JOHN 8, 36: If, therefore, the Son shall make you free, ye
shall be free indeed.
ACTS 22, 28: But I was free born.
WHEN Paul had been imprisoned at Jerusalem the chief captain ordered
that he is to be scourged in an effort to make him tell the truth. Paul
then asks: "Is it lawful to scourge a man that is a Roman?" The chief
captain asks whether he is a Roman, and Paul says that he is. The chief
captain goes on to say: "With a great sum obtained I this freedom," but
Paul answers: "I was free born." It is a question of the right of free
men in ancient Rome.
Under the ancient Porcian law which was later restored by the
Sempronic, no Roman citizen might be scourged, and anyone who violated
the Roman civil laws, was liable to a punishment which involved the
loss of property and life. Of this, we realize how deeply treasured
civil liberty and rights were in ancient Rome. The right of free men
might not be assailed.
It is about this right that the chief captain says: "With a great sum
obtained I this freedom!" But Paul answers frankly and proudly: "I was
free born!" _It is an heritage from my fathers._
Thus the young generation in America may say: _We were born into
civil liberty_. It is an heritage from the fathers. We have obtained
it at no expense of our own. But the fathers of '76 bought it with
their blood. When they fought under the command of George Washington,
they endangered their very lives in order to win this liberty. Many
sacrificed their lives. Indeed, it was dearly bought! When the
Declaration of Independence was signed, Franklin exclaimed: "Now we all
will have to hang together, otherwise we will hang separately."
But in 1860 the Star Spangled Banner waved above the heads of more
slaves than there were inhabitants in the country at the time of the
signing of the Declaration of Independence. So, for the second time
America was plunged into a struggle for liberty for the purpose of
making the Star Spangled Banner the true flag of the free. The spirit
of '76 could not acquiesce in slavery. And through Abraham Lincoln
it entered into a covenant with _the great, all-embracing and deeply
sympathetic heart_--a heart so great that it could enfold the North and
the South--so sympathetic that it was able to embrace white and colored
people alike, friend as well as foe. This was the great heart that led
America through the days of the Civil War--fortunately for this country.
It was this heart that beat in the breast of Lincoln when he as a
22-year old man down in New Orleans saw how human beings were sold in
the same way as we nowadays sell cattle. Man and wife were sold to
separate buyers and parted never to meet again--parted while they wept
as though the heart should burst. Then young Lincoln raised his hand
toward heaven vowing: "By the eternal God, if ever I get a chance to
hit that thing, I will strike it and strike it hard." This was the
Lincoln who led in the Civil War. The man with the great heart was
equipped as no one else to win the victory, to _maintain the union of
North and South and to gain freedom for the Negroes_. It was he who
said, when victory was an accomplished fact, that he would continue the
fight for the rights of man without hesitation, "with malice toward
none, with charity to all."
But since the days of the Civil War America has gained a wealth which
no other country has ever possessed. You young people are born to claim
that, too.
_Our youth was born to wealth and to inherit the forefathers of '76 as
well as Lincoln, the man with the great heart._
It is, indeed, great to be born to all these things. But it is not
easy. It requires a strong and alert youth to make the right use of
such treasures.
Added to this it must be remembered that America after the Civil War
was reckoned with as one of the Great Powers. When problems of world
significance were to be settled, the question was asked: What does
America say about it?
Came then the great world war. America stayed out as long as possible.
The world began to reckon less with us than before. Germany even
thought she could sneer at us with impunity.
How was that? Was it a matter of distance only? No, in Germany the
belief prevailed _that the spirit of '76, and the heart of Lincoln's
day had died within the bosom of young America_. At all events, it
was not inclusive enough to span the great ocean and to sympathize
with those who were suppressed and suffering yonder. It was with young
America as with the wild animals caught and put into a cage: They
are led into a life of ease and indolence; they lose their strength,
their elasticity and their power of propagation. In brief: _Ease and
indolence kill them!_
Similarly, it was thought _prosperity_ had killed the spirit of '76 and
the all-embracing heart of Lincoln in the youth of America, and under
those circumstances there could be no danger that American youth would
enter the great world war where prosperity and all kinds of comfort and
ease were to be sacrificed and life itself be risked.
