Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1904-12-21
The Christmas Festival
BY William Rosser Cobbe.

festival day of the church and Of
the people. AT first thought one might
say that, logically, Easter or Ascen-
sion day should have priority Mans
whole being Graves immortality, ard
the only satisfactory answer to Jobs
earnest query: IF man die, shall he
live again?" is found in the words of
the angel at the tomb of Jesus at the
early dawn of that first Easter morn:
He is not here! He is riseni" Con-
flrmatory Of this was His visible ascen-
sion into heaven, as witnessed by Peter
and others of the apostles and by
number of His disciples.
Christmas, of itself has to do with
the birth of man-child, only. Yet
the herald song of the angels at that
birth has come down through the ages,
repeated by the glad voices Of children
and of age. 1t was the beginning of
life which during its short course ex-
emplified the most virtuous living and
that gave forth the most sublime teach
I Ing ever seen or heard of by mortal.
Perhaps the romance of His birth has
something to do with the interest
which attaches to the day. The youth
full virgin-wife journeying with her
carpenter husband through the hill
country from the village of Nazareth
to the proud and great city of Jerusa-
lem; the crowded inns, which forced
them to drag their weary feet four
miles away to the little village of Beth
| lehem, where they could find shelter
in the stable of an inn, among surly
camels and lowing cattle; the birth
or the child Jesus in a Manager; the
announcement to the shepherds; the
song of the heavenly choir; the won
derful star in the east and the visit
of the magi bearing gifts for the
young child, and the efforts of King
Herod to find and kill the child Jesus
all these strange incidents appeal
strongly to the young, who hear the
story told over and over again, until
it is engrafted into their very being
/ and never loses it's freshness and
brightness throughout life
Then, too, with the lapse of time
there came to be engrafted in the OBJ
servance of the day the bestowing of
gifts upon the children of the house
|
| by the magi to the child Jesus Sub
sequently the giving of gifts was ex-
tended to the adults of the household.
and Christmas grew into day of
home-bringing and home festivities as
well as of devotional church service.
There is that peculiarly attractive to
motherhood in the child Jesus Each
mother as she thinks Of the Christ
child grows more tender in her SYM
pathy for Mary and her love for the
| Child. The mother Of the middle ages.
as well as the mother of this genera
ton, never wearies of telling her off
| spring the pathetic story of the birth
| in the manger at Bethlehem, and the
bearing of that story upon human life
and human character. That story
! never has lost its charm and never
will lose it, so long as there are moth
ers in the world
1t would seem to be the practice of ma
| lions to commemorate the anniversary
Of the birth of hero rather than that
of some great deed or deeds of his.
Thus it is in this country, as in the
case Of Washington, Lincoln and
Grant. So it is with the advent Of
| Christ into the world. This event is
| given prominence as being the be-
| ginning Of career which abounded in
| incident, in miracles, in sublime teach
ing and which closed in a tragedy so
terrible that it caused the sun to dark
en- and the earth to quake and restore
| its dead to life The natal day COM
prehends the entire life of benevolence.
of mercy. kinuliness and intense suf-
fering. 1t is given place above and
before any single event, in that the
birth suggests ali that He did, all that
He endured. The manger at Bethle-
hem points unerringly to Calvary. to
the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea and
to- the ascension. One meditates on
the Christmas day and is lessons, and
thought follows the babe to youth and
manhood. 1t sees Him on the Mount
! Of Beatitudes, as He utters the grand
est sermon ever preached 1t follows
Him in His journeyings, in which the
| dead are made alive and the blind are
made to see. 1t sees Him before Plate.
and the scourging, the crown of thorns,
the driven nails and the thrust spear
follow.
Yet Christmas is glad day and
should be joyous one. The suffer-
ings of the Christ are ended. He
brought glad tidings of great joy to all
the people. He introduced a new relig-
ion and a new and a higher civiliza-
ton. He confirmed hope OF immor-
tality into sublime faith and made the
world brighter and better and glad
der.
MIGHT HAVE KNOWN BETTER.