Contents

Introduction
  1. Holy Baptism
  2. Holy Communion
  3. Behold, I Stand at the Door
  4. Christ the Consoler
  5. Abide With Us
  6. Gethsemane
  7. Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me
  8. One Thing Is Needful
  9. I Am the Good Shepherd
10. Lord, Save Me
11. The Angel's Message
12. Flight Into Egypt

Introduction

To look upon the windows of our Church often brings to mind these half-remembered words by an anonymous poet:

"The windows of the place wherein I dwell
I will make beautiful.
No garish light shall enter there crudely,
But with colors bright and warm and throbbing
I'll weave a spell; the tale to tell
Of sage and simple saint,
Beggar and king who fought the noble fight.

And when the shadows of the night begin,
And sifted sunlight falls on me no more,
Then may I have learned to light the lamp within;
That the passing world may see still the same radiance,
Though with paler hue,
Of the sweet lives that help men to be true."

These windows of our Church are constant reminders of the Life that helps men to be true. As the great cathedrals of Europe were called "sermons in stone", so these windows may. appropriately be called "sermons in glass." Day by day they preach silently, yet eloquently, to all who have eyes to see and hearts to understand. Each window has its particular message that speaks to some condition and concern of the human heart. The brief meditations that accompany each picture on the following pages are excerpts from a series of sermons preached in Friedens Church on the Sundays in Lent in the year of our Lord, 1954.

— Christopher H. Boland, Pastor

1. Holy Baptism

"All authority hath been given unto Me in Heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
— Matthew 28:18-20

2. Holy Communion

"The Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me."
— I Corinthians 11:23-25

3. Behold, I Stand at the Door

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him', and will sup with him, and he with me."
— Revelation 3:20

It is written, "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."

There is a tendency among some people to explain human life solely on the basis of heredity or environment.

We are what we are, so they maintain, simply because our parents were what they were, or because we lived in a certain place at a certain time.

In a sense this picture is a corrective to that limited way of thinking.

The door before which Christ stands is the entrance to a human life. You will notice that there is no latch on the door. It can be opened only from within.

Human lives are not grains of sand whirled about by the winds of destiny. Every normal person is to a great extent the captain of his soul.

Human lives are shaped not only by the fact of heredity or the forces of environment, but by personal aspirations, decisions and actions as well.

This picture asks a question. "Why do so many people keep the door closed against Christ?"

Some do so because of indifference. These are the people who live a lifetime in God's world without ever becoming aware that there is a God.

Some do so because they are too busy. Life is filled with so many interesting and fascinating things that they just haven't time to consider the invitation of Christ.

Some do not open the door because they are satisfied with themselves as they are. They mind their own business. They are respectable and upright people. What more is there in life?

But the invitation of our Lord stands: "If any man open the door, I will come in to him." Any man. Rich. Poor. Learned. Ignorant. Regardless of race, nationality, or social position. Any man. Every man. "I will come in to him'."

What does this Divine Guest bring to those who welcome Him? He does not enter into any life with empty hands. Consider His promise: "I am come that they might hove life, and hove it more abundantly."

Life is never the some once Christ has been received into it. All human existence is transformed through fellowship with Christ. Instead of a habitation of selfishness and indifference, life becomes a shrine where Christ is King.

A Prayer:
"0 Lord, with shame and sorrow
We open now the door.
Dear Saviour, enter, enter,
And leave us nevermore. Amen."
— William W. How

4. Christ the Consoler

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (St. Matthew 11:28) Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ."
— II Corinthians 1:3-5

A young man within the protecting circle of our Lord's arms. The bended knee speaks of humility. The folded hands speak of supplication.

What brought him to the Savior? Could it have been the intuition that here at lost was the consolation that he had sought vainly elsewhere?

At the side of the young man lies a staff and a hat. What are these but symbols of human strength and worldly ambition?

Here is a person who has made the discovery that these human resources are not enough. Laying them aside, he gives himself to Christ.

"Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling."

"All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood."

This "sermon in glass" speaks directly to our human need and condition. Here is your life and mine. What do we need to make of life, not a burden but a blessing?

Our needs? Some people sum it up quite simply. Money, first of all. Pleasure. Popularity. Influence. What more is there in life? Give us these things and we shall know the meaning of blessedness.

But will we? Here is a young man who apparently had all these things, yet sought something more.

