Evening star., 1951-12-25
Christmas, 1851

Once again Christmas is being celebrated
against background of trouble reaching into
every home. The annual festival acknowledging
the birth Of the Infant Savior in the little town
OF Bethlehem when Herod was king contradicts
the sin and the suffering of the world Rev.
erently regarded, it represents rededication of
Christian humanity to the divine purposes SYM
boized by the Holy Child He came into our
earth to affirm new principles of life, hitherto
unknown or at least neglected by men. His mis-
sion began in the rude cradle of the manger It
was proclaimed, so His followers Fundamentally
believe. by angels singing Of peace The processes
by which that blessing was to be obtained were
those of Righteousness and fellowship. Christmas
forecasts the Sermon on the Mount.
And from the teaching of the Redeemer the
great democratic experiment of which Americans
are part descends. The freedom and the self
imposed discipline for which living generations
have contended had for their author the Car
penterS Son who also was q royal prince. He
foreSaw the nations rising against nations, and
He anticipated false prophets who should deceive
many. Great tribulation" he declared to be
inevitable resulting from abounding iniquity.
But He likewise preached the correction of evil.
The Beatitudes and the Lords Prayer are the
medicines which He provided for the worlds vast
diseases of pride and greed, aggression and lust
for power for wicked ends. BY the Golden Rule
] and the Ten Commandments the problems Of
men might be solved. The alternatives of ma
terialsm and tyranny, the Savior insisted, should
be judged by their fruits.
So it is now. The first Christmas occurred
In time like ours-an era of injustice and strife
corruption and conflict. Righteousness and peace
were needed then as they are in this present dis
astrous "age of confusion" The Christian faith
is founded on the coming of Christ because He
was required. Through Him God spoke first to
the shepherds and the magi and later to the
multitudes upon which he had compassion. st.
Matthew added up the events Of His life and at
tributed to Him "all power and compiled His
sayings and denominated them His doctrine"
Nineteen centuries later, there still is magic in
His name, and His philosophy still is the best
guide to life more rich and free that humanity
ever has seen.
If Christmas and its concomitants were ac-
cepted by all men, the wars and the revolutions,
the poverty, the wicked misbehavior which char
acterize present history as well as past would be
banished from human experience. The spirit Of
generosity and mutuality which infuses this one
calendar date each year could be the anodyne
of our sorrows. Our error lies in our refusal to
attempt such worldwide reformation. Per-
haps the best message of Christmas 1851 is that
written long since by David Gregg, a famous
Presbyterian minister, who urged: "Stand at
Bethlehem and open every door and window of
your being Christward Magnify Bethlehem
e. .. It stands for the coming of the Son of God
Himself into our nature"
The world needs the influence Of Christmas
every day If civilization Is to endure and make
consistent progress. Millions have learned this
In blood and sweat and tears. Let those who as
yet are not convinced look out upon the prevail
ing spectacle Of global horror and be ashamed Of
their responsibility for it.