The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-12-17
THE CHRISTMAS TAss
The International Sundax Soh.
son Tor December D IS, Chr....ae
Isaiah 9:1.7
(By WILLIAM ~ ,,rvu.

- 50 - . GFl~+&sSi&- =
lesson" Isaiah 9:1-7.
- tby WILLIAM Il. ELLISl
= write or Christmas peace ma,
~ homogeneous amid the clang of
war and rumOrS Of worse war Where
ever we look We see marching armies
vi thcse lays preceding Christmas a
sleai cloud ONershadOws the earth.
Yet We remember that the Prince of
Peace Himself said that He came IN
tr1ng a sword. His cause has trayal,-
ca over bloody battlefelds through
i"ng centuries; but however dreary the !
nighWay, the goal is universal peace.
Let us not confuse the incidental with
the eternal. n agonies Of earth
which we now witness are but the
b~irth-throes OF a new order, in which
Ihr1st Will be king, and peace will
prevail.
This is the task Of Christmas. IT
seeks to make a new heaven on earth,
wherein men may dwell in love and be
AS brothers. A new mind is TO be
found among men, and it Is q mind OF
peace n Of yearning for human vel
fare. The Bethlehem music Is heard
more widely today than IL year ago.
The angel story is being contemplated
by tens Of thousands who gave i: no
thought in 1911.
War in The Manger Land.
Even We who are SO near the event
may perceive the ONeTTul1nR pTOVl-
dence of peace in the troubled oc-
currenceS OF our own time. This
Turkish war, despite its staggering cost
to nations and to families. has served
the Christmas mission. 1t has lifted
a1oft the supremacy Of the old ideals
of justice and liberty and love. 1t
has shown the power Of the Christian
purpose to break ancient expressions.
The land to which the Prince Of Peace
CAM is NOW n iSfra,,0h ~, tho hor-nvC
OF war, yet every observer may see
that the tomorrow Of the people in
the Ottoman Empire is to be liker to
he era of peace and good will foreseen
by the prophet Of old.
The universal heSitancy and grief
with which the seeming necessity for
war has been viewed by mankind has
been a striking phenomenon of the
worlds attitude toward present events
in Turkey Never before was there
such a widespread bending Of the best
efforts to find d path Of honorable
peace. We a been given u new
vision, like unto that OF the prophet,
OF ne place and prominence Of peace
in the worlds thought. The goal that
was first glimpsed by the prophets who
told OF Bethlehem is coming clearly
into sight in our own time.
Peace for the Plain People.
Back Of the battle line Of dread
war, We perceive the plight OF the
plain people. Humanity has resolved
hat not only in that IAN where the
Christmas star has shone, but through
out the whole earth, injustices shall
cease, those injustices which are
, worse than war. We shall need bet
ter perspective to enable us to ap-
prehend clearly the transformation in
human rights and human welfare that
Is coming to pass in Turkey today. AS
tho Nyonhof fnrot01H tho voka &c hAiNP
lifted, the staff is being raised, and
the oppressor's rod is being broken.
We are on the way to the fulfill1ment
Of the rest Of the prophecy, that all
the paraphernalia OF war shall be but
as fuel to the fires Of peace.
A battlefield may be a strange place
to look for the Christmas motive, yet
we cannot forget that victorious Bull
saria came to her efficiency as a ma
ton largely through the efforts OF
Robert College, a Christian mission In
stitution. The ideals OF Christ have
made Bulgaria a self-respecting. eff
cient nation. valiant to confront
C~hristendom's historic oppressor. The
Christmas heaven is similarly at work
all over the earth.
1t Is better to be alive now than to
have lived In that uncomprehendins
day when Joseph and Mary made the
hard tourney from Nazareth to Beth
}ehem. Nevertheless. OetOut ntaILS
still cry, with Miss Proctor,
-Oh to have dweIt in Bethlehem.
When the star OF the Lord shone
bright!
10 have sheltered the holy wander
er1
ON that blessed Christmas night:
70 have kissed the tender, waN-WcrT
feet
.f tho mother indebted
And with reverent wonder and deel
delight
TO have tended the Holy Child
Bringing Christmas Down to Date.
The modern notion Of scientific sur
veys in all imaginable fields Of effort
but especially in social service, lliI