Long before the time of Christ, a wise man of Jerusalem sought for the meaning of life. He explored every avenue by which he might find happiness and peace of mind-pleasure, knowledge, creative activities, wealth and possessions. But none of these ventures offered the key to happiness. In making his conclusion about life, he said, "Vanity of vanities, all is Vanity!"

Is that the only conclusion that sincere and conscientious people can reach concerning life? Here in this picture -is a young man who sought the meaning of life. His search for that meaning led him post the point at which the author of the book of Ecclesiastes stopped. He come to that place where he learned that life is more than gaining and getting: it is also giving and losing. "He that findeth his life shall lose it; but he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

The young man at the feet of Christ has found consolation. Consolation is more than a hand about the shoulder, more than a kindly word. Consolation is strength. It is power. It means that through Christ our powers are redirected into channels that will bring blessedness and peace into our own and into our neighbors' lives.

A Prayer: "0 Lord, who art as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land, who beholdest Thy weak creatures, weary of labor, weary of pleasure, weary of hope deferred, weary of self, in Thine abundant compassion and unutterable tenderness, bring us, we pray Thee, unto rest and consolation. Amen."
— Christina G. Rossetti

5. Abide With Us

"And behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus ... and it came to pass, that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus Himself drew near, and went with them and they drew nigh unto the village whither they went: and He made as though He would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with its: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him: and he vanished out of their sight."
— Luke 24:13

Have you ever noticed how unerringly little children are able to identify Jesus in any of the Bible story pictures?

But here are two disciples who could not recognize their Lord as He walked with them on the way to Emmaus. Even the mark of the nails on hands and feet escaped their notice.

But there was something in the bearing of this stranger, something in His words that brought new brightness to their flickering hopes.

They talked of broken hopes. Their Master was taken from them. His enemies had crucified Him. All their great dreams were shattered by a cross on a hill called Golgotha.

But He chided them, "0 foolish men, so slow of heart to believe!

What manner of man was this? What else could one believe in the harsh light of reality?

But there was something else. They recalled it afterwards. "Did not our hearts burn within us, while He talked with us by the way?"

At the porting of the ways they said to him, "Abide with us, for it is evening, and the day is for spent."

He tarried with them for a while. In the breaking of the bread understanding flashed upon them. Their Guest had been the Christ.

How often have you repeated the simple table grace, "Come, Lord Jesus, be Thou our Guest"? Have you ever stopped a moment before you unfolded your napkin and helped yourself to the food to ask yourself what would happen if that prayer were answered?

"Abide with us." "Be Thou our Guest." What is the meaning of that invitation when it is given not to a casual acquaintance but to Christ, the Lord of life?

How often we, like the disciples of old, walk the highway of life just a little puzzled and sometimes disappointed over the great gulf between life as we know it ought to be and life as it is.

And then when the shadows deepen and life seems far spent, there comes to us, perhaps through some simple phrase in the Scripture or through some verse of a hymn, the understanding that Christ is present with us. With faith restored and quickened we say, "Did not our hearts burn within us, when he found us on the way?"

A Prayer: 0 Lord, support us all the day long of this mortal life, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done'; then, Lord, in Thy great mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
— John Henry Newman

6. Gethsemane

"Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder."
— Matthew 26:36

The Garden of Gethsemane. The name calls to mind a quiet place of seclusion and beauty, away from the noise of the crowd, away from the clamor of the marketplace.

But the creator of this picture had in mind something more than a beautiful setting. He deliberately creates not a garden but a desolate and stony place.

The only living thing is a thorn bush, suggestive of the suffering that lay in store for our Lord. A reminder that the path of love sometimes leads to a crown of thorns.

This picture, then, is more than a recollection of an incident in the life of Christ. Here is an insight into one of the inevitable experiences of human life — the facing of tragedy.

What can a person do "when life walks in with its sabre drawn?"

It is a good thing to have friends who by their faith and encouragement make the rough places of life more smooth.

It is good also to draw from the example of those undaunted spirits who have not been overcome by tribulation

But into every life there comes a time when one must say, as Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go yonder."

A great philosopher once said, "Religion is what a man does with his solitude."

The solitude of Jesus gave us one of the greatest affirmations of faith preserved for us in the Scriptures: "Thy will, not mine, be done."

To many of us the mere thought of solitude is distasteful. We have become too much the creatures of a crowd. To act upon a personal decision is a rare experience for many.