Miss Grace C. Bostwick writes in _The Pagan_:
_O America!_
They said you were young and crude and extravagant,
And that your women were too free and open;
That your children had no respect for age;
And that you gave no thought to the past.
They said you had no artistic sense
And accused you of setting up an altar
To the almighty Dollar----
O America!
And they smiled when your name was mentioned.
But yesterday
There marched an army down the street,
An army of brave-eyed men with boyish mouths,
Straight-backed and proud in their new-found mission--
The saving of the world!
And yesterday ... somewhere ... at sea
A white face floated
With empty eyes upturned to an unseeing sky.
And yesterday ... in a barren field ... a mere boy fell
from his perilous work on high--
While great ships heavy with sustenance
Plow stolidly through the deep ...
O America!
You are the Hope of the World today.
Germany had made a miscalculation; the spirit of '76 was not dead in
young America, neither was the great heart of Lincoln. Prosperity had
not been able to kill them. When the suppressed really needed America,
our youth heeded the summons. With firm footsteps, with eyes afire,
they went away into the great fight. I do not know whether they vowed
as did the young Lincoln, but I do know that when they arrived at the
battlefield, they struck, and struck hard--so hard, indeed, that the
tyrant succumbed. And well may we say about that right of free men
which was won by American participation: _It was dearly bought by
you--who never came back_.
It is said that the French government in July, 1918, had decided to
order the evacuation of Paris, but when General Pershing heard this,
he telegraphed a request to postpone the carrying out of the order
until his soldiers had entered into active fighting. Then came the
turning point. Our soldiers brought it about, and victory was won.
But a new element has entered into the history of the war--into the
relations among nations. It is the word of Jesus: "Therefore all
things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to
them." Never before has this maxim been accepted as the _Golden Rule_
governing international relations. President Wilson has repeated it
time and again, and it characterized our participation in the war, even
to the extent that our country has paid for the damages made to French
soil when our soldiers dug their trenches. And this was but right.
America did not enter the war with the intention of conquering or
destroying one hair-breadth of ground. So we are justified in saying to
Germany: You must pay for what you have destroyed, to the best of your
ability.
"Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to
them!" By this we have arrived at something new. Our participation in
the war constituted a great sacrifice of lives and money without any
expectation of indemnity of any kind. But in this we find something of
the redemption from the _thraldom of greediness_--something of that
freedom to which Jesus will guide mankind. But that freedom is won
only by the aid of the spirit of the Lord. And it seems to me that the
spirit of '76 and the heart of Lincoln have entered into a covenant
with, and have shown a willingness to be guided by, the spirit of the
Lord.
_Where the youth of America marches forward to fight in accordance with
the spirit of '76 and with the great heart of Lincoln, guided by the
spirit of the Lord, it is an unconquerable army and will always carry
home the victory._
With Lincoln we can say: Victory is won, but the fight is to be
continued without hesitation, with malice toward none, with charity to
all.
I believe that America is destined to lead the nations of the world in
the future, but if this is to succeed rightly, then our youth must make
it clear to itself that it faces the choice between _the altar of the
living God and the altar of the almighty Dollar._ _For which of these
will you young people spend your strength? At which of these altars
will you pray and praise?_ The eyes of everyone look toward America as
never before: "O, America! You are the Hope of the World today!" Is
this truth to remain? It depends on you, young men and women--depends
on your choice of altars.
Once upon a time there was a man who was permitted to wish whatever
he wanted, and his wish would be granted. But he was to wish only
once. Finally he made up his mind to wish that everything he touched
would turn to gold. First he touched the door post. It turned to gold.
He rubbed his hands delightedly: What a nice big piece of gold! It
certainly was fine that his wish was as sensible as this! Then he
started to wash himself, but the water turned to gold. That wasn't
quite as delightful, but he let that pass. After that he sat down to
eat, but the food turned to gold. He then realized that the fulfillment
of his highest wish would lead him into certain death.
