It is inconvenient always to be out of step with one’s fellow-citizens. And you will not find in Jesus much helpful inspiration as regards conduct at which Nicodemus would have been adept; after all Jesus gave him short shrift! But from time to time, there is the opportunity to do something different, if only in the spirit in which things are done; and such opportunities should be seized with both hands. Nor is it much good on these occasions seeking inspiration from the Jesus of the Gospels, because he was hoping to re-establish the theocracy of ancient Israel, and nobody is going to succeed in doing that in the 21st century. Jesus was unique inasmuch as he was the culmination of Man’s evolution, the first-fruits of them that slept as St. Paul called it in his antique Jewish idiom, and in the perfection of his conduct in displaying such grace and truth. He is a model for us all; and the best way we can imitate him is by giving as complete an expression of the spirit within ourselves, the spirit that lurks in the depths of the psyche, as we can; provided we recognise that the spirit which the Creator has vouchsafed to us may be very different from the spirit begotten in Jesus. We do not imitate Jesus by forgetting to have a haircut, cultivating a pasty face and melancholy expression, and making sure that our conduct lacks all vivacity and is full of “holy acts”.
Furthermore in attempting to seize opportunities, it is essential only to attempt what we believe we can achieve. It is no good following the plans of distinguished bygone heroes. It has to be our own plan; and that means our view of the cosmos may help to form our vision of what is desirable, and what is possible for us. My contribution to advocacy was to master the technique of persuading men, whom I believed to be dishonest, to tell stupid obvious lies in the witness-box, of their own freewill. That was useful to me, because I was an advocate; but it would not be much use in an architect’s office. But the shape of buildings undoubtedly affects the spiritual life of a nation, so what inspires architects is important too.
Nor is it any good simply giving expression to the spirit within ourselves, without reference to the situation in which one finds oneself. All conduct has to take account of where we are, and the situation we are in. Giving expression to the spirit within us has to be practised within a discipline imposed by circumstance. Again Jesus’ life helps us little as to detailed behaviour; his Kingdom was not of this world. No-one nowadays is capable of going round healing the sick, as he did, even assuming that the stories about him are reasonably accurate. And one cannot ignore the fact that the experience of modern life strongly suggests that they are not accurate. Occasionally there is the opportunity to do something unique. For instance, if one saw the possibility of treating an “affair” as a symbolic reconciliation of England and Germany, would there be any excuse for pursuing personal happiness instead?