Yet one day, soon or late, every man must come to his own Garden of Gethsemane. He must say to his friends, "Wait here, while I go on." It is here that the incident preserved in this window can be of help. It suggests the only effective preparation for the facing of life's problems.

Sweet is the use of solitude when it enables us to hear the Divine Command, "Be still, and know that I am God."

Sweet is the use of solitude when the words of the Lord echo in our hearts, "Not my will, but Thine be done."

A Prayer: "0 God of Peace, who hast taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength; by the might of Thy spirit, lift us, we pray Thee, to Thy presence where we may be still and know that' Thou art God; through' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
— The Book of Common Prayer

7. Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me

"And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: And his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little' child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them."
— Mark 10:13-16

In most of the portrayals of this incident of Christ blessing the children there is one common element.

The disciples of Jesus are not shown.

Certainly they were important to the incident, for it was their rebuke to the parents for allowing their children to intrude upon the presence of Christ that led to the words, "Suffer the children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God."

Perhaps there is a valid reason for the omission of the disciples from the picture. Could it be that as far as the disciples are concerned, the emphasis is not upon Peter or James or John or any other disciple but upon the disciples of today — upon you and me?

Here, then, is more than a bit of ancient history preserved for us in the beauty of stained glass. Here is a suggestion that the disciple of the present day must judge himself in the setting of Jesus and the children.

Here is a mirror. Look ye into it, and tell what ye see there.

Upon what side are you? Are you one of the company of rebuking disciples who hinder the approach of little children to Jesus? Or are you on the side of our Lord, helping to remove the obstacles that tend to keep little children from the kingdom of God?

The Revised Translation has a most fortunate rendering of this passage of Scripture. "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them."

Have you ever forbidden a child to approach to Jesus? Certainly not, you say.

Have you ever hindered the approach of a child to Jesus? How could I hinder a child's coming to the Master, you ask?

You could do it by making religion seem unimportant. By sending the child to church instead of taking him.

You could do it by making religion seem a burden rather than a joy.

You could do it by making Christ seem far removed from the real concerns of life.

These possibilities set one to thinking, do they not?

Concerning the disciples we should no longer ask in critical vein, "How was it possible for them to have been with Jesus so long, and yet have failed to catch the spirit of His teaching?"

Now, looking upon that picture in relation to ourselves, we can only say, "Lord, be merciful to us. We, too, have failed. We, like the disciples of old, have fallen short of Thy vision and Thy purpose."

A Prayer: Grant us the wisdom, O God, to make our homes the habitations of love and peace; grant us knowledge to lead all children in the right way. Grant us the help of Thy Holy Spirit to teach and train our children that they may grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. Amen.

8. One Thing Is Needful

"And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
— Luke 10:41-42

Here in this familiar picture is a lesson that "practical" people find quite difficult to learn.

In their concern over many things they often overlook the best thing — the good part.

Martha's complaint, "Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?" arouses the sympathy of most of us.

Martha, looking to the comfort of her Guest, while Mary, apparently unconcerned about the obligations of a good hostess, is intent only upon the words of Jesus.

It is possible to be distracted with much serving. It is possible to lose sight of the real values of life in useful activity.

To serve others is not enough.

There is a saying that there can be no expression without impression. One must receive before one can give. One must listen before one can speak. One must be inspired before one can inspire others.

Martha, cumbered about much serving, was deaf to the Word that could give meaning to her activity. Preoccupied with many things, she was losing the one thing needful.

Here is a reminder that man does not live by bread alone.

A just economic order, the fullest education for every person, equality of opportunity for all, measures to insure the health and happiness of the community — all efforts directed toward these goals are useful activities. Yet they are not enough, nor are they the highest good.

There still remains the Word of Life. Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you."

This word of Life is not one good thing among many. It is the First Thing. The One Thing Needful. It is man's chief concern.

A church is not always immune to the danger of forgetting the good part. Sometimes a concern for the church only in terms of current expenses, the annual bazaar, a multitude of organizations, and the statistics of the congregation, results in a neglect of the most important thing.

The chief business of the church is not to fill the coffer with cash, or the organizations with busy people, nor even to fill the church with men.

The chief business of the church should be to fill men with the Spirit of God.

Above all else, the church is a place where men can respond to the Word of Life.

