FAITH DECLARED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 December 1940, Page 8

FAITH DECLARED

IN VICTORY OF SPIRIT OVER BRUTE FORCE. PRIMATE’S CHRISTMAS DAY SERMON. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, December 26. Faith in the triumph of powerlessness over force was the theme of a sermon by the Anglican Primate of New Zealand, Archbishop West-Wat-son, in the Cathedral on Christmas Day. His text, from Corinthians, was •■God chose the weak things of the world that He might put to shame the things that are strong.” “All through the Bible the same lesson is taught—‘not by might nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord.’ And Bethlehem has never given its message more clearly than it does today. It is hard for us to be patient with the nations which glorify power and naked strength and violence; we realise so clearly that they lead nowhere worth going to —a dead end. But what wonder gathers round the cradle at Bathlehem, what possibilities for heart and mind! The lessons of the year have surely not been lost on us. We had calculated the resources of the two sides and believed we could outlast the enemy. Then came the crash of France and Britain stood alone—yet not alone, for as King and Premier expressed their faith, we put our trust in our God. There was one walking with us in the fiery furnace. And so almost by a miracle we saw an expeditionary force saved; to our amazement we have seen Greece, little and weak, made strong against a powerful foe; we have seen our smaller force clear Egypt of the enemy. “It is not a mockery to glory in the Christian message in war time—if we had. not this to hold on to we might well give up in despair and abandon ourselves to a return to the jungle. But just because we have Christmas and the news of God’s goodwill to man we can go on and try again.” Archbishop West-Watson asked how one could be of service to God and man after the war. First, he would think of the weak nations, members of the family and worth defending; second, of the weaker and backward races to help and save whom Britain was fighting; third, he would keep the spirit of Christmas before him and think of some better way of life so' that the strong might not exploit the weak.

“Today we gather and thank God that we can defy the call to deify the things that are violent, hard, bright and cruel, and we look for God rather in the things which seem to the natural man poor, or weak, or contemptible.

“The old gods are raising their heads again to challenge the babe in the manger; but though they may appeal to the greed or cowardice in man they can never do what Bethlehem has done and will do, draw from him the adoration which went with the cry of St. Thomas—‘My Lord and My God,’ or lead him to a mew world where dwell righteousness and peace.”