THE religion of the Master has appealed in a special manner to the life of woman, and in turn has been adorned by her distinctive qualities. In the opening chapter of Genesis we are told that "God created man in his own image, . . . male and female created he them." In human history, however, there has been one glory of man, and another glory of woman; what was beautiful, when predominant in one, was not beautiful when predominant in the other. Before Christ Jesus changed the moral ideal, the virtues considered most divine were those of men, — independence, courage, strength, magnanimity.
But the Master proclaimed the divine nature of qualities which till then had seemed the opposite of manly. — humility, gentleness, obedience, affection, purity. Characteristics that had appeared at opposite poles in the sphere of humanity were blended and harmonized in the life of Christ Jesus. He revealed the complete man, the divine idea. His independence impressed men; they said to him, "Thou regardest not the person of men." He "spake with authority," yet the secret of his life-power was in a dependence at the heart of his independence. "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge." "Not my will, but thine, be done." Only the noblest spirits who had been attracted to him could stand firm while this higher type of life was being unfolded before them. His courage was also sublime, though complex; it was equally strong in repose and action, — before the hooting crowd at Nazareth, on the stormy lake at midnight, with the maniac among the tombs. He "set his face toward Jerusalem," knowing he would be crucified; nevertheless, before approaching pain, he cried, "Father, save me from this hour."
The thought of his disciples must have undergone a shock, then an enlargement, as courage and tenderness blended into perfect unity. He had' a generous desire for men; made much of the good in them, easily forgave wrong, yet he must meet them on the one plane of truth and self-devotion. — Nicodemus must be born again: the rich young ruler must put away his obstacle. Phillips Brooks says, "No man desires generously for his brethren, unless he desires the best things for the best part of them, and is willing to sacrifice the poorer things which belong to the poorer part of them, to secure that loftier attainment." We have the record of the Master's iron strength in the temptation of the desert, his severe integrity as a witness for the truth, and his firm justice in the rebuke of Peter and the doom which he pronounced on Jerusalem. On the other side, what tenderness is shown in the twice-recorded tears, the healing of the sick, the feeding of the hungry multitude, and the rest for the weary and heavy-laden.
Thus Christ Jesus has revealed the unity of the manly and womanly elements in a higher ideal, the Christian type. Lecky, in the "History of European Morals," claims that one of the greatest forces for good that the world has ever received was when Jesus, in the Beatitudes, "inclined the moral ideal from the old heroic Roman type unto weak, servile, downtrodden humanity," and "put the highest virtue within the reach of all." This basic law was individualized in the life of the Master, the "carpenter of Nazareth," and the "Prince of life" who was pleased to call himself the "Son of man." This change of the ideal has inspired all true reform; it has been unfolding the power of womanhood. Is it any wonder, then, that he who stands for complete, generic man should reveal a thought of woman before unknown? After the flesh he was born of the most typical woman in Jewish history. Mary was an expression of unselfish love: common things were glorified by its ministry. Prior to Jesus' birth Mary had said, "My soul doth magnify the Lord;" and as he grew to manhood, so clearly did she discern the divine law which impelled her son, that at the marriage feast at Cana she bade the servants, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." Prompt obedience was the soil for her faith; she had the strength to wait, never doubting, and the ages have honored her as the Virgin Mother — the symbol of purity.
The tender relation between Jesus and Mary begins the most beautiful chapter of Christian history. Luke tells us that "certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, . . . and many others," followed the Master, as he went about "preaching and shewing the glad tidings," and "ministered unto him of their substance." They were the last to leave his cross, and in the early dawn they were the first at his vacant tomb. With the sisters at Bethany he found shelter; to Mary Magdalene he was first revealed after his resurrection. In the apostolic story, what charming names are these, — Lydia, "whose heart the Lord opened," the first to receive the gospel on the continent of Europe; Dorcas, with her busy needle; Priscilla, who had the honor of a church in her house. Devout women were the potent influence in the early Church; they shaped the lives of its best and greatest men. In the power exerted by Macrina on Basil, Arethusa on Chrysostom, Nonna on Gregory, Paula on St. Jerome, and Monica on St. Augustine, is seen the fruit of the new inspiration which Christianity gave to the women who received it. When the brilliant Libanius, pagan teacher of Basil and Chrysostom, saw the mothers and sisters of his pupils, he exclaimed, "What women these Christians have!"