A Prayer: O God, the Protector of all who trust in Thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is pure, increase and multiply upon us Thy mercy, that, Thou being our Ruler and Guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ's sake our Lord. Amen.
— Gregorian, A.D. 590

9. I Am the Good Shepherd

"I am the Good Shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd, and now My sheep, and am known of Mine. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also must I bring, and they shall hear My voice."
— John 10:11,14,16

George Adam Smith, the great biblical scholar, tells of a Scottish traveler who was watching several Judean shepherds bringing their flocks to water at a well outside a little Palestinian village.

The traveler wondered how the mingled flocks would separate so that each flock would follow its own shepherd.

He was told by his guide that the sheep knew the voice of their shepherd and would follow him.

Disbelieving, the traveler changed clothes with one of the shepherds on a venture that the sheep would follow him.

But the traveler in the shepherd's clothing drew not a single sheep; but the voice of the shepherd dressed in the garb of the traveler led the flock as he always had.

Jesus said of a shepherd: "He goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice."

"I am the Good Shepherd." Jesus, the Son of God, is the Shepherd and Guide of those who follow Him. "He goeth before them." He does not point out the way and then stand aside waiting for us to take it to see where it may lead. He goes before us.

This Good Shepherd walked the common ways of earth. He knew the meaning of hunger, of pain and of tears. He loved the people of His land. He felt indignation over injustice and unkindness inflicted upon the helpless. He loved little children. He shared in the joys of friendship. He felt the pain of friendship betrayed.

He goeth before them. Into the valley of the shadow? Yes, even there he goes before us. And when the shadows of the valley gather about us, we follow not with fear but are sustained by an unfaltering trust in the Good Shepherd who leadeth us into the Father's presence.

"They shall hear my voice." Have you ever felt the loneliness of walking the streets of a strange city? All about you the roar of traffic and a sea of anonymous faces. Then, suddenly, a voice! A familiar voice that calls your name. Then all the loneliness disappears and you are with a friend.

One of the deepest longings of the human race is the desire to be of significance. In a world that has increasingly tended to emphasize the crowd, the mass, or the state over against the person that longing is often frustrated and unfulfilled.

"They shall hear My voice." In Him every person can find the real significance of his life. The Good Shepherd thinks not only of the ninety and nine who are safe in the fold, He is concerned as well with the one which is lost and; and seeks until He finds it.

A Prayer: "O Lord, who callest Thine own sheep by name, grant, we entreat Thee, that all whom Thou callest by the voice of conscience may straightway arise to do Thy most compassionate will, or abide patiently to suffer it. Amen.
— Christina G. Rossetti

10. Lord, Save Me

"But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus came unto them, walking in on the sea … And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water. And He said, come. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord save me.
— Matthew 14:24,28-30

Have you ever felt that because you were a Christian you ought somehow to be spared the sufferings and heartaches that come to ordinary mortals?

If you have, you will profit from the insights to be gained from this "sermon in glass."

One thing you will learn is that the storms of life play no favorites. The sun shines on the just and the unjust alike. The rain falls on the good and the evil without discrimination. Goodness, therefore, does not make one immune to trouble.

These disciples of Jesus in a storm-tossed boat were crossing the sea to rejoin their Master on the opposite shore. They were not on a pleasure cruise, but were following out the instructions their Master had given them. "And the wind was contrary."

"And in the night Jesus come unto them walking on the water."

For some people that is the only miracle discernible in this incident. Actually there is a greater miracle.

When the winds of life are contrary, when our hearts are filled with fear, when our human resources fail, God is still master of the situation. When our expectations fail, God does the unexpected. The Psalmist of old experienced this miracle of God's presence and gave expression to it in the beautiful 139th Psalm. "If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me the darkness and the light are both alike to thee."

In the darkest moments of life God is in the shadows "keeping watch above His own."

As Jesus come to His disciples, so God comes in those hours of human life when the storm beats loudest and speaks to all who have ears to hear, "Be not afraid! It is I!'

Here, in the person of Simon Peter, is the story of Everyman. First confidence and faith, then helpless terror. "Lord, save me!" Why did he fail after those first few steps? Why do you and I sometimes fail in our endeavors to follow the Master?

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid." For just a moment Peter took his eyes from Christ and saw only the storm. That little moment was his undoing. No longer did he see Christ. In that brief instant he saw only the storm and himself — an insignificant man at the mercy of the sea.

Storms come into every life. God is present not only when the sea is calm and unruffled, but in the storm as well. Those who look unto Jesus cannot be overcome by the storms of life. "It is I; be not afraid."

