The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
CHRISTMAS SERMONS
 FROM THE SAME TEXT
MT, Ewing Breaches at the
 Church of the Advent
MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
Et iseopal Rector Says the Prophecy Has Not Yet Been Fulfilled-The Spiritual Significance of the
 Christmas Anniversary.


 The Meaning of Christmas was the subject of the sermon preached al the Il o'clock service yesterday morning at the Church of the Advent by the Rev. Quincy Ewing, the rector. The service was attended by large congregation and the church was artistically decorated in commemoration of the Christmas an niversary.
 The Rev MT. Ewing selected as his text the words of St. Luke ii:10, And the Angel said unto them Behold l bring you glad tidngs of great joy which shall be to all people, and of Isaiah K; ?. ."rhe people that walked in darkness have seen a great light said:
 The angelic saying to the shepherds that the birth of Jesus would mean great joy to all people, we are accustomed to regard as prophecy which has been most certainly fulfilled, that is, wherever the story of His birth and life has been well learned. But surely very little reflection should serve to convince us of our mistake There has been and is great joy in the world because Christ was born; but it is joy that has fallen very far short of filling the hearts of all people.
 He was born, we read, in a manager, be- cause there was no room in the inn, and this circumstance of His birth has proved so far a much better prophecy of His reception by the world of men than the words spoken to the shepherds. We read again that shortly after His birth it was necessary for his parents to flee with Him into Egypt, in order to save Him from the wrath of Herod who sought the young child's life
 The Worlds Welcome.
 The worlds welcome, assuredly, to the infant-Savior was not very joyous one! And the adult-Savior did not fare bet ter Followed at times by multitudes, these multitudes dispersed as quickly as they had gathered as often as the real pur- port of His divine mission was made clear; as often as 1t appeared that His purpose was not to work physical won ders, not to feed idle men with miracul- ous loaves and fishes, not to scatter with a breath their social ills and politi- cal foes, and set up a kingdom wherein the laws of human history would be re- versed and the ways of mans life made smooth without mans help Nay, for Jesus, spiritual savior, for Jesus as He understood Himself, there was never a joyous welcome at any time during His earthly career by any considerable num- Der of His fellowmen. The common peo- pie were disappointed In Him, as they are likely to he in every great leader who strikes rather at the cause than the symptoms of social ills; and those in au- thority feared Him. as those in author ity always fear tho true reformer who lays the axe at the root of the tree Of injustice and oppression. To this latter class, He was no minister of great joy to mankind, but a radical 'destructionist who could not be too soon settled with. Of the former class, the plain people, there was no multitude present to clamor for His release when He stood before Pilate but there was present a multitude clamoring for His crucifxion. Thousands had seen Him face to face, thousands had listened to His teachings, thousands more were to some extent familiar with what He had said and done, to how many of them had His ministry been a source of great joy? To one hundred and twenty we are told in the Book of Acts. An im- posing number, indeed. to have found great joy in the sublimest life ever lived, One hundred and twenty enough i'm pressed and appealed to by the teaching, living and dying of Jesus Christ, to call themselves His disciples, and manifest in themselves fulfillment of the Angels prophecyl
 So, if we consider that prophecy only in the light of what lies behind us to the birth in the manager, we must con clude, beyond doubt, that it was far too optimistic. In the past it nas not been fulfilled, and like unto the past Is the present.
 Christ's Natal Day.
 Today, the world over, there are mil lions celebrating Christmas, but how many are celebrating Christ? Hardly may we answer. the majority. Hardly was William Watson wrong when he sang of Christmas day:
 "The morn broke bright. the thronglng
 people wore
 Their best. but in the general face I saw No touch of veneration or of awe. Christs natal day? Twas merely one day
 more
 On which the mart agreed to close it's
 door;
 A lounging time by usage and by law
 one straw
 Of any meaning which for man it bore,"
 Is it not true that in every Christian" Community there are thousands making merry with Christmas merriment in whose minds the least and dimmest of thoughts is thought of Jesus Christ? How many today are celebrating Christmas whose places in these pews and other pews are empty-eelebrating Christmas by celebrating themselves. too engrossed in their self-celebration to utter here or elsewhere one syllable of Christmas praise and prayer to God
 How many today are celebrating Christ mas, who have not been enough impressed by what the birth of Jesus Christ means to the world to number themselves among His disciples-to stand up anywhere among their fellows and declare that they are Chrlstans-that the Babe of