GIFT OFLi P lr^rTHE HIDDEN SIDE OFCHRISTIAN FESTIVALSTHE HIDDEN SIDE OFCHRISTIAN FESTIVALSBYCHARLES W. LEADBEATERRegionary Bishop ofTheLiberal Catholic ChurchforAustralasiaTHE ST.ALBAN PRESSLosAngelas: London :Sydney1920CONTENTSPART ONEPageJ-VAVTTWAUIntroduction:ChapterXVChapterXVIChapterXVIIChapterXV1TIPageFestivals of the Saints ...... 290Our Attitude Towards the Saints. . 290Patron Saints...... 299Brief NotesUponSome of the Saints 305St. Albau. ....... 305St.George........ 311St. Patrick . . . ..... 319St. Mark ........ 323All Saints'Day. . .. ..324All Souls7Day........ 330PART TWOofJipscralChapterChapterChapterChapterChapterChapterChapterChapterChapterChapterXIXXXXXIXXIIXXIIIXXIVXXVXXVIXXVIIXXVIII347355370384395402413419426441The Faith of Our FathersOur Attitude Towards LifeThe Greatest of TheseDiscernmentWisdomSelf-DedicationPerseverance . .Good WorksGod asLight.. ...ForethoughtPART THREEurtng tfye PtaChapterXXIX The Truth About the War . . 451ChapterXXX On theAnniversaryof the Outbreakof War ........ 480ChapterXXXI On God's Side . . ...... 487ChapterXXXII The Future ........493Index.. . 500FOREWORDThese notes on the Church's Yearwereoriginallyintended to be achapterin the first volume of thisseries,The Scienceofthe Sacraments. Itwasfound,however,that that book wasalready becomingun-wieldy,and that there was more tobe said aboutthe ecclesiasticalyearthancouldbecompressedintoasingle chapter;so it seemed best to devote aseparatevolume to its consideration. This has alsomade itpossibletoadd to it a few miscellaneousaddresses onpointsofimportance.The book is to alargeextent thereproductionof a series of sermonsgivenfor the instruction ofacongregationto whose members the ideas con-tained in it were novel. Amid muchpressureofworkalongother lines Ihavenothadleisure to weldthese intoa continuoustreatise;and as it is notprobablethat in this incarnation I shall have thatleisure,and as othercongregationsdesire informa-tion onthesesubjects,it seemsbestto letthesermonsgoforth with but little correction or addition.Occasionalrepetitionsandcolloquialismswill nodou'bt be foundin thebook, therefore;but Ihopethat itmaynevertheless be not without some valueto students of liberalChristianity,and indeed ofreligioningeneral.C.W.L.$art1THE FESTIVALSINTRODUCTIONTHECHURCH'SYEARGod has aplanforman,and thatplanis evolu-tion. Wehave come forth fromHim,and to Himwe are to return. The orientalphilosopherstell usthatwe are on the nivrittimarga,orpathofreturn,and a modernpoet putsthe same idea in otherwords: "All the aim of life isjust climbingbackto God." Christ's Church existssolelytohelpman-kind in thisprocess,andshe hasmany ingeniousmethods ofofferingthathelp.One of them is thearrangementof the ecclesiasticalyear,which differssomewhat from that of civil life.Broadly speaking,it divides itself into twoparts,the first of which is devoted tosettingbefore usdramaticallythe variousstagesof thepathwe havetotread,and the second to thepractical applica-tion of what has beentaught. Throughbothpartsare scattered variousfestivals,each of whichisintended to remind us of somepointwhich it isuseful for us toremember,andto calluponus tomake aspecialeffort inconnection withit;and tomake thiseasier,extraoutpouringsof force fromthehigherworld arearrangedfor such occasions.As it isputin ourLiturgy:' 'The firstportionofthe Church'syear,from AdventtoWhitsuntide,isdevoted to the commemoration of the various scenesin theMystery-Dramaofthelife of theChrist,whichin itself istypicalof the life ofeveryChristian,asOrigen pointed put."1112 %>he Christian FestivalsThere are fourprincipal stagesinthatprogress.Those who have studied thesethingsfrom anotherpointof view know thatin orientalreligionsthosefourstagesarecalled the fourgreat Initiatipns.TheseappearinChristianity also,but the terms aredifferent. The first of them issymbolizedbytheBirth of the Christ that firstgreatInitiation whichis the birth of the man into thegreatWhiteBrotherhood,which isalwayscalled in thegospelsthekingdomof heaven. We cannot understandthosegospels,we cannot make coherent or reason-able sense out ofthem,if we take thekingdomofheaven to mean theheaven-world after death. Ifwe understand that thekingdomof heaven is agreatliving community,we shall seewhyit is diffi-cult for the rich man to enter intoit;we shall seehowall thepromisesmade about it areliterallyaccurate;otherwisetheymake no sense at all.Inthat first Initiation also the birth of the Christ-Principletakesplacein theman,for the Monadand theegothespiritand thesoul,to use theChristian terms become one for a wonderfulmoment.Thesecond of thosegreat stagesissymbolized bytheBaptismof our Lord. We must not confusethis with thebaptismwhichbrings everychildintothe Church of Christ. It is that of which John theBaptist spokewhen he said: "I indeedbaptize youwithwater,but He that cometh after me shallbaptize youwith theHolyGhost and with Fire."There is anoutpouringfrom the Initiator to thecandidate at that secondgreat ceremonywhich hasindeed all theappearanceof abaptismof fire.&he Church's Year 13TheTransfigurationis therepresentationof thethird of thesegreat Initiations,for in thattrulytheMonad,thespirit,transfiguresthesoul,and the soulin its turntransfiguresthebodydown here thepersonality,as we often call it. All these are won-derfully aptillustrations. When we come to thefourth,wefind whatmany peoplethink atrulyterribleInitiation,thoughsurelyit is also one ofthegreatestglory;for then the candidate sufferswhat isimaged bytheCrucifixion, thoughif hepassesthe testsuccessfullyit isalwaysfollowedbythevictoryof the Resurrection.If we read the account of the life ofany mysticwho haspassed throughthat wonderfulstageweshall noticehowcloselythese events follow one an-other,and howtrulythe Christianstorymirrorsthem. Weshall see that there isusuallysome smallearthly triumphlike that of the Christ on PalmSunday,and after that there isalwaysthe com-bination of enemies todisgracethecandidate;thereisalwaysthemisunderstandingand thecontumelythrownupon him,and then after all that comes thegreatandgloriousresurrection out of that suffer-inginto life eternal eternal asregardsthis worldatany rate,for the man who has taken thatstepneed neveragainbe reborn here on earth.Then after that comes the fifthstepthe last ofall,that which takes the man out ofhumanityandmakes him asuperman.That isaptly symbolizedbythe Ascension from earth toheaven,and thedownpouringof theHoly Spiritcomesuponhimanduponothers inconsequenceof that his ascentalltrulyas it ismirroredin thegospel story.14 &he Christian FestivalsThere is an immenseamount of detail intowhichI cannotpretendtogo now;but it will be seen thatthesymbolical interpretationis at leastcoherent,reasonable and defensible. There is noargumentagainst it,whereas the contentionthat the accountis historical can be overthrown atevery point;therefore those whopintheir faith to that histori-cal idea must shut theireyesto a vast amount ofwhattheycannot butknow to be thetruth,whereasthose who arepreparedtoacceptthehigherandinnermeaningwill find that their faith is foundeduponarock.Indrawing upthe calendar for the LiberalCatholic Church we have ventureduponaslightre-arrangementof some of the minor festivals in ordertobringforth this innermeaningsomewhat moreclearly.AtChristmas,with all theworld,we cele-brate the Birth of the Christ. There is nospecialfestivalappointedin theordinaryCatholic calendaras ananniversaryof theBaptismof our Lord,though manyhavecelebrateditalongwith theEpi-phany.Wetherefore have ventured to setapartan-otherdayfor thiscelebration,somewhat later thantheEpiphany;andbecausetheTransfiguration (sym-bolizingthe thirdInitiation)comes out of its dueplacewhenkepton the 6thAugust,we have alsotransferredthat,andwekeepit betweentheBaptism(which representsthe secondInitiation)and Easter(which representsthefourth).So once more thesefourstageswill be restoredin our calendar to acoherentwhole,andputin theright Qrder.There is no traditionin the Church as to theactualanniversaryof either theBaptismor theThe Church's Year 15Transfiguration.The custom ofcelebratingthelatter on the 6thAugustwas introduced at acom-parativelylatedate;I think the first time we findit mentioned is in theyear850A.D.,and even thenit seems to have beenonly locallyobserved. It wasnot until theyear1456 that its extension to theuniversal Church was decreed in commemoration ofagreat victorygainedover the Turks on thatday.So as theoriginaldate is notknown,we havenot,Ithink,committedanygreatbreach ofproprietyinputtingthese celebrationsin their trueorder,sothat thesymbolismshall be clear to our brethren.Manyof the events described ashaving hap-penedin the last life of the Christ are commemor-ated on thedayswhentheyareactually supposedto haveoccurred, althoughon thissubjectthere hasbeen in ecclesiasticalhistoryconsiderable differenceofopinion.Thegreat groupof festivals whose datesare determinedbythat of Easter fallon differentdaysof the month in differentyears;buttheyareall decided with reference to the Paschal fullmoon,justas theold Jewish Passover used to be.The othergroupoffestivals,being dependentupon Christmas,have fixed dates the Annunciationon March25th,ChristmasDay itself,the festival oftheEpiphanytwelvedays later,and the Presenta-tion of Christ in thetemple,which iscommonlycalled CandlemasDay.There is little reason tosupposethatanyof these dates arehistoricallycor-rect,buttheyarearrangedto be consistent one withanother.CHAPTERIADVENTWithus,as with the Churches of RomeandofEngland,AdventSundayis whatmaybe called theecclesiastical New Year'sDay.TheHolyEasternChurch(theChurchof Greece and ofRussia)observes the samecustom,but sheclingsto theunrevisedcalendar,and so shebeginsall her com-memorations twelvedayslater than we do.The firstgreatfeast of the Church'syearis thatof the Birth of theChrist,whichcorrespondsto,and teaches usof,the first of thegreatInitiations.But the Church in her wisdom has ordered that foreach of hergreaterfestivals there shall be acertain time ofpreparation,andconsequentlybeforethe feast of Christmaswehave the season of Adventwhich hasindeeda doubleaspect,but its first isthat of a time ofpreparationfor the due celebrationof Christmas.It isnot a mere fashion ofspeechtosaythat weoughtduringthe season ofAdvent to bemakingourselvesreadyfor that festival. Christmas is notonlyabirthday,notonlya commemoration of thenativityof ourLord;it is also a timeofthespecialoutpouringofspiritualforce. Suchgreatfestivalsas Easter andChristmas,in therejoicingconnectedwith which we alljoinsoeagerlywhentheycomeround,aredefinitelyoccasions forwhat iscommonlycalled thesheddingofgracefrom onhigh;andinorder that wemaybe able to avail ourselves tothe full of such anoutpouring,it is well that we16Advent 17should takeadvantageof the season ofadjustment.We receive more if weprepareourselvesproperly;so we should accustom ourselvesduringAdvent tothinkdailyof theComingof theLord,and of theInitiation which ittypifies.The fourSundaysin Advent are devotedbythemysticsof the Inner School ofChristianityto thecontemplationof the fourqualificationsfor thefirst InitiationDiscrimination, Desirelessness,GoodConduct andLove;but no trace of thatarrange-ment remainsin the modern Churchservices,unlessit