HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1939-12-21, Page 3°
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•Atlaathiee. • 1x" 105a. lat*
1 14; 19
13 15..
PRINTED (TEXT, Matt. ••1 , 18.25
18 •`1-6e 19: 13.15
GOLDCN TEXT—A .little , chil
shall lead them; tee. 111 ti..' •
�iI3E
LESSON IN IT'S SErT'] NG
TTMIE•=-The ' annunciation t
• Josep•h,'.the conception of th'e vire
gin Mary, and .the 'birth of J.esu
ail ;took place,, probably, in' the
, ,geai .5 B.C.•the teaching of Jests
concerning childhood •w'as ' given
in the autumn' of- A',D.' 20.
PLACE—Mary's conception} and
the annunciation 'to Joseph occur-
reed in Nazareth, The Birth of Jes-
as . took -Place' in' Bethle)ient: •The
teaching , of Christ 'found, in: this
e •lien in•, Capernaum.
,Matthew 1: 18. Now the birth
of •Jesus Christ teas on'this' wise:
When -his mother•Mary had 'been
betrothed to Joseph, •before 'they
came together sh.e••Was fonndewith
:child of the Holy Spirit, Thediv-
rue conception of the \ iigin Mary
,be-the'Holyy Spirit ice given with
much . •greater• ,detail in. Luke's
Gospel (1: 26-38), Mark 11aw
s'rit;
ten.nothing whatever concerning'
the birth •and •chiidhood,'of Jesus
Only 'Matthew and 'Luke ttl'11 th.e
story of. .the supernatural 'birth,
though 'John . teethe " to n efer:• 'to
it (1: 14). Matthew •tells it to ' us
from the standpoint of : Joseph,:
who was betrothed to Mary,• and
•
therefore legally hr husband.
Message To„Joseph
19.. And ,Joseph • her hugband,
being a righteous' man, and not
willing. tq make her a '.public , ex -
maple, was • minded to, put her
away' privily. 20. Bee:when he
thought on these .things, behold,
an angel• of the Lord appeared un-
to him •ip a. dream, saying, Jor-
eph, thou) soli oi, ••David, fear not
to take unto thee Mary .thy wife;
for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Spirit. 21. And •she
shall 'bring forth a son; and thou
shalt Call. his .name JESUS; • for
it is he that shall save his people:
from their sins. "Jesus” was • a
very conerhon Hebrew name (Josh-
ua; in its Greek form. it means
"Jehovah's Salvation." God took
hold of a 'tame .perfectly familiar,,
which set the 'new-born Child
among •the' children. of men.
• 'Birth of Jesus •
22. Now all ,this ra.conre,eto''pass,
that it might be fulfilled • which-.-..
• was spoken by the Lord through
the prophet, saying, 0. Behold,
the virgin shall be with child, and
shall bring' forth a son, and they
. $hall dal' his name Immanuel;
which is. •being• rnteriireted, God'
with use This prophecy is :found
Christmas
Lesson
ie Glii:4 and The
Kingdom
. in 1a7: •14. 24. • And Joseph •
_ arose from his sleep, .and ,.did as •
the angel of the Lord command-
ed !Min, 'and, took • unto: 'him•
•,"wife; • 25 and knew'; her. :net till
+shay had liameght forth a •sows and '
• .he 'celled his narne•.JESLI$.
.The Little Chikil•.•-
Matt. 18? `1. In that •hour'' carne•;
.the ,disciples unto 'Jesus,. `saying,
Who.`•tiien 'is••the. greatest in the
• kingdom. of 'heaven ?1,2. And he
,1 •called' •to him a 'little child, and
• set him. in the midst. .:of them..
' •3. And said;-YerrIy 'I say unto •
o ..you, •Except 'ye 'turn, •and hecorne
as little children; ye shall in nd
s 'wise •.enter .into ,the..kingdom, of
heaven. 4. Whosoever.therefore
. -shall.' humble. hiiiaself as; this little • .
• . child; the same is the greatest; in'
' the' kingdo'nr of heaven. No- .one
• hasyet •given• the 'perfect and ex-
clusive• interpretation of this pro- •
found idea - it has been suggest-
ed• `that Christ here • means that '
we .should' lie like children in -hue .
'n�i-l-i;ty., i.t obedient, e, rn .•rn:differ•
-
ence to the distinctions. of ,.rank
and 'we,alth, pure -hearted: 5.• And
whose shall t'eceive one steeh.iittle
.child, do my name receiveth me..
