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EVENING LEDGER
ooti tll tEotoarti jHen
3!ff BY JOHN P. GARBER kSSBJ
kSiSf $ 1 SUPERINTENDENT OF THE PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS !7'Ht5
S THIS still only a prophecy or is it a ful
fillment to you and to me today ?
Much depends upon what has been
our quest, much upon the wisdom and
zeal with which we have pursued our plans.
The New Year found us vi
sioning only noble things. Our
strength was great, our gaze was
high, the songs of promise were
ringing in our ears. The paths
we took were narrowed toward
our goal, our acts were wise,
our zeal drooped not before the
summer's heat nor withered in
the winter's cold.
And yet we failed.
Today, perchance, we stand
unmanned before a shattered
hope. But have we lost?
The times we fail should point
more truly toward the aimed-for
goal. The strength that comes
from well-spent effort should
help us surely win. The peace
y Hutumn'o fmCto arc gathered in
Hutumn'o fmCto arc gathered in
Hnd the birdo have talicn wing.
CQbat of plcaourc'a left to win
Hftcr oong and harvesting?
Winter hath its own delight,
6arnering in ficldo of onow
Berries red and bcrrico white
Roily and the ttiiotlctoc.
Come, Oh! cotnc along!
OCTintcr's windo ohall awcll our song,
OTbilc with shouts and merry din
Cotneo the ulctidc harvest in!
Hgc bath reaped ito youth and prime
Hnd the blood otiro cold and thin.
Hbat for Hgc bath winter-time?
BQbat of pleasure's left to win?
Harvests still of rare delight,
jfoye that once it used to hnow,
Berries red and berries wbitf
Roily and the mistletoe.
Come, Hgc, come and sit
CQhcrc the cheery hearth is lit,
CQhilc the young with merry din
Drag thculctidc harvest in!
Com Daly
At least this we thought when the year still was
in its youth. But we are wiser now.
We know that the end is but the beginning,
and that the peace of such possession but reaches
out to a more extended good.
Each increment of skill and
power but opens much beyond ;
each stage of knowledge but lifts
to a higher plane; each added
grace of heart but brings a
keener sense for more.
YEAR of growth has left
us only with a great de-
:
of honest trial is still worth while.
But we tried and won and yet have not rejoiced.
The good we sought seems empty, now that it is
won. Our choice was colored by our selfish view.
We set our hearts upon the means, and not upon
the end on that which of itself contains no good.
Not that our choice was wrong, but that we
chose a part, and not the whole the shadowed
valley when we might have had the mountain
view. We thought we strove for substance, but
find it but the shadow of that we sought.
UR success seems empty and we live amidst
our disillusioned plans. But have we failed?
Not if our longings still are for the better things.
We take new courage in the promised peace of His
good will.
Again go back to the entering of the year. This
time we seek the things that make for peace the
gifts of hand, and head, and heart the grace of
spirit that reveals, refines, reshaping all the life.
Here surely we shall find our peace and be
content when we have grasped the golden good.
sire to grow. We are satisfied
only because of the longing with
which we now are filled.
Is this unrest the final act of
peace ? Is the desire for growth,
after all, the best reward for liv
ing true? Is it the developing
cells of the growing boy that
make him so constantly over
flow with joy? Is this also a
natural law in the spiritual
world?
On earth peace, good will to men. We may
not have realized it at the beginning of the year,
but it is now clear that here is an unbreakable
bond.
The good will to men and the peace we sought
are inseparably one.
IT IS the consciousness of desire to serve that
brings us peace. Here alone we reach the
good without alloy. Here we reap the harvest of
richest returns.
Spending in spiritual things is an investment
that grows by leaps and bounds. There are no
limits in these diviner fields.
Here earth merges into Heaven, and we sail
upon the Crystal Sea. This is the pay of the parent
who serves the child. Herein is the highest reward
for teacher, brother, "elder brother," friend.
Divine unrest, desire to serve are the essence of
substantial things. Thus the message of the an
gels becomes both a prophecy and a fulfillment.
So our hearts tell us on this Christmas Day.
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