DECEMBER, 1924
THE UNITED AMERICAN
sang the angels, not to Jerusalem or Palestine alone,
but to the whole earth. And good will to men — not
to a type or a special brand or. color, but to men any
where, north, south, east or west.
So let all men know there is a welcome for every
one at the Cross. For the great Christ said:
“Him that cometh I will in no wise cast out.”
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seeking upbuilding at another’s cost; none threaten
ing ill to any but all yielding allegiance to world-wide
fraternity.
Who would not desire to help bring in a universal
Christmas? Christ lived and died that this hope
might be realized in all its meaning and fullness. Let
us help Him attain the glorious expectancy.
A UNIVERSAL CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS GREETING
By REV. W. E. BRINKMAN
Minister, St. James English Lutheran Church
I.—A Universal Christmas Would Mean Universal
Enlightenment
By CHAPLAIN JOHN W. BEARD
Minister of The Mount Tabor Presbyterian Church
55th & Belmont Streets
“The Stone Church With The Warm Heart”
U7 HERE CHRIST is commemorated sincerely, there
’’ can be no superstition or fetishism; no terror of
unseen powers suspected of malice toward men; no
furtive slavishness of soul under the great vault of
heaven, but rather a triumphant confidence in the
friendship of God once and for all certified in the in
carnation of His Son. It would bestow a fearless as
surance that the infinite heart of the universe is a
Father’s heart, ever warm to welcome the humblest
of his children to his cherishing fellowship.
.II.—A Universal Christmas Would Mean Universal
Honor
Where the Christ-child is commemorated in
holy reverence, there can be no villainy of injustice
done in the daring of ruthless power; no over-reaching
of the weak and defenseless for the sake of unearned
gains; no blind, crazed worship of possessions that
are of this earth, wholly earthy; no deflection from
the truth; no shirking of human duty; no sodden in
difference to humanity’s needs. But far rather let us
put conscience and. fairness into the spirit between
man and man. Let the use of power be held sacred
in defense of those who in their own behalf are most
powerless. Let honesty, fidelity and uprightness
be established and enthroned in all the universe.
III.—A Universal Christmas Would Mean
Universal Love
Where the Christ is commemorated from the
heart, there can be no despising of others; nor
any envy or bitterness of passions; no over-lording
tyrannies; no crowding down of the weak and unsuc
cessful by the successful; no contempts and antipa
thies toward men of varied races and social classes;
no turning away from another’s woe. But only com
passion and helpfulness and friendliness everywhere;
families bound together in affection; nations bound
together by the common ties of brotherhood and
friendship; the strong and the able working to make
easier the way of struggling, timid men and women
of every nation and station, acknowledging the im
mutable kinship which inheres in the fact of a com-
i mon humanity by the mastering consciousness of
unity in one Lord and Elder Brother.
IV.—Where the Christ-Child Is Commemorated
Without Hypocrisy
There can survive no lust of slaughter for power’s
sake; no joy in perpetuating the fiendish act of
i shedding human blood; no pride in multiplying en
gines of war’s destruction. But in all the world would
be found a glad contentment of each nation in the bor
ders of its own commonwealth, none infringing or
Q HRISTMAS GREETINGS to all mankind every
where.
We care not from what land you have come. We
care not from what race you have sprung. We care
not what creed you have confessed; we care only that
a real Christmas Joy may be yours this blessed
Chrismas time!
This is the time to forget every harsh thought.
The time to forget every bitter feeling that we may
have had for other men. This is the time to forget
all race hatred. Yes, even to forget every failure,
every broken hope, every defeat we may have known!
This is the time to remember high aspiration. The
time to remember every childish hope we have ever
had. The time to remember every good word we
have ever heard. And the time to call back into our
thinking every good deed we have ever planned to do.
This is the time to bring the Spirit of Jesus Into
the Whole of our lives. In him was the highest the
world shall ever know. Jesus was a Negro. Jesus
was a Jew. Jesus was a German. Jesus was a
Frenchman. Jesus was an American. Jesus was
the world’s full man. Every race shall be the World
Man, the Super Man when it shall most nearly fill
itself with his Spirit.
Yes my Brothers there is the Christmas cheer
in the windows, on the streets, in the Churches, and
may it be in your hearts! There is a Christmas joy
over all. It is over the valleys, over the mountains
and over the plains; may it be in your souls! There
is the Christ’s love hovering, as the Angel song of
long age, over the Earth, the Sea, the Sky. May it
find its home in your life today.
RECOGNIZING THE INEVITABLE LAW OF LIFE
Daniel H. Bonus
p ARENTS AND CHILDREN will have a happier
1
and more helpful attitude towards one another
if they will realize that each individual has an in
alienable right to his own life. They must be
tolerant of each other. Further, the parents must
endure the pain of seeing their children grow up
and leave them. That is the sacrifice imposed upon
parenthood. Their reward is gained through the
satisfaction of seeing their children contribute to
society, both by work and the raising of new families.
The gratitude and affection for the parents create
a bond of interest that will contribute to the happi
ness of the family, provided these are not used as
means of interfering with the progress of the new
generation.