nderstanding he himself says (vi. 63),
"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words
that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." And are we
resolved in spite of all this not to understand the deep meaning of his
words, to remain blind and deaf; and do we, like the Pharisees, prefer the
story of how Jesus by magic means fed thousands with five or seven loaves
and two fishes (vi. 9), so that in the end twelve baskets of bread
remained after all were satisfied? We can readily comprehend how in the
mouths of the people the great miracles of Jesus, the real _mira_ wrought
by his life and teaching, became small _miracula_. But if we surrender
these small _miracula_, is not something far better left us, namely, that
Jesus, who so often called himself the bread and the wine, who even at the
Last Supper, as he broke bread with his disciples, commanded them to eat
the bread which was his body, and drink the wine which was his blood,--that
this teacher could by his teaching satisfy, content, and convert
thousands, who came to him and believed in him! It is true that the story
of the feeding of thousands with five loaves of bread is more intelligible
to women and children, and makes a stronger impression than the
metaphorical words of Christ; but nothing is more easy to understand than
the transformation of a tale of the conversion or spiritual satisfying of
thousands, into a parable of the feeding of thousands with five loaves.
But have not the truly devout and conscientious thinkers rights of their
own in the community? Must they really hold themselves aloof from the
church, because they have too deep a reverence for the true teaching of
Christ? Grand and beautiful as are St. Peter's in Rome, St. Mark's in
Venice, or the Cathedral at Milan, it is heartbreaking to observe the
so-called divine service in these buildings. Let us not be deceived by the
sayings, that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the children, or that a
childlike faith is best. That is quite true, but it has absolutely nothing
to do with our question. Of course in every generation millions of
children are born, and milk must be provided for these as well; but this
milk is not for men, and these should not permit themselves to be
frightened by mere words, such as shallow enlightenment, rationalism,
unbelief, etc. The worst of it is that we have permitted our _ministri_ to
become our masters instead of our servants, and that th