I feel a keen sense of joy in being present at this banquet this evening,
for--praise be to God!--before me are radiant faces, ears attuned to the
melodies of the Supreme Concourse, hearts aglow with the fire of the love
of God, spirits exhilarated through the glad tidings of God, souls
sheltered beneath the overshadowing power of the Kingdom of Abha. I see
before me an assemblage of souls who are of the chosen and not of the many
called. And it is my hope that through the favors of Baha'u'llah He may
continue to attract you to His Kingdom and render you victorious and
triumphant in your service to the oneness and solidarity of mankind. May
He assist all who are firm in establishing the unity of the inhabitants of
this earth. May all of you thereby become my partners and coadjutors in
servitude.
O Lord! Confirm and aid this assemblage. Confirm these souls through the
breaths of Thy Holy Spirit. Enlighten the eyes by the vision of these
radiant lights, and make the ears joyful through the anthems of Thy call
to service. O God! Verily, we have gathered here in the fragrance of Thy
love. We have turned to Thy Kingdom. We seek naught save Thee and desire
nothing save Thy good pleasure. O God! Let this food be Thy manna from
heaven, and grant that this assemblage may be a concourse of Thy supreme
ones. May they be the quickening cause of love to humanity and the source
of illumination to the human race. May they be the instruments of Thy
guidance upon earth. Verily, Thou art powerful. Thou art the Bestower.
Thou art the Forgiver, and Thou art the Almighty.
In the world many banquets, assemblages and meetings have been organized,
but those gatherings have been commercial, political, educational or
social in their purpose and motive. Meetings are held for the promotion of
financial plans or promulgation of the arts and sciences. Others have
sought to establish agricultural industries or consummate territorial
agreements. Innumerable assemblages have been held for consultation upon
subjects of learning and education. All such meetings have for their
object the advancement of civilization. But--praise be to God!--this banquet
and this assemblage are for none other purpose than love, for the purpose
of announcing the divine Kingdom, for the manifestation of the ineffable
traces of God, for reflecting the effulgences of the Kingdom of God, for
binding hearts together, for service to the world of humanity, for the
promulgation of humanitarian and altruistic realities, for the advancement
and advocating of international peace, for the illumination of the whole
world. Therefore, such an assemblage is matchless and peerless because
other assemblages are held for a limited object and personal motive,
whereas this meeting is for God and God only, for His love and purpose. It
is for love of the hearts of men and the oneness of the world of humanity.
Therefore, we should offer thanks to God, for He has confirmed us in
attaining to the happiness of this occasion. He has appointed us servants
of the human world, advocates of peace and unity among the religions,
heralds of universal agreement among the races and nations, founders of
divine reconciliation among all peoples.
It is my fond and fervent hope through the favor of God that this present
meeting may be instrumental in ushering in the day when the standard of
the oneness of the world of humanity shall be held aloft in America. May
it be the first real foundation of international peace, having for its
object universal service to man. May it be divine philanthropy without
distinctions or differentiations in humankind. May you consider all
religions the instruments of God and regard all races as channels of
divine manifestation. May you view mankind as the sheep of God and know
for a certainty that He is the real Shepherd. Consider how this kind and
tender Shepherd cares for all His flock; how He leads them in green
pastures and beside the still waters. How well He protects them! Verily,
this Shepherd makes no distinctions whatsoever; to all the sheep He is
equally kind. Therefore, we must follow the example of God and strive in
pathways of goodwill toward all humanity. May we endeavor with heart and
soul to reconcile the religions of the earth, unify the peoples and races
and blend the nations in a perfect solidarity. May we uphold the flag of
international agreement and enkindle a light which shall illumine all
regions with the radiance of oneness. May our purposes centralize in the
earnest desire of attaining the good pleasure of God, and may our supreme
energies be directed to welding together the human household. Let us not
regard our own respective capacities; nay, rather, let us regard forever
the favors and bounties of God. The drop must not estimate its own limited
capacity; it must realize the volume and sufficiency of the ocean, which
ever glorifieth the drop. The tender and simple seed, solitary though it
may be, must not look upon its own lack of power. Nay, rather, its
attention must ever be directed to the sun, in the rays of which it finds
life and quickening; and it must ever consider the downpour of the cloud
of mercy. For the bounty of the cloud, the effulgence and heat of the sun
and the breath of the vernal zephyrs can transform the tiny seed and
develop it into a mighty tree. And may you remember that a single
infinitesimal atom in the ray of the sun through a shining beam of the
solar energy becomes glorified and radiant.
Therefore, let us ever trust in God and seek confirmation and assistance
from Him. Let us have perfect and absolute confidence in the bounty of the
Kingdom. Review the events surrounding souls of bygone times in the
beginning of their day; and again consider them when, through the aid and
assistance of God, they proved to be the mighty ones of God. Remember that
Peter was a fisherman, but through the bounty of the Kingdom he became the
great apostle. Mary Magdalene was a villager of lowly type, yet that
selfsame Mary was transformed and became the means through which the
confirmation of God descended upon the disciples. Verily, she served the
Kingdom of God with such efficiency that she became well-known and oft
mentioned by the tongues of men. Even today she is shining from the
horizon of eternal majesty. Consider how infinite is the bounty of God
that a woman such as Mary Magdalene should be selected by God to become
the channel of confirmation to the disciples and a light of nearness in
His Kingdom. Consequently, trust ye in the bounty and grace of God, and
rest assured in the bestowals of His eternal outpouring. I hope that each
one of you may become a shining light even as these electric lights are
now brilliant in their intensity. Nay, may each one of you be a luminary
like unto a sparkling star in the heaven of the divine Will. This is my
supplication at the throne of God. This is my hope through the favors of
Baha'u'llah. I offer this prayer in behalf of all of you and beg with a
contrite heart that you may be assisted and glorified with an eternal
bestowal.
10 November 1912
Talk at Home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur J. Parsons
1700 Eighteenth Street, NW, Washington, D. C.