Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-20

- EN- HEINZ gOu 3D. SNtlS |
place you pass, every direction
in which you look, you are re
- minded that a great annual
event is taking place, or about
N to take place. You glance
through the pages of your newspaper and
you are reminded that 'only so-many days
Of Christmas shopping remain. You buy
your favorite magazine, and again your at
tention is drawn to the imminence of a
commemorative event. You meet your
friends, and unusual-looking bundles are
In their hands, bundles which you never
see them carrying during any other period
OF the year. You go into your grocer's
shop, or your dry goods store, or your
book shop, or your department commercial
mart, and you see signs which seem char
acteristic of just this period of the year.
What does it all mean?
What does it all mean? You ask the OPP
timist and he replies that 1t is the one
grand time Of the year when all men are
/ brothers, when the spirit Of brotherly love,
and geniality. and altruism is absolutely
prevalent.
You ask the pessimist what it means and
he replies, in words OF a modern %satirist,
"Oh, it is nothing but the annual swap!'
You ask the pleased-looking business man
and he says, 1T is our harvest" You ask
the tired shop girl and she tells you that
it is the time Of late hours, hard work,
nervous evaporation and little rest.
You ask the church and it says, 1.-The
season of the Nativity" You ask the chill
dren and they reply, 1T is the time of
Santa Claus" You ask the spiritually in
clined people and they say, 1T is the
Manger of Bethlehem, and the Shepherds,
a~I A. CNA Al =
folk and they tell you, ut is the Christmas
tree, and the plum pudding, and the pres
ents."
What does it ali mean?
Musicians are busy preparing the best
musical expression of the thought of this
particular time. Choirs are giving their
best efforts and their most constant thought
to rehearsing the music which will most
fittingly represent the occasion. Choir
listers and solo singers and the players upon
instruments, choirmasters, priests and
preachers are ransacking the shelves Of
musical literature in order to bring forth
something which will do honor to the time
and season.
Bells will chime and chants will be
chanted. and offerings will be made, carols
will be carolled, hymns will be hymned, and
sermons will be preached, anthems will be
sung, prayers will be prayed. gifts will be
given, but what does 1t all mean?
1t surely does not mean that we worship
the Babe of Bethlehem in his full stature.
For He, when he grew up to manhood, said
some very unpleasant things, and brought
home many unwelcome truths which finally
succeeded in bringing about his overthrow,
his false condemnation. his absurd alleged
trial." the greatest mockery of legal
procedure in the annals of history, His dis
gracefully unjust condemnation, and his
utterly ignominious death, and Truth is on
the Cross today as then.
This Babe of Bethlehem, when he be-
came a man, arraigned in the most scath-
ing terms those who built temples of stone
as memorials and monuments of their OWL
greatness. out of the very life-forces OF
the poorer people. the workingmen, who In
+, reality were their own brothers. And yet
we of today bend the worshipping knee anC
bow the respectful head TO the men whC
. made themselves rich by the clever manipu
lation of the honest and earnest work o
r those who are only honest" enough t.
r work, but who are not "shrewd enough
( to get along without working.
g When this Babe grew to mans estate IL
O spoke I'm no uncertain terms about the sin
Of selfishness, and greed, and rapacity, an,
the difficulties surrounding the class o
a persons who would bind heavy burdens
upon their fellowmen; and yet we. VIII
live today in this grand and glorious HON
d of liberty, encourage by our acquiescencC
.e these very things which, however, we pro
test against when the Fourth Of July come,
10 Pity 1t is, but the truth, that we are salts
fled to have our protest end in fireworks.
-, -
No. We do not stand for" the grown-u
ideas of this Babe of Bethlehem. and Their,
a fore We must go back to the infant Grad
G. and the adoring shepherds and a lionel
manger outside the inn at Bethlehem
where there was no room for the "Tru
n Light that Lighteneth every man tha
lie cometh into the world" namely, the Ligi
IS Of Intelligence.
in Intelligence was just dawning at this
crib. 1t was Just the beginning.
Ne And then we get the answer to our que,
ton, What does il all mean?'
IN 1t means this, that We like the scener
" and the costumes and the story.
m Even II we cannot tolerate the TRACED
and the outcome.
ne And who shall say that the story is n,
ne beautiful?
IA There are the rustic shepherds sittin
ne quietly in the Judaean fields, and like a
~ careful shepherds-not merely confer
he with seeing that their sheep have been le
u 10 streams during the day which were fires
OF ana clean, and not polluted by any poison
IN Gus connection; not merely content thl
be the sheep in their charge had n,
been attacked by wolves, no. n,
merely content that they had good he.
to bage during the day-they had folde
n them, had taken care Of them. had baf
s. them goodnight, and now. while the shee
nd were asleep, they, the faithful shepherd
~ were keeping watch. at night; during n
watches OF the moonless night. they sti
Is kept guard over their precious charge.
,ir Mark you, they were not off somewher
s. attending q convention OF sheep herder