Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-22
Rev. George Hodges Emphasizes the
Pressing Need of the
CHRISTMAS SPIRIT In FAMILIES.
Mistakes Of Parents in Their Treatment
of Children.
WHY SOME MARRIAGES ARE FAILURES
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uark streets, following their wonderful
guest, they found light at last in the stable
OF the village inn, and there saw Mary and
Joseph, and the babe lying in manger.
The painters have made two kinds of
Christmas pictures out of this scene. Some
have idealized it into an impossible stateli-
ness and beauty. The stalls of the stable
are carved like the stalls Of cathedral; the
manger is adorned with splendid ornamen-
tation; around the head Of the Christ child
is glowing nimbus which lights up the
faces of the approaching shepherds; Joseph
and Mary. with folded hands. are kneeling
in alteration. But that is not what the
shepherds saw.
They are nearest to the truth who have
made the picture very simple. very plain
and very homely-a stable with the poor
peasant people and their little baby. Isup-
pose that the homeliness and simplicity of
the scene can hardly be exaggerated. In
looked the shepherds through the stable
door, and saw, real, human family-a
father, mother and little child.
OF all pictures of the holy family, the one
l like best is ''Flight Into Egypt" by
Van. Dyck. There are more beautiful pic
lures. There are pictures with adoring
4
about up in the sky in the background.
But the charm of this picture is that it is so
! perfectly human and natural and real.
The mother is resting by the roadside, the
baby lies upon her breast asleep, and behind
comes up the father, very gently so as not to
wake the baby-a loving father, a tender
mother, and little newborn baby. It is
the symbolic picture of the family.
HOLY FAMILY.
It is worth thinking about that at the
center Of the associations which hallow this
Christmas season; at the center, that is, of
the holiest associations of our religion, is
such scene as this: Mary and Joseph, and
the babe lying in manger-a holy family.
The future of both state and church waits
upon the future of the family. The state is
but an association of families, and the
church, too, is but an association Of families.
The future of this country, political and re-
llgious, rests upon the character of the men
and women of the future. And these men
and women are to-day the boys and girls,
and their character is daily being deter
mined by the influence of the family.
The discussion as to the failure of mar
riage is ominous. for the failure of marriage |
would mean a breakdown of the strongest |
influences which 60 to make good Chris |
tians and good citizens I am afraid that |
1t cannot be denied that there are elements |
in our modern life which conspire to weaken |
the influence of the family. Take only the |
notable instance of the modern loss of |
leisure. There is nothing to-day SO old |
fashioned as leisure. Leisure seems to be |
fast vanishing out Of our contemporary life. |
If Raphael were to-day to paint the |
Hours" they would be no dreamy, dane |
ing, graceful women, but eager runners IN |
q race, straining every nerve in a swift rush |
for an unseen goal. We are all in hurry. |
The men are in business hurry; the women |
are in social and domestic hurry. And |
hurry, destroying leisure, threatens greatly |
the quiet, gentle, strengthening influence of
the family. a.
We cannot change the character OF the |
age. Perhaps we would not desire very |
greatly to change it, even to slacken its
speed. But we do well to recognize the
danger which the spirit Of the times opposes
to the welfare of the family. It is a good |
thing for US to be brought up, once year,
before this beautiful ideal of holy family. |
HOUSEHOLD HOLINESS.
We want this whole land to be full of holy
families. And desire, accordingly, taking
advantage of the associations which gather
about this Christmas week, to consider with
you certain qualities which go to make up
household holiness. select to-day one
among many. A holy family will be marked
by its Christian courtesy. I use the adject-
i've christian" as suggesting a quality
which it is difficult to express in words. It is
equivalent to succession of superlatives. It
means the first, the best, and something more
added. 1t is the ideal. can think of
nothing finer to say of man than that he is
a Christian. Whatever is Christian is done
go L..
meet.
A holy family will be the abode of Chris
tian courtesy.
There is little use telling people to love
each other. Love pays small heed to ser
mons. Love cannot be made to order, can
not be commanded into being. Love grows.
But it may be not impertinent and not un-
useful to suggest certain conditions under
which love will grow best. And the special
condition which I select now for emphasis
is the presence of the spirit of courtesy
Courtesy is the ritual of love. Love
needs an outward manifestation and SYM
bolizing just as much as religion does. The
religious spirit is nourished and strength
ened by the beauty and stateliness of the
sanctuary, and by the solemnity and rever-
ence of the service. Even prayer, the high
est expression of the religious spirit, is
helped by the homely act of kneeling down.
The body aids the mind. The outward and
visible minister to the inward and invisible.
The holy family, accordingly, is one in
which Christian courtesy voices and inter-
prets love. do not wonder that some mar
riages are failures when observe the condi-
tions under which the welded life goes on.
A tree would prove failure, even the tough
est oak, If it were planted among the rocks,
on the side of hill where the winds blew
and then were hacked into, few
inches every day, with sharp hatchet
THE UTTERANcEs OF LOVE.
> Courtesy is love speaking. Even love,
through long silence, will grow dumb. Love
needs expression. Courtesy is the natural
language Of affection. By courtesy mean
what st. Paul means in the last chapters of
most of his epistles, and what our Lord =
means in His exbortations to neighborly and
brotherly love. 1 mean unselfshness, will
ingness to make sacrifices, forbearanee, gen.
tleness, thoughtfulness, consideration tor the +
feelings of Others. The Bible is full OF bid ]
dings to such gracious behavior. Courtesy, I
I would say, is an essential part OF the / I
blessed Gospel. For courtesy is the spirit of I
the Gospel carried into daily lie and made c
manifest there. 4
Lackof courtesy is perhaps most visible S
in the modern home in the attitude of pa \
rents toward their children. 1t is, of course, A
apparent in the conduct of the E
fathers and mothers toward each other. E
Here too often familiarity is suffered to push f
It's impertinent way in and to drive courtesy G
,ut But in this blessed season, when our c
thoughts are centered about the little child, c
take occasion to remark especially upon B
he frequent absence OF courtesy in the rela- B
ion of parents toward their children. P
A good many fathers and mothers-we B
nay as we'll say the truth about it frankly T
ind distinctly-a good many fathers and S
mothers do not appear to think it necessary T
or them to be polite to their children. The T