Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1885-12-25
THE SEN TIN Ell.
Friday Morning. -. December Is. 1881
PEACE AND GOOD WILL.
ROCK WILLIE, MD.


Friday Morning.. December %. 1885. |
PEACE AND GOOD WILL.
The changeful weeks and months have
come and gone with all their alternating |
shade and shine, and the great Festal Day
of Christendom has dawned again. Every.
where throughout the Christian world men
and women and children have Weakened
again to the thought and memory Of
"Those holy fields
Over whose acres walked those blessed feet,
Which eighteen hundred years ago vert
nailed
For our advantage on the bitter cross"
To-day from every Christian pulpit the
glad tidings of great joy will be republished
to listening thousands, and men will hear,
heedfully or unheedfully according to their
kind, and will go their ways with grateful
or Indifferent hearts as they have ever done
and ever will do to the end Of the chapter.
On the province of the pulpit we will not
trespass. There Is preaching enough 10 the
world, for "great Is the company of the
preachers" Our sphere Is an humble one,
and our moralizing of less didactic sort.
But we, too, have something to say about
Christmas. 1t is one Of the landmarks of
life, and we, who are "the abstract and brief
chronicle of the time," cannot pass 1t by
without commemorative word.
1t is not in human nature, perhaps, TO
contemplate anniversaries Of any sort with
out certain kind of sadness. The mile
stones that mark the road Of life are mute,
but eloquent signs of the transformers
of existence. Onward forever, ceaselessly,
pauselessly, flows the tide Of time bearing
us with it to the hidden bourn. Every
Christmas day marks another year travelled
on the inevitable journey, and there are few
to whom the advancing shades do not speak
word of warning. The true Significance
of life is long misunderstood, often missed,
never perhaps fully apprehended even by
the wisest. Sometimes 1t is "a spot Of sun.
light travelling over q dark ground, some
times IL is the black shadow OF . single
cloud, the one speck In the great ocean OF
light, one wonders which, after all, human
life is" And this life we see slipping away
from us faster as the years 60 by and the
Christmas days multiply behind us. The
thought must startle whenever ii comes.
But there is another and deeper element
of sadness even than this. As each memo
rial day arrives it is greeted by fewer eyes
that love US, and 10 none OF US Is the new
day quite the same as the old. Some there
may be to whom II Is brighter. but TO many
alb how many l-it Is dark with the dark
ness OF death. There are some to whom we
gave our Christmas greeting year ago
whom to-day we cannot reach with any
human message of peace and good will.
They have broken the bands of mortality,
they have solved the eternal mystery. they
cannot hear any longer our sobs or our
laughter.
So II must ever be with our festivals some
where and TO some of US. Life is built on
death, and side by side with Joy walks
Grief with equal loot. Only the very heed
less or the exceptionally fortunate can speak
of "the pleasures of memory" and not sigh
fundamentally at the irony of the words.
"Give us, OIL give us but yesterday" is the
cry Of many more than the prodigals who
have wasted their youth. 1t is the cry OF
desolate love, Of bereaved humanity, of the
stricken and despairing heart The shadow
on the dial will not go back, aud the lonely
feet must press onward STILL
For nearly nineteen centuries Christmas
day has been held up TO mankind as the
one special time when good will should
prevail. and peace brood over the earth. The
martyrs chanted It. The monks preached It,
The press is filled this day Of those who write
and talk OF 1t, and with reason. Religion
apart, no nobler life than that of Him Of
Nazareth, in its power, its sorrow and It's
unselfshness has been given TO mankind as
u warning and an example. A warning
that there Is oflen times most strength In
seeming weakness. and an example that IN
finite might itself can Outlines best accom-.
plish its wise purpose by submission W in.
ferior forces
There was In Him Of Nazareth no eager
ness to exercise the omnipotencefwith which
He was endowed. Man In appearance, q
perfect man, His methods were human. His
were the annoyances and vexations of ordi.
nary childhood. His were the hardshlps Of
the poor in early manhood. The divinity
that was His sharpened the keen edge of
the winters blast and quickened the pangs OF
hunger. Throughout His precious life Il
was His part TO teach what no man had
taught, and TO suffer Ms none had suffered.
Peace and good will-all the year we
have been in the possession Of what our
Declaration OF Independence somewhat pa.
thetically accords to us, "life. liberty and
pursuit Of happiness" and from this latter
enjoyment II is we'll 70 rest sometimes and
see how We have exercised It's influence
towards Others. Whatever our religious
creed, or supposing we have none al all,
still holiday celebrated in all chimes, in
every part Of the globe, Is one TO remind Us
of the great brotherhood OF humanity, and
so make us little gentler. a little more &C.
cessible TO the claims Of others Il is q
pleasant thing 10 receive good will. and to
have it one must also bestow il. Are there
no weaker companions to help. no sadder
ones to cheera Out Of our store. material
and spiritual, we must give. Is it "a grudge,
hatred, a bitter resentment that we have
been cherishing all this whiles That friend
who offended us may be wishing 40 oppor.
tunity to atone, that acquaintance whom
we dislike may owe his faults 70 inherited
proclivities or unhappy circumstances Of
which we know nothing. II we are happy,
should we not be doubly gentle 10 those
who are not
Let the flowers Of charity and courtesy,