be the old custom ofsubstitutingrose for violetas the colour for the thirdSunday.Asisexplainedin ourLiturgy (andmorefullyin the first book ofthisseries,The ScienceoftheSacraments)theChurch utilizes different rates ofvibration,whichshow themselves to oureyesascolours,to assist inimpressing uponher members the various lessons tobe learntsuccessivelyin the course of heryear.Inthepreparation-periods (Advent,Lent and thevigilsof Saints'Days)the colour chosen as mosthelpfulispurple,because of itsactinic, piercingandcleansing properties. Approximatelyin the middleof Advent and of Lent we find aSundayon whichrose isprescribed;and for this various reasons havebeensuggested. Throughcertain curious misunder-standingsthesepreparatory periodscame to be con-sidered aspenitentialandsorrowful,and it wassup-posedthat the rose-colouredSundaywas introducedas akind ofmitigationofgriefamomentaryreliefin the midst of austerities. Atruertheoryisthat,as the one efficient motive for ourattemptat self-purificationis our love forGod,this dramaticchangeof colour in the midst of the season is18 The Christian Festivalsintended to remind us of thatdeepand true affec-tion which must underlie andpermeateeveryeffortthat wemake,if there is to beany hopeof itsper-manent success. Atleast this much remains of thejoyousnesswhich should characterize the wholeseason;for it is notby fruitlesslymourningoveroursins,butby earnestly resolvingto forsakethem,that we can fit ourselves to make the best use ofthegloriousfestival which isapproaching.The Church Catholic hasalways recognizedthedual nature of the Advent season that it is apre-parationfor the nextComingof theChrist,as wellas for the celebration of His birth inHis last lifeon earth. The Churches of Rome andEnglandspeakof that secondComing,andadjuretheirpeopleto bereadyforit;andyetthere isa vastamount of seriousmisunderstandingabout it. Inthe Christianscripturesit isentangledwith theidea of the end of theworld,so thatpeoplewholook for the secondComingof the Christgenerallythink of it as also the end of all the order thattheyknow,and so most of them fear it. In the sermonsandhymnsconnected with theComingthere stilllingersa flavour of fearfulanticipationof an awfuldescent from thephysical sky, acccompanied byappalling meteorological phenomena.Thegeneralattitude is far too much thatexpressedin some ofthe Adventhymnswhich suchpeople sing:Theungodly,filled withguilty fears,Behold his wrathprevailing;In woethey rise,but all their tearsAndsighsareunavailing.Andtheytalk of them as"deeply wailing/'"indeepabasementbending,"andso on. Nowit shouldAdvent 19bevery clearlyunderstoodthat all this sort ofthingis notonly silly,butdefinitelywicked and blas-phemous;and the men who teach such a horriblemisrepresentationof true Christian doctrine under-take averyseriousresponsibility,forsurelytoslander ourheavenlyFather and todegradeHischildren'sconceptionof Him is a crime of no smallmagnitude.There is of coursenothingwhatever ofthat sortamongtruemystics,who havealwaysknown that GodisLove,andhave never fearedanymanifestation of HisPresence,fortheyknow thatwhethertheysee Him or not He isalwayswiththem even unto the end of theage.All fear of Godcomes from amisunderstanding.TheComingof Christ is indeed connected with anend;it is not the end of theworld,but the end ofanageordispensation.The Greek word isaion,which is the same as aeon inEnglish;andjustasChrist said two thousandyears agothat thedispen-sation of the Jewish law had come to an endbecause He had come to found a newdispensation,that of thegospelso will thegospel dispensationcome to an end when He comesagainand foundsyetanother. He willgivethe samegreat teaching:theteachingmust be thesame,for there isonlyoneTruth,though perhapsitmaybeputa little moreclearlyfor usnow,because we know a little more.It will bepromulgatedin some freshdress, per-haps,with somebeautyofexpressionwhich will beexactlysuitedto us in thispresent day;there willbe somestatement of it which willappealto alargenumber ofpeople.It willcertainlybe thesame,because it hasap-pearedin all theexistingfaiths.Theyhave differed20 &he Christian Festivalsmuch, in their method ofpresenting it,buttheyallagree absolutelyin the life whichtheyask theirfollowers to live. We find considerable differencebetween the externalteachingsofChristianity,Buddhism, Hinduism,and Muhammadanism;but ifwe examine thegoodmen ofanyone of those reli-gionsandenquireinto theirdaily practice,we shallfind thattheyare allleading preciselythe same lifethattheyallagreeas to the virtues agoodmanmustpossess,andtheyallagreeas to the evils hemust avoid.Theyall tell us that a man must becharitable, truthful, kindly,honourable,helpfultothepoor; theyall tell us that a man who is hardandgraspingandcruel,a man who is untruthfulanddishonourable,ismakingnoprogressand hasno chance of success until hechangeshisways.Aspractical peoplewe mustrecognizethat thethingsof realimportanceinanyreligionare not thevaguemetaphysical speculationson matters of which noone canreallyknowanythingforcertain,for thesecanhave no influenceuponourconduct;theimportantthingsare thepreceptswhich affect ourdaily lives,which make us this kind of man or that kind ofman in our relations with our fellow-men. Thosepreceptsare the same in allexisting religions;theywill be the same in the newteaching,whatever itmaybe.Perhapswemay goa little further than that inpredictingwhat He willteach,because there aresome other avenues of informationopento us. Oneof these is thestudyof thepreviousteachingswhichHehasgiven.Students will remember that beforethis World-Teachertookupthe office it was heldbytheLordGautama,Whommencall theBuddha. HisAdvent 21especialtitle was the Lord of Wisdom. Hegavemany teachings,buttheyallcentredround the ideathatknowledgemeant salvation that the evils ofthe world came fromignorance,and thatthroughignorancemenwere led intodesire,andbythat intoall kinds of sinsandsorrows;but that if theigno-rance of manwasdispelled,and he came intopos-session ofperfect knowledge,hewouldtherebycometo theperfect life,and to theperfectattitude to-wards all menand allcircumstances, and so wouldescapefrom the wheel of birth and death.OurpresentWorld-Teacher bears the nameMaitreya,which means kindliness orcompassion,andjustas theLordBuddhawascalled the Lord ofWisdom,so is the LordMaitreyacalled the Lord ofLove or ofCompassion.Thegreatcentral truthwhich He willemphasizeis that the evils oftheworld come from the lack of loveand brotherlinessthat if man will learn to love and toadoptthebrotherly attitude,all evil willpass awayand thegolden agewill dawnuponus. Notimmediatelywecannothopeforthat;but at leastmenwillbeginto see forthemselves,and to understand howmuchmore is to begained alongthat line than the other.Wemaysee howprominentlythat doctrine cameforward in Hispreviouslives.TwiceHehasappearedas Krishna in the Indianplains,and as Christ amid the hills of Palestine. In.the incarnation as Krishna thegreatfeature wasalways love;the child Krishna drew round Himpeoplewhofelt forhimthedeepest,the mostintenseaffection. Evennowthereligionwhich Hefoundedperpetuatesitself in the mosttouching devotion,themostwonderful attraction to the child Krishna. All22 &he Christian Festivalsover the south of Indiamanymillions of followersstillworship Him,and it is of the essence of theirworshipto feel for him thedeepestaffection adevotion moretouching,moreintense,Ithink,thananythat I have seen even in the monasticcommuni-ties ofChristianity.Againin His birth inPalestine,love was thecentral feature of Histeaching.He said:"Thisnew commandment Igiveuntoyou,thatyeloveone another as I have lovedyou."He asked thatHisdisciples mightall be one in Him even as Hewas one with the Father. His closestdisciple,St.John,insisted moststrongly uponthe same idea:"He that loveth not knoweth notGod,for God islove." St. John lived to agreat age (overa hun-dred),andwhen in thedaysof extreme oldageandfeebleness he could nolongerdeliverlong sermons,ashewascarriedaboutina chairamongtheyoungerpeople,his word to themalwayswas: "Littlechildren,love one another." Sowe have some evi-dence from the twopreviousbirths of thegreatWorld-Teacher that the central idea of love willdominate His utterances now.In a certain little book called At the FeetoftheMaster we have someteaching givento ayoungIndianpupil(whomI knewwell) byone of theMasters of the Wisdomwho is Himself adiscipleofthe World-Teacher. Itsespecial objectis to setforth in thesimplest possibleform thequalificationsrequiredfor Initiation. There is nomysteryas tothosequalifications,fortheyaregivenin books be-longingto variousreligions,and are well known toall who make astudyof suchsubjects.In thesedifferentpresentations, however,there is room forAdvent 23considerablevariety,both in the method ofteachingandin the translation of someof the technical termsemployed.In this little book to which I have re-ferredwegetthepresentationof thosequalificationsbyone who is so close a follower of the World-Teacher that wemayfeel sure that it ispracticallyHispresentation.That bookclearlydoes not con-tain the whole of what He willteach,but wemaycertainlytake it that there isnothingin it of whichHedisapproves.Inreadingit we cannot fail to bestruckbythe factthat itis moststronglypermeatedwith this samespiritof love. The finalqualifica-tion,the intense desire for union with theSupreme,isgivenin thatbook asLove,onthegroundthattheSupremewith "Whom the man wishes to be one isHimself Love;and therefore he who wishes tojoinwith Him must firstdevelopthat love within him-self. Istronglyrecommend that little book to thenotice ofeverymember of ourChurch;it will befound inmany waysa most usefulmanual,for itshows usclearlyinhowmany waysourpresentmethods of life fall farshort of thathighideal oflove.Inreadingthe Christian bible weshould,Ithink,remember that itslanguageislargelysymbolical.I do not mean tosaythat all the writers knewexactlywhat it meant. I do not thinktheydid. I thinktheyalso were inmanycasesdeceived,becausethey putinto the mouth of the Christwords whichrepresentHim asexpectingto comebackquite shortly. AgainandagainHe is made tostate: "There aremany standinghere who will notpass awayuntil I comeagain,"whereas we knowthat two thousandyearshavepassedsince then.24 &he Christian FestivalsThatidea of the destruction of the worldis amistake. Itmaybe said: "All the Christian worldtakes itliterally;howdo weknowthat it is a mis-take?" In this Liberal Catholic Churchweworshipand we follow thelivingChrist. Not a Christ oftwothousandyears ago only,but a ChristWholivesandinspiresHis Churchnow;in thisdayalso Hehas Hisprophetswho know and declare HisWill,and those whoknowhavetold us thatHewill comeagaineven as He hassaid,and that thatComingwill be soonnow,as we countearthlytime. It willindeedbegina new era for those who arewillingto receive it. It will be agreat change,but it willbe a mental anda moralchange.Hespoke,in thatpreviousvisit ofHis,of thesignswhich shouldforetell HissecondComing.If we read what iswritten,we shall see that thegreatwar has beenone of thosesigns;and we canalsosee that muchwill bepossiblein thewayof reconstruction afterit which would not have beenpracticablebefore.Let it beclearlyin ourmindsthat He comes nottodestroytheworld,but