Questions & Answers
" O strangers , is not this the burial place Of that great Teacher, Jesus Nazarene, Whom Pilate joined with Herod to abase And crucified at last, two known and noted thieves between?" "Good will and peace, O men! This was his resting place; In this cold tomb lay he that came to save a sinning race!" "O bright ones, ye are wondrous in our sight,— Wondrous and awful. Do not say us nay.
Long , long, men stumbled in sad, dreary ways, Pining for portents of a dawning spring. "God gave us life," they said, "but all our days Hold haunting terrors of some evil thing.
Smile on, dear face! and let the whole world know Love stills each tempest on earth's troubled sea; Smile on despite all fears, and boldly show Life's pearl beneath its depths of misery. Smile on, dear eyes! Like gleams of April sun, Deny each sullen trick of storm and shower; Smile on, and dry earth's tear-drops one by one Until Love's warmth unfolds the perfect flower.
The lame man at the temple, when he walked After long years of listless lethargy, Praised God for everything. He walked, and talked Of God's great gifts; his feet and ankle-bones At once received their strength, and he was free.
What means the call to lead a mighty band, Or in the forefront of the battle stand? What means the call to lift thy hand and heal, That earth the blessing of thy good may feel? What means the call to guide the erring one? It means to know the truth—God's work is done! And be thy lot in mountain hut apart, Or midst the turmoil of the city's mart, Thou mayest prove the power of Truth today, Reflect the perfect Mind, and turn away From dreams of discord, sorrow, death, and sin,— And thus the victory over error win. O'er ocean's breast and o'er the mountains high, Thou mayst not like the eagle proudly fly, But thy true self can burst the bands of space, And see all hearts united in Love's grace.
The icy blast that swept the barren hills, Has fled before the perfumed breath of spring; Where roared the tempest's voice in guttural tones. The joyous meadow-larks and bluebirds sing; The once gray sky that lowered with sullen clouds, Now bends above with sun-lit smiles, serene; The earth has cast aside her frozen robe, Arrayed herself in flower-embroidered green; Our hearts rejoice to see the season's birth, And welcome this new heaven and this new earth.
Not where they slay and speak of sin and doom Is my beloved found. Man's radiant self Was never born in kinship with the dust, And the bright splendor of his heaven-girt life Can never fail, nor fade out in the dark.
See the star of peace arise, Glowing o'er a world at strife, Lighting all who would be wise, Seeking Truth and Love and Life. Kindle in our hearts, bright star, Rays of good will, blessing all, Which like angels, near and far, Man unto his Maker call.
Upon a vine clad terrace, in one deep niche That fallen stones had made within the wall, Sat Mary; her head, heavy with hours of leaden thought, Drooped wearily upon her hand; her dreamy eyes Misty with unshed tears gazed out beyond The blue horizon of the distant hills In dull despair. The Master had not come! Four days, four nights, and yet he had not come! Oh, she had watched it seemed a thousand years That pathway from Judæa! Her straining sight Reeled inward, dazed and dizzy as she gazed, And her acute ears caught, between the sounds Of wailing and of mourning in the house, The falling of a pebble with sharp pain.
" He giveth his beloved sleep. " O heart unresting, overwrought, Disquieted by anxious thought.