact that, between the first Christmas day and the present there lies the greater part of. two milleniums is proof that Jesus, in whose honour the Feast is observed, has not been forgotten, and since the area in which he has been held in reverence by men has gradually widened fromthe beginning, it may be fair to state that it is also an indication that the world exhibits no tendency to ■ forget Him, . He needs no marble 1 shape to be. set up in His honour. Indeed, such: would look almost foolish. He is most: truly enshrined in millions of hearts and in many mighty works. Time and his-! tory are great critics and most exacting, judges, and their verdict declares that; the Nazarene is the greatest moral fopce in the world. . 4 •

Christendom represents millions • of men, but the numerical is after all a poor test of influence. The final appeal must be to character, quality, spirit, and in the light of these Islam, Brahmanism and Buddhism bear no comparison with Christianity. He who .was born at Bethleher4 now- stands at the head of the peoples that lead the civilisation of the world, and His. power is greatest where the people are most free. He is most truly honoured where knowledge is widest and where men are most progressive. And the greatest things these peoples have done they have performed at his impulsion. The legislative powers of Great Britain, America, Australia and New . Zealand practically accept the principles that underlie his teaching, and every institution in the modern world is in some degree leavened therewith. He and his followers have succeeded in extinguishing slavery. The philosophers and moralists of the ancient world might pronounce it a natural and necessary institution, but it could not be maintained as such by those who were taught that all men are brothers., The “glories of warfare,” too, are , rightly called-horrors, wherever His spirit and teachings are most recognised. True, the full- result of this teaching has not yet been realised, but it will not be denied that we have arrived at a day when Christian nations regard war as at least an illegitimate means of settling their differences. Tlie Leagues and Pacts of recent times —what are they but a consequence of the energising of the spirit of the Galilean in the world?

Moreover, it has generally been admitted with evident truth that He has been the creative source of our best talent. Has he not created a music and art, having distinct qualities, a genius all their own? A famous Oxford scholar says of Him: “He is so woven into our very thought and life that our poetry and history cannot be without Him and His deeds, so penetrated are our minds by Him that our philosophers end in an attempt to read His meaning.” It is no mere rhetoric to say that so long as the Galilean peasant, born to set the people free, is devoutly remembered, so long as his words are pondered and followed by a large proportion of the nation, so long will the Empire, thus impregnated with the knowledge and love of justice, charity and goodness, stand solidly a o ainst the disintegrating forces of vice, and so long will Christmas Day be a day of festive gladness. The results of his work are the best proof that the I name of Christ is worth remembering. And the fact that Christinas Day will be observed all over the civilised world in this twentieth century, Anno Domini, bears witness that there is something very real and very mighty in him who brought peace on earth and goodwill to men. It is not to be claimed that because the day is honoured all who keep it will think much about the causes that created it. This is true also of every national festival. But to the reflective the persistence of the Feast bears a witness and carries an inference all its own. It shows that mankind has recognised the merits and claims of the Son of Man, and that the truths He taught are selfcomrncnding.