Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1910-12-29

De formed III Inems Ana WASlzs VI ~
who is our life. shall be manifested. g
he declared then shall We also with
him be manifested in glory.
You may call this metaphysics. and
perhaps when stated as a formula that
lis what it is. But Paul was no meta
physician. To Paul, all Of this was
based on rock bottom of experience.
And so it was also to the mass OF the
early Christians. The Christ they be-
lieved in was living Christ, Christ
they had experieneed-a power they
had felt in their lives, a power that
manifested itself in their lives in right
eousness, and freedom and love. One
of its chief characteristics was love-
The words of the author OF the johann
nine epistles may well have been said
by an earlier Christian: I'VE know
that we have passed from darkness to
light, because we love the brethren.
It was among such people, humble
and lowly folk, who had been led to
the mount OF. TRANSPORTATION by this
wonderful spiritual power, this heaven
~ Christ who had conquered death,
that these birth stories arose. They
had never seen Jesus, the man. But
they had met the Christ face to face,
they had felt his power in their lives,
and they had ben taught that it was
in Jesus; life, death and resurrection
tnat this power came into the world.
At first there was no record OF his life
to be read. And then, after the writ
ing of Marks gopsel, there was moth
ing in it Of the birth of Jesus; nothing
of the coming into the world OF this
wonderful power which had transfigur-
ed their lives, this power which they
know SO well, and which bound them
Together as lovers of men. Their
hearts were stirred by simple, but
holy wonder. How must this great
! miracle have come to pass? Don't
you see, my friends, how inevitable 1t.
was that the golden web of legend
should be spun around this event? 1t
was not the birth of the man, Jesus,
they were explaining to themselves. 1t
was-the coming into the world OF this
wonderful spiritual power, which they
identified with the risen Christ And
as they talked of it in their simple
way, the stories grew up. "Yes," they
say that when Christ came, a star
shone in the East, and wise men came,
led by the star, to worship him. }"
"They say that as the shepherds on the
plains near Bethlehem watched their
flocks beneath the starry heavens, an
angel appeared and told them of this
wonderful event" Eyes, and the
shepherds heard the heavenly host
singing: GLORY to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among men," And
now natural that those lowly ones
| should picture a humble BIRTH" All
lyes-they say that when Christ came
| there was no room at the inn and
ne was born in stable ana laid in a
manger." And it all happened in
Bethlehem How did they know that
Why, this was the birth of the christ,
was it not? This was the coming into
the world Of the Savior that had been
so long expected, was it not? This was
the great event of the ages, the com
ing of this Christ who now dwells in
our hearts, he in us and we in him,
was it not? Well-it is written that
he should be born in Bethlehem-yea.
and born of virgin, and it MUST
have occurred that way.
So the stories grew up-these-and
many, many others-started by no one
knows who, but repeated by loving
Hips, from brother to brother. And SO
Luke and Matthew heard them, and
SO they wrote them down for u.s. Let
us not call them falsehoods- neither
let us harden them into dOgmas. Let
us rather cherish them, as symbols OF
a great truth-the great truth that
when this Christ of the ages-this
Epower making for love and peace
among men, came into the world it
might we'll have been accompanied by
heavenly rejoicing and the worship of
the wisdom of the earth. Above all,
let us not confuse the Universal Christ
"who is our life" of whose body 1--WE
are severally members" with the
birth of the man, Jesus of Nazareth.
Let us fully recognize the reality OF
this great companioning universal life
and strive to get into closer touch
with it on this Christmas morn.
All, my friends, this can be. a
genuine Christmas to each and every
one of us, if we would but realize it.
For the miracle those humble Chris