Likewise there are people in America who wish that everything they
touch turn to gold. The result of everything they do is to be converted
into gold: We name them profiteers. They kneel before the shrine of
the almighty Dollar. But this means certain death to the spirit of '76
and to the deeply sympathetic heart of Lincoln, and the spirit of the
Lord expires through this worship of gold. They think of themselves
only. They are enslaved by the fetters of greediness. They refuse to
do to others what they wish others should do to them. Are they to get
the upper hand? It is for you, young people, to answer! The future of
America lies in your hands. What is your choice?
Professor Georg Fr. Nicolai of the University of Berlin during the war
gave expression to thoughts of such a nature that he was forced to flee
from Germany to Denmark. It was there that he in October, 1918, wrote
as follows:
"There are times in the history of mankind when we dare not put new
wine into old bottles (Mar. 2, 22). We require new wine, new bottles,
new thoughts and new men. In order to give the peoples of the earth
faith, an inner awakening is required. The Bible speaks of it as
repentance.... Less pathetically we moderns refer to it as the new
adjustment. But no matter what name we bestow upon it, it stands to
reason that without an awakening no new life can be produced.... The
process of dissolution is so far advanced that today the Biblical word
has become true: Only he who giveth his life, shall keep it.... A new
spirit must be inculcated in the peoples."
_A new spirit must be inculcated in the peoples!_ That is the decisive
factor for the happiness and the health of the nations in the future.
Political spirit of liberty is not enough. Inspired by that you may
fight and conquer and--set your foot upon the neck of the foe. No,
a new spirit is needed. It is that spirit which, redeeming, speaks
through the words of the Lord: "Whatsoever ye would that men should
do to you, do ye even so to them!" That's the task that confronts you
young people. It may not possess the tension and the excitement of
the battlefield--it may not, perhaps, let you directly feel that you
are taking part in the solution of the great problems of the world's
history--it is, nevertheless, THE very greatest task of the world. Here
we must be impelled by the spirit of God.
It is related about Samson how "the spirit of the Lord came mightily
upon him." But while the beginning was good, the end was sad, for at
last he was driven only by lust. Therefore he was of little blessing.
He ended by representing mere brute force and no more.
I have seen the glow of the spirit in the eyes of the young when they
went to war. In the beginning they were moved by the spirit of the
Lord. Now the task is to continue in that spirit and thus continuously
to remain "the Hope of the World"--not to end in materialism and as
representing no more than brute force.
America is wealthy enough, strong enough, to attain a leading position
in the ranks of the nations--to enjoy an age of greatness as did
Germany. But in that case the collapse is sure. It is but a short
distance ahead. We will have to face it--as Germany now has faced
defeat.
Germany had been saturated with Darwinism. Looked at from one point of
view, it is an emphasis placed upon brute force and upon the survival
of the fittest. Added to this came the materialism which laid stress
upon the values of what was materialistic and mechanical at the cost
of the soul. The nation grew great and strong. But man became petty
and insignificant. No nation has ever possessed such a wonderful and
perfect mechanical development as that which Germany had reached when
the war broke out. On the strength of that, the dominion of the world
was to be won. But here, too, the words of the Lord apply: "For what
is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul?" (Mat. 16, 26). What profited it Germany that she possessed
her soul-less mechanical attainments, even though they were ever so
wonderful and marvelous? What would it have profited Germany to have
gained the whole world when she would lose her soul thereby? No, then
the great defeat certainly was to be preferred. Through that Germany
may recover her lost soul. If ever any new adjustment was needed, it is
there. A new spirit must be inculcated in the people.
But what would it profit America if she won the rank of a leader among
nations through her strength and wealth? Nothing at all. The great
collapse would be only a short distance ahead. Before or later we
would succumb to it.
Still I believe that America possesses the qualifications for
leadership as no other nation in history does--the leadership of that
new adjustment which the world must needs experience if life shall ever
again become sufferable upon this old earth of ours.
