first, better
obedience to the moral principles already recognized and accepted by
society; second, an expansion of the sway of ethical duty to new fields
and wider groups of humanity; and third, a recognition of new duties and
the assimilation of new and higher ethical conceptions.

To what extent did Jesus appreciate these supreme needs?

DAILY READINGS

First Day: Living up to the Old Standards

In the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came
unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into
all the region round about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of
repentance unto remission of sins; as it is written in the book of
the words of Isaiah the prophet,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Make ye ready the way of the Lord,
Make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
And every mountain and hill shall be brought low;
And the crooked shall become straight,
And the rough ways smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

He said therefore to the multitudes that went out to be baptized
of him, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the
wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance,
and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our
father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to
raise up children unto Abraham. And even now the axe also lieth at
the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.--Luke 3:2-9.

The ABC of social renewal and moral advance is for each of us to face our
sins sincerely and get on a basis of frankness with God and ourselves.
Therefore Christianity set out with a call for personal repentance. If we
only acted up to what we know to be right, this world would be a different
place. But we fool ourselves with protective coloring devices in order to
keep our own self-respect. Take our language, for instance; it reeks with
evasive euphemisms intended to make nasty sins look prettier. We call
stealing "swiping" and cheating "cribbing." When we have been drunk we say
we were "squiffy." As soon as we face the facts, we realize that what we
call peccadilloes in ourselves are the black sins that have slain the
innocents and have hag ridden humanity through all its history. That is
the beginning of social vision. Personal