“DEPRESSION OVER WORLD AT PRESENT.”

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18985, 3 February 1930, Page 13

“DEPRESSION OVER WORLD AT PRESENT.”

ARCHBISHOP PREACHES ON THE LACK OF FAITH

Faith was the subject of a sermon delivered by Archbishop Julius in the Anglican Cathedral yesterday morning. He took his text from St Luke VIII., 25 verse: "And Jesus said unto them, Where is your faith?” The Archbishop described the scene on the Sea of Galilee, when these words were spoken as a mild rebuke to the disciples because of their fear of the storm.

“We have learnt something in these days,” said the Archbishop. "Earnest scientific men have learnt humility. They have followed the laws of nature and seen one theory after another break down. A wise man will not tell you that anything is impossible. He will say ‘We do not know.’ We do not know the influence of the spiritual on the material or how far it extends.

"Men’s hearts are trembling with fear at the things that may happen to the earth. We may shut our eyes and ignore it .There are thousands who refuse to recognise the dangers of the present day. There are others who are troubled by them. They may not say much, but they think much and they know well enough that but for the Grace of God we may not pull through.

"We are no better than our fathers, who were not wise in some directions. They knew little of science, little of economics and little of industry, except that they knew how to work, which we have forgotten. Have we the best captains in the ship or are we becoming engulfed in difficulties? There is a depression hanging over modern society that we cover over with gaiety, and so it is that men give themselves to despair.” His Grace related a story of his young days when he nearly lost his life while out boating. The oarsmen gave up in despair and threw their oars overboard just when they should have pulled their hardest as the only hope of saving themselves. "Men are losing heart,” said the preacher, “and are apt to throw their oars overboard. Look at the frequent suicides of young people when they are out of work or

not prepared to face their difficulties. What does divorce mean but that the man or woman won’t stick it out and won’t face the difficulties of married life? Why is it that so few men to-day give themselves to public and social service—our best men, those who want to give and not to get? They hang back. You rich men who won’t serve and you working men who won’t work, throw your oars in the water by all means and let the willing ones pull you. You are nothing but dead weight. “The Father is asleep. The mass of the people are no longer true to Him. Children grow up knowing nothing about Him; and so we jog along, some playing, some dreaming, some serving and some fearing that the ship is going down under us. Then the crowds come up as they did in the Great War, when they filled the churches, prayed for help and forgot all about it when the help came. That will all happen again when civil war comes, when people are starving and shops are closed. He will come to you. It is better to cry out in trouble than not at all.

“I wonder,” Archbishop Julius continued, “if it were possible to bring our Lord among us and show Him the world, take Him to the aerodromes, to the great engineering works, and show Him all our advances, what He would think of it. I think He would come to the conclusion that there is more wonder in a sparrow than in all .man’s w'orks. The fact is that there are a large number of men and women today with experience of help and guidance who have forgotten. ‘Yes, Lord, we have kicked religion out of our schools and out of our homes. Few of us draw near to Thee.* No wonder we are in trouble. People say to-day that He is asleep. Nobody supposes that He interferes—but I do not believe it.”