Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1892-12-31
HOLY DAY.
Christmas Sermon BY Rev. 7. De
Witt TalEsge.
The IIlustrious Birthday-Annuai Deca-
denco Cannot Be StOpped-The Now
Year and What 1t May Bring
to the World.


~In respect of holy-day." DR.. Tai
mage said:
What the Bible here anG elsewhere
calls holy-day, we, by change of one
letter and change of pronunciation, call
holiday. But by change of spelling
and accentation we cannot change the
fact that holidays have great signifi-
canoe. AS long as the world stands
Christmas Day and New Years Day and
Easter Day will be charged and sur
charged with solemn suggestive
ness and holy mirth. Whether
You take the old style of my
text and call them holy-days or
the modern style and call them holt
days. they somehow set all my nerves
a-tingle and my deeper emotions into
profoundest agitation. am glad that
this season we have the holidays COM
pletely bounded. For years Christmas
Day, starting in the midst OF one week
and New Years Day starting in the
midst of another week, we have been
perplexed to know when the holidays
began and when they ended, and per-
haps we may have begun them too soon
or continued them too long. But this
year they are bounded by two branches
of gold, Sabbath, December %, 1892,
and Sabbath, January l, 1S93 The one
Sabbath this year commentaries the
birth of the greatest being that
ever walked the earth; the other
celebrates the birth of that which
is to be one of the greatest
years of all time.
propose that we divide this holiday
season, the two Sabbaths of the holiday
and the six days between, into three
chapters. The first part chapter of
illustrious birthday; the second part n
chapter of annual dccadence; the third
part a chapter of chronological intro
.duction.
First, then, chapter Of illustrious
birthday. Not day of any year but
has been marked by the nativity of
some good or great soul. Among dis
-covercrs the birthday of Humboldt was
September II. and of David Livingston
birthday of Isaac Newton was Decem-
her 25. and of Herschel November H.
Among orators the birthday of Cicero
was January 3, and of Chrysostom
January Il. Among prison reformers
the birthday of John Howard was Sep
TENDER ., and of Elizabeth Fry May l.
Among painters the birthday of Raphael
was March 2s, and OF Michael Angelo
March 6. Among statesmen the birth
day of Washington was February
30, of Hamilton May s, and OF
Jefferson April 9. Among con-
sccratcd souls the birthday of Mrs. He
mans was September %, OF Lucretia
Mott January and of Isabella Graham
July 90. But what are all those birth
days compared with December 25, for
on or about that day was born one who
-eclipsed all the great names of all the
centuries Jesus Of Bethlehem, Jesus
OF Nazareth, Jesus of Golgotha, Jesus
of Olivet, Jesus of the heavenly throne?
The greatest pictures have been made
about scenes in His lifetime. The great
est sacrifices on field of battle, or in
hospital, or on long march, or in mar
tyrdom have been inspired by His self
abnegatiOu. The finest words of elo-
quence ever spoken have been ut
tered in the proclamation of His
gospel. The grandest oratorios that
have, ever rolled from orchestras
were descriptive of His life and
death. There have been other orators,
but hone like Him who ''spake as never
man spalle" There have been other
reformers, but none like Him who will |
newer have completed his mission until |
tn e last prison is ventilated and the last
Blind eye opened, and the last deaf ear |
and the last lame foot bounds |
like roe, and the last case of dementia |
shall come to its right mind There |
have been other discoveries, but none |
like Him, able to find how man may be |
Just with God. There have been other |
deliverers, but none like Him, the |
rescuer of nations, There have been
other painters, but none like Him, who
nut the image of God on a lost soul. No
wonder we celebrate His birthday
Elaborate and prolonged efforts have
been made to show that the star that
pointed to the manager in which Christ
was born was not what it appeared to
be, but q conjunction of Jupiter and
saturn. Our wise men of the west say
that the wise men of the east were mis-
taken. Astronomers, you know, can
calculate backward as we'll as forward,
and as they can tell what will occur
hundred years from now among the
heavenly bodies 30 they can calculate
backward and tell what occurred 1900
or 1900 years ago. And it is true that
seven years before Christ in Chaldea,
about three hours before day dawn, there
wasa conjunction Of Jupiter aud Saturn.
in Jerusalem and looking over
toward Bethlehem, those two stars
would have seemed to hang over that
village. and It Is suggested by learned