to teachus,even as Hecame before. He comes toreign indeed,but Hecomes toreignin ourhearts,for Hiskingdomisnot of this world.Howshall weprepareourselves then for thisHisComing? Chieflybyunselfishness andbyservice toothers for Himand in His Name. The virtues ofdevotion,of steadfastness and ofgentlenessneeddevelopingin usall,as is statedclearly bytheOrder of the Starin theEast,aSocietywhich existstopreparethewayfor His secondComing,tohelpusto fit ourselves to receiveHim,and so far asmaybe tohelpto make othersreadyas well.Advent 25Thistime,as indeed He is said to haveforetold,there will bemanywho will notheed, manywhowill bewrappedupin business andinpleasure.Hequotesthelegendary storyofNoah,that men weregoingon with their work and theirplayandpay-ingno attention to theprophecies,and the floodcamesuddenlyanddestroyedthem all. This is thelegendof thesinkingof Atlantis a historicalfact,thoughit did not occurexactlyas described in thetraditions. Christ isreportedto have said thatjustas it wasthen,soit will be when the Son ofMan shall comeagain.Thepeoplewill befullyoccupiedwith their business andpleasure,and notthinkingin the least ofHim,andsotheywill notknowHim; theywill notidentifyHim orrecog-nize Him. Weat least must be wiser thanthat,wewho aretryingtostudythe innermeaningof allthesethings;we must make ourselvesreadytore-ceiveHim;and for those whowill sopreparethem-selves,be sure that a wonderful and aglorioustimewill come.Wehardly realize, perhaps,howstupendousis theprivilegeofbeingborn at thistime,ofhavingbeenable to takepart (forwe all have takenpartinonewayoranother,Ihopeandbelieve)in thegreatwar ofright against wrong,which has sorecentlydrawn to aclose;and even more thanthat,wewholive nowmayhopeto see the secondComingof theChristamongus.Andthinkwhat that shouldmeantous,if werecognizeHim.For HeWhomnow we trust inShall then be seen andknown,Andtheywhoknowand serveHimShall have Him for their own.26 &he Christian FestivalsTheyshall know the truth and the truth shallmake themfree,for in His service there isperfectfreedom. AndHe has told us that whosoever doesservice unto one of the least of Hisbrethren,doesit unto Him. That must be ourpreparation.For us who know the nearness of HisComing,Advent is a time not offear,but ofjoyousrecol-lection and of still morejoyous anticipation.Ourattitude is wellexpressedin the ancienthymn:Eejoice! rejoice!EmmanuelShall come tothee,O Israel.At the season of Advent we should have much inour minds thenecessityof thequalityof discrimin-ation inmaking readyfor our ownInitiation,andalso for theComingof the Lord. It would beuseful for us to thinkcarefullyhow thatgreatqualitycan bedisplayedin our efforts tospreadtheknowledgeof that nearCominghow in ourwork ofpreparationwe candisplaythe wisdomof theserpentas well as the harmlesisness ofthe dove. "With thesethoughtsin our minds"wellmaywerejoiceandsing,"as ourhymntellsus,for "we arewaitingwith ahopethatcannot fail."Brethren,theComingof the Lorddrawethnigh; yea,it is even at the doors.Alreadythedawn islightening;soon shall be therisingof the sun.Coming!in theopeningEastHeraldbrightness slowly swells;Coming!Omyglorious Priest,Hear we notThy goldenbells?CHAPTER IICHEISTMASChristmas is one of thegreatestof the festivalsof theChurch;it isperhaps surpassed only byEaster,for on thisdaywecelebrate the birth of theSun-God,as on thatdaywe celebrate Hisvictoryover thepowersof darkness.Christianity,like allthe otherreligions,was founded in the northernhemisphere,andconsequentlyits festivals all fall at;inappropriatetimes so far as the southern hemi-sphereis concerned. The rebirth of the Sun-Godafter theeclipseof winter was celebrated on thefirstdaywhich wasdefinitely longerboth in themorningand in theevening, immediatelyafter thewintersolstice,thepointat which the earth turnsin its circuit roundthesun,andbeginstopassawayfrom himinstead ofdrawingtowards him. In thesamewaythevictoryof the Sun-God over thepowersof darkness was celebrated as soon as theequinoxhadpassedas soon as thedaywasdefinitely longerthan thenight.These festivalsofthe Sun-God had beenkeptfor thousands ofyearsbefore the birth ofJesus,so that it wasquitenatural for theearlyChurch toadopttheir datesfor its celebrations.Theactual date of the birth of Jesus is notknown,but from various indications it seemsprobablethatit wassometime in thespring.The25th of Decem-berwas, however,selectedfairly earlyin ecclesiasti-calhistory,because it coincided with thatgreatSun-festival,and it wasnaturallyconvenient to2728 fine Christian Festivalstakeadvantageof what wasalreadyapublicholi-day.Those who do notrecognizethesymbolicalmeaningof the life of the Christnaturally supposeall these ecclesiastical commemorations to bemerelyhistorical;butwe,who aretryingto delve a littledeeperinto the truths of nature, shall none the lessfind itinterestingto look for other anddeeper signi-fications as well.Whatare thepointsof which thegreatChristmascelebration reminds the Liberal Catholic? It seemsto me that there are no less than seven of thesepoints,and I willtrytoexplainthem onebyone.1. Wemustcertainlynotignorethe historicaspectof theday,eventhoughwe know that it is not anactualanniversary.Inpreciselythe samemanner,it isagreedthat a certain convenientdayshall becelebrated eachyearas thebirthdayofKingGeorge,althoughitmaynot be theanniversaryof hiscominginto theworldin thisincarnation;butitwould be both foolish andimproperto decline toobserve it on that account.Unquestionably,there-fore,we arecalleduponon ChristmasDayto lookback to that descent of thegreat disciple Jesus,andtothankhimforit,and for all that has since cometo the world inconsequenceof it. It was he wholent hisbodyto the Great Teacher in order thatHemightcome and found HisreligionandpreachHisgospel uponearth.Thatmayseem a new andstrangeidea tosome,but it is onequite commonlyunderstoodbythosewhograspthe facts of reincarnation those whoknowsomethingof themightandthepowerand thedignityof the Great OneWhomwe call the World-Christmas 29Teacher. We know that it would not beeconomyforHim,it would not be agooduse of Hisstupen-douspower,that He shouldoccupya humanbodythroughall theperiodof its birthandgrowth,theearlierstagesof its life. Therefore one of His dis-ciplestakeschargeof all that forHim,and Hestepsinto thefull-grownandfully-preparedbodywhenHe isreadyto doso,and uses it for thepur-posefor which alone He takes it over. For HeHimself liveshabitually uponaplanefarhigher,and carries on there a work somagnificent,so be-yondourconception,that it is little use for us totrytograsp it, exceptin the merest outline.Inthisparticularcase an advanceddiscipleoftheLordChristtookbirth intheyear105 B.C.amongthe descendants ofKing David,asa son ofJosephandMary;andtohimwasgiventhenameof Jesus.He remained inchargeof thatbodyuntil it wasaboutthirty yearsofage,and then handed it overto theChrist,"Whooccupiedit for the threeyearsof Hisearthly ministry.ThediscipleJesus wasreborn asApolloniusofTyana justabout the dateusually assignedto thebeginningof the Christianera;and athousandyearslater heappearedas thegreatteacherKamanujacharya,who left sodeepanimpression uponIndianthought.In due course hereceived the reward of hisself-sacrifice,and attainedthe AsekhaInitiation, thereby becomingone of theMasters of the Wisdom. We reverence Himnow,therefore,nolongeras thedisciple,but the MasterJesus.Therefore it is well that we shouldsingourChristmashymnsandcarols,andperpetuatethebeautiful traditions which havegatheredround the30 6he Christian Festivalsbirth of the Master Jesus.We do notnecessarilytherebyassert our belief in their historical ac-curacy;for indeed the samelovelylegends hanground other births of the World-Teacher,and it isperhapsdifficult tosupposethattheywereliterallytrue on all these various occasions. But we cer-tainlyneed notdoubt that each such birth isagreat occasion,and is attended with unusualphenomenauponhigherplanes,whichmayhavebeenseenbysome at least of those who were at thatperiod livinginphysicalbodies.2. Wecall to minduponthis occasion thedescentof the Second Person of the BlessedTrinityintomatter; and, justas in the smallercyclewe owedeepthankfulness to ourgreatWorld-Teacher forHis descent into a humanbodyin order tohelpandtoguide us,so should we also feelprofoundgratitudeto thegreatSolarDeityHimself for thatwillinglimitation of Hispowerand Hisglorywhichhasbroughtus into existence.There aremanyin the world whomight saythattheyfeel nogratitudeforhavingbeenbroughtintoexistence that life is to themmore sorrow thanjoy,and iftheycould have been consultedtheywouldhavepreferrednot to be. Butanywhospeakthusarethinking onlyof theverylittle thattheyseeand knowof thegreat cycleoflife; theyknow no-thingwhatever of theglorythat lies beforeus; theyhave realizednothingof themighty planof whichtheyare an infinitesimalpart.Those of us whoarehappy enoughto know a little of thatgloriousdesigncannotbut be filled with vividthoughhumbleadmiration forit;for we seebeyondourpresentChristmas31inefficiencyto the wonder and thebeautyofthe future. We realizesomethingof thesplen-did scheme in which His marvellous love ismanifested,and when we catch even aglimpseofthat,wecannot but feelstronglymovedand full ofgratitudethat we shouldhave beenpermittedsowondrous aprivilegeas that oftakingapart,how-eversmall,in thegloryand theperfectionthat isto be. Let us show thatgratitude,then, byendeavouringtocomprehendHis manifestation sofar aswemay,andintelligentlytoco-operatewith it.3. Yetagain,as we havealready said,ChristmasDayreminds us of that first of thegreat Initiations,of which it is asymbolin thecarefully arrangedsyllabusof the Church's Year. We shouldthink,then,what this first Initiation means for us howit is indeed a second birth a birth into thegreatWhite Brotherhood.Duringthepreparatoryseasonof Advent we have beenconsideringthequalifica-tions neededforit;nowwe shouldcontemplatethethingitself and its results. Weshould realize howone who has taken thatstephas become safe forever,andthereforemay trulylookuponthegreatWorld-Teacher as his Saviourthoughnot indeedfrom the mediaevalmythofeverlastingtorture.There is nosuchthingas that innature,and therenever hasbeen;the wholethingisafrightful bogywhich menhave allowed togrow upand toterrifythem. There isno eternal damnation to be savedfrom;the world needs a saviour from such a hor-ribleidea,but not from thefact,because it is nota fact at all. Such a delusion ispartof the errorand theignorancewhich causes all the troubleandall thesufferingwhich we see around us.Verilyis32 She Christian Festivalsthe World-Teacher aSaviour,notonlyfor theInitiate,but for all ofus;for it is His instructionwhich saves us from our own error andignorance,and therefore from much of sorrow and of suffer-ing,which are thenecessary consequencesof thatignorance.Notonlyshould we lookforward to the timewhenthis wonderful Initiation shall beours,butweshould also make this an occasion ofgratefulre-joicingthat forsomeit hasalreadycome. WethankGod for His saints for the elevation whichtheyhavegiventohumanity,notonly bytheencourage-ment of theexamplewhichtheyset beforeus,butbythe actualupliftto the wholewhich each one ofthem hasgivenin his own attainment. Thisupliftis areality, bynomeans to bedespisedor