The Wrangell sentinel., 1954-12-24
THE ROYAL FAMILY By the Rev. Hugh F. Hall St. Philips Episcopal Church

"And the shepherds said one to another Let us go unto Bethlehem -. and they came with haste and found both Mary and Joseph and the Babe lying in the manager. st. Luke 2. 15-16.
 With these words we are given the first glimpse of the Holy Fam ilv. 1t is the first picture We have ol these three together Before this we have read of them separately, or together as man and wife; but now We see them as a family - the mother Mary, the father, Joseph, and the Baby Son Jesus.
 Christmas since its very begin ming has a.ways been a festival of the family and the home. Other re- hglons center around the tribe, na- t.yu. or tempe. But throughout the Gospels and in the Epistles We find n~. d with more than occasional ref erence the words father, . mother and son. Our Father who art in heaven :" "Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit
 son. why hast Thou thus dealth wi.n uss Thy father and l have sought Thee And when Jesus saw His mother standing by -. These are only a few of the many references We find from Beth lehem to Calvary. The mightiest act oI God love and power, the gift and birth of His Son began within a damIly. Thus it is that springing in a sense from a family. that at least at this season of the year men and women everywhere in every status and condition look toward, or long for their families to celebrate this glorious occasion - together. Sold iers. sailors, airmen the world over are turning longing eyes homeward. Ii is meet and right for Us to cele- brate this day with rejoicing; for it is the day that God took a human body and perfect human nature into union with Himself, and through it embraces the whole creation in His redemption.
 Therefore, with cur minds fixed on this humble, glorious family juartered in a stable, we should look at our own families and see how they measure up with it. We ought to see if in our families we have the ingredients that marked this "Hely Family"
 Wealth. social prestige, material goods are not the most important factors of a Christian home as a"e shown in this Royal Family. True, Joseph was of the lineage of David but in the days of the Rom anWorld that stood for naught. He had no material wealth. He and his wife could not travel in a wagon drawn by horses, he could only offer Mary a small donkey to ride on her difficult journey for he was only carpenter. and carpenters were poor men in those days. But in spite of this lack he could offer something far more important he could and did offer her and the Babe love. Mary, too, returned his love and showered upon this strange Son of hers unselfish love through all His earthly days through scorn, death, and triumph. Love is important for it is the basis of all true relation ships. The old prayer is right when it says that the hearts of the fathers should be turned to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers" And this can never be brought about by any way except by love. It was Gods love as personified by the Christ Child that united the whole family of earth with that of heaven.
 One of the things so sadly lacking in our modern families today in eases is the absence of solidarity Yet, whenever we read of this family from this wonderful night onward they are always spoken of together. and. get this fathers, to- gether they went to the temple on and again when Jesus was twelve years old together they presented Him in the temple as was the cus- tom. Christmas should be the time for solidifying all family ties not just few of the easier ones. The birth of Christ was one of the ways God showed His solidarity with His earthly children.
 Finally. among other things, this Royal Family" illustrates for us as necessary in our families today is the need for faith. We are so of ten apt to put our faith in things" with a corresponding lack of faith in God and our fellow men, that when the things" fail us we are un-nerved and family ties be. 1,;n