The Feast of St. Friend | Page 5

home to us the truth that in spite of all the
differences which we have invented, mankind is a fellowship of
brothers, overshadowed by insoluble and fearful mysteries, and
dependent upon mutual goodwill and trust for the happiness it may
hope to achieve. * * * Let us remember that Christmas is, among other
things, the winter solstice, and that the bottom has not yet been
knocked out of the winter solstice, nor is likely to be in the immediate
future!
* * * * *
It is a curious fact that the one faith which really does flourish and wax
in these days should be faith in the idea of social justice. For social
justice simply means the putting into practice of goodwill and the
recognition of the brotherhood of mankind. Formerly, people were

enthusiastic and altruistic for a theological idea, for a national idea, for
a political idea. You could see men on the rack for the sake of a dogma;
you could see men of a great nation fitting out regiments and ruining
themselves and going forth to save a small nation from destruction.
You could see men giving their lives to the aggrandisement of an
empire. And the men who did these things had the best brains and the
quickest wits and the warmest hearts of their time. But today, whenever
you meet a first-class man who is both enthusiastic and altruistic, you
may be sure that his pet scheme is neither theological, military nor
political; you may be sure that he has got into his head the notion that
some class of persons somewhere are not being treated fairly, are not
being treated with fraternal goodwill, and that he is determined to put
the matter right, or perish.
* * * * *
In England, nearly all the most interesting people are social reformers:
and the only circles of society in which you are not bored, in which
there is real conversation, are the circles of social reform. These people
alone have an abounding and convincing faith. Their faith has, for
example, convinced many of the best literary artists of the day, with the
result that a large proportion of the best modern imaginative literature
has been inspired by the dream of social justice. Take away that idea
from the works of H.G. Wells, John Galsworthy and George Bernard
Shaw, and there would be exactly nothing left. Despite any appearance
to the contrary, therefore, the idea of universal goodwill is really alive
upon the continents of this planet: more so, indeed, than any other
idea--for the vitality of an idea depends far less on the numbers of
people who hold it than on the quality of the heart and brain of the
people who hold it. Whether the growth of the idea is due to the
spiritual awe and humility which are the consequence of increased
scientific knowledge, I cannot say, and I do not seriously care.

FOUR
THE APPOSITENESS OF CHRISTMAS

"Yes," you say, "I am quite at one with you as to the immense
importance of goodwill in social existence, and I have the same faith in
it as you have. But why a festival? Why eating and drinking and
ceremonies? Surely one can have faith without festivals?"
* * * * *
The answer is that one cannot; or at least that in practice, one never
does. A disinclination for festivals, a morbid self-conscious fear of
letting oneself go, is a sure sign of lack of faith. If you have not enough
enthusiasm for the cult of goodwill to make you positively desire to
celebrate the cult, then your faith is insufficient and needs fostering by
study and meditation. Why, if you decide to found a sailing-club up
your creek, your very first thought is to signalise your faith in the
sailing of those particular waters by a dinner and a jollity, and you take
care that the event shall be an annual one! * * * You have faith in your
wife, and in your affection for her. Surely you don't need a festival to
remind you of that faith, you so superior to human weaknesses? But
you do! You insist on having it. And, if the festival did not happen, you
would feel gloomy and discouraged. A birthday is a device for recalling
to you in a formal and impressive manner that a certain person still
lives and is in need of goodwill. It is a device which experience has
proved to be both valuable and necessary.
* * * * *
Real faith effervesces; it shoots forth in every direction; it
communicates itself. And the inevitable result is a festival. The festival
is anticipated with pleasure, and it is remembered with pleasure. And
thus it reacts stimulatingly on that which