for-gotten; humanityis abrotherhood,little as mostmenrecognizethatfact,and theunityis so realthat whenever one nianattains,all the rest aredefinitely helpedandraisedbythat attainment. Sothat should be anotheraspectof our Christmasjoy.I know that it comes as a shock tomany goodandearnest Christians to be told that thegospelstoryis nothistory,buttrulymyth.Whenonesaysthat, peoplethink at once: "You aretaking awayfrom us ourJesus,our Saviour. You aredenyingHis historic existence." We are notdenyingthatatall,but we do hold that thegospel historyas itisnow written isnot,and furthermore was neverintended tobe,an actual account of the life of thatgreat World-Teacher,the Christ. We know butlittle of His truelife-story.It seems certain thatsomepartsof it were interwoven into thismyth;itseems certain that some at least of thesayingsChristmas 33whichin thegospelsare credited to the Lord Christwerereally spoken byHim. But it is a matter ofequal certaintythat some of the others werenot;andit is alsoplaintoanyonewho understands thesubject,and has readsomethingofcomparativere-ligion,that thewholeaccountis cast in thatallegori-cal formintentionallythat itrepresentsnot thelife-historyofanyoneman,but thespiritual historyofeverytrue follower of the Christ. It isobviouslynot ahistory,buta drama a collection ofepisodes,arrangedasthoughforpresentationon astage.Thisidea,which seems so new tomany,is notreallynew at all. It wasquitemanifest to thegreatestof the Church Fathers. It isstrange onlytous,and it isstrangebecause we inherit agreatdeal of the darkness of the MiddleAges.In thesedayswe can nolonger giveblind faith tosomethingwhich our reason shows us to be animpossibility.Weneed tocomprehendwhat this beautifulstorymeans,and it isquite easyto follow that.Origen,thegreatestof theearlyChristianwriters, explainsthethingmostlucidly.Hesaysthat there were inhis time(andtherecertainlyarenow)two kindsof Christians.There were those whomhe calledthebelievers in"somatic"Christianity,which meansbodilyorphysicalChristianity.He makes itper-fectlyclear thatbythatexpressionhe meansthosewho believe in thestoryas astory,and hesaysoftheir doctrine: "Whatbetter couldyouhave for theinstruction of the masses?" Buthe makes it abun-dantlyevident that thespiritualChristianholds analtogether higherform ofChristianity,in which heunderstandstheinnermeaningof all theseallegories.Christ in each of Hisparablesisrepresentedto34 The Christian Festivalshave told astorywhich had within it two innermeanings.First there was thepurely physicaltaleforchildren,which described(for example)howthe sowerwent forth tosow; secondlythere was anintellectualexplanation, wherebythe seed is theword ofGod,thesower is thepreacher,andthe dif-ferent sorts ofgroundarethedifferentkindsofheartsonwhich it falls.Thirdly,there isalwaysan innerand a still morespiritual significationwhich is notgiven out,whichinthisparticularcase is thepour-ingout of the divine life inmany planesand intomanyworlds.Origenholdsthat, justas the words of the Christbear an innerinterpretation,so does the whole nar-rative of the Christ bear an innerinterpretation,that can be seenonlyif westudyitssimilarityto the otherpresentationsof the samegreat allegory.He insists that all this takesplacenot in the fleet-ingworld ofshadows,but in the eternal counselsof the MostHigh.Hesaysthat solongas weunderstand the universal truths which are revealedbythestory,thestoryitself is of noimportance.Itsmeaningisclear,it describes theprogresswhichlies beforeeveryChristian man.Peoplewhostudythese mattersdeeplyare sometimes disturbed tofind the close resemblance which exists between theChristianlegendand those of other Saviourslongbeforepagan Christs,as Robertson calls Theo inhis book on thesubject.It is true that all thedetails of the life of the Christ are to beparalleledbyanecdotes of other Teachers Whowereunques-tionablyfar older in time thanHe,so that eitherwe mustacceptthe idea of a wholesaleplagiarismbythe Christian writers from those earlierauthors,Christmas 35or else wemustsupposethat all of them aretryingto set forth the samegreat truth,but aresettingitforth each in his ownway.Thatexplanationis notwithout confirmation even in theexisting scriptures,for St. Paul himself is made tosayin howmanyways,and at howmanydifferent times revelationshave been made. Hewrites to the Hebrews: "GodWho atsundrytimes and in divers mannersspakein timepastunto our fathersbytheprophets"(meaningnot those few local Jewishprophets,butall thegreat prophetai,thegreatteachers of theworld)"hath in these lastdays spokenunto usbyHis Son/1We want togetourpeopleto take a morerational view ofreligionthanmanyofour fellowChristians taketo-day.Theyareunfortunatelyobsessed with the idea thatChristianityis theonly religion,and that all the others arejusta set of heathensuperstitions.That is a mostilliterate andignorantattitude totake,and it showsthattheyknownothingwhatever of these other re-ligions.Thatshould not be so.Religious peopleshould take an interest in allpresentationsof reli-gion.Ithappens (itis not a merehappening,forit is a matter of ourdestinyand ourdeserts)that we have been born into thisrace,and into acountrywheretherecognized religionisChristianity.That is not a mere chance. We were born therebecause we deservedtobe;because the bestoppor-tunityfor us is to come into thisparticularset ofenvironments;butotherpeopleineverywayasgoodasourselves,and as far advanced asourselves,areborn intoquitea differentenvironment,and wemust tryto realize that to them theirreligionis36 The Christian Festivalsjustas natural as ours is to us. Weprobablycan-notimaginethat we could have been born intoanyotherreligion,justas a man feels that he nevercould have taken birth as awoman,or a woman asa man. But that is of course mereillusion;thesoul has neither sex norrace,andwe take these dif-ferent birthsaccordingto what is best for ourdevelopment.Allreligionsalike are statements of the samegreat truth,andeach of thosereligionshas aspecialvariant or facet of that truth topresentto us.There is thereligionofHinduism,areligionatpre-sentprofessed bythree hundred millions ofpeople,andprofessed bytheir ancestors(forone must beborn into thisreligionin order tobelongtoit)backthrough long periodsofhighcivilization a civili-zation that wasalreadyat itsheightwhenour fore-fathers,the ancientBritons,wererunningaboutnakedin the woods andpaintingthemselvesblue.Theirreligionhas for itsgreatestfeature the ideaofduty dharma, theycall it. Their oneremedyforeveryill is: "Let a man do hisduty;each man is born in aparticular placewithaparticular dutytodo,let him doit";andtheydwellvery greatlyon the immanence ofGod.InAncientEgyptanothermightycivilization wasrunningits course at the same time. Thegreatcentralpointof itsreligionwas what we shouldnow call science that is tosaythemasteryofnatureby knowingall aboutit;and theEgyptianslaidthe foundation of agreatdeal of our modernscience. Theverynamebywhichtheycalled theircountry, Khem, gavethe name to our science ofchemistry.Christmas 37In ancient Persiatheyhad anothergreatreli-gion,Zoroastrianism. It has sometimes been calledsun-worship,butwemustnot be misledbyapopulartitle of thatsort,for no one everworshippedthesun assuch,but the sun asa manifestation of thegreat powerbehind it. Their chief idea waspurity.Theywished above allthingselse toemphasizepurityinthoughtand word and act.Comingfurther down the stream of time there was the reli-gionofGreece,the mainpointof which wasbeauty.The endeavour of theGreeks was toimpress uponpeople beautyin theirlives, beautyin their sur-roundings,ineverything theyhad aboutthem;beautyof character as well as of formandcolour.Then came Rome with itsgreatreligion, enforcingthe idea of law anddiscipline, insistingalwaysupondutyto thecommunityaveryfine idea. Thenthere was theteachingof theBuddha;in HisgreatreligionHe alsopreachesthelaw,but notquiteinthe same sense. When Hespeaksof the law Hemeans not man-made law atall,but the order ofnature,and Hesaysthat all the mistakes whichmen make come from theirignorance.Iftheywillonly studythe divine scheme and liveaccordingly,all willgowell.Then comesour,religionofChristianity;itsgreatcentral idea is self-sacrifice thethoughtthatthegreatest amongus shall be he who serveth best.You know thehighesttitle of abishopis Servi^sservorumDei,"Servant of the servants of God/'That is thegreatpointthatChristianityhas toemphasize.All thesereligionscome at differenttimes,each when itsparticular qualityis mostneeded in the world.Surely anyone can see that38 The Christian Festivalsthat is a fargrander conceptionthan the orthodoxtheorythat all these otherreligionsare feeble orevilsuperstitions,and that theonly peoplewhocanbe saved are those whohappento come into touchwith the Christian faith. This latter seems astrangeand ridiculousidea,but it is of apiecewiththe self-conceit whichmadementhink that thistinyplanetis the centre of theuniverse;thatthispar-ticular littlespeckofmud is the hub ofcreation,and that all these tremendous stars and suns arecirclingroundit;that God Himself came down tolive and dieuponit in order that itscomparativelyinsignificant population mightbesaved,and that allthe otherpopulationsof those far moremagnificentworlds are left to take care of themselves.Noone need be in the leastdistressedto find thesame truthstaughtin otherreligions.It is whatweshouldexpect,as soon aswegetrid of this amaz-ingexclusive idea that we are theonly peoplewhoeverheardthe truth that of all the countless mil-lions of menwho have ever lived onearth,the fewgenerationsfrom the time of Jesus are theonlymen to whom Godthoughtit worth while to makeanyrevelation of Himself at all. If we canputaside thatastoundingunreasonableness we shall rea-lize that there have beenmany presentationsof thetruth,which are all alike inmany respects, thougheach isputin thewaymost suitable for thepeopleat the time.Therefore,instead ofbeingalarmedat theselikenesses,let us welcomethem;let us com-pareall the differentaccounts,and so learn fromthem more of the truth that lies behind them all.We need never fear that we shall loseanythingbyunderstandingthe innermeaningof thegospelChristmas 39story;on thecontrarywe shallgainmuch. Inthis Liberal Catholic Church welaynoinjunctionuponmen as to whattheyshall believe. Weputbefore them the Creed asworthyofstudy,and wesayto them thatthey mayinterpretitliterally,iftheylike. That is their affair. Ortheymaytakethehigher symbolical interpretationwhinhwe offerthem ifthey preferit. Whateverthey mayelecttobelieve,there can be no harm at least in theirknowingthe innermeaning,so thatthey mayhaveit before theirminds,in order that iftheyhear thehistoricaltheoryoverthrownby argument, they mayunderstand that there is anotherandmorespiritualinterpretationto whichexceptioncannot be taken.We shallkeepour feastsbetter,and notworse,ifwe have a fuller and clearerunderstandingof allthattheymean.Byall means let those who wishto do so hold to thephysical record;but let themremember also that behind thatearthly storythereisalwaysaheavenly meaning.Wemaythink ofit asexisting forthe sakeoftheheavenly meaningif welike,which is what Imyselfbelieve as re-gardingit. Orwemay acceptit ashaving actuallytakenplace,andsupposethat this inner and