Why is it that America has superior qualifications? Has not England
the very same qualifications? Are not the English the great commercial
nation which embraces the earth with its countless ships? Or
France--that liberty-loving nation with its technically wonderfully
developed language? Now when everything settles down again, will not
these nations be able to assume the leading position in the history of
the world just as well as America?
No.--And I will attempt to explain why they cannot.
America has been created through a mingling of all the peoples of
the world, as it were. It is true that some claim all the rogues
and scoundrels of the Old World came over here--and some of them
undoubtedly did. But it is not they who have built up America and made
her great and strong. Nor is it those people of whom it requires twelve
to make a dozen--for that species generally dies where it was born.
No, they who built America were men and women who possessed the great
_daring_ and that _strength of the will_ which were necessary in order
to carry them across great stretches of water and land, to make them
fell the vast forests and break the prairie soil, and to build their
homes in the woods and upon the prairies. These are the people who
built America--who made the country great and strong and wealthy.
Many have feared that the daring and the strength of will of the
fathers had died. The younger generation had too markedly become a
_candy, kid-glove, silkstockinged youth_. But yonder on the great
battlefield it found an opportunity to show that it still possessed the
daring and the strength of will of the fathers. Once General Pershing
had to retire his troops one mile. It was reported to headquarters, and
the reply came back: "Push your men a little farther back and let them
rest!" But by that time General Pershing already was preparing to storm
forward again. And so unexpectedly swift and vigorous was the attack
that not only was the lost mile regained, but one in addition. It was
the daring of the American soldiers that won in this instance. And,
speaking generally, it must have been the _daring_ and the _strength
of will_ of the American soldier that conquered the _mechanism_ of the
German army.
The daring and the strength of will of the fathers still live on in
the young generation: It is a contribution from all the peoples of the
earth which no other individual nation can boast--and it is one of
these very qualifications which make it possible for America to lead
upon the great stage of history.
But, in this respect it is of still greater importance that America
by receiving this contribution from all the peoples of the earth has
developed a _deep-seated and sincere feeling of community_ with all
nations. Through the Irishmen here, America is in close contact with
Ireland, through the Poles with Poland, through the Bohemians with
Bohemia, through the Danes with Denmark, and so on. This adds to the
qualifications which fit America for assuming the part of the leader
in the progress of the world, and is in itself a qualification which
no other country at any time has ever had, and which no other country
most likely will ever have at any time in the future. There is no
nation in the world which has such a _vivid and natural consciousness
of community_ with as many peoples as has America. And this is of
unprecedented importance. For that nation which is to lead the world
during the period of _readjustment_ which the world so sorely needs,
must do so, not through power and wealth, but through a deep-seated
sympathy and a readiness and ability, born of that sympathy, to lead
the many nations forward to something better--to a higher and nobler
national life so that they will strive to live according to the words
of the Lord: "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even
so to them."
But America loses this unique qualification for leadership among the
nations, on the day when the multitudinous languages spoken here die.
Therefore, the great question is whether or not progress in this
respect is to lead into that narrowmindedness which kills the many
tongues. Or, will the development favor a retention of the native
languages of the various nationalities here together with English?
_English is the great common language of America--the principal
language which must be learned by the immigrants._ This is so obviously
a matter of fact that it really should be unnecessary to allude to it.
But, in addition, every nationality should be allowed to retain its
native language in order to ensure for America the preservation of that
deep-seated natural sympathy with the many peoples created by God--"of
one blood all nations of men." The American nation is related to all
other nations. It therefore has the qualification for _understanding
them_ and _for encouraging the feeling of brotherhood_ among them which
no other nation ever has had, and which any other individual nation
most likely never will have.
The history of the world is like one great and magnificent epic. Each
nation constitutes a song in the poem. England has its own song--France
has its own, and so forth. America has its own great hymn, but, in
addition a large number of little songs, each has its own particular
rhythm derived from the manifold living languages spoken here, and they
add _richness_ and _volume_ to the mighty chorus.
