The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1949-12-22

the Christian fl7
churches of the 81 - -
world, Mine eyes n, Forsu.r
! have seen :"
The aged man, already moving
across the thin line dividing this
! world from heaven, could see with
the eye of the spirit what was hid
from the eye of many a practical
man. To Simeon's mind, imbued
with the spirit Of the ancient pro-
phets, the child in his arms was z
center Of light.
All the rays from the dim and
ancient prophecies came to focus
in this child: and from this child
again there shone out to all the
future years of man the hope Of
. better world. What the prophets
have foretold. is now to be; this
child is the hope of mankind.
They have seen q great light
THE CHRISTMAS PROPHECIES,
= our Old Testament lesson text,
sing the hope of the Hebrew peo-
pie. 1t was hope that spread be-
yonc themselves. their tiny hill
country. landlocked and harborless,
out to the Circle of the Nations"
on to the world Of vast peoples
bevond their ken.
In . leaderless world, where
men went blindly through life,
smothered by the smoke Of
torches in the wavering hands
Of the blind, the prophets sang
Of the Coming One. the Mes
siAh. Gods chosen Leader,
whe would bring men cut q
darkness Into night, the Divins
Counsellor.
In the centuries when the serv-
ants Of God were enslaved by those
who worshiped only the sword. the
prophets pointed confidently to the
time when the leadership Of the
world would at least be in the
hands of those who knew and un-
derstood and obeyed God.
Eyes of Flesh
NTOW THE PROPHETS did no,
~ always fully understand their
own prophecies, as we are told by
Peter Il Pet. l:l0. ID: and certain
ly most Of the Jews did not. Wher
they heard the word Messiah" OF
King they could think only o.
the kings they had known and ad
mired. some now David. great IL
battle. or another Solomon, In I
greater and more golden palace.
80 when the little boy Jesus
born In the dark stable under
the hill, Il WAS not everyone
who could see what Simeon
saw, that now the hopes Of the
prophets were coming true,
now the Kingdom Of righteous
ness and peace. the Realm Of
All Nations. was 70 begin.
What Simeon's fading human ey
could see was no great thing
helpless infant from a peasan
carpenters home. It was onl
Simeon's inward eye that saw tn
truth.
Eyes Of Faith
yet THE EYE Of faith can Sc
! more. The salvation God
bringing to the world has onl
Just begun. As in Simeon's day tn
salvation and the light were barrel
at the horizon, so now II. is still bl
sunrise. The colors of sunrise ma
be mistaken for those Of sunse
by those who have been long ASLEEP
II Is only those who have watche
through the night who know II
sunrise for what it Is.
The songs Of Christmastide
are songs Of hope. and not only
| songs Of remembrance. It Is
| not the hope Of fools, for the
world Of today Is brighter than
the world into which Christ was
born, and the brightness shines
from him.
Who would turn back this worl
for all its wretchedness and fru
trstions, into what It would ha'
been had Jesus never been borl
At Christmas time we rejoice, n
that all things have been accor
plished or that al the prophet
OF good have come true: we I
joice rather that TIE God-se
Leader. the Messiah. the Savior
has come, and that with his col
ing salvation and light and glo
have begun.
Copyright by the Interna tional ccun
III of Religious Education on behalf OF
iii Protestant denorri" finns. Released
II WNU Feature