beauti-fulexplanationhas been invented to fit it. It doesnot matter. It is for eachman alone to'decide whatform of faith he will hold withregardto all this,solongasheunderstandsthehigh, spiritual, gloriousmeaning,andsolongas he tries to liveupto allthat it involves.4.Throughthe Advent season the Church looksforward to the nextComingof ourLord;at Christ-mas thatexpectationculminates,andher celebration40 The Christian Festivalsis one ofgratitudenotonlyfor HislastComing,butalso for favoursyettocome. Wecannot but thinkof thatgreaterChristmas when He shallagainappear amongus on thephysical planein abodythat can be seen of all. For HeHimself,theverysame Great One Who took thebodyof Jesustwothousandyears ago,isreadysoon to comeagain,andto bless the worldonce more with Histeachingand Hishelp,as He blessedit before. The voicewhichspakeas never manspakewillspeak againin the ears of mennowliving,and at nogreatdis-tance of time from thepresent day.Those of uswho hold that belief arenaturallyeagerto do whatwe can toprepareourselves and others for HisComing,and totrytospreadthe news of it in theouter world.It is not for us tocriticize,or even to marvelat,thearrangementsmade when last He cametoearth;but it canhardlybeunseemlyforus to note that little was then done(per-hapslittle could bedone)in thewayofpre-parationin the outer world. There seems to havebeen ageneral expectationof thecomingof someGreatOne,as there isnow;but there wasonlyoneJohn theBaptist,so far as weknow. This time theconditions in the worldare ineverywayso differentthatpreparation maybeusefully attemptedon asomewhat widerscale,andeveryonewho, havingexamined theevidence,sees reason toexpectthenearComingof the Lord should do what he can toprepareHiswayandmake Hispaths straight.The idea of the secondComingof Christ takes ona differentaspectwhenwe realize that the world issteadily evolvingand that the Christ is amightyChristmas 41Official Who isinchargeof itsreligious thought,and either comesHimself or sends one of Hispupilsas a teacher whenever He thinks that such a visitwillhelpit in its evolution. I know howstrangethat idea must seem tomany peoplewho have beenbrought upin the belief that there isonlyone reli-gionin the world that there are a few heathensuperstitionssomewhere or other in far-off cornersof theearth,but that ouronly dutywithregardtothem is totryto convert thepoorheathen fromthe error of theirways,and togivethem the truthwhich has been revealed to us alone. Isupposeithas never occurred to somepeoplethat it would beratherstrangethatwe,of all thepeoplein allages,alone should have amonopolyof the truth. Therehave beenmighty sages, great saints, magnificentthinkers,who had not thistruth,which has beengiven exclusivelytoa small handful of us.Theyapparentlyhad not theseadvantages,andtheyseem to have doneremarkablywell without them.Surelyit is more reasonable to believe that therearemanygreat religionsin theworld,andthattheyare allequally pathswhich leadupthe samegreatmountain of truth.I mean that all thegreat religionscome from thesame centralsource;that this World-Teacher andHisDepartmentareresponsiblefor all of them. Ido notsaythat He isresponsiblefor thevagariesof the individual believer. MenhavecorruptedanddistortedHisteaching;that is true ofeveryreligion.That these faiths asoriginallyfounded are allstatements of the same eternaltruth,we can see forourselves,if we will take the trouble tostudycom-parative religion. Unfortunatelywe inherit the42 The Christian Festivalsignoranceof theperiodcalled the darkagesinEuropea time in which fewpeopleseem to haveknownanythingworthknowing;and as far as reli-giousmatters areconcerned, many peoplehave nottriedyetto comeupout of that darkness. Wedorealize that topractisethe so-called science of theMiddleAgeswouldbe ridiculous. Weknow agreatdeal morenow;weknow that to liveaccordingtothehygieneof the MiddleAgeswouldlayusopento awfulepidemics;but mostpeoplehave not rea-lized that thereligionof the MiddleAgeswasequallydefective in its statement. Our mediaevalancestors did not understandChristianity; theytook it inthenarrowestandmostbigotedway,where-as it iscapableof aninterpretationmoreuseful,wider andmore tolerant inevery way.Andthat istheinterpretationwetrytoput uponitto-day.Inone of theIndianScriptures,the World-Teacherisrepresentedassayingthat whenever the worldfalls intogreatsorrow andmisery,whenever itseems that unbelief and evil aretriumphant,thenHe comes topresentthe eternal truth in somenewwaywhich shall to some extent take theplaceofHisprevious statements,which have been distorted.Thismayseemstrangetosome,but let us take itfor the moment and think of it that all thesevariouspresentationsdiffer becausetheyare offeredto differentpeopleat differentagesof theworld,at differentstagesof theprogressof humanthought.Let usgraspthatidea,and we shall seethat no one of them can beexpectedto be eternalthat,on thecontrary,everyoneof them must intime become more or lesscorrupted,more or lessdistorted;andtherefore, justbecause it is cor-Christmas 43rupted,unsuited for the needs of the world. Theworld isadvancing,and a newpresentationfromtime totime is an absolutenecessity.What wasappropriateforpeopletwo thousandyears agocannot befullysuited for usin thepresentday.Avast deal more is known onmany subjectsthanwas knownthen,andanystatement of truth thatwas fitted forpeoplethen will need considerablerevision and addition before it can be made suit-able for us. On the otherhand,apresentationofthe truth such as would now beabsolutelysuitableforus,would have beeninsanity,would have beenutterly inappropriate,at that time. Itmaywell bethat it isthoughtthat a restatement of the samegreattruths wouldbe beneficial andhelpful.Wecansee if welook aroundusthat ourchurchesare notbeingattendedbythepeopleasa whole.We hear that in the MiddleAges everyonetookpartin the devotionalspiritof thetime,but mostassuredlythat is not so now. Not a tenthpartofthepopulationofanyso-called Christiancountrytakespartin itsreligious observances;Isupposetheproportionisprobablymuch less than that.That does mean(andit is no usetryingto avoidtheissue)that thereligionas now stated has lostits hold on the bulk of thepopulation.When thatis thecase,onewayofdealingwith thedifficultymightwell be arestatement;we shouldcallit,per-haps,a newreligion.That is not agood phrase,because itimpliesmuchmore than the mere restate-ment of the same truths.The truths ofreligionare eternaltruths;theymaybedistorted; they maybemisrepresentedthey certainlyhavebeen;but the fundamental basis44 The*Christian festivalsof all thereligions representseternalverity,whichcannot bechanged,thoughitmaybe morefullystated;itmaybeputin some newway,whichmayappealto the modernspirit.But thegreatfactsare the same. I do not mean that we must believeinany particular name,or inany particularcere-mony,but in the real basic facts that in order toprogressa man must be agood man,that he mustlive ahighandpureand noblelife,that he mustpractisethe virtues whichevery religionin theworld withoutexceptionrecommends to himcharity, nobility, self-control, temperance, patience,and love.I havealreadyreferred to the weirdentangle-ment of theteachingof the Christ with unscien-tific ideas about the end of the world. It is curiousto see howreadytheignorantstill are to createbugbearsfor themselves. There wasan announce-ment in thenewspapers onlya few monthsagothat the end of the worldmightbeexpectedon acertainday,because theplanetswere in a certainposition.It isabsolutely amazingthat sanepeoplecould beinducedto believe such nonsense. Theplanetshave been ina similarposition manythou-sands oftimes,and it has not been the end of thisworld or ofanyother. Men do not seem to under-stand howinsignificantis the combinedweightofthoseplanetsincomparisonwith theweightof thesun;they mightabout assensibly expectthat acart could beupsetbecause aflysettled on the rimof the wheel.Popular ignoranceis avery strangething.We make our children's lives a burden tothem with what is miscallededucation,andyetthisis thepracticalresult of it all.Christmas 45Men sometimessay,"The secondComingof theChrist has beenknown,andpeoplehave been look-ingforward to it for along time; whyshould webespecially preparingfor it now?" There aremanyreasons for that some of them external rea-sons,and some which are much moreprivateandintimate. There is a new racedevelopingin theworld. Weoughtto knowsomethingabout thathere inAustralasia,because this is one of the coun-tries in which this new race isshowingitself. Ifwe look round us we shall see that there are stillmanypeoplewhoaredistinctively Englishor ScotchorIrish,whobelongto the oldraces;but we shallalso seemany, especially amongthe children andyoung people,who do notbelongtoanyof these;we shall see a new racespringing upwhich is notEnglish,orScotch,orIrish,but Australian.In America there are even morepeopleinpro-portionwho do notbelongtoanyof the races whichgoto makeupthatgreatnation,but aredistinctlymenwith newqualitiesandrecognizablynewphysi-calappearance.It is an intellectualrace;it is astrong-willed race;thestudyof it iswonderfullyinteresting.Now allthrough historywherever anew race has arisen there has been anewreligiontofit it. It isprobablethattherewill be anewreligionto fit thisrace,and if it is to dogoodit must arisetolerablysoon.We are agreatcivilization at least we thinkourselves so andyetthere is a vast amount ofmiseryin theworld;we arebadlyin need of somesort ofchange.There is unresteverywhere;itwould seem that thesystemon which we have beenrelyingfor some centuries isbreakingdown all46 The Christian Festivalsround us.Somethingnew iswanted;newdevelop-ments areturning upin all directions. Thespreadof science iswonderful;the advance inknowledgewithin recentyearsisvery greatinchemistry,inmechanics,ineverything.There is anewtime com-ing.The old civilizationhas done itswork,andwewant,we musthave, somethingnew.There is anexpectationof theComingof theChrist all over the world. All thesereligionsofwhich Ispoke,so far astheyareactive,areexpect-ingHim. The Hindus lookforward to the KalkiAvatara;the Buddhiststo-dayareawaitingtheLordMaitreya,which is their name for thegreatWorld-Teacher Whomwe call the Christ,AmongtheMuhammadans,when apretenderstartedupnotlong agoinAfrica,hegainedan immense follow-ingbecause heproclaimedhimself to be the ImamMahdi,the Saviour for whomtheywait. He wasnot,butmanybelieved it. In Zoroastrianism thereis also a tradition of agreatOneWho is to come.Amongourselves there are theSeventh-DayAdventists and other similarsocieties;and we havein our midst the Order of the Star in theEast,which istryingtoprepareits members(andalsooutsiders)for the nearComingof the World-Teacher.Whyis there such awideexpectationof theCom-ingof the Lord? Wewhostudythe inner side ofthingsknowthat it is the reflection in the minds ofmen of theknowledgeofgreater Beings,the know-ledgeofAdeptsandAngels. Theyknow that theChrist iscoming soon,andTheirknowledgeis inthe mentalatmosphere;it communicates itself toour mental bodiesbysympathetic vibration,and itChristmas 47givesus thisgreat expectation.It is the reflectionof thethoughtsof thehigher BeingsWhoknow.Assuredlythe need of the worldisgreat.Nonecandeny that;andwemayremember in ascripturewhich is older thananyofours,the World-Teacherisrepresentedassaying:''When eviltriumphs,then I come tohelp."It is not that we do notknowwhatweoughtto do. Weknowtheprinciples,ofrightandwrongas well asanyone,but we donotapplythem. It is not new truth that wewant,butnewinspirationtopractisethe old truth. Thereis agreatdesire tohelp amongmanypeople.Thatis one of thesignsof thetimes;buttheydo notknow howtobegin.Each tries his own littlepanacea,andperhapsit succeeds alittle,but on thewhole it fails.Theywill welcome the idea of onewhoknows,and who can teach.Some of us have beenstudyingthisthing,andsimilarthings,formany years.Imyselfhave beenworkingat this inner side ofthingsunder definiteinstruction forthirty-seven years,andonmyownaccounttwenty yearsbefore that. Some of us inthe course of suchstudyhave been led to the feetof those Great Oneswhodoknowabout thesethings,those who are inchargeof the world'sevolution;therefore we can with confidencerepeatthat whichwe hear fromthem,that theComingof the Lorddrawethnigh,that it will not belong now,as wemeasureearthly time,before He shallappearamongstus. We cannotpretendto tell to ayearortwo,because what is told to us isalwaysto thiseffect: "Whenthe earth isreadyby yourexertions.I shallcome;"and it must besoon,because theneedis sogreat. That,ofcourse,is noproofto48 The Christian Festivalsothers. So far asthey know,wemaybedreaming;wemaybealtogetherin error inwhatwethink;butI wouldsuggestthat at least wegivedirect testi-mony,which iscomparativelyrare inreligiousmat-ters,and so what wesayconstitutes apieceofevidence thatoughtto be taken into account.Lookround the world and see howwide-spreadistheexpectation;see howgreatis theneed;see thenew racewaitingfor thereligionwhich shall fit itas itgrows up.There areplentyof indicationsto enable us tounderstandthat this Advent is notfaraway.* Althoughwhatweseeandknowforour-selves is noprooftoanyoneelse,wedo ourdutyatanyrate inannouncingtheComing.Let us then make as determined an effort as wecan toget readyfortheChrist;let ustrytopurifyourselves, tryto make ourselves what we wish tobe if Heis tocome;and let ushelptoprepareHisway. Long ago,whenHecameinJudaea,therewasone John theBaptist.Letus, everyoneof us ac-cordingto hispowerandopportunity,be John theBaptists.This time let Him come not with oneheraldonly;let there be thousands of ustryingtopreparethewayof the Lordand to makeHispathsstraight.For when the world isreadyHe willcome. So let usjoinin the work of the Order ofthe Star in the East or of the Liberal CatholicChurch;let each work in his ownwayfor a bettertime,a time of brotherhood andlove,for that iswhat the Christ willpreachto us when He comes.Let us cultivate brotherhood and love in order thatwemaybereadyto receiveHim,in order that wemay profit bywhat He has to tellus,and to offer'See4WorldExpectant, byA. E.Woflehouse.Christmas 49ourhearts,ourhands,ourspeech,tohelpHim inthe workHe is to do.5. Wemustnotforgetthat there is anotheraspectof theComingof the Christ thecomingwithin theheart of eachindividual,thedevelopmentof theChrist-principlewithin us." Agreatandgloriousmysteryunderlies all this thewonderful,andyetmostintimate,connectionbetweenthe SecondPersonof theEver-BlessedTrinityand thegreatWorld-Teacher,and in turn the linkjoiningboth of Theseto thatChrist-principlewithin man to which weoftengivethe name of intuition. Yet indeed itmeans much more thanintuition;it means thewisdom thatknows,notby processofreasoningbutbyutter innercertainty.Thatdevelopmentmustcome toeveryman. ThatChrist-principleis ineveryone ofus;itcan be awakened it isbeingawakenedamongus evennow,and as it unfolds werealize the true brotherhood ofman,because werealize the Fatherhood of God. Wecome to knowthat ourseparateconsciousness isnothingbut anillusion that we are one in Him.First,one withallwhoknowHimandloveHim;andthensecondly,bya stillgreater extension,with all theworld,whether asyet theyknow it or not. To touch thatwonderfulconsciousness,to realize the Christ with-inus,is not soimpossible,for it isbeingdone evennowbysome. Gleams of itsglorysometimes mani-festthemselves;flashes of wonderfulpeaceanduplifting,so that at least for a few moments weknow. And those of us to whom theseglimpseshave come can neverforget them;however muchafterwards doubt anduncertainty,sorrow and evendespair mayoverwhelmus,we haveknown,and50 The Christian Festivalstherefore inside we stillknow,and thatcertaintynothingcan shake.True,mostwho touch thatgloryfor a momenttouch itunconsciously,notknowingwhat itis,notrealizingtheintensityof itssplendour,notseeingwhither it would lead them.Theyknow thattheyhave momentsofecstasy,momentsin which the loveof God reaches them in awaywhichtheyneverimagined before,agreater intensityof bliss whichtouchesthem,which is farbeyondallearthly things.But as weprogressthatcertaintywill come oftenerand morefully,and will remain with uslonger,until at last thathigherconsciousness will be oursinperpetuityChrist in us and we in Him. Forthere are those who set themselvesdeliberatelytogainthisgloryandthissplendour,who endeavourto deal with itscientifically,andso to letknowledgegrowmore and more untilthey consciouslyenterinto thegloryand the fullness of the Christ Him-self, realizingthe God inman,becausetheythem-selves areconsciously partof that God. That is thebirth of Christ within the heart ofman,and as-suredlyit is averyrealthing. Trulyinthat sensewemaysaythat Christ is the Saviour of theWorld,for it isthroughthatexperience onlythat man canattain that which God means him to attain.Todeveloponeselfintentionallyas described aboveis the shortest and the most direct route to suchawakening.I do notsayit is theonlyroute. Onecangainthat elevationbyintense intellectual ab-sorption, bylong-continuedhard work and thepracticeof virtue. But theshortest,the most directmethod ofattainingthehighest rapidlyis thedeliberateawakeningof the Christ within thehumanChristmas 51heart. For this and for itsglorious possibilitywealsogivethanks at theholyseason of Christmas.How shall we know whether we are on thewayto thisgloriousconsummation? What can we dotobringnearer thatsupremebliss? If Christ is tobe born within ourhearts,we must belivingthelife of theChrist;we must show forth Hisspiritto those around us. And theChrist-spiritis firstof all love~and brotherhood. The man in whom itisdevelopingwillassuredlyexhibitlove,kindliness,tolerance, comprehensionageneral growthallround,an increase of thequalitywhich for want ofa better word we often callbigness.Wespeakofamanasgreatwhenhe is of widetolerance,ofopenheart, greatin hischaracter;andjustthosequali-ties are the result of theunfoldingof this Christ-principle.Theyshow themselves indailylife in variousways; prominentlyin that the manbeginstotake the best view ofpeopleand ofthingsinsteadof theworst,that he makes apracticeofputtingthe best constructionpossible uponthewords and actions of his fellow-men instead of(asI amafraidwe so oftendo)the worstpossible.Weshallfindthatconstantlywhen we think of theactions of aman,we attribute them to some weak-ness or defect in him;weassignto him a motiveof some sort. If we were inaposition (mostof usarenot)togetbehind thethoughtof thatman,aridfindoutreally whyhe did or said a certainthing,we should find that our attribution of motive wasin most casesabsolutelyincorrect andunjust,thathis reason fordoingwhat he did was much morecreditable than we werereadytosuppose,and that52 The Christian Festivalshe had somethoughtinhis mindwhich never evenoccurred to us. Thisassigningof a motive is ahabit;we allfind ourselvesdoing it,untilbysteadypracticeand care we learn not to doit,but toattribute to anothernothingbut thehighestand thebestthoughts.Indoingthat wemaysometimes bedeceived,but it is better a thousand times to formawrongestimate in thatdirection,than once to doa man theinjusticeofattributingto him a lowermotive anda lowerplaneofthoughtthan thatwhichisreallyhis. Aman inwhom this wondrous un-foldment isbeginningabandons allunnecessarycriticism,and learns to see thegoodineverything,even when it needs a little search to findit,whenit is not as obvious as the moreobjectionablecharacteristics.Another infalliblesignof thegrowthof theChrist-principlein a man isunselfishness,for thatis thekeytoall,the central virtuewhichgivesbirthto all the others.Wecan see at once what achangeit would makein the world iffeelingsof thatkind werewidelyspread.Howdifferenteverythingwould be if eachmanthoughtfirst of others if each manwere will-ingto take the wider and more tolerantview,andto attribute the bestpossiblemotives instead ofalwaysevil ones!Perhapswecannothopethatanylargenumber ofpeoplewill attainto that leveljustatpresent,for it wouldobviouslyneed the evolu-tionofthousandsofyears; yetthere is afactor com-inginto the case for which alargeallowance willhave to be madebythose whotryto forecast thefuture;andthatis the actualphysicalcomingof theChrist,theWorld-Teacher,to beamongus andhelpChristmas 53us once more. Wecannot tell to whatextent Hispresence mayaffect thepeople.An influence sotremendous asHis;thepersuasive powerof thevoice thatspakeas nevermanspake;the facts thatHisteachingwill besimultaneouslyreportedall overtheworld,and that He Himself willprobablyvisitall the countries of the world insuccession;allthese considerations show us that here is a factorwhose influence is incalculable. Hemaywellpre-cipitatethe time when an unselfish attitude willbecome far moregeneralthan it now seems reason-able tohope.Itmaybe that theworldingeneralis not sofaras we think from thathigherandgranderattitude.It isundoubtedlyfull of bitter selfishness and un-reason,asmaybeclearlyseen from theprevalenceofstrikes, strugglesand disordereverywhere.Mostof the words and deeds of theaverageman areselfish;andyetthataverageman aperfectlyordi-nary specimenhasagainandagainbeen foundcapablein agreatemergencyofsuddenly risingtoheightsof heroism of whichwemighthavesupposedhim to foequite incapable.Aman, apparently justlike hisfellows,aroughand common sort ofman,willdeliberatelysacrifice his life to save a comrade.That shows that there are the seeds ofright feelingineveryman,andthat,giventherightpowerappliedat therighttime and in theright way,theordinarymanmaybe raised togreat heights.In thegreatwar thousandsof mencame forwardvoluntarilyto risk theirlives,tofightfor anideal,for the maintenance of atreaty,because our coun-try'sword waspledged.Those whofoughthadnothingto do with thepledgingof thatword,but54 The Christian Festivalstheywerewillingto devote themselves to the utter-most to redeem theircountry's guarantee.Thathas ahopeful side;that is agood auguryfor thefuture;for the manwho iswillingtogivehis lifefor anidealnowmayvery likelybewillingtospendhis life infollowingan ideal whenhe comesback inanother incarnation. So the world atlarge maybemorereadythanwethink torespondto themightyinfluence which thegreatTeacherbrings.Few can formany conceptionof what that influ-encewill be.Onlythosewhohavecome into contactwith some of thegreat Adeptscan estimate thepowerof the Master ofMasters;andeventheycanonly faintlyadumbrate the tremendous radiation oflove and ofstrengthwhich will come from thatmighty Personality.Itmaywell be that in Hispresencewhat would otherwise behopelessandim-possible maybe found