A Prayer: Almighty God, the Refuge of all that are distressed, grant unto us that, in all the trouble of this mortal life we may flee to the knowledge of Thy loving kindness and tender mercy; that so, sheltering ourselves therein, the storms of life may pass over us, and not shake the peace of God that is within us. Grant us Thy light, that we may have life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
— George Dawson

11. The Angel's Message

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ, the Lord."
— Luke 2:10,11

The shepherds, watching their flocks by night on a hillside near the little town of Bethlehem, are symbolic of humanity with its anxieties, its fears, and its troubles.

The circumstances and conditions of life may change from century to century, but for any man in any age the words, "I am afraid", express a common human experience.

"Fear not, for I bring you good tidings!" How many times in man's long history has that promise been extended, not by the messenger of the Lord, but by the self-appointed saviour of race or nation or class! How many times has it resulted in the fruits of bitterness and defeat. Instead of joy and victory there have come only frustration and defeat.

Perhaps our ears have become so accustomed to these words that their real meaning no longer stirs our hearts. "Fear not … good tidings … great joy ... to all people … unto you a Saviour!"

Here is a message not only for Americans or British or Russians or Japanese, but for all people. Here is a message not only for Black or Yellow or Brown or White, but for all races. Here are tidings not only for Laborer or Capitalist or Rich or Poor, but for all classes and conditions of men.

Here is a message which strikes home with the truth that the source of humanities fears are not in the world but in man himself. Man needs, above everything else, to be saved from himself. "Unto you is born a Saviour!"

A Saviour. Not One Who will remove all burdens but Who will give strength to bear them. Not One Who will destroy our enemies but Who will instill in us the art of creating peace. A Saviour who will redeem the heart of man, Who will transform man's spirit and motives.

In the message of the angel is a truth that man is slow to learn. While the knowledge and skill and energy of man hove enabled him to split the atom, they have not endowed him with the power to save himself.

When a man comes to himself he makes the confession of St. Paul his own — "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

For an answer comes the age-old message — "Unto you is born a Saviour." Therein lies God's answer to the world's great need. Therein lies God's answer to man's prayer for deliverance from his fears.

A Prayer: O Most Loving Father, who willest us to give thanks for all things, to dread nothing but the loss of Thee, and to cast all our care on Thee, who carest for us; preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds of this mortal life may hide us from the light of that love which is immortal, and which Thou hast manifested to us in Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
— William Bright

12. Flight Into Egypt

"And behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word; for Herod will seek the young child to destroy Him. When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt."
— Matthew 2:13,14

This picture preserves one of the darker aspects of the Christmas story. The Christmas message of peace and good will was not joyously received by oil who heard it.

In Jerusalem Herod was troubled at the news of a new-born King. All Jerusalem was troubled with him.

And he made efforts to find the young child, not to welcome Him, not to bring Him gifts, but to destroy Him.

So Joseph "took the young Child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt." Here in an ancient setting is a thread of a more familiar present-day pattern-refugees and displaced persons.

Consider how many times that ancient story has been repeated in our lifetime.

Their road led out of Bethlehem of Judea. Think of the roads leading out of London and Berlin, Paris and Tokyo, Rotterdam and Stalingrad. Think of the thousands upon thousands of fathers and mothers who took their children on those roads, hoping to find some place of safety, some place where they could find an opportunity to rebuild the things which strife and hatred had destroyed. Fathers and mothers who gave their own lives as hostages to fortune so long as the little lives they cherished might be kept from harm and preserved.

The memory of this flight into Egypt coupled with the words "And there was no room for them in the inn" should keep us aware that there were people then, as there are people now, who had no place in their lives for Christ and the things for which He stood.

In our world as in that world of long ago there are powerful forces and movements that are antagonistic to Christ and His Kingdom.

The Christians of olden times often referred to "the powers of darkness" that opposed love and truth and goodness. In a supposedly more enlightened age, people of wisdom and understanding looked upon that reference as a kind of superstition.

But evil, by whatever name you choose to call it, is not a figment of a lively imagination. You can's dismiss evil by calling it a vestige of ancient superstition.

No one in our day who is aware of the cruelties symbolized in such names as Buchenwald or Dachau can shrug off the existence of "the powers of darkness."

Herods have come and gone, but the forces that seek to destroy and tear down the purpose of God still remain. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day."

A Prayer: "Almighty God, grant, we beseech Thee, that we, whose trust is under the shadow of Thy wings, may, through the help of Thy power, overcome all evils that rise up against us. Amen."