Evening star., 1926-12-18
Our Christmas lesson centers about

Our Christmas lesson centers about
the greatest event in human history.
1t calls for us to consider the nativity
Of our Lord. To the human interest
in the birth of child has been added
the religious and historical events
connected with the miracle OF the
ages, when God entered the human
race in the advent of the Savior,
who is Christ the Lord" Every ono
who has traced the influence of Chris
tianity in the affairs of men has found
the fountain head of it's life-giving
waters in the birth of Jesus in Beth
lehem.
The place of our Lords nativity
would have been an obscure village if
the infant born in the manger of the
inn had not placed in upon the map
of the world as a distinguished and
memorable place. There is no event
in all history that is more widely OBJ
served. There is no name more re-
vered or more widely known than that
of Christ, our Lord and Savior. This
child of poverty attained His emf
nence in the life of the world because
Deity entered into humanity when He
was born. Although many notable
events connected with Israel'S history
were enacted in the neighborhood of
Bethlehem and were honored in the
memory of BoaZ, Ruth and David,
they were all preliminary to the birth
of the Savior, in accordance with the
predictions of prophecy.
Artists have tried in vain to paint
the face of the babe born in Bethle-
hem's manger in an effort to reveal
His unwOrldly origin. Poets, preachers
and philosophers have sought to solve
all the problems connected with the
incarnation without success. Schol-
ars and scientists have been unable
to reveal the mysteries of the Master S
birth that are recorded in the Scrip
lures. Jesus Christ entered humanity
in an unique manner. If a human
being could explain all the mysteries
connected with His advent, one might
we'll classify it with hte stories of the
first appearance of the Greek. Egyp-
tian, Assyrian and Indian divinities.
that appear to be the work of men.
Christendom gathers at this season
reverently around the cradle of the
Lord, confident in the authenticity
and truth of His birth. The mysteries
connected with His advent serve but
to confirm their faith.
Surprised Shepherds.
Luke, who was a scientist. has
most important events connected with
the advent of our Lord. He tells us
how the first to welcome the little
stranger were the shepherds, who
| watched over the fiocks intended for
| sacrifice in the temple. No one in
Bethlehem had been expecting the
coming of the Messiah. The men
| who miss the Joy of Christmas are
those who are not watching. They
have no room for Him. They are
good hearted and mean well, but con
sideration of their own comfort has
| caused them to give Christ the sec
| ond place.
| About mile north of Bethlehem
were shepherds, keeping watch over
| their f1ockS in the field, where David
commenced his work as a shepherd
and near where Ruth CLEANED in the
field Of Boaz. They were watching
| and to these expectant hearts came
| the message broadcaSted from Heaven
by the angels. These men had hearts
| that were in tune with glory that
| night. These humble peasants were
| engaged in a religious service. Their
| minds and souls were not crowded
| with personal problems and desires
| No selfishness or self-centered spirit
| had made them static" They were
surprised at the angels appearance
| and the message Of song. They lacked
| the experience to have enabled them
to create such vision of song. Their
sage, that had surprised them and
startled them by its revelation.
Evidently they we're taking turns at
| watching the sheep and keeping up
the fires to frighten off the wild
beasts, when they were surprised by
| the unexpected appearance of an
angel of the Lord, who stood above
them in a visible form, and a cloud
of brightness, which symboliZed the
| Divine Presence shone around about
them. When they saw the evidence
| of Gods presence and the form Of the
angel, they naturally were frightened
The revelation made to the shepherds
| teaches us that the religion of the
Christ is not for any particular class
| but for all people. There is nothing
into the hearts of men like the Cos
pei Song Of the Angels. removing
| their fears and inspiring their faith.
The Angels Song.
| We have been accustomed to the
| threefold message of the angels song
of glory to God, peace on earth anC
| good will among men, but the revised
version Is the better translation, &C
cording to the leading scholars. This
gives us double message-first there
| is the glory to God, peace on eartf
to the men of good will. The only
ones that have peace are the men OF
good will. The spirit of Christina:
calls for the promotion of good viii
among men and nations. If we desire
to have peace, let us find it by &C
/ cepting Christ as our Saviour, an(
| then seek to give of our good will tC
men.
Our late President Harding, in his
gospel Of fraternity among nations
revealed that he had learned the mes
sage of thes angels and would apply
it to our international relations. Ht
was quoted the past week as saying
to Col. John A. Stewart on one oc
casion:
For thousands of years we have
tried as a policy in international re
lationship those methods which have
led inevitably to war. Could we b'
any worse off If we We're to try tht
policy of neighborly feeling, Of ex
pressing good will instead of i'll will
of consciously trying to prevent mis-
understanding, Of recognizing that th'
world is made up Of folks who would
mot go to war II an attempt wer'