Let me use another simile: We all know the Mississippi River. It runs
from a point 'way up in the remote northwest, winds its way east and
south until finally it releases its immense masses of water into the
great sea. How does the river get these immense masses of water? The
answer is that on its way it absorbs one little rivulet after another.
Humming and rippling from cheerful little wells here and there they
come, and every little rivulet, no matter how pitifully small and
insignificant it may look, helps the Mississippi to become the great
river which carries its tremendous volume of water to the sea.
Likewise, the American language is the great river which receives its
cheerful additions from the many smaller living languages. Each springs
from its own particular source, singing its own particular tune, and
each language makes its own little contribution in order to make the
American language powerful and great and to give it that wonderful
volume which enables it to run into the great sea of the life of
nations carrying with it a blessing of wealth like no other language.
And the many individual peoples will, when they hear the English
language spoken from America, feel that it comprises such a strange
richness and volume as they are unable to find elsewhere. Indeed, it is
almost as though they would hear the American people address them in
their own respective language--that "wherein they were born" (Acts 2,
9).
_Ah, you young generation!_ Behold this--and understand it! You are
born not merely into the wealth of your land and to take up the
heritage of your fathers. But you are destined for _a glorious future_,
for a future achievement so great and magnificent that no young
generation in any other country has ever seen the like.
_You, young man, and you, young woman--you have been chosen to draw the
strength and vitality of life from a multitude of small wells within
your own field and to derive such sustenance from them that you can
form your lives beautifully and harmoniously. And you have been chosen,
in the spirit of brotherhood, to lead such a current of pure thoughts
and elevated ideals to all the peoples of the earth in such a manner as
to cause them to wonderingly ask: How is all this? We hear them speak
the American tongue, and yet it is as though we hear them speak to us
in our own language--in that "wherein we were born."_ It sounds just
as home-like and peculiarly attractive as our own--because it has been
enriched by many tongues. And the vital richness and fulness which it
carries to them has gained from the fact that we here have had such a
multitude of wells to draw from.
Therefore we, who are older, bend our knees and pray as did David (Ps.
144, 12): "That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth: that
our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of
a palace!"
What we want--is this: Strong erect young men, sons of America, who
perceive, with the clearness of the spirit, the problems of the future
and who, with the red blood of youth coursing in their veins and the
glow of enthusiasm lingering in their eyes, will take up the task of
solving them.
And, moreover: Pure and noble women: David had been looking at the
corner stones that were to support that temple which was to be the
tangible expression of Israel's ideal life, that of community with holy
and just God: How beautiful they would be when they were polished--and
how strong! Indeed, they were able to support that wonderful temple
which was to be built to the glory of God. And then he has been
thinking: O, Lord, give us women like these corner stones! Pure, noble,
and strong women who can be the very foundation of the home-life of
our country--and carry it into the community with God!
Paul the apostle writes in his epistle to the Philippians, 2, 5-11:
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made
Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man,
He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
Jesus Christ won the name which is above every name because He served
mankind as no one else had done, and gave His life for its sake.
Thereby He became the Saviour of men--their great leader who can guide
them into eternal life and blessedness. Thereby He also became _the
Lord_ to the glory of God the Father.
During the war America gave herself to the service of mankind as
did no other nation. Therefore the suppressed looked to America
quietly imploring for aid, and therefore it might be said truthfully,
especially in 1918: "O, America, you are the Hope of the World today!"
Now the question remains: Will America continue to be the great,
unselfish servant among the nations, above all others, leading them
into the riddance of the thraldom of greediness, guided by the spirit
of the Lord? Then--if she does--she will win a name above the names
of all other nations, because she will be the great servant who shows
the way to the highest ideals--to the pure, charitable and peaceful
thoughts among nations in that national and human brotherhood for which
God created them: Of one blood all nations of men.
This I wish with all my heart. But it devolves upon you, young people,
to answer. It devolves upon you to determine whether this will continue
to be true:
"_America! You are the Hope of the World today!_"
_God bless you, America!--God bless you with all your homes and with
all your youth!_
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes: