Questions & Answers
Deep in the gloom the torches glowed, In the evening hour; We grew to perceive a candle flame, A flickering oil wick, Then the arc lamp's modest power. Steadier now, and brighter far, Vision leaps to the nearest star.
Was the promise made to Abraham alone? —Seeing thou "hast not withheld thy son— In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth Be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. " Did Abraham resist God's first demand To sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah? Did his feet stumble on the upward journey, Did his hand falter at the altar's fire, Would his voice fail at the familiar—Isaac? Could the knife cut the life from his despair? What Mind could father such obedience? Was it the mind of Abraham alone? Did the command, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad," Release in him a spurious contentment? Did his call—Isaac—ring with repossession? No.
"In self we trust," my motto was; My coin, philosophy. My citadel, pure reason's shell, My pearl, the knowledge tree.
"Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. " No need to hesitate, or wait; with instant loving sanction favoring obedient adventure, Master bade follower, "Come.
No Niagara now, nor pistoned power nor politics provides us enough light to walk, unmolested, Main Street's night infested with forked hates and fears. The hour is ominous.
From the East there came Wisemen to honor one in Bethlehem. Symbolic starlight beamed and pointed where to find him, God's anointed.
Yes, I said I would follow him, Follow wherever he would guide: From Jordan's brink to the wilderness, From there to Galilee's shimmering side; Or up from the sea to a mountaintop To hear his sermon in the soft, sweet breeze; Then through the cities and villages Teaching and healing every disease; Or giving food to the multitude, Or walking across the sea at night, Or on the mountain where he stood Transfigured in immortal light. But into Judea? to Jerusalem? To face the scribes and the Pharisees? Into the temple to whip out the thieves? Should I be willing to face all these? And would I sit at the sad Last Supper And follow him out to Gethsemane, Or go with him into Pilate's court, Or carry the cross to Calvary? Should I be willing to follow him To the tomb itself, if such need be? To the garden bathed in Easter light, To the mount of ascent in Galilee? How can I know how far I would go, How well in his footsteps I would stay, Except I begin to follow him now In my thoughts, in my life, and to walk in his way? Max Dunaway.
In weariness I turned to one Whose thought climbs high. She said: Don't struggle so, You're one with God , let go And rest upon the power of present Love As vessels float upon the sea Supported, in innocence, effortlessly.
After her first visit to the Sunday School, A tiny child said, "I sat still for a very long time. " That was all.
The way out of prison—any prison? Consider Joseph: sold by his own brothers into slavery; then falsely accused by others; victim of thwarted passion. Calumny accepted.