The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1904-03-11
CHRIST'S BIRTHDAY.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Urges Its
Fitting Commemoration.
Christmas Time should BE Made a
season For the Healing of
Family Discussions, Says
the Eloquent Divine.

uie preacher urges as nlllns colunem-
Grafton Of the Christmas time the heal
ing of family differences and the put
ting aside forever of all dissensions, in
accordance with the spirit and teach
hgs Of the sacred season. The text is
Luke ii, IA. "On earth peace, good will
toward men"
Christmas day has the manger for
its gem, with the home for q setting.
From time immemorial the commemo-
ration of the birth Of Christ has had its
true and real celebration not so much
In public festlyity and church cere-
monial as in the family gathering
around the domestic freside Christ
mas day always has been and we hope
always will be a family day 1t is
we'll that at least once year the chill
dren and the grandchildren, the broth
ers and the sisters and the nephews and
the nieces, as we'll as the fathers and
mothers and grandparents. should be
gathered within the four walls Of the
old homestead, and it is appropriate
that the season for such reunions should
be that at which we celebrate the ad-
vent Of our Lord.
But though God ''setteth the solitary
In families" though on Christmas day.
above all other days, he would have
us worship him in communion with our
kith and kin, though we should delight
to prove that blood is thicker than wa
ter, yet the startling fact remains un-
controverted that the grinning skeleton,
which rattles its bones and clatters its
teeth almost every Christmas eve in
almost every family closet, is the hid
eous skeleton Of domestic strife. BY
this statement we do not mean that the
father and mother and the little chill
dren living within the four walls Of a
house are necessarily unhappy or that
most homes are not peaceful and loving.
We do mean, however, that the fam
/ lly name, taken In its larger relation,
is not always a loving and harmonious
name. We do mean by this statement
that after the father and mother have
been carried out to their last resting
place. to sleep the sleep Of death under
a coverlid Of snow. arrangements often
arise between the married children
We do mean by this statement that
many and many a home has been split
from top to bottom on account Of the
second marriage of a father or moth
er. We do mean that today all over
the United States brothers can be
found at variance with brothers, sisters
with sisters and cousins with cousins.
Christmas day is essentially a family
day. Would It not be possible in the
weeks before its dawn for you to ar
range your family differences so that
on that day the old quarrel may be set
tied and all the hard thoughts and hard
words II has engendered may be for
given and forgotten? / would suggest
to you today some reasons why such
reconciliation may be and should be
effected. l would try, in the name OF
Jesus Christ, to have over the manger
brother clasp hands with brother, sis
ter with sister, parent with child and
child with parent l would try to dc
this because when the Christmas bells
are ringing their carol no man, no wo
man. can so truly honor the newborn
child called the Christ as by doing his
or her part to fulfill the angel message
OF peace on earth and good will to
ward men"
Family dissensions should cease, and
Immediately cease. Whyi They have
nearly all-aye, practically all-beer
caused by faults committed on both
sides. They have been caused by the
not calling the kettle black, the ket
tie retalistlng by calling the pot black
and at the same time both are 50
blinded by the hot fires Of domestic
dissensions that they cannot see thai
each is black. II may not be clear who
started the family trouble. 1t is enough
10 show that If both parties had mol
erred there would not have been con
tinued domestic disturbance.
Take. for illustration. the trouble be
tween a father and his son. Every lit
tie while we hear Of the son Of some
prominent man being at variance Will
his father. An inkling Of the trouble
may get into the newspaper or be COS
siped about the neighborhood. Some
of us side with the parent. we say
I"No matter what the father may have
ldone the son has no right TO turn his
hack upon his sire He has no right t'
despise the parent who cared for hin
when be was q little child and who ed
Iucsted him and started him out as
young man into the world" On the othel
hand. some OF MS side with the son in
stead Of the father We say that som'
fathers are mean and selfish and grasp
ing. They never want TO give thei
sons their rights. II Is told OF old En-
peror William l. OF Germany that whei
the court artist painted a picture O.
the German court, with Crown Princ'
Frederick's foot upon the lowest stel
Of the throne, King william called thu
artist 10 him and said: Take tina
boys foot OF that throne step. Al
long as am king I want TO have tn
throne for myself" But in all proba
b,lity II you can get TO the inside fact
Of that quarrel between the father ant
the son they can all be traced to a dis
posltion in the father which has beef
inherited by the son. The father ma.
have been a high strung, nervous Quicl
tempered. overwrought, Overworked
impstuous man. The son may hay
Inherited the same fiery disposition.
isa scientific fact that opposites col
Join, not similsritles. The positive an
the negative poles work together
harmony, not the electric wires carr
ing the same current The reason II
wife Is able to live harmoniously wit
the husband Is that her nature is ei
l.. T. a.