Let us receive and 'cherish, child-'
'ren in Jesus' nanrre, Just as • he
' would receive bin—kelt
• Let No Harm Cone
• a 6. But' whose shall' cause one
•'of these 'little . ones that believe
.on ,tne to 'stumble,''it is profitable •
• for 'hit that a • great millstone
should be hanged' about his n.eek, `.
•.ntrd"that he should be sank in'the
depth of the sea•' 'How 'ean we
cause ,little 'children to 'stumble?
• 'lay letting them .see our own .un-
belief,. -cefnicistn; • by• letting' them
-have their own way, by .failing ,
to, . restrain or d] cieline there..
°-Children cannot hat c a furl] know-,
ledge of ,Christian 'doctrines, but '
they earl' know Jesus as one who •
- loves; there„ whom -!:hey can .trust
• ehd•'pi-ay. to.''.
Christ's .Blessing
J.3.'' Then were : ,there' brought
unto him little children, that he
. should lay .his halide on then•►, and
pray: and• the. disciples rebuked
them. ,14. But Jesus, said, Suffer e.
'the little children, and; forbid •
. • thein not,. to ..come untome: for
to such belongeth the kingdom of
•heaven. 1.5. And he laid his hands',
on there, and departed thence
1'
•
Com!%G. - ^ ,ve/�r )CGIJ T
vb
I14� TI. STABLE
The little bulls• drew- together '
With the doves softly whispering;
'While the ass wondered' whether, '
He wanted out or in,
Pulling at his rope and tartirig'
• to paw
His stalk•, scattering the straw.
Each in his,•;gentic' way, uneasy,'
not at rest,' •
Not knowing• 'why oppressed
And then the light! •
Not day or night,'
tut ,something . different. a n'd
..
s S �t
range=-
So th
at
theyStopped pp
ed
all noti
-
' . :went, waited-
-. l /, .As• if each' moment• • now were
Palestine Has
11 Christmases
Different Dates Marked , By
Religious Groups in Country
Note to little boys and •girls who
•are sorry 'that . Christmas • comes
but once a year: Palestine has 11
Christmas days,' the only country
in the world to have so many.
They extend from the Latitr ser-
vices on Decembhr• 25• to the Abys-
sinian liturgy on March 25 and re-
sult from a fourth century dispute,
within tho Christian church over
adoption of a •unified valentine
Julian, Gregorian Calendars
Some • Christians adopted• - the
Gregorian calendar, • whii:h , puts
i'h:'stmas on December 25th, While
others retained the Julian calendar
and still others 'chose, their owe
dates for Christe,piom's great festi-
vals. II
The Abyssinian church cele-
brates the birth of Christ oh the
25th of eyelet month, but the peat -
est celebration is the solemn lit-•
urgy on' March 25th."
On January 6th, Under th.e-Jul-
lag calendar, comes the Greek Or-
thodox celebration. As Latin Chris=
Liana did on Decemeber 25, 'mettle
hers of the Greek Orthodox' tem-
lnunity will make a pilgrimage' to
the Bethlehem shrine and re-enact
the drain"a;, of Christ's birth,.
The British' mandate government •
of Palestine has r'eeognizeed all 6i`
theso denomi•natia ns and has given,
them equal rights and prielleges 'in
all Christian shrines; throughout
the Holy Lend.
•
.freighted.'
•With some. riew thing beyond
',their • vision's range,
•<Till clearer, by the manger, they
all saw
Mother•. 'and,. child. • '
And .now no longer timid, stumb-
ling, wild,•
Tiley • stooped above them --'seeing
• how they smiled •
—
Krio.wing• in some ante, kiirclly
way
ws
Not knowing , awhat
ata well, butfeeling
love %yea there. • • • ,
And. Mary, raising• happy eyes to
then! ,
Ranged ,round her as if hoiden by
• some spell,
Lifted the babe,with care;
And blessed them gently-adumb,
Inarticulate, yet getting eirch .his
share
-• Of that great love which to 'the
world had come.
IVIf oderation At
,Christmas Time
•
"Teo Much Christmas!' Is To
13e Avoided
Even at Christmas tihre it., is
possible to. .have "too much of a
good thing" say authorities of the
Department of Pensions and Na-
tional Health at Ottawa. -
"Havo a Christmas without re-
,grets. The health -angle of. Christ-
niaetide is important, Glowing fac-
es of children and gladdened hearts
of adults are signs of u:psurging
spirits: Theekeise a close relation-
ship 'betweetr happiness and health.
