Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1876-12-29
A CHRISTMAS SERMON
Preached ia 81. MIichaeTs Episcopal
Church, BrattlcbOrO, ON the morning
OF Christmas Day, 1870,
ny REV. t. p. TYLER, D. D.

Of the only begotten OF the Father full OF grace
and truth
With tho church, ii is always
advent, Lent, or Easter-tidc,
Or Trinity begun"
Tho eternal years of God are hers; and,
while she watches for the Bridegroom's
coming, she twinos around tho circuit Of
each as II goes by, diadem of beauty,--a
chaplet woven out of unfading memories
Of Him. And OF all her festivals this is
the fountain head, the dayspriug, tho flush
of dawn. Let us welcome It's coming once
more, as We have done from childhood as
our parents did in their time; as their pre-.
decsssors in the church have done through
the long ages of old highlands history,
making the cold heart of winter warm
with glad worship and almsgiving, and in-
nocent mirlh. We wish each other-aud
together we wish our worthy pastoral mer-
ny Christmas. We have met here for hap
py prisons and anthems of praise, and the
sacrifice OF thank sgiving at the table of the
Lord; and we shall go hence, not to work,
but TO obey the command of God to His
people of old: "Go your way; eat the fat
and drink the sweet and send portions TO
them for whom nothing Is prepared for
this day is holy unto the Lord; neither be
ye sorry; Tor tho joy Of The Lord is your
strength" And out of these three-praise,
bounty and rest-it is ours TO weave a tit
ting garment for each leslal holy-day on its
annual return.
The tendency of our race 10 observe an
niversaries is worthy OF note. The feeling
from which it springs must be as deep
seated as il is universal Days are, In
themselves, indeed, but like spaces of du-
ration equal measures OF the departure of
things from tie first moment of their crca-
ton. Such, however, they can never he TO
us. He, who formed the majestic clock.
work Of the heavens TO mark their recur-
ence year by year, has so made US that we
cannot but regard them differently, accord
ing as wo have suffered or been glad in
III en-. We speak Of happy days and OF adj
verse days, although, in strictness, these
expressions are verified only as TO what we
did or endured therein; yet we cannot do
othe rwise than thus TO place our burden ON
the back, or our crown Of joy upon the
head of the days themselves. Each family
has its anniversaries OF the bridal, tho
birth, or the funeral, marked evermore in
its calendar; aud every nation, having a
history, has its days made glorious by
deeds that were done upon them. That IL
is God W no has thus founded such oLserv-
ance deep ia our very nature, He clearly
showed when, having set lights in the iir-
man ent TO be for signs, and for seasons, rur
days and for years, He, as II were, hastenud
to give a peculiar character 20 one of Tie
days thus measured out, Messing aud hal.
lowing it, and bidding mel to remember
and keep ii holy.
Birth always marks day for some little
circle; and when one has been born and
liv cd, and passed away-the patriot, war
rior or sage, who has won his country's
love, and 1.-THE thanks of millions YET to
be-" men keep his hi lhday, summing up
in that the whole gIc: memory of his life.
II were strange indeed if the first Chris
tians, in the face OF his strong tendency
and universal practice, had not kept the an
niversary OF that night at Bethlehem. They
did so and where's oeyer throughout the
wo.!d they carried Christianity, they car
ried the 'l'seivauce of this twenty-tiflh OF
December the Nativity Of the Lord.
+ rom iauhesi East to fafthest West; from
India TO "Brilain, divided from the world :"
from that time 10 this, conseuting Christen-
dom has kept ii with the exception only
of those bodies Of Christians formed by
seceders from tho church Of our race, who
settled the usages OF what they regard az
churches, with unhappy consistency, upon
the principle OF doing nothing which that
churc Ii did, or ever had done principle
so manifestly absurd that their wiser Sue
cessors show evident signs Of reversing
their action, as in other respects, so especial
ly in this.
No question i. made OF this consent Of
Christians from the beginning. Did they
then mistake the day? or, in their earnest
desire 10 honor so great an event, though
Ignorant Of the true date, did they arbilra-
rily fix upon this day, clothing it in impe-
rial purple and exalling 1t to the vacant
throne as chief OF all human birthdays?
1t is scarcely credible. Surely the blessed
virgin mother, who laid up all things con-
corning Him so lovingly in her heart, could
not have forgotten this. But not even such
slight doubt as this rests upon the legitimacy
of Christmas. The civil service the nigh
ty Roman Empire with its well adjusted
and wide reaching machinery was set in
motion, by the Divine hand, with the very
intent 10 establish il. Observe how this
was done: at came 10 pass in those days
that there went out decree from Cesar
Augustus that all the world should he lax
cd. And this taxing was first made when
Cyrenius was governor of Syria" This
does not mean that the subjects of Rome
were then taxed for the first time. Like
the sui jects OF all governments, before and
since, they had been well u ed to il. One,
and probably The main object of the meas
ure, was TO render taxation, perhaps more
equal, certainly more general and hence
the words tar and tdrinJ convey the idea
as well, it may be, as any others. What the
decree required was the census of the
whole Empire,-of the then civilized
world; great and notable undertaking,
possible only TO a central power whose net
work of trained officials spread over all
the nations, and reached the remotest viii
lage and most secluded hamlet. A perma-
nent record was made Of the names of all
the people, arranged by nations, provinces,
cities, neighborhoods and families; and
these registers were deposited in the impe-
rial archiyes at Rome. A literal transla-
ton OF this passage would read: "a de-
cree won't out that all The world should be
registered" To facilitate this, the inhab.
itants of certain district were ordered TO
be, on the appointed day, each at his ma
tive place. Al every such locality the prop
er official was present and, under that
lnIn- rncnrdnd In Inn nnnsn. lirL. IL.