It was not the observance of the day itself that met the religious requirement for Mr. Coolidge, but recognizing the profounder essentials, the truth behind the outward practice that mattered most. On April 3, 1931, the former President wrote:

     “Tomorrow will be Easter Sunday. In every quarter of the globe it will be observed in memory of a risen Saviour. So far reaching has been this event, so wide has become the realm of Christendom, that it would be difficult to find anywhere on earth a human being whose life has not been modified in some degree by the influence of the Christian religion.

     “Outside the teachings of religion there is no answer to the problems of life. Our international and social relations cannot be solved by material forces. Armaments, wages, profits are not mere questions of quantity. They are questions of quality. Changing and fixing their amount will afford no final solution. What is needed is a change of mind, a change of attitude toward the use of these material things and toward each other. The real problems of the world are not material, but spiritual.

     “Easter teaches us the reality of the things that are unseen and the power of the spirit. A risen Saviour established a new faith in the world that showed the reason and authority of service and sacrifice.”

Even with all our technological advancement, we have not nor will we progress beyond our spiritual natures. We may be feel society’s maturity has moved us beyond the spiritual, but we are never far from its enduring needs and the duty our souls owe to a living Lord. At the root of every cultural, social and political problem there is a need for spiritual resources. It is lampooned and ridiculed today no less than critics laughed it off in Coolidge’s time. However, it is the highest vanity to run from the reality of what a living Christ has done for the world and offers to all who come to Him.