Christmas glees everyone an op-
portunity' to discard unhealthy
.hoods and repressions, and to let
the spirit of joy have full rein."
Spirit of Joy
Fire Marshals- Warn against a•e-
•cidents setting fireto Obristnins
trees. by the use, of lighted candles, '
and, since enedidal authorities are.
interestingthongs-!vee l'i a ceitlent•
pt"eetttiXitlt•stt:rrtee
tiId°`df:
vice conies from ' National Health
headquarters,' "If you must .cele-
brate. away from home, leave' your
eat• in the getage, and take a tett' '
•
°
PAGE F'ly$
-a
Christmas Tree::
ee : " 0 Little Town ° Legend Surrounds-
EnglishOri in•: • : Of : B e"
.. ,. �' ethleahe,rn" Christmas F -a
•
jregend Says' Joseph of: Arr
, i Landing ' on.. 'Bleak
Shores of. Britain, Thrus
•His, Staff Into the Ground--
• It Became A Tree
a •
s;
Ark=
There, 'W Boar A. eiSeviour
Who. Is Christ the Lord" '•
t' 13eth1eihem or . The House. }mot.
Bread," was more anciently. known•
` as Ephrath or Fruitful, but in Mod •
ern times; is celled,'Beit-fahm or
"'House of: Flesh." a • • e -
All three names are significant
to' Christians whose•• interest in it
arises from the • tremendous fact
that in that little town Was, born
Him .Who was rightly called "The'
Bread of Life; Who was to be the
fruitful Head of a new race, wide-
spread as the world` ' itself; and,
.Who was 'there 'born in humeri
flesh, though the. Almighty, Son' of '
•
•
An old English legend • tells of
the 'first Christmias tree. According
to this ancient tale, many . years
ago Joseph' of Arimathea . came
from Palestine' to England to. tell
eV*peepie about the life anis death
of Christ. It was a. long and -very
rough. voyage that the people from
Palestine had, ,as they journeyed
in an 'open boat the, critics •'distance.
Landing on 'a shore where : there
• were ;»o dnverlinigs, Joseph and his
neonle• tone nn their i avel • .-
hoping to find some one to:receive
then. and Wye 'there shelter and
'food. •
For 'some, da}=•s' • they travelled,
,but everethin.g was deserted. It
;'House of 'Bread" •
' lts•dtistory was b •,no'me•as all
right and holy, ':Jacob hurrying.•
along with a deathly sick wife, was
compelled to halt nearby, while his,
greatly• beloved Rachet gave birth
to'•the little Benjamin,''•and 'then
in her'hu•sband's arms died, there,•
was winter,' and the people of
• ' han•d• we're not about the flelds. On
Christmas: eve th;eir,'food was ex-
• haunted and they were • almost, pear-„
"fishing; when Joseph,•ire d'iscorir•,age.-
rueltt,.drapped ona'reek "to,rest.
•
•
•
•
•
•
'•A Sign From G•dd!'
,-1s he leaned against his staff, lire
;exclaimed: "My , courage , lids de•
parted, 'and niy hope is"as dread es' I..
This staff in my •hands.' °, : •
..,As he spoke. Joseph thrust the
staff into the 'ground, and a silieer
• went through it:•The deadwood be-
ganto grow, Branches appeared
feint the kit s on .the Staff, an -the
Christrna ayLD•
'leaves 'appea•red. The dry,'staf1 ,had
c•hain:ged to a noble ha. tliorn tree,
•
• Flooded .circ. and' frosted roads,.
Creaking, carte with • heaped -tip '
' Loads; ' '
Wild clack winging through lead- • .
en sky, • •
••CIp•istnas day is drawing night.
Holly and mi4tle.toe e n the .stalls
• •Lanterns; streamers and colored
• balls,• •
Short the day and long, the night,
!Merry games by candlelight:
•
•
•$ i l k e n snowflakes quivering
down,
Silent footsterps in the town,
Icicles' on the window pane,
T L
. ovatt Williams
"It is a 'sign •from God, ' 'exclaim, .
ed Joseph. "Let us end our 'wan.derl-,,
ings and,settle down here!".
