The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-12-29

fight. Depraved habits of those in au-
thority are apt TO be copied by SUBJ
jects, and from the immorals of the
Herodic throne I judge of the immorais
lof a nation. There was a malaria of
| sin in the air when the infant Christ
first breathed it. Thickest shawl could
not keep the babe warm when in that
wintry month, with his mother, he be-
came a fugitive.
Historians say that il was at a time
of peace that Christ was born, but his
birth aroused an a~ntagoniSm Of which
the Bethlehem massacre was only a
feeble expression. War Of the mightest
nation of earth opened against that
CRADLE The influence that came forth
that night from that surrounding Of
camels and sheep and oxen challenged
the %iniquties of all the centuries and
will not cease until it has destroyed
them. What a pronunciamento went
forth from that black and barbarian
throne, practically saying, "Slay all the
babes under 2 years of age, n that
wide slaughter will surely include the
death of the one child that most threat
ems my dominion." Awful time was it
for the occupant of that cradle, If he
escapes the knife of the assassin, then
the wild beasts paw, or the bandits
clutch, or the midnight chill between
Bethlehem Of Judaea and Cairo, will
secure MS u"eSLTucIlOU All the pOWeIS
of earth and all the demons of hell
bombarded that cradle.
OBSCURITY OF BETHLEHEM.
Another shadow upon that Christie
cradle was the obscurity of the place
of birth. Bethlehem was an obscure
village. David, the sheperd boy, had
been born there, but after he became
general and king he gave it no signii-
- hTxA
to ask for a drink of water out of the
old we'll to which he used to go in child
hood-the village so small and unim-
portant that it had to be separated in
mind from another Bethlehem then ex-
listing and so was called Bethlehem of
Judaea. There was a great capital OF
Jerusalem; there were the Is beautiful
cities on the beach of Galilee, any of
them a good place to be born in; there
were great towns famous at hat time,
but the nativity we today celebrate was
in a village which Christ minated had
been called by some 1.-The least among
the princes Of Juda." Christ himself
vas to make the town famous for all
time and all eternity. So heroes in
later days by their deeds ave giveh
celebrity TO neighborbeeds that would
never otherwise have been heard of be-
yond the radius of a few hundred mics.
What d place for Christ to arrive at n
10 start from! The hero of the eter-
pities!
o men and women of Messianic op-
%portunity, why do you not make the
place Of your nativity memorable for
your philanthropies-by the churches
you build, the free libraries you open,
the colleges you ru,w Go back I"
the village where you were born, as
George Peabody went back to Danvers,
Mass, and with your wealth bless the
neighborhOod where in childhood you
played and near by where your father
and mother sleep the last sleep. There
are scores of such villages in America
being generously remembered by pros
porous men during life or helped in
their last will and testament, and there
are %ahundred neighborhoods waiting
for such benediction from their pros
porous sons. By some such charity
invite the Bethlehem angels to come
back again, and over the plain house of
your nativity ring out the old anthem
of Good will to men," Christ, born in
ar obscure place, made it so widely
known by his self sacrifices and divine
charity that all around the earth the
village of Bethlehem has it's name
woven in garlands and chanted in "Te
Deums" and built in houses Of prayer.
But it is time we see some of the sun
shine breaking through the shadows on
that cradle. For we must ave jubi-
lance dominate the Christmas festival.
That was Walter Scott's opinion when
in "Mamion" he wrote:
A Christmas gambol oft would cheer
A poor mans heart through half the
year.
PURPOSE OF THE VISIT.
1t was while the peasant n his wife
Warp on q uiSif for n11rnnCoc of onrO11-
ment that Jesus was born. The Bible
translators got the wrong word when
they said that Joseph and Mary had
gone to Bethlehem to be taxed. People
went no farther then to get taxed than
they do now. The effort of most people
always has been to escape taxation
Besides that. these two humble foll
had nothing to tax. The mans turbar
that protected his head from the sur
was not worth taxing; the woman
sandals which kept her feet from being
cut by the limestone rock, Of which
Bethlehem is mostly made UP, were
not worth taxing. No; the fact is thai
a proclamation had been made by the
emperor hat all the people between
Great Britain and Parthia and of those
lands included should go to some ap-
pointed place and give their names In
be registered and their loyal.
ty to the Roman emperor. They stood
up before the officer Of the government
, and answered the questions: What is
your name? Where were you born
When were o born? Where do you
live now? Lift your right hand AND
swear that you will support the empire
of Caesar Augustus" During that pa
~triotic n loyal visit the first cry OF
the Divine Boy was heard.
They had walked 80 miles over q
rough road to give in their names and
take the oath of allegiance. Would we
walk 80 miles to announce our allegi-
ance to u King, one Jesus? Caesar
Augustus wanted to know by the re.
cord on which that man and that wo-
man wrote their names, or had then
written, just how many people in his
empire he could depend on in case OF
exigency. How many men would un
sheath sword for the Roman eagle, and
how many women could be depended
on to take care of the wounded on bat
tlefields? The trouble is that in the
kingdom of Christ we do not know how
many can be depended on. There are
so many men and women who never