to beeasyofachievement;itmaybe that under that marvellous influence menwill wakeupandbringtheir common sense tobearuponthe variousproblemswhichcome before them.Thereisnothingtoogreattohopefromsuch apoweras that.All thisseparatenessis anillusion;we areone inChrist;and to know andrealize thatfullyis to awaken the Christ within us. Rememberhow it is written in thescripture:"Christ inyou,thehopeofglory."It ispreciselythepresenceof thatChrist-principlewithin us thatbringsthehopeofglorytoeveryhuman soul.Without that we should be lostindeed;that isthe trueChrist,belief in Whom isnecessaryforsalvation not salvation from amythical hell,butfrom the wheel ofever-recurringbirth and death.Christmas 55Toescapefromthat wheel is to avoid the broad andeasyroad that leads to death(andbirth and deathand birth over and overagain)and to take thenarrow and more difficultpathwhich leads to thekingdomofheaven,where death is a ridiculousimpossibilitywherelife,andthe increase of lifeandpowerandlove,and all that thatmeans,con-stitute theonly possiblefuture before the sons ofmen. Thewayofescapelies in thisdevelopment.ThoughChrist a thousand times in Bethlehem foeborn,But not withinthyself, thysoul shall be forlorn.6. Allgreatfestivals have anotheraspect,and thisone has itamongthe restperhapseven this has itpre-eminently.Theyare allspecialchannels offorce occasionsuponwhich agreater outpouringofdivinepowertakesplace greater,Imean,than inordinarytimes. Let not thisthoughtseemstrangetous;let us notimagineit as a limitation of God'sOmnipotence.For God Himself worksbymeans,and takesadvantageofopportunities;and thiswondrous creation of His is soutterlyone inHim,somystically inter-related,that as the stars movethroughtheir courses there are certain times whencertainenergiesare morereadilyavailable than atothers when thebridgesareclear,the channels areopen;and Christmas is such a time. Thesespecialoccasions,thesegreat festivals,are not mere com-memorations; theyindicate definite actions on thepartof theLivingChrist Who is the Head of HisChurch. All the members of the Church are mem-bers ofChrist,and aredefinitelylinked to Himthrough baptismandthroughconfirmation,and stillmorethroughthe mostholySacrament of HisLove;sotheyarealwaysto some extent under His in-56 The Christian Festivalsfluence. But He has ordained certain methods forthepouringdownof His influenceuponHisChurch,andthegreatestof all is the Sacramentof theHolyEucharist. Therefore there arespecialtimes andspecialconditions under which theoutpouringismoredefinitelyavailable.Always,everyoneof usis in link with theChrist,andyetwe all knowthatwe are morecloselylinked with Him that the linkis morealive,is more vivid when we come to HisChurch,when we kneel before HisveryPresencein the Bread and Wine which He has chosen to beHisvehicle,throughwhich HerepresentsHimselfto our outward senses.Justin the samewayas that is a more intimatePresence than the Presence which isalwayswithus,so havewe anextraordinary outpouringofpoweratcertain times and seasons. There isdefinitelyagreater,a moreuniversallyassimilableoutpouringon suchdaysasChristmas, Easter,theAscension,Whitsunday, Trinity Sunday;each of these has itsownspecialcharacter. Such adayas thisgreatFeastofChristmas is a realopportunityfor each oneofus,for there is astrongerand more definite out-flow of divinepower then, justbecause the wholeworld is morepreparedto receive it,It is well for the student to cast aside oldpre-conceptionsandprejudicesand make a determinedeffort to understand theprinciplewhich underliesthe whole of thisquestionof the effusion ofhelpfulforce fromhigher planes.Thatprincipleissimpleandscientific,but mostpeoplehave torearrangetheirthought upon religiousmatters beforetheycangraspit.Stupendousas is the force availablefor thespiritual helpingofman,it is neverthelessChristmas 57an absolute and immutable law that it shall neverbe wasted that it shall be used to the best advan-tage.This holdsgoodat all levels. In the mostwonderfulSacrament of theHolyEucharistwehavetheprivilegeofcallingingreat Angelstohelp,andthe centralpointof the wholeceremony,the Con-secration,is the act of our Lord HimselfthroughtheAngelof thePresence; yetthe whole of this tre-mendousoutpouringis madedependent uponourinitiative. It is the fact that apriestisreadytocelebrate whichgivestheopportunity,which sets allthismarvellous celestialmachineryinmotion,whichmakes it(ifwemaysayso with thedeepestrever-ence)"worth while" for our Lord and for HisAngelsto do thisparticular thingin thisparticularway.The LordChrist is agreatofficial of theHierarchy,and as such He isalways pouringoutthose wonderful forces at His ownhighlevel.It is an axiom that thehighestwork whichanyone can do isespeciallyandessentiallythe workappointedfor him. Forexample,those of us whocan work in the astral worldspendournightsintryingto do the work of invisiblehelpers,tohelppeopleinsorrowandsuffering.We want to dowhatever we can.Unquestionablyone of ourMasters or one of thegreatsaints could do farmorein such work thananyof us cando,andyethewould not doit,because he can do a hundred-foldmore effective work onhigher planes,and the factthat he can do that work marks him out forit,so that for him to do this lower work would be awaste of force.If a man takes the trouble toqualifyhimself todo research work in connection with agreatuniver-58 The Christian Festivalssity,it wouldobviouslybe a waste of his force toset him toreapa field or mendaroad,eventhoughhe wouldprobablydo it better and more intelli-gentlythanthepeopletowhomthatwork isusuallyassigned;but it isobviouslybest for thecommunityas a whole that each man should bedoinghishighestwork.That holdsgoodall theway through.For theWorld-Teacher,"Whocan wieldpowers beyondthoseofanyother of the Masters orsaints,it would bea waste of time to do the work whichtheyarehabitually doing,because He can dosomethingfargranderstill. Therefore it is best that each Masterand saint should do the work he cando,and thatabove him the World-Teacher should bedoingHisbestwork,and down here we should bedoingsuchwork as at our level we can do. There isonlyonepointof view that the Great Ones hold withregardtowork,andthat is thatthegreatest possibleamountof it shall be done under the most economical con-ditions,so that thepower maygofurther.The Lord would not turn aside from thehigherwork He isdoing,in order to doanythingthat wecando,unless it weremade, profitablefrom thepointof view of theprogressof the wholethat Heshould do that. If the world is to behelped,certainwork must be done at the lower levels as well asat thehigher.ForHimtoforceHispowerthroughfrom above intotheworldbelow would mean agreat outlayof Hisenergy,andeconomicallytheresultproducedwould not be ''worth Hiswhile/'if wemayVenture toputit so. He could do farmore with the same amount of force at thehigherlevel;but if weprovidethe channels forHim,it isChristmas 59"worth His while" to do the workthrough us,be-cause a little force from above can do agreatdealdown here if the channel isprovidedfor it."When thecongregationof a churchprovidesthelove,devotion and enthusiasm with which the won-derful eucharistic edifice can bebuilt,it is worththewhile of thegreat Angelsto come down andhelp,because the material isalready given.It would notbe worth theirwhile,socloselyare thesethingsbalanced,iftheyhadtoprovidethe material onthe lowerplane,for that would be to them agreattrouble,because a descent intophysicalmatterwouldbenecessary;it would not be an economical use oftheirpower.But when weprovidethematerial,itis "worth their while" tointensify it;aftertheyhave raisedandintensifiedit,it then becomes"worth the while" of the Christ to make a tre-mendousoutpouringof Hispower;but it would notbe economical for Him to do this unless these con-ditions had beenprovided.What I have written above about the eucharisticservice isequallytrue of thespecial outpouringofdivineenergyat thesegreatfestivals. On thehigherlevel the divine force is everstreamingforthanddoingitsappointedwork;when men are to anunusualdegree readyto takeadvantageofit,it be-comes "worth while" to transmute alargeamountof this force that itmaybeapplicableto the lowerlevel. So once more the initiative is left withus;when weprovidetheconditions, advantageis atonce taken of them.The sun isalways shining,but he isnotalwaysvisible to us onearth,because earth-made cloudsgetin thewayandshuthimout. Just so the divine60 The Christian FestivalsChrist isalwayspouring forth,but we sometimesmake our ownclouds,whichgetin thewayandpreventthat divinepowerfrominfluencingourlives for the time. That is not the fault of theChrist,but our fault. Andso in Hislovingkindnessbecause there are somanyof Hispeoplewho arenotyetable to touch thesehigherplanes,far aboveallearthlyclouds,where thesunlightof His Pre-sence isalwaysvivid He hasarrangedtimes whenit shall be easier for mento draw closer to Him. Ifwebutknewit,we are all close to Himalways,butstill we feel it more at certaintimes than at others.Whenanyonemanis in a condition ofgreat love,greatdevotion, great happiness,he sendsupwhatisvery literallyaspireofdevotion,and that breaksthroughinto thehigher planes,and there comesdownuponthat manaresponseof love and bless-ingcommensurate with his ownfeeling.Somepeople might say,notunderstanding:"Butwhyshould not such anoutpouringcomealways?''Be-cause he is notalwaysreadyto receive it. Isup-posethat itmighthave been soarrangedin naturethat the sun should bestrong enoughto lickupand driveaway any possiblecloud. I do not knowthat it would have been agood thingforagricul-ture if that hadbeenso;atany rate,that is not theplan uponwhich the world isworking.The cloudsdo notkeepback the whole of thelife,thestrength,that isbeing pouredoutbythesun; they keepbackjustapartofit,andalarger partofhislight,butnot the force whichkeepshis worldsalive;andthe same is true of hisgreat prototype,the LordHimself. When a man breaksthroughhis self-made clouds he is able to receive thisdownpouringChristmas 61of divineblessing;otherwise he would not be ableto receiveit,it would have to be forcedupon him,and that is not God'swayofdealingwith man.He never forces Himselfuponus. There isverygoodreason forthat;it wouldnothelpour evolu-tion if He did. That is thelaw,and if we wantto receive Hisgracewe mustlayourselvesopentoits influence. An individual can do that to someextent;but when thousandsuponthousands ofpeopleall combine to doit,wesee at oncehowgreatanopportunitythere is for thisdownpouringofwhatwemust callGrace, Strength,PowerandLove,which isalways streamingforth.Christmasis a timewhenthatopportunityis nearandvivid;but the extent to which we can availourselves of itdepends uponseveral factors. First,andmost ofall,itdependsuponhowfar the Christ-masspirithas enteredour hearts. If we are filledwith thepeaceandgoodwillofChristmas,thegood-willof the Christ Himself can reach our hearts.Itdependsalsouponhow far we have used theseason of Advent as aspecialtime ofpreparation.There are certain virtues which we should havetried to cultivate withinus,certain vices we shouldhaverepressed;if this has beendone,we are themorereadyto takeadvantageof thisgreatseasonaloutpouringof definitepower.Be sure that thispoweris a realthing.Whatwe sometimes call thegraceof