Strength and .courage ret'! rued
. to the party 'from 'Pales'titae.. They
binill; a few 'r'ough shelters and !re- ,
side the hawthorn trees they, built
a church- For many years the sac-
in-'
red thn tree blossomed „every
year, on. Chris' es 'eve, People de-
corated this tree with 'lighted can- ••
dies
.and placed 'small thorn' tree
in their homes for the.: Yuletide:
Later
that first- church had ad-
-ditions' built to accommodate the-
.people'
he.people' who came to hear Christ's
word mice later became Glastonbury •
li'T 11 F e•,
• Pagan Evergreens
•
<...
Decorating; the hoitse with eve.-'
-greens 'at Christmas is a pagan
custom and • an• edict compiled at
• the Council o Braca,ra' forbade
the •people',io deck their homes
with bay leaves and green houghs.
Pagans believed. that• the sylvan . p�
pints would 'repair to them 'in T e Beautiful Gift•
very cold weather; shelter • he -
]ler grav,o l�, still Marked by a
rough 'stone' montinient!
It was 'in 'Bethlehem' •that' the
yeeng Levite lived.' Who 'effeah•hir
ed to bee bis chaplain, • and with
whom. is •epnnected.the tragic 'storey
in the last chapters,of the book. of
Judges. Tho .terrible tale of ti• ong
dcririg' and reprisals came. perilous-
ly• near, to •the destroying of .the
whole • tribe of.i •Benjamin, •within
• w bete. limits Bethlehem nas•situat-
cd,
Gossiper'. Creature' Was` •once'
A ,Poor Unhappy Little Girt„
Have you ever wondered why'
: the graceful, little,' fairies dresses
in the. loveliest of gc4ssaneer ' gar-
ments, with. gleaming ornaments in.
• their hair and dainty wands in
' their .hands, figure se prominently
• 3n Christmas decorations and Eesti-
vities? An old. Yuletide legend is
the his• Let me .tell you
• Many, origin manyof tyears ago gtel a
Christmas Eve' a,' poor., little • girl. .'
•named: Mary was very ' unhappy.
Mary was an orphan, which. mc;an,s
she' had neither •a mother .nor'a fa:
er, aud.the old woman she lie.ed'
with• made her• very miserable, by
her cruel treatment. Snow lay deep,
rn :the ground,• in •the forest' where
Mary and'the olli woman lived.
"I want'some'strawberi•ies," staid
the. old welnien• • ''Go•, ,fetch • rare.' .
eeme " •
'Maley said'' that there' 'could be
• ri•o strawberries growing in. he
snow brut she was -pushed out. oi'
.,!bars into the. fore$t, She sat down.
beneath' a tree and ' Began, to' cry„
• and 'while she :'cried there came. e -
little gnome carrying a. •lantei!n,
• Night had come on, and it Was very.
dark. '
"dell me why you are crying,''
•said ;he.gnome. Mary Acrid bins, au,d
then the gnome said: el am on nik
Way to inset Santa Claus who is'.
_ coining:front To, ;and."
",This. made Mary very happy, bat
all at once a dark.:clopd corerec•
the moon, and the .gnome, • thettec •
.pale, •• • •
"I know• this is• thea work of ill(
wicked•'undergropnd gnomes. Thet'
. hare, .by their,'magi e secede the ,
• c:roud over the moon sm'that-Santa
• s
• Its Pant History
Thither came the' widow Naomi„
and here daughter -in -lap ' Boos, the
Moabiitess,' mourners, bereft of ail
• they had held dear: • There ,the
young 'Wide* Ruth .vas wedded to
1}ere wealthy,kinsman Boaz; thereby
becoming great-gr-andniother bathe
Psalmist -King David, and also one
of the Progenitors of the Christmas
King, the Lord and saviour of Man-
kind.
Re roboam,•sen of Solomen, made
•a fortified city of Bethlehem (2.
,t'hrowiitiles. X -I-, .16)- acrd•.Iatei -ars•€ani---
ans khan tco•rresponding to our ho-
::i) e•as built there "reliably by
cleat:earn, ,sari of 'Barzillai the .Gil-
- ed'te \ch' 'befriended.David (2 Sa-
auuol 'XVII.) when in tie -Male and
wee Hameed atfer him , r.Jeremniall
• XLW, Iii, This khan. appears to
have been a place where caravans
were malle "up for 'long • journeyer
and it was from:thence .that the, re-
beltious, Jews, disregarding Clod's
()Tilers set off:' for, Egypt, 'carrying .
the'prephet Jeremiah with then). It •
they irate bteen that same.khan, or •
in New Testament terms that inn;
et which. Joseph and ,Mary (Luke
11) a reeled (er lodging, . but. 'could
find, no other accominodatioli than.
a'stablee in a -;'Vette under, or near
to It. wherein to spend the tirst of
rill ('hristinas Eves, although they
...were' both of royal descent, dos-
• neath "their leaves' and remain un -
nipped by frost• and cold• Houses
' used to be, decked with holm; ivy, •
tray, laurel,, box, and holly.