There were bright lights in the darker ages which followed; the Countess Matilda, friend of Hildebrand, and the intrepid Beatrice seem like stars of promise shining in the night. Great currents in modern life, too, have not lacked the same spiritual infusion. Susanna Wesley shaped the lives of her distinguished sons, and was the mother of Methodism; while the humane movement that has characterized the past century has for its moving spirit a much-loved woman, Clara Barton. She is deeply Christian, with a heart open to truth as to humanity's need; shrinking, except when duty calls, then fearless; she measures life by good deeds, not the flight of time, and is utterly unconscious of her greatness. The influence of such women has done much to restore the lost completeness of character caused by a one-sided theology.
Corruption gradually replaced the pure Christianity of the early centuries, through kingly ambition, priestcraft, and the barbarian influence that overran the empire. In the fierce conflict of the times, tenderness departed from religious life; the Church became imperial, to match the empire, the strong and heroic was wrought into a system that long held sway. Stopford Brooke says, "Unspeakable misery was imposed on mankind by this imperial view of God." But while men eliminated the womanly qualities from their systems, there developed another strong, deep current, the reverence for the Virgin Mother, which unfolded as the complete truth of the Master was obscured. The history of its progress is indicated in art, and Lecky says, "Whatever may be thought of its theological propriety, there can be little doubt that the reverence for the Virgin has done much to elevate and purify the idea of woman and to soften the manners of men."
When Jesus was on the cross, he said to Mary, who with John the beloved was standing below, "Woman, behold thy son!" and to the disciple, "Behold thy mother." "From that hour," we are told, "that disciple took her unto his own home." Guided by that spiritual light which was reflected in the heart of this typical woman, "the disciple whom Jesus loved" has presented to the world the highest record of truth and love contained in the Bible. This disciple was loved because of his great passion for the truth; he followed John the Baptist for truth; and when Jesus was pointed out to him as "the Lamb of God," he left the Baptist and went after Jesus. Even the hour of that meeting with the great Teacher of truth was memorable to John; he looked back over many years, and recalled it when he wrote, "For it was about the tenth hour." From young manhood, through life, he followed the light of Truth. Love was the atmosphere of his life; Truth the goal.
John's Gospel has been called the "Heart of Christ;" it presents rather the strength and tenderness of Truth. In its record Christ Jesus said, "I am the . . . truth." "For this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." "Every one 'hat is of the truth heareth my voice." "The truth shall make you free." "The Word [Truth] was made flesh." "When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth;" "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another." A womanly spiritual insight led John's interpretation of the great character. In his epistles, we again see the influence of this thought; they treat of the divine Principle, Love and purity; they touch the key-note of being: "God is love." "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God." "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed." "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."
Again, in the Apocalypse, the impulse of a mother-heart and a pure spiritual instinct lift him above mortal vision, and he beholds the spiritual idea, symbolized by a woman clothed in light. "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." Here purity of heart has perceived the "fulness of Christ." The strength of Truth and the tenderness of Love appear, — not separate, but blended in the completeness and harmony of character. Its background is stated in a replete sentence from Mrs. Eddy's spiritual interpretation of the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious" (Science and Health, p. 16).
After the shadow of centuries, it has been given to another woman to perceive the spiritual idea, and to express for the world's deep need the harmony of Life. Truth and Love are made manifest to the modern world through woman's spiritual perception, and thus the divine word appears. The book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," which portrays the Christ-idea, "The Sun of righteousness . . . with healing in his wings," is commended to the world. Its fruit, the spiritualization of life, attests the divinity of its teaching. On pages 561 and 562, we read, "The woman in the Apocalypse symbolizes generic man, the spiritual idea of God." "The spiritual idea is crowned with twelve stars. . . . They are the lamps in the spiritual heavens of the age, which show the workings of the spiritual idea by healing the sick and the sinning, and by manifesting the light which shines 'unto the perfect day' as the night of materialism wanes."
In the history that now culminates in woman's spiritual insight the love of Christ has subordinated the muscular to the moral instinct, it has made gentleness a girdle of beauty and honor. It is a fact, significant for the past, prophetic for the future, that Dante measured the progress of his ascent in Paradise by observing the increasing light that played on the face of Beatrice, and so we count the steps of the world's true progress not by wealth, nor inventions, nor teeming cities, but by the ever-increasing grace and power with which Christ, Truth, adorns and gives effectiveness to womanhood.
How can we know the infinite? Not by reason. The office of reason is to distinguish, to define. The infinite cannot (be defined) be ranked among the objects of reason, you can only comprehend it by a faculty superior to reason.
Letters of Plotinus (A.D. 254).