God isjustas definite and as real a forceaselectricityorsteam;but it isdealingwithhighermatter. Tosaythat is not to materialize aspiritualconception;it is rather an effort tobringagreattruth down to ourcomprehension,to make it clearand real to us. Weare materialcreatures;we still62 The Christian Festivalshavebodies;notonlythephysical bodywhich allsee,but the emotionalbodyandthe mentalbody.But all of those are material. There is aspiritwhich lies behind it all aspiritwhichnone cansee,which nonecantouch;but that is far above usyet,and when we can realize itperfectly,we shall behid with Christin God. Butnow,andin themean-time,we live inbodies;and it isthroughandbymeans of these bodies that we must be affected.Therefore the Christ Himselfpoursdown influenceveiledin material forms in order that itmay helpus. Otherwise it wouldpassabove us andbeyondus,and to us wouldbe asthoughit were not. Andso He setsapartcertain times such as Christmas inwhichthisoutpouringmaydescendto thelowerlevelandmorereadilyinfluenceus;Hesetsapartcertainplacessuch as His churches in which wemaybemorereadily,moreeasilyreached.Any man, anywhere, maytouch theChrist-Spiritjustinso far as the soul within him(whichis therealman)isattuned to thatChrist-Spirit.But thespecially consecrated, specially magnetized placeswhich are setapartfor His service make that workeasier,for their influence isintended tobringusinto a condition in which we can receive thathelpfrom onhigh.Wehaveonlyto think it over withcommonsenseandwithreason,andweshall see thatthat must be so. Achurch is one of theplacessetapartfor Hisservice;Christmas is one of those oc-casions on which it iseasier for all to drawnighto Him.Let ustrytorealize, then,that ChristmasDayisapersonal opportunityfor each one ofus;that weare notmerely repeatingan old formula when weChristmas63sing:"Unto us aChild isborn;unto us a Son isgiven.''There isactuallya definiteoutpouringofthat divine force for each member of HisChurch,and the extent to which we canpartakeofit,theamount that wemaygainfromit,islimitedonlybyourpowerto receive. Christ isunlimited,andHispowerovershines the whole world. What weeach cangainfromthis is ouraffair;it is in ourown hands. Let usopenour hearts to thespiritoftheChrist-Child,to thespiritofChristmas,andthat Christ-Child will fill our hearts with Hisjoyand Hispeace.In addition tothis,we must not losesightof thefact that thepreparationis made notbyourselvesalone on thephysical plane,for on allgreatfesti-vals vaster crowds ofAngels gatherround ouraltars,and theoutpouringisassuredlygreaterinconsequence.EachSunday Angelscluster roundevery celebration,for a certain section of thatglori-ous Order has taken it as itsspecifictask to dis-pensethis force in connection with the ChristianChurch;but on suchdaysasChristmas, Easter,AscensionDayorPentecost,notonlythat section isinaction,but for the moment almost all theirAngelbrethren concentrate themselves on thisspecialbranch of the work.Naturallythat is true not ofthe Christianreligiononly,but of otherreligionsaswell;forexample,on thegreatWesak Festival ofthe Buddhists itmaybe said that almost the entireheavenlyhost istemporarilyconcentrateduponwork in connection with that. So it will be seenthat there is reason for the insistence of ourChurchon theimportanceofobservingthe ecclesiasticalseasons,and reason also for thespecial requestmade64 The Christian Festivalsin theprayer-bookof the Church ofEnglandthatall itspeopleshall communicate at least three timesevery year,of which Easter shall be one.7.Finally,there is anaspectof Christmas as aseason ofrejoicing, apartfrom itsreligioussideifanythingconnected with it can ever beapartfrom that. This is theaspectwhich is soprominentin the works of CharlesDickens,whopaintsitalwaysas the feast ofgood fellowship.TheEng-lish-speakingworld owes much toDickens for thelessons hetaughtabout Christmas.It is a time ofpeaceto men ofgoodwill,andsurelyat that time we alltryto be men ofgood-will;and it is remarkable hownearlyagreat manypeoplesucceed. It is a wonderfulthing,this Christ-masspirit,this realfeelingof brotherhood that isspreadabroadonthatday.There is agreater good-will,agreaterkindliness andcomradeship,a truerbrotherhood on ChristmasDaythan all the rest oftheyear.It should not be for Christmasonly,ofcourse;we should have thatfeeling always;butsince we are overwhelmedbythe noise and tumultof theworld,since wecannotyetall of us feel thatnoble Christmas heartiness all thewhile,it is atleast agoodthingthatthereshouldbeonedaywhenall the worldagreesto feelit,wheneverymantriesto come asnear as he can to the brotherhood whichoughtto exist all theyearround.Assuredlyit iswell,too,that we should endeavour toimpartourjoyto others that agoodlycustom should havesprungupwherebyon ChristmasDaythepoorandtheneedyarehelpedtowards the realization of thegreatbrotherhood ofhumanity,for our Christmasjoycanbeperfect onlyinso far as weshare it withChristmas 65others lessfortunatelycircumstanced than our-selves.So let Christmas enter into our hearts and intooursouls,and let ustry, everyoneofus,to feelthen what theAngelssangsolong ago-first"gloryto Godin thehighest,"andthen no less"peaceonearth andgoodwillto all men."CHAPTEK IIINEWYEAR'SDAYThere is noespecialreasonwhy January1stshould be chosen as thebeginningof ayear,but it isthedayusually adoptedbyall the nations whohaveinherited thegreatRoman civilization. The Hindusand Buddhists choosequitea differentday; and,infact,onedaymaybe takenjustas well asanother,because the earth issteadily movingin its orbitround the sun all thetime,and in the endless lineof thatellipsethere is no reason to choose onepointas abeginningmore thananyother unless it wereperhapstheaphelion,thepointat which theearth,havingreached itsgreatestdistance from thesun,turns andbeginsitsapproach.New Year'sDayisnot, strictly speaking,an ec-clesiasticalfestival;for us in the Church AdventSundayis thebeginningof ouryear,andJanuary1st ismerelywhat is called the octave ofChristmas,forwedonotcommemorate theallegedcircumcision.Theoutpouringof force in connection with some ofour festivals is sogreatthat we find that it cannotbeadequatelydealtwith,andthat fulladvantagecannotbe taken ofit,in oneday;andso the Churchliasadoptedtheplanofdevotinga week to suchfeasts. She carries on the celebration until theeighth day,which is called theoctave,andanydayduringthat week is described as within the octave.In mediaevaltimes all businessstoppedfor each-of thegreatecclesiasticalfestivals,and thedaywasgivenupentirelytoobservingit inwhat was con-66New YeafsDai;67sidered apropermanner. There are still a fewcountries in theworldwhere this isdone,buttheyarehardlyin the forefront as far as material wealthand modernprogressare concerned. Most nationsare far toohurried,toomaterial,too breathless inthe excitement of the mad race afterwealth,tostoptheir wholemachineryatirregularintervals inthisway;buttheyhavegrudginglyadmitted thenecessityof aweeklypausein theiractivities,whichin Christian lands comes onSunday;and it is oftenonlyon thatdaythatpeoplehave leisure to attendareligiousservice. Theplanofcontinuingthe cele-bration of animportant dayfor a weekensures thatat least oneSundayshall occur within thesphereofitsinfluence,so that anopportunityofsharingtosome extent in itsspecial downpouringshall beoffered toeverymemberof the Church. So onNewYear'sDayourthoughtsare still turnedto thegreatfestival ofChristmas,and all that it means to us.Nevertheless,the Church isalways readyto takeup anyoccasion in civil life in whichherpeoplearerightlyandinnocently interested,and togiveit herblessing. Therefore,on the firstdayof a newyearwegather togetherin the house of God topayHimworship,and to takepartin thegreatSacramentwhich He has ordained.Surelythere is nobetterwaytobeginthe newyearthan this. I know wellthatmany peoplein ourgreatcities have to workhard,thatholidaysarecomparativelyrare for them,and that whentheygetonetheyneedrest,changeand freshair; yetfor allthat,I thinktheydowellwhogatherin church tobeginthe newyear bydedicatingit to ourLord. It is well tosparea littletime fromourenjoymentin order thatwemaycome68 The Christian Festivalsbefore Himandexpressour thankfulness for thepast,our confidence for the future.Mostpeoplewho think at allseriouslyof the newyear regardit as an occasion for themakingofgoodresolutions for a sort of mental and moral stock-taking; theylook backupontheir resolves at the be-ginningof theprevious year,andusuallyhave tonote withregretthat there has been a certaingapbetweenpromiseandperformance.Such contem-plationis no doubtsalutary;but it is useless towaste time in vain lamentation orrepentance.Notethe errorbyallmeans,but do notworryoverit;one of ourgreatMasters has said that theonlyre-pentancewhichis worthanythingat all is the resolvenot to do itagain.Inmakingour resolutions for the newyearweas Liberal Catholics(and therefore,Ihope,earneststudents of the divineplan)mustinevitablyfix oureyes uponthe finalgoalthat is set before us. Weall know that it is ourdutytoprogress;we knowthat we are intendedtogrowbetter as wegrowolder. There is amightyscheme of evolution ofwhichwe are apart.Weall came forth fromGod,and to God we must all return.Peoplesometimeswonderwhy,if that beso,all thisstrivingfordevelopmentisnecessary;if we were divine in thebeginning,can webe more than divine at the end?Is thereanyrealprogress?Thereis,for we cameforth fromGod,as itwere,anebulosity;we cameforth from Him meresparksalbeit divinesparks;we have to return to Him asgreatandgloriouslights,as veritable sunsradiatingHisgloryon allaroundus, shedding helpandblessingon those whocomein ourway.Wegobackagainto the sameNew Year'sDay69God from Whomwe cameforth,but we return toHim at aninfinitelyhigherlevel.If we couldimagine (itmaybe true foranythingweknow) anyschemebywhicheach cell in ourbodycouldpersonallyevolve and become a man becomethe soul of aman weshould notsaythatin attain-inghumanitythat cell hadmadenoprogress,becauseit had been a human cell to start with. Weshouldfeel that ithadmade the mostastounding,the mostenormousprogress.That isonlyananalogy,and aroughone;but there is a certain amount oftruth init,for there isquitethat much of difference be-tween what we have been andwhat we shallbe,andwemaywellhave been cells in some divinegar-ment in some embodiment or manifestation.ToHimwe must returnverilyasgodsourselves.Theobjectof the whole of thisstrangeandmightyevolutionwasexpressedbythe Gnosticsin thisway:"God," they said,"isLove;but love itself cannotbe madeperfectunless there are thoseuponwhomit can belavished,andbywhomitmaybereturned;therefore God Himself canexpressHimself morefully,moreperfectly,when we rise to the Divine,when He canpourout thesplendidflood of Hisloveupon us,and we in our smallerwaycandefinitely, clearlyreturn it.MOurprogressis anecessityto theperfectionofthe evolution of thisgreat systemof which weformapart;therefore weoughtdefinitelyto bemakingsome advancement both inknowledgeand in char-acter eachyearas itgoes by.Most of us are busi-nesspeople,and our time isfully occupied;but wemust not for a moment think that because of that70 The Christian Festivalsthere is noopportunityfor us to evolve. In thecourse of that business we areconstantlymeetingvariouspeople,and