Mistletoe was forbidden' in Eng_
Iisli church!s as it was a heathen
emblem: the sole exception being
fork Cathedral. Dr. Stukeley tells
us that it %vas customary to carry
a branch of mistletoe in, proces-
sion to the high altar and pro-'
claim a general inrlulgeirce and
pardon}, of sins 'at :the city gates.
MISTLETOPICS
4
One naturally thinks of Christ-
mas -trees, helix,. and, mistletoe,.
Mistletoe gets its name from.
the German ?hist, .expelled matter..
The hard seeds are dispersed by
birds passing thank undrg.ested
through their bodies. Missel-
thrushes often function so. •
Mistletoe grows Most conrnion-
lyy• on apple and other rosaceous
trees, vary rarely•on oak's. It gets
its nourishment by patting suck-
jrlte3at reabri e . ..
The sucker -bearing °shoot§• display
a weird kind of intelligencei ac-
ti allyl groping 'their way along the
branch, for the best food -supply. •
N'hat call a • rnuthei:• ;;siva her.
• Children
Greater today than• Ole one
great •thing °
Faith in en old, •.west,, beauti-
ful story, - -
.:ter—a stable—a n^,v.tecrn
King? •
Shining ,faith in the young lad,
Jesus;
Lover, •of high •white•things was
• He;
,.•Jesus—straight ae a Lebanan
' cedar;
Jesus—clean as
from •the sea•
•
the• winds
Faith in the young lad come. to
inaihood; • ' •' ''
Jesus, compassionate, tender
• and true—
Oh, my children -what more
•g'1oiious ' °
Gift in the world 'can I give
to you?
Carry it high like a lamp iri the
• darkness, -
Hold if for Warmth when the
• day • is • cold—
Keep it for joy when youth goes ,
si`ng'ing,' -
Clasp it for peace when you-,
are old. •
What can •a mother give her
' children
More than a faith that will
net dim? ' '
forever;
A lamp for lifetime ---faith
in Irina •
-Grace . Nnil Crowell.
entiorli of Eine David, himself!
That poor stable' became the
thirst. famnrts bed -chamber in• the
rvholo world; for there ,amidst the
a atilo was born the holy I3iby,
• Who was God.. the Creator 'Q
:111 things• teethed in .Aortal fish,
:fiat lee might becotine the Saviour
of al!. •who wished it from their
sin ,
The Poor Stable
To the stone came the sat, -
litw•ds called away from rhes: encu•
• sheep -folds by a,her�ald in the hea-
ve's, `'accorppani•ed 'hi' singing
("heirs of angels, who made 'the,
t:h'rill'in> niomentous •annoutree-'
ment: "unto y6n is born this day
in the City of David, a Saviour
wh-o' is Christ trrb Lord" (Luke 11,
,
C',ountless thousands have knelt
to sacred worship before .that Moat
holy shrine, once "a lowly cattle
sheaf," .the only shelter this evil
ivorld could provide 'for its' Maker.
R^deemeer and Mug, when i'tt pity-
ing• love and tender saving mercy
He came to visit 1t; at the obr.isf'
m.as,t!de! . .
'Cia.us cannot ,find th.e, way to. the
earth.
"Quick!" said tho gnome, • !aka
• 'this Iantern and'ho•ld'tight . to teat
fir' tree!" diarydid as she was
• asked, while. 'the' gnome muttered
some magic wards and the little' ;•
tree grew. It grew so,quickly that
•it reached right up to the sky, and,
on top was Mary, holding the. lent•
• ern. And 'by this means Santa was
albae to•find his 'way. ' • ' •
"Make the tree' its, proper size
once more," said Santa Claus after-
wards. But when the tree became.
ama-l-l=againa en- the top- was —no,
not Mary, but a beautiful fairy!
The little girl had .been transform-
'ed.
ransform'ed. - • . ; , r
And she never had to go back to
the cross ofd woman but instead•
..
remained' in Fairyland where she
lived .haipp.ily ever after.
0