Wairarapa Times-Age THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1939. GOOD FRIDAY.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 April 1939, Page 6

Wairarapa Times-Age THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1939. GOOD FRIDAY.

WITH varying degrees of interest and in different forms, tomorrow will be observed throughout the wide area of Christendom. There will be gatherings of unique interest at the historic site of the great Tragedy the day commemorates; and in chapels, churches, and cathedrals of different phases of belief and practice congregations will assemble to be reminded by symbols and speech of the redemptive experiences ot the Founder of Christianity. Apart from its theological and denominational aspects, Good Friday raises questions and suggests thoughts that are of world-wide interest and of present-day application. There cannot be any question of the fact that Christianity, in its various forms, is today not only the most widely professed form of religious faith and practice, but it is also the form professed by nations and races that are m the van of the world’s progress. And the basal fact in Christianity is the death and resurrection of its Founder, as related in the documents that have come down to us from the early Christian ages. Good Friday, therefore, comes as a signal of remembrance of the past, an evangel of hope for the future. It arose in the dim past. Of its origin we have no definite knowledge. Hie first Christians were not believers in the keeping ol holy days. One of the early church fathers condemned the keeping ol: Christmas as an ungodly pagan custom. Yet Good Friday, along with the whole paschal season, gradually became accepted by the churches deriving their ceremonies both from the Jewish passover and the spring festival of the goddess iLostre ol the Germanic tribes, in the first centuries the fixing of the dates of the observance led to disputes. The Council of l\icaea adopted a. fixed Sunday and the Gregorian correction of the calendar led to more uniformity throughout Christendom. Good Friday is now observed by Christian peoples in different ways and under various titles. In France the day is known as Holy Friday or Passion Friday; in Germany as Quiet or Mourning Friday while in Denmark the old title once familiar to our Anglo-Saxon ancestors ol: Long Friday is still extant; a reference probably to the length of the fasts and prayers with which it was celebrated. Based upon the teachings of the Prophet’of Nazareth, confirmed as these teachings were by His death, and attested by His subsequent resurrection, Christianity has never had'a fair trial among the nations as such. Read alongside the Blue and White and Red Books issued during the Great War, the Sermon on the Mount sounds like a voice in another world. Its teachings harmonise exactly with the life and character and also with the death—of its Author. But it yet remains for the nations organised as such to catch its spirit and translate its precepts into practice. Were its teachings heeded by men like Hitler the world today would not be passing through the grave crisis it is nor would there be in evidence a policy of national banditry, such as Germany has been engaged in. When the teachings of that Great Sermon are put into practice by will be no necessity for the League of Nations to function and costly and oppressive armaments will have become things of the past. Christianity is the one and only international religion, because it has'an ethical appeal transcending frontiers and national traditions. It enjoins charity and kindliness of heart, well-doing and restraint. Adherents may often fall short of these ideals —as was foreseen by the Founder of Christianity. Many who know the better path stray into the.wor.se; but for almost 2000 years Christianity has been a star offering assurance of a steady voyage and a safe haven. The “joy and gaiety” of the holidays should be accompanied by remembrance of what “Holy Day” means.