The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-12-18
CLASSES
WILL STUDY THE
BIRTH OF CHRIST
The International Uniform Sunday
School Lesson for Dec. 1es The
SaviOr's Birth.-Luke 2a.20.
BY William r.. Gilroy, u. q.
Editor of The COngregatiOnaIigt

ny h1lhlu Lp OtuOyp ~ Oe
Editor of The CongregatiOnaIiyt
IN a great hymn Isaac Watts has
expressed the glory OF the SAvior's
coming:
Joy to the world! the Lord 10 come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And@ heaven and nature sing.
re was not, however, as a king,
recognized for his greatness n
splendor, that the Savior Of Man
kind came to the world. It was as
a little babe, born in a Manager of a
mother who in her hour Of trial and
triumph had not found on her pill
grimage even a home or a decent inn
in which to stay.
Another poet has beautifully
caught the note of glory In the low
ly birth;
There's a lowly birth and the
angels sing
And the shepherds hear the strain,
For it tells of Christ who was born a
King y a
In his righteousness to reign.
The story of Mary and the Babe
of Bethlehem has taken hold of the
worlds imagination, even as the
Gospel, of the babe to manhood
grown, has laid hold OF the worlds
heart and conscience.
Rich i'm Symbolism
The story is richly manifold In IT'S
suggestiveness and symbolism. Not
to the learned and the great was
the coming Of the Savior primarily
made known, but TO shepherds abid-
ing in the field keeping watch over
their flock by night. How often the
vision Of Gods plans and purposes
is withheld from the great and re-
vealed tod lowly souls Of pure heart
and interrupted visionl
One does not know much concern
ing the character of these shepherds,
but they must have been sincere
and spiritually ~expectant men, for
in the announcement of h birth
Of Jesus emphasis is laid upon the
meaning of his coming.
Only devout souls earnestly yearn-
ing for salvation could be concerned
with the coming of a Savior, and
only those hearts who were at peace
with their fellowmen and who had
a vision of the establishing Of good
will upon earth could appreciate the
meaning Of the angels carol, "Glory
to God in the highest and on earth
peace, good will toward men" Gods
highest revelations + reserved for
the pure in heart; it is they who see
God.
The Shepherds Decision
The character Of the shepherds
was revealed in the immediacy of
their decision to go to Bethlehem,
and further in the fact that they
were not disappointed and disillu'
stoned by what they found there. 1t
must have required hearts OF faith,
mindful Of Gods mysterious ways in
Providence, to have seen in the babe
in swaddling clothes with a lowly
mother and in such repelling sur
roundings the Savior Of the world.
But apparently their faith to be-
lieve was clear and strong, for 1.-The
shepherds returned clarifying and
praising God for all that they had
heard and seen"
What mother is there who cannot
appreciate the beauty Of the word
in our lesson concerning the mother
of Jesus, "but Mary kept all these
things and pondered them in her
heart. The depths of mother love,
and wonderment. and aspiration
we've never more beautifully COM
pressed in so few words.
We read, Of course, in the MARIA
tive Of the birth Of Jesus all the
meaning and glory Of his triumph
ant life and death. That S tnev1-
table.
But how reverent should we be
toward the birth of every little
child! Who knows what prophets,
priests and kings we may DO well
coming in newborn babesY
The rude cradle in a western
cabin may lull a future Lincoln to
sleep, just as the manger in Bethle-
hem Graded the King Of Kings.
What reverence and wonderment
ought all of life to contain for us
when we remember these things!
COPYRIGHT, 1925. NEA Service