The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961, 1950-12-21

dear to every Christmas There
they sat hudded around their camp fire and in its redden
ng glow their weaherbeaten faces tanned by the
sun and wind They were simple sons of toll with the smell
Of the earth about them Through the night Watches they
were keeping guard over the focks
We are always impressed with those shepherds they
responded to the vision in all of its glory clear that not
all shepherds would have heard and what they did
that hopeful night on the Paestnian hills They had the
capacity to receive that heavenly and they had the
senstvity to heed the angelic chorus and message.
vision ever inspiring When the glory shines round
about it natural to have the reaction of the Shepherds
the tendency fear be perplexed Is that not
experience?
The messenger brought this pointed and appropriate
word to shepherds today Fear Not"
How vital that thought is in bewildermen Even though
trouble abounds on every hand to have
striking to fear not Our satisfaction
through vistory over our environment and all that is part
of life Even though best often brought by
and adversy that consong statement of the angelic
That was the good news-THE GOSPEL-which the
shepherds heard only might break through the crust
shepherds because they simple open minded
They little children Chesterton says in
of his books some things are too important to be entrusted
to the education classes And Jesus Himself said Il thank
hee Father Lord of Heaven and Earth because Thou
mast mo hee @ I he e MSe anq n ne m pfuaen en ana a
become receptvewe become Intellectually proud
Jesus did not mean that education is not good thing
that ought to have much of it he ge
but he did that education easily breed either
the pharisee or the skeptic in
Sir Acland found Faraday in tears with his head
bent his Bible When he asked what the mat
fer he said hv will not men believe the blessed truths
revealed to them? is because their minds closed
and having eyes they not and ears they hear not
The real nwardness of Christmas is here-Unto You is
Born Saviour. Not merely great teacher great Hero
great Man. What need is someone to deal with the
plague of hearts to set wrongness right to heal the
conflict We not what ought to be not
what want to be- There is of defeat about
The Gospel of Christmas meets all the disease of the spirit
Why did the angels crowd the midnight sky and make
the Bethlehem uplands echo with their praise? Why? Be-
the birth the Son of God of intense significance
all the hosts of God 1t happened this EARTH but it
of supreme Importance in the universe of Gods
greatest deeds like the creation when a the sons of God
shouted for JOY.
Jesus himself taught how intensely interested the
angels mankind Did He not say There is joy in the
presence of the angels of God sinner that
penteh The struggle that goes soul of vital
Them When the angels withdrew into the invisible
went hastily Bethlehem They went-not to if the
thing had pass but to the thing which had come
We too must go and worship When grasp something of
what God did for Christ lost in wonder love
and praise 20 come let us worship and bow down. let us
knee before the Lord Maker"
When go to Bethlehem let the pity of God saturate
our with the great truth that God loved the world
that He gave His only begoten that whosoever should
beeveth on Him. should not perish but have everlasting
e" Let be still and quiet and reverent and let the
truth have its way with u.s.
The sight of any newborn babe deeply How
then shall we be casual at Christmas, when Gods own Son
born STOPPING down to that He might lift up
to Him? He was born that might be born again-the
Oldest, the hardest, the worst of U.S.
"And all they that heard it wondered at those things
which told them by the shepherds" Those simple
apostles shepherds" says Faber, "the second
fisherman" They overfowing with gladness and in
power OF
others what they had and heard That what is need
ed most of all in our time-men and women who will wit
and share their experience of Christ The good dngs
unto you and all people How the tdings to be
spread to all people?
The New Testament contemplated the winning
of the world by evangelstc mssons-not by public
preaching services The meetings of the early Christians
could only be held in secret They were hunted and
harassed by cruel prosecutions Yet their
planned that their teachings spread like wildfre Terullan
wrote: We but of yesterday yet have filled your
cities, islands, towns and boroughs; in the
Senate and the Forum Our foes lament that every SEX
age and condition and persons of every rank
to the of Christ 1t accomplished by personal
witness and example The individual captured the ndvid
ual
Stanley Jones at the end of his book "The Christ
of the Indian Road" tells how he asked Hindu, student
if he didn't want to know Christ yes, he said eagerly
but do not know how to go to Him. need someone to
introduce me- We are all called be ntroducers-to bring
and women boys and girls into effective contact with
Jesus Christ
Any who has religion is bound to do of two
things with it, change spread it He must either repud
ate it propagate it.
So these simple shepherds appear for moment in the
lovely story of Christmas then they disappear back to