Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-24
DRAWS PICTURE OF
FIRST CHRISTMAS
MAGE WILDLY DESCRIBES
THE EVENT
Says Avariciousness That Drove Mary
to the Stable Is Still Exhibited
by Modern Business
Men

Have YOU ever read the story OF tne
Nativity? "Oh, yes" you answer,
'.menv tines. 1t is the one portion vi vi
the Bible I love to read over anu ~ UN1i
again. When l open the book Oh Nla,,. Me-.
thew and start with the worus' rNs
M MtlieM ~ Ias,,s v,as n, bethlehem of Judea
", tbe davs of Herod the king, the al
,,ine story has such fascination t%nat %
lever stop until have read the WhoIe
at,a,tor tbrough." l am glad 10 neal
80, Gov that. The fascination Whlcl,
ias yo,, enthralled when you reau
how Christ was born in the Inansei "
tbe same enchantment thaI sIip 1T
nurerable minds and hearts, w ~
I1elieI,e any Christmas sermon Is CoIii
plete unless 1t deals Win
story of the Nativity. -. Nativity,
ant though this story OF the NaslV,iS ,,iS
- Fascinating to the young, IL snoulu
he even more fascinating TO tne nliuT,V my. q
ooed and the old, because man WIZ IL :"
,,eetured mind can give 1t 1ts true iiS5 ms
torical setting. This story ~
mean far more to one VINO can Ietlu az tI,a
tween the lines than it means ~ the tt,e
oosual reader. AS / begin TO stuuy tilS s,
s l,,ds "There was no room Ior
+hano in the inn 1 realize that llie
words have a deeper signihcance lia.s 70
80 crowded public tavern. Inc act u
tba innkeeper is symbolic OF the Ile Ia.i
went of Christ by men or every az az
ard in every sphere of the Woilu ~, .
activities today. Christ is stlll
cluded. .,-. ,;r+L there
Now. as on the day of his plrtn; .nI1v ll', e
60 M room for him. That exclusion Ty
- no ,,oroenarv innkeeper, who would
sa,d q moor woman in the de1cate coll-
dition of Christ's mother to common II
stable was typical. 1t meant tne siiqt ~
door of the rulers throne ROOM ~
roean+ the shut door of the palace. II
meant the shut door of our lnercall.iIe I,,LiLt
establishments. 1t meant s., Cnlis.
crowded out into the coiu viii nuI,s
nights, from hearts 10 WhlCt , n,,arice
admission, by selfshness ana aNaiio
IUbich have usurped the throne thaI
belongs to him by right.
Unlock Hearts
AS we think of that birth in the sta
HE at this Christmas season we Wouiu OI,
not waste our indignation on thaI VI. ~
entail innkeeper, but attelu W oil
plea Christ makes now TO unlock OIL
the barred doors of the human heart
&c we'll as of the Bethlehem inn. L
cannot describe the situation petter
+,1a,1 hv ouotine these words of an un-
known poet:
He was Graded in manger,
His own angel sang the hyIllh
OF rejoicing at his coming,
Yet there was no room Ior hlii'
oh nv brothers. are we wiser,
Are we better now thah tleS
Have we any room Tor Jesus
In the life we live today!
NOT much room for our Lord Jesus
Has there been or VIII 1I6 Ine15 pe
Room for PLATE and tor defou-
Not for Him of Calvary!
Room for pleasures doors wide open
And for business-but Tor t1lln'
ONLY here and there manger,
Like to that at Bethlehem.
AS we are to have many different
e,11ides for this Christmas sermon, ana
many geographical situations. let US
first seek the most conspicuous man
among all of our guides and SIT Tor
little while in the throne room Oh Herod
the Great, in the Jerusalem capltal'
Were ever gorgeousness and splenuor
greater than his? Herod was appoint
ed when a Young man, governor of
Judea by his father But no sooner dld
he ascend the gubernatorial throne
than he began to grip the country with
the clutch of giant. He maze Jeru-
salem his capital. He slew every man
who dared to criticise his actions. by
war and stratagem he annexed terri
tory after territory to his realms. lie
dered them with no more compunctlon
than had Henry VIII, who sent Ann
Boleyn and Catharine Howard to the
scaffold. So great was Herod's wealth
that, like Napoleon III, he lined his
streets with palaces and temples and
places of amusement. Great was he.
Aye, he became greater in wealth and
power than all who had preceded him.
Such was King Herod, who ruled Judea
IL, y, oh wa
The First Christmas
While we stand among the princes
and princesses, counselors and high
military potentates who surround this
powerful king in the throne room of
the capital, courier pushes his way
into the hall. He is dust begrimed. He
hands the king a message from the
commander of the royal troops. 1t
reads Last night there passed
through our lines some strange men.
They came from the far east They
were evidently sages and astrologers.
They were great men from the far east,
as their garments proved They were
following a star, which slowly moved
before them as a guide They told me
that they were going to Jerusalem to
find there a royal babe, which was yet
TO be king of the east. / want to warn
your majesty of their mission that you
may find this child and slay him" No
sooner do we see the great king read
this letter than his lips become set and
firm. His eyes flash and he crumpes
up the letter in his rage. He sends
forth messengers to meet these wise
men. / can imagine his muttering.
"Yes, will find out where this young
child is. 1 will kill him. 1 will kill
him If 1 have to kill every child in my
kingdom to do it. There must be nc
rival to me in this kingdom"
Is there any royal palace on earth In
which Jesus would be a welcome guest
Is there any cabinet of statesmen that
would submit to his rule or govern on
his principles? If he ruled on eartf
could there be such horrors as those OF
the Congo? Such massacres as thos,
OF Armenia? Such ruthless injustice az
that of Russia? Would not his rule
eliminate the liquor dealer, the corrupt
politician, the ministerial mountebanl
masquerading in his pulpit? What &
revolution his rule would make OF
earth! Every ruler would tremble as
the hand that welded the small cords
in the temple was laid to the wheel OF
government We